Texas
Arch Manning’s first big moment for Texas football, plus 2 SEC close calls
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Cal coach Justin Wilcox used the ref’s microphone to beg fans to stop throwing cards on the field because the Bears were being hit with 15-yard penalties. Just another night with ACC After Dark.
Manning’s Moment
Texas backup accounts for 5 TDs
Texas’ Quinn Ewers, who has looked like the best quarterback in the country this season, exited the Longhorns’ 56-7 win against UTSA in the second quarter with a strained abdomen. After the game, coach Steve Sarkisian said the injury was non-contact and that the seriousness of it “remains to be seen.”
Ewers’ absence opened the door for backup Arch Manning, nephew of Peyton and Eli and grandson of Archie, to record his first extended game time for Texas. His final stat line: 9-for-12 for 223 yards, four TDs, plus three carries for 53 yards and one score. I asked The Athletic’s Texpert, Sam Khan to break down the 19-year-old’s performance for us today:
“He showed off all the traits that made him such a coveted recruit. He was accurate, decisive, showed off his arm strength and his athleticism.
“His 67-yard touchdown run, on his third play of the game, showed just how athletic he is. ‘I think he got his grandpa’s athleticism, I don’t know if he got his uncles’,” coach Steve Sarkisian joked.
“But his arm talent was also evident. His final touchdown pass to Johntay Cook was perfectly placed in the back corner of the end zone. Earlier in that drive, he scrambled to his left and uncorked a beauty to freshman Ryan Wingo.
“More than anything, Manning looked comfortable, which is encouraging considering how little playing time he has had since arriving. This was just his fourth career appearance and only his second with more than two series of action. If Ewers misses time and the Longhorns must start Manning, it looks like they’ll be in great hands.” — Khan
SEC Heartbreakers
The upsets that could have been
The underdogs made convincing cases but fell just short of pulling off big wins.
💔 Kentucky drops a 13-12 decision to No. 1 Georgia. There’s just something about Georgia and Kentucky’s Kroger Field. Two years after skating by in a low-scoring 16-6 win and four years after winning 14-3, the No. 1 Bulldogs once again were tested in Lexington. Kentucky led 6-3 at halftime and held the Bulldogs without a TD through three quarters. But Kirby Smart’s team did just enough in the second half to win, even if it marked the lowest-scoring Georgia performance since Sept. 4, 2021, against Clemson. Kentucky has gone two straight weeks without scoring a TD (but, for the record, nobody has reached the end zone against Georgia this season).
💔 South Carolina had a prime opportunity to top No. 16 LSU but lost 36-33. The Gamecocks surged to a 17-0 lead early. But as LSU closed the gap, two South Carolina pick sixes were called back because of penalties, only further opening the door for the Tigers. The Gamecocks attempted a 49-yard field goal to tie the score as time expired, but the kick veered just left. LSU made plenty of mistakes, but South Carolina couldn’t hold onto its lead to pull out the early conference win despite the Tigers looking extremely vulnerable.
Week 3 Trending
FSU still falling, Texas A&M rises
📉 In case you haven’t checked, Florida State, which entered this season as the No. 10 team in the country, still hasn’t won. The Seminoles lost 20-12 to Memphis (where Mike Norvell was head coach from 2016-19 before being hired away to Tallahassee) to fall to 0-3. At one point, QB DJ Uiagalelei was 5 of 5 passing for 7 yards. It was another embarrassing performance that begs the question: How does a team win 13 games one year and turn into an absolute train wreck the next?
📈 Texas A&M beat Florida 33-20 in a game that felt much more one-sided. It marked the Aggies’ first true road win since Oct. 16, 2021, and they did so with backup QB Marcel Reed (starter Conner Weigman was out with a shoulder injury). Meanwhile, it feels like Florida coach Billy Napier’s seat is getting hotter and hotter.
📉 Wisconsin has been trending this way for a while, but a 42-10 romp by No. 4 Alabama — the Badgers’ worst home defeat in 16 years — exposed how far Luke Fickell’s program is from success. Wisconsin QB Tyler Van Dyke exited the game with a right knee injury, but the Badgers’ issues run far deeper than the quarterbacks. Meanwhile, the Crimson Tide solidified themselves as College Football Playoff frontrunners. Next up? No. 1 Georgia.
📈 No. 18 Notre Dame recovered from last week’s shocking loss to Northern Illinois with a 66-7 win at Purdue. It was the Fighting Irish’s largest win since 1996. Both QB Riley Leonard and RB Jeremiyah Love rushed for 100 yards. (If you’re curious about Northern Illinois, the Huskies did not play.)
Early Rivalry Fun
Backyard Brawl brings the heat
A few West Coast rivalries were in action yesterday (No. 12 Utah rallied to beat Utah State 38-21 and Colorado bounced back to beat Colorado State 28-9). As for the revenge of the Pac-12 …
- No. 9 Oregon woke up in its 49-14 beatdown of Oregon State. The Ducks were lights-out in the second half, outgaining the Beavs 330-89 and outscoring them 27-0. Oregon QB Dillon Gabriel completed 20-of-24 passes for 291 yards and two TDs while rushing for 64 yards and a score. Special points for the uniform matchup in this one — it was crisp. And while Oregon State’s future looks clearer after Pac-12 expansion, the future of this Civil War rivalry remains in question.
- Washington State won the Apple Cup, 24-19 win against Washington. WSU QB John Mateer threw for 245 yards and one TD while leading the Cougars on the ground with 16 carries for 62 yards and another two TDs. The Cougars solidified the neutral-site win at the Seahawks’ stadium with a late goal-line stand.
But it was a rivalry in the East that stole the show:
- The Backyard Brawl between West Virginia and Pitt proved to be one of the most exciting games yesterday. The Panthers were victorious 38-34, marking their second consecutive come-from-behind win. The Mountaineers’ Justin Robinson made a one-handed TD catch in the fourth quarter that was highlight-worthy, but Pitt scored two TDs in the final 3:06. Panthers coach Pat Narduzzi didn’t shy away from his thoughts on the officiating: “We beat West Virginia in the Backyard Brawl, and we beat the officials, too, in the same game,” he said. Narduzzi’s Panthers had 12 penalties for 112 yards while WVU was called for seven for 67 yards.
Quick Snaps
A whooping cough outbreak at Portland State caused the Vikings to call off their game versus South Dakota.
Nebraska is 3-0 for the first time since 2016 with Big Ten play on deck. The Huskers avoided a misstep in a 34-3 win against Northern Iowa yesterday.
What did we learn about the College Football Playoff race in Week 3? The SEC could dominate this year’s field … and one of its teams is still massively underrated.
Read Stewart Mandel’s Final Thoughts from Week 3 here.
You can buy tickets to every college football game here.
For streaming info on Fubo, click here.
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Texas
Texas A&M Forward Transfer Seemingly on Visit to See Lady Vols Basketball | Rocky Top Insider

Lady Vols basketball is looking to add more pieces to its 2026-27 roster with high-level experience. After completing her junior season at Texas A&M, Fatmata Janneh has emerged as a Tennessee target for her final year of eligibility. According to her Instagram story on Sunday night, she is in Knoxville.
With the Aggies a year ago, the 6-foot-2 forward averaged 11.4 points per game on 43.3% shooting from the field. She also showed off an ability to hit from range, posting 1.1 makes per game on 33% shooting from three.
Perhaps Janneh’s biggest strength is her rebounding, though. She ripped down 9.7 boards per contest, good for the fifth-most in the SEC. This featured 2.6 rebounds on the offensive end per outing.
Janneh also averaged 1.1 assists, 1.4 steals and 0.4 blocks per game. She appeared in 27 games, starting in each.
More From RTI: How Watching The NCAA Tournament Drew Terrence Hill Jr. To Tennessee Basketball
Janneh started her career with a pair of seasons at St. Peter’s. As a sophomore, she averaged a double-double, posting 18.2 points and 11.6 rebounds per game. This made her a sought-after transfer in the portal before landing at Texas A&M as the nation’s leading defensive rebounder. As a freshman, she averaged 11.0 points and 8.0 rebounds.
The forward is from London, England, attending Barking Abbey Sixth Form for her prep ball. She would be the second player from England to join the Tennessee roster if she committed. UT also added the commitment of incoming freshman and former Boston College signee Irene Oboavwoduo this offseason.
So far, Caldwell and the Lady Vols have landed five transfers in this portal cycle. This features Liberty guard Avery Mills, Northern Arizona guard Naomi White, Stanford forward Harper Peterson and Georgia forward Zhen Craft and guard Rylie Theuerkauf.
Tennessee will also roster a pair of incoming freshmen. Four-star recruit and top-50 prospect Gabby Minus is staying true to her signing despite the roster overhaul and assistant coaching changes, along with the addition of Oboavwoduo.
Texas
Texas needs at least $174 billion to avoid water crisis, state says
AUSTIN (Texas Tribune) — Texas communities will need to spend $174 billion in the next 50 years to avert a severe water crisis, a new state analysis revealed Thursday. That’s more than double the $80 billion projected four years ago, when the Texas Water Development Board last passed a state water plan.
The three-member board presiding over the agency authorized the highly anticipated draft blueprint Thursday, the first administrative step toward adopting the water development board’s plans for the next 50 years. The plan, released every five years, encompasses the projects that 16 regional water planning groups in Texas said are the most urgent, water development board officials said.
The board’s latest estimates come as the state’s water supply faces numerous threats. Growing communities across Texas are scrambling to secure water, keep up with construction costs and cope with a yearslong drought. This week, Corpus Christi officials said the city may be just months away from declaring a water emergency. Meanwhile, other rural cities by the Coastal Bend are rapidly drilling wells to avoid a crisis. Residents in North Texas have also been bracing for groundwater shortages.
In an effort to restrain the crisis, lawmakers last year called an election in which voters approved a $20 billion boost for communities to use on water-related expenses. The water development board’s estimate shows that what lawmakers proposed on the ballot falls dramatically short of the needed cash, experts said.
“What this number tells me at the end of the day is if we don’t get serious about (funding water projects), there are going to be serious consequences for Texas,” said Perry Fowler, executive director of the Texas Water Infrastructure Network. “Even with the billion-dollar-a-year plan kicking in, it’s not going to be enough to offset the costs of the projects that are going to have to be executed.”
The new estimate accounts for 3,000 projects, from regional infrastructure upgrades to smaller endeavors such as drilling new water wells. Texas’ water supplies are expected to drop by roughly 10% between 2030 and 2080, according to the water plan. In that same time frame, the maximum amount of water communities can draw is also expected to decline by 9%.
The 80-page plan notes approximately 6,700 recommended strategies that would add water to the state’s dwindling portfolio. The recommendations — which are not accounted for in the cost — include developing new supplies from aquifer storage and recovery, brackish groundwater, desalination and recycled water. It also calls for water conservation.
The report suggested that if Texas does not implement the plans and recommendations, the state is one severe drought away from an estimated $91 billion in economic damages in 2030.
The state’s plan attributes a variety of reasons for the bigger price tag, such as higher costs of construction due to inflation, impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on supply chains, and a growing backlog of water supply projects.
“There’s a plan that can meet our needs,” said Matt Nelson, deputy executive administrator for the Office of Planning at the water development board, adding that they take their cues from the regional planning groups. “These are local projects that folks need to implement; they’re needed regardless of how they’re funded. It’s important to remember these are not top-down projects or state projects.”
Experts told The Texas Tribune that the board’s estimate is only a fraction of what Texas communities will need to ensure they have water in 50 years’ time, saying growth and development are outpacing the state’s ability to keep up.
“This is a bigger water plan in terms of volume strategies and capital costs compared to anything we’ve ever seen before,” said Jeremy Mazur, the director of infrastructure and natural resources policy at think tank Texas 2036.
Mazur suggested that the $174 billion only covers water supply projects and does not account for updating aging infrastructure, adding that the actual price could amount to a quarter of a trillion dollars.
“There’s a substantial magnitude with regard to the capital investment needed to both fix our aging and current systems and potentially develop the water infrastructure, water supply projects that we need.“
The report largely confirmed what many water experts have warned regarding threats to the state’s water supply, said Sarah Kirkle, director of policy at the Texas Water Association.
“Population growth, extreme weather, and economic development needs are all increasing demands on our infrastructure, and the state is going to need more water, sooner,” Kirkle said. “This is all while water projects are becoming more costly and complex because the easiest and cheapest local projects have already been developed.”
Fowler, with the infrastructure network, said he expects the Texas Legislature to take up the issue next year, when lawmakers meet for the 90th legislative session. He said the state should take a bigger role in ensuring that communities can afford their respective water projects.
“It’s going to have to be a top-down priority, there’s no way around it,” he said. “The challenges are so immense that it’s going to take all hands on deck.”
Texas residents have until the end of May to comment on the proposal. Water development board officials must adopt it by January 2027.
Alejandra Martinez contributed to this story.
This article originally appeared in The Texas Tribune at www.texastribune.org. The Texas Tribune is a nonprofit, nonpartisan media organization that informs Texans – and engages with them – about public policy, politics, government and statewide issues.
Texas
Co‑worker confesses to killing missing North Texas man and stealing his car, police say
A North Texas man reported missing earlier this week was found dead Friday, and police say a co‑worker has confessed to fatally shooting him and stealing his car.
The suspect, Gregory D. Lewis, 34, remains in custody and faces a forthcoming capital murder charge, according to the Fort Worth Police Department.
Lewis is accused of killing 31‑year‑old Thomas King, who had been last seen in his Taco Casa work uniform. King was reported missing on Tuesday after failing to return home Monday from the fast‑food restaurant in the 1100 block of Bridgewood Drive.
Car found at Arlington motel
Police said King’s car was found at the Quality Inn on I‑20 in Arlington, and surveillance video showed Lewis arriving in King’s vehicle shortly after King left work.
Detectives identified the man in the video and arrested him on unrelated charges.
Body discovered on Fort Worth’s East Side
King’s body was located on Friday in an open field on Fort Worth’s East Side, authorities said.
According to police, Lewis confessed to shooting the victim and stealing his car.
Medical examiner review pending
The Tarrant County Medical Examiner will determine the cause of death.
CBS News Texas has reached out to Taco Casa for comment.
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