Week 8 Recaps

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Michigan only led 10-7 HT. They had 13p 79y drive for TD then 16p 55y drive for FG from the N02 and 12p 75y drive fumbled at the N02. Northwestern’s only score was a 75y TD run. NW only ran 3 plays in Michigan territory in the 1st H. Michigan scored 17 in the 3rd Q to lead 27-7 and won 33-7. All the 2nd H scores were on short fields. 3p 24y TD and 5p 30y drives after punt returns, plus 4p 15y TD drive after INT and 9p 22y FG drive after fumble recovery. Michigan outgained them 457-233 (5.3-4.2) with 294-100 (5.4-4.3) RY edge. UM converted 12-of-20 3rd downs (NW 4-of-14). Each team missed a FG and had two turnovers.

Illinois wins 20-18 in 9 OT! IT was their first road win vs ranked since 2007. Illini were led by 357 RY on 67 attempts (5.3). ILL outgained them 395-227 (4.5-3.6); 227 TY were the best effort by ILL D this season and PSU O worst. Nits only managed 62 RY (2.1). PSU has run for under 100y and under 3ypc 4x this season. Turnovers hurt ILL early. INT on opening drive at P32, fumble at own 25 (led to PSU FG) and fumble at own 22 (PSU missed FG). ILL was also called for multiple penalties take away two TDs on a drive in 3rd Q drive where they had to settle for FG to tie at 10-10 instead of taking the lead. PSU was victim of a quetionable call in the 1st H, what would’ve been ILL’s 4th turnover was ruled forward progress stopped after PSU had already scooped and scored for a TD that was originally called TD on field before discussion said forward progress had stopped (no whistle). Each D got 4 sacks. Sitkowski 8-19-38-0-1 (hurt left near end of game). Clifford played hurt often grabbing for his right torso/waist area 19-34-165-1-0. Brown 33-223-TD, McCray 24-142. Each team made 3 FGs and each team missed a FG, both were awful in the RZ with just 1 TD on 8 combined attempts. ILL 50% 3rd down (often used QB sneak to convert), no 4th down att, PSU just 4-of-17 3rd down.

Oklahoma ran just 17 plays on three 1st H possessions and were shut out, trailing 10-0 at HT! OU punted, threw INT and were SOD in the 1st H. KU could’ve led by more but they missed a FG. OU used a long drive for their first TD in the 3rd Q, but KU appeared to be ready to make this a game rather than one fluky half! Jayhawks answered to lead 17-7! OU said ‘no not today’, they quickly scored again and then went up 28-17 mid 4th Q. KU moved it well and quick to score again under 6min left...28-23 (2pt no good). OU faced 4th-1 at own 46 and went for it, KU stuffed them, but QB Williams came and stole the ball from RB Brooks (ala Ed Reed) and ran forward to convert the 4th down! OU would continue on for TD (no kneel down) running twice after KU had used all their timeouts to score and win 35-23! 2nd H line was 17, with that TD in the final minute OU won 2nd H 35-13. KU outgained them 412-398 (6.3-7.4) while OU outrushed them 220-166 (6.5-4.0). OU was 6-of-10 3rd down and 2-of-3 4th down. KU was strong as well 9-of-13 3rd down (1-for-1 4th).

Texas Tech led 14-0 less than 4min into the game following an opening drive score and Kansas St fumbled KO. TT would maintain that 2 TD lead throughout the 1st H. 24-10 HT. K St went 3-and-out on their first poss of the 3rd, but a 63y punt downed at the T04 would be pivotal. K St D got a safety on next play and then scored a 4th down TD from the T02 after the free kick to make it a game. 24-19. K St had the ball again near the RZ late 3rd Q poised to take a lead, but fumbled at the T19. TT had to punt again and K St went right back down for TD to lead 25-24 mid 4th Q (2pt no good). TT was able to convert one 4th down, but then were sacked on back-to-back plays with 1min left. K ST outgained them 377-318 (6.4-5.7), holding TT to their lowest output of the season as they converted just 20% 3rd down (K St 5-of-12). TT did out rush them 170-81 (4.6-2.8). Vaughn led in both rushing (52y-2TD) and receiving (7-68-TD). Thompson 24-30-296-1-0; he became first K St player in their career with 6,000y passing and 1,000y rushing.

Navy led 7-0 after a 13p 79y 7+min drive. Cincinnati tied on 31y TD pass. Navy would then lead 10-7 and picked off Cincy at the N03! But had to punt it back and UC tied...10-10. Navy was driving late 1st H, had a FD at the C25, but was TFL’d and then sacked, then their 51y FG was blk’d and after a return and stepping out of bounds, UC was able to make a 52y FG as time expired to lead 13-10! Coach Ken: “The six-point swing was huge. We tried to lift our guys up at half, but that was a tough one. I felt we had all of the momentum. That's why I deferred, in hopes we could get the ball at the end of the first half and then at the start of the second half. That was a huge turnaround.” Cincy had a good 3rd Q to lead 27-10, Cincy would not have a good 4th Q. Navy regrouped for FG mid 4th then forced the second 3-and-out UC punt of the quarter and went 16p 90y for TD with just :50 left. They recovered the onside kick! Navy however would throw INT to end the comeback hopes. Thanks to their final drive, Navy outgained them 308-271 (3.7-5.3) with a 192-95 RY edge (2.9-4.5). Cincy O came in averaging 445y, their 271 was their lowest since Nov 2019. Navy went 3-of-4 4th down and 39:30 to 20:20 TOP. Lavatai passing 11-15-116-0-1 (22y rushing with 2TD). Ridder 18-30-176-2-1, 6y rushing. Cincy D 11 TFL (Curtis 3).

Army scored their most points (56) vs a ranked foe since 1950, but it wasn’t enough as they allowed 70 to Wake Forest (most WF pts ever in road game). The combined 112 pts broke the Michie Stadium scoring record (there have been four 100+ pt games at Michie). WF never trailed, but also never led by more than 7 points throughout the 1st H as Army would tie after every lead WF took. Not until mid 3rd Q, when WF got an 83y INT TD return off an Army fake FG. That gave WF the margin they needed as they would be able to continually answer Army scores with their own to maintain the 2 score advantage and even led by 3 TDs 70-49 until Army’s final TD with just :39 left for the 70-56 F. WF outgained them 638-595 (12.3-7.2). Army outrushed them 416-180 (5.9-7.8). Hartman 23-29-458-5-0 (career high yards, ties program record 5 TDs). Army’s passing QB Laws 9-11-140-3-0. Army lost 2 turnovers on the day.

UMass led 3-0! Florida State would score the next 59 pts. FSU outgained them 586-241 (9.8-4.0) with 365 RY (8.1) to UMass’ 112 RY (4.0). UMass was –3 turnovers and FSU got a 70y pick-six. Travis attempted just 10 passes in a little over one half of work 5-10-123-0-0.

 

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Northern Illinois has won it’s 5th straight game with a comeback 39-38 victory. Central Mich led 28-10 scoring on 4 of their first 5 possessions while NIU punted twice on their first 4 possessions. NIU converted two 4th downs and made it 28-18 right before HT (2pt good). CM went up 35-18. NIU scored on a 75y TD ...35-26 (2pt good) then forced two punts while they climbed back into it...35-29 and to the lead 36-35. CM was able to go back on top with a 38y FG...38-36 6min to go, but NIU answered with a 26y FG :48 left. CM got to the N25 with a FD, but weren’t able to get any closer. NIU had slight TY edge 520-500 (6.8-7.0) including RY 197-189 (4.0-6.5). NIU converted just 5-of-16 3rd downs, but 4-for-5 4th down (CM 41%). NIU did have to kick 3 RZ FGs (only 2 TDs on 5 trips). Lombardi 16-26-320-3-0. Richardson 23-36-289-3-0

Bowling Green did lead 3-0 and 10-7 in the 2nd Q, but Eastern Michigan dominated from there. There was a blk’d punt ret TD and EM led 31-10 3rd Q, 38-17, 55-17, 55-24 F. One of EM’s final TDs was a short field following fumble recovery. BG’s final TD came with under 1min to go in the game. EM outgained them 485-374 (6.4-5.7). RY were even at 130 each (3.3-4.8).

3 turnovers doomed Ohio in the 1st H vs Kent State. Ohio was SOD opening poss at the K42. Then they fumbled at their own 44 (led to Kent FG), fumbled at the K15 and threw INT in the EZ. Kent led 17-7 HT but Ohio was actually outgaining them 215-210! Kent exteded lead to 24-7 to open the 3rd Q. There were only a total of 9 2nd H possessions with Ohio getting just 4. Good news is that Ohio scored on all 4. Bad news is two of them were FGs from the 6 and 3 yard lines and they lost by 7. TY even at 457 each and ypp 6.0-5.9. Kent did outrush them 200-135 (4.4-4.0). Rodgers QB the 1st Q (11y rushing 3-5-14 passing), but they went to Rourke QB’d the rest of the game (31-38-308-0-1, 49y rushing with 2 TDs). Crum 26-31-257-1-0, leading rusher 93y with TD. Kent also settled for 2 RZ FGs.

Buffalo had 11 sacks! LB Patterson had 3.5 himself. 14 total TFLs for Bulls. They started slow without points on their opening 2 drives, but after recovering a fumble and kicking a FG, Buff scored TDs on 6 straight possessions until 3 scoreless drives in the 4th Q. 45-10 F. UB outgained Akron 484-304 (6.8-4.8)...although RY were surprisingly even...UB 231 (4.7) to Akron’s 229 (5.1) – Akron had a 75y TD run. Zips did lose 4 turnovers, which UB got a free 10 points out of (just 10y on two separate possessions leading to TD and FG) plus an additional TD off a longer short field after INT. Gibson started, Irons replaced him. Vantrease 15-20-241-3-0.

Toledo enjoyed good field position early, with a punt return setting up a FG "drive" where UT didn’t make a FD and then after stopping Western Michigan on 4th down, drove 10p 42y for FG and an early 6-0 lead. WM got the O going vs the tough Toledo D and led 15-13 HT and outgained UT 257-177. UT QB Finn was just 3-of-14 passing in the 1st H (started 0-7)! In the 3rd Q UT scored a 34y TD on 4th-14 then had a 35y scoop-and-score TD. WM was then SOD for the second time, this one at the W46 and UT would lead 34-15 after the 3rdQ. UT shut down the WM O, they were SOD for a third time and didn’t cross midfield on their final 2 possessions. WM was limited to just 141 TY after HT. WM outgained them 398-330 (5.8-4.9). UT outrushed them 192-166 (4.5-4.2). After the poor 1st H, Finn finished 8-24-138-2-0 passing, 27y rushing. Eleby 15-29-232-0-0.

Ball State opened with a TD, then fumbled at their own 31 allowing Miami Oh to tie it 5 plays later. Miami would lead 16-10 HT (xpt no good). Ball State scored TD in 3rd Q 17-16, Miami punted twice then a key series happened. BSU thought they had a 45y TD pass, but it was brought back to the M26 due to holding. Two plays later BSU was hit with an unsportsman like penalty, then a delay of game, instead of a TD, or even a FG, BSU would punt. Miami drove that possession for TD (aided by second BSU unsportsman like penalty of the quarter)...24-17 (2pt good). BSU O struggled to get it going again with a 5-and-out punt and 3-and-out punt before their final possession that got to the M19, but Plitt was INT’d in the EZ on 2nd down. His final pass in last year’s Red Bird Game was also an INT that gave Miami the win. Miami outgained them 360-327 (5.6-5.0) with a 126-100 RY edge (3.2-3.2). Gabbert 20-24-207-2-0. Plitt 22-34-227-2-1. Ball St’s 3 game winning streak featured a +8 turnover margin with no TOs lost. They were –2 vs Miami.

 

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Virginia Tech blew a 2 score lead late 4th Q. VT led 19-13 HT despite Syracuse having a 260-200 TY edge. Syracuse was set to tie under 2min left in the 1st H when their xpt was blk’d and ret’d 95y to give VT 16-13 lead. VT then took the ensuing kickoff and drove for 48y FG. 19-13. Syracuse wanted more, they actually got all the way down to the V01 in the final minute, but missed a 19y FG! They traded TDs in the 3rd Q, then after VT was SOD at S34, Cuse drove down for TD and 27-26 lead. VT kicked FG to go up 29-27 early 4th Q and they extended the lead to 36-27 with just 5:25 left. Cuse made it 36-34 with just 2:23 to go, Cuse kicked off deep. VT ran twice and was sacked on 3rd down having to punt back at 1:04. Cuse was at their own 30. They converted 4th-6 and then two plays later got a 45y TD pass with just :14 left for the 41-36 win! Syracuse outgained them 550-437 (7.0-6.8) and outrushed them 314-260 (7.0-5.9). Both QBs completed under 50%. Cuse was 7-of-16 3rd down, 4-for-4 4th down. VT just 5-of-12 3rd down and 0-for-1 4th down.

Georgia State got off to a slow start and Texas St managed two FGs and then downed a punt at the G01 and the O got going driving the length of the field to lead 7-6. They would lead until the end. 14-6, 14-13, 21-13, 21-16, 28-16 early 4th Q. TxSt threw INT at the G03. GaSt went on a clock killing drive but missed a FG. TxSt fumbled at the G11 to end the game. GaSt did outgain them 498-378 (6.8-4.4) including 298-123 RY (6.2-3.2). QB Grainger 16-25-200-2-0 and one of two 100y rushers. McBride 27-47-255-0-1, leading rusher 46y w/ TD. GaSt 8-of-15 3rd down. TxSt 5-of-17. GaSt D 3 sacks.

Wisconsin held Purdue to just 206 TY (3.3) as Wisc outrushed them 290 (5.7) to –13 RY (-.5). Mellusi and Allen each over 140y. Mertz only attempted 8 passes, completing 5 for 52y. 342-206 TY (5.8-3.3). Turnovers were big in the game. PU lost 5, UW lost 2. A Wisconsin fumble led to a short field for Purdue’s first TD and their second TD was a 56y Karlaftis fumble ret TD. Those were the only pts for Purdue. Wisconsin got FGs after an INT and a fumble recovery where they did not gain a FD. PU also threw INT at the W18 in the 4th Q. Wisc had 6 sacks with Chenal having 3.5 of them and 5.5 of the 10 TFLs! Wisc was just 1-of-11 3rd down! Pur was 3-of-12.

 

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California scored on all five 1st H possessions to lead 23-3 HT (FGs from the 31, 12 and 33 with 3p 50y and 6p 66y TD drives. CU’s only points followed a 6p 18y drive after a long Brenden Rice KO return. In the 2nd H Cal only got past the CU 40 once which led to a FG. 26-3 F. Cal had 23-7 FD edge, 438-104 TY edge (7.5-3.8) with 213-35 RY (5.3-1.3). Cal D got 6 sacks and 12 TFLs.

UCLA blows 14-0 lead, Oregon nearly blew 17pt 2nd H lead! UCLA opened with TD, Oregon was SOD at the LA33, but UCLA threw INT next play. Ore went 3-and-out punt which was blk’d leading to a short field TD drive and a 14-0 UCLA lead! Oregon got the O moving towards the end of the 1st Q and as such UCLA only outgained them 110-87 in opening quarter despite leading 14-0. Ore scored TD early 2nd Q, then UCLA missed 35y FG and Ore tied the game on their next drive 14-14 but UCLA made 37y FG to lead 17-14 HT. 1st H total yards were even 204-201! Ore opened with a TD and then after a 3-and-out, UCLA punter mishandled a snap and 4p 22y later the Ducks would lead 27-17 (xpt no good). Ore fumbled at the 50 near end of 3rd Q, but after a sack UCLA was SOD to start the 4th Q. Ore quickly expanded lead to 34-17! UCLA went on a long TD drive...34-24... and then Brown threw INT setting up UCLA at O20 and 7 plays later it was just a 34-31 game 6:34 to go. Ore was down at the LA24 when Brown threw INT in EZ with 3min left. Thibodeaux knocked DTR out of the game and in comes Ethan Garbers, younger brother of Chase Garbers of Cal fame. He had thrown two career passes before entering action here. He completed 2 of 3 passes including a 4th-8 conversion, but his 4th pass was INT’d to end the game. Oregon outgained them 417-352 (6.6-3.9) with 121 RY (5.0) to UCLA’s 110 (2.4). UCLA entered the game averaging 220 rush ypg. Oregon converted 7-of-9 3rd downs! UCLA was 50% 3rd down, but did convert 5-of-7 4th down. Oregon D got 4 sacks and many more hurries, KT had 2 sacks and 4.5 TFL overall. Ducks accumulated 11 TFLs. UCLA was offside twice on plays where they got INTs negated. UCLA also missed a FG in the 34-31 Final. Brown 29-39-296-0-2, leading rusher 85y on 6att with TD run. DTR 22-40-220-1-1, 35y rushing on 15att with TD run.

BYU and Washington St both scored TDs on their first drives of the game and then the offenses struggled (BYU missed FG and SOD at W33, WSt threw INT in EZ). 7-7 HT. Each team again scored on their opening drives of the 2nd H, WSt missed their xpt...14-13. Possessions were limited as BYU owned a 10:20 to 4:40 3rd Q TOP edge. BYU scored on the first play of the 4th Q to go up 21-13. W St scored with 4min left in the game, but their 2pt attempt was no good. They kicked off deep and BYU was able to kill the final 4:14. 21-19 F. BYU had 385-350 TY edge (5.6-5.8) with a 238-93 RY advantage (5.0-4.0).

New Mexico ended the nation’s longest road losing streak, snapping a 16 away game slide with the 14-3 win at Wyoming. NM started former walkon FR QB Isaiah Chavez for his first start in 2021, he started both games UNM won last season, including last year’s upset over Wyoming. He is now 3-0 as a starter. WYO threw INT on their opening drive and UNM would lead 7-0. It was 7-3 before UNM drove for their second TD to lead 14-3 HT. Neither O did anything in the 2nd H. UNM missed a FG after recovering a fumble deep in WYO territory. WYO didn’t get any further than the N42 on any 2nd H drive. UNM outgained them 259-255 (4.7-3.9) and outrushed them 147-108 (3.3-3.0). Chavez went 10-11-112-1-0 and led the team with 49y rushing. Chambers and Williams combined for just 14-30-147-0-1 for WYO. Teams combined for just 6-for-26 3rd downs. UNM was 3-of-4 4th down, WYO was 1-of-3 4th down.

Going to bed, might not get any more done until tomorrow night.

 

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These are going to be the cliff notes recaps

Maryland fumbled at midfield, FG and two 3-and-out punts to trail Minnesota 3-17. Minnesota was in position to score on their first 8 drives! But they would only score on 6 of them as they missed a 50y FG and had a 38 yarder blk’d. It was 34-10 before a Mary garbage TD. 34-16 F.

Clemson scored first, but Pitt would score 27 of the next 30 points. 27-17 F. Pitt was slow out of the gates, not scoring until their 6th possession, but then scored on the next 4 plus had a pick-six on a shovel pass. 120 of Clemson’s 315 TY were on their final 3 drives. Pitt gained 464 (5.7). RY were the same 164-162 with Clemson having a 5.5-3.8 ypc edge. Skalski 18 tkls. Clemson QBs 15-32-151-0-2, combined 65y rushing with TD. Pickett 25-39-302-2-0, 15y rushing.

Rice used a good opening KO ret to drive 50y for 7-0 lead (converted 4th down 2x) and then after UAB fumble on their first play of game, Rice drove 49y for a 13-0 lead (xpt no good). UAB scored, then Rice was sacked/fumbled and UAB would take a 14-13 lead on a short field TD. Later UAB would miss a FG and Rice had long drive for TD (converted a 4th down). 20-14 HT Owls. UAB had to 3-and-out punt to open the 3rd Q and Rice drove for 27-14 lead (converted two 4th downs). UAB quickly responded 27-21. Rice would be sacked/fumble, but UAB was SOD. Rice went on an 8min drive for 27y FG to lead 30-21 5;52 left. UAB got a FG...30-24 and kicked off deep 3:23 left. Rice punted and UAB started at own 32 2:10 left. They converted a 4th down and then hit a 40y TD pass with just :11 left! But it was called back by holding and the HC got an unsportsman like conduct penalty moving the ball back to the UAB35 where they could not score from. UAB outgained them 445-346 (8.2-4.9). Rice outrushed them 141-127 (2.9-5.8). UAB was just 2-of-9 3rd down. Rice was 5-for-5 4th down, all of which came on their TD drives. UAB D had 5 sacks, Rice D had 3.

LSU led 7-0 then threw INT at the M03 and missed a FG on their first 3 drives. Ole Miss did not score in the 1st Q, but then reeled off 31 straight points while shutting down the LSU O with 4 straight 3-and-outs at one point. 31-10, 31-17 F. Ole Miss outrushed them 266-77 (5.3-2.2).

Mississippi State held Vandy to just 5 FDs and outgained them 522-155 (6.1-3.7)! Vandy 1-of-11 3r down.

Boston College only crossed midfield once in the 1st H. Louisville led just 21-7 HT but turned it over 3x in the 1st H including two in BC territory. BC moved it better in the 2nd H, were SOD at L31 and threw INT at L02. LV missed FG and fumbled at own 30 in the 2nd H. That fumble set BC up for their only other TD. It was just 21-14 mid 4th Q until LV extended to 28-14 with under 3min left. LV forced a fumble to end the game. Cards outgained them 438-266 (6.8-3.9).

Iowa State went 3-and-out 4x in the 1st H! Oklahoma State led 14-7 HT while also missing a 50y FG. ISU found the O in the 2nd H scoring on 3 of their first 4 poss, with the other being a SOD at O42. ISU tied it 14-14, then went ahead 17-14, but OSU retook a 21-17 lead. ISU went up for good 24-21 under 6min left. OSU was stopped just short of a 4th-2 conversion at the I41 with 1min left. ISU outgained them just 374-332 (5.7-5.9). OSU outrushed them 107-67 (3.3-2.0). OSU just 2-of-10 3rd downs.

East Carolina outgained Houston 365-256 (5.1-3.9). FDs about the same 17-16, rushing ypc about the same 2.3-2.4. Both teams were awful on 3rd down, ECU 1-of-12 to UH’s 3-of-13...and ECU was 0-for-3 on 4th down. But ECU lost 3 fumbles to Houston’s 1. UH got a 5p 32y and 2p 13y TD drives after fumble recoveries and ECU's final fumble ended the game in OT. UH’s one fumble did also lead to a very short field TD that allowed ECU to tie the game. ECU led 10-3 when UH’s Marcus Jones got a 98y KO return TD to tie and then UH got the two fumble recovery short field TDs to lead 24-10 HT. UH would not score in regulation 2nd H, did miss 2 FGs...Cougs had under 80y of O in the 2nd H regulation! ECU scored... 24-17 and then got their fumble recovery and short field TD to tie 24-24. UH got a 1 play score in OT and ECU fumbled to end the game. A lot is made of the Houston DL which is outstanding, but ECU got tons of pressure as well and 13 TFLs to go with their 5 sacks. UH D got 4 sacks and 8 TFLs.

North Texas started hot, but didn’t get the pts out of it! They outgained Liberty 129 to –1 in the 1st Q after throwing INT at the F01 and then going back down to score TD then were SOD at the L07 to start the 2nd Q. Liberty dodged those bullets and went down to tie 7-7. 3 runs and 65y later NT went back up 14-7! Willis was injured on a sack mid 2nd Q and NT couldn’t be stopped until they reached the red zone. 17-7 and 20-7 with two FGs, one inside the 20, one inside the 10. All those missed RZ chances would come back to bite them. With backup QB Bennett the Flames went down for TD 20-14 and had another chance late after an INT, but were SOD. 20-14 HT. NT outgained them 240-153 in the 1st H and outrushed them 178-5!! Liberty looked in trouble after they punted to open the 3rd Q and NT went down for TD...27-14. Liberty still with Willis back playing went 10p 75y, 10p 97y for TDs with a punt ret TD sandwiched in there to lead 35-26! NT punted 2x, SOD at L36 and missed FG on their final drives. NT outgained them 454-350 (4.8-5.4) and outrushed them 242-45 (4.0-1.6). Red Zone killed NT scoring just 2 TDs on 7 trips with 3 empty possessions among them. NT D got 6 sacks (Grayson 2.5)!

You wouldn’t know it from the 52-24 final score, but Tennessee gave Alabama a game. Game was tied 7-7 when Bama roughed UT punter keeping a drive alive and Vols went down to lead 14-7 end 1st Q! Bama fumbled at T09, but they’d get that TD back after a Vols punt to tie 14-14. Bama led 21-14 HT. Vols blk’d a punt getting the ball at the A16, but had to settle for FG...21-17. Bama would extend to 31-17, but Vols got a 70y TD pass to make it 31-24 a few seconds into the 4th Q. From there it was all Tide. Bama scored TD, got an INT and long return for short field TD...45-24, then Vols went for a 4th-6 at their own 29 and Hooker was pressured and tackled for a 1y gain giving Bama the ball back at the T30 and 5 plays later it was 52-24. The game wasn’t necessarily in danger for Alabama, the key plays on the punts made a huge difference, but the 21-0 run to close the game is a misleading final. Alabama did outgain them 574-346 although ypp was just 6.2-6.4 due to Bama running 92 plays to Vols 54. Bama had 33-10 FD edge and 203-64 RY (4.1-2.5). Vols were just 2-of-13 3rd down, Bama was an amazing 15-of-20!

Texas A&M led 44-0 holding South Carolina to just 115 TY through 3rd Q. SC scored two TDs in the 4th Q, the final one with just :12 left. A&M racked up 477 (6.0) TY and outrushed them 290-71 (5.5-2.3).

 

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Fresno State was able to build a 2 score lead in the 1st H that made it tough for Nevada to fully comeback from. Both teams punted on their first two possessions of the game, then Fresno got it going (64y TD run and 10p 91y TD drive) and Nevada didn’t (only managed FG on first 5 drives). Nevada recovered fumble at the F12 and two plays later they cut Frenso’s lead to 14-10. They traded TDs into the 4th Q, 21-10, 21-16 (2pt no good), 28-16, 28-23. UNR had a 3-and-out and Fresno kicked back-to-back FGs, 34-23 under 6min left. UNR drove down and had 1st down at F25 but had to settle for FG, 34-26. Fresno called for holding on FD and went 3-and-out punt. UNR was driving with FD at the F42 but Strong was sacked and fumbled with just 1:53 left. The game looked over. UNR again forced a 3-and-out using timeouts and got the ball back at their own 10 yard line with just :53 left. Strong went 5-for-7 not including clock plays, hit big chunk plays and threw TD pass with just :02 left! The would-be tying 2pt conversion was no good. UNR recovered a loose onside kick but the clock had expired. UNR outgained them 523-461 (6.4-6.8). Fresno ran for 205 (6.8). Fresno was just 3-of-11 3rd down to UNR’s 9-of-17. Fresno D got 5 sacks and 11 TFLs.

San Diego State was +2 turnovers and got two FGs off of just 16y of offense following Air Force INT and fumble. AF O really struggled and only crossed midfield once on their first seven drives. SD St led 13-0 HT. A 32y run on 3rd down keyed SD St for a TD to open the 3rd Q, 20-0. AF finally had some field position after a personal foul on a punt return. QB Daniels was hurt, Bryan comes in and AF drove down inside the RZ, faced 4th-4 where they threw pass into EZ, which was caught, but came free when receiver hit ground. Initially ruled TD on field, then not ruled TD on field, then replay ruled TD...20-7. SD St had to punt from AF territory and AF had 7min drive again scoring TD on 4th down to cut it to 20-14 4min to go. AF was able to get the ball back with 2:18 left, they converted a 4th-7 with a 14y pass, but was called for a chop block and decided to punt from their own EZ with just 1:35 on 4th-15. AF had just two timeouts and SD St killed the clock. AF outgained them 259-229 (4.1-4.4) and outrushed them 192-157 (4.0-4.0).

WKU outgained FIU 530-290 (6.7-4.2). Both Os struggled early, WKU punted on 3 of their first 4 drives and fumbled on the other at the F26. FIU scored on their opening drive but then went 3-and-out on 3 of their next 4 drives. WKU scored on 4 straight possessions, although one was a FG from the F05 and they later kicked a FG from the F08 as well. Up only 34-12, FIU scored a TD with 1:39 left for the 34-19 F.

La Tech led 7-0 on a 47y TD pass and 10-7, but UTSA took control from there. 14-10, 21-10, 28-10, 35-10, 42-10 into the 4th Q when LT scored again then UTSA added a late FG. 45-16 F. UTSA only outgained them 406-401 (6.7-5.6). LT was –3 turnovers. Game was 21-10 HT and UTSA just went 3-and-out when they got a 51y pick-six then early in the 4th Q LT fumbled a KO and UTSA got a 22y TD “drive” out of it. The other INT was on the last play of the game. UTSA D 6 sacks (Hicks 2.5) and 10 TFLs.

ULM racked up 555 TY (7.6)! South Alabama gained 409 (5.6) and fell behind early, but made a game of it. The game was tied 4x until ULM scored on a 81y TD pass and then kicked a mid 4th Q FG to win 41-31. ULM D really clamped down late 3rd and 4th Q. USA only gained 68y on their final 5 possessions of the game. ULM QB Rogers 25-35-369-4-0 + 40y rushing. Bentley 30-41-320-4-2, sacked 4x.

USF ran for 421y (5.8), their most yards in school history! USF dominated Temple with a 34-8 FD edge, 526-231 TY (5.6-6.6). Note they ran 94 plays to Temple’s 35. 45-15 TOP edge. USF scored on 6 straight possessions at one point. 34-14, one of Temple’s TDs was a 70y TD pass. USF QB McClain 10-13-71-1-0, 35y rushing. Mathis 12-21-183-1-2.

One more batch yet to wrap Saturday up.

 

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West Virginia scored on every possession of the 1st H, two were FGs from the T11 and T21. TCU also kicked a short FG from the W07 and WVU led 20-17 HT. TCU did a better job on D in the 2nd H, but the Frog O imploded with INT (led to 5p 10y WV FG), INT (led to 3p 15y WV TD) and Frogs SOD at W40 and W45 plus fumbled at W43. Largely due to the 1st H, WVU outgained them 487-393 (7.0-6.6) and outrushed them 229-149 (5.6-4.4). 29-17 F.

GT jumped out to 13-0 lead and would still lead 16-7 2nd Q. It was 16-14 when the game seemed to hinge on a GT INT thrown on FD at the V05. From that point forward GT lost something on O and Virginia built a 27-16 lead that was only momentarily stopped with a GT 71y run. But Virginia went on to lead 41-24 entering the 4th Q and led 48-27 with 3:50 to go. GT went for TD drive....48-34 1:16, recovered the onside kick and went down to score another TD...48-40, they went for 2...which failed. :20 left. GT actually recovered another onside kick! They got down to the V31, but their final pass into the EZ was incomplete. UVA outgained them 636-570 (8.7-7.3). RY were 270-240 for GT (7.9-8.0).

Notre Dame led 17-3 HT and won 31-16, but USC outgained them 428-383 (6.1-5.4). SC punted on their first possession, but then they drove inside the ND 25 the next 4 possessions yet came away with just 3 pts (INT, FG, end of 1st H, missed FG).

Utah led 14-0, Oregon State battled back thanks to the some Utah failures in the RZ. 1st H Utah kicked a FG from the O11 after a 17p 75y 7-1/2min drive, then were SOD at the O01 (although on this series Ore St fumbled it back and Utah got that TD back 3min later - 4p 19y). Utah still led 24-14 HT. Ore St scored 14 pts to start the 3rd Q which included a blk’t punt TD! 28-24 Beavs. Utah retook 31-28 lead, but then Ore St again scored 14 straight to lead 42-31. Utah missed FG and then were SOD at the O02. Utah kicked a FG from the O15 with under 4min left, but Ore St recovered the onside kick and killed the clock. 42-34 F. Utah was in the RZ 8x, only scored TDs on 4 of those. Ore St was 5-for-5 RZ TDs. Ore St outgained them 468-455 (7.8-5.9) and outrushed them 260-188 (6.3-4.1).

North Carolina St went 3-and-out twice to start and Miami scored TD on opening possession. NC St kicks FG then Miami hits a 53y TD pass to lead 14-3. NC St D clamped down on Miami the rest of the 1st H and State was able to take a 17-14 HT lead. NC St outgained them 249-182 in 1st H. Miami scored TD to lead 21-17. NC St punted which the Miami player muffed, picked it up and fumbled again. A pile ensued with NC St recovering at the M05! Miami was called for holding and the play went under review. After review the refs said that an NC St player participated after their helmet had come off resulting in offsetting penalties and rekick. An enormous play in the game. Miami punted back a couple minutes later and the teams traded FGs near end of the 3rd Q. 24-20 Canes. NC St was driving and faked a punt on 4th-7 at the NC34 getting a 40y run out of it and went on to retake a 27-24 lead early 4th Q. Miami was driving, fumbled at the NC04, but got it back and scored next play to lead 31-27. NC St missed a 45y FG, but Miami ran into the kicker and NC St made the next one...31-30 under 6min left. Miami punted and NC St was stopped on 4th-8 2 yards short at M48 under 3min left. NC St used two timeouts and Miami faced 3rd-16 after being sacked. They completed a 21y pass to end the game. TY were even at 421-420, NC St did have a better ypp 6.6-5.9. NC St RY 111 (5.0) to Miami’s 95 (2.5). NC St D 4 sacks. NC St was just 3-of-14 3rd down to Miami’s 6-of-17. Each team 1-of-2 4th down. Leary 24-42-310-2-0. Van Dyke 25-33-325-4-0

Ohio State outgained Indiana 539-128 (7.8-2.4) with a FD edge of 31-10 and outrushed them 187-48 (5.8-1.3). IU had 75y on their opening drive, then just 58y the rest of the game! IU QB Tuttle was knocked out of the game on the opening possession after throwing TD pass. He was 4-7-41-1-0. Essentially IU’s 3rd and 4th string QBs would combine for just 4-10-39-0-0 the rest of the game. Stroud 21-28-266-4-0. Ohio St D 5 sacks and 14 TFLs.

Hawaii led 24-3 mid 2nd Q with a 79y pick-six as New Mexico St got off to a slow start. NM St got their first TD on a 56y run and then would score on 3 of their next 4 possesions to tie the game at 27-27 3rd Q! UH got a 75y run from Turner and then UH D got their second pick-six, this one 75y to go back up 41-27 early 4th Q. NMSt went down converting a couple 4th downs for TD...41-34 mid 4th Q. UH connected on a 3rd-11 pass for 49y and UH scored with 4min left. 48-34. NMSt was SOD at H40 and they couldn’t get the ball back despite calling a couple timeouts with :35 and :30 left. NMSt had TY edge of 485-482, but UH had ypp edge of 7.4-5.5. UH barely outrushed them 263-257 (7.3-7.6). Each team lost 2 turnovers, all were converted into points (10 for NMst and two pick-sixes for UH). Schager QB’d the entire game for UH despite Cordiero reportedly being available. He went 25-29-219-0-0.

 

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Ivy League bonus

Dartmouth 5-0 (2-0) was -17.5 / 45.5 / -950/+625 home vs Columbia 4-1 (1-1). 1st H was Dartmouth -10 / 24.5. Dartmouth was actually ranked 25th in the Stats Perform FCS poll. Columbia won 19-0! Columbia drove for FG and TD and then capitalized off a Dartmouth INT for FG to lead 13-0 HT. Dartmouth only crossed midfield once in the 1st H on their final possession. 2nd H Dartmouth was -10 / 21.5. Columbia opened with a TD to lead 19-0 (2pt no good) and then would not cross midfield the rest of the game. Dartmouth O was no better to begin the 2nd H, punting from their own territory on first 4 drives of and then were SOD at the C05 and C02. Thanks to their late game drives, Dartmouth did outgain them 262-239 (4.0-3.6), but Columbia outrushed them 141-60 (3.1-3.0). Both teams struggled on 3rd down, Columbia just 2-of-15 (2-for-2 4th down) and Dartmouth 4-of-16 (0-3 4th down). 17.5 pt dog not only one outright, but shut them out!

Princeton 5-0 (2-0) was -5.5 / 53.5 / -220/+180 home vs Harvard 5-0 (2-0). 1st H was Princeton -3.5 / 27.5. Harvard was ranked 16th Princeton was 17th in the Stats Perform FCS poll. This game would go to 5 OTs where Princeton won 18-16. Was just 6-6 HT. 2nd H line was Princeton -3.5 / 25. Princeton threw 4 INTs which handed Harvard two free FGs (Harvard 4p 2y and 4p 6y after INTs). Harvard had three decent drives in the game that went 44y SOD, 70y FG and 53y TD. Meanwhile Princeton was in the RZ often but could not score TD. They kicked FG from the H22, missed FG from the H05, made FG from the H11, missed FG from the H20 all in regulation. Princeton's only TD was on a blk'd punt. It went to OT 13-13. In OT 1 both teams made FGs. In OT 2 Harvard threw INT, but Princeton had FG blk'd! OT 3 Princeton's 2pt play was incomplete. Harvard scored their 2pt play but upon review the referees said that Princeton had called timeout prior to the play, this is a non-reviewable aspect, timeouts can only be granted by on-field refs. So Harvard's 2pt play was taken away after they had thought they won the game. Harvard then converted their 2pt play again, but were called for O PI. Their 3rd attempt was incomplete. In OT 4 Harvard threw INT and Princeton was incomplete. In OT 5 Princeton converted their pass, while Harvard's fell incomplete. 18-16 F. Princeton outgained them 257-234 (3.3-3.0) with each team struggling to run teh ball despite nearly 40 attempts each, they both avg just 1.3ypc. Harvard D got 7 sacks, Princeton D got 4. They combined 1-for-6 4th down and just 10-of-38 3rd down. The Ivy Leage acknowledged the referee and replay error in the timeout situation that took away Harvard's successful 2pt play, but Princeton's win will stand. Princeton QB Smith was off a record setting game the prior week vs Brown where he completed 25-27-476-4-0 (best compl % in school history). Vs Harvard he was just 20-40-207-0-4.

Yale 2-3 (1-1) was -15 / 38 / -650/+474 home vs Penn 2-3 (0-2). 1st H was Yale -8.5 / 20. This total was way off. Both teams moved the ball well, Yale scored TD on every 1st H poss and led 28-14 HT. The 2nd H line was Yale -5.5 / 21. The scoring slowed a little, they had 21 pts in the 3rd Q with Yale leading 42-21 before Penn went on a 18p 90y drive for their final score in the 42-28 F. Penn had to convert 4th down 3x for that final score to slide in the back door. Penn was 0-for-3 on 4th down prior to that drive! Yale outgained them 444-260 (6.6-3.6) with a 161-121 (4.0-2.8) RY edge. Yale D 5 sacks.

Cornell 1-4 (0-2) was -4 / 60.5 / -185/+161 home vs Brown 1-4 (0-2). 1st H was Cornell -2.5 / 30.5. This was a wild game with 10 lead changes and almost 1,100 yards of offense! Cornell blk'd punt for safety and then got a short field TD after an INT to lead 9-0. Brown scored and Cornell was punting, but Brown ran into P so Cornell decided to go for a 4th-1 at own 44 which they got and soon would lead 16-7. Cornell was later SOD 4th-1 at own 43 and Brown used that short field to make it 16-14. Brown took 21-16 lead, but a good KO ret and two big plays later, Cornell was back on top 23-21. Brown was INT'd to end the 1st H at the C24. 23-21 HT Cornell -1.5 / 31 2nd H. Brown 28-23. Cornell 30-28. Brown 35-30 7:34 left. Cornell 38-35 4;17 left. Brown 42-38 2:27 left. Cornell 45-42 1:59 left. Brown 49-45 :29 left. Cornell could get no further than their own 42 to end the game. There were 5 TDs and lead changes in the final 7+ minutes of the game. Brown outgained them 587-501 (7.1-6.9) with a RY edge of 312-189 (6.6-5.6). Brown won despite being -3 turnover ratio. They converted 10-of-15 3rd downs to Cornell's 5-of-16, the Big Red were 3-of-4 4th down though. In typical Cornell style, they platoon QBs, 4 different players took snaps at QB with all having multiple pass attempts. How is that for a QB rotation? They used 3 QBs the previous game.

Additional reading for Ivy recaps - Nailbiters Highlight Ivy Football Week 6



Week 7 - Week 7 recaps
Week 6 - Week 6 Recaps
Week 5 - NA
Week 4 - partial Week 4 Recaps
Week 3 - Week 3 Recaps
Week 2 - Some really short recaps week 2
Week 1 - Doing some short recaps