No. 8 Texas rallies to beat Texas Tech in overtime
Texas was trailing Texas Tech by 15 points with just more than 3 minutes to play when Sam Ehlinger walked over to his coach and delivered amessage.
The No. 8 Longhorns weren’t out of it, the senior quarterback said. Far from it. Texaswould leave the field a winner.
“(He) looked atmeand said, ‘They left us too much time. We’re going to tie this thing up and win in overtime,’” Herman said. “And I believed him.”
So did the rest of the Longhorns. Ehlinger deliveredonhis promise, rallying Texas froma 56-41 deficit in the final 3:13 with touchdown passes to Brennan Eagles and Joshua Moore to force overtime, then findingMoore for another touchdownin awild 63-56 victory.
“That’s the Tom Brady of college football,” Texas defensive tackle Keondre Coburn said. “That’s the leaderwe have.”
Texas Tech thought it had the game put away late behind a diving touchdown catch by T.J. Vasher and a 75-yard touchdown run by SaRodorick Thompson Jr. Ehlinger just looked at the clock and did his thing with a brilliant finish.
Ehlinger first connected with Eagles for a touchdown and the Longhorns snagged the onside kick when the ball bounced high and slipped through the hands of a Red Raiders player. After finding Moore for another score to get within 56-54, Ehlinger passed to Eagles again for the 2-point conversion.
Texas got the ball first in overtime and the Ehlinger-to-Moore connection did it again. Texas Tech’s only possession ended with Alan Bowman forced to scramble before his pass was intercepted by Caden Sterns on fourth down.
“We learned we’re never out of it. You look around college football in 2020, there’s some weird things going on,” Ehlinger said. “All I can say iswow.”
Texas (2-0, 1-0) is chasing its first Big 12 title since 2009 and is 2-0 for the first time in four seasons under Herman. Ehlinger finished with 262 yards passing with five touchdowns and also ran for a score. Bowman passed for 325 yards and five touchdowns for the Red Raiders (1-1, 0-1) but also threw three interceptions.
Auburn holds off Kentucky: Bo Nix threw for 233 yards and three second-half touchdowns, including a pair to SethWilliams, and Auburn scored twice in the fourth quarter to pull away from Kentucky in the season opener. The Tigers turned a three-quarter scare into a comfortable win by capitalizing on a late turnover and Kentucky’s failed fake punt in the lone Top 25 matchup of the Southeastern Conference’s openingweekend.
Pittsburgh escapes Louisville: Patrick Jones II wants No. 21 Pittsburgh’s defense to be the best in the country. Not just in points allowed. Not just in yards allowed. Not just in sacks or turnovers. All of it.
“We want it all,” the senior defensive end said.
ThePanthers are certainly playing like it. Jones collected three of Pitt’s seven sacks, helping the Panthers beat No. 24 Louisville 23-20 on Saturday. The win pushed Pitt (3-0, 2-0 Atlantic Coast Conference) to its best start since 2014and adhered to a blueprint the Panthers believe can
carry them to the conference title game in December: tough, physical defense and just enough offense to get by.
Costello goes off in upset win:
New Mississippi State coach Mike Leach put his “Air Raid” offense in the hands of a transfer quarterback who showed up over the summer and the results were like nothing defending national champion LSU or the Southeastern Conference has ever seen. K.J. Costello passed for an SEC record 623 yards and five touchdowns and the Bulldogs knocked off sixth-ranked LSU44-34 on Saturday.
“I don’t know if any individual could visualize this taking place,” said Costello, who was Stanford’s starter in 2017 and 2018 before head and hand injuries sidelined him last season. “I wasn’t visualizing sitting here breaking records. I’m excited about the potential that this offense has because, believe it or not, we did leave a lot on the field today.”
Gators ruin Kiffin’s debut: Kyle Pitts caught four of Kyle Trask’s six touchdown passes and No. 5 Florida spoiled the head coaching debut of Mississippi’s Lane Kiffin with a 51-35 victory