Huddle up! Here’s a look back at this weekend on the gridiron, with three key takeaways from the state’s football scene -- and a glimpse at what’s to come next week.
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Cooper Rush outshines Joe Burrow in Dallas win
There isn’t as much talk about doom and gloom with the Dallas Cowboys as there was this time last week.
Following a season-opening loss to Tampa Bay that saw starting quarterback Dak Prescott suffer a fractured thumb that will keep him out roughly two months, there didn’t seem to be a lot of optimism with defending AFC Champion Cincinnati next on the schedule.
But backup quarterback Cooper Rush not only held his own, but he actually outplayed Bengals star Joe Burrow in a 20-17 Dallas win.
Rush went 19-of-31 passing for 235 yards a touchdown and a 95.5 quarterback rating, while Burrow had an 89.9 quarterback rating.
With Dallas taking possession of the ball in a tie game at its own 35-yard line with 57 seconds remaining, Rush led the Cowboys down the field and set up the game-winning, 50-yard field goal by Brett Maher as time expired.
The Cowboys now enter a crucial four-game stretch against division opponents and the Super Bowl champion Rams knowing they can succeed without Prescott.
Aggies rebound with win over ranked foe
It wasn’t pretty, but Texas A&M started a brutal portion of its schedule with a 17-9 home win over No. 13 Miami.
Head coach Jimbo Fisher benched starting quarterback Haynes King in favor of backup Max Johnson, a transfer from LSU who didn’t rack up big stats (140 yards, 1 touchdown), but led the Aggies to enough points.
The defense bent by allowing 392 yards, but didn’t break by keeping Miami out of the end zone.
Now, the fun really begins for Texas A&M with a game against No. 10 Arkansas on Saturday kicking off a stretch where the Aggies play four ranked opponents in their next six games.
UTSA plays Texas tough
There figured to be an emotional letdown for Texas coming off its game against No. 1 Alabama last week, and Texas-San Antonio nearly took advantage.
The Roadrunners were in the thick of it late in the third quarter against Texas in Austin on Saturday, scoring to make it 24-20 with 3:31 remaining in the third.
But the Longhorns took charge from there, scoring the final 17 points of the game to win going away and avoid an upset, which is no small feat given what happened at home to Kansas last year.
Next up for Texas is another rivalry game at Texas Tech on Saturday.