College Football Betting News and Notes - Week 2
By Andrew Lange
Sportsmemo.com
Another week void of any significant upsets. Washington State beat USC as over a two-touchdown underdog while Navy dispatched of Indiana as a double-digit underdog. Needless to say, most rec bettors who like to four- and five-team moneyline parlay big favorites have yet to hit many road blocks.
With most offshore books now offering lines on FBS vs. FCS games bettors will have another crack at betting against Ron Turner and his Florida International squad. Yes, the Panthers played two teams in Maryland and UCF that they probably would have lost to any other season, but it was the way that FIU lost (43-10, 38-0) that has them vying with Idaho and New Mexico State for the label of Worst Team in the Country. Don't sleep on this week's opponent Bethune-Cookman who last season rushed for 233 yards on Miami and hung tough for the first half. The year before that B-C outgained the Canes 422-335.
After a dismal showing in its opener at Virginia, BYU wasn't on the radar of many bettors. Meanwhile, a lot of folks were drinking the Texas kool-aid after they dismantled woeful New Mexico State. And for a sophisticated as the betting markets are portrayed at times, there is no question that early in the season, there is a lot of overreaction. Texas opened -4.5 at BYU and was as high as -7.5 at some shops by close. But once the two teams stepped out onto the field, it was quickly apparent who the better squad was. BYU racked up 679 yards on a whopping 99 plays – putting on a clinic for Mack Brown on how to run an up-tempo offense. Cougars quarterback Taysom Hill's 229 yard performance on the ground gives him nearly as many rushing yards (630) as passing yards (729) for his young career. Also note that Texas defensive coordinator Manny Diaz was fired on Sunday.
McNeese State rolled up 244 passing yards on 9.8 yppp in its Week 1 butt kicking of South Florida. Following that game, you couldn’t help but think Week 2 was the perfect opportunity for USF's opponent, Michigan State, to finally rack up some big yards through the air. Instead it was more ineptitude from the Spartans as Andrew Maxwell and his two back-ups combined for 94 yards! The Spartans won 21-6 thanks to two defensive touchdowns. If MSU is going to make a change at QB, now is the week to do it with a home game vs. Youngstown before traveling to Notre Dame.
A lot of chatter about the December 5 showdown at Cincinnati providing Louisville with an opportunity to pick up a marquee win. But with Cincinnati's embarrassing loss at Illinois, the Cardinals' shot at the title game – should they remain undefeated (a big if) – looks grim. As for Cinci, they obviously lost Munchie Legaux for the rest of the season. No question Legaux can make plays but Brendon Kay has been with the program for five years and has shown enough that there may even be an increase in production – there certainly will be from a pass completion standpoint. And I give credit to Illinois who looked creative on offense and aggressive on defense. It was U of I's most impressive win since beating UCLA on a New Year's Eve bowl two years ago. The betting markets however aren't sold on the Illini's 2-0 start. Washington opened -7.5 but was bet up to -10.5/-11 for Saturday's game in Chicago.
I didn't see the game but read a ton of Tweets about Houston’s ineptitude in the red zone against Temple. According to the stats, the Cougars had drives of 62, 67, 23, 76, 72, -19, 53, 6, 36, 15, 87, -31, and 12. It wasn't until their last drive (of 12 yards) that they put six on the board. The other drives resulted in punts, field goals, missed field goals, and fumbles. Classic case of the scoreboard reading a competitive game but the box score (UH 524 yards, 32 first downs; Temple 300 yards, 19 first downs) telling a completely different story.
What a difference a year makes. Last season the West Virginia-Oklahoma game had a total of 73 and the Sooners held on for a 50-49 win. Saturday's matchup closed 53.5 and under bettors didn't have to sweat as OU won 16-7.
By now you've finished laughing at Western Kentucky's seven turnover performance against Tennessee. But note that WKU had more first downs (21-20), more yards (393-382) and were outgained 5.6 ypp to 6.0 ypp. Obviously the Vols would have put up better numbers if not for the slew of short fields but play that game 10 times and Western hangs more often than not.
Arkansas State was penalized 15 yards at the start of the game AND at the start of the second for essentially trying to wear the same color uniform as Auburn. War Eagle rolled 38-9 but it was another game where the box score tells a different story. ASU has more first down (24-23); Auburn had slightly more yards (468-422); third downs were practically even (ASU 8-18, Auburn 7-14); turnovers were even at one apiece; and both teams punted four times.
I give credit to Washington State for grinding out Saturday's 10-7 win at USC but I certainly am not going to upgrade the Cougars' power rating – they played just as bad as USC. Instead, we need to downgrade USC's dramatically. The signs were there in Week 1's win at Hawaii but no one had any idea it was this bad. We'll start first with Lane Kiffin's play calling. Kiffin knows his players better than we do but USC played the entire game as if they were up 40 just trying to milk the clock. He has absolutely zero faith in either Cody Kessler or Max Wittek and it was painful to watch how hard Kifffin tried to get Marquis Lee involved in the offense. All told the Trojans managed only 3.1 yards per play and had one first down via the pass. How about USC's last seven games against BCS conference competition dating back to last year: 10-7 loss vs. Washington State, 21-7 loss vs. Georgia Tech, 22-13 loss vs. Notre Dame, 38-28 loss vs. UCLA, 38-17 win vs. Arizona State, 62-51 loss vs. Oregon, and 39-36 loss vs. Arizona. That's 1-6 SU/ATS!
Checking back in win Arkansas who needed a 14-point fourth quarter to get past Samford, 31-22. The Razorbacks ran the ball 53 times to only 17 pass attempts. That's 104 rushing attempts in two games.
And how about SMU needing FG, FG, TD (with 35 seconds left) to beat Montana State 31-10? Up next? A bye week before traveling to Texas A&M.
College Football: Week 2 Review
In Week 2 of the college football season has been completed, and as expected, some trends are beginning to emerge. Whether or not these continue to be something worthy of following is what we will be looking during each week of the regular season.
This past weekend was made for favorites, or to be more specific road favorites, which had a 9-4 ATS mark for the week. Underdogs of any stripe were money burners, for the most part, managing a combined 15-29-1 ATS record during the three-day span of games.
For the second straight week, favorites that saw the betting line drop over the course of last week turned out to be an excellent wager. This week, those teams that were on the original schedule beat the Last Vegas betting line in 12 of the 18 games for the week, including 8-3 for home teams.
This continues last week’s outstanding 16-4 ATS record, giving this burgeoning trend an excellent 28-10 ATS mark. The only thing to do here is keep riding this wave until it peters out.
As opposed to last week, the write-in contests that were added to the schedule pretty much did a 180 from the opening week, when just three of ten were winners when it came to sports handicapping. This week, seven of the 11 were ATS winners, with huge favorites of -30 or more going 4-2.
There are some certain pointspread pockets that have shown promise, starting with teams favored by either -3.5 or -4, where those teams have been winners in five of six games. An area that has a perfect record after five games is the -10.5 to -12 list of games.
Looking for potential fade areas actually provides more options thus far, starting with teams giving either -7 or -7.5 points. In all five of the games with this final line, the underdog has been the one which cashed.
One odd trend that has developed during the first week focuses on teams that have been favored from between -22 and -29.5. When the final Las Vegas betting line has been the exact number, the favorite has covered in 12 of 15 games. However, when the .5 is tacked on to the pointspread, the underdog has been even more dominant with a 13-2 ATS record.
While it’s doubtful that some of the trends listed above will be able to maintain the level of success they’ve enjoyed thus far, you can now go into Week 3 starting on Thursday night with a greater awareness of what to look for when placing your money down on an NCAA team.
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College Football Week In Review: Seats of Mack Brown, Lane Kiffin getting warmer
By: Brian Edwards
Sportingnews.com
One week after dropping a heartbreaker at Clemson, Georgia bounced back to beat South Carolina, 41-30, as a 3.5-point home favorite. The Bulldogs ended a three-game losing streak against the Gamecocks, who got stopped on downs at UGA’s 1-yard line late in the fourth quarter and also lost a fumble inside of UGA’s 25 in the third quarter.
UGA senior quarterback Aaron Murray finally delivered against a top-10 opponent. Murray threw for 309 yards and four touchdowns without committing a turnover.
The 71 combined points soared OVER the 56-point total. The OVER is now 2-0 in Georgia games this season.
Miami took advantage of five Florida turnovers, including three inside the red zone, to capture a 21-16 victory as a 3-point home underdog. The Hurricanes improved to 4-0 ATS as home dogs during Al Golden’s tenure.
The Gators dominated every stat except for the two that matter most, turnovers and points. UM committed only one turnover, a Stephen Morris interception, but the Hurricane defense picked him up by intercepting Jeff Driskel in the red zone for a second time. In addition to the three red-zone turnovers, UF was also stopped on downs at the Miami 17.
Florida’s defense allowed only 10 first downs and 212 yards of total offense by the ‘Canes, who gave up 413 yards to the Gators. Nevertheless, Morris’s two first-quarter TD passes and a late TD run from Duke Johnson was enough for the win, thanks to a defense that did an incredible job of making crucial plays.
Both schools saw the UNDER cash easily for a second straight week.
Devin Gardner wore No. 98 in honor of Michigan legendary QB Tom Harmon in Saturday night’s showdown vs. Notre Dame. With the exception of one knucklehead interception, Gardner enjoyed an incredible performance in leading his team into the win column, 41-30.
Brady Hoke’s team covered the number as a 5-point home favorite. Gardner threw for 294 yards and four TDs, including three scoring strikes to Jeremy Gallon. Gardner also ran for 82 yards and one score, while Gallon finished with eight receptions for 184 yards.
Mack Brown’s hot seat at Texas reached a boiling temperature late Saturday night in Provo, where BYU gashed the Longhorns for 549 rushing yards en route to a 40-21 win as a seven-point home underdog.
BYU’s Taysom Hill provided 388 of his team’s 679 yards of offense. The sophomore signal caller rushed for 259 yards and three TDs on just 17 carries.
Since winning its first 13 games in 2009, Texas has just a 23-18 straight-up record. Brown fired defensive coordinator Manny Diaz on Sunday, replacing him with veteran Greg Robinson. Diaz was obviously struggling, but Robinson’s defenses at Michigan under Rich Rodriguez, not to mention those at Syracuse during a disastrous head-coaching tenure, were absolutely atrocious.
Brown isn’t the only coach feeling the heat this morning. Southern Cal’s Lane Kiffin is in big trouble after the Trojans lost to Washington State, 10-7, as 16-point home ‘chalk.’ The Cougars limited USC to only 193 yards of total offense.
Oregon produced its ninth straight cover as a road favorite by destroying Virginia, 59-10, as a 26.5-point ‘chalk’ in Charlottesville. Marcus Mariota threw for 199 yards and two TDs without committing a turnover. He also ran for 122 yards on just four carries, including a 71-yard TD scamper on the opening drive.
Quick hitters
Washington State is 7-2 against the spread in its last nine games as a double-digit underdog.
Western Kentucky was more mistake-prone than Florida in Week 2. The Hilltoppers had 236 yards of total offense, compared to only 86 for Tennessee, at halftime Saturday in Knoxville. But the Volunteers led 31-17 at intermission after forcing five turnovers from Bobby Petrino’s offense in a six-play stretch. The Vols, who travel to Eugene to face Oregon this week, pulled away in the second half for a 52-20 win as 13-point home favorites.
After missing the season-opening loss at Virginia due to a hamstring injury, BYU senior WR Cody Hoffman returned against Texas and caught a pair of balls for 68 yards.
Texas QB David Ash is ‘questionable’ for Saturday vs. Ole Miss after sustaining a head injury that forced him out of the loss to BYU. WR Daje Johnson is a also question mark due to an ankle injury. Ash has six TD passes compared to two interceptions in 2013.
Ole Miss will be looking to avenge an embarrassing 66-31 home loss to Texas last season. However, the Rebels will be without their best defensive player (Denzel Nkemdiche) and best offensive lineman (Aaron Morris). They own a 5-1 record ATS in six road games on Hugh Freeze’s watch.
Since 2008, Alabama owns a 15-6 spread record in 21 games as a road ‘chalk.’ As of early Monday afternoon, the Crimson Tide are favored by between 7.5 and 9 at Texas A&M. As Larry Hartstein reported earlier, the Wynn took a couple of $2,000 bets on Alabama laying the books opening number of 7.5.
Duke was a road favorite for the first time since 2005 Saturday at Memphis. Despite the unfamiliar role, the Blue Devils took the cash in a 28-14 win as 4-point ‘chalk.’ However, starting QB Anthony Boone suffered a broken collarbone and is out indefinitely. Fortunately for David Cutcliffe, back-up QB Brandon Connette has seen plenty of playing time as a part-time ‘Wildcat QB,’ tight end and running back.
Cincinnati QB Munchie Legaux is ‘out’ for the season after suffering a severe knee injury in Saturday’s blowout loss at Illinois. Legaux started the first two games for the Bearcats, throwing two TDs compared to three interceptions.
Heisman watch
Las Vegas sports books are not allowed to take bets on the Heisman Trophy. But here are mock odds on the top 5 candidates.
1) Louisville QB Teddy Bridgewater is my 5-to-1 co-favorite to win the Heisman Trophy going into Week 3. Bridgewater has completed 46-of-60 passes (76.7 percent) for 752 yards with a 9/1 touchdown-to-interception ratio. With a cupcake schedule, Bridgewater is going to continue to produce monster numbers.
2. FSU’s Jameis Winston is my 5-to-1 co-favorite, even though he had an open date in Week 2. Like Bridgewater, the redshirt freshman QB won’t be facing a quality defense anytime soon (Nevada, Bethune-Cookman and Boston College are on deck). Winston enjoyed a sparkling debut in a blowout win at Pitt, connecting on 25 of 27 throws for 356 yards and four TDs without an interception.
3. Oregon QB Marcus Mariota (6-to-1) is averaging 26.1 yards per rush. He has produced six TDs (three apiece passing and rushing) and 668 yards (433 passing and 235 rushing).
4. UCLA QB Brett Hundley (8-to-1) is going to announce his candidacy by lighting up Nebraska’s defense in Week 3.
5. Clemson QB Tajh Boyd (9-to-1) will stay in the hunt as long as the Tigers remain undefeated.
Others to watch: Texas A&M QB Johnny Manziel (10/1), Oregon RB De’Anthony Thomas (12/1), Baylor RB Lache Seastrunk (15/1), Michigan QB Devin Gardner (15/1) and UGA’s Aaron Murray and Todd Gurley (both 20/1).
Early lean
Texas A&M +8 vs. Alabama. I made the Crimson Tide a 3.5-point road favorite. There are certainly concerns galore about Texas A&M’s defense, but this unit has been without a slew of starters that’ll be back this week after serving suspensions.
The Aggies have also been 100 percent vanilla scheme-wise in their first two games. And remember, there are issues on Alabama’s offensive line after generating only 206 yard of total offense vs. Va. Tech. We know how explosive Kevin Sumlin’s offense is with several extremely talented running backs, in addition to the nation’s best QB/WR combo in Johnny Manziel and Mike Evans.
I’m all about the Aggies as home underdogs of more than a touchdown.
Box Score Review
By Todd Fuhrman
Toddstake.com
The Hurricanes were out first downed 22-10, outgained 413-212, and had 16 minutes less of time of possession but found a way to upset the Gators thanks to Florida’s 5 turnovers and absolutely horrific execution in the red zone.
Kentucky’s 41-7 win over Miami OH might not have been decisive enough given their stat sheet domination. The Redhawks gained 8 first downs to Kentucky’s 27 and were crushed in total yardage 675 to 122. However, the most “impressive” stat line was for Miami’s QB’s who went 4-14 despite trailing by 17 for over 3 quarters.
Michigan St and USF combined for 27 points but even that many shouldn’t have been scored. Mich St was the beneficiary of 2 defensive touchdowns and only amassed 265 yards of offense. USF was that much worse; gaining 155 yards on 61 plays going 1-13 on 3rd downs. Bobby Eveld the starting QB was 6-25 for 66 yards, ouch. Sparty’s QBs didn’t light the world on fire either completing 12 of 24 passes for less than 100 yards.
Oklahoma State and UTSA’s final was somewhat misleading when you consider the teams combined for 42 points in the 4th quarter compared to only 49 through the first 3 frames. OSU threw for over 500 yards with efficient QB play as Chelf/Walsh combined to go 35-43.
Houston needed a late touchdown to cover against Temple but they clearly were the right side all afternoon. The Cougars were +13 in first downs and outgained the Owls by 224 yards. Houston’s biggest problem was they weren’t able to get in the end zone consistently, settling for 5 field goals in the game leaving way too many points on the board.
WVU and Oklahoma never had a shot to go over the total but 23 points is rather misleading when you see the teams combined for over 800 yards between them. Oklahoma did a bulk of their damage on offense with the ground game accounting for 316 of the team’s 435 yard output.
San Diego St was down 42-0 before they finally got on the board in the 3rd quarter. The game ended with 49 points keeping it under by a touchdown which was a bit troublesome given the 2 teams didn’t score a single point over the last 16 minutes of game play.
UVA ran 17 more plays than Oregon and held the ball for 18 more minutes…it didn’t matter in the least considering the Ducks beat the Cavs into submission by a 59-10 final.
Northwestern received excellent production from both of their quarterbacks Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian. The 2 headed monster went 30-37 with 5 TD’s and no picks.
Navy ran the ball on 70 of their 77 offensive plays. When you average 6 yards per carry, there really is no need for any other form of offense. Indiana was 8-12 on 3rd downs but fell victim to long Midshipmen drives and couldn’t get over the hump to steal a win in a contest they never led.
LSU only faced 8 third downs in their route of UAB. Zach Mettenberger showed continued improvement going 16-19 for 282 yards and 5 touchdowns. Jeremy Hill only touched the ball 6 times at running back but made the most of his carries gaining 50 yards.
Tulsa needed 13 unanswered points to beat Colorado St as 10 pt chalk. The game shouldn’t have required such Herculean efforts considering CSU only gained 286 yards on 64 plays grabbing all of 9 first downs.
Auburn’s 38-9 win over Arkansas St wasn’t nearly as dominant as the final score would have you believe. ASU had more first downs and only 40 fewer yards than the Tigers. Auburn did double up the Redwolves in the rushing department 301 to 150.
Ball St beat Army by 26 despite out gaining them by only a single yard, running 13 fewer plays, and having 4 minutes less time of possession. The difference? 3 turnovers from the Black Knights compared to 0 for the Cardinals.
Penn St may have scored 45 points and covered vs EMU as 24 pt favorites but there was an alarming stat in that romp; PSU was only 1-10 on 3rd down which doesn’t bode well against stiffer competition. They did outgain the Eagles 574-183, shutting out EMU’s offense completely with the Eagles only points courtesy of a scoop and score on defense.
Throw out the final from the WKU 52-20 loss to Tennessee for one reason: turnovers. The Hilltoppers were generous with the football giving it to the Vols 7 times (5 interceptions, 2 fumbles). Yardage, first downs, and every other major statistical category indicated a closer game but a -6 turnover differential makes it impossible to cover even as 2 TD dogs.
Washington St and USC set Pac 12 football back 100 years…that’s all.
Even though they left Sam Boyd with a 58-13 victory, Arizona’s QB play was anything but stellar. The young signal caller Denker went 8-20 for 81 yards but when you can lean on Heisman hopeful Kadeem Carey (16 carries for 171 yards), it makes the job that much easier.
Week 2 News & Notes
By Phil Steele
Philsteele.com
FAU was only outgained by East Carolina 312-282 but I thought FAU was more impressive the previous week vs Miami, Fl than they were here. In the 1H ECU did get an 85 yd KR setting up a 12 yd td drive then an 18 yd IR setting up another 12 yd td drive and led 21-6. FAU also had a 37 yd FG bounce off the upright and ECU had 190-114 yd edge at the half. ECU got another interception returned to the FAU5 and got a 22 yd FG for a 24-6 lead. FAU went on a 12 play drive but was SOD and ECU went 57/9pl to go up 31-6. FAU fumbled at its own 29 but recovered a fumble at its own 11. FAU missed a 40 yd FG with 7:34 left as ECU put backup QB Cody Keith in with 10:40 left. FAU’s last drive went 64/11pl and on 4th&gl from the 2 Hankerson hit Dukes with a td pass which made some Owl fans’ very happy as they “only” lost by 18.
Sacramento St had only lost to San Jose St the previous week by 24 but on Thursday night was blasted by Arizona St. Sac St had beaten Colorado in ‘12 and Oregon St in ‘11. This was a ball game for the first half of the 1Q. Sac St took the opening KO at its 25. They went 59/15pl and with just 7:25 left in the 1Q, they missed a 33 yd FG. ASU would go 80/11pl, 71/6pl, 29/7pl (after fumble), 52/5pl, and 59/3pl for td’s on their first 5 possessions to lead 35-0. After their second 3Q possession, which came after a 67 yd IR to the 2, they led 52-0. ASU had 27-6 FD and 523-167 yd edges.
On the Friday night game on CBS College Sports, UCF rolled to a 38-0 shutout of FIU with a 390-173 yd edge. FIU had an excited home crowd at the start and did only trail 7-0 after the 1Q. UCF got a 44/4pl drive for a td (after 16 yd PR) and 50/8pl drive for a 37 yd FG to lead 17-0 then got a 59 yd pass keying an 80/4pl drive for a td to go up 24-0. FIU went 58/11pl but missed a 34 yd FG. FIU fumbled a shogun snap at their own 17 setting up a UCF td and UCF went 70/7pl for a td to lead 38-0 with 3:04 left in the 3Q and played their backups the rest of the game. Blake Bortles hit 12-19-214 while Jake Medlock hit 16-25-128.
Coach Addazio was very high on Andre Williams during the offseason and Williams is living up to that praise. Williams, who was questionable coming into the game, rushed 35-204. Boston College won 24-10 but the game was decided with 2 stops inside the BC5 and 2 fumbles. Wake Forest fumbled at its own 27 on its first drive and BC went 27/2pl for a td. At the start of the 2Q, WF fumbled at its own 22 and BC got a 22 yd td pass on the next play and led 17-7. Just before the half, the Demon Deacons blocked a punt and recovered at the BC3 but after a 2nd&gl at the 1, they were stuffed on 4th&gl at the 1. BC only had a 170-160 yd edge. After each team punted twice to open the 3Q, BC drove 47/7pl for a td and WF drove 66/14pl and once again had a 1st&gl at the 4 but this time settled for a 26 yd FG. WF opted to punt on 4th&10 from its own 24 with 5:14 left and BC ran 44/10pl running out the clock to the WF25. BC only had a 314-246 yd edge.
Melvin Gordon ran for 140 yds and Wisconsin’s defense has not allowed a point in the first 2 games. Joel Stave hit 24-28-219. Once again UW had 3 RB’s top 100 yds including frosh Corey Clement who rushed for 13-149 and a 75 yd run in the 2H. Tennessee Tech crossed the 50 yd line just once in the first 3Q’s. It was the first time the Badgers had B2B shutouts to open the season since 1958. It was 28-0 at the half and UW had a 327-57 yd edge. UW’s last score was the 75 yd td run by Clement and that came with 6:04 left in the game to get the Badgers a 48 pt win.
Casey Pachall was injured in the 1H and a sluggish TCU only had 204 yds and led 17-14 vs SELA. TCU’s first 2 drives ended on a 4th&6 SOD at the SELA34 and a 4th&3 at the SELA21. With Pachall injured (possibly out 8 weeks) Trevone Boykin came off the bench and his first two 3Q drives went 57/6pl, 44/2pl for td’s. His 3rd drive was SOD on 4th&4 at the SELA22 and he then led them 61/6pl for a td before punting on his final possession. Third string QB Tyler Matthews came in with 3:25 left. TCU only had 20-18 FD and 402-339 yd edges with Pachall hitting 8-14-100 and Boykin 9-13-133.
Iowa appeared to have all kinds of trouble with Missouri St despite being favored by nearly 4 td’s. Ten seconds turned this into a close one. Iowa had a 25-12 FD edge and 489-197 yd edge. Iowa missed a 33 yd FG in the 2Q and despite a 204-67 yd edge, led just 7-0. They were SOD at the MS2 but still led 21-0 after 3Q’s. Missouri St on 4th&5 got a FD and 2pl later a 27 yd td pass. On the next play Iowa QB Rudock threw an interception which was returned 28 yds for a td and stunningly 21-0 turned into 21-14. Iowa answered immediately with a 65/10pl drive for a td. Missouri St did get to the Iowa 14 but was intercepted in the EZ with 6:50 left and Iowa finished with a 489-197 yd edge.
Teddy Bridgewater did hit 23-32-397 yds but Louisville was a 41 pt favorite and only scored 44 pts in their 44-7 win over in-state rival (100 miles apart) Eastern Kentucky. UL did have its state rival Kentucky in deck. UL led 27-0 at half with a 251-76 yd edge punting 2 times in the 1H. They opened the 2H with 71/7pl and 62/7pl drives to lead 37-0 but allowed an 87/12pl drive for a td with 12:45 left to only led 37-7. UL went 76/7pl with Bridgewater still in the game getting a td with 9:08 left. EKU’s final drive got to the UL49.
It was a frustrating game for Houston as they got inside the redzone an amazing 9 times vs Temple and had a 1&gl 6 times and yet with 1:18 left in the game, only had 15 total points. David Piland started the game and hit 6-17-72 although he did have 4 or 5 dropped passes. John O’Korn played the rest hitting 23-31-233. UH had 32-19 FD and 524-300 yd edges in the game. UH was also called for 3 PF’s in the 1H. UH’s first drive ended on a missed 35 yd FG. They went 68/12pl but settled for a 40 yd FG. They went 76/10pl and had a 3&gl at the 1 but settled for a 19 yd FG then went 72/12pl and had a 1&gl at the 1 but again settled for a 19 yd FG. At half UH had an 18-11 FD edge but trailed 13-9 as Temple crossed midfield twice and scored td’s on each. UH opened the 3Q in the same fashion going 58/11pl and settling for a 24 yd FG after a 1&gl. UH had a 1&gl at the 8 but on 4&gl at the 1 was SOD with 10:00 left 3Q then after 3&gl at the 2, settled for a 22 yd FG, 15-13. UH went 87/16pl and had a 3&gl at the 6 when O’Korn fumbled at the 3 but the Cougars got a 40 yd IR to the 12 with 1:18 left and a 10 yd td run with 1:06 left to win 22-13.
Rutgers had a 19-6 FD edge vs Norfolk St and 423-133 yd edge. Usually in games vs weaker foes, Rutgers has its defense set its offense up for scores and that was the case here. These teams have met three times since 2007 and Rutgers has now won by a combined 128-0. Paul James rushed 18-119 and Savon Huggins 21-96. RU’s first td was set up by a blocked punt as they drove 30 yds for a td then after a fumble drove 19 yds for a td. After a 33 yd punt from the EZ they drove 34 yds for a td to lead 21-0 at the half but did have a 201-80 yd edge. After an int, RU drove 30/6pl for a td then after a short punt, drove 49/8pl for a td. Their longest drive was a 68/13pl resulting in a 24 yd FG at the start of the 4Q.
Bryn Renner hit 23-34-399. North Carolina came in off a loss to South Carolina but jumped out to a 23-0 halftime lead on Middle Tenn with a 326-99 yd edge. MT took its opening drive of the 3Q 66/9pl for a td but trailing 26-7 got a 28 yd FR td with 12:38 left to get within 13. UNC went 75/5pl for a td and a 20 pt lead and MT took over with 11:16 left and went 70/12pl but on 4&5 was SOD at the UNC9 with 6:52 left. MT was SOD on 4&1 at its own 43 with 3:31 left and UNC went 43/5pl for a td with 2:24 left, 40-13. MT went 75/9pl and got a 12 yd td pass with :25 left. UNC had a 511-401 yd edge.
It’s no surprise that with Clemson taking on lowly South Carolina St and possessing a Heisman Trophy candidate at QB that they had a QB throw for 3 td’s and set the Clemson single game completion % record hitting 19-20. Amazingly that QB was Cole Stoudt who hit 19-20-143 while Tajh Boyd hit 14-23-169. Boyd and the starters rested in the 2H of the game. CU got a 52 yd IR td late in the 1Q to lead 17-0 and up 24-0, allowed a 63 yd td pass on 3rd&8 in the 2Q but it was 38-7 at the half with 316-135 CU yd edge. Early in the 4Q CU drove 83/13pl for a td to lead 52-7 and SCSt on 3rd&8 got a 51 yd td pass 4:05 left to close the scoring. CU finished with 28-11 FD and 512-241 yd edges.
Cincinnati, an AAC team, was a large favorite over a Big Ten team on the road. Last week UC was off a misleading final vs Purdue as they were tied at 7 late 1H and benefitted from PU being SOD in its own territory twice in the 3Q. Also, Illinois had a big lead over their foe and let up at the end for another misleading final. The Illini dominated leading 21-0 in the 2Q. UC QB Munchie Legaux was injured with 9:10 left in the game (out for year) and they were already trailing 31-17. UI, after a 38 yd PR, went 27/2pl for a td then 68/7pl for a td with 2:11 left for a 45-17 rout. Nathan Scheelhaase continues to thrive in Bill Cubit’s offense hitting 26-37-312. UI piled up 27 FD’s and 522 yds.
Florida’s Jeff Driskel threw for a career high 291 yds vs Miami. Florida had a commanding 22-10 FD edge and 413-212 yd edge but constantly came up short in the redzone and actually ended up losing by 5. UF controlled the ball for 38:20 to Miami’s 21:40. UF’s opening drive was 8 plays but on 2nd&11 from the UM28 they fumbled. Trailing 14-6 UF had a 3rd&gl at the 11 but Driskel was intercepted at the 3. On their next drive UF went 56/11pl but on 4&1 was SOD at the 16. They went 65/12pl but on FD from the 12, fumbled at the 13. At half UF had a 245-145 yd edge but trailed. Down 14-9 UF had a 3rd&3 at the UM17 but was intercepted at the 12. UF fumbled at its own 4 and UM got a td 2pl later to lead 21-9. UF went 65/4pl for a td with 2:08 left. UM recovered the onside kick and punted with :28 left and the game ended on a sack.
Bowling Green switched to backup QB Matt Johnson as the starter and it has paid dividends. He hit 19-25-357 vs a decent Kent St D. KSt was playing without star RB Dri Archer. BG finished with a 576-302 yd edge and 26-15 FD edge although the 1H both teams scored at will. BG, trailing 22-17 took over with 4:40 left in the half and drove 71 yds for a td with :54 left and the lead. BG had a 298-252 yd edge. BG opened the 3Q with a 45/13pl drive for a 41 yd FG then the key play happened. After forcing a punt, on 3rd&15, they had a 92 yd td pass for some breathing room, 34-22. BG’s D, which had been stellar the previous week, forced consecutive punts and the Falcons rolled to a 41-22 lead. On 3&3 of what was KSt’s last drive they gained 1 yd to the BG23 with 3:16 left.
41-7 probably doesn’t sum up the Kentucky/Miami, Oh game. At the half UK had a 410-73 yd edge with MU’s only td coming when UK fumbled the punt and MU fell on it for a td and it was 31-7. It was 41-7 and UK’s, on its final drive, got a 1st&gl at the 5, threatening to extend the lead, but taking a knee instead. UK had 27-8 FD and 675-122 yd edges.
Ball St only had a 440-439 yd edge vs Army but won 40-14. Army played mistake free (0 TO’s, 0 pen) the previous week but here had 3-1 TO deficit and also had 8 penalties for 90 yds. Ball St RB Jawan Edwards (concussion), DE Jonathan Newsome (ankle), LB Julian Boyd (knee) and WR Chris Schillings (ankle) all missed. Army got a 71 yd td run by Dixon on the game’s 3rd play to lead 7-0 but fumbled at their own 21 setting up a FG and went on an 8pl drive and missed a 33 yd FG and trailed 27-7 at the half with Ball St having a 276-221 yd edge. The Cardinals got a 19 yd FG to open the 3Q then recovered a fumble. Army was intercepted at its own 40 and went 78/14pl but was SOD at the BS13. On their final drive, the Black Knights went 31/11pl but were SOD at the BS31.
Eastern Michigan played a solid 1H vs Penn St. In fact, they did not have a 3&out the entire half but were outgained 265-139. They only trailed 17-7 after they returned a fumble 11 yds for a td. Late in the 3Q it was still 17-7 when Penn St got a 13 yd PR setting up a 32/6pl drive for a td then went 84/6pl, 83/4pl and 67/6pl on the next poss all for td’s to blow it open. Penn St finished with a 574-183 yd edge and 25-11 FD edge.
Indiana St was playing without its top RB Shakir Bell who had 119 yds in the opener and the Sycamores managed just 39 yds rushing on 22 carries. Purdue was far from dominant vs Indiana St. The FD’s were even at 16, ISt had a 295-284 yd edge and at one point PU ran 6 plays from the IS1 in the 1H and had 3 points to show for it. At the end of the game, ISt, down 6, had the ball at the PU35 but was intercepted. Trailing 10-0 ISt was SOD at the PU43 early in the 3Q and opted to punt on 4th&20 with 2:48 left before getting the ball back at the 41 prior to the interception.
For the 2nd straight week, Michigan St’s offense struggled as they alternated Connor Cook, Tyler O’Connor and Andrew Maxwell at QB and the three combined to hit 12-24-94 against USF. Once again the Spartans got a defensive td and still only won by 15. Michigan St missed a 25 yd FG with 9:37 left in the 2Q in a scoreless game but got a 4 yd FR td. USF went on an 11pl drive for a 49 yd FG and then after recovering a fumble with :20 left in the half, added a 21 yd FG to only trail 7-6 at the half. Down 21-6 USF was SOD at the MS33 and punted on their final 2 drives.
Virginia Tech’s Logan Thomas, who was 5-26 vs Bama’s outstanding defense, hit 17-31-200 last week vs FCS foe Western Carolina. VT’s RB corps got a little stronger as rFr Chris Mangus rushed 5-84 and converted WR Joe Caleb (PS#12) rushed for 36 yds on 6 carries while Trey Edmunds, who had a solid game vs Bama, had 2 td’s. VT’s D allowed just 162 yds and 8 FD’s while the offense rolled up 462 yds and 24 FD’s.
WKU took its opening drive 53/14pl for a 37 yd FG and a 3-0 lead. They would then turn it over 5 times in 6 plays and trailed Tennessee 31-3 with UT getting a pair of IR td’s. Just before the half, trailing 31-10, WKU blocked a punt to set up a td and pulled within 31-17. UT went 59/5pl, 75/8pl, was intercepted and went 80/8pl for td’s on its first 4 poss to lead 52-20. Despite leading 31-17 at the half, they were outgained 232-90 but, of course, their offense did not have the ball very often. For the game WKU had a 393-382 yd edge.
Oklahoma St gave JW Walsh the starting job and hit 24-27-327 yds hitting his first 10 passes. Walsh was replaced with 6:00 left in the 3Q with OSU up 42-7. OSU only had a 605-504 yd edge and in the 1H, UTSA did miss a 31 yd FG after a 61/12pl drive and was intercepted at the OS41 and missed a 59 yd FG on the final play of the half but they trailed 35-7. OSU led by 28 for a good portion of the 2H and got a td with 5:27 left to lead 56-28. UTSA went 81/11pl and on 4th&4 they got a FD pass to the 19 and on 4th&6, a 15 yd td pass saw them only lose by 21 which made some of their backers very happy.
Massachusetts came into the Maine game with a 41-16-1 overall mark in the series. Maine finished with 514-265 yd and 21-14 FD edges. UMass took its opening drive 54/4 for a td and Maine drove down to a 1st&gl at the 5 but was intercepted in the EZ. UMass fumbled a punt at its own 40 and Maine got a 26 yd FG to trail 7-3. UMass was SOD at the Maine29 and Maine, after a 20 yd UMass punt got a 35 yd td run early 2Q and led 10-7 at the half. Maine took its 2nd 3Q poss 68/12pl and then went 65/6pl, both for td’s to lead 24-7. UMass got a td with 11:10 left to pull within 10 but Maine took over with 7:41 left and went 73/4pl taking a knee at the UMass6.
Boise St bounced back from its worst defeat in 8 years and rolled over overmatched UT Martin, 63-14, with Joe Southwick hitting 17-25-234 and 5 td’s. It was 14-7 after the 1Q but Boise went 43/6pl, 63/6pl, 59/8pl, got a 33 yd IR td and then recovered a fumbled KO and went 15/5pl, all for td’s to lead 49-7 at the half with only a 274-169 yd edge. Despite the 63-14 final, Boise only had a 25-19 FD edge and a 472-357 yd edge.
Chattanooga flat out dominated Georgia St with a 25-13 FD edge and 509-303 yd edge. They led 21-0 at the half and 42-0 early 4Q before Georgia St went 70 and 77 yds for td’s on their first 2 4Q drives. At half UTC had a 236-87 yd edge.
Central Michigan was without starting QB Cody Kater and RB Zurlon Tipton who were both injured in the 1Q last week vs Michigan. They nearly suffered a loss to New Hampshire. At the half NH had a 187-98 yd edge and led 13-0 with NH missing a 41 yd FG and CMU being SOD on 4th&9 at the NH25. CMU was SOD at the NH3 to open the 3Q but after an interception drove 61/7pl for a td. NH went 75/8pl and early in the 4Q led 21-7. CMU went 65/5pl for a td then the key play of the game happened when pinned at their own 3, rFr QB Cooper Rush (PS#90) tossed a 97 yd td to Davis on the first play tied it at 21. NH had the ball with 5:07 left but fumbled at the CMU24 yd line. CMU converted on 3rd&15 for a huge FD and got a 27 yd FG on the final play of the game to pull out the win.
Utah St’s Chuckie Keeton looks like one of the top QB’s in the country and hit 32-40-360 vs Air Force and ran for another 77. They had 5 td passes. AF’s Jaleel Awini hit 4-12-61 although he had about 5 drops in the game. Utah St scored on its first 2 poss jumping out to a 14-0 lead and AF settled for 33 yd FG’s after a pair of 11 play drives and trailed 14-6. It was 24-13 at the half with the Aggies having a 279-152 yd edge but Utah St went 89/10pl and AF faked a punt from its own 32 and was SOD. The Aggies went 32/3pl, 69/7pl and 70/13pl to put it away 52-13 in their 52-20 win. They finished with 577-270 yd and 32-16 FD edges.
Ohio St/San Diego St turned out to be a battle of backup QB’s. Adam Dingwell for the Aztecs was 0-5 passing with an int and was replaced by Quinn Kaehler who hit 22-36-216 but SDSt’s only score came on a 72/6pl drive for a td late in the 3Q when they trailed 42-0. Ohio St had a 309-99 yd edge at the half. Braxton Miller was injured on the first drive of the game and Kenny Guiton hit 19-28-152 yds and rushed for 83. OSU punted on Guiton’s first poss then went 56/5pl, 57/9pl, 77/5pl and 24/5pl (after fumble) to lead 35-0 at the half and went 66/11pl for a td on their 2nd 3Q drive. The Bucks were SOD at the SDSt33 and the Aztecs were intercepted at the OSU22 in the only other scoring opportunities in the game. Ohio St finished with a 445-280 yd edge.
Ross Metheny rushed for 75 yds for South Alabama in their game vs Tulane. He had 14 and 30 yd td passes on USA’s 3rd and 4th series and got a 12 yd td run on their 5th as they jumped out to a 28-7 lead. USA had a 328-257 yd edge at the half leading 31-19. Tulane got a 40 yd td pass with 6:35 left 3Q to take the lead, 33-31 but USA blocked a punt and recovered it for a td with 1:21 left in the 3Q for a 38-33 lead. Each team punted on their next 2 poss then TU was intercepted with 9:46 left at the USA16. USA went 78/9pl getting a 23 yd FG to lead by 8 with 6:02 left. TU went 82/15pl and got a td with 1:19 left but the 2 point conversion failed. USA had a 465-372 yd edge.
Utah scored its most points since 1973 (82-6 vs UTEP) and finished with 628-205 yd and 24-13 FD edges vs Weber St. Utah is a perfect 36-0 all-time vs the Big Sky conference. The Utes got an 80 yd td pass in the 1Q but only led 14-0 mid-2Q. They went 69/3pl, 82/2pl and got a 21 yd IR td and went 70/5pl for a td with :04 left to lead 49-0 with a 430-107 yd edge. Utah’s final td came with 1:43 left in the 70-7 rout.
Oregon’s D controlled matters vs Virginia as in the 1Q they blocked a punt setting up a 14 yd td drive and then got an interception setting up a 40 yd td. It was 21-7 after 1Q and just 28-10 at the half with Oregon having a 325-182 yd edge. On their last drive of the 1H the Ducks were SOD at the 1. UO scored on its first three 3Q possessions with UVA turning it over twice on its first 3 to blow it open. UVA had a 3rd&gl at the UO8 and was intercepted and returned 97 yds to the 3 setting up another td which made it 52-10. UO finished with a 557-298 yd edge.
Missouri/Toledo played in 90-degree plus temps. UT settled for 24, 46 and 41 yd FG’s and trailed 10-9 with 4:57 left 1H. MO went 75/10pl for a td to make it 17-9. UT appeared to answer going 72/9pl but on 2nd&gl from the 3 on the last play of the half was intercepted in the EZ. UT opened the 3Q with a 53/8pl drive to the MO22 but was intercepted and returned 70 yds for a td. UT went 38/4pl (after 59 yd KR) and 60/6pl for td’s to pull within 24-23 but MO went 75/10pl, then after a 9 yd punt, 44/10pl for td’s to make it 38-23 with 10:29 left. The Rockets were intercepted and punted on their last 2 drives and MO went 41/9pl getting a FD at the UT6 where they took a knee at the end.
If you look at attempts/completions, it appears Baylor’s Bryce Petty had an average game hitting 13-16 vs Buffalo. Amazingly the 13 completions went for 388 yds, 29.8 ypc! The Baylor starters played just 46 plays but had 576 yds offense vs Buffalo. Even the D got in big plays as LB Bryce Hager had a 91 yd FR td. Baylor starters were pulled after the 1st series of the 4Q where they went 75/5pl for at td, 63-13, and had a 561-259 yd edge at that point.
Against Idaho, Brett Smith set a Wyoming career record by getting his 72nd td (pass/run combo) topping Casey Bramlet who had 70 from 2000-03. He hit 22-38-295 and rushed another 64 as Wyoming had a 564-344 yd edge. The game was delayed for 33:00 in the 2Q due to lightning. The first 8 possessions of the game were all punts with Wyo not scoring until a td on the first play of the 2Q. UI, trailing 14-0, was SOD at the UW29 with 3:48 left in the half and UW went 71/11pl getting a td with :49 left for a 21-0 lead. UI missed a 41 yd FG on the 1H final play but UW did have a 273-134 yd edge. UI fumbled to open the 3Q and UW went 65/7pl, 57/4pl, 83/8pl to lead 42-0. UW was intercepted in the EZ on 2nd&4 from the 16 and UI went 56/13pl for a FG with 6:15 left then 80/12pl for a td with :26 left gaining 136 of their 344 yds on the last 2 drives.
With a win over Memphis, Duke opened the season 2-0 for the first time since 1998 despite losing starting QB Anthony Boone to injury. Brandon Connette came off the bench and hit 14-21-198 yds and rushed for 14-31. Duke’s D was dominant throughout the game. They had a game under their belt and were taking on a rFr QB in Paxton Lynch making his first start. At the half Duke had 182-67 yd and 10-2 FD edges but amazingly the game was tied 7-7 as Memphis had a 75 yd IR td. Duke led 14-7 when Memphis went 70/3pl for a td with 11:38 to tie at 14. Duke answered with 75/7pl and 75/6pl drives for td’s to win 28-14 with 470-237 yd and 25-12 FD edges.
Last year ODU QB Taylor Heinicke threw for over 5,000 yds with a 44-14 ratio. While ODU moved the ball with 18 FD’s and 335 yds vs Maryland, Heinicke had 3 interceptions and was pulled late for David Washington (3-5-4). ODU was interceptions on 3 of its first 4 drives including on 3rd&gl at the 2 with the interceptions coming at the MD41, MD48 and MD5. ODU went for it on 4th&1 with :13 left in the half and fired incomplete and MD led 31-3 at the half with a 392-222 yd edge. ODU was SOD at the MD21 to open the 3Q and MD went 79/5pl and 60/11pl for td’s and led 47-3 before Washington led ODU 61/13pl for a td with 5:05 left. MD ended the game at the ODU34 taking a knee.
Northwestern dominated Syracuse leading 34-7 at the half with a 387-154 yd edge. It was 41-13 in the 4Q with SU going 54/5pl and gaining 160 of their 434 yds in the 4Q and also getting 2 td’s including a 77/10pl drive for a garbage td with :41 left.
Week 2 News & Notes – Part 2
By Phil Steele
Philsteele.com
Despite playing Navy early in the year and working on the option in the offseason, Indiana had a tough time against it. Navy went 88/8pl, 34/7pl, 64/12pl, 75/6pl scoring 3 td’s and a FG in their first 4 possessions of the game and led 24-14 at the half with a 321-238 yd edge. Indiana was SOD at its own 34 and intercepted at the N3 in the half. Navy missed a 32 yd FG on the final play of the half. The first 7 possessions of the 2H resulted in 6 td’s and a FG and Navy, on 4th&1, got a FD to the IU47 with 2:00 left and ran out the clock in their 41-35 win.
Nebraska’s D was much maligned after allowing over 600 yds to Wyoming the previous week but would get not one but two IR td’s in the 1Q vs Southern Miss. The Huskers led 35-6 at the half but Southern Miss actually had a 168-163 yd edge with 3:11 left in the half before NU went 75/12pl for a 3rd&10, 21 yd td pass to lead 35-6. This was supposed to have been an SM home game but they agreed to move the game to Lincoln for $2.1 mill and Nebraska did finish with a 479-284 yd edge.
Mississippi St rolled up 30-6 FD and 556-163 yd edges vs the overmatched Alcorn St despite not having starting QB Russell who was injured. Dak Prescott hit 12-19-174, and Damian Williams 8-13-105. It was 37-0 at half with MSU holding a 325-48 yd edge.
LSU’s Zach Mettenberger had 12 td passes all of last year but already has 6 in the first two games under new OC Cam Cameron. Mettenberger hit 16-19-282 and Jeremy Hill came off a suspension to rush for 50 yds on 6 carries. UAB actually came into this game 1-0 in Death Valley as they won their only other visit back in 2000. LSU finished with a 445-296 yd edge. UAB got a 24 yd FG on the final play of the half to only trail 35-17 with LSU having a 281-127 yd edge. LSU’s final td came on a UAB 59 yd FG which came up short and Odell Beckham fielded the kick in the EZ and returned it 100 yds for a td with 2:11 left. UAB was SOD at the LSU7 at the end in the 56/17 rout.
Arkansas continues to look a little bit like Wisconsin as they rushed for 333 yds vs Samford with Alex Collins rushing for 172 yds on 24 carries. The Badgers…I mean the Hogs’…QB Brandon Allen hit 9-17-125 but there were a couple of drops. UA had a 458-231 yd edge and took its opening drive 75/6pl for a td then went 78/8pl to go up 14-0. SU went on a 75/13pl drive for a td and UA went 36/9pl for a 53 yd FG, 17-7 (11:54 2Q) and that was the score at the half with Ark having a 229-129 yd edge. UA fumbled at its own 24 and Stanford, 3pl later, had a td. Two possessions later Samford went 50/6pl and got a 16 yd td run to shockingly lead 21-17. Ark went 75/14pl for a td and on the next drive, 74/5pl, the key a Collins 55 yd run, to get some breathing room, 31-21 and UA ended the game taking a knee at the SU10.
Jameill Showers hit 15-20 but for only 119 yds for UTEP. New Mexico had a 483-399 yd edge and Kasey Carrier rushed for 291 yds on 41 carries for the Lobos. With starting QB Gausche out, Clayton Mitchem hit 4-7-88 and rushed 9-51. The game was 21-21 at the half with UTEP getting a 14 yd td run by Showers with :30 left. NM had a 21 yd FG hit the upright at the end of a 71/14pl drive. UTEP got a 65 yd td run by Aaron Jones to go up 28-21. NM tipped a punt and it only went 8 yds and the Lobos went 39/6pl to tie. NM took the lead with 7:40 left on a 17 yd td run but UTEP went 70/14pl getting a td with 1:12 left to force OT. Carrier’s 21 yd td run in OT made it 42-35 and UTEP on 4th&1 from the 4 was SOD.
Louisiana Tech had a 438-362 yd edge. Lamar was intercepted in the EZ from the 24 yd line in the 1H and after a 17 yd Lamar punt, LT went 26/2pl for a td to go ahead 14-7 at the half but Lamar had a 166-148 yd edge. Lamar got a 62 yd td pass with 10:56 left to get within 17-14. LT went 44/5pl for a 49 yd FG, 20-14, and Lamar fumbled at the LT35 with 6:04 left. LT went 65/9pl and on 3rd&10, got a 19 yd td run with 1:51 left for a somewhat misleading 27-14 final.
Nevada’s Cody Fajardo hit 18-21-239. UN had 30-11 edge and 535-296 yd edges. They got an interception and drove 24/3pl for a td then went 80/4pl for a td. Mid-2Q, UC Davis missed a 31 yd FG after an 80/10pl drive and UN went 80/16pl getting a td with 1:51 left in the half to lead 20-0. UCD got a 23 yd td pass with 1:01 left and at the half UN only had a 238-234 yd edge and led 20-7. UN went 75/7pl, fumbled at its own 33, went 87/8pl and 81/18pl on its 1st four 3Q possessions resulting in 2 td’s and a 23 yd FG to roll to a 36-7 lead which is what they won by. UN did finish the game at the UCD39.
Texas A&M’s Johnny Manziel threw for 426 yds and 3 td’s and ran for another score vs Sam Houston St. A&M had 38-14 FD and 714-390 yd edges. A&M only led 27-14 late in the 1H but did have a 447-162 yd edge. A&M went 70/11pl, 70/4pl, 46/9pl on its first 3 possessions of the 2H to lead 51-28 then got a 30 yd IR td, 58-28. Another interception set up a 52/2pl drive for a td with 1:14 left in the 3Q and A&M rolled 65-28.
Colorado’s offense continues to be much different with Paul Richardson at WR. In the opener, Richardson had 208 yds and this past week vs Central Arkansas, topped it with 11-209 yds including a 55 yd td reception in the 1Q and a 30 yd td reception in the 4Q as CU jumped out to a 14-0 lead. It was 14-14 at the half and CU only had a 221-200 yd edge. It was 17-17 late in the 3Q when UCA recovered a fumble by CU QB Wood at the 16. On 4th&gl at the 1 they got a td and UCA led 24-17 after 3Q’s. The game turned when UCA was driving to try to make it a 2 score game and on 2nd&4 from the CU24 was not only intercepted but returned 79 yds for a td, 24-24. After a fumble 3pl later, CU on 2nd&10 got a 30 yd td pass to Richardson then on 3rd&20 connected on a 39 yd td pass with 4:24 left and UCA’s final drive went 58/11pl but on 3rd&gl from the 4 they were intercepted in the EZ making this a misleading final as it was much closer than the 38-24 final and the Buffs only had a 424-340 yd edge.
Pete Thomas got the start for NC State at QB and hit 24-31-237 and Bryant Shirreffs hit 3-3-19 and accounted for 2 td’s. NCSt needed a 48 yd FG with :55 left to pull out the win. Richmond actually led 21-10 when NCSt took over with 1:33 left in the half. The Wolfpack went 74/13pl for a 19 yd FG to pull within 21-13 and that drive gave them the yardage edge for the half at 257-233. NCSt got a 7 yd td pass with 7:09 left in the 3Q to pull within 1. NCSt got to the UR43 but was intercepted at the 12 on 3rd&6. The final drive started with 1:59 left at their own 20 and they would get 3 FD’s on a 48/7pl drive and a 48 yd FG with :33 left. Richmond got to the NCS37 but its Hail Mary fell incomplete.
Akron continued to alternate QB’s with Kyle Pohl hitting 14-22-143 and Nick Hirschman 4-10-144. James Madison QB Michael Birdsong hit 29-42-310. JMU led 13-7 and fumbled with 2:41 left in the half. Hirschman drove the Zips 16/4pl for a td, 14-13. At half JMU had a 173-118 yd edge. JMU got a 45 yd FG to open the 3Q. Hirschman on 3rd&6 hit a 68 yd td pass, 21-16. JMU went 61/7pl getting a 5 yd td pass to lead 24-21. Bowden went back to Pohl at QB (Hirschman injured) and he guided the Zips 65/4pl for a td and the lead 28-24. JMU went 57/9pl for a 29 yd FG to pull within 28-27. After a 23 yd PR, Akron drove 56/9pl and got a 3rd&10, 24 yd td pass with 8:11 left, 35-27. JMU went 68/5pl for a td but the 2 pt conversion failed with 5:18 left, 35-33. Akron punted with 1:19 left and JMU got a FD but a PF moved it back to its own 16. They got 3 FD’s to the UA36 but after a 9 yd pass ran out of time. JMU had 498-356 yd and 26-14 FD edges.
Montana St’s flight didn’t get in until about 3:00 am on Saturday but SMU was fortunate to escape with a 1 pt win. The Mustangs did finish with a 461-378 yd edge but fumbled at the MS11 on their 2nd drive and trailing 22-12, forced a punt in the final seconds of the 1H. SMU got a 51 yd PR td with time expiring to make it 22-19. Trailing 30-25, SMU got the ball back with 3:46 left at its own 19 and went 81/13pl. On 3rd&gl they got a 4 yd td pass to take the lead 31-30 with :05 left.
Steward Butler rushed for 151 yds for Marshall and they had a 509-184 yd edge over Gardner-Webb. Marshall led 34-0 at the half with a 292-130 yd edge and 55-0 after 3Q’s.
Western Michigan had 30-18 FD and 485-447 yd edges vs Nicholls St, but it was yet another FBS that came up short vs an FCS foe. The Colonels jumped out to a 14-0 lead after 1Q and on their next possession were intercepted in the EZ from the 12. They still led 21-9 at the half with a 305-239 yd edge. WMU went 75/7pl and 61/12pl, the first resulted in a td, while the 2nd was SOD at the 2. WMU went 42/4pl for a td and the lead, 23-21 (3:13 3Q). NSU went 61/13pl and got a 29 yd FG with 11:19 left, then added a 28 yd FG with 1:44 left. WMU got to the NS24 but Van Tubbergen was intercepted at the 1.
The San Jose St/Stanford series is going to be discontinued and while SU had a 404-251 yd edge, they only had a 25-22 FD edge and won the game 34-13 – closer than the final score. SU did score on its first 3 possessions wracking up 197 yds of offense as they led 17-3 but SJSt went 70/13pl and settled for a 22 yd FG. At the half SU only had a 201-120 yd edge and a 17-6 lead. SU went 44/11pl for a 48 yd FG and 47/9pl for a td, 27-6. SJSt answered with a 65/9pl drive for a td then was intercepted at the 48 with 13:45 left and SU went 52/5pl for a td, 34-13. SJSt went 64/12pl and had a FD at the 11 but on 4th&8 was sacked and SU went 51/8 taking a knee at the SJS19.
Ka’Deem Carey returned to the lineup for Arizona and had 171 yds rushing and 2 td’ in the win over UNLV. UA finished with 478-282 yd and 25-10 FD edges. It was 31-6 when they got a 49 yd IR td with 6:58 left in the 1H and then with 1:34 left, got a 52 yd IR td to lead 45-6. At half UA only had a 276-165 yd edge. After 3Q’s, UA led 48-6 and went 84/11pl for a td with 2:50 left in the game which put them over the 400 yd mark and had them win by 45.
A couple of Heisman Trophy candidates, Ohio St’s Braxton Miller and South Carolina’s Jadeveon Clowney, continue to drop. Clowney did get a sack vs Georgia but UGA rolled up 536-454 yd and 25-21 FD edges. UGA jumped out to a 17-3 lead and appeared in control. The game was tied 24-24 at the half when QB Shaw hit a 30 yd td pass on 2nd&2 with :09 left in the half. Shaw impressed me with his running with 75 yards on 16 carries as well as he passing (16-24-228) but it’s great to see Aaron Murray (17-23-309) finally win a big game. SC on 4th&5 got a Shaw 9 yd run with 11:12 left in the 3Q but he fumbled. SC trailed 34-24 but got a 75 yd run on the first play by Davis. They went 80/4pl for a td to pull within 34-30. On 3rd&13 UGA got an 85 yd td pass. SC went for it on 4th&gl at the 1 and was SOD with 8:28 left and UGA went on an 81/13pl drive ending the game at the SC19.
Kansas St was off a loss and rolled to a 48-27 win over Louisiana. The Wildcats led 41-17 and there were basically 3 return td’s at the start of the 3Q. At the half Kansas St led 20-3 with a 234-110 yardage edge and got a 94 yd KR td by Thompson then a 79 yd PR by Thompson to the 1 setting up another td and they led 34-3. The Ragin’ Cajuns would get as close as 41-27 with a 24 yd FG with 10:55 left, but the Wildcats went 65/6pl for a td and Louisiana was SOD at the KS26 with 5:09 left.
Ole Miss did have 532-252 yd and 25-17 FD edges vs SE Missouri St. They opened strong scoring on their first 5 possessions of the game to lead 31-0 and had a 379-105 yd edge at the half. UM’s first 2 drives of the 3Q were SOD at the SEM48 and a fumble which was returned 47 yds to their 27. SEMO went 51/11pl and 27/3pl for td’s to pull within 31-13. UM went to 3rd string QB Ratliff at that point for the next 2 series but got the comfortable win without scoring a point in the 2H.
USC’s Marqise Lee had 7 catches but for just 27 yds for Washington St. Tre Madden did rush for 151 yds. USC’s offense had just 54 yds passing with Cody Kessler hitting 8-13-41 and Max Wittek 3-8-13. Four consecutive USC drives at the end of the 1H and start of 3Q were the key to this loss. The Trojans, up 7-0, had the ball on FD at the WS33 when Kessler was intercepted and returned 70 yds for a td with :27 left in the 1H to tie it. In the 3Q, with Wittek at QB, USC went 60/9pl but had a 32 yd FG blocked. They went 30/9pl but had a 43 yd FG go wide left. Their next drive went 48/12pl but this time, on 4th&8, they passed up a FG (which would have been a long one) and gained 7 yds on a pass to Lee which meant they were SOD. They appeared to be getting the ball back with 5:00 left when on 3rd&9 a short pass by WSU saw Williams break a couple of tackles before the FD marker and race 50 yds into FG range and they got a 41 yarder with 3:03 left. USC’s last drive ended on an interception at its own 37.
Oregon St had a 508-239 yd edge vs Hawaii. The Beavers led 14-0 early 2Q when Hawaii got a 23 yd IR td. UH then went 80/9pl for a td and actually tied it at 14 at half with the Beavers having a 202-128 yd edge. The Beavers went 69/9pl and 72/9pl on their first two 3Q possessions and went for it twice in the game on 4th down inside their own territory. They added a 34 yd FG with 7:39 left after an 11 play drive to go up by 19 to win 33-14.
Kansas/South Dakota was 97-degrees at kickoff. New QB Jake Heaps hit 10-20-11 but the Jayhawks rushed for 280 yds. The first 4 possessions of the game were punts and KU was SOD at the SD45. SD went 55/9pl for a td and a 7-0 lead after 1Q. KU went 75/10pl for a td and then with 3:25 left in the 2Q, fumbled at the SD32. After a 29 yd PR that set them up the SD9, they got a 5 yd td pass with 1:28 left to lead 14-7 at the half with a 159-111 yd edge. KU went 71/12pl to open the 3Q and then added a 45 yd FG early 4Q, 24-7. Each team went on a long td drive with KU scoring with 5:59 left for the 31-14 final. KU had a 390-286 yd edge.
Texas fired Manny Diaz as the DC (will be reassigned) after a woeful performance vs BYU. They had no clue how to stop a running QB as Taysom Hill rushed for a 259 yds on 17 carries. His 259 yards were the most in the nation since 2005 and the Cougars tallied a school record 550 rush yds. Hill did hit just 9-26-129 passing. BYU rolled up 436 total yds in the 1H and 679 in a game that was delayed a couple of hours due to lightning. BYU shuffled its O-line after its season opening loss. It was still a defensive struggle with 3:21 left in the 1Q when UT got a 57 yd td pass to lead 7-3 with the teams combining for 5 FD’s prior to that. The 2Q was all offense with BYU rolling up the yds. BYU got a 32 yd FG with :04 left in the half to lead 27-14. In the 2H the Cougars opened with 79/8pl, 51/10pl, 73/7pl drives for 2 td’s and a FG and led 40-21 and UT QB Ash was injured with McCoy leading Texas 49/14pl (SOD) and 52/3pl (time expired) on the Horns final 2 drives.
Devin Gardner wore #98 to honor Michigan great Tom Harmon and had a great game against Notre Dame, hitting 21-33-294 with 4 td’s and rushing 13 for 82 with another td. UM had a 460-410 yd edge and an NCAA record crowd of 115,109. UM got a 12 yd td pass with 1:09 left in the half to take a 27-13 lead. The Irish, trailing 34-20, were SOD at the UM17 on 4th&4 but as they were tackling Gardner in the EZ, he threw it up and DT Tuitt got an interception for a td, 34-27. UM, leading 34-30, had a 3rd&12 pass go incomplete but pass interference gave them a FD, then on 3rd&5 another PI FD set up a 4 yd td pass with 4:18 left, 41-30. ND was intercepted in the EZ on 1st&gl from the 6 with 1:29 left.
4th Quarter Covers - Week 2
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 second weekend of college football. 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.
East Carolina (-19½) 31, Florida Atlantic 13: While the overall statistics in this Conference USA opener were almost even East Carolina pulled to a 31-6 lead and past the spread with a touchdown run late in the third quarter. The Pirates were deep in FAU territory early in the fourth quarter after a fumble but East Carolina gave the ball back with their own fumble. Late in the game Florida Atlantic missed a field goal but then with just over a minute left the Owls stole the cover with a touchdown as almost half of the total yardage for the Owls came on the final three drives.
Oklahoma State (-30) 56, Texas-San Antonio 35: Those laying the four touchdown plus spread with the Cowboys had to feel pretty comfortable with Oklahoma State up 42-7 entering the fourth quarter as the offense led by J.W. Walsh was incredibly efficient a week after greatly struggling against Mississippi State. Oklahoma State would add two more touchdowns in the fourth but the defense clearly let up as the Roadrunners hit a few big plays and wound up with four fourth quarter touchdowns to bring the final margin to just 21 points. Texas-San Antonio ended up with over 500 yards in the game though over half of that total came on the final four possessions late in the game.
Houston (-3½) 22, Temple 13: With over 500 yards of offense the Houston offense looked on track but the Cougars trailed at halftime and after settling for two short field goals in the third quarter Houston led just 15-13 heading into the final frame. Temple had a 78-yard drive late in the third quarter but they missed a field goal and the Owls could not take advantage of a fourth quarter opportunity near mid-field after a fumble. Temple’s last shot was ended with an interception deep in its own territory and Houston punched in a spread-winning touchdown with just over a minute to go in a game where the scoring did not match up with the yardage as Houston kicked four field goals of fewer than 25 yards.
Ohio (-3½) 27, North Texas 21: The spread on this game opened as high as -8 before dropping sharply throughout the week as most on the favored Bobcats wound up with a win. It did not look likely late in the game as the score was tied 21-21 well into the fourth quarter before Ohio settled for a go-ahead field goal with eight minutes to go, up three but short of the spread. North Texas was not able to move the ball on its final two possessions however and a 22-yard field goal for Ohio with just over a minute to go was enough to cash favorite tickets for most. Ohio had a big yardage edge but also had a defensive touchdown that changed the game early.
North Carolina (-20) 40, Middle Tennessee State 20: North Carolina led 23-0 at the half with two interceptions in UNC territory proving costly for Middle Tennessee State. The Blue Raiders made it a game in the second half however, ending up with over 400 yards and 26 first downs. After a defensive touchdown early in the fourth cut the lead to just 13 the underdog cover looked likely but North Carolina went up by 27 with just over two minutes to go after Middle Tennessee State was stopped on fourth down tries on consecutive possessions. With 25 seconds left the Blue Raiders found the end zone again to bring the final margin to just 20, and leaving a close call for everyone involved on the game. North Carolina was a 21½-point favorite early in the week before the line dipped as low as 18½ late in the week. On Saturday the line climbed back to close at -20 or 20½ so timing was everything for your result. Both teams missed two-point conversions in the game, plays that ended up proving to be pretty important in the spread result.
Ohio State (-29½) 42, San Diego State 7: While there was no scoring in the fourth quarter San Diego State certainly had opportunities to spoil the cover for the Buckeyes as the Aztecs had two fourth quarter turnovers deep in Ohio State territory with one touchdown being enough to flip the result. The first half also ended with San Diego State on the Ohio State two-yard line as this game was a definitely a bit closer than the score suggests, though Ohio State did play much of the way without star QB Braxton Miller and the emotional toll his loss may have had.
Duke (-4) 28, Memphis 14: While beating Memphis does not warrant great celebration this was a big win for a Duke program that has struggled on the road. The Blue Devils allowed Memphis to tie the game 14-14 early in the fourth quarter but Duke’s offense was sharp late, delivering back-to-back 75-yard touchdown drives late to seal the win and cover even without starting QB Anthony Boone.
Missouri (-14½) 38, Toledo 23: The yardage in this game was nearly dead even but Missouri pulled to a 24-9 lead after a 70-yard interception return early in the second half. That margin of 15 was just past the closing line on this game but earlier in the week Missouri was often favored by as many as 17. Toledo scored back-to-back touchdowns and opted to go for 1 on the second touchdown late in the third quarter to trail by one. Missouri scored on the next two possessions however to get back up by 15 as the entire fourth quarter was played on the Toledo side of the field and the Rockets left with another commendable but unsatisfying loss against a SEC team.
Penn State (-28½) 45, Eastern Michigan 7: The Eagles actually scored first in this game but Penn State was able to eventually pull away. The Lions led by just 10 at the half and by just 17 entering the fourth quarter as covering this huge spread looked doubtful most of the way. Three fourth quarter touchdowns provided enough of cushion however with a few big plays late. The Penn State defense certainly starred however with Eastern Michigan punting after no more than five plays in all seven second half possessions.
Minnesota (-16½) 44, New Mexico State 21: After getting three return touchdowns in the opener the Gophers had more big play magic with punt return and fumble return touchdowns to pull away at New Mexico State. Minnesota led by just 16 entering the fourth quarter but pulled up 44-14 before a late New Mexico State score in the final minute. Minnesota had a huge edge on the ground but still allowed 356 yards.
New Mexico (+7½) 42, UTEP 35: The Miners led 28-21 going into the fourth quarter, meaning a push for most as the line was at seven much of the week before a late rise. New Mexico put together consecutive scoring drives to turn the tables however. UTEP was able to force overtime with a 14-play drive to score with just over a minute to go. Going first the Lobos only took three plays to score in overtime and in a dramatic finish New Mexico stopped UTEP on 4th and one after an eight-play series to win the game.