Inside The Boxscores – Week 3
Temple/Oregon St.
The Beavers played well defensively, yielding only 245 yards. The one major problem for Oregon St. was penalties – they had 12 for 145 yards. They need to cut those down because there are teams out there that can take advantage of penalties. Only upside for Temple was Sparks, who ran for his 2nd straight 100 yard game.
Hawaii/BYU
Hawaii lost by 3 and out yarded the Cougars 455-394, but was hurt by 4 Timmy Chang interceptions. BYU scored 21 unanswered points giving them the lead for good.
NC State/Navy
NC State’s Philip Rivers threw for 309 yards on only 10 completions. Navy fumbled the ball 3 times, 2 for NC State TD’s and the Midshipmen where only 2-13 on 3rd down.
Texas A&M/Pitt
Pitt scored the possible tying TD with 2 minutes remaining but missed the 2-point conversion. A&M held Pitt to 185 total yards and only 53 yards rushing on 39 carries.
Illinois/Southern Miss
The Illini got both of their touchdowns via special teams and defense. A punt return and a fumble return gave Illinois a 14-2 lead before the Eagles came back to win. The go ahead TD came on a Derrick Nix 50-yard run. A 4th quarter Illinois field goal took away the push. Nix finished with 204 yards rushing.
West Virginia/Wisconsin
Wisconsin jumped out to an early 34-3 halftime lead and coasted in neutral the rest of the way. Total yards were in favor of Wisconsin 445-338, but most of West Virginia’s yards came when the game was pretty much decided.
Memphis/Mississippi
The Rebels were able to shut down the Tigers running game by allowing a measly 15 yards on 20 carries. Mississippi had a balanced attack led by Eli Manning with 183 yards passing and Robert Williams with 110 yards rushing. The Rebels ran a punt back with 2 minutes left to get the over.
Purdue/Notre Dame
The Fighting Irish did it again with defense as they have yet to score an offensive touchdown two games into the season. Their 3 TD’s against Purdue were 2 fumble returns and an interception return. Notre Dame was able to win the game with only 11 first downs and 203 yards of total offense.
Rice/Michigan St.
Rice took a 10-7 lead into halftime but the Spartans were too much and pulled away late in the 3rd quarter. Rice played admirably as they held Michigan St. to only 58 yards rushing on 32 carries and the Owls were able to gain 216 yards on the ground. 2 fumbles and 2 interceptions for Rice kept them from pulling the upset.
TCU/Northwestern
The Wildcats took the opening kickoff back for a TD an added a field goal for an early 10-0 lead but then TCU scored 41 unanswered points. The Frogs out yarded Northwestern 448-315 and took advantage of 6 Wildcat fumbles, returning 1 for a touchdown.
La Tech/Clemson
Clemson led the whole way and scored the only points in the second half. They held Luke McCown to 213 yards passing with 3 interceptions. Neither team was able to run the ball effectively, the Bulldogs having 80 yards and the Tigers having 87 yards.
UTEP/Kentucky
10 different players scored for the Wildcats as they amassed 605 yards in total offense including 360 yards on the ground. They were an exceptional 9-11 on third down. There was certainly no letdown after their upset over Louisville.
New Mexico/Air Force
Both teams scored 24 first half points and Air Force was able to stop the Lobos in overtime. Leotis Palmer rushed for 125 yards and also threw a 55-yard TD pass.
Fresno St./Oregon
The Bulldogs had a 9-point lead heading into the 4th quarter but Oregon scored 2 TD’s, the last with 1:07 left to pull out the win. Fresno was once again without QB Grady and WR Berrian, both still out with injuries. Jason Fife looked good for the second week in a row, throwing for 303 yards with a TD and an INT.
Stanford/BC
BC scored 17 4th quarter points to pull out the victory. The Eagles out yarded the Cardinal 390-261 and had more first downs 24-14. BC running back rushed for over 100 yards for the second straight game in a backup role. Stanford’s final TD came on an interception return.
San Jose St./Washington
The Spartans were trying to pull off a huge upset as they led 10-0 going into halftime, but the Huskies, still in a funk from the prior week, rallied for 34 unanswered second half points. Washington dominated statistically with 499-271 total yard advantage and a 27-13 first down advantage. Washington fumbled twice deep in Spartan territory in the first half, missing out on two scoring opportunities.
Alabama/Oklahoma
The Sooners lost QB Jason White, but rallied around steady play from Nate Hybl to pull out the win. Oklahoma led 23-3 at halftime but the Tide scored 24 unanswered points, including a fumble return and a fake field goal for a TD, in the second half to take the lead. Bama had more first downs (14-12), total yards (288-283) and had a 13-minute time of possession advantage.
Miami/Florida
The Hurricanes rushed for 306 yards and put the game away with a 97-yard interception return for a TD that could have cut their lead to 3 if Florida had scored. Ken Dorsey made a couple mistakes leading to interceptions and Miami had 14 penalties for 134 yards.
Louisville/Duke
The Cardinals held Duke to 6 first downs and 129 total yards. The Blue Devils also only had 35 yards rushing (-5 with sack yards). Louisville won easily considering they had 4 turnovers to Duke’s none and 12 penalties to Duke’s 2.
East Carolina/Wake Forest
Wake won the turnover battle 5-0, and only out gained the Pirates by 22 yards. They only trailed once at 3-0 but East Carolina had a chance to keep it going late and possibly regain the lead for good but missed on a 4th and 3 at the Deacon 35 with 33 seconds remaining.
San Diego St./Colorado
Colorado St. won by 20 despite being even it total yards and having 4 less first downs. San Diego St. crossed mid-field 5 times in the second half but came up empty each time. Buffalo QB Craig Ochs left the game with a concussion but RB Chris Brown made up for it by rushing for 185 yards on 29 carries. Aztec QB Adam Hall passed for a career high 359 yards but no TD’s.
Boise St./Arkansas
The Razorbacks benefited from 7 Bronco turnovers and scored the first 34 points in the game. They held Boise St. to 9 yards rushing on 20 carries while gaining 243 yards on the ground themselves.
Texas Tech/SMU
The Raiders accumulated 488 yards of total offense but only had a 10-6 lead heading into the 4th quarter. Tech had 12 penalties for 105 yards, which kept SMU in the game most of the way.
South Carolina/Virginia
Matt Schaub was 20-30 for 170 yards with 3 TD’s and 2 INT’s in his 2nd start of the season after winning the starting role back. South Carolina lost 6 fumbles, including one the Cavs returned for a TD. The Gamecocks had 7 turnovers in all and three of the turnovers led to Cavaliers touchdowns, while two others happened deep in Virginia territory, stopping potential scoring drives. Virginia trailed by 1 at halftime but scored the only points in the second half.
North Carolina/Syracuse
The Tar Heels out yarded the Orangemen 436-254 and held a 22-15 first down advantage. Syracuse attempted only 11 passes the entire game, good for 71 yards. North Carolina took care of the ball better compared to the week before, committing only one turnover. Tar Heel place kicker Dan Orner made field goals from 52, 51 and 55 yards.
Indiana/Utah
Utah only held a 403-334 yard advantage but had 13 more first downs. They rushed for 301 yards, 169 from Marty Johnson. Utah ran off 37 unanswered points before the Hoosiers scored a meaningless TD with no time left in the game.
Tulane/Houston
Tulane won by 21 despite being out yarded by nearly 100 yards and had 9 less first downs. Houston also held the ball for nearly 17 minutes longer. Tulane got a 95-yard fumble return for a TD and returned a pooch kick for their final score. The 2 teams combined for 12 turnovers (Tulane – 5 Houston –7).
Kansas/UNLV
The Rebels finally got a consistent game from QB Jason Thomas. Thomas was 13-27 for 142 yards and a TD and also ran for 72 yards and 2 scores. The defense held Kansas to 75 yards rushing in 31 carries.
Colorado St./UCLA
The Rams led by 6 going into the 4th quarter, but UCLA scored the first 2 TD’s in the quarter to take an 8-point lead. The Rams got within a 2-point conversion of tying it up, but the errant pitch from Van Pelt was returned by the Bruins to give them a 4-point lead. Van Pelt was only 13-30 with an INT, but Cecil Sapp rushed for 105 yards and threw a TD pass.
Georgia Tech/Connecticut
The Jackets took a 31-0 lead but UConn scored 2 TD’s in the last 2 minutes of the game to make it look respectable. Georgia Tech had a very balanced attack with 224 yards rushing and 189 yards passing. UConn was held to 77 yards rushing on 33 carries.
Kent/Ohio St.
Looking at the boxscore, Kent looked like they hung tough. They had more first downs, 22-17, and were only out yarded 412-358. They also held a 19-minute time of possession advantage. The Buckeyes returned 2 INT’s for TD’s before Kent even got on the board. Ohio St. played mostly reserves in the second half, thus skewing the final stats.
Iowa/Miami Ohio
Iowa overcame a good game from Miami QB Ben Roethlisberger by holding the Redhawks to 14 yards rushing on 17 carries. Miami took the lead for the only time late in the 3rd quarter by recovering a fumble in the endzone nut Iowa put it away by scoring the next 2 TD’s.
Michigan/Western Michigan
Michigan won the rushing battle 220-76 and John Navarre threw for 4 TD’s. The Broncos started the game with a 62-yard drive but missed a 36-yard field goal and Michigan scored the next 21 points.
Wyoming/Central Michigan
Central Michigan racked up 529 yards of total offense and 28 first downs, but were unable to get the ball in the endzone. They settled for 4 field goals, 3 in which were less than 30 yards. CMU held the ball for 11:47 of the 4th quarter.
Idaho/Washington St.
Jason Gesser was almost perfect going 12-16 for 220 yards with 3 TD’s and 1 INT. Although the teams were even in first downs with 19, the Cougars had 199 more yards of total offense. The Vandals had no rushing game, gaining only 51 yards, which forced a lot of long 3rd downs, 21 in total.
Akron/Maryland
The Terps had only 8 more yards of total offense but had 11 more first downs. The Zips hurt themselves with 4 turnovers and 16 penalties for 132 yards.
Toledo/Eastern Michigan
6 turnovers killed Eastern Michigan – Toledo had scoring drives of 19, 29, 37 and 40 yards and also returned an interception for a TD. The one bright spot for EMU was Ime Akpan, who rushed for 152 yards.
New Mexico St./Cal
New Mexico State outgained Cal, 336-277, had 2 more first downs and held the ball for more than 34 minutes. But the Aggies fumbled twice and botched an onside kickoff to start the game, leading to an early Cal TD.
Ball St./Missouri
The Cardinals trailed by 1 at halftime but 5 turnovers broke the game open in the second half. Brad Smith played another balanced game, passing for 171 yards and a TD and rushing for 110 yards and a TD.
Utah St./Nebraska
The Huskers only outgained Utah St. 418-321 but were able to score their first 2 TD’s on short drives due to bad Aggie punting. The 418 yards were the best offensive output for Nebraska in their 3 games this year.
Middle Tenn St./Tennessee
The Raiders never got anything going on offense, gaining only 209 yards and having 12 first downs. They couldn’t take advantage of several Tennessee miscues and the Volunteer defense kept control of the game in the second half.
Buffalo/Rutgers
The Scarlet Knights could only muster 214 total yards against the Bulls while allowing 363. Buffalo scored 24 unanswered points to put the game away. Aaron Leeper rushed for 138 yards and a TD for the Bulls.
Tulsa/Arkansas St.
The Indians picked up their first win of the year while gaining 346 yards of offense. They held Tulsa to 51 yards rushing on 41 carries and sacked Tulsa QB Tyrone Gooch 6 times.
Troy St./UAB
The Trojans dominated the game statistically with a 427-221 total yard and 27-11 first down advantages. 2 of the Blazer touchdowns were from the defense. Troy St. scored 2 late TD’s to cut the deficit to 1 but botched the last extra point.
Northern Illinois/South Florida
The Huskies actually had 1 more first down and held the ball for 5 more minutes than South Florida. The Bulls had big scores to get the win – a 95-yard TD pass, a 55-yard punt return and a 27-yard interception return.
La-Monroe/Kansas St.
The Wildcats held La-Monroe to 151 yards of offense and 7 first downs. Kansas St. had a balanced attack, rushing for 264 yards and passing for 233 yards.
Minnesota/La-Lafayette
Minnesota held to La-Lafayette to 7 first downs and only 125 yards of offense. The Cajuns only TD came on a punt return. Gopher QB Asad Abdul-Khaliq was 17-25 for 235 yards and 4 TD’s.
Central Florida/Arizona St.
Central Florida only had 6 first downs and 179 total yards of offense but still had a 13-10 lead at halftime. The Sun Devils weren’t overly impressive, gaining only 269 yard of offense. They had back-to-back interception returns in the 3rd quarter to break the game open.