The ABCs of college football: Upsets and records headline Week 11

Courtesy of Baylor Football

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The Week 11 slate of college football inside the state of Texas was headlined by upset wins and losses, as well as a few record-breaking performances at the FBS and FCS level. Texas lost to Kansas. Baylor rebounded against Oklahoma. UTSA remained undefeated, and the Houston Cougars clinched a spot in the American Athletic Conference championship game. Oh, and Texas Tech used a 62-yard field goal as time expired to upset Iowa State and achieve bowl eligibility. 

The ABCs of college football take you through all the action with 26 quick hitters from an action-packed weekend of football. 

Alton McCaskill – Houston’s running back rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns in the 37-8 win over Temple on Saturday. He became the school’s all-time leader in rushing touchdowns as a freshman with 14. The Conroe Oak Ridge product is averaging 5.1 yards a carry in 2020.  

Baylor rebounds – The Bears needed a bounce-back performance following an upset loss at TCU a week earlier. That’s exactly what Baylor did on Saturday in a 27-14 win over Oklahoma to keep Big 12 title hopes alive in Waco. The 260 yards gained by the Sooners is the lowest output since Lincoln Riley took over as head coach. 

Close call – College football throws curve balls when it is least expected, and UTSA was nearly a victim. The Roadrunners were 33-point favorites against Southern Miss at home, but UTSA didn’t lead until the fourth quarter. UTSA moved to 10-0 with a 10-point win to set up a C-USA West decider this Saturday at home against UAB. 

Down to earth – TCU was riding high after its Week 10 upset of Baylor. It looked like the Horned Frogs found a quarterback in Chandler Morris, and the defense looked improved. That all came crashing down in a 63-17 loss at Oklahoma State. TCU allowed eight rushing touchdowns in the loss and Morris came back to earth with only 103 passing yards on 20 attempts. 

Edging closer – North Texas is creeping towards bowl eligibility with two games remaining in the regular season. The Mean Green were 1-6 before their three-game winning streak. That continued with a 20-17 win over UTEP. North Texas should reach five wins with FIU up next on the schedule. A season-ending clash with UTSA could be a game that determines the future of North Texas football. A win would put the team at 6-6 and on a five-game winning streak to close the year. A loss might result in the end of the Seth Littrell era. 

Fading away – UTEP is on the other end of the spectrum of North Texas, and that continued when the Miners’ comeback attempt fell short in Denton. UTEP began the season 6-1 but are on a three-game losing streak. Seven wins feels necessary for UTEP to get a bowl invite, so the upcoming home clash against Rice feels important. 

Garibay – Texas Tech kicker Jonathan Garibay hit a 62-yard field goal as time expired to propel Texas Tech to an upset win over Iowa State. It was the longest field goal in Red Raider history. Garibay is 12 for 12 on field goals in 2021. 

Horns down – Texas is in a free fall as a football program after an overtime loss to Kansas at home. You read that correctly. The Longhorns lost to Kansas despite gaining 574 yards of total offense. It was Texas’ fifth consecutive loss, and now the Longhorns must win out to reach a bowl game and earn some extra practice time desperately needed by the new staff. 

Interceptions – The good news was that Rice quarterback Jake Constantine threw for 380 yards in the loss to Western Kentucky. The bad news was that he also threw four interceptions. 

Jacob Cowing – The UTEP offense is boom or bust, but when it is moving forward, it is usually thanks to the exploits of wide receiver Jacob Cowing. He caught five catches for 174 yards anda touchdown in the loss to North Texas. 

Kevin Wood – The North Texas linebacker recorded a team high eight tackles and an interception in the Mean Green win over UTEP on Saturday. 

Loss No. 3 – Texas A&M entered the season with hopes of competing for an SEC title and a spot in the College Football Playoffs. An 0-2 start to SEC play derailed those hopes, but an upset win over Alabama and improved play over the next few weeks restored hope. That hope was dashed in the loss at Ole Miss on Saturday night to drop the Aggies’ record to 7-3 on the season. 

Myles Price – The Texas Tech offense came alive in the win over Iowa State and Price was one of the main reasons. The sophomore led the Red Raiders with nine catches for 175 yards and a touchdown in the 41-38 victory. 

New record – McMurry defender Josh Smith set a school record with 385 career tackles following a 13-tackle performance on Saturday. The previous record was set by Chris Joseph in 1986. 

Overwhelming defense – The Abilene Christian defense forced six turnovers (four fumbles, two interceptions) in the 29-3 win over Tarleton. 

Punt blocks – Texas State and Georgia Southern traded blocked punts returned for touchdowns in a 38-30 loss by the Bobcats at home. Texas State is now 3-7 on the season. 

Quarterback breakout – Texas Tech gave redshirt freshman Donovan Smith his first collegiate start in the win over Iowa State. Smith didn’t disappoint. He finished with 322 yards and three touchdowns on 25 of 32 attempts. Smith also added 50 yards rushing. 

Richardson – Texas A&M’s defense played well enough to win the game at Ole Miss on Saturday, and safety Demani Richardson led the way with 13 tackles. Ten of those were solo and two were behind the line of scrimmage. 

Smith – Baylor running back Abram Smith paced the Bears’ offense with 148 yards on 20 carries. He’s over 1,200 yards on the season now and is averaging a Big 12 best 7.3 yards a carry with his bruising style. 

Terrel Bernard – The Baylor defense dominated Oklahoma on Saturday, in large part because of Bernard. He led the team with nine tackles, including two sacks and two tackles for loss. He’s the best pure linebacker in Texas. 

Ulysses Bentley – The SMU offensive attack was back to form thanks to the healthy return of Bentley. He finished the win over UCF with 14 carries for 97 yards and a touchdown. He also caught three passes for 27 yards. The Mustangs missed his big-play ability out of the backfield over the last month. 

Vitt – Texas State started Tyler Vitt at quarterback again in Week 11, but he was unable to lead the Bobcats to the same type of offensive success. He didn’t throw a touchdown despite 46 attempts, and he only managed 11 yards on 12 attempts. 

Williams – Sam Houston defender Trevor Williams recorded 11 tackles, including nine solo and two for loss, in a 42-28 win over Eastern Kentucky.

Xavier Worthy – The true freshman wide receiver from California continues to impress despite Texas’ struggles. Worthy caught 14 passes for 152 yards and three of Casey Thompson’s six touchdown passes in the overtime loss to Kansas. 

Yin and Yang – The Sam Houston offense was led by its passing attack and two main targets for quarterback Eric Shmid, who passed for three touchdowns in the win. Ife Adeyi caught seven passes for 138 yards and a score. Jequez Ezzard added nine catches for 111 yards and a touchdown.  

Zach Calzada – Texas A&M crawled back into the game at Ole Miss just in time for its quarterback to throw a pair of fourth-quarter interceptions. The Aggies simply haven’t received the quarterback play required to compete for the SEC title despite massive preseason expectations. 

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