MONDAY HUDDLE: Texas A&M offense slow to get going again

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

Too little, too late for Texas A&M offense again

For the second time this season against a top-10 opponent, the Texas A&M offense didn’t score its first touchdown of the game until the fourth quarter. 

Not coincidentally, the Aggies lost to a top-10 opponent for the second time this year, this time 28-20 at home to Auburn. 

A lethargic first three quarters on offense once again doomed the Aggies, whose fourth quarter uprising came way too late. 

The Aggies produced 17 points and 163 of their 391 total yards in the fourth quarter, but it wasn’t enough to overcome a 21-3 deficit to the Tigers going into the final stanza.

In a 24-10 loss to Clemson in Week 2, the Aggies didn’t score a touchdown until the final six seconds of the game. 

Gut check second half for Texans

Down 10 points at halftime on the road to a playoff team from last year — well, it wasn’t the desired plan for the Houston Texas at the Los Angeles Chargers on Sunday, but a dominant second half more than erased that predicament.

Three unanswered touchdowns gave the Texans a 27-17 lead in the fourth quarter, and ultimately Houston hung on for a 27-20 win. 

It’s a win that is valuable now and could be more so in the future, since the Texans have the tiebreaker over the Chargers, should they each be battling for playoff positioning at the end of the year.

Defensive breakthrough for Longhorns

After the preseason concerns many had about the Texas defense were magnified in front of a national TV audience in a 45-38 home loss to LSU, the Longhorns had good reason to gloat about their defense in a 36-30 win over Oklahoma State.

While it’s going too far to say the Longhorns stopped the powerful Oklahoma State offense, it did more than enough to keep it contained and allow Sam Ehlinger & Co. to do its part when the Longhorns had the ball. 

Texas limited OSU running back Chuba Hubbard, the nation’s leading rusher entering the game who was averaging 7.9 yards per carry, to 121 yards on 37 carries (3.3 yards per carry), with his longest run being 13 yards. 

The Longhorns allowed just 10 points in the second half to cap a defensive performance that is encouraging going forward.

SMU beats another in-state opponent

Don’t look now, but SMU is off to a 4-0 start, with three wins being against in-state opponents. 

The latest was the biggest of them all, as the Mustangs knocked off No. 25 TCU, 41-38. 

SMU quarterback Shane Buechele, a Texas transfer who was beat out for the starting job with the Longhorns by Ehlinger, was 23-of-34 passing for 288 yards and two touchdowns and has made an immediate impact.

SMU can equal its win total from all of 2018 with a win at South Florida on Saturday.

Texas State gets first win in thrilling fashion

Georgia State made a name for itself in the opening week of the season when it won at Tennessee, but it was a different story against Texas State. 

The Bobcats earned their first win under head coach Jake Spavital, prevailing in the third overtime over Georgia State, 37-34. 

Josh Rowland was the hero, kicking a 35-yard field goal to lift Texas State to the upset in the Sun Belt Conference opener for both.