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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Longhorns hoping for win and some help
In any other year, Texas might very well be playing for a College Football Playoff appearance when it meets Oklahoma State in the Big 12 championship game on Saturday.
A win would give the Longhorns a conference championship, a season with just one loss, and oh, Texas might have the best nonconference win by virtue of its victory at Alabama back in September.
But this year’s field of candidates for the four playoffs is longer than it’s ever been, so even a one-loss Texas team might be left out.
If Alabama beats Georgia in the SEC title game, both of those teams likely will get in. If Oregon beats Washington in the Pac-12 title game, the Ducks will likely be in, and the Huskies will have a definite case to be in at one loss given their resume.
Even if Georgia wins and eliminates Alabama, unbeaten Florida State would likely be in if it wins the ACC Championship game over Louisville.
Ditto for unbeaten Michigan, which is a heavy favorite over Iowa in the Big 10 title game.
Next year, the playoffs will expand to 12 teams, but that does nothing to help Texas out this year.
All the Longhorns can do is control their business and hope everything else aligns for them. They’ll definitely be fans of Georgia, Louisville, Iowa and Oregon this weekend.
Elko comes back to Texas A&M as head coach
It might have been a big name such as Urban Meyer or Ryan Day, but Texas A&M has turned to a familiar face to revive what’s been a stagnant program.
On Sunday, reports came out that A&M had agreed to a deal to bring in Mike Elko as its new head coach.
The 46-year-old Elko knows College Station and the program well, having served as A&M’s defensive coordinator from 2018 to 2021.
He then was hired as head coach at what has traditionally been a bad Duke program, building the Blue Devils into a squad that’s made two straight bowl games.
Elko shouldn’t have to do as much building at Texas A&M as he had to at Duke, given the vast resources the Aggies can offer.
However, he’ll need to quickly get on the recruiting trail and into the transfer portal to reshape the A&M roster.
Bland sets NFL record for Cowboys
There is officially nobody in NFL history that has done this year what Dallas Cowboys defensive back DaRon Bland has.
In a 45-10 rout of Washington on Thanksgiving, Bland returned an interception for a touchdown for the fifth time this season, which set a new NFL record. The previous record of four was held by three other players.