Texas College Football recap: Appalachian State upends Aggies; Texas Tech outlasts Houston
COLLEGE STATION — Chase Brice threw for 134 yards and a touchdown and Appalachian State took advantage of two turnovers to stun No. 6 Texas A&M 17-14 on Saturday.
Appalachian State won a week after scoring six touchdowns and 40 points in the fourth quarter in a 63-61 opening loss to North Carolina.
Appalachian State (1-1) settled for a 29-yard field goal by Michael Hughes to take a 17-14 lead with about eight minutes left after Christian Wells was wide open but dropped a touchdown pass on third down.
The Aggies (1-1) had a chance to tie it with about 3 1/2 minutes to go, but a 47-yard field goal attempt by Caden Davis was short.
Camerun Peoples, who finished with 112 yards rushing, had a 1-yard run on third down on the next possession to keep Appalachian State's drive going. He then dashed 48 yards to the 12 on the next play and the Mountaineers ran out the clock.
It’s Appalachian State’s first win over a team in The AP Top 25 as a FBS team after losing in overtime to No. 9 Tennessee in 2016 and dropping an OT game to No. 9 Penn State in 2018.
The Mountaineers famously knocked off No. 5 Michigan 34-32 with a last-second blocked field goal in Ann Arbor in 2007 when they were still in the FCS.
The Mountaineers kept A&M’s offense in check a week after coach Shawn Clark was left looking for ways to fix his defense after the 63-point outburst by North Carolina.
Devon Achane ran for a touchdown in the first half and returned a kickoff for a score in the third, but the Aggies had trouble getting much else going on a mistake-filled day.
The Mountaineers outgained A&M 305-186 and had 22 first downs to just nine by the Aggies. They controlled time of possession, too, holding a 41:29 to 18:31 advantage in that area.
TEXAS TECH 33, HOUSTON 30, 2 OT
LUBBOCK — Donovan Smith ran 9 yards for a touchdown in the second overtime, lifting Texas Tech to a 33-30 victory over No. 25 Houston. A back-and-forth finish ended with the Red Raiders beating a ranked nonconference opponent in the regular season for the first time since 1989, a span of 14 games. Houston's Bubba Baxa kicked a go-ahead 35-yard field goal with 37 seconds remaining in regulation after Smith's second interception. Smith answered by leading the Red Raiders to a tying 47-yarder from Trey Wolff with three seconds to go. Houston's 12-game regular-season winning streak ended.
TCU 59, TARLETON STATE 17
FORT WORTH — Max Duggan threw for 390 yards and five touchdowns as TCU won its home opener 59-17 over lower-division Tarleton State. The victory Saturday night made Sonny Dykes the first new Horned Frogs coach to win his first two games since Dutch Meyer in 1934. Duggan set career highs for yards and TDs while playing only the first three quarters in his 30th career start for the Frogs. It came a week after former Oklahoma transfer Chandler Morris started their season-opening 38-13 win at Colorado before suffering a sprained left knee late in that game. Tarleton played its first-ever game against a Power Five program.
BYU 26, BAYLOR 20, 2 OT
PROVO, Utah — Lopini Katoa barreled into the end zone on a 3-yard run to lift No. 21 BYU to a 26-20 victory over No. 9 Baylor in double overtime. Jaren Hall threw for 261 yards and a touchdown, and added a 22-yard TD catch, to lead BYU (2-0) in the win. Chase Roberts had a career-high 122 yards and a touchdown on eight catches for the Cougars. Roberts also threw a touchdown pass to Hall in the third quarter. Blake Shapen threw for 134 yards and a touchdown while Qualan Jones added a pair of touchdown runs for Baylor. Jones and Craig Williams combined for 135 yards on 33 carries. Shapen’s incompletion on fourth down in double overtime sealed the upset win for BYU. The Bears (1-1) were one of three Top 10 teams to lose on Saturday.
UTSA 41, ARMY 38
WEST POINT, N.Y. — Frank Harris threw for 359 yards and three touchdowns, including the game-winner to JT Clark in overtime, rallying UTSA to a 41-38 victory over Army. Army took the lead on the first possession of overtime on Quinn Maretzki’s first field goal of the season before Harris brought back UTSA again. Trailing 28-14 midway through the third quarter, Harris directed the Roadrunners to three straight touchdowns, taking the lead 34-28 with Brenden Brady’s 1-yard run. Cade Ballard threw for 221 yards and Army finished with 304 yards in the air, the most for the Black Knights since they had 305 against Houston in 2001.
SMU 46, LAMAR 16
DALLAS — Tanner Mordecai threw three touchdown passes and SMU rolled to a 45-16 victory over Lamar. Mordecai was 18-of-31 passing for 212 yards. He connected with Rashee Rice twice for scores, including the Mustangs’ first touchdown. Rice also made an over-the-shoulder, 20-yard catch in the end zone late in the third quarter. Rice finished with nine catches for 132 yards. Velton Gardner had 100 yards rushing on 11 carries and TJ McDaniel had two touchdown runs for SMU. Khalan Griffin had a 1-yard touchdown run for Lamar (0-2).
TEXAS STATE 41, FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 12
SAN MARCOS, Texas — Layne Hatcher threw three touchdown passes, Calvin Hill rushed for 210 yards and a score and Texas State rolled to a 41-12 victory over Florida International. Hatcher threw scoring strikes of 67 yards to freshman Charles Brown in the first quarter and 52 yards to Javen Banks in the second to lead Texas State (1-1) to a 20-6 lead at halftime. After a scoreless third quarter, Hatcher connected with Ashtyn Hawkins for a 7-yard TD to push the Bobcats’ lead to 27-6 early in the final period. Hill ran to paydirt from 25 yards out and Kordell Rogers returned an interception 60 yards for a touchdown to cap the scoring.
LOUISIANA TECH 52, STEPHEN F. AUSTIN 17
RUSTON, La. — Parker McNeil passed for 197 yards and three touchdowns, Marquis Crosby rushed for 196 yards and two scores and Louisiana Tech beat Stephen F. Austin 52-17. SFA led 7-0 before Louisiana Tech rattled off the next 52 points, capped by a J’Dan Burnett 30-yard return of a fumble for a touchdown. Louisiana Tech’s other big scoring play came on McNeil’s 63-yard connection with Griffin Hebert. Charvis Thornton added 10 carries for 62 yards and a score for Louisiana Tech. Crosby had a 42-yard touchdown run and Tre Harris added a 40-yard touchdown grab. Stephen F. Austin turned it over three times with two fumbles and an interception.
ABILENE CHRISTIAN 21, PRAIRIE VIEW A&M 13
ABILENE, Texas — Maverick McIvor overcame three interceptions throwing for a touchdown and running for another both in the fourth quarter and Abilene Christian rallied to beat Prairie View A&M 21-13. McIvor threw an 8-yard touchdown to Noah Caldwell with 11:27 left in the fourth to give the Wildcats the lead for good at 14-13. His 2-yard scoring run with 5:05 sealed it. Trazon Connley threw for 240 yards and a touchdown for the Panthers.
NORTHERN ARIZONA 10, SAM HOUSTON 3
HUNTSVILLE, Texas — RJ Martinez scored the game’s only touchdown and Northern Arizona defeated Sam Houston 10-3. Jhasi Wilson strip-sacked Jordan Yates and Mark Ho Ching recovered the fumble at the Sam Houston 27. Five plays later Martinez went in from 1 for a 7-3 lead late in the first half. Collin Robbins capped an 11-play, 80-yard drive with a 19-yard field goal to make it a seven-point lead in the third quarter. Sam Houston’s only points came on Seth Morgan’s 44-yard field goal early in the second quarter.
UNT 52, TEXAS SOUTHERN 29
DENTON, Texas — Austin Aune threw four touchdown passes, Ayo Adeyi had 10 carries for 135 yards — including a 59-yard touchdown — and North Texas never trailed in the Mean Green’s 52-29 win over Texas Southern. Andrew Body threw a 18-yard TD pass to AJ Bennett that trimmed Texas Southern’s deficit to 24-17 with 9:34 left in the second quarter but North Texas (2-1) responded when Aune connected with Roderic Burns for a 70-yard touchdown 46 seconds later, Oscar Adaway III added scoring runs of 3 and 1 yard before halftime and Var’Keyes Gumms caught a 17-yard TD pass from Aune early in the third quarter to make it 52-17. Body finished 19-of-29 passing for 239 yards and a touchdown.
RICE 52, MCNEESE 10
HOUSTON — TJ McMahon threw four touchdown passes and added a 9-yard scoring run, Gabe Taylor returned an interception 91 yards for a score and Rice beat McNeese 52-10. McMahon completed 20 of 29 passes for 274 yards and four touchdowns with no interceptions. Bradley Rozner finished with three receptions for 101 yards, including TD catches of 13 and 75 yards. Ari Broussard added 71 yards rushing on 17 carries, including a 2-yard touchdown that gave the Owls a 31-0 halftime lead. Deonta McMahon ripped off a 62-yard touchdown run for McNeese (0-2) on the second play from scrimmage in the second half. Rice (1-1) scored 23 points off five Cowboys turnovers.
This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Texas College recap: Applachian State upends Aggies; UTSA survives
