Prairie View A&M notched its sixth consecutive victory, as dynamic quarterback Trey Green threw for 299 yards in the Panthers’ 38-13 triumph at Alabama State. Prairie View, 7-1 in league play, owns the second best conference record in the SWAC behind Grambling State (8-0).
Jerry Baker/for the Houston Chronicle
Sam Houston State, with its best Holly Holm impression, knocked out Northwestern State 59-21 in Huntsville. The Bearkats (7-3) tallied 668 yards overall and put the game out of reach by halftime – and more importantly set up a face-off with Central Arkansas this coming Saturday, with a possible berth in the FCS playoffs on the line.Wilf Thorne/For The Chronicle
Texas A&M sophomore quarterback Kyle Allen implored fans via Twitter not to count him out after he lost the starting gig to freshman Kyler Murray midway through the season, and he was right. Allen played the fourth quarter of the Aggies’ 41-17 victory over Western Carolina, and looked much sharper than Murray, who threw two interceptions in the first half and nearly threw about three more. A quarterback controversy has been reignited at A&M, and who will start at Vanderbilt is to be determined.Eric Christian Smith/Getty Images
Around the nation:
Missouri overcame a week of racial tension on campus, and especially the Friday news that coach Gary Pinkel would step down as he fights lymphoma, to defeat BYU 20-16 in Columbia, Mo.
“What a week, huh?” Pinkel told his players in the locker room afterward, courtesy of a video from the Mizzou Network. “Look at what you did … When things got tough, and they were really freaking tough, we freaking battled.”
Jeff Roberson/Associated Press
The most asked question on Saturday: “How did Oklahoma ever lose to Texas?” It’s a legitimate query, considering the Sooners knocked down Baylor 44-34 in Waco on Saturday night, and on Sunday rose from 12th to seventh in the AP poll. Quarterback Baker Mayfield, who’s working his way into the Heisman Trophy mix, is one of the season’s best stories, after walking on for OU after previously walking on at Texas Tech.Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press
LOWS Around the area:
While Houston surged to a 10-0 record before a packed stadium on Saturday night and a No. 13 ranking on Sunday following its comeback victory over Memphis, Rice looked as bad as it has in memory in a 65-10 home loss to Southern Miss on Saturday afternoon. The Golden Eagles racked up a school record 682 yards, while Rice (4-6) watched its bowl hopes diminish.
Karen Warren/Houston Chronicle
TCU quarterback Trevone Boykin, once a Heisman candidate, exited the Horned Frogs’ 23-17 victory over winless Kansas with an ankle injury. TCU coach Gary Patterson said he anticipates Boykin returning for Saturday’s game at Oklahoma – the Horned Frogs will need him if they’re to stand a chance against the surging Sooners.Ron Jenkins/Associated Press
Around the nation:
No. 7 Stanford and No. 10 Utah (in the College Football Playoff ranking) were upset by Oregon and Arizona, respectively, dousing hopes of the Pac-12 offering an entrant to the second CFP. Oregon represented the Pac-12 in the first CFP last season, and lost in the title game to Ohio State.
Tony Avelar/Associated Press
Two weeks ago LSU was No. 2 in the first CFP ranking, but the Tigers certainly didn’t enjoy prosperity. They’ve been whipped by Alabama and Arkansas in consecutive weeks, and running back Leonard Fournette is now a long shot in the Heisman race.Gerald Herbert/Associated Press
QUOTABLE
“Stop. Just stop yourself. No comment.”
Michigan coach Jim Harbaugh when a reporter tried asking if he’d be interested in the Indianapolis Colts job should it come open.
Andy Lyons/Getty Images
HEISMAN WATCH 1.
Derrick Henry, Alabama: The stout running back rushed for 204 yards in the Crimson Tide’s whipping of Mississippi State, a week after rushing for 210 against what was supposed to be a solid LSU defense.
Rogelio V. Solis/Associated Press
2.
Dalvin Cook, Florida State: The running back is averaging 8 yards per carry for the No. 16 Seminoles, and 152 yards per game (a little better than Henry). He’s rushed for 1,502 yards this season despite missing a game with an ankle injury. He’s also pitching himself for the Heisman, so he certainly doesn’t lack for bravado.
STEVEN CANNON/Associated Press
3.
Corey Coleman, Baylor: Oklahoma corralled the receiver, who headed last week’s Heisman Watch, for three receptions for 51 yards, with 37 of those coming on one catch. The Bears plummeted from fourth to 10th in the AP poll following the 44-34 loss to Oklahoma, and along the way so did Coleman’s Heisman chances.
Tony Gutierrez/Associated Press
Perhaps it's best for now that Texas A&M and Texas don't play on Thanksgiving night – talk about boring the masses with a non-Top 25 matchup. At this rate the old rivalry wouldn't qualify as a top 50 collision, at least on one end (the one in Austin).
The Aggies (7-3) of the SEC spent at least some time in the top 10 this season before losing three of their last five games, with the familiar refrain of "Wait 'til next year!" now echoing around A&M.
Problem is, next year's schedule for the Aggies is tougher than the one they're wrapping up, with road trips to Alabama and Auburn on tap in 2016.
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For their part the Longhorns of the Big 12 might as well be chanting, "Wait 'til next decade!" with the program's sharp decline under second-year coach Charlie Strong. UT (4-6), following a 38-20 loss at West Virginia, must win at home against Texas Tech on Thanksgiving night and at Baylor to even make a bowl. Good luck with that.
Check out the gallery for the highs, lows, quote of the week and Heisman watch for Week 11.
COMING THIS WEEK
Jackson State at Prairie View A&M, 1 p.m. Saturday
Incarnate Word at Houston Baptist, 2 p.m. Saturday
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Houston at Connecticut, 2:30 p.m. Saturday; ESPNU
Rice at UTSA, 6 p.m. Saturday
Sam Houston State at Central Arkansas, 6 p.m. Saturday
McNeese State at Lamar, 6 p.m. Saturday
Baylor at Oklahoma State, 6:30 p.m. Saturday; FOX
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Texas A&M at Vanderbilt, 6:30 p.m. Saturday; SEC Network
TCU at Oklahoma, 7 p.m. Saturday; ABC
Michigan State at Ohio State, 2:30 p.m. Saturday; ABC
Brent Zwerneman is a staff writer for the Houston Chronicle covering Texas A&M athletics. He can be reached at brent.zwerneman@houstonchronicle.com. He is a graduate of Oak Ridge High School and Sam Houston State University, where he played baseball.
Brent is the author of four published books about Texas A&M, three related to A&M athletics. He’s a five-time winner of APSE National Top 10 writing awards for the Houston Chronicle and San Antonio Express-News, including in 2021 breaking the bombshell college football story of the decade: Texas and Oklahoma secretly planning a move to the SEC.
He netted a national APSE second-place finish for breaking the Dennis Franchione “secret newsletter” scandal in 2007, and his coverage of Texas A&M’s move to the SEC from the Big 12 also netted a third-place finish nationally in 2012.
Brent was named national beat writer of the year by the Football Writers Association of America for 2021, the first Texan to earn the honor, but he’s most proud on the sports front of earning Dayton Invitational Basketball Tournament MVP honors in 1988.
Brent met his wife, KBTX-TV news anchor Crystal Galny, in the Dixie Chicken before an A&M-Texas Tech football game in 2002, and the couple has three children: Will, Zoe and Brady.
