College football: Aggies upend LSU; TCU stays in playoff chase

Associated Press
·5 min read
Nov 26, 2022; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Moose Muhammad III (7) makes a one handed catch for a touchdown as LSU Tigers safety Sage Ryan (15) defends during the second half at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 26, 2022; College Station, Texas, USA; Texas A&M Aggies wide receiver Moose Muhammad III (7) makes a one handed catch for a touchdown as LSU Tigers safety Sage Ryan (15) defends during the second half at Kyle Field. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

COLLEGE STATION, Texas — Devon Achane had a career-best 215 yards rushing with two touchdowns, and Texas A&M stunned No. 6 LSU 38-23 on Saturday night, all but certainly knocking the Tigers out of contention for the College Football Playoff.

Conner Weigman threw two TD passes for the Aggies (5-7, 2-6 Southeastern Conference) and Demani Richardson returned a fumble for a score. The game was tied at 17-all in the third quarter before A&M scored 21 straight points.

LSU (9-3, 6-2, No. 5 CFP) had already secured a spot in next week's SEC title game against unbeaten No. 1 Georgia, and a win there could have put the Tigers in the playoff. But with three losses, even beating the Bulldogs likely won't be enough.

The Aggies, who opened the season ranked No. 6 but won’t qualify for a bowl game for the first time since 2008, had a strong finish to their disappointing season. They won consecutive games for the first time since September after snapping a six-game skid with a victory over UMass last week.

TCU 62, IOWA STATE 14

FORT WORTH, Texas — Kendre Miller ran for two touchdowns as fourth-ranked TCU completed the first undefeated regular season by a Big 12 team since 2009 with a 62-14 victory over Iowa State. The win got the 12-0 Horned Frogs closer to making the four-team College Football Playoff. Max Duggan threw TDs to three receivers for the Frogs, who still have the Big 12 championship game to play next Saturday in coach Sonny Dykes’ first season. But they will go into that as one of only three undefeated teams remaining. Iowa State finished 4-8 after its most lopsided loss since the 2014 finale at TCU.

TEXAS 38, BAYLOR 27

AUSTIN, Texas — Bijan Robinson rushed for 179 yards and two touchdowns, Jaylan Ford made his fourth interception of the season, and No. 24 Texas defeated Baylor 38-27. The Longhorns kept alive their chances of making the Big 12 title game. If Kansas can beat No. 15 Kansas State on Saturday, Texas will face No. 4 TCU for the conference championship. Robinson gained 65 of Texas’ 75 yards on its go-ahead drive, scoring from the 1 to give the Longhorns a 31-27 lead with 8:25 remaining. Roschon Johnson finished with 13 carries for 77 yards and two touchdowns for Texas.

LOUISIANA-LAFAYETTE 41, TEXAS STATE 13

SAN MARCOS, Texas — Chandler Fields threw two touchdown passes and Louisiana-Lafayette became bowl eligible with a 41-13 victory over Texas State in a regular-season finale. Fields gave Louisiana-Lafayette (6-6, 4-4 Sun Belt) the lead for good in the first quarter when he threw an 18-yard touchdown pass to Chris Smith for a 7-3 lead with 5:35 left in the first quarter. Seth Keller’s second field goal pulled Texas State (4-8, 2-6) within 7-6 at the 10-minute mark of the second quarter. Kenneth Almendares sandwiched two field goals around freshman Dre’lyn Washington’s 8-yard touchdown run in the final 5:38 to send the Ragin’ Cajuns into the locker room up 20-6.

UTSA 34, UTEP 31

SAN ANTONIO — Jared Sackett kicked a 28-yard field goal with four seconds left and UTSA beat UTEP 34-31 to remain undefeated in Conference USA play. UTSA scored the last 20 points, and Sackett’s late kick capped an eight-play, 73-yard drive that gave the Roadrunners their only lead of the game. Sackett also made a 51-yard field goal in the third quarter. Frank Harris threw for 382 yards and three touchdowns for UTSA (10-2, 8-0). Calvin Brownholtz threw two touchdown passes in the first quarter, and his 23-yard TD run gave UTEP (5-7, 3-5) a 24-0 lead with 7:03 remaining in the second.

SMU 34, MEMPHIS 31

DALLAS — Brandon Crossley picked off a Seth Henigan pass in the back of the end zone with two seconds left to preserve SMU’s 34-31 win over Memphis in the regular-season finale for both schools. Henigan drove the Tigers 76 yards to set up second-and-goal at the SMU 9 with 14 seconds left, needing only a field goal to send the game into overtime. He rolled to his left and floated a pass intended for a receiver streaking along the end line only to have Crossley make a leaping interception.

NORTH TEXAS 21, RICE 17

DENTON, Texas — Austin Aune threw two touchdown passes and North Texas fought off Rice for a 21-17 win to secure a bid in the Conference USA title game against UTSA in the Alamodome on Dec. 2. North Texas’ defense secured the win on Rice’s final drive when Kevin Wood sacked AJ Padgett for an eight-yard loss to set up a second-and-18 from Rice’s own 43-yard line with 1:20 remaining. On third down, Padgett, lined up in shotgun formation, dropped the ball and kneeled to pick it up but was ruled down as officials believed his knee touched the ground on the recovery attempt. Facing fourth-and-23, North Texas linebacker KD Davis intercepted Padgett to end it. Padgett threw for 229 yards and a touchdown.

This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Texas A&M upends LSU; TCU stays in playoff chase after win