Huddle up! Here’s a look back at this weekend on the gridiron, with three key takeaways from the state’s football scene.
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Some unimaginable humiliation for the Longhorns.
Just when it seemed like the Texas football program had hit rock bottom, out came the shovels and the figurative hole was dug further in a stunning 57-56 overtime loss at home to Kansas on Saturday.
To put into perspective the embarrassment it was for Texas, consider the following:
- Kansas had lost 18 Big 12 games in a row, overall.
- Kansas entered on a 56-game road losing streak, with its last road win coming in 2008. It was the longest road losing streak in college football history.
- Texas lost despite being a 30 1/2 point favorite.
- Kansas entered the game 0-100 as an underdog of at least 24 points since 1978.
- Texas entered 79-0 as a favorite of at least 24 points since 1978.
- Texas is now on a five-game losing streak for the first time since 1956.
One more figure to mention, yet again, is the $24 million that the school paid in the midst of a pandemic to buy out Tom Herman and his staff following last year.
Herman went 25-12 in his tenure.
Now, unless Texas can win both of its remaining games at West Virginia and at home against Kansas State, it won’t even be eligible for a bowl game.
An exhilarating kick lifts Texas Tech to bowl eligibility.
In way more of a feel-good story than Texas, it was a surreal ending for Texas Tech against Iowa State on Saturday.
The Red Raiders won their sixth game of the year when kicker Jonathan Garibay nailed a 62-yard field goal as time expired to send Texas Tech players into a frenzy.
The win made the Red Raiders bowl-eligible for the first time since 2017, a nice feather in the cap to a group of players who had to deal with a coaching transition after head coach Matt Wells was fired midseason last month.
A flat first half all but eliminates Texas A&M from SEC title contention.
Any path Texas A&M had of making the SEC championship game was all but shut off in a 29-19 loss at Ole Miss. With the three losses now, the best the Aggies can hope for now is likely a New Year’s Day bowl game in Florida such as the Citrus Bowl or Outback Bowl.
The main culprit was a terrible first half, where the Aggies fell behind 15-0 and were outgained by Ole Miss, 408-91 yards.
It was a minor miracle Texas A&M was only down 15-0, and despite a second-half comeback that saw the Aggies pull within 15-13 in the fourth quarter, the hole dug was too big to climb out of.