Texas lost a rough one to Iowa State on a game-winning field goal last night. It caused the Longhorns to fall out of the Amway Coaches Poll.
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Iowa State beat Texas 23-21 last night on a game-winning field goal as time expired from Connor Assalley. It was the Longhorns fourth loss and dropped them out of the Amway Coaches Poll powered by USA TODAY Sports.
Minnesota fell four spots to No. 11 after losing on the road to No. 20 Iowa. The Gophers and Baylor were two 8-0 teams that fell last night, as the 13th ranked Bears lost at home to No. 7 Oklahoma.
Below is the latest Amway Coaches Poll in its entirety, voted on by 65 FBS head coaches.
1) Louisiana State
2) Ohio State
3) Clemson
4) Georgia
5) Alabama
6) Oregon
7) Oklahoma
8) Utah
9) Penn State
10) Florida
11) Minnesota
12) Michigan
13) Baylor
14) Wisconsin
15) Notre Dame
16) Auburn
17) Cincinnati
18) Memphis
19) Boise State
20) Iowa
21) Southern Methodist
22) Appalachian State
23) Oklahoma State
24) Texas A&M
25) San Diego State
Schools dropped out
No. 21 Navy; No. 23 Texas; No. 25 Indiana
Others receiving votes
Virginia Tech 46; Air Force 43; Indiana 39; Navy 25; Virginia 20; Louisiana Tech 10; UL Lafayette 8; Pittsburgh 7; Southern California 3; Wake Forest 2; Temple 1; Kansas State 1
We break down the 12 teams remaining in the College Football Playoff race, as our Eliminator took out three more teams in Week 12.
Welcome back to the Eliminator. I explain the process behind eliminating teams in my Week 1 post. In short, I ask myself a simple question: “If this team wins out, will they have a chance at the Playoff?” I don’t assume that teams will lose–there’s no need to. The losses will come when they come; and when they do, I’ll eliminate those teams. Until then, they’re not eliminated. It’s that simple. I also track every eliminated team on this Twitter thread.
This week didn’t involve any real eliminations. The three teams we knocked out were all long shots. Florida and Michigan needed miraculous conference titles to boost the resumes, and they were eliminated from their division races this week. Auburn, meanwhile, picked up its third loss.
Instead, we have 12 teams. All 12 can win Power 5 conferences, and 11 of them have one or zero losses. If we get chaos, most of these teams can still get in with even two losses. It’s too early this year to present specific scenarios, because there are so many possibilities.
One thing is very clear, though. We probably won’t see very many eliminations next week, either. These are our 12 teams, and unless we see a surprising upset next week, all 12 will still be alive heading into Thanksgiving weekend. What happens after that, though, is anyone’s guess.
The Sooners were down 28-3 at one point in the first half, but then Oklahoma stormed back to beat Baylor. How it happened.
If you went to bed a little early last night, perhaps when Baylor was leading Oklahoma 28-3 in the first half of their Big 12 matchup, you might be up and and asking: Wait a second. What happened now?
Oklahoma stormed back for a 25-point comeback, as the Sooners kept their playoff hopes alive and erased what was truly an awful first half.
Honestly, it’s hard to understand how this happened. After multiple Jalen Hurts turnovers, and the Sooners looking completely lost without injured wideout CeeDee Lamb, the Bears jumped all over them.
Baylor up 28-3 with 11 minutes remaining in the second quarter, and I was worried we were heading for a real embarrassment. At the very least, any shout Oklahoma had for a spot in the College Football Playoff was now laughably over.
Then, the comeback happened. Let’s get into how:
Oklahoma’s defense woke up
The Sooners defense, which had been laughable for the first half and had given up 89 points in its previous two games, decided to go and play football for a bit. They forced two turnovers of their own in the second half, and shut the Bears out in the second half.
Baylor took their foot off the gas
With the lead in their hands, Baylor got a little too predictable. The Bears started running on first down, then getting put in long yardage situations which they couldn’t execute on.
They started the second half with a monstrous 32-yard run by JaMycal Hasty … who fumbled at the end of it. It was a nightmare result, but then Baylor got bad. Conservative play-calling, lack of execution, it was all on display.
The second half drive results from Baylor:
Fumble
Punt
Punt
Punt
Interception
No drive lasted more than six plays.
All credit to Oklahoma’s defense, which finally got aggressive and put Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer under pressure. But that’s an absolute disaster for Baylor.
Oklahoma committed to running with Jaylen Hurts
Without Lamb in the game, the Oklahoma receivers were struggling to get separation from Baylor’s backs. Hurts made some awful throws in the first half, too, so he remedied that in the second half by running the dang football.
Credit to Oklahoma for that. The only thing that looked good for Oklahoma in the first half was when Hurts ran the ball, but it would have been easy to look at the 31-10 halftime score and figure that Hurts needed to come out chucking.
They didn’t do that. They stuck with the game plan, and he kept finding ways to extend drives. He finished with 27 carries for 114 yards, and the threat of the run finally allowed him to find some space for his receivers. That’s how you come back from down 25.
Wow.
No. 10 Oklahoma (10-1, 7-1) erased a 25-point deficit against No. 13 Baylor (9-1, 6-1)
Wow.
No. 10 Oklahoma (10-1, 7-1) erased a 25-point deficit against No. 13 Baylor (9-1, 6-1), handing them their first loss of the season and taking the Bears’ playoff hopes with them.
Here’s how Twitter reacted to Oklahoma’s largest comeback win in school history.
No. 10 Oklahoma 8-1 (5-1) has yet to show up against No. 13 Baylor 9-0 (6-0). Here is how Twitter reacted to the first half.
No. 10 Oklahoma 8-1 (5-1) has yet to show up against No. 13 Baylor 9-0 (6-0). The Sooners trail 31-10 at halftime and haven’t looked like they belonged on the same field as Baylor.
Here is how Twitter reacted to the first half.
Former Sooner cornerback, Zack Sanchez has had enough…
Today’s loss to ISU drops Texas to 6-4 and out of the Big 12 title race. While the defense played well, the offense was not good enough.
With four seconds left in the game, Iowa State’s Connor Assalley hit a game-winning field goal, handing the Longhorns their fourth loss of the season. The Cyclones used Brock Purdy’s 354 yards to win 23-21.
The story of the game was Texas’ inability to move the ball on offense, especially in the first half. The Longhorns punted the ball nine different times, including eight three-and-outs. Only four of Texas’ drives lasted longer than three plays, three of which ended in touchdowns.
Sam Ehlinger completed 55% of his passes, going 22/40 with 273 yards and a touchdown. Wide receiver Devin Duvernay was clutch down the stretch, picking up first downs to keep Texas drives alive. He ended with a game-high nine catches and 107 yards.
Iowa State made a huge stop with three minutes left in the game, making Texas punt the ball back and giving them a chance to win. Lining up for a field goal with two minutes and 16 seconds left, Joseph Ossai jumped offsides, giving Iowa State a first down.
That penalty is ultimately what lost the game for Texas, giving Iowa State the ability to drain the clock out and hit the game-winning kick as the clock expired. The Cyclones move to 6-4 and above Texas in the Big 12 standings.
While the Longhorns are not eliminated from the Big 12 championship race, it is highly unlikely. The Longhorns would need to win out, have Iowa State to lose one more time to either Kansas or Kansas State, and have Baylor lose their final three games.
Texas closes the season out on the road to Baylor and at home against Texas Tech and is playing for a better bowl game at this point. It has been a rough season for the Longhorns and today’s game against Iowa State was their final chance to prove themselves.
Watch as Texas Longhorns quarterback Sam Ehlinger gives his team their first lead over Iowa State with an incredible touchdown pass
As the announcer said, what a difference the legs of Ehlinger can make.
Trailing 20-14 on 4th & goal with less than six minutes to go against Iowa State, Texas QB Sam Ehlinger had to escape multiple Cyclone pass rushers and finally found receiver Malcolm Epps in the endzone for the touchdown.
Ehlinger made this play happen. He used his great scrambling abilities to keep the play alive and was finally able to find an open receiver for six. Kicker Cameron Dicker made the extra point to put the Longhorns on top for the first time all game, 21-20.
Ehlinger now has three touchdown passes on the day to go along with 273 passing yards and this incredible play:
Watch as Texas quarterback Sam Ehlinger finds his running back Keaontay Ingram for a 22-yard touchdown against Iowa State
Just ten seconds into the final quarter of play in the game between the Texas Longhorns and the Iowa State Cyclones, quarterback Sam Ehlinger found running back Keaontay Ingram for a 22-yard touchdown.
The score now sits at 20-14 in favor of Iowa State.
This touchdown pass marked the second of the night for Ehlinger. He has completed 15 out of his 28 passes and has 178 yards through the air. Ingram now has three catches for 32 yards and a touchdown as well.
Watch the Ingram TD catch below:
Solid clock awareness here by Ehlinger. Watch the Iowa State LB let Ingram slip right past him. Sam hasn't been great with touch passes, but this was. pic.twitter.com/ox727f0nrJ
Texas Longhorns defensive back Jalen Green returns in the second half of the Iowa State game following suspension
In the second half of the Longhorns’ matchup with Kansas State, Jalen Green was ejected for targeting, which kept him out the remainder of that game in addition to the first half of Texas’ current matchup with Iowa State. Green is set to return from his short suspension and return to play in the second half against the Cyclones.
Statement from Texas CB Jalen Green on his targeting penalty during Kansas State game. pic.twitter.com/WoxpXSVRZL
This was an avoidable hit that is quite reckless, and Green deserved the ejection. The Longhorns need to tighten up and play more disciplined on defense to avoid hits like this.
An ugly first half for the Longhorns got saved by a Brennan Eagles touchdown. If Texas wants to win, the offense must step up and convert.
Until the final drive of the first half, it was an ugly start to the day for the Longhorns. Punting the ball five times, Texas went three-and-out four times and added a turnover on downs deep in Iowa State territory.
Luckily for the Longhorns, they were able to find some rhythm with under a minute to go in the first half, scoring on five plays in 30 seconds. Quarterback Sam Ehlinger found Brennan Eagles on a spectacular 14-yard touchdown.
Texas has really struggled running the ball, only gaining 33 yards on 17 attempts. Ehlinger was not throwing the ball downfield as he was 3/7 with 26 yards before the last drive in the half. The entire offense must step it up in the second half if the Longhorns want to win this game.
Besides the Iowa State touchdown, the Texas defense has an interception, forced two three-and-outs, and held the Cyclone offense to a field goal. Iowa State Brock Purdy is 16/23 with 116 yards and a touchdown. Iowa State has been decent running the ball, having 85 yards on 17 carries. The defense has not been the problem for the Longhorns and needs to continue what they have been doing.
Texas has a great opportunity to win against Iowa State if the offense is able to step up and make some plays. Texas’ defense was able to contain the Iowa State offense and keep them to 10 points. If they can do the same in the second half, they will set the Longhorn offense up to win the game and control their destiny in the Big 12.
