MONDAY HUDDLE: SMU continues to rewrite history in special season

5 takeaways from this weekend's football scene around the state

Here are five takeaways from this past weekend's football action around the state.

SMU wins historic game on home field

An incredible season of rewriting the history books continued for SMU on Saturday. 

For the first time since 1941, SMU hosted on its campus a game between two ranked teams when it faced then-No. 25 Temple. 

In its glory days in the 80s, SMU didn't play in an on-campus stadium. 

It was also the first game between ranked teams involving SMU since Oct. 12, 1985. 

The Mustangs continued to ascend the rankings with a 45-21 rout of Temple.

SMU is now No. 16 in the AP poll and No. 17 in the coaches poll.

Texans lose Round 1 to Colts

The Texans' season obviously didn't end with a loss at rival Indianapolis on Sunday, but it just ratcheted up the pressure to win the rematch at NRG Stadium on Nov. 21. 

Now a half-game behind the Colts in the AFC South, the Texans will have to take care of business to ensure they aren't further behind when Indianapolis comes to Houston.

The Texans have winnable home games against the Raiders and Jaguars the next two weeks, and then after their bye week, have a tough contest at Baltimore. 

Meanwhile, a Colts team that is starting to hit their stride has an easy schedule leading up to the second game against Houston.

Indianapolis will host Denver, play at Pittsburgh, then host Miami and Jacksonville over its next four games. 

Can Baylor make it to Arlington?

It will be tough for Baylor to make the Big 12 championship game in Arlington, but with each passing week, it is becoming less improbable than it appeared before the season started. 

The Bears earned another signature win with a 45-27 road victory over Oklahoma State to improve to 4-0 in the conference standings, good for a first-place tie with Oklahoma.

The top two finishers will play in the Big 12 championship game. 

Texas and Iowa State are right behind at 3-1, but Baylor already has a win over Iowa State and gets to play Oklahoma and Texas at home. 

Baylor will be favored at home against West Virginia on Halloween night but then the gauntlet will really begin with games at TCU and then back-to-back games in Waco against Oklahoma and Texas.

That will be a difficult stretch to navigate, but then again, Baylor has defied the odds already by even giving itself an opportunity to make it to Arlington.

Longhorns survive amid continued defensive concerns

The Oklahoma hangover was in full effect for Texas on Saturday. 

A week after a tough loss to the Sooners in Dallas, Texas was fortunate to escape lowly Kansas at home.

The Longhorns earned a 50-48 win after Cameron Dicker's 33-yard field goal as time expired.

Kansas went ahead 48-47 with 1:11 remaining following a touchdown and 2-point conversion, but left the prolific Texas offense too much time to drive down the field.

But there are historic problems in full effect for the Texas defense.

Kansas amassed 569 yards of total offense against the Longhorns, keeping Texas on pace to have the worst defensive year statistically in school history. 

Mayde Creek wins terrific battle of upstarts

Mayde Creek entered this year not having a winning season since 2008, while Katy Taylor hadn't had a 3-0 start in league play since the turn of the century.

The two teams enjoying Renaissance seasons hooked up in a great game Friday, with Mayde Creek earning a 14-10 win to assure itself of a winning season. 

The game was scoreless until midway through the fourth quarter, when an offensive explosion created a frantic finish.

Katy Taylor (5-3, 3-1) took a 10-0 lead, but Mayde Creek (6-1, 3-1) responded with two touchdowns, the last being with 1:27 remaining to earn the 14-10 win. 
 


About the Author:

Keith is a member of Graham Media Group's Digital Content Team, which produces content for all the company's news websites.