If you weren’t actively rooting for the Cowboys or Texans to make it all the way this year — we have new motivation to unlock your inner armchair coach.
Bad Bunny is headlining the Super Bowl halftime show in February.
That’s right, Benito Antonio Martínez Ocasio will succeed Kendrick Lamar as the headliner of the annual concert in which the powers that be gather the best professional football teams to play as opening and closing acts. And we’ve got less than 18 weeks to ensure a Texas team is there for it.
Welcome back to The Barbed Wire does football, in which our team of completely unqualified-to-write-about sports writers recap what everyone shouted at their TVs and phones this weekend.
Let’s get into it, starting with our chances at being front row for “Me Porto Bonito.”
Micah, Micah, Micah
Sunday night football in Dallas was supposed to be about one thing: Micah Parsons returning in a Packers uniform to face his old team. Instead, it turned into absolute chaos: a 40-40 tie that felt like a 12-round boxing match where both fighters just collapsed at the bell.
Despite all the drama surrounding Parsons, the quarterbacks provided most of the fireworks. Dallas’ Dak Prescott threw for 319 yards and three touchdowns, plus a rushing score. But every answer from Prescott seemed to get matched by Packers quarterback Jordan Love, as the teams traded seven straight touchdowns in regulation before Green Bay tied it at the buzzer with a 53-yard field goal.
While both offenses were throwing haymakers, the defenses mostly stood around like “good luck, buddy.”
In overtime, Dallas had a chance to win after Prescott’s 34-yard strike to Jalen Tolbert set up first-and-goal. That drive stalled when Parsons sacked his former teammate Prescott, and the Cowboys had to settle for a short field goal. Green Bay answered with a field goal of its own, and that was that.
It goes in the books as Dallas’ first tie since 1969, a historic shootout but a frustrating finish for a team that wanted more than just “not losing.”
Meanwhile, the Houston Texans walloped the lowly Tennessee Titans in a 26-0 blowout at home. That’s right, Tennessee scored exactly zero points, which in football is sort of frowned upon.
They were led by quarterback C.J. Stroud, who had a very solid two-touchdown performance. Stroud has been shaking allegations all year that he was just a one-year wonder and, while the Texans only got their first win of the season Sunday, hey, one is still a lot better than zero.
And speaking of the devil, the Titans, who used to be the Houston Oilers back in the day before moving and breaking Houston’s heart, fell to 0-4 for the season after their much-hyped rookie quarterback Cam Ward went 10-for-26 with one interception. Translation: he threw it to the wrong team once and to no one at all, a lot. Hang in there, buddy. Rookie years are rough.
Aggies 4.0 & TCU Turnovers
Next, let’s go to college where Lone Star State teams had a wild weekend.
Texas A&M leaned on its defense to grind out a 16-10 win over Auburn and move to 4-0 for the first time since 2016. That’s so long ago that TikTok didn’t even exist yet.
Le’Veon Moss powered the offense with 139 rushing yards and a touchdown, even while battling a stomach bug. (So he basically ran a half marathon while feeling like he had food poisoning. Respect.)
Quarterback Marcel Reed added 207 passing yards, but it was the Aggies’ defense that stole the show: Auburn had 0-for-12 on third downs, and quarterback Jackson Arnold was sacked five times — imagine trying to send a text and getting shoved into the ground every single time you pull out your phone.
It wasn’t always pretty, A&M had 13 penalties and threw a late interception that nearly blew it, but they closed it out with a field goal and two defensive stops. Coach Mike Elko reminded everyone afterward that ugly or not, 4-0 is 4-0.
As for Baylor, the Bears spoiled Oklahoma State’s first game without longtime coach Mike Gundy, rolling to a 45-27 win in Stillwater.
Quarterback Sawyer Robertson lit it up with 393 passing yards and four touchdowns to four different receivers, plus a rushing score for good measure. The Bears racked up 612 total yards, which is the kind of number you usually see when you accidentally leave the difficulty on “rookie mode” in Madden.
Oklahoma State hung around early, trailing just 28-20 at halftime, but Baylor’s offense kept answering. After the Cowboys cut it to 35-27 in the third, Robertson and company slammed the door with two more touchdowns.
Let’s move on to TCU, and this loss really stings. The Horned Frogs jumped out to a 17-0 lead in Tempe, only to watch it all slip away as Arizona State stormed back.
Quarterback Josh Hoover got sacked six times (he’s probably still peeling himself off the turf), the run game managed just 10 yards. Yes, 10, you could walk that during a commercial break.
Three TCU turnovers, including a late fumble, set up the Sun Devils’ winning field goal. Final: ASU 27, TCU 24. A big “oops” for a team that had the game in hand most of the night.
Meanwhile, the University of Houston looked completely cooked, down 24-10 in the fourth quarter, but the Cougars pulled off some late-game magic to stun Oregon State 27-24 in overtime.
Conner Weigman shook off a rough start and hit two huge touchdown passes late, a 27-yarder to Stephon Johnson and a 50-yarder to Tanner Koziol, to tie it.
Oregon State had a chance to win in regulation, but Houston blocked a 46-yard field goal to force overtime. (Blocking a kick is the football version of yanking the tablecloth off without the dishes breaking: rare, risky, but awesome when it works.)
From there, the Cougar defense stuffed a fourth-and-1, and kicker Ethan Sanchez, already perfect on the day, nailed the 24-yard game-winner.
What the WAGs Wore
Another week, another custom jersey for Haley Cavinder (Cowboys tight end Jake Ferguson), which she cropped and paired with wide leg pants from Shopbop and stilettos. She also added a bag charm from Kendra Scott to her little denim Louis, according to TikTok.
Always trend spotting, we also noticed Brandi Yvonne (Dallas safety Juanyeh Thomas) adding a few blue charms to her silver bag. And making long Fashion Nova jorts look better than we ever could.
Though UT didn’t play this week we checked in on Loreal Sarkisian (coach Steve Sarkisian). Her Insta didn’t disappoint, there was another lesson in making burnt orange more of an everyday staple than gameday costume. Just try it in a silk top and add Gucci loafers for a dinner date.
Glen Powell Watch
Glen Powell has continued his second-coming-of-Matthew-McConaughey bit, and you know what? We’re into it.
Last week, Jake Shane of Therapuss went to Austin and apparently stayed in Powell’s house and got the whole tour from the Twisters star. Oh, and Kaia Gerber was there too.
If somehow you missed it or the resulting billion memes, it’s worth a watch. Powell goes through his first role and all the ones he auditioned for and didn’t get. But most importantly, Powell confirmed burnt orange is the new black.
Hook ‘em, and see ya next week.
