Week 3 News and Notes Part 2

In 2 of the first 3 series Fresno St got an 86 yd TD pass and 52 yd TD pass to jump out to a 14-0 lead. North Dakota pulled within 21-9 at the half and had a 6-5 FD edge. In the 2H ND took the lead on a TD with :09 left in the 3Q, 22-21. FSU answered with a 71/12pl drive getting a TD with 9:14 left for the lead, 27-22. ND got 3 FD’s but at the FSU42 opted to punt on 4&15 and went 31 yds to the 11 with 3:14 left. FSU got 1 FD but ND had a shot on 3&12, Robbie Rouse ripped off an 18 run and FSU took a knee.

When I first looked at the boxscore of Oklahoma St/Tulsa it looked like OSU got out to a huge lead then just let up. They did get a major break early in the game. Tulsa’s QB GJ Kinne ran 23 yards for a FD to the 50 and was hit late. That drew a 15 yd penalty but unfortunately they lost Kinne for the rest of the game. His backup, Kalen Henderson rushed 13 times for 5 yards and hit 6-20-104 with 3 int’s. OSU had 3 TD drives off TO’s. Surprisingly OSU only finished with 32-27 FD and 543-482 yd edges although TU did gain 82 yards on their final 2 drives and their final drive ended on an int in the EZ from the 17. This was an extremely odd game as well as it was orig supposed to start at 9:10 but it was delayed until 12:16 am and didn’t finish until 3:35 am! Coach Gundy said “there comes a certain point in the middle of the morning that your body is not functioning”.

There were 59 points in the Louisiana/Nicholls St game but only 505 total yards offense as almost all the scoring drives were on a short field off of turnovers. Louisiana got on board first after recovering a fumble they drove 12 yards for a TD. Each team did get a 50 yd TD drive, 14-7. NSt got a 36/3pl drive for a TD after an int, 14-14. The game turned with 6:27 left in the 2Q. NSt lined up for the go ahead 40 yd FG and was not only blocked, it was returned 68 yards for a TD. At the half, NSt had a 176-108 yd edge but trailed 21-14. On the 3rd play of the 3Q, NSt was int’d and returned 41 yards for a TD and UL led 28-14. UL fumbled with 9:56 left in the 3Q and NSt went 7 yards for a TD. UL got the best drive of the game, 48/10pl for a 49 yd FG then after the teams punted three times, UL got a 60/1pl TD pass, 38-21. NSt was SOD on 4&7 at the UL26 to end it and finished with a 14-12 FD edge.

A couple straight years Hawaii, on their 2nd straight trip to the mainland seemed to bond by staying on the mainland including a trip to UNLV a few years back when they whipped the Rebels. Last year they came up short in the 2H vs Colorado and this year ended up fumbling 4 times. They fumbled the opening punt setting up a 40 yard FG and later allowed an 80 yd TD run by UNLV. Trailing 17-0 they rallied for a 74/6pl drive for a TD, 17-7. UNLV even missed a 28 yd FG with :06 in the half. UNLV had a 228-123 yd edge at the half. UH fumbled the 3Q’s opening KO and UNLV got a 33 yd TD pass on the next play and after another fumble, UNLV went -3 yards but added a 50 yd FG. UH was SOD on 4&4 at its own 31 and UNLV added a TD with 5:01 left, 40-14 before UH brought in backup QB Graves. Graves drove them 70/8pl for a garbage TD with 1:21 left but UNLV dominated the game.

The Southern Miss/SEL game was not as lopsided as the final score and there was a bunch of FG’s and missed FG’s in the game. SEL came in avg 90 plays per game and SM seemed to want to slow it down and ran for 35 yards. SEL had just 74/285 yards while SM piled up 478 yards. SM missed a 44 yd FG with 6:15 left in the 1Q and SEL faked a punt for a FD and converted on 4&2 and 4&2 on a 16 play drive but settled for a 32 yd FG but on their next drive went 71/12pl but opted for a 19 yd FG from the 2 and trailed 14-6. It was 21-6 and SEL was at the SM45 when on the last play of the half they were not only int’d but returned 60 yards for a TD, 28-6. The first 3 poss of the 3Q were 11, 8 and 8pl drives that resulted in a 49 yd FG, a missed 25 yd SEL FG and a missed 46 yd FG by SM. SM’s final TD came on a 6 yd IR TD with 6:37 left to make it 52-6 and SM was SOD at the SEL35 with :58 left.

Wake Forest did have dominating 29-5 FD and 454-139 yd edges. GW made a game of it early as it was 3-3 after each team had 1 series and GW got a safety to pull within 10-5 but WF pulled to 27-5 at the half and QB Price came out after the 3rd series of the 3Q leading 34-5. Backup QB Ted Stachitas led 26 and 69 yd drives for TD’s to make it 48-5 with 14:54 to go and WF also played backups Cross and Thompson at QB.

The Texas Tech/New Mexico game was delayed by the weather twice for a total of 95 minutes. TT did score TD’s on their first 4 poss of the game jumping out to a 28-0 lead. NM got back to 28-7 and TT was SOD but NM fumbled it right back with 4:40 left in the half and TT went 25/6pl for a TD, 35-7. NM on 4&1 was SOD at the TT34 with :48 left and TT got 20 and 28 yd runs by Stevens for a 23 yd FG to lead 38-7 at the half with a 410-203 yd edge. NM led 59-7 before NM got a 44 yd FG with 7:42 left and a 42 yd FG with 1:30 left.

SMU had a 336-60 yd edge at the half and led 26-0. Northwestern St had a couple shots at scoring as they missed a 29 yd FG in the 2Q, were SOD on 4&6 at the SMU36, after they got a 42 yd IR to the SMU13, they had a 24 yd FG blk’d. It appeared SMU was on its way to extend their lead to 47-0 when they had a 1st & gl at the 1 with 3:00 left but on 4&3 QB Padron fumbled and Northwestern St got a 93 yd FR TD with 1:41 left to avoid the shutout. SMU had a 530-126 yd edge.

Cincinnati got ahead 49-0 in the 1H and rested most of their starters in the 2H. UA has now been outscored 142-17 in their opening 3 games. UC led 59-0 when the Zips got their first TD of the season and the Zips’ 2nd TD came on an 11 yard garbage TD pass with :50 left. This was a different type of game. I can make a case for the game not being as close as the final score in the fact that UC led 42-0 at the half and played their backups the entire 2H and even then built the lead to 59-0 vs Akron before allowing the Zips a 51 yd TD pass with 13:37 left and a 46/7pl drive for an 11 yd TD pass with :50 left. I can make a case that Akron played this closer than the final score in the fact that in the 1H which they trailed 42-0, they were only gained 231-166 and allowed not 1, not 2 but THREE Defensive return TD’s (54,36,53 yds) and also allowed 40 (after PR) and 29 (after int) yard drives for TD’s. Akron actually finished with a 349-342 yard edge and was only outgained 231-166 at the half.

Texas A&M had a big game vs Oklahoma St on deck and rolled to a 350-63 yd edge in the 1H but only led 27-0. They extended it to 37-0 with a FG and a TD on their first 2 drives of the 3Q. A&M missed a 44 yd FG with 7:30 left and Idaho went 73/11pl and on 4&gl from the 1, got a 1 yd TD run with 2:18 left in the game to “only” lose by 30.

I mentioned in the magazine at the start of the year that I thought Houston had a great shot at an unbeaten season this year. That nearly came to an end last week vs Louisiana Tech. Tech basically outplayed Houston and missed a couple of opportunities to put the game away. At the half LT led 20-7 with a 249-109 yard edge. LT scored TD’s on their 2nd & 3rd drives of the 3Q and led 34-7. Houston got a pair of TD’s on their next 2 drives and then LT went 44/9pl and had a FD at the Houston 28, up 34-21. They got a 6 yard run to the 22 but fumbled and Houston went 80/9pl including a 4&4 conversion and got a TD with 7:25 left. LT was int’d but UH punted on 4&7 and they punted 56 yds for a TB with 5:40 left. LT got 2 FD’s and nearly ran out the clock when on 3&6 was sacked for a 12 yd loss and punted with 2:46 left. UH16 got 3 FD’s and then a 32 yd TD pass with 1:36 left to take their first lead, 35-34. LT on 4&2 gained 1 yd to its own 38 with :45 left.

Landry Jones became the school’s career passing leader moving past Sam Bradford although he hit just 18-27-199. Florida St lost QB EJ Manuel for the final 20:00 but Clint Trickett hit a 3&28, 56 yd TD pass to keep FSU in the game and overall looked sharp. Trickett hit 7-15-134 while Manuel hit 13-19-85. This was the game FSU looked forward to the entire offseason and had one of their loudest home crowds in a long time. Trickett was sacked 5 times but that 3&28 TD pass tied it. FSU had talked about this game the previous 9 months. Last year OU opened with an 80/14pl drive for a TD and this year an 80/15pl drive for a TD vs the Seminoles and led 7-0. FSU got a 53 yd FG then got to the OU11 but was int’d on a great tipped pass by Wort who returned it to the 35. Two poss later OU went 63 yards but on their 2nd drive inside the 10 settled for a 21 yd FG. After a 69 yard IR to the 3 OU’s 3rd drive inside the 10 ended in a 29 yd FG as their road redzone woes continued. FSU got an int at its own 22 and Trickett came off the bench for the injured Manuel. He sparked the offense guiding FSU 50/8pl for a 46 yd FG. On their 2nd drive they got 1 FD and punted but his 3rd drive they took over at the OU38. On 3&28 he threw up a pass that the WR jumped between 2 defenders, hauled in and raced 56 yards for a TD and stunningly FSU had tied it at 13. OU converted on 3&12 for a FD and then Stills got behind Reid. The pass hung up in the air and Reid was almost able to knock it away but Stills hauled it in for a 37 yard TD catch with 7:00 left. Harris made another int and OU got 2 FD and their 31 yd FG just made it over the crossbar with 2:01 left to put them 2 scores ahead. FSU was SOD on 4&17 at their own 10 and OU took a knee.

UTEP’s starting QB Lamiason missed the game and backup QB Jay Hall hit 9-28-124 but UTEP defeated New Mexico St 16-10 on the road. They did benefit from NMSt getting inside their 5 yd line 3x and scoring just 3 points. On NMSt’s opening drive they went 80/15pl and on 4&gl from the 2, pass interference gave them a FD at the 1 but they were int’d in the EZ on 2nd down. UTEP got a pair of 10 play drives for 42 and 47 yard FG’s to lead 6-0 with 2:24 left in the half but NMSt got a 14 yard TD pass to lead 7-6 at the half and had a 158-101 yd edge. UTEP had a 47 yard FG hit the upright but NMSt went 67/12pl and on 4&gl from the 3, missed the 21 yard chipshot FG. NMSt went 63/8pl and settled for a 20 yd FG, 10-6. UTEP went 74/6pl for a 5 yard TD run, the key was a 60 yard fake punt on 4&7 from its own 29. They then went 70/9pl for a 37 yard FG, 16-10. UTEP missed a game clinching 37 yd FG with 5:14 left. They went for it on 4&1 at the NMSt33 but converted but fumbled 2pl later with 1:37 left. NMSt got to the 49 but was sacked and fumbled with 1:17 left.

Arizona gave a good effort vs Stanford. A couple of missed FG’s kept them from being tied in the 3Q and eventually Stanford’s big O-line took over. SU did lead 10-0 after a 4&1, 24 yd TD run but Arizona went 79/11pl for a TD with 5:57 left in the half to pull within 13-10 and of course played well as a home dog. Stanford20 went 65/10pl for a 33 yd FG, 16-10. Arizona, with 1:17 left in the half, went 51/9pl but missed a 45 yd FG on the final play of the half. Arizona opened the 3Q with a 45/7pl drive and missed a 36 yd FG and instead of being tied, they trailed 16-10. After each team punted, Stanford went 81/7pl for a TD. Stanford went 3 &out punting on 4&3 but AU jumped offside and SU continued on an 80/8pl drive for a TD then went 91/12pl for a TD to ice it 37-10. AU’s last try ended on 4&8 at the SU41.

The Cal/Presbyterian game was amazing in that in the 1H Presb had 1 FD and that came on their 2nd play of the game on a roughing the passer. Cal had a 347-8 yd edge but “only” led 42-12 as Presb blocked a punt which Bethel ret’d 17 yards for a TD and then Bethel got a 29 yd IR TD with 5:48 left in the 2Q. Cal returned the opening 3Q KO 88 yards for a TD to lead 49-12 and went to backup QB’s Allen Bridgford for 3 series and Brock Mansion for 2 in the 63-12 win where they had a 27-3 FD edge and 581-48 yd edge.

Troy blew a couple of opportunities in the 1H vs Arkansas as they went on a pair of long drives and missed 32 and 31 yd FG’s. Arkansas also converted on 4th down twice to keep drives alive and led 24-0 but Troy got a TD with :07 left in the half on a 50 yard drive to only trail 24-7. Arkansas only had 283-255 yd edge at the half. Troy got a 53 yd IR with 6:12 left 3Q to pull within 10. Down 17, Troy was SOD at the Arkansas 29 and SOD at the Arkansas 7 but did score a 23 yd TD pass with :28 left for the 10 point final. Troy actually outgained Arkansas 457-454.

Austin Peay played Memphis closer than the final would indicate in fact, had a 23-18 FD edge. In the 1H AP missed 33 and 43 yd FG’s where they could have led 6-0. UM got a 42 yd TD pass with 8:14 left in the 2Q and then a 30 yd FG with :25 left to go up 10-0 at the half. UM got a TD and FG on their first two 3Q drives. AP went 80/13pl for a TD to make it 20-6 (4:55 3Q, 2 pt ng). After recovering a fumble, UM missed a FG early 4Q. AP drove 38/9pl and had a 4th & gl at the 1 false start had them go for it on 4&6 and fired incomplete. The game became misleading when on 3&9 Memphis got a 93 yd TD pass with 2:10 left. That would give them the yardage edge for the game. AP went 80/10pl getting to the UM13 but were int’d in the EZ with :06 left.

As you can tell by the final score, Missouri dominated and Coach Pinkel apologized for a 44 yd PR TD with 4:48 left saying he should have instructed a fair catch. UM had a 30-1 FD edge and 744-44 yd edge. WI was without their top RB and LT due to suspension. UM RB Henry Josey only rushed 14x but averaged almost 20 ypc with 263 yards and only played the 1H. UM went 44, 83, 73 yards for TD’s on their first 3 poss then fumbled at the WI32. They went 69/7pl for a TD to lead 28-0 (9:36 2Q). UM punted but then went 65 and 63 yds for TD’s in the final 3:06 of the half incl a 68 yd TD run by Josey with :52 left. UM led 476-50. UM went 74 and 45 yds on their first 2 poss of the 3Q for a TD and a FG. They fumbled at the WI17, settled for a 25 yd FG then got a 54 yd TD pass to Hunt with 7:02 left and added the 44 yd PR TD with 4:48 left.

This was only played for 39:02 as there was one lightning delay and then the 2 coaches met at midfield and let the final 2:58 run out the clock to get to make it an official game. SFA played well early. They went 56/9pl but on 4&1 were SOD at the Baylor 24. Baylor went 45/9pl for a 48 yd FG. SFA got a 50 yd run by Barnes to the 30 but on 3&9 was int’d at the Baylor 9 and ret’d 28 yds. Baylor went 63/8pl for a TD. SFA went 76/13pl but on 2&gl from the 6 fumbled. Baylor went 96/8pl for a TD (11:00 2Q) then 65/7pl for a TD, 24-0 (8:06 3Q) and then got a Griffin 66 yard TD pass, 31-0 (3:14). Baylor after a 24 yd punt started at the SFA34 with 2:14 left in the half but fumbled into the EZ for a TB. Baylor only had a 388-201 yard edge. Baylor opened the 3Q with 50/2pl TD drive, 38-0 (11:21 3Q), 61/5pl drive for a TD, 45-0 (7:52 3Q) and a 51/7pl drive for a 30 yd FG, 48-0 (3:12).

Ohio St QB Bauserman had a horrible day hitting 2-14-13. Miami got a 54 yd run on its first offensive play setting up a 63/4pl drive for a TD, 7-0 then went 53/11pl for a TD. OSU got to the UM40 yd line but was int’d at the 14. Two poss later OSU went 64/16pl but settled for a 22 yd FG, 14-3. UM was int’d 2pl later at their own 23 and OSU got a roughing the passer FD and a 24 yd FG, 14-6. UM28 went 64/10pl and on 2&3 added a 25 yd FG on the last play of the half, 17-6. There were 2 punts to open the 3Q. UM then was SOD at the OSU47. 4 punts. OSU fumbled at the UM31 with 9:21 left and UM went 69/14pl getting a 4th & 1 TD with just :33 left.