College Betting Recap - Week 6

Top 25 Betting Recap - Week 6
By Mike Rose
VegasInsider.com

Week 6 of the 2013 NCAA football betting season is in the books, and today, we're going to take a look at each of the Top 25 teams in the land and see how they fared from an ATS perspective over the course of this past week.

(Results in parentheses represent SU Result-ATS Result)

1: Alabama (W-L vs. Georgia State 45-3)
It still wasn't quite what Nick Saban was hoping for. Bama is now just 2-3 ATS and looks beatable.

2: Oregon (W-W vs. Colorado 57-16)
Oregon had 29 on the board in the first quarter and Marcus Mariota finished with seven total TDs.

3: Clemson (W-W vs. Syracuse 49-14)
Clemson continues to march, as a 35-7 lead at halftime was good enough to pound the 'Cuse at the Carrier Dome.

4: Ohio State (W-W vs. Northwestern 40-30)
It was dangerous every step of the way, but the Buckeyes did best the Wildcats and cover the closing number in one of the most incredible frontdoor covers in the history of sportsbetting.

5: Stanford (W-L vs. Washington 31-28)
Washington hit the backdoor to cover against the Cardinal, but the win was never in doubt.

6: Georgia (W-L vs. Tennessee 34-31)
Georgia really had no business beating Tennessee and was lucky to survive.

7: Louisville (W-L vs. Temple 30-7)
Ho hum. Another 348 yards for Teddy Ballgame.

8: Florida State (W-W vs. Maryland 63-0)
FSU might be the most dangerous team in the country, and Jameis Winston might be the new Heisman favorite after torching the Terps.

9: Texas A&M (Bye)
Kevin Sumlin might have spent the off week preparing his resume for the jobs at USC or Texas.

10: LSU (W-W vs. Mississippi State 59-26)
This was a 31-26 game at the end of the third quarter, and then the floodgates opened.

11: Oklahoma (W-L vs. TCU 20-17)
The OU defense strikes again, holds the Horned Frogs to just 210 yards of total offense in an ugly three-point triumph.

12: UCLA (W-W vs. Utah 34-27)
It was never an easy game, but the Bruins put down the Utes in SLC and moved up in the polls as a result.

13: South Carolina (W-L vs. Kentucky 35-28)
Think Jadeveon Clowney even cares about SC any longer? He sat out because he was "sore" and Steve Spurrier doesn't seem to care about him anymore. Another non-cover for the 'ol ball coach.

14: Miami (W-W vs. Georgia Tech 45-30)
The Canes dropped over 550 yards on the Yellow Jackets, and they needed every single one of those yards to pull out the home win and cover.

15: Washington (L-W vs. Stanford 31-28)
Keith Price torched the Stanford defense for 350 yards and a pair of TD strikes in Saturday's tough defeat; it gets no easier next week with Oregon paying a visit to Seattle.

16: Northwestern (L-L vs. Ohio State 40-30)
The Wildcats represented themselves well, but they were never good enough to beat OSU; they're carelessness at the end of the game saw a whole bunch of money exchange hands the other way.

17: Baylor (W-W vs. West Virginia 73-42)
In two games against WVU since it joined the Big 12, the Bears now have 1,564 yards, 72 first downs, and 136 points… and a 1-1 record.

18: Florida (W-W vs. Arkansas 30-10)
UF fell behind 7-0 early, but once it got rolling, it was never tested by the Hogs.

19: Michigan (W-W vs. Minnesota 42-13)
It took 28 second half points to really put aside the Golden Gophers once and for all.

20: Texas Tech (W-W vs. Kansas 54-16)
The Red Raiders were down 10-0 in the middle of the second quarter, and then they rolled off 54 straight points to down the pitiful Jayhawks.

21: Oklahoma State (W-L vs. Kansas State 33-29)
Don't be shocked if the Cowboys are facing a four or a five-loss season. They were once again lucky to escape against KSU.

22: Arizona State (L-L vs. Notre Dame 37-34)
The Sun Devils drop out of the Top 25 after QB Taylor Kelly threw away a chance at beating the Irish.

23: Fresno State (W-W vs. Idaho 61-14)
Fresno State dropped 47 on Idaho in the first half before the team finally stopped laughing.

24: Ole Miss (L-L vs. Auburn 30-22)
It was predicted to be a tough game, but the Rebels will still drop out of the Top 25 as a result of falling to Auburn and looking real mediocre in doing so.

25: Maryland (L-L vs. Florida State 63-0)
The Terps never did end up beating Florida State in Tallahassee in school history, and they'll be glad to be done with Doak Campbell Stadium after losing 63-0 Saturday.

Week 6 Rewind
By Brian Edwards
VegasInsider.com

Every bettor has had one of those games. More than likely, avid gamblers have at least a dozen bad beats that will never be forgotten.

On Saturday night in Evanston, I backed Northwestern as a seven-point home underdog in a game I had literally been eyeing since June. Everything set up perfectly for the Wildcats, who had two weeks to prepare for unbeaten Ohio State.

The Buckeyes were playing their sixth game in six weeks and fell into a vintage letdown situation. That’s because they had beaten Wisconsin the previous week in their biggest game of the season since the Badgers are the only threat to OSU in the Leaders Division.

Northwestern jumped out to an early lead and was in control of the game for the first three quarters. However, Pat Fitzgerald’s team had settled for three short field goals (23, 29 & 32-yarders) on trips into the red zone.

A 23-13 Northwestern lead late in the third quarter turned into a 27-23 deficit with 10:52 remaining after Ohio St. RB Carlos Hyde scored on a pair of touchdowns runs. The Wildcats answered on a 12-yard scoring strike from Trevor Siemian to Cameron Dickerson for a 30-27 advantage with 9:10 left.

Urban Meyer’s team went back in front 34-30 on Hyde’s third touchdown scamper from seven yards out with 5:22 remaining. Northwestern put together several first downs and was on the move in Buckeyes’ territory facing a fourth-and-inches play with 2:43 left.

QB Kain Colter moved from the shotgun under center at the last second to attempt a sneak. Colter initially bobbled the snap but quickly scooped the ball up and surged forward. Replays clearly indicated that his forward progress went beyond the yellow line for a first-down gain. But Northwestern was given a terrible spot and despite challenging the play, replay officials upheld the inexplicable call.

Northwestern burned its final two timeouts and forced a punt with a three and out. But with just 21 seconds remaining when it got the ball back, there was little hope. At this point, Northwestern backers simply wanted to avoid a pick-six or a scoop and score.

Ohio St. got a sack on the first play. After spiking the ball to stop the clock, there just a few ticks left. Northwestern threw a pass beyond its 20 and then a few laterals, the last of which was deflected by a Buckeye defender sending the ball bouncing toward the end zone.

A Northwestern player had the first and best shot at recovering the ball, which would’ve resulted in a safety and still allowed gamblers on the Wildcats to cash tickets. But the Northwestern player couldn’t secure the ball and OSU’s Joey Bosa recovered it for an unlikely TD.

Therefore, Ohio St.’s 40-30 victory resulted in undoubtedly the worst wrong-side winner of the 2013 college football campaign. In recent memory, I’d say only those that had Duke as a double-digit underdog in its crazy bowl game against Cincinnati last season can claim a more unfortunate loser.

The Buckeyes improved to 18-0 under Urban Meyer, but the win over 15th-ranked Northwestern is their only triumph over a school ranked higher than No. 20. They will be double-digit favorites in every remaining game until the regular-season finale at Michigan.

Meanwhile, Northwestern has zero time to sulk with a trip to Camp Randall to face Wisconsin looming on Saturday. As of early Monday afternoon, most books had the Badgers favored by 10.

Another Week 6 thriller went down at Neyland Stadium in Knoxville, where Tennessee had a great shot at beating a ranked team for the first time since a 2009 home win over South Carolina.

Playing without All-American RB Todd Gurley (ankle), Georgia was going to be fine thanks to the presence of back-up Keith Marshall, who would start at just about any other school in America. But Marshall went down in the first quarter with a torn ACL that will keep him out for the rest of the season.

Nevertheless, UGA took a 17-3 lead into halftime and the UT faithful were getting restless. The third quarter began with a three and out for the Vols, and then the Bulldogs promptly marched into the red zone.

But the drive stalled and UGA’s Marshall Morgan missed a 39-yard field-goal attempt. Suddenly UT had life if it could get anything going offensively. And that’s exactly what happened as Butch Jones’s team marched 78 yards on seven plays.

Justin Worley’s 33-yard pass to Alton Howard was the big play of the drive that was capped by a 19-yard scoring strike from Worley to MarQuez North. Just like that, the crowd was back into it and we had a ballgame.

Late in the third quarter, UGA was punting from deep in its own territory when Tennessee got a block. Devaun Swafford scooped up the loose ball a trotted 15 yards into the end zone to tie the game.

From there, UGA players started dropping like flies with injuries. Mark Richt’s team was already without Gurley and Marshall, two of the nation’s top RBs, not to mention leading returning receiver Malcolm Mitchell, who tore his ACL in the season-opening loss at Clemson. Then WR Justin Scott-Wesley went down with a season-ending injury and WR Michael Bennett also left the game.

Aaron Murray was surrounded by third-string players in the huddle, but he responded with a huge play. On a second and five, Murray got first-down yardage on a QB draw and then got greedy. He split a pair of defenders at the second level and went 57 yards before being stopped at the three. Brendan Douglas, a true freshman and ‘two-star recruit,’ punched it in for a 24-17 UGA lead on the next play.

UGA appeared to get a three and out but had too many players on the field for the fourth-down punt. The five-yard penalty made it fourth and one for UT on its own 34. Jones decided to roll the dice and go for it. Rajion Neal made the gamble pay off when he raced 43 yards for a first down and then some.

Five plays later, Neal scored on a one-yard plunge to tie it up again. With 1:54 remaining, Neal scored again on a seven-yard run to cap a 13-play, 75-yard scoring drive, giving the Vols a 31-24 advantage.

But Murray didn’t flinch. The senior signal caller calmly marched his team into scoring position. Working without any timeouts, Georgia faced a third and goal from UT’s two with five ticks left. Murray threw a dart to Rantavious Wooten on a short slant for a TD to force overtime.

On UT’s opening possession of the extra session, it appeared to take the lead on a seven-yard TD run from Pig Howard. However, as Howard lunged toward the pylon, replays showed that he lost control of the ball just inches before it would’ve crossed the plane. Therefore, a review of the play accurately overruled the score and declared it a touchback since the ball bounced into the end zone and then out of bounds.

UT’s defense stuffed UGA to force a long field goal for the win. Morgan, who had made a 56-yarder in the first quarter before his 39-yard miss, buried a 42-yarder to complete UGA’s Great Escape from Rocky Top.

Tennessee took the cash as a 13½-point underdog after the line moved up from 10 ½ with heavy action on the Dawgs coming into the books on Saturday. Due to OT, the 65 combined points slipped ‘over’ the 64½-point total to improve to a perfect 5-0 in Georgia games this season.

But the victory was bittersweet for UGA. Marshall and Scott-Wesley are done for the year and Bennett could miss an extended period of time. Bennett is out for Saturday’s home game against Missouri and will have his knee scoped on Tuesday. Gurley remains ‘questionable’ for the Tigers.

Speaking of Gary Pinkel’s squad, it improved to 5-0 with a 51-28 win at Vanderbilt as a 2½-point road favorite. James Franklin threw four TD passes without an interception and accounted for 341 yards (278 passing, 63 rushing). Franklin has a 13/3 TD-INT ratio for the season and two rushing scores.

Florida upped its SEC record to 3-0 with a 30-10 win over Arkansas as a 13 ½-point home favorite. Tyler Murphy continued to exceed expectations with another solid performance. The fourth-year junior threw for 240 yards and three TDs without an interception. Since replacing Jeff Driskel, Murphy has completed 72.2 percent of his passes with a 5/1 TD-INT ratio and two rushing scores.

The Gators will bring their stout defense that’s giving up only 12.2 points per game into Baton Rouge this week to face LSU’s high-octane offense. The Tigers are favored by seven.

Unlike Georgia (at least for ATS purposes), LSU didn’t fall victim to the letdown situation. Les Miles’s bunch overcame a second-quarter deficit and poured it on Mississippi St. in the second half of a 59-26 win as a seven-point road ‘chalk.’

Zach Mettenberger threw for 340 yards and two TDs, Odell Beckham Jr. caught nine balls for 179 yards and two TDs and Jeremy Hill ran for 157 yards and two scores. Also, there was a Kenny Hilliard sighting in Starkville as the MVP of the 2011 SEC Championship Game finally got some touches and responded with three rushing TDs.

Auburn announced its presence as a possible SEC West contender with a 30-22 win over Ole Miss as a short home underdog. Even if AU doesn’t stay in the division mix, it has certainly done enough in its 4-1 start to be considered a potential spoiler. Remember, Gus Malzahn’s team faces Georgia and Alabama on The Plains in November.

South Carolina has crushed the pockets of its backers by allowing three consecutive backdoor covers in wins over Vandy, UCF and Kentucky. The Gamecocks beat UK 35-28 with Jadeveon Clowney sitting out due to bruised ribs. Steve Spurrier and defensive coordinator Lorenzo Ward made it clear after the win over the ‘Cats that they weren’t happy with Clowney’s unwillingness to play.

Miami, FL. stayed undefeated and hooked up their backers in a 45-30 win over Ga. Tech as a 6 ½-point home favorite. The Hurricanes get an open date before playing at North Carolina next Thursday.

Florida State finally played a decent opponent and wasted no time in demolishing Maryland by a 63-0 count as a 16 ½-point home favorite. The Seminoles knocked Terrapins’ QB C.J. Brown out of the game with a concussion in the second quarter. Jameis Winston threw for 393 yards and five TDs without an interception to remain in Heisman contention.

The ‘Noles are 4-1 ATS and they’ve seen the ‘over’ cash at a 5-0 clip. They are off this week and therefore get two weeks to prepare for a showdown at Clemson on Oct. 19.

Clemson took care of business and got the money in a 49-14 win at Syracuse. Tajh Boyd, another Heisman hopeful, threw for 455 yards and five TDs.

Virginia Tech has quietly won five consecutive games following its 27-17 win over North Carolina as an eight-point favorite. Senior QB Logan Thomas had his best game of the year, throwing for 293 yards and three TDs without being picked off.

4th Quarter Covers - Week 6
By Joe Nelson
VegasInsider.com

Glancing at the scoreboard won't tell you the whole story in most games. Here are the games that went down to the wire relative to the spread in the fourth quarter last week in the sixth weekend of college football to start out the month of October. Each week there are several teams that cover despite not necessarily deserving it, as well as other teams that played much better than the final score shows, get the details in this weekly column.

UCLA (-6½) 34, Utah 27: The late game Thursday night featured a line that jumped around throughout the week, opening at -4 and climbing to -7 before settling at -6 or -6½. With a wild fourth quarter those small differences would matter in a big way. Early in the fourth quarter an interception return touchdown for Utah tied the game but the Utes had their own turnover problems with six interceptions in the game. UCLA added a field goal and after an interception deep in Utah territory they added a touchdown to go up by 10 with just over three minutes to go. Utah would add a field goal to cut the margin to seven and they got the onside kick with just under two minutes to go. The Utes were running short on time but they were down to the UCLA 23 when the sixth interception for Travis Wilson ended the game.

San Diego State (-6) 51, Nevada 44: The Aztecs appeared to be on cruise control for a comfortable home win Friday night with a 44-23 lead heading into the fourth quarter as a slight home favorite. Nevada put up 21 points in the fourth quarter while San Diego State had a missed field goal and failed going for it on a 4th down play as they could not seal the game with Nevada scoring the tying touchdown with less than two minutes to go. Those on the underdog had the improbable comeback hopes dashed in overtime however as San Diego State went first in the extra session, getting seven and Nevada came up empty.

Navy (-13½) 28, Air Force 10: Much of the week it was not clear this game would go on with the government shutdown creating some hurdles but the rivalry continued. Air Force led 10-7 at the half and trailed by just four well into the fourth quarter but Air Force had two turnovers and a failed 4th down effort in the fourth quarter with two of those lost possessions coming deep in Navy territory. The Midshipmen added two touchdowns taking advantage of the opportunities and good field position to earn the late cover.

Boston College (-12) 48, Army 27: The Army run defense appeared to be part of the government shutdown as well as Boston College running back Andre Williams had five rushing touchdowns but the Eagles led by just four halfway through the third quarter and were short of the spread up by 11 entering the fourth. Boston College added 10 points in the first few minutes of the final frame to pull away despite allowing Army to post 427 yards.

Miami, FL (-7) 45, Georgia Tech 30: The Hurricanes were a heavily bet team as a small home favorite last week but they led by just a single-point after Georgia Tech missed an extra point following a touchdown with just over 10 minutes to go in the game. Miami hit a big pass play on the next drive to bring the lead to eight, past the spread for the first time, and Georgia Tech was intercepted on fourth down in Miami territory on its next possession. Miami added two more touchdowns in the final minutes with the second score coming on defense to put the game away. Georgia Tech's final touchdown came with 10 seconds to go but this was a much closer game than the final numbers.

LSU (-8) 59, Mississippi State 26: Well into the third quarter LSU only led by two points in this game as the final score was very misleading. A field goal pushed the margin to five points entering the fourth but LSU scored four touchdowns in the final frame including two in the first minute of the quarter to create a deceptive final score.

Michigan (-19) 42, Minnesota 13: Michigan was short of the spread up 18 entering the fourth quarter and Minnesota trimmed the margin to 15 points with 10 minutes to go in the game. Michigan scored two touchdowns in the final three minutes, the second score coming on an interception return touchdown to create a misleading final score as Michigan scored 42 points on just 348 yards.

Rutgers (-4½) 55, SMU 52: Rutgers was in control early in this game and with two late third quarter scores the Knights led 35-14 entering the fourth. SMU scored early in the fourth but missed the extra point, leaving them still down two after two touchdowns in an improbable late comeback in the final four minutes. SMU made a spectacular conversion to send the game to overtime, leaving the spread result still in doubt. Both teams traded touchdowns in the first two overtimes with the defenses struggling but SMU was backed up going first in the third overtime, settling for a field goal. Rutgers punched in the touchdown to win by three but leaving the cover for the home underdog in a wild finish.

Troy (-3½) 34, South Alabama 33: Troy led 24-7 at one point and still sat up by 11 entering the fourth quarter. With just over five minutes to go a field goal put Troy up 27-19 but South Alabama made a great late comeback charge for the second straight week, getting two touchdowns in the final three minutes, the second score coming on a 65-yard play to put the Jaguars up by six with 48 seconds to go. The Trojans brilliantly executed the two-minute drill despite the limited time with four pass plays getting out of bounds to stop the clock and then connecting on a 20-yard touchdown pass to tie the game with seven seconds to go. The extra-point sealed the win but left Troy short of the small favorite spread. With a second on the clock South Alabama did get 50 yards on the final play but they were still well short of the end zone.

Stanford (-9½) 31, Washington 28: Stanford had a 10-point lead much of the game but could not pull away from a Washington squad that posted a huge yardage edge. Well into the fourth quarter Stanford still led by 10, narrowly past the spread as they intercepted a pass when Washington had 1st and goal with just over six minutes to go. Washington forced a three-and-out with great tackling and it did not take the Huskies long to find the end zone with a couple of big plays, cutting the lead to three with under three minutes to go. Washington again made a defensive stand on 3rd and one and the Huskies were in business with almost two minutes to go. The Huskies survived a replay challenge early in the drive but on 4th down a successful catch was surprisingly overturned on replay in another controversial moment for the Pac-12 officials to end the upset bid, though Washington covered as an underdog.

Northern Illinois (-9½) 38, Kent State 24: The Huskies trailed into the third quarter in this rematch of the 2012 MAC Championship game but they took a four-point lead into the final frame. With 10 points in the fourth Northern Illinois climbed past the road favorite spread with the key play being breaking up a fourth down play with Kent State inside the ten with less than five minutes to go.

Ohio State (-7) 40, Northwestern 30: The Wildcats led by 10 early in the third quarter, settling for three consecutive short field goals but the Buckeyes would come back with consecutive touchdowns, taking a four-point lead early in the fourth quarter. It did not take long for Northwestern to answer as they quickly moved down the field and eventually found the end zone, back up by three and looking in good shape for an underdog cover. Ohio State would take the lead back and down four Northwestern failed on a key fourth down, getting what many felt was a terrible spot on a close play. The Wildcats were able to get the ball back but with less than 30 seconds to go. Taking a sack on first down with no timeouts seemed to be the end but the Wildcats spiked to stop the clock for one last play, one that will live in infamy in the sportsbooks. Attempting a long shot play with multiple laterals, there was a fumble and Ohio State jumped on the ball in a scramble in the end zone to create a massive money shift with the spread result flipping.

Week 6 News & Notes – Part 1
By Phil Steele
Philsteele.com

The story of the Utah/UCLA game was 6 interceptions by Travis Wilson although not all 6 were his fault. He hit 22-44-288 and there were some dropped passes. As it was, even with the 6-2 TO deficit, Utah, down 7, had a review on a possible td pass when the receiver caught the ball and clipped the pylon but his foot was not down inbounds. On 4&10 they were intercepted at the UCLA12. Utah did have a 14-7 lead in the 1Q in a game played in temps in the 40’s. It was 24-24 early 4Q but UCLA got a 36 yard td run with 3:33 left to go up by 10. Utah got a 37 yard FG with 2:04 left and recovered the onside kick. After the review, Wilson was intercepted at the 12 and returned 43 yards with :16 left. UCLA only had a 404-387 yard edge and Utah a 22-20 FD edge.

San Diego St/Nevada was a game of momentum shifts. It was good to see Cody Fajardo back in the lineup for UN. He hit 33-51-393. SDSt’s Adam Muema also appears to be getting back into form after not being 100% earlier in the year. He rushed for 134 yards on 24 carries. Quinn Kaehler hit 23-32-286. UN led 17-14 and was punting with :46 left in the half. However, the snap went through the P’s hands, who then kicked it out of the endzone for a safety and then following the free kick, SDSt went 64/6pl with a 25 yard td pass with :09 left to lead 23-17. The appeared to have the game wrapped up leading 44-30 when they missed a 39 yard FG with 10:36 left. UN would then regain momentum going 78/14pl for a td with 6:26 left to get back within 7 and then SDSt went for it on 4&5 and fired incomplete at the UN40 with 3:13 left. UN went 60/6pl for a 5 yard td pass with 1:38 left, 44-44. In OT SDSt got a13 yard td pass on 3&9 and UN, on 4&11, fired incomplete.

The key story of the BYU/Utah St game was the Aggies losing starting QB Chuckie Keeton (out for year) with 3:50 left in the 1Q. Keeton had only hit 4-10-26 yards. Craig Harrison replaced him and hit 18-41-185. Keeton had 17 yards rushing, Harrison finished with 6 carries for 38 yards. Keeton’s first pass of the game was intercepted by Kyle Van Noy and returned 17 yards for a td. BYU led 17-7 at the half but with only a 189-187 yard edge. They extended it to 31-7 after 3Q’s. The Aggies were SOD at the BYU21 with 12:47 left but then took over with 5:53 left and went 88/11pl capped by an 8 yard garbage td pass with 1:34 left to skew the stats as they were only outgained 438-397 thanks to that drive.

The Texas/Iowa St game was controversial with HC Paul Rhoads holding an irate press conference over the apparent fumble by Texas near the goal line. ISt did finish with a 463-363 yard edge. There were numerous momentum changes in this game. UT got a 44-yard Hail Mary just before the half to lead 17-13. In the 3Q, on ISt’s 2nd drive, the Cyclones were pinned at their own 2 but on 3&9, got a 97 yard Richardson-to-Bundrage td pass. UT retook the lead, 24-20, but then fumbled early 4Q, setting up an ISt 37/3pl drive and UT trailed 27-24. ISt had a chance to put it away as they had a FD at the UT13 but on 3&3 fired incomplete and settled for a 29 yard FG leaving the Horns in the game. UT, on 3&8, got a pass interference which gave them a FD at the 2. On the next play, RB Johnathan Gray was ruled down but the ISt DL had taken the ball out of his hands and started running down the field. Replays were inconclusive and the play stood. On the next down, he fumbled again, but got it back himself scraping the ball off the goal line. A Case McCoy QB sneak gave UT a 31-30 lead and ISt was intercepted on 3&4 at its own 42. ISt came into the game the least penalized team in the league but had 10 penalties for 118 yards, while the Horns had 6 for 62. Sam B. Richardson appears to get healthier each week and hit 16-26-262 while also rushing for 83 yards with many key 3rd down runs keeping drives alive.

The key story for ULM/WKU game actually took place before the game even started. ULM had lost 4th year starting Sr QB Kolton Browning to injury in the previous game. Brayle Brown got his first start and did well hitting 21-40-275 but only had 5 yards rushing on 4 carries whereas Browning is more of a dual-threat QB. Last week WKU played as many as 4 QB’s. Here, Brandon Doughty played the entire game hitting 24-36-370. WKU had a 530-391 yard edge. Leading 14-10 WKU had a 1&gl at the 1 with :03 left in the half and opted to go for the td but was stuffed. ULM failed to capitalize on the momentum after returning from the break and WKU opened the 3Q going 80/7pl and then, after a 25 yard PR, 41/8pl for a td and a 22 yard FG to lead 24-10. Two possessions later they went 89/14pl for a td, 31-10 and ULM’s last 2 drives ended on a SOD at the WKU37 and an interception at the WKU23. They also fumbled a punt at their own 12 with 2:09 left.

The Department of Defense finally decided to allow Air Force and Navy to play. A record crowd of 38,225 filled Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. This game was closer than the final score would indicate. AF had a 19-18 FD edge and Navy a 327-313 yard edge. AF settled for a 45 yard FG in the 1Q after a 13 play drive and missed a 50 yard FG after a 14 play drive to only lead 3-0. They had a 202-120 yard edge and a 10-7 lead at the half. AF trailed just 14-10 when they were SOD at the N34 on 4&2 with 14:30 left. Navy went 66/11pl for a td. AF fumbled at its own 38 after an 8 yd reception (8:24), then was intercepted at its own 27 with 5:48 left. Navy took 3 plays to reach the endzone and go up by 17. On the Falcons final drive they brought Nate Romine in at QB and after 2 FD’s to the N39 he was intercepted at the 29 with 2:35 left.

Louisville’s Teddy Bridgewater lost one of his favorite receivers in DeVante Parker who had 6 td’s coming in. Bridgewater still hit 25-35-348 vs an overmatched Temple. Temple benched starting QB Connor Reilly in the 2Q after he hit just 3-7-25 yards. PJ Walker hit 10-19-182. UL scored on all 4 of its 1H possessions going 79/11pl, 85/8pl, 61/8pl and 81/7pl for 3 td’s and a short 22 yard FG and led 24-0 with a 325-120 yard edge. It was 30-0 when TU blk’d a punt with 1:23 left. They drove 26/3pl to avoid the shutout getting a 9 yard td pass with :38 left.

You would think when playing in Texas at the start of October it would be hot with the conditions favoring SMU but it was 60-degrees and raining at game time vs Rutgers. Garrett Gilbert for SMU hit 45-70-484 and 5 td’s in a wild 3OT game. Rutgers was without the nation’s leading rusher, Paul James, but Justin Goodwin filled in rushing 24 times for 149 yards and had 3 td’s and 73 yards receiving on 2 receptions. Rutgers led 35-14 but SMU battled back and tied it with 1:19 left then recovered a fumble but could not get close enough for a FG at the end of regulation. Each team scored a td in the first 2 OT’s with RU getting theirs on a 3&24, 29 yard pass. In the 3OT SMU settled for a 37 yard FG and Goodwin got a 17 yard td run to give RU the 3 pt win. SMU had actually trailed at the half, 21-7 but only was outgained 192-165 as the C snapped the ball when the QB wasn’t ready and RU recovered for a td for one of their scores. It was not supposed to rain but it did and it was also very windy with Rutgers having the wind at their back in the 1Q, SMU in the 2&3Q’s and RU in the 4Q. SMU finished with a 558-474 yard edge.

Boston College’s Andre Williams, who is the ACC’s rushing leader this year, tied a school record for single game rushing yards but then lost a yard on his final carry of the game to finish with 263 and did not get the record. The record was 264 yards set by Montel Harris in 2009 and Williams did not play on the last series of the game after losing that yard. BC did have troubles with the Army option allowing 326 yards rushing, 427 yards overall and in fact in the 1H they trailed 17-14 before going 51/6pl, and 66/5pl for td’s. They led 31-20 at half with only a 297-266 yard edge. Army got an 80 yard td run by Larry Dixon to pull within 31-27 but BC then went 93/13pl, and 68/9pl for a td and 28 yard FG, 41-27. After an interception, BC went 38/2pl for a td to clinch it, 48-27 with 12:27 left and Army punted on its next 2 drives.

The last 2 weeks Texas Tech’s Baker Mayfield started but did not finish the game after getting pulled. This past week he started and did well hitting 33-51-368 but then was injured and Davis Webb hit 3-6-36 in the 4Q. Kansas was giving TT quite a battle despite the final score and despite the fact TT had 31-15 FD and 518-273 yard edges. In fact, KU had jumped out to a 10-0 lead getting an interception on the first drive and driving 25 yards for a 36 yard FG then going 79/9pl for a td. It was 10-10 when KU faked a punt on 4&13 at its own 16 with 5:55 left in the half. That would change the game. TT got a 16 yard td run 3pl later and then, after a punt with 3:08 left, drove 68/9pl for a 25 yard FG to lead 20-10 at the half with a 290-144 yard edge. KU was intercepted on the first play of the 3Q and returned 36 yards and TT got a 4 yard td ‘drive’ then went 51/9pl for a 28 yard FG, and 80/12pl for a td to blow it open 37-10. TT added 50/5pl, 7/4pl (after fumble) and 6/3pl (after fumble) drives for td’s in the 4Q to make it 54-10.

The light bulb went on for Buffalo last week and it continued to shine. They had 24-17 FD and 452-329 yard edges vs Eastern Mich. In fact, EMU gained 143 of their yards on their final 2 drives of the game trailing 42-7 including a 75 yard run for a td with 1:20 left so UB dominated even more than the final score. Joe Licata hit 15-22-224 and Branden Oliver rushed 25 times for 150 yards. EMU pulled starting QB Tyler Benz on the 2nd series of the 2H and Brogan Roback hit 4-8-25 in his place.

Virginia’s defense came in with some great numbers but was shredded by a Ball St offense that put up 506 yards as Keith Wenning hit 23-41-346. UVA’s stagnant offense did put up 459 yards with 22 FD’s. UVA, in a 17-17 game, got to the BS36 at the end of the half but ran out of time. At the half the Cardinals had a slim 256-246 yard edge. Tied at 24, Ball St was SOD at the UVA22, but UVA was intercepted 3pl later and the Cardinals got a 32 yard td run by Jahwan Edwards 2pl later. Ball St then recovered a fumble, drove 11/6pl for a td then, after a 58/12pl UVA drive for a FG, got a 72 yard td pass to Williams. UVA was SOD at its own 48 and Ball St added a 48/6pl drive for a td for a somewhat misleading 21 pt win.

South Alabama rotated QB’s again with Ross Metheny hitting 15-21-236 and Brandon Bridge 11-20-235. Corey Robinson hit 20-26-210 for Troy. USA finished with a 630-434 yard edge. Troy appeared in control leading 17-7 at the half with USA missing a 22 yard FG with :13 left. USA had a 231-229 yard edge. Troy took its first 3Q possession 70/5pl drive for a td to extend it to 24-7 but USA chipped away. They had an extra point blocked after a 63/6pl drive for a td, then were SOD at the T5 (13:29 4Q). USA got a 56 yard td pass but went for 2 and it failed, 24-19. Trailing 27-19 USA got a td with 2:51 left but went for 2 and failed again. The Jaguars forced a punt with 1:27 left and USA was pinned at its 1. After 2 FD’s they got a 65 yard td pass to lead 33-27 with :48 left, their first lead of the game. Troy went 66/5pl and got a 20 yard td pass with :07 left to pull out the win.

Kyle Pohl for Akron came in having thrown for about 265 ypg in his last 4 games but Ohio held him to 11-26-101 yards in a surprisingly dominant win. Akron fumbled a punt into the EZ for a safety but would drive 49/9pl for a 31 yard FG and led 3-2. The rest of the game belonged to OU and they were up 30-3 at half with a 183-100 yard edge. OU was SOD at the UA1 in the 3Q but pulled away to 43-3 getting their final score on a 28 yard FG with 1:47 left. The Bobcats finished with a 362-157 yard edge.

Central Michigan/Miami, Oh both came in winless and both had 294 yards. MU missed two FG’s in the 1H and CMU one. At the half MU had a 184-80 yard edge but trailed 7-3 with CMU getting a 19 yard drive for a td after a 54 yard PR. CMU fumbled the punt and MU got a td but went for 2 and failed and only led 9-7 with 8:31 left in the 3Q. CMU then went on an 84/16pl drive for a td. The teams punted 3 times and CMU went 60/6pl for a td to go up by 2 scores, 21-9 with 6:13 left. MU’s last drive went 12pl but on 4&3 they were SOD at the CM40. CMU got a couple of FD’s to the 20 where they took a knee. Cooper Rush hit 11-21-110 and Saylor Lavallii rushed 25-151 for the Chips.

Nebraska had its 330th consecutive sellout and also an easy win over Illinois despite the fact that Taylor Martinez did not play. Tommy Armstrong hit 8-13-135 and only rushed for 9-18. UI QB Nathan Scheelhaase hit just 13-26-135 while rushing for just 11 yards (his weakest outing of the season). NU had a 521-372 yard edge although the FD’s were even at 24. NU went 57/7pl, 69/10pl, 62/18pl, and 71/10pl on their first 4 possessions for 3 td’s and a FG to lead 23-3. It was 23-5 at half. NU opened the 3Q with a 75/4pl td drive and later added a 37 yard td pass (after int) on 3&8 to go up 36-12. It was 39-12 with 5:16 left when they got a 32 yard FG and UI then went 75/12pl for a garbage td with :57 left making the final score and stats appear closer than they really were.

For North Carolina Bryn Renner was a late scratch but Marquise Williams’ mobility added a lot to the UNC offense. He hit 23-35-277 yards and also ran for 56 yards on 18 carries allowing UNC to pile up 376 yards vs the vaunted Virginia Tech D. Logan Thomas continues to show that solid improvement hitting 19-28-293 yards although he did rush for 2 yards on 9 carries. After the 1Q it was all VT as they led 7-0 and had a 139-26 yard edge. Down 14-0 UNC converted on 4&1 for a FD and would cap a 75/10pl drive with a td. It was VT 21-7 at the half with a 277-147 yard edge. There were 4 punts to open the 3Q and UNC got a 36 yard FG then had a 4&1 but was intercepted at the 7. UNC fumbled a punt at its own 16 and VT got a td for a commanding 27-10 lead with just 4:06 left. UNC did gain 86 of its yards on 13 plays getting a garbage td with 1:09 left but VT recovered the onside kick.

Many folks were expecting a showdown battle between a pair of undefeated, ranked teams. Maryland lost CJ Brown to an injury in the 2Q but he had hit just 6-14 for 82 yards. Caleb Rowe replaced him and hit 9-17-119 but this was a total blowout. Florida St finished with 33-9 FD and 614-234 yard edges and Jameis Winston was magical at times hitting 23-32-393 and also added 24 yards rushing. FSU only led 7-0 mid-2Q then drove 80/9pl and 78/9pl for td’s to lead 21-0 at the half with a 245-131 yard edge. The Noles would score td’s on their first 6 possessions of the 2H driving 94/7pl, 55/6pl, 83/10pl, 21/1pl (after fumble), 66/7pl and 24/1pl (after 28 yard PR) for their 63-0 rout. They did punt with 5:51 left on their 7th possession.

Indiana had never beaten Penn St going 0-16 but I called for them to get the upset win at home. Indy had talked about wanting to run the ball more and Tevin Coleman rushed for 92 yards on 20 carries. At the half IU settled for 24 and 27 yard FG’s at the end of 68 and 65 yard drives and led 13-7. Penn St led 21-17 after 3Q’s. IU went 73/11pl for a td then PSU went for it on 4&2 at their own 33 and was SOD. Nate Sudfeld hit a 36 yard td pass 2pl later. PSU fumbled the KO and they handed off to Tre Roberson for a 9 yard td run to make it 42-17 with 10:30 left. PSU drove 75/8pl getting a 14 yard td pass with 7:44 left but fumbled into the endzone for a safety then was SOD at its own 29 on the final 2 drives.

Everyone, including myself, expected a defensive battle between Michigan St and Iowa. While it was a low scoring game, the fact that Michigan St put up 412 yards vs a good Iowa D was a little surprising. They finished with 20-13 FD and 412-264 yard edges.Connor Cook hit 25-44-277 while Iowa’s Jake Rudock hit 26-46-241. MSU got a 46 yard td pass from Cook to Macgarrett Kings and led 10-0 with 6:18 left in the half but Iowa shockingly went 75/6pl capped by a 47 yard td pass and then 65/6pl with a 10 yard td pass to lead 14-10 at the half and MSU had a 210-160 yard edge. MSU opened the 3Q with a 75/7pl drive and got a 37 yard td pass for the lead. The Spartans would add 35 and 49 yard FG’s to go up 23-14 early 4Q. UI missed a 50 yard FG and the Spartans drove 45/12pl for a 40 yard FG with 5:25 left to close the scoring at 26-14. Iowa was intercepted at the MS40 with 5:09 left and their final drive went 64/16pl but on 4&5 they were SOD at the MS16.

Alabama’s AJ McCarron only played 5 series vs overmatched Georgia St. He led 5 td’s and it was 35-0 with 6:11 left in the 3Q when they brought in Blake Sims. Sims hit 14-18-130. It was 38-0 at the half with Bama having a 308-40 yard edge. The Panthers went 46/9pl getting a 53 yard FG to avoid the shutout on their opening drive of the 3Q. Bama missed a 30 yard FG and played conservatively in the 2H. Frosh DE A’Shawn Robinson made his first start in place of Ed Stinson and a lot of youngsters saw action.

As expected, Marshall rolled over UTSA 34-10. UTSA impressed me offensively last week but this week Eric Soza hit just 10-26-130 and Marshall had a 404-254 yard edge. It probably should have been worse as at the half as MU had a 252-115 yard edge. The Herd scored on their first 3 possessions of the game to lead 17-0 and were up 24-0 when UTSA got a 24 yard FG with :31 left in the half to pull within 21. Rakeem Cato hit 22-32-279.

Tulane moved to 4-2 on the year with a homecoming win over North Texas. TU did benefit from a blocked FG for a td and an IR td but in the 1H could have led by more than their 7-0 margin as they had a 10-3 FD edge. It was 21-7 after 3Q but NT didn’t quit. In fact, they got a 62 yard td pass on 3&8 with 3:45 left to shockingly tie it at 21. Nick Montana hit 18-28-132 while Derek Thompson hit 29-42-326. TU took over at its own 25 knowing they had last year’s Lou Groza winner Cairo Santos waiting in the wings. The Green Wave went 66/10pl and once they got to the NT12, they ran a couple plays to the middle of the field and Santos banged home a 27-yarder on the final play for the win. TU held NT’s rush attack to 34 yards on 20 carries.

Toledo’s David Fluellen was dominant running the ball vs Western Mich. He rushed for 220 yards. It was the 5th straight 100 yard game for him and the 4th time in his career that he’d topped 200 yards. While Toledo had just a 525-375 yard edge for the game, they led 23-0 with 4:58 left in the half but WMU went 75/10pl for a td with :56 left. UT, after a 2 yard Fluellen td run with 3:24 left in the 3Q, led 47-7. WMU then went 73 yards for a 19 yard FG, 59 yards for a 35 yard FG then 96 yards for a td with 2:14 left to “only” lose 47-20 and only be outgained by 153 yards. During that late span, UT had just 82 yards offense.

Michigan’s Devin Gardner had 7 TO’s his previous 2 games. The shocking stat was that he didn’t throw the ball until mid-2Q vs Minnesota. It was tied at 7 when Gardner threw his first pass. A key play happened with just 1:25 left in the half. After Minnesota punted from their own 10, Michigan started at its 38 and on 3&14, got a 24 yard td pass to Devin Funchess for a 14-7 lead. That helped Michigan have a 124-113 yard edge at the half. It was 28-13 with 7:02 left when Michigan took over and drove 69/9pl getting a 2 yard td run with 2:36 left making a lot of their backers happy, 35-13 and then made it a misleading final. Minnesota got 2 FD’s to the MI35 when Mitch Leidner was intercepted and returned 72 yards for a td with 1:19 left. Michigan only had a 348-281 yard edge and 17-16 FD edge. Jerry Kill, the coach of Minnesota, missed an entire game for the first time of his career as he had a seizure Saturday morning and did not make the trip. DC Tracy Claeys was the acting HC and he led the team from the pressbox.

Stephen Morris, who had been banged up the previous 2 weeks, hit 17-22-324 yards. Miami did finish with a 551-401 yard edge. Georgia Tech jumped out to a 17-7 lead going 75/12pl for a td, 43/11pl for a 45 yard FG, then, after recovering a fumble, 54/3pl for a td. GT, up by 10, fumbled at the M21 with 10:32 left in the half and UM went 79/7pl and 73/7pl for a td and a 24 yard FG to tie it at the half. At half UM had a 254-243 yard edge. Miami was intercepted at the GT4 but then on 3&14 got a 69 yard td pass to go up 24-17. Miami fumbled a punt and GT got a td with 10:38 left and it was only 24-23 but Miami went 66/8pl for a td. After GT was SOD on 4&7, Miami went 66/6pl for a td and added a 36 yard IR td 1pl later to blow open a close game, 45-23. GT did go 54/7pl for a 15 yard td run with :10 left for the 45-30 final.

Half of the stadium between Ohio St/Northwestern was scarlet but it was a very loud NW crowd at times. At the end of the game after OSU’s remarkable fall on the ball in the EZ, the crowd was very loud for OSU showcasing the split crowd. I tweeted this week that Northwestern had not beaten a top 5 team since it opened the 1959 season but they did give OSU a very tough game. Trevor Siemian hit 13-18-245 yards and Kain Colter 12-12-98 while Braxton Miller hit 15-26-203. Miller had 1 int and 2 key fumbles. OSU blocked a punt for a td to go up 10-7 and trailing 14-10 had a 1&gl at the 6 but settled for a 21 yard FG. NW went 68/8 then after a fake punt was stuffed at OSU’s 31. NW added a 29 yard FG to lead 20-13 at the half. NW had a 213-205 yard edge. NW went 66/12pl for a 32 yard FG to lead by 10. OSU had a 1&gl at the 7 but Miller fumbled. After kick/catch interference on a PR, OSU went 36/6pl for a td to get back within 3 and then got an IR to the 16. That set up a 2 yard td run by Carlos Hyde and OSU led 27-23. NW then got a 68 yard pass down to the 7 and on 3&gl a 12 yard td pass, 30-27. OSU went 81/8pl and got a 7 yard td run. NW went for it on 4&1 at the OSU34 and it was a close call but ruled short as they punted with just :21 left and as ESPN’s Rece Davis said, Northwestern’s final play was a lateral which bounced off a NW player, rolled into the EZ and OSU “covered” it for the td, 40-30 for the improbable cover.

Syracuse had pulled a major upset each of the last 4 years but their blitzing D was no match for Tajh Boyd who hit 15-17-317 yds and 4 scores in the 1H. Clemson finished with 27-13 FD and 624-397 yd edges. Terrel Hunt, in just his 2nd career start, hit 8-24-52 with 3 interceptions and was sacked 4 times. CU led 35-7 at the half but SU went 62/7pl for a td to get within 21 and faced a 3&16 from the CU24 and were intercepted at the CU38 on their next drive. SU missed a 42 yd FG then, after converting on a fake punt, had a FD at the CU19 but on 4&4 was SOD at the CU13. Three shots at making it a 2 score game all failed and CU got a 91 yd td pass to Sammy Watkins 2pl later to blow it open. CU added a 67/10pl td drive with 3:56 left for the 35 point margin.

Week 6 News & Notes – Part 2
By Phil Steele
Philsteele.com

Wake Forest’s stagnant offense put up 382 yards vs NC State. Pete Thomas did hit 27-43-257 for NCSt while Tanner Price hit 24-39-269. WF led 7-3 but NCSt got a td with :39 left in the half for the lead. WF went 75/4pl getting a 54 yard pass to Spencer Bishop and 2pl later a 10 yard td pass to Michael Campanaro to go up 14-10 with a 219-180 yard edge. WF went 87/10pl capped by a 3 yard td to go up 21-10. NCSt went 55/8pl for a 20 yard FG to get within 8 but WF, after being intercepted and punting on their next 2 possessions, drove 80/8pl for a td with 10:43 left to lead 28-13. NCSt’s last 3 drives they gained 109 yards but were intercepted at the 7, SOD at the 48 and intercepted at the WF2 on a Hail Mary at the end.

Georgia was in a letdown spot clearly vs Tennessee last week and were very fortunate to escape with the win. Justin Worley outpassed Georgia’s Heisman candidate hitting 17-31-215 while Murray was 19-35-196. Rajion Neal rushed for 148 yards on 28 carries and UGA’s leading rusher was JJ Green who had 17-129 as both Todd Gurley (out) and Keith Marshall (injured 1Q) were out. Tied at 24, Tennessee drove 80/13pl converting on 4&1 at its own 29, then converted on 4&1 with a 28 yard pass to the UGA7 and got a td with 1:54 left. UGA got a td with :05 left to force OT. Tennessee appeared to get a td in OT but as Pig Howard stretched for the endzone, the ball slipped out of his hands, hitting the pylon. It was originally ruled a td, but overturned into a TB after review. UGA gained 0 yards and got a 42 yard FG to escape with the 3 point win.

FIU frosh RB Silas Spearman rushed for 136 yards as FIU’s offense actually put up 341 yards while their D, which was holding foes below their season average on the year, held Southern Miss to 314 yards. Jake Medlock returned to the lineup for FIU but hit just 5-10-88 and was replaced by AJ Hilliard who hit 8-13-93. SM led 23-21 when FIU got a 27 yard FG with 6:49 left. FIU missed a 45 yard FG with 1:00 left and SM had a chance to win. Pass interference gave them a FD to the FIU27 and they lined up for the game winning 44 yard FG on the last play, however, it was blocked.

Bowling Green did not have an easy game vs Massachusetts but could have easily won by more than the experts thought they should. Surprisingly the 1H was scoreless until BG got a td with 7:45 left in the 2Q capping a 91/7pl drive. BG then went 70/11pl for a td with 1:09 left in the half to lead 14-0 with a 239-127 yard edge. BG opened the 3Q with 56/5pl, and 55/5pl drives for td’s to lead 28-0 late 3Q. UM got to the BG25 but was intercepted in the endzone with 13:44 left. The Minutemen got it back and went 71/10pl with 10:36 left and capped the drive with a 24 yard td pass with 4:34 left to pull within 28-7. BG got a pair of FD’s to the UM15 but opted to take a knee on the last 3 plays.

East Carolina had a 511-334 yard edge vs Middle Tenn and a 33-20 FD edge but only managed a 7 point win. The Pirates led 14-10 at the half and passed up a 19 yard FG to go for it 1&gl from the 2 with :05 left and were stuffed at the 1. EC went on a 9pl drive but settled for a 25 yard FG then went 78/17pl but missed a 35 yard FG. Leading 24-17, they missed a 52 yard FG with 5:16 left and at the end of the game, EC was at the MT25 yard line taking a knee.

Cameron Stingily ran for 266 yards on 37 carries for Northern Illinois. Colin Reardon had another decent game for Kent St hitting 16-35-209. Dri Archer had a 100 yard KR td but just 13 yards rushing and 80 receiving. This was a rematch of LY’s MAC Title game and it was a game for quite awhile. In fact, Kent St got a 28 yard td pass with 11:37 left in the 3Q to lead 24-21. NIU went 84/10pl and 94/15pl for td’s then 56/10pl for a 31 yard FG to finally go up by 14, 38-24. Kent St on 4&7 fired incomplete from the NI9 with 4:23 left and NIU ran all but :18 off the clock. NIU did finish with an outstanding 36-15 FD and 698-392 yard edges.

Jaquez Johnson missed last week with injury for Florida Atlantic but there is no question that he is the starter. He returned to the lineup and hit 23-36-299 passing, added another 105 yards rushing and finished with 404 yards total offense. He guided FAU to 579-307 yard and 25-16 FD edges over UAB. Leading 16-13, FAU went 80/14pl and got a 2 yard td pass with :05 left in the half to go up 23-13 with a 285-170 yard edge. It was tied at 23 late in the 3Q when FAU got a td with 2:56 left in the 3Q to go up 29-23. They did have their second xp of the game blocked then missed a 35 yard FG on their next drive. They took over with 6:05 left and Johnson’s 5 yard td pass capped the 73/7pl drive for a td with 1:22 left for the 14 point margin.

Kansas St/Oklahoma St each had 19 FD’s and KSU had a slim 336-330 yard edge. OSU was fortunate to escape with a 4 point win. Daniel Sams got the start for KSU and hit 15-21-181 and was the team’s leading rusher with 118. Jake Waters hit 3-7-11 with -6 yards rushing. JW Walsh bounced back from a poor performance last week and hit 24-38-248. In the 1H, OSU had a 229-152 yard edge with the key play happening when OSU, leading 10-7, lined up for a 43 yard FG which KSU blocked and returned 65 yards for a td. KSU opened the 3Q with a 79/11pl drive and got a 17 yard td pass to lead 21-17 and was up 21-20 when OSU recovered a fumble at the KS6 late in the 3Q. They settled for a 23 yard FG and the lead, 23-21. KSU went 57/11pl for a td to go up 29-23 with 6:09 left and the Cowboys appeared on the way to their 2nd straight outright upset loss but drove 75/6pl for a td with 4:13 left, got an int and added a 28 yard FG with 2:24 left to lead by 4. The Wildcats were driving for the winning td and were at the OSU44 when they were intercepted at the 21 and returned 72 yards to the 7 where OSU took a knee on the last play.

Old Dominion had a 550-401 yard edge vs Liberty but was SOD at the LU4, fumbled at the 36, fumbled at the LU13, missed a 53 yard FG and trailed 10-7 at the half. They were intercepted in the endzone on each of their first 2 drives of the 3Q and trailed 17-7. ODU was SOD at the LU1, then missed a 41 yard FG and things looked bleak. They got a 64 yard PR td with 4:22 left then took over with 1:20 left and went 72/6pl getting a 27 yard td pass from Taylor Heinicke to Blair Roberts with :28 left to pull out the 21-17 win. Heinicke hit 39-52-450 but did suffer a concussion in the 4Q (expected to play this week).

UCF must have had some hangover from the previous week’s loss to South Carolina and was VERY fortunate to escape Memphis with a win. Blake Bortles hit just 17-36-160 and Memphis had 397-270 yard edge and 25-16 FD edges and things did not look good in the 2H. Paxton Lynch did hit 20-38-279 for Memphis. In the 1H Memphis had a 186-95 yard edge. Leading 7-3 UM, on 3&gl at the 8, was intercepted in the endzone with 1:19 left in the half. UCF drove 91/12pl for a td to make it 10-7. UM went 50/11pl for a 48 yard FG then, after faking a punt and gaining 14 yards, they went 62/8pl for a td and a 17-10 lead. UCF took over at its 20 with 8:11 left, but on 1&gl from the 1 they fumbled into the endzone. However OL Chris Martin fell on it for a td to tie it at 17. UM then fumbled the KO and UCF scooped it up and returned it 12 yards for a td and a shocking 24-17 lead with 2 fumbled td’s. The Tigers went 69/7pl and had a 3&gl at the 6 but were intercepted in the endzone with :35 left.

Baylor had 28-21 FD and 864-391 yard edges against West Virginia. The Bears put up 28 points in the 1Q, 28 in the 2Q, then gave up 28 2H points with the game out of reach. BU fumbled a punt into the endzone and WV fell on it for a td to make it 7-7 but BU explode to lead 56-14 with a 617-147 yard edge at the half. WV got as close as 66-35 with 8:07 left in the game when BU, playing its backups after the first series of the 3Q, gave up a td. BU went 70/5pl for a td with 5:41 left but then was intercepted and returned 30 yards for a td to make it “only” 73-42. WV recovered the onside kick but on 4&15 from its own 40 fired incomplete with 1:29 left.

Kenneth Dixon rushed for 200 yards for Louisiana Tech as they got the road win at UTEP. They did only have a 24-22 FD edge and 463-440 yard edge in their close 3 point win. UTEP scored first on a 75/8pl drive for a td but LT went 61/4pl and 93/16pl, the key there a 4&3, 8 yard pass to the UTEP31 keeping the drive alive. The td made it 14-7. LT was SOD at the UTEP39 but then drove 81/4pl for a td to lead 21-7. After an interception, they drove again for a 24 yard FG. It was 24-14 at the half. LT led 31-21 when UTEP got a 65 yard td pass with 6:27 left in the 3Q. UTEP, trailing 38-28, went on a 69/11pl drive but had a 28 yard FG blocked. LT punted with 5:56 left and UTEP went 79/18pl for a 6 yard td with 1:03 left to pull within 3, however, LT recovered the onside kick.

South Carolina’s Steve Spurrier was not too happy that Jadeveon Clowney’s ribs were too sore for him to play against Kentucky. He talked about it at the post game press conf saying, “…if he doesn’t want to play, he doesn’t have to play. Simple as that.” Connor Shaw was not supposed to play but did and hit 17-20-262. Spurrier improved his personal career mark vs UK to 20-1. The Gamecocks finished with a 453-301 yard edge and actually scored td’s on their first 3 possessions going 77/4pl, 80/10pl, 71/9pl and appeared on their way to a rout, 21-0 with 14:20 left in the 2Q. UK answered with a 75/14pl drive and only trailed 24-7 at the half with SC having a 292-116 yard edge. SC went 53/11pl for a 41 yard FG to go up 27-7 but then UK went 75/12pl for a td. SC fumbled the KO and UK went 35/5pl and shockingly it was 27-21. SC went 80/7pl for a td, but UK responded with an 81/8pl for a td. SC took over at its own 39 with 4:02 left leading by 7. They converted on 3&7, added another FD, then took a knee at the UK36 successfully running off the final 4:02.

This one was a tale of two halves. Rice controlled the 1H with a 230-186 yard edge over Tulsa. The Owls took their opening drive 75/13pl for a td. TU went 59/9pl for a 33 yard FG then Rice went 75/8pl for a td. The next 6 possessions all resulted in punts. Rice would get a 27 yard FG with 5:14 left in the half then, after a TU interception, drove 10/3pl for a td and a 24-10 lead. TU had a 1&gl at the 10 but fumbled at the R4 with 1:19 left in the half. In the 2H it was Tulsa with the advantage and they finished with 415-344 yard and 24-19 FD edges. TU opened the 3Q with a 50/8pl drive for a 37 yard FG and 2 possessions later was SOD on 4&8 at the R31. On their next poss they went 57/13pl but were SOD at the R32. They went 62/11pl for a td to get within 24-21 and then drove 47/9pl for a 36 yard FG to tie it with 1:07 left and force OT. In OT Tulsa settled for a 36 yard FG and Rice, on 2&10, got a 25 yard td pass to take control of the CUSA West.

Cincinnati had a tough week as they attended the funeral for rFr Ben Flick who was fatally injured in a tragic car accident that involved two other players. The team also made trips to the hospital to visit one of those injured who remained hospitalized. UC finished with 21-12 FD and 350-241 yard edges. USF lost QB Steven Bench and RB Marcus Shaw to injury in the 1H but UC turned the ball over 4 times and had a key blocked FG which they allowed for a td. USF led 26-6 before UC mounted its comeback. They key was a 40 yard FG by UC on its opening possession which USF blocked and returned 75 yards for a td. After an interception USF drove 20/7pl for a 25 yard FG and went 45/12pl for a 52 yard FG and led 13-6. USF got a 10 yard FR td with 7:42 left in the half and then went 74/12pl and got a 24 yard FG on the last play of the half to lead 23-6. At half USF had a 155-104 yard edge thanks to that 74 yard drive. USF opened the 3Q with a 55/11pl drive for a 26-6 lead. UC started to chip away going 80/11pl for a td with 14:19 left in the game, 26-13. The Bearcats then were SOD on 4&1 at the USF11 with 6:48 left. They drove 70/10pl for a td with 2:03 left to get within 6. USF recovered the onside kick and punted with just :13 left.

Derek Carr had 390 yards passing and 5 td’s in the 1H vs Idaho and would play just a few snaps in the 2H (29 yards). While Fresno St finished with a 734-275 yard edge, their halftime stats were even more impressive as they piled up 556 yards in the opening stanza compared to just 121 for the Vandals and led 47-0. Idaho got two 4Q td’s on drives of 63 and 56 yards to “only” lose 61-14.

Sonny Dykes spent 7 years as an assistant under Washington St HC Mike Leach while at Texas Tech and it was AirRaid vs BearRaid. Connor Halliday was not 100% healthy but still hit 41-67-521 yards and WSU, who had lost 8 in a row to Cal, snapped that streak with ease in a 44-22 road win. Frosh Jared Goff was originally thought to have hit 32-58-489 for Cal, however a stat correction post-game gave him a school single-game record 504 passing yards (33-59). Cal announced prior to the game that C Chris Adcock and FS Alex Logan would both miss the rest of the season due to injuries then had 3 defensive starters injured in the 1H. Cal fumbled at the WS8 at the end of a 65/11pl drive and WSU went 92/7pl, and 85/11pl for a pair of td’s to lead 14-0. Cal fumbled again, this time at the WS2, but got a safety on the next play and a 35 yard FG after the free kick to make it 14-5. WSU was intercepted at the Cal11 and Cal got an 89 yard td pass with 7:14 left in the half to make it 14-12. WSU got a 68 yard td pass with 1:04 left in the half, 21-12 and Cal got a 43 yard FG with :10 left. At the half Cal had a 356-297 yard edge but trailed 21-15. WSU took its second 3Q possession 79/10pl for a td then Cal was SOD on 4&1 at the WS33. On 1&15 a 72 yard td pass to Vince Mayle made it WSU 35-15. Cal got a 53 yard td pass to get back within 13 but WSU went 48/13pl for a 44 yard FG. After Cal was SOD at the WSU38, the Cougars would add a 41 yard FG with 7:53 left and went on to a 44-22 win.

Oklahoma was in a major flat spot coming off of Notre Dame with the Red River Rivalry on deck. With 20-10 FD and 355-210 yard edge they still only beat TCU by 3. OU dominated the 1H with an amazing 191-16 yard edge and led 13-0. It was actually 3-0 when they got a td with 2:29 left in the half, forced a punt and got a 37 yard FG on the final play of the half. TCU went on a 45/11pl drive for a 25 yard FG on its second 3Q possession. The drive included a 4&6 conversion. TCU then recovered an onside kick and went 35/6pl for a td to pull within 13-10. There were 4 punts but then OU got a 76 yard td run by Brennan Clay to go up by 10 with just 4:37 left. TCU got a 45 yard pass to David Porter, a 21 yard pass to BJ Catalon then a Trevone Boykin 8 yard td run with 2:26 left to pull within 3. They kicked off deep but OU would convert on 2&11 with a 13 yard run by Blake Bell and on 2&10 with a 17 yard run by Bell and ran the clock at the TCU36.

Last week in my Inside the Pressbox, my High Scoring Game of the Week selection was New Mexico St vs New Mexico and the two teams would total 83 points. They almost passed the Las Vegas total at the half as it was 42-14 with NM up, although the Lobos only had a 282-238 yard edge. On the first play of the 4Q it was 59-17 and NM would have just 1 td in the 4Q as they rolled to a 608-451 yard edge (1059 total yards) in the 66-17 win. I talked last week about how Austin Franklin was back on the roster for NMSt and he was limited to 3 receptions for 28 yards. New Mexico did it all on the ground passing the ball just 8 times, completing 3 while rushing for 541 as Cole Gautsche rushed for 127 and Kasey for Carrier 126. Andrew McDonald for NMSt hit 20-34-269.

If you didn’t watch the game, you wouldn’t even realize that Oregon was challenged early on by Colorado. CU settled for a couple of early FG’s. The Buffs took their opening drive 69/3pl and settled for a 33 yard FG. UO went 75/9pl for a td and 2 point conversion, 8-3 but WR Paul Richardson hit a 75 yard td pass to DD Goodson and a stunning 10-8 lead for the Buffs. UO was SOD but got an interception and drove 43/7pl for a td then got a 75 td pass to start to take control. At the half UO led 43-16 going 26/3pl (after int), 67/12pl and 92/11pl for td’s. The Buffs settled for 22 and 31 yard FG’s after 74 and 39 yard drives and amazingly at the half, UO only had a 415-318 yard edge. UO opened the 3Q with 58/5pl, and 82/7pl drives for td’s and then brought the backups in. With Jeff Lockie in, the RB, Thomas Tyner, fumbled with 3:34 left in the 3Q at their own 10 and Lockie was intercepted at the CU45. Jake Rodrigues got the Ducks down to the CU4 but he was intercepted in the endzone. At the end of the game, with Lockie back in, they were at the CU1 taking a knee in the 41 point win. UO finished with a 755-374 yard edge holding CU to 56 yards in the 2H.

Mississippi St was selling out vs the run vs LSU and Zach Mettenberger hit 25-29-340 yards. While the final score shows LSU winning by 33, it certainly looked like a letdown spot for a good portion of the game. Les Miles moved his record to 21-1 after a loss. LSU’s D gave up 468 yards. In fact, at the half LSU had a 334-274 yard edge but they trailed 23-21 when they got a 14 yard td pass with :17 left in the half to lead 28-23. Miss St pulled within 28-26 to open the 3Q, but down 31-26 missed a 42 yard FG. After, in what was the game changing play, the Bulldogs were intercepted and returned 40 yards to the 5 with 14:24 left. LSU got a 5 yard td run to go up 45-26. After MSU was SOD, LSU drove 66/6pl for another td then, after a fumble, drove 26/6pl for a td with 1:21 left for the 33 point win where they only had 27-23 FD and 563-468 yard edges.

Mississippi was in a let down spot coming off their big game vs Alabama. They would have 24-19 FD and 464-375 yard edges in the game against Auburn. In fact, in perhaps the key play of the game, Ole Miss, trailing 6-3, had the ball at the AU19 but Bo Wallace was intercepted and returned 78 yards for a td with 1:39 left in the 1H to make it 13-3. At the half UM had a 232-186 yard edge but trailed 20-6 thanks to that 14 point swing. UM got back to 27-22 with a 13 yard td pass with 8:29 left. After an exchange of TO’s and punts, Auburn took over at the UM31 and got a 23 yard FG with 3:02 left to go up by 8. The Rebels got out to their 38 but on 4&17 took a sack back at their 28 and Auburn took a knee. QB Nick Marshall rushed for 140 yards becoming Auburn’s fourth 100-yard rusher of the season joining RB’s Corey Grant, Cameron Artis-Payne and Tre Mason.

It was Texas St’s first game in the Sun Belt and they were taking on my preseason favorite to win the SBC, Louisiana. TXSt was off its upset win of Wyoming but this game was no contest. UL had 25-11 FD edge and 572-196 yard edges, scoring on almost every possession of the 1H. Backup QB Brooks Haack came in to start the 4Q and attempted just 2 passes. Trailing 45-3 the Bobcats got a 94 and 100 yard KR td’s, both by Brandon Smith and TXSt took over with 3:41 left in the game and drove 80/5pl for another garbage td with 1:07 left.

Florida only had a 355-275 yard edge vs Arkansas and the FD’s were even at 17. A key for the Gators was Solomon Patton who took a couple of short passes the distance and had 124 yards on just 6 receptions. Tyler Murphy hit 16-22-240. The Hogs did rush for 111 yards on 29 carries. On their 2nd possession they fumbled at the UF29 but then went 64/8pl for a td to lead 7-0. UF got a 42 yard IR td by Loucheiz Purifoy with 8:33 left 2Q for their first lead then on 3&12, Murphy hit Patton with a 51 yard td pass with just :20 left in the half to give them momentum. Prior to that play, Arkansas had a 150-91 yard edge. UF did open the 3Q with a 75/7pl drive for a td to lead 24-7. It was 24-10 when the Gators went 42/5pl getting a Murphy-to-Showers 9 yard td pass with 4:47 left. Arkansas had a 4&gl at the 3 with :55 left and was SOD.

While the Notre Dame/Arizona St game was at a neutral site, I would estimate that ND had about 50,000 of the 65,000 fans in attendance. ND’s D recorded 6 sacks with Prince Shembo recording 3. The Irish probably would have been favored in this had it been played last week but they were almost a td underdog. The Irish opened with a 58/13pl drive but missed a 38 yard FG. ASU went on a 58/12pl drive settling for a 40 yard FG. ASU went 79/13pl and settled for a 27 yard FG to lead 6-0 with 6:11 left in the half. The next 3 possessions were all td’s and the Irish got an 8 yard td pass with :10 left in the half for a 14-13 halftime lead. ND had a 245-209 yard edge. ND went 43/6pl and got a 53 yard FG to lead 17-13. After 4 punts, ASU fumbled at its own 21 with 4:20 left in the 3Q and the Irish got a 21 yard td pass, 24-13. ND was intercepted and returned 37 yards for a td and ASU got back in it, 24-20 at the start of the 4Q. ND went 69/8pl for a 33 yard FG but ASU went 75/7pl for a 21 yard td pass to tie it at 27. The Irish went 56/10pl and got a 25 yard FG with 3:03 left to lead by 3. ASU was intercepted with 1:59 left but the Irish punted with 1:16 left. ASU was then intercepted and returned 14 yards for a td by Dan Fox, 37-27. ASU, down 10, went 75/7pl getting a 16 yard td with :11 left but the Irish recovered the onside kick. Tommy Rees, after a pair of off efforts, hit 17-38-279 while Arizona St’s Taylor Kelly hit 33-47-362.

While Stanford got the win over Washington, it was surprising that Washington had a 489-284 yard edge and commanding 30-14 FD advantage in the game. The star of the game was SU’s Ty Montgomery who had a 99 yard KR td to open giving SU a quick 7-0 lead. SU went 42/7 for a 33 yard FG to lead 10-0 on the first play of the 2Q. The next 4 possessions were punts. UW took over with 4:25 left and put together an 85/12pl drive and got a 7 yard td run with 1:03 left by Bishop Sankey but SU went 61/5pl and got a 39 yard td pass to Montgomery with :11 left in the half to retake the 10 point lead. SU did have a 184-143 yard edge. Each team drove for a td to open the 3Q then punted on their next possession, drove for a td on their 3rd possession and SU led 31-21. After an exchange of punts, UW went 73/18 but on FD from the SU7, Keith Price was intercepted at the 5 with 6:11 left. UW got it back and went 79/6pl capped by a 1 yard td pass with 2:38 left. They kicked off deep and forced a punt stuffing them on 3&1 with 1:51 left. UW got 1 FD and appeared to get another FD on a 16 yard pass to the SU33 but it was overturned and ruled incomplete on 4&10.

It was James Franklin – the QB for Missouri – vs James Franklin – the coach of Vanderbilt – and the younger Franklin’s squad dominated this game (probably even more than the 51-28 score would indicate). The Tigers went 75/5pl for a td, 30/7pl for a 44 yard FG and then after an interception, 11/1pl for a td to lead 17-0. They went 50/7pl but settled for a 29 yard FG and a 20-0 lead. VU did put together a 75/15pl drive for a td but MU answered with a 75/7pl drive for a td, 48/9pl drive for a 41 yard FG and led 30-7 at the half with a 288-109 yard edge. The teams traded td’s on the first 4 possessions of the 2H, 44-21. After another exchange of td’s early 4Q, it was 51-28. Missouri just ran it on 4&14 for a 2 yards with 1:23 left and VU picked up 66 of its yards on the final 6 plays of the game getting to the MU22. MU finished with a 523-468 yard edge.

David Fales was only completing 56% of his passes on the year and was playing without his top 2 WR’s and San Jose St was also without one of the top CB’s in the country, Bene Benwikere. In their trip to Hawaii they quickly trailed 14-3 late 1Q but Fales, while he hit just 16-35-318, rallied the Spartans as they led 27-14 at the half with three 2Q td’s and a 322-218 yard edge. UH alternated Sean Schroeder and Ikaika Woolsey at times but Schroeder hit 28-50-342 and Woolsey threw the ball just 3 times and ran it 3 times. UH got within 37-27 with 7:51 left but punted with 5:12 left and SJSt ran off the final 5:12 getting 3 FD’s. SJSt actually lost 23 yards, taking a knee on their final 3 plays.

Boxsore Review Week 6
By Toddstake.com

Every week in college the final scores don’t tell the full story. That’s why I’m here to try and help point out some of the statistical nuggets you may have missed in your handicapping.

Utah vs UCLA: Utah failed to cover against UCLA on Thursday night and they can blame the 6 interceptions thrown by Travis Wilson. The most impressive part of his generosity was that 5 of the 6 picks came in the 2nd half.

Utah St vs BYU: The biggest thing you wouldn’t know by blindly looking at the boxscore is that USU lost all MWC caliber QB Chuckie Keeton for the season to a knee injury. His backup Craig Harrison was 4-10 for 26 yards in relief and it’s safe to say the Aggies offense may look very different in coming weeks.

San Diego St vs Nevada: The Aztecs had a commanding 44-23 lead headed into the 4th quarter before Cody Fajardo went bonkers in comeback mode. The game tying drive for the Wolfpack culminated with 1:38 to go in regulation but their upset bid was denied in OT because of penalties. SDSU was led by a 2-headed rushing monster of Muema/Pumphrey who combined for 248 on only 35 carries.

Navy vs Air Force: Navy and Air Force amassed roughly the same amount of yardage but the Middies covered the closing number because of a 21-0 2nd half surge. Navy QB Keenan Reynolds, who was listed as questionable before the game, carried the football 28 times while no other Navy player had more than 8 touches. The two teams only ran 134 plays with a clock that never stopped but it had nothing to do with the government shutdown.

Florida St vs Maryland: There was nothing flukey about FSU’s drubbing of Maryland. The 63-0 final is what you’d expect when one team outgains the other 614-234 and compiles 33 first downs to their opposition’s 9. The bigger loss for Maryland was QB CJ Brown who left before halftime when the Terps still appeared to have an outside chance of covering the 17.

Indiana vs Penn St: Somehow the Hoosiers solved their leaky run defense during the bye week. The same team that was shredded by Navy and Missouri kept Penn St in check holding the Nittany Lions to 70 yards on 38 carries or a whopping 1.8 YPC explaining why the 4 pt road favorite lost by nearly 3 touchdowns.

Nebraska vs Illinois: Even with a backup QB in place of Taylor Martinez, Illinois showed no signs of stopping the Cornhuskers ground game. Nebraska ran the rock 50 times for 335 yards and outgained Illinois 6.7 YPC to 4.1 YPC. NU jumped out to a 23-5 lead at the half and coasted to an easy cover as 8.5 point favorites.

Temple vs Louisville: The Cardinals were anything but efficient on offense amassing 525 yards but scoring only 30 pts. One of the key metrics I use to grade teams is yards per point and elite teams are usually in the 13-15 range. Saturday Louisville had to work extra hard at 17.5 yppt. Defensively, Ville was extremely stout holding the Owls to 255 yards even as they bombed away throughout the 2nd half.

Virginia vs Ball St: A close game at the half turned into a blowout over the last 30 minutes Saturday in Charlottesville. Yardage was close to equal but the turnover margin wasn’t with the Cardinals ending +4 in that department. UVA had 7 drives in the second half; 4 ended in turnovers if you include their series that was short on downs. Let’s just say Mike London’s offense isn’t setting the world on fire.

Iowa vs Michigan St: Iowa gained 264 yards against the vaunted Spartan defense on Saturday. However, 140 yards of their total output came on consecutive drives in the 2nd quarter (both resulted in touchdowns). In the 2nd half Iowa had the ball 7 times and if you remove their 16 play 64 yard march to finish the game (when everything but the final had been determined) they gained a robust 31 yards TOTAL on the other 6 drives. WELP

Kansas vs Texas Tech: If you were holding a KU ticket +17, things looked pretty good at the the end of the 1st quarter. KU had a 10-0 lead but that’s when the wheels came off completely. Texas Tech ran off points on 9 of their next 10 series (end of half not included) and distanced themselves from the Jayhawks with a 54-6 run over the final 45 minutes.

SMU vs Rutgers: SMU tried to come back from the dead at 35-14 but couldn’t get over the hump losing 55-52 in OT. The Mustangs outgained the Scarlet Knights on the afternoon behind Garret Gilbert’s 70 pass attempts. The real box score stuffer for SMU was Jeremy Johnson who hauled in 17 balls for 217 yards. Now that’s what we call earning your paycheck at the college level.

Alabama vs Georgia St: I don’t care what happened here, won’t even bother with the box score.

Virginia Tech vs North Carolina: Bryn Renner, UNC’s starting QB, was a late scratch for Saturday’s game. UNC was done in by the turnover bug, surrendering the football on 3 occasions compared to the Hokies who made it through the contest blemish free. The problem for Tech in the winning effort was their ground game that mustered 48 yards on 34 carries leading to only 341 yards of offense on the afternoon.

Central Michigan vs Miami OH: The Redhawks had an offensive explosion against the Chippewas (by their standards) with 294 yards. However the effort wasn’t enough because it cost Don Treadwell his job as head coach. Austin Boucher continues to struggle under center for Miami and now has a stat line that reads 40-91, 524 yards passing for the season…aka a 1st half for the Baylor Bears.

Troy vs South Alabama: Just by reading the box score South Alabama was clearly the side, outgaining Troy 630-434. The Jaguars trailed 27-19 until late in the 4th when South Alabama scored 2 touchdowns in the span of 2:03. However South Alabama scored a little too quickly because despite falling behind with 48 seconds left, Troy still manufactured a TD drive of their own that culminated in a 20 yard TD pass with only :07 seconds remaining.

Marshall vs UTSA: Marshall built a 24-3 lead at the half and coasted to a relatively uneventful cover as 14 pt favorites. What was interesting was the Herd’s commitment to the ground game where they ran it 49 times but only for 125 yards, or 2.6 ypc, against a much-maligned Road Runner defense. Eric Soza was far from effective for UTSA going 10-26 throwing the ball and was eventually lifted after throwing his 3rd interception of the afternoon.

Akron vs Ohio: The Bobcats were 100% the better team on Saturday but 362 yards doesn’t typically translate into 43 points. Ohio’s defense accounted for 9 of those points and Akron’s offensive ineptitude created short fields all day for Ohio.

Michigan vs Minnesota: Their 42-13 win over Minnesota would lead you to believe all’s well for the Maize and Blue right now but the boxscore tells a different story. Michigan was only +67 in total yards but did benefit from +2 in the turnover department. The game was 28-13 deep into the 4th quarter before Michigan scored 2 TD’s in the final 2:36 to create a misleading final. The real key to the game for Michigan was going went 10-13 on 3rd down.

Syracuse vs Clemson: GROUNDED! Syracuse only threw for 74 yards against Clemson despite spending the better part of the game in full blown catch-up mode. They were able to run the ball for 323 yards however still didn’t sniff a cover as 14 pt dogs losing the turnover battle 4-2.

Oklahoma St vs Kansas St: There may be bigger problems than anyone is letting on regarding the Oklahoma St offense. Yes, they did win 33-29 against K-State but the game should never be that close when you win the turnover battle 5-1. The once proud ground game for Mike Gundy’s team has struggled of late and bears watching moving forward.

Northern Illinois vs Kent St: I’m not quite sure how the Huskies only won by 14 points when you see they outgained Kent St 698-392. NIU had no problems moving the ball through the air, 244 yards, or on the ground, 454 yards. They did struggle a bit against the Golden Flashes ground game yielding over 6ypc in the winning effort.

Tulane vs North Texas: Tulane’s offense can’t be described as anything other than a mess given its 227 yard output against North Texas. The game was 7-0 Tulane at the half and 21-7 Wave at the end of 3 but it still took a Cairo Santos FG for Tulane to win 24-21 at the bell. While the Green Wave did score 3 touchdowns, 2 of them were non offensive with a Pick 6 and return of a blocked field goal mixed in.

Cal vs Washington St: How the hell did California lose by 22 points and outgain their opponent by 15 yards? Well when in doubt look to the turnover column where Cal gave the ball away 5 times compared to 1 for the Cougars. The 11 penalties for 96 yards didn’t help the Golden Bears effort either.

Memphis vs UCF: The Tigers benefited immensely from taking on a lethargic Knights team but still couldn’t come away victorious. Memphis outgained UCF 397-270, out first downed them 25-16, and led 17-10 until the 2:05 mark of the 4th. However, the Tigers marked edge on the stat sheet wasn’t helped by their -4 turnover margin

Idaho vs Fresno St: The Bulldogs put on an absolute clinic in Moscow scoring 61 points while gaining 731 yards. Their lone blemish came in the 3rd down conversion category where Fresno went a pedestrian 6-15. Once Derek Carr left the game Fresno threw the ball a grand total of 2 times as they just played to run out the clock late.

Colorado vs Oregon: Oregon did what Oregon does: nearly doubling up their opponent in offensive output 755-374 and nearly quadrupling them on the scoreboard. Marcus Mariota bolstered his quest for the Heisman trophy accounting for 7 touchdowns in De’Anthony Thomas’ absence.

Auburn vs Ole Miss: Despite losing the game by 8, Ole Miss was the better team at Jordan Hare on Saturday. The Rebels were done in by a Tigers pick 6 and an Auburn ground game that averaged 5.9 ypc. Passing yards weren’t close with Ole Miss absolutely dominating that category 340-93.

USF vs Cincinnati: The Bulls found a way to win outright as double digit underdogs despite not scoring an offensive touchdown. Kloss knocked 4 field goals through for USF while the defense and special teams each accounted for 1 TD a piece.

New Mexico vs New Mexico St: Apparently Bob Davie has something special going in Albuquerque; UNM’s now scored 77 points combined in the first half of their last 2 games. That’s all that needs to be said about these less than average sides. New Mexico is clicking on the ground as well compiling roughly 1,000 yards on the ground over their last 2 games.

Oklahoma vs TCU: I’m not sure 210 yards qualifies as offensive output but that’s what TCU racked up against Oklahoma. Guess what? It was enough to cover as 10 pt dogs as they answered a late Sooner TD to get inside the number and lose by only a field goal.

UL Lafayette vs Texas St: It’s not often a 48-24 final looks a lot closer than the game actually was but that’s what happened here. ULL dominated from start to finish building a 45-10 lead mid-way through the 4th before TSU had a kickoff return TD and a meaningless 7 in garbage time. Yards weren’t any closer than the score with ULL dominating that category to the tune of 572-196.

Mississippi St vs LSU: Zac Mettenberger was great and so was the LSU offense but their defense was anything but in Starkville. However a 31-26 game got ugly in the 4th when LSU rattled off 28 straight points en route to a much needed SEC road win. The biggest problem for the Tigers was a leaky run defense that surrendered 216 yards to the Bulldogs.

Notre Dame vs Arizona St: Under backers caught a raw deal in Dallas when a dead shot under blew up over the final 15 minutes. ASU and Notre Dame combined for 37 points in the first 3 quarters but a 34 point explosion late pushed the game over 63. Yards were pretty close and the final score was truly indicative of the way the game was played from a side perspective.

Baylor vs West Virginia: Baylor did what Baylor does; break offensive records blowing past a Big XII milestone for single game offensive output with 864 yards. This game was 66-21 when Baylor took their foot off the gas in the 4th subsequently surrendering 21 points to the Mountaineers when the game and cover were both out of reach.

Stanford vs Washington: There was not a more misleading final score than what we saw unfold in Palo Alto. Washington was the better team in almost every facet of the game except special teams. They dominated the stat sheet against the Cardinal 30-14 in first downs and 489-279 in yardage absolutely smashing Stanford’s 100 yards of total passing offense with 350 of their own. Fortunately for Washington backers they were able to come in through the backdoor with a late TD to get inside the closing number. The real achilles heel for the Huskies all night was their kick coverage allowing Stanford to create short fields throughout the game.