#BoxScoreReview
Miami @ Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech lost the turnover battle 3-0 in their 30-6 loss at home to Miami. The bigger issue for the Hokies was that 149 of the team’s 262 yards came in garbage time when the outcome was already long since decided.
USF @ Cincinnati
Cincinnati defeated USF 34-17 but they should have won by a wider margin had they turned a decided edge in yards (590-281) into points. Talented Bearcat starting QB Gunner Kiel left the game at halftime and back-up Munchie Legeaux promptly went 14-15 in relief. Mike Boone ran the ball 19 times for 212 yards, giving UC punch from the backfield they’d desperately lacked.
BYU @ Boise St
Boise St used a 41 point explosion in the 1st half to dispatch BYU on the smurf turf. Boise outgained BYU 637-322 earning a 13 minute edge in time of possession in the process. Balance was key for the Broncos as they gained 410 through the air and 227 on the ground.
Oregon @ California
Oregon went down to Levi Stadium and came away with a 59-41 win against Cal. The final boxscore showed a pretty balanced game with Cal +3 in the first down department and only -30 in total yards despite losing by 3 scores.
UAB @ Arkansas
Arkansas only won 45-17 but the final score wasn’t nearly as indicative of their first half domination when the Pigs built a 35-0 lead. UAB only had 2 drives cover more than 50 yards and one of their TD’s came courtesy of a 100 yard kickoff return while the other was in garbage time with just 42 seconds remaining.
Memphis @ SMU
(Insert team) flattened SMU 48-10. This week it was Memphis but to preserve the sanity of the 5 SMU fans that may read this article I’ll spare them the details.
Minnesota @ Illinois
Minnesota outgained Illinois 411-263 and picked up 3 more first downs in their losing effort. Turnovers were the Gophers Achilles heel, finishing -2 in that department eventually keeping them from preserving a 24-21 lead headed into the 4th.
Maryland @ Wisconsin
Wisconsin dominated Maryland from start to finish, creating a box score every bit indicative of a 52-7 beat down. The Terps were outgained 527-175 with the bigger story in that yardage domination a rushing edge of 311-46 favoring the Melvin Gordon led Badgers.
Rutgers @ Nebraska
Nebraska’s 42-24 victory was not ideal for bookmakers. The game opened Nebraska -17 and climbed as high as -21 before Rutgers coin entered the market. Bo Pelini’s workhorse Ameer Abdullah accounted for 341 all purpose yards, 225 of the pedestrian variety on the ground.
North Texas @ Rice
Rice erased a 21-14 halftime deficit en route to a 41-21 victory (cover). The Owls got the pivotal score with 59 ticks to go when it appeared they’d be content to run the clock out with a 2 score lead. Rice outgained their in-state rivals 421-216 on the afternoon.
North Carolina @ Virginia
North Carolina and Virginia looked poised for a track meet after a 14-14 1st quarter but from that point forward the game ground to a halt. UVA compiled a slight edge in total yards for the game and out performed UNC on 3rd down execution. However the Cavs were only able to muster a single field goal in the 2nd half for the second straight week.
NIU @ Eastern Michigan
NIU beat EMU 28-17 but it was in no part attributed to a prolific passing attack. The Huskies ran for 332 yards but only gained 54 yards through the air on 17 attempts, a whopping 3.2 yards per attempt.
Akron @ Ball St
Ball St faced a 21-13 deficit at half…it didn’t matter as they outscored Akron 22-0 over the last 30 minutes to rally for a comfortable 35-21 victory. Akron turned the ball over 5 times (all in the second half) in the losing effort. Despite the 22 point rally Ball St didn’t have a scoring drive cover more than 29 yards the entire 2nd half.
Georgia Southern @ Georgia St
Georgia Southern picked up 613 yards rushing, the second most in a single game this season among FBS teams. Southern averaged 9.7 YPC and scored 42 points in the 2nd half to hang 69 points on Georgia St.
UCLA @ Colorado
UCLA committed 14 penalties for 121 yards and needed double OT to slip by Colorado in Boulder. Yardage for the game was damn near even but Colorado picked up 31 first downs compared to UCLA’s 21.
Georgia Tech @ Pittsburgh
Pittsburgh lost 6 fumbles against Georgia Tech, 5 of which ocurred in the first quarter good enough for a college football record. Tech built a 28-0 lead 5:16 into the game and would coast to a 56-28 victory.
Oregon St @ Stanford
Stanford beat Oregon St comfortably, winning the game 38-14. Aside from a late garbage TD drive that saw the Beavers cover 72 yards, they didn’t muster a single drive the rest of the afternoon that went more than 29 yards.
West Virginia @ Oklahoma St
West Virginia beat Oklahoma St 34-10 but only outgained the Cowboys by 12 yards. WVU showed good balance in the winning effort, throwing for 238 and picking up 210 on the ground.
Texas Tech @ TCU
TCU gained 785 yards and scored 82 points. TCU gained 785 yards and scored 82 points. TCU gained 785 yards and scored 82 points. Trevone Boykin tossed 7 touchdowns accounting for 433 of the team’s 480 yards passing while the Frogs ran the ball to the tune of 305 yards.
Florida Atlantic @ Marshall
Marshall erased a 16-14 deficit against FAU keeping their undefeated record in tact with a 21-0 2nd half effort. Marshall picked up 546 yards for the game, the majority on the ground courtesy of Devon Johnson who went 24 carries for 272 yards.
Michigan @ Michigan St
Michigan St ran the ball for 219 yards on a previously top 10 ranked Michigan defense. However the biggest carry of the game came courtesy of Jeremy Langford with 28 ticks left taking the apparently 28-11 final score out to 35-11, giving Spartan backers of any number the improbable front door cover.
Old Dominion @ Western Kentucky
Over backers in ODU vs Western Kentucky never had to sweat their tickets when the 2 teams mustered 72 points in the first half. A 48 point explosion in the 2nd quarter was followed by 35 more in the 3rd. There were 1244 combined yards between the teams on the evening. WKU’s narrow cover was due in part to a late interception return followed up by a 27 yard field goal with 2 mins left to take a 12 pt lead out to 15 (line closed 13.5).
Temple @ UCF
Temple couldn’t eclipse the 200 yard mark on offense against UCF, gaining only 182 yards in their losing effort. The only scoring in the 2nd half came from UCF at the tail end of the 3rd quarter.
Arizona @ Washington St
Washington St bettors didn’t stand a chance as Arizona got out to a 31-0 lead and never looked back. However, the box score indicates a game that was much closer than the final considering Wazzou out first downed Arizona 33-25, outgained them 543-451, and ran 99 plays to Arizona’s 74.
Wyoming @ Colorado St
Colorado St built a commanding 45-17 mid-way through the 4th quarter before their border war rivals scored the games final 14 points to sneak in the backdoor. Colorado St only attempted 24 passes for the game but gained 411 yards through the air, an absurd 17.1 yards per attempt. I know it’s a broken record on these fine pages but Rashard Higgins was the difference maker hauling in 5 balls for 174 yards and a pair of touchdowns in the Rams win.
UTEP @ UTSA
UTSA grabbed the award for worst offensive performance of the entire weekend. The Roadrunners gained a grand total of 70 yards and picked up 2 first downs in their 34-0 loss to UTEP. The Miners held the ball for 39 minutes and judging by the box score no one would have any idea who the 10 pt underdog in this game was once the contest went final.
Texas St @ UL Monroe
Texas St used a 15 point 4th quarter to erase an 18-7 deficit at the end of 3. The Bobcats offense was asleep at the wheel through most of the first half gaining a grand total of 49 yards on their first 7 drives before putting together drives of 78 (TD), 63 (SOD), 76 (TD), and 62 (TD) before punting on their final series of the night.
Ole Miss @ LSU
The vaunted Ole Miss run defense was exposed by a LSU Tigers team that ran up 264 yards on the ground. For the first time all year we also saw bad Bo Wallace when the mercurial QB went 14-34 for 176 yards. Somehow the Tigers were able to escape with a narrow victory despite losing the turnover battle 4-1.
Alabama @ Tennessee
Alabama built a 27-0 lead only 3 minutes into the 2nd quarter before they put the game on cruise control; allowing the Vols to cover the closing number. On the evening Alabama showed brutal efficiency extending drives, converting 11 of 15 opportunities while the Vols were no slouch there either going 11 for 19.
Ohio St @ Penn St
Under bettors in PSU vs Ohio St caught a brutal break as a game that had no business sniffing saw 21 points scored in OT to push the game over 51.5. Penn St spotted OSU a 17-0 lead before scoring the game’s next 24 points. However OSU answered in the first overtime and closed out their conference rivals with a 12.5 yard TD drive in the 2nd OT period.
Arizona St @ Washington
Shaky QB play and awful weather in Seattle kept under bettors happy in Arizona St’s trip to Seattle. Neither team broke the 300 yard barrier for offensive output and a 10-10 game late in the 4th turned into a 24-10 ASU final via a 9 play, 75 yard TD drive followed up by a pick 6 with 52 seconds to go to cement the Sun Devils victory
