No. 15 Houston’s upset of No. 3 Oklahoma Saturday at NRG Stadium created playoff hopes for one team and potentially dashed the hopes of the other.
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Regardless of whether Houston ends up in the Big 12 if the conference expands, coach Tom Herman’s Cougars made an opening statement that could have season-long ramifications on the College Football Playoff. His first two seasons were spent mainly as a wide receiver, but Ward quickly sealed his name in the history books at Houston as their quarterback. Despite losing several key players on defense, the Cougars were the better all-around team, getting big games from Ward and receiver Steven Dunbar, as well as a phenomenal debut from five-star true freshman defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who dominated the game.
“I thought I stepped out, but I didn’t, ” Wilson said.
J.T. Barrett shrugged off an early interception to tie a school record with six touchdown passes and Curtis Samuel scored three touchdowns as No. 6 Ohio State coasted to a 77-10 victory over in-state opponent Bowling Green on Saturday in the season opener for both teams in Ohio Stadium.
“Obviously, what it comes down to is we just got outplayed”, OU cornerback Jordan Thomas said.
Houston’s preseason ranking this year is its best since ’91, but the Cougars are trying to hold on to the underdog intensity they had last year when they weren’t even favored to win their division. OU didn’t know if it was punting or kicking a field goal. “I don’t really second guess. I’ve seen Austin (Seibert) make that quite a few times”. The third quarter opened up with a back-and-forth defensive struggle and it wasn’t nearly until midway through the quarter that the Sooners attempted a field from 53 yards out. That drive ended in a field goal, giving OU a 10-3 lead at the time.
Baker Mayfield threw 33 passes. Like last season, the coaching staff put the blame on Mayfield more than the line.
Texas A&M had a fourth-and-1 from the 1 in overtime when Knight waltzed into the end zone untouched for the score in the opener for both teams. Texas A&M won 31-24 in overtime. Rosen was consistently under pressure from a dominant Aggies defense, and threw three interceptions on the day.
That allowed Houston to set the return, Herman said. The bobbled ball turned out to be one of the more controversial moments of the game, seeing the instant replay made it appear like Baxter’s knee was down before the ball popped loose, but the referees decided there wasn’t inconclusive evidence to overturn the original ruling on the field. Lee and Gary Moulton walk from their home along what is left of a road that was destroyed by Hurricane Hermine in the Alligator Point community of Franklin County, Fla., Friday, Sept. 2, 2016. The second came late in the third quarter, as Ward lobbed a third-down pass over Allen and through the end zone.
Knight wasn’t the only former Sooner to shine for the Aggies on Saturday.
The first drive of the game went well for OU, as they set a fast pace, using running backs Samaje Perine and Joe Mixon to move the chains and score the first touchdown of the game. Mississippi State jumped out to a 17-0 lead by halftime, and looked comfortable transitioning from the Dak Prescott era. But, once again, they couldn’t get out of their own way. The younger Sanders scored on a 1-yard run in the first quarter. The junior threw for 3,700 yards and 36 touchdowns, and ran for seven touchdowns last season. The Sooners responded by marching 80 yards in eight plays, but Mayfield’s two-point pass fell incomplete.
Kaelyn Henderson ran 13 times for 68 yards and a touchdown for Southeastern Louisiana. No matter what the Sooners defense did on first and second down, it never seemed to matter once third down came around.
Up by just two points with 8:28 left in the third quarter, Oklahoma lined up for what would be a 52-yard field goal. Williams had 11 catches for 158 yards. Prukop, a graduate transfer from Montana State, completed 21 of 30 passes for the Ducks, while also scoring on a 1-yard keeper.
While the momentum shifted on the field, the cheers of the fan base shifted with Coogs fans cheering with pandemonium while Sooners fans stared in disbelief.
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The Rainbows (0-2) avoided a shutout with Rigoberto Sanchez’s 55-yard field goal early in the fourth.
