TOP 25 PERFORMANCES WEEK 6

GAMES NOTES:

I will admit when I’m wrong and last week I thought Texas had a great situational advantage. I thought Texas, with their defense would be able to handle West Virginia at homeand win the game more comfortably than most thought before a record crowd of 101,851. WV finished with a 26-21 FD edge and 460-404 yd edge. After WV had a 40 yd FG blk’d they attempted to go for it numerous times on 4th down and met with success almost every time. On their 3rd drive they converted on 4&2 at midfield then on 4&4 were stopped but UT called time-out prior and on the next play WV got a 40 yd td pass. Texas led 28-27 at half and got the ball to open the 3Q and appeared to be in good shape going 54/13pl and settled for a 36 yd FG. WV’s 2nd 3Q poss converted on 4&6 and 4&1 on a 76/12pl drive for a td, 41-38 (10:50) UT was SOD on 4&13 and then a key play happened when on 3&6 from the WV 8 the snap got past QB Ash and he fell on it for a 16 yd loss. That forced a 41 yd FG and they missed and WV went 76/8pl as UT couldn’t get them off the field. Perhaps their most impressive player in the game was Andrew Buie who constantly broke tackles and rushed for 207 yards although Geno Smith is clearly the frontrunner for the Heisman hitting 25-35-268 yards. Hats off to WV for going into a hostile environment and beating a pretty good Texas team and they deserve to be in the Top 5.

I was very impressed with South Carolina last Saturday as it was never even a game. SC jumped out to a 21-0 lead and Georgia never really threatened. SC finished with a 292-224 yd edge and 20-15 FD edge. They set a school record with their 10th consecutive win and it was the first time they’d beaten UGA 3 straight times (series started 1894). I thought the “Gurshall” combo would have a decent day running vs their D but they held Todd Gurley and Keith Marshall to 25 carries for 76 yards. Marcus Lattimore had his third 100 yd game vs UGA rushing for 109. SC went 76/5 for a td, 69/11 for a td (after int) and got a 70 yd PR td to lead 21-0 with 5:18 left in the 1Q. UGA went 80/15pl but on 4&gl from the 2 were SOD with 4:15 left in the half. SC got a 63/4pl drive for a 28-0 lead mid3Q, had a 33 yd FG blk’d then went 89/14 for a td with 6:17 left. UGA narrowly avoided the shutout going 75/12pl getting a td with 1:50 left.

East Carolina got off to a quick start vs UCF as they went 75/13pl for a td, then got a 76 yd td pass on their next offensive play to lead 14-0 but UCF would outscore them 40-6 after that. UCF had a pair of 1st&gl from the 6 yd lines turn into 22 and 23 yd FG’s and only led 20-17 at the half then settled for a 36 yd FG to open the 3Q. EC’s last gasp came down 37-20 when on 4&4 they were sk’d for a 14 yd loss from the UCF40 with 9:28 left.

Syracuse snapped a 7 game losing streak vs Pittsburgh but it wasn’t easy. Pitt had a 346-305 yd edge. SU got a 70/8pl drive for a td, Pitt went on a 10pl drive and missed a 43 yd FG then SU got a 52 yd FR td to lead 14-0. Pitt went 62/12pl for a td but SU went 70/12pl. On 3&4 from the 9 they were int in the EZ. Pitt got a 40 yd FG to pull within 14-10. Pitt went 72/10 but settled for a 27 yd FG, 14-13 after 3Q’s. PItt had a FD at the SU29 but 3 false starts and a sack forced a punt on 4&34 with 10:54 left. Pitt had a FD at the SU17 in FG range but was called for intentional grounding, they took a sack and punted 41 yds on 4&34 with 4:52 left. SU got 4 FD’s and were able to run the clock gaining 47 yds on the final 11 plays.

If Utah St won, they would have won the Beehive Boot (best tm in Utah) as they beat Utah earlier this year. BYU started Taysom Hill for a 2nd straight week and he hit 24-36-235 yds. For the 2nd time this season USU had a chance for a FG at the end and missed a game winning FG vs Wisconsin earlier. BYU was SOD on 4&1 at the USU30. BYU took over at their own 39 with :28 left in the half and got a 28 then a 22 yd pass then 3 yd td pass with :03 left to lead 6-3 but missed the xp. BYU had a 224-112 yd edge at the half. USU fumbled at their own 9 but BYU had a bad snap on a 23 yd FG. BYU was int at the USU40 with 10:41 left and USU missed a 38 yd FG with 7:47 left which would have tied it. BYU got a crucial FD run and added 1 more FD run and then took a knee.

For a 2nd straight year Navy and Air Force went into OT. AF missed a 51 yd FG as time expired. Cody Getz rushed for 204 yards becoming the first AF player to have three 200 gm games in a season. The game kicked off at 9:40 am MT, which was the earliest in Falcon Stadium history. Navy QB Trey Miller had one of his best efforts of the year rushing for 110 yards and left with an ankle injury and it was Keenan Reynolds who led the win hitting 3-3-55 and rushed for 22. AF missed a 27 yd FG in the 1H and fumbled at the Navy24 and fumbled at the Navy16 and only led 10-7 at the half despite a 261-153 yd edge. AF finished with a 507-359 yd edge. AF was SOD at the 50 but appeared to have the game in hand with a 54 yd HB option pass with 9:03 left putting them up 21-13. Navy got a td and 2pt conv with 6:35 left to tie and AF missed a 51 yd FG on the final play of regulation. Navy fmbl’d into the EZ on 1&gl from the 1 but fell on it for a td and AF on 4&6 fired incomplete.

USF K Maikon Bonani had been perfect on FG’s coming in but missed a 50 yd FG in the 1H and had a go ahead FG in the 4Q blocked in their game vs Temple. Late in the 2Q USF QB BJ Daniels had his helmet ripped off by the face mask and fumbled as his head was ripped around but no pen was called and TU took over at the 10. While TU did not score, they did get a 51 yd FG on the final play of the half to lead 9-7. USF led 14-9 but a fumble set up TU for a 31 yd TD and the lead. Trailing 30-28, Bonani’s 34 yd FG was blk’d and ret’d all the way to the USF35 and Temple got a td on the next play for a somewhat misleading 37-28 final.

Northwestern was trying to get to 6-0 for the first time in 50 years but despite leading 28-17 in the 4Q, Penn St scored 3 times in the final 9:49. PSU did finish with a 443-247 yd edge and Kain Colter who had almost 300 total yards offense the previous week had 24 yds on 5 rush attempts and 3 catches for 17 yards while Trevor Simian threw all their passes. Penn St muffed a punt at its own 17 setting up a Northwestern td in the 2Q and NU got a 3&10, 11 yd td pass with :30 left to lead 14-10 despite PSU having a 186-123 yd edge. When NU got a 75 yd PR td, they led 28-17 but PSU converted on 4&4 with a 6 yd td pass with 9:49 left and on 4&2 for a FD to the 6 setting up a td to lead 32-28 and after NU was SOD on 4&7 at its own 28, PSU tacked on a td 3pl later with 1:30 left for the 11 pt win.

Kansas actually had a 263-218 yd edge vs Kansas St at the half but missed a 24 yd FG and trailed 21-14. KSU got an IR to the KU5 with :16 left but burned a time-out and then QB Klein was tackled inbounds after a 4 yd run and couldn’t get another play off. The short field gave KSU the blowout. A 34 yd PR set up a 19/4pl drive for a td. A fumbled kick set up KSU for a 32/1pl td run, an int for a 40/3pl td drive, a 26 yd punt set them up for a 45/2pl drive and a fumble for a 43/6pl drive to make it 56-16. KSU did finish the game at the KU10 yd line.

Connecticut benched leading top rusher Lyle McCombs for the 1Q after an arrest on Friday and he had just 12 yards rushing on 12 carries. Rutgers and UC each had 12 FD’s but RU only a 280-224 yd edge. An int set up RU for a 17 yd “drive” for a 45 yd FG and UC then fumbled the KO and RU “drove” 15 yds for a 31 yd FG and a 6-0 lead. It was 6-3 at the half and UC missed a 51 yd FG on the final play of the half and trailed despite a 106-99 yd edge. RU got a 25 yd IR td with 3:44 left in the game to extend it to 19-3 and UC was int’d at the RU22 and from the RU37 on the last 2 poss.

Arkansas got a big win for their losing streak but it didn’t start well as they went 67/9pl and had a 26 yd FG bounce off the upright. They still led 10-0 and Auburn missed a 49 yd FG with 2:37 left in the half and Ark missed a 50 yd FG with :38 left. Ark had a 224-146 yd edge. Aub went to Moseley in the 2H as their QB. He hit a 21 yd td pass, 10-7 but trailing 17-7 Auburn fumbled at their 40 and Ark got a td to make it 24-7. Moseley was int’d in the EZ from the Ark23 and int’d in the EZ from the Ark12 with 3:04 left.

Southern Miss had 5 TO’s vs Boise St and opened 0-5 for the first time since 1976. Turnovers gave Boise a short field in the 1H. In fact, SM had a 266-199 yd edge in the 1H and trailed 23-0 and finished with a 424-310 yd edge. SM missed a 38 yd FG then after a 34 yd IR, Boise drove 11 yds for a td. After a fumble, Boise drove 35/5pl for a td and SM was int’d at the BS26 and missed a 33 yd FG. SM fumbled at their own 44 with :22 left in the half and 2pl later BS got a 33 yd td pass for their 23-0 lead.

Kent St dominated Eastern Michigan with a 27-7 FD edge and 467-200 yd edge. It was just 10-7 when Kent St got a 4 yd td run with 3:26 left 2Q but they returned the 2H opening KO 98 yd for a td then went 79/6pl for a td and had 86 and 82 yd td drives to go up 41-7 and their final drive was 48/12pl where they took a knee on 1&gl at the 3.

Tyler Van Tubbergen hit 23-28-283 yds as Western Mich waxed Massachusetts. In fact, they had a 32-16 FD edge with UMass getting 3 FD on the final drive of the 1H down 28-0 scoring a td with :04 left then Mass took over with 3:52 left and would get a 10 yd td with 1:40 left while trailing 52-7 for the final 52-14 margin. WM had a 551-218 yd edge.

Indiana led almost start to finish vs Michigan St. In fact the Spartans lead came with a td with 6:35 left. Surprisingly after Northwestern rushed for 394, Michigan St was only able to rush for 120 yds. Andrew Maxwell did throw for 290 yards but Indiana had 200 yards in the 1Q but just 37 yds and 2 FD’s in the 2H as MSU’s defense got serious. IU had a lead of 17-0 and 27-14 at the half. It was 27-17 when MSU got a td with 7:49 left then their td with 6:35 left. MSU did end the game with a FD at the 7 of IU running out the clock and finished with a 410-317 yd edge.

Gio Bernard rushed for a career high 262 yds for North Carolina. Each team had a KR td but NC finished with a 533-394 yd edge, the 3rd time this year Virginia Tech allowed 495 in a game. Bernard got a 62 yd td run on 4&1 at the start of the 2Q. VT trailed 36-26 and on 4&10 fired incomplete at the NC36 and NC got a 51 yd run by Bernard setting up a 13 yd td run for their 45-26 lead. Trailing 48-34 VT’s last gasp ended on a 4th & 10 at the NC36.

Army had a 31-17 FD edge vs Boston College and a 595-420 yd edge. They appeared to have blown too many opportunities in the 2H. Army missed a 26 yd FG, settled for a 20 yd FG after a 55/15pl drive and trailed 31-27. They went for it on 4&gl at the 1 and were SOD with 2:09 left but forced a BC punt with 1:03 left and on 3&1 QB Steeleman ripped off a 29 yd td run with :45 left for the 34-31 lead. BC5 got 1 FD and fumbled at their own 32 on the final play of the game.

Mississippi St dominated Kentucky with a 25-13 FD edge and 427-228 yd edge. In the 1H they had a 278-90 yd edge but UK brought in frosh QB Patrick Towles who led an 80/10pl drive for a td in the 2Q and it was only 20-7 at the half. Leading 27-14 MSU fumbled at the UK27 with 8:56 left but UK’s last gasp were SOD on 4&16 at their own 33 and MSU finished the game taking a knee at the 2 yd line.

Akron had a 282-150 yd edge at the half vs Bowling Green and the 2 teams amazingly in the first 7 poss combined for 15 FD’s but had 6 punts and zero points. Akron led 10-0 at the half and BG dominated the 2H. They went 78/7pl for a td, 54/10pl for a 26 yd FG, 91/4pl for a 60 yd td pass, 41/7 but missed a 24 yd FG, 49/8pl for a td to lead 24-10. Akron’s explosive offense was held to just 36 yds in the 2H and BG finished with a 472-316 yd edge. UA gained all 36 of their yards on the final drive in the closing minutes.

UAB’s played some tough foes stronger than the final would indicate this year and finally played against a team they could dominate. UAB had a 318-17 yd edge vs Southeast Louisiana and a 31-0 lead when SLU went 50/9pl for a 33 yd FG. For the game SLU had 9 FD’s, 3 on the final drive of the 1H and then trailing 52-3 got 3 more FD’s gaining 31/12pl on their final drive of the game. UAB had 1 punt to SLU’s 8 and UAB had a 26-9 FD edge and 512-125 yd edge.

ULM showed those games vs Arkansas, Baylor and Auburn were no fluke and dominated Middle Tenn. At the half ULM had a 306-127 yd edge. ULM was int’d at the MT46 on the first drive and MT fumbled at the ULM28 in the 1H. ULM led 10-3 getting a td with 3:40 left 1H. ULM drove 75, 54 and 35 yds (after fumble) for td’s in the 3Q to extend it to 31-10. Trailing 31-17, MT had a 2&gl from the 7 but was int’d in the EZ and ret’d to the 28 with 8:06 left in the game. ULM went 70/15pl getting 5 FD’s running out the entire 8:06 ending the game at the MT17.

Tajh Boyd threw for a career high 397 yards for Clemson in a game where the game was closer than the final score would indicate. CU did finish with 601-483 yd edge and 31-17 FD edge. Georgia Tech took its opening drive of the 2H 75/9pl for a td to lead 28-27 and got a 26 yd FG with 14:03 left to lead 31-30. CU went 75/8pl for a td then GT’s KR slipped at the 2 and CU got a safety. CU was int’d with 8:32 left and GT lined up for a 37 yd FG to pull within 1 score with 6:16 left but it was blk’d. CU took over at their own and converted on 3&8 and 3&12 on their final drive going 80/13pl and on 2&gl from the 1 with :50 left, got an 11 yd td run for the largest lead of the game, 47-31.

The story of the Iowa St/TCU game was that Casey Pachall was suspended. TCU still finished with a 24-15 FD edge and 455-350 yd edge. Trevone Boykin hit 20-40-270 and rushed for 39 on 14 carries. TCU’s 12 game win steak was snapped. Jared Barnett got his first start of the year for ISU and hit 12-21-183 and rushed for 30. ISU has faced top 25 teams on the road 33 times since 1996 and this was their 3rd win with Barnett also guiding the win over TT last year. The Frogs had won a national’s best 25 conf games in a row. Boykin was dealing with leg cramps in the 2H despite the mild temps (50’s). ISU opened with a 75/4pl drive for a td then after an int got a 44 yd FG to lead 10-0. TCU fumbled at the ISU3 trailing 16-7 and fumbled at the ISU37 and despite a 231-186 yd edge and commanding 13-4 FD edge in the 1H, TCU trailed 16-10 as Barnett hooked up with Lenz on 51 and 74 yd td passes. Barnett hit Lenz with a 1 yd td pass early 3Q, 23-10. TCU got within 23-20 and ISU14 gained 5 yds but a PF gave them a FD and they continued on a 75/10pl drive for a td to get back ahead by 2 scores, 30-20. ISU got an IR td with 7:51 left, 37-23 and on 4&gl from the 3 TCU was int with 2:13 left.

In the 1H Maryland fumbled twice, was int’d, only had 12 FD’s and their leading rusher was Stefon Diggs who had 7 yards on 1 carry. Wake Forest got a 73 yd td on the 3rd play of the game. WF fumbled a punt at their 35 and MD got a 52 yd FG to pull within 7-6. WF was SOD on 4&1 at the MD1 then after MD on 3&9 was int on a deep pass at the 40 (like a punt), WF missed a 42 yd FG. MD got a key play when on 3&11 at their own 34 they got a 23 yd pass to Diggs. They continued on the 75/6pl drive for a td to lead 13-7 and WF missed a 45 yd FG with :13 left 1H. MD fumbled a punt setting up a late td and WF led 14-13. The next 4 poss were punts. MD missed a 37 yd FG with 9:34 left but went 57/5pl for a td with 5:37 left for the lead. WF’s final poss was SOD at their own 12 and MD on 4&5 with :07 left was SOD at the 8.

Everyone was dumping on Oklahoma after their 2-1 start and loss to Kansas St but they were off a bye, off a loss, playing with revenge, the same situation where they waxed K-State the previous year. Here they took on a Texas Tech D that came in ranked #1 in the country yielding just 165 ypg. OU almost got to the 400 yd level and probably would have if the game wasn’t a blowout. They finished with 380 yds but at the half had 251 of them. It was the first time the Sooners won in Lubbick since 2003 and OU is now 19-0 in games following a loss dating back to 2004. The Sooners trailed 10-7 but went 66/9p, 75/8pl for td’s, 21-13 and added a 32 yd FG with :31 left for a 24-13 lead. TT went for it on 4&5 but was SOD at the OU47 to open the 3Q and the Sooners went 54/6pl for a td and 2pl later had a 45 yd IR td to blow it open 38-13. They went 32/10pl for a 42 yd FG and led 41-13. OU put the offense away going 3&out on the next 2 poss and would have just 2 more FD’s and 44 yds in the 4Q. TT put together an 80/10pl drive for a garbage td with :56 left to pull within 41-20.

Wisconsin brought in 3rd string QB Phillips for a couple snaps in the 2Q vs Illinois. Phillips hadn’t played since 2009 (ACL surgeries). The Badgers got a key play when trailing 7-3 they got an int with 6:06 left then on 3&9 got a screen pass to White which he took 62 yds for a td to tie at 7 that allowed UW a 171-126 yd edge at the half. In the 1H IL had missed a 47 yd FG but their lone td came after a UW int as they drove just 28 yds. UW took their 2nd 3Q poss 58/8pl for a 46 yd FG then after a 10 yd punt went 59/7pl for a td and after a 26 yd PR went 59/2pl for a td, 24-7. IL got a 75/13pl drive for a td with 6:26 left to pull within 10 but UW rec’d the onside kick and started to wear down the IL defense with the run and Ball’s 18 yd td run with 3:27 left allowed them to win by 17. It was their 20th straight home win.

Marshall actually finished with a 572-340 yd edge vs Tulsa. In the 1H they settled for 36 and 21 yd FG’s and were SOD at the TU26 but trailing 17-3 got a td with 2:36 left then rec’d a fumble on the KO and drove 28/4pl for a td with 1:15 left to tie at 17. TU got an 11 yd FR td in the 3Q and then a 95 yd KR td with 5:04 left in the 3Q. Trailing 37-32, MU went 99/9pl for a td with 10:59 left but TU got the td with 8:20 left on a 66/6pl drive. MU went 71/13pl but on 4&4 were SOD at the TU16 with 3:32 left. They forced a punt and got down to the 17 but on 4&7 fired incomplete with :49 left.

Fans were calling for them to bench Josh Nunes last week but he returned with 360 yds passing hitting 21-34. Matt Scott had an even more impressive game hitting 45-69-491 yds with the 45 comp and 69 att both being school records. Arizona appeared to have the game locked up leading 48-34 with 9:13 to go when Stanford faced a 4&7 with 7:04 left and got a 19 yd pass to the 1 to keep the drive alive and got a td with 6:34 left then forced a punt and went 79/14pl. On 4&9 they got a FD, 17 yd pass to the 3 and a td with :45 left to force OT. They int’d a tipped pass in OT and got a 22 yd td run by Taylor for the win. Taylor had 142 yd rushing. Each team finished with 617 yards and Arizona had a 38-27 FD edge.

Florida ran the ball 58 times vs LSU for 176 yards and while that translates to 3.0 ypc, it was impressive in the 2H vs that stout LSU defensive front. Zach Mettenberger hit 11-25-158. Jeff Driskel hit 8-12-61 but had a key fumble and in yet another game, UF played much better in the 2H. In the 1H LSU had an 81-47 yd edge but in the 2H UF had a 190-119 yd edge. Driskel was sk’d and fmbl’d at his own 7 and the D held for a 22 yd FG with :24 left 1H so LSU only led 6-0 keeping UF a td away from the lead. The Gators went 85/8pl getting that td with 5:15 left 3Q. LSU got their biggest play of the game, a 56 yd pass to Beckham but he fmbl’d and UF went 77/11pl and another impressive drive for a td to lead 14-6. LSU punted with 3:50 left and UF, on 3&6 got a FD with :09 left.

Duke is on their way to a bowl. Conner Vernon caught 2 td passes setting an ACC record for career rec (Aaron Kelly, Clemson) and Duke won despite missing their starting QB Sean Renfree. Anthony Boone got the start and hit 18-31-212 yds. This is the best start to a season for Duke since 1994 when they opened up 7-0. Virginia actually had 301 yards and 18 FD in the 1H but just 140 yards and 5 FD’s in the 2H. UVA rushed for 184 yards (7.1) in the 1H. It was tied at 14 when UVA took over at their 16 with :56 left and got a 30 yd run and 8 yd pass for a 39 yd FG on the half’s final play but this is one game where their momentum would not carry over. UVA punted on their first 3Q poss, were SOD on 4&1 at their own 46, went 3&out, missed a 45 yd FG, were int on 4&6, missed a 41 yd FG, punted on 4&18 and SOD on 4&3 at their own 34 on their 2H poss as Duke would outscore UVA 28-0 in the 2H.

LATE SCORES:

FIU finished with a 17-14 FD edge and had led 10-7 when Hilliard was int at the FIU30 with 1:23 left 1H, Arkansas St got a td 3pl later for the lead at halftime and that gave them the momentum. ASU went 87/11pl for a td to open the 3Q, got an int and went 26/4pl for a td to lead 27-10. After an FIU FG, ASU got a 73 yd run by Hayes setting up a td for a 34-13 lead and won 34-20.

Utah had a frenzied crowd for one of their biggest home games ever at 46,037 and got off to a great start. USC had a bad snap on the 2nd play, Barkley picked it up by DL Fakahafua took the ball out of his hands and ran 8 yds for a td. Another bad snap from center saw Utah rec at the 13 and that set up an 11 yd td pass and Utah led 14-0. The Utes even led 21-10 with 8:54 left in the 2Q but USC went 74/3pl and after a fumble, 34/6pl for td’s to lead 24-21 and Utah missed a 48 yd fg with :08 left in the half. USC opened the 3Q with a 47/9pl drive and then a 56/12 drive but missed short FG’s of 40 and 44 yds or would have led by more. They got an 83 yd td pass to Lee on the next drive then a 39 yd IR td to lead 38-21. USC punted with 5:19 left and Utah bkp QB Wilson led the Utes 63/11pl and on 4&9 got a 31 yd run to the 5 and a 5 yd td with :38 left which made some Utah backers happy.