In a game that set offense back to the days prior to development of the T formation, the Giants (6-2) hung on to beat the Texans (2-6) as neither team could muster 300 yards total offense. About the only good thing about Texans QB David Carr’s 5.7 yds per pass was that it was better than Giants QB Eli Manning’s 5.6 yds per pass. The Texans actually had a shot at winning the game late in the 4th quarter when FB Jameel Cook coughed up a fumble after catching a short pass at the Giants’ 35 yard line. That was the Texans’ only turnover in the game, but the margin of error is pretty thin when the offense can only muster 250 total offense. The Texans travel to Jacksonville next Sunday for what could be an ugly revenge game with the Jaguars (5-3) before returning home for a winnable game the following Sunday against the Bills (3-5).
There was good news and bad news about Texas A&M’s (8-2, 4-2) loss in its big game on Saturday night against the Oklahoma Sooners (7-2, 4-1). The good news is that the Aggies generated over 200 yards rushing against a solid OU defense in almost beating the Sooners.
I’ll leave the bad news to Mike Finger’s column about the game in the San Antonio Express-News, which begins with the following:
Bob Stoops smiled as he approached his adversary at midfield, then put his arm around Dennis Franchione and whispered a few words of encouragement into his ear.
This is what all good gamblers do.
They always make sure the suckers keep coming back for more.
If Saturday night’s showdown at Kyle Field was a poker game, Stoops was the seasoned card shark who knew exactly when to take the risk that would make his opponent flinch. And Fran was the sweaty-palmed mark who came so close to going all-in before losing his nerve.
Coach Fran’s teams are now 1-11 in games against key Big 12 rivals Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma, and Nebraska, 14-16 in Big 12 play, and 4-14 against ranked opponents (wins coming against #25 Clemson (’04), #15 Okie State (’04), #25 Texas Tech (’04), & #19 Mizzou (’06)). The Cornhuskers (7-3, 4-2) invade College Station this Saturday and, if the Ags can’t figure out how to throw the ball effectively against a top flight defense, then it’s likely they will be 1-12 against the above-mentioned Big 12 rivals going into their day after Thanksgiving game against the Longhorns (9-1, 6-0) in Austin.
Suffice it to say that’s not what Aggie boosters thought they were buying when they bought out Coach Fran’s Alabama contract back in 2003.
In a battle for the Conference USA West Division lead, the Cougars (7-3, 5-1) utilized their usual balanced and difficult-to-defend offense while coming up with an unusually inspired defensive performance in cruising to victory before a raucous Homecoming crowd of 23,500 at Robertson Stadium. The Coogs put this one away by taking the lead with a long scoring drive immediately before halftime and then by coming out and tacking on another TD with the opening drive of the 3rd quarter. Although not well-known because of the Cougars’ somewhat neglected stature on the local sports scene, Houston’s Anthony Alridge — a 5’9″, 170 lbs. WR/RB sprinter — is currently averaging 11.2 yards per carry on his 51 carries this season and is the most exciting Cougar player that I’ve seen since bowling ball RB Chuck Weatherspoon averaged over 9 yards a carry during the Run ‘N Shoot days of the late 1980’s and early 90’s. The Coogs now go on the road at SMU (4-4, 2-2) and Memphis (0-4,1-7) to finish the regular season and, if the Coogs’ defense can hold together for those two games, Houston has a good chance to host the C-USA championship game in early December.
Texas Longhorns 36 Oklahoma State 10
Perfectly-named Colt McCoy threw for a career-high 346 yards and three TD’s in setting a Texas single-season record for touchdown passes with 27 and keeping the Longhorns in the middle of the race to meet either Michigan or Ohio State in the BCS championship game. The Horns go on the road next Saturday night to meet Kansas State (6-4, 3-3) before taking a week off before their big game against the Aggies on the day after Thanksgiving.
The Owls (4-5, 3-2) continue to make my early season optimism about their prospects look good as they broke out to a 30-10 halftime lead against UTEP (4-5, 2-3) and held on for another win in Head Coach Todd Graham’s increasingly successful first season. The bottom line on the Owls is that QB Chase Clement, RB Quinton Smith and WR Jarett Dillard are really good and give the Owls a decent shot of winning games in which their defense is not overwhelmed by the opposition’s offense. The Owls have a tough game next week at Tulsa (7-2, 4-2), and then close the season at home against East Carolina (5-4, 4-2) and SMU (5-4, 3-2).