Texas A&M falls short against Oklahoma State in thrilling TaxAct Texas Bowl

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2023 All Rights Rights

HOUSTON, TEXAS (December 27, 2023) In a heart-pounding battle at NRG Stadium, the Texas A&M football team fought valiantly against No. 22 Oklahoma State, ultimately succumbing to a 31-23 defeat in the TaxAct Texas Bowl on Wednesday night.

The Aggies, entering the game with a depleted roster, faced adversity from the first play when starting quarterback Jaylen Henderson exited the game due to injury. Despite the setback, reserve quarterback Marcel Reed stepped up, showcasing resilience and determination. Reed completed 20-of-33 passes for an impressive 361 yards, adding a rushing touchdown to his name.

Trailing 24-6 at halftime, Texas A&M mounted a spirited comeback in the second half. The defense, led by standout Sam Mathews, forced crucial turnovers, allowing the Aggies to outscore Oklahoma State 17-7 in the final two quarters. Mathews delivered a stellar performance, tallying a career-high 14 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss, one pass breakup, and an interception.

Wide receivers Jahdae Walker, Max Wright, and Moose Muhammad III played pivotal roles in the offensive resurgence. Walker led the receiving corps with eight catches for 137 yards, while Wright contributed four catches for 62 yards, and Muhammad III finished with three catches for 68 yards.

Despite falling short, the Aggies displayed resilience and determination. Reed's connection with Wright on a pair of passes set up a 2-yard rushing touchdown by Amari Daniels, narrowing the score to 24-13 in the third quarter. Reed himself contributed a 20-yard rushing touchdown, keeping the Aggies in the fight.

A late-game surge, featuring a 51-yard field goal by Randy Bond, brought Texas A&M within striking distance at 31-28 with 5:07 remaining. The defense held strong, and with 17 seconds left, the Cowboys' 47-yard field goal attempt went wide right, providing the Aggies with one last opportunity.

In a dramatic final sequence, Reed unleashed a Hail Mary pass that unfortunately ended in an interception as time expired. The Aggies, despite the adversity and a depleted roster, showcased determination and fighting spirit until the very last play.

Hall of Fame basketball coach Eddie Sutton passes away

Photo courtesy of
Oklahoma State Athletic Department

By Robert H Kelly

Copyright 2020 All Rights Reserved

SOUTH TULSA, OKLAHOMA (May 24, 2020) Former Arkansas Razorback and OKlahoma State Cowboys head basketball coach Eddie Sutton, who won 806 games in his career, died on Saturday of natural causes at his home in South Tulsa. He was 84. He took four different schools, Oklahoma State, Arkansas, Creighton, and Kentucky, to the NCAA tournament, and two Final Four appearances (Oklahoma State in 1999 and 2004).

As a young teacher and coach, I received a telephone call from Sutton in the spring of 1981. I was  working at Killeen (Texas) High School and had a young basketball player, Keenan DeBose, in class that he was recruiting for Arkansas. His call lasted about 10 minutes and we discussed how the player was doing in my mathematics class. He asked me to contact him if the player was having any problems or issues in class.

At the time, and still today, I thought it was  a big deal. A famous collegiate basketball coach calling a "still wet behind the ears" teacher. I never had to contact him, as the player was doing fine and having no issues.

So that was my 10-minute "relationship" with Eddie Sutton. When I heard he had passed away on Saturday night, it brought back this long-forgotten memory. 

 

Houston looks to continue success on the diamond against Oklahoma State

By Robert H Kelly
Copyright 2012 TexSport Publications

HOUSTON, TEXAS (March 15, 2012) After breaking a five-game losing streak this past Tuesday evening against Sam Houston State, the Houston Cougars will hit the road for a three-game series against the Oklahoma State Cowboys.

The Cougars, who have posted a 7-9 record in 2012, are hoping to close out spring break with a three-game sweep and advance above .500 for the first time since March 3.

Houston is currently in seventh place in Conference USA and will begin conference play on March 23 against Southern Mississippi.

Against the Bearkats, junior Chase Jensen went 4-for-5, scoring three runs and tallying five RBI.

Previously Jensen had a record of three RBI in a single game, which he had achieved five times.

Jensen connected on a homerun, one double and two singles.

Against Sam Houston, the fifth inning was a gold mine for the Cougars.

They scored nine runs on six hits in the fifth, which was the best single-inning production for the Cougars this season.

Junior Austin Pruitt started on the mound for the Cougars and got his first collegiate win.

He threw 5 complete innings without giving up a run on four hits, while throwing four strikeouts.

The Cougars will try to continue that success against the 11-7 Cowboys.

Oklahoma State is sporting a five-game winning streak and is hitting .271 for the season.

The last time the Cougars faced the Cowboys was on March 5, 1993 in the Louisiana Classics Tournament.

The Cowboys drummed the Cougars 28-9 to give them a 45-38-1 all-time series dating back to 1957.

The three game series will kickoff Friday evening with a 6:30 p.m. start; continuing on Saturday at 2:00 p.m. and Sunday at 1:00 p.m.

TCU SET TO HOST MINNESOTA, NO. 15 OKLAHOMA STATE

FORT WORTH, TEXAS (February 22, 2008) The No. 46 TCU men’s tennis team will look to remain unbeaten this weekend when they play host to No. 66 Minnesota at 2 p.m. on
Saturday and No. 15 Oklahoma State at 2 p.m. on Sunday. The Horned Frogs are currently 8-0 overall after upsetting No. 31 Texas Tech last Sunday.

Freshman Zach Nichols and junior Kriegler Brink have also highlighted play for TCU so far, as Nichols is a combined 16-0 on the season and Brink is unbeaten in singles play with a 7-0 mark. Also undefeated in doubles and coming off a victory over the No. 11 team from Texas Tech is the TCU duo of Adrian Simon and Emanu Brighiu, who are currently ranked No. 51 in the country. In singles play, Cotet leads the way with a No. 83 ranking, while the doubles tandem of Cotet and Brink is also ranked No. 14 nationally.

The Frogs have jumped out to an 8-0 record for the first time since the 2004 season, and for only the second time in the last 22 years.

The Minnesota men’s tennis team is currently 1-6 this season and is coming off of two losses to No. 69 Arizona and No. 47 San Diego State. The Golden Gophers are led by senior Raoul Schwark, who is ranked No. 46 in singles play.

The 15th-ranked Oklahoma State Cowboys are 3-4 this season, with three of the four losses coming to top-10 teams. At the National Team Indoors tournament, Oklahoma State toppled No. 4 Baylor. The Cowboys are led in singles play by No. 10 Oleksandr Nedovyesov, No. 31 Ivan Puchkarov and No. 94 Dmytro Petrov. The doubles duo of Nedovyesov and Nathan Byrnes are ranked No. 54 in doubles action.

TCU has met Minnesota three times in the series history, as TCU took all three contests. The two teams last met during the 1995 season, where TCU won 4-3. Oklahoma State leads the series with TCU by a 7-5 advantage, including last year’s 6-1 victory over the Horned Frogs.

TCU TENNIS LEAPS 16 SPOTS IN LATEST RANKING

FORT WORTH, TEXAS (February 20, 2008) The TCU men’s tennis team jumped 16 spots to No. 47 in the latest FILA/ITA ranking released on Wednesday. TCU senior Cosmin Cotet also remained in the singles rankings, while two Horned Frog doubles teams received recognition.

The Frogs are currently 8-0 overall this season, marking the first time TCU has
jumped out to that mark since the 2004 season, and only the second time in the last 22 years. In the last two matches, the Frogs have defeated No. 42 Texas A&M-Corpus Christi and No. 31 Texas Tech.

Cotet, a native of Iasi, Romania, slid to No. 83 nationally in singles play after dropping his first match of the season to No. 50 Bojan Szumanski of Texas Tech on Sunday. The match marked the first time this season that Cotet has dropped a set.

The doubles team of Cotet and Kriegler Brink gained 30 spots to No. 14 nationally. The duo, formerly ranked No. 44, is currently 5-1 on the season with the only loss coming to Texas Tech’s 10th-ranked duo of Szumanski and Rojmar. The TCU duo is now 23-5 when playing together in their career.

The Horned Frog doubles team of Emanu Brighiu and Adrian Simon entered the rankings at No. 51 after upsetting the 11th-ranked Texas Tech duo of Breler and Markovic on Sunday. The doubles team is 2-0 on the season.

The Frogs will return to action on Saturday at 2 p.m. when they play host to No. 66 Minnesota, followed by a Sunday home contest against No. 15 Oklahoma State at 2 p.m.