Category Archives: NCAA Football

St. Francis loses heartbreaker to Trinity International

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After a sluggish start and a furious late comeback, St. Francis was left with putting its defense to the test as Trinity International drove to potentially win the game. Unfortunately for the Saints, the Trojans drove all the way to the 11-yard line, setting up a 28-yard field goal that would give them a wild 41-39 victory Saturday in Deerfield. Continue reading →

Charlie Weis goes overboard

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Being a Missouri alum, what I’m about to do stings a little, but when it comes to people in the same profession, sometimes you have to stick up for those that share your passions.  In this case, I’m talking about Blake Schuster, a Kansas junior and sports writer for the school paper, and Charlie Weis, the Kansas head football coach. Continue reading →

What We Learned Week 3

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  • Geno Smith went to complete 34 of 39 passes for 411 yards, moving past Marc Bulger (8,153) to set the school record for career yards passing (8,191).  He also has thrown for 734 yards and nine touchdowns. All while only throwing nine incompletions in two weeks.  Yes, the same number of incompletions as touchdowns.  Just like RG3 last year. Continue reading →

What We Learned…Week Two

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  • Utah State broke a 12 game losing streak to in-state rival Utah.  The Aggies hadn’t beaten Utah since 1997, and not in Logan since 1996.
  • With it’s win over UConn, NC State is now 9-1 in weeks after a loss, ranging back to 2010
  • Minnesota scored 16 points in the first quarter against New Hampshire. The Golden Gophers hadn’t scored that many points in the opening quarter since 2005 (20 points vs Florida Atlantic). Last season, Minnesota only scored more points once all last season (20 points in second quarter of season finale against Illinois.
  • The last Ohio State quarterback to rush for three touchdowns in a game was Art Schlichter against Illinois in 1978.  Braxton Miller did it Saturday.
  • Penn State starts 0-2 for first time since 2001 and just the 5th time in the last 45 years.
  • Before Sam Ficken went 1-for-5 on field goals for Penn State, the last player to miss four-or-more FG in one game was Josh Zahn of UAB. Zahn was 2-for-7 at Tennessee on 9/25/2010.
  • Auburn “accumulated” -2 pass yards in the first half at Mississippi State. The Tigers are the second team this season to have negative pass yards in a half; Northern Illinois netted -1 pass yard in the second half vs Iowa last weekend. The Tigers last had negative pass yards in a half in 2005, when they had -2 pass yards in the second half vs Alabama.
  • Mississippi State’s win included numerous firsts. The victory broke a string of unsavory trends for the Bulldogs. They had lost 10 out of the last 11 against Auburn — including four straight — and hadn’t won an SEC opener since 1999.  It was also coach Dan Mullen’s first victory against the SEC Western Division’s best four teams. He was 0-12 combined against Alabama, LSU, Arkansas and Auburn until Saturday’s breakthrough.
  • Miami started playing games in 1926, but Saturday’s loss was just the sixth time that the U ever allowed 50 points in a game.
  • Collin Klein now has 5 career games with at least 3 rush TD and 1 pass TD. Since 2000, that is the most of any FBS player.
  • Marcus Lattimore records his 33rd career TD (30 Rush, 3 Rec), tying the school record by George Rogers and Harold Green.  He has played in only 22 games.
  • Clemson’s DeAndre Hopkins is the first player this season with three receiving touchdowns in a game this season, and he did it before halftime. The last player with three receiving touchdowns in a half? West Virginia’s Tavon Austin, who did so in the first half against Clemson in the Orange Bowl.
  • Second straight year the Sacramento State Hornets have beaten a Pac-12 opponent on the road in the last play of the game.  They defeated Oregon State last season.
  • Through two games this season, Notre Dame has turned the ball over just twice, eight fewer than the 10 turnovers the Irish committed at this point last season.
  • Denard Robinson finished with his 3rd career game with at least 200 yards passing and 200 yards rushing. That’s the most of any FBS player since 2000.. one more than Vince Young had.
  • Denard Robinson is the 4th player in FBS this season with multiple 50-yd Rush TD in the same game, joining Duke Johnson, Davon Johnson, and Johnathan Franklin. He is the only Michigan player to do it since at least 2004. Robinson’s longest run in Week 1 against Alabama was 9\nine yards.
  • Denard Robinson now has three career rushing TD of at least 70 yards. That is tied for the most among all active FBS players.
  • Matt Barkley passed for 187 yards and 6 TD, becoming the first FBS player since at least 2000 to have 6+ pass TD and fewer than 200 passing yards in a game.
  • If it seems that no lead is safe in college football, the schools on this list can surely relate. Texas A&M, Memphis, Kansas and Nevada all blew halftime leads on Saturday and are among the the teams that have seen the most halftime leads evaporate since the start of the 2011 season.
  • Florida stepped up its defense after halftime Saturday. Texas A&M averaged 5.8 yards per play in the first half with 28.3 percent of its plays gaining 10 yards or more. In the second half, the Aggies averaged 2.8 yards per play, and managed just one play that gained 10 yards or more. All six of Texas A&M’s second-half drives ended in punts, including four “3 & outs.” The Aggies had no punts in the first half.
  • For a second straight week, Michigan State held an opponent without an offensive touchdown.  The only two touchdowns the Spartans have allowed this season have some on interception returns.
  • Iowa State beat Iowa 9-6 for its first win in Iowa City in 10 years.
  • This was Iowa’s first loss under Kirk Ferentz when they held a team to fewer than 10 points. Before today, they had been 33-0 in such games.  Iowa State didn’t score in the second half.
  • Wisconsin’s last regular season non-conference loss came in 2003 at home against UNLV. It’s last regular season non-conference ROAD loss came in 2001 at Oregon.
  • With Wisconsin’s, Nebraska’s and Illinois’ losses to Pac-12 teams, Big Ten schools are 5-26-1 at Pac-12 schools since 1993 (the year Penn State joined the Big Ten).
  • After showing some signs of rust last week in a 35-21 victory over North Carolina State, Jimmy Hunter caught three touchdowns — the first time since 2003 that a Tennessee receiver ended up with that many in a single game.
  • Tennessee exceeded the 500-yard mark in total offense for a second straight week. The Vols hadn’t gained 500 yards in back-to-back games since 2000.
  • The win is Louisiana-Monroe’s first over a ranked team since joining the FBS in 1994, and it is the school’s first over an SEC team since defeating Alabama in 2007.  The Warhawks are 4-34 against the SEC, with their only other win coming against Mississippi State in 1995.
  • It is also the Sun Belt Conference’s first win over a top 10 team.
  • Six players ran for touchdowns as Georgia Tech (1-1) had 712 total yards, the second-highest total in school history, including 469 yards rushing. The Yellow Jackets had a school-record 768 yards in a 66-24 rout of Kansas in 2011.
  • LSU has won 39 straight against non-conference opponents in the regular season, tying a Football Bowl Subdivision record first set by Kansas State. Next weekend, the Tigers play Idaho, another non-conference opponent, and the game is at home, where LSU has won 19 straight.
  • Mississippi defeated Texas-El Paso 28-10, improving to 2-0 for only the second time in 10 seasons.
  • The Bowling Green Falcons improved to 4-0 in season openers under head coach Dave Clawson.
  • The Ohio Bobcats (2-0), who opened with a win over Penn State, have won eight of nine dating back to last season.
  • Damien Williams’ rushing total of 156 yards was the most for a player in his first game at the Sooners’ home field, and he became only the fourth player at the school to eclipse 100 yards rushing in each of his first two games. Adrian Peterson was the last to do it, in 2004.
  • Casey Pachall and Trevone Boykin combined to complete all 17 passes for TCU — the most in FBS history without an incompletion.
  • Gary Patterson was presented a crystal ball in recognition of his 110th career victory — one more than former school-record holder Dutch Meyer, who led the Frogs to their only AP national championship in 1938. Patterson is 110-30 overall with 10 shutout victories one game into his 12th season.
  • Houston and Louisiana Tech combined for 1,291 yards of offense and 78 first downs in a game that lasted four hours and eight minutes.
  • SMU intercepted seven passes and recovered two fumbles by Stephen F. Austin.
  • Northern Arizona’s win over UNLV was Northern Arizona’s (1-1) first win over an FBS team in 25 years.
  • Oklahoma State freshman Wes Lunt threw for 436 yards, fourth-most in school history and the Big 12 record for a freshman, and connected with Tracy Moore for four touchdown passes

What We Learned Week 1 Saturday Edition

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  • West Virginia became the fifth team in 15 years to score 65 or more points in consecutive games.  They put up 70 on Clemson in last year’s Orange Bowl and beat Marshall 69-34 Saturday.
  • Missouri’s Marcus Murphy had quite a day in the Tigers’ rout of Southeastern Louisiana.  Murphy became the first Tiger ever with two punt returns for score in the same game when he took punts back for 70 and 72 yards. He finished the game with 180 yards on five punt returns, breaking the school record of 156 previously held by NFL Hall of Famer Roger Wehrli set Oct. 21, 1967.
  • Missouri scored two defensive touchdowns in the first quarter.  The last time Tigers had two defensive scores in a game was 2006 at Texas Tech.
  • Notre Dame scored 50 points against Navy on Saturday. it’s the most points the Fighting Irish have scored in a season-opener since scoring 52 against Purdue in 1983.  It’s the fourth-most since 1920/
  • Tavarres King recorded his sixth career reception of 50+ yards to score for Georgia. Since King’s freshman year in 2009, only two SEC receivers have more catches of 50+ yards: Cobi Hamilton (Arkansas) and Alshon Jeffery (South Carolina), with eight each.
  • Ryan Nassib set new Syracuse records for single-game pass yards (470), passes (65) and completions (44) against Northwestern. The previous pass yards record was held by Marvin Graves, set in 1992.
  • Northwestern allowed 28 points in the 2nd half at Syracuse, blowing a 35-13 lead before coming back to win in the final minute. In 2011, Northwestern allowed the most 2nd half points in the Big Ten. Syracuse allowed 21 second half points in the game. Last year, Cuse allowed 172 2nd half points, 2nd most in the Big East.
  • Urban Meyer led the Buckeyes to 56 points in his Ohio State head coaching debut. It was the 2nd-most points by any Ohio State head coach in their first game on the sidelines in school history.  John Wilce’s team put up 58 in 1913 against Ohio Wesleyan.
  • Urban Meyer is now 4-0 in his debuts as head coach at a new school, winning by an average of just under 23 points. The 56 points scored and the 46-point margin of victory Saturday against Miami (OH) are also Meyer’s highs in a debut at a new school.
  • Penn State hadn’t lost a season-opener since 2001, when they lost to Miami (FL). They haven’t lost a season-opener to a non-BCS AQ conference team (current BCS AQ) since 1967, lost at Navy.  Until Saturday, that is, when they lost to Ohio.
  • Despite scoring 62 points, North Carolina finished three points shy of tying the school record and had its best output since beating Ohio 62-0 under Mack Brown in September 1995.  It was also the Tar Heels’ first shutout since beating Duke 38-0 to close the 1999 season.
  • UTSA picked up it’s first FBS victory, with a comeback win against fellow FBS newbie South Alabama.
  • Cal Lost to Nevada for only the second time at home in 25 tries and first since 1903.
  • Florida won it’s 23rd consecutive opener.  That’s second nationally behind Nebraska’s 27 consecutive opening wins.
  • With it’s win over Tulsa, Iowa State has won nine of it’s last 10 openers.
  • Chase Rettig threw for 441 yards against Miami, the sixth-highest single-game total in school history and most since Glenn Foley threw for 448 yards in 1993.
  • Nebraska quarterback Taylor Martinez had been known for his running.  Saturday, he showed America he can also pass.  Martinez threw for a career-high 354 yards and rushed for only 10 as the Huskers won their 27th consecutive opener.
  • Wisconsin won it’s 17th consecutive home game, tied with LSU for longest streak.
  • With his third quarter touchdown run, Montee Ball has now scored a touchdown in each of his last 21 games, dating back to 2010.
  • Jim McElwain became the first Colorado State coach to win his debut in 42 years Saturday when the Rams rallied past their arch rival for a 22-17 win over the Colorado Buffaloes.
  • New Mexico scored 66 points in its opener against Southern. That puts the Lobos almost halfway to their total of 144 points scored all last season.  The Lobos scored 38 points in the second quarter, as many as they totaled in the final six games last season.
  • Dustin Hopkins, who is on pace to shatter both the school and Atlantic Coast Conference scoring records, added field goals of 28 and 30 yards and extended his string of successful consecutive point after kicks to 139. Hopkins now has 341 career points, 53 shy of the league and school records.
  • Pittsburgh’s loss to Youngstown State was the school’s first in 11 all-time games against FCS opponents. It was the Panthers’ third meeting all-time against the Penguins. In the previous two meetings, Pitt outscored Youngstown State 79-3.
  • The Penguins, a Football Championship Subdivision program, beat a Bowl Championship Series team for the first time in school history.
  • Andre Ellington ran for 228 yards in Clemson’s win against Auburn. Ellington is the only the third ACC player since 2004 with multiple 200-yard rushing games. Seven ACC _teams_ don’t even have multiple 200-yd rushing games by an individual in that period.
  • Clemson wins consecutive meetings with Auburn for the first time since 1950-51. From 1952 until 2010, they played each other 14 times. Auburn was 14-0. Since then, Clemson is 2-0.
  • Clemson now has a win against an SEC team in 9 of the last 11 seasons.
  • The 84 points that Oklahoma State scored Saturday vs Savannah State is the most by an FBS team since Oct. 1991 when Fresno State dropped 94 on the New Mexico Lobos.
  • Oklahoma State’s 84 points were the most by any full-fledged FBS member since 2000. Western Kentucky scored 87 points against West Virginia Tech in 2007, but the Hilltoppers were reclassifying from FCS to FBS.
  • Oklahoma State had no problem scoring against Savannah State, becoming the first team since the turn of the century to top 80 points in its opener.
  • Oklahoma State’s 84 points are their most in a season-opener… since 19116.
  • After being tied with Missouri State at nine in the third quarter, Kansas State scored 42 consecutive points to win 51-9.
  • Indiana ended a nine-game losing streak — winning for the first time since beating South Carolina State 38-21 on Sept. 17, 2011.
  • Texas State got its first won as an FBS member, when they whalloped a rebuilding Houston squad, 30-13.
  • Alabama ran for 232 yards on 42 carries Saturday against Michigan. The Tide are now 40-0 since the start of the 2008 season when they run for at least 150 yards.
  • The 27-point loss for the Wolverines is the worst loss in a season-opener in the 133 years of Michigan football.
  • With its loss to Rutgers, Tulane lost its 11th consecutive game dating to last year, its longest losing streak since dropping 16 in a row from 1961-63.
  • Arizona, which needed overtime to defeat Toledo, amassed 624 yards to Toledo’s 358 but had two touchdowns called back by penalties, turned the ball over three times and missed the two short field goals.
  • Washington scored its first defensive touchdown since Quinton Richardson returned an interception for a score against UCLA two seasons ago.
  • Ryan Aplin became Arkansas State’s career leader in total offense with 9,075 yards, surpassing Corey Leonard (2006-09) and also became the leader in yards passing with 7,721, to pass Cleo Lemon (1997-2000).  Unfortunately, his team lost to Oregon 57-34.  The Ducks led 29-0 after the first quarter and 50-3 halfway through the second period.

What we learned Week 1: Thursday edition

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College football officially started Thursday, August 30th with some good games and some not so good games.  Let’s take a look at some quirky stuff…

  • South Carolina has played on the first Thursday of the season six times (2005, 2006, 2008, 2009, 2010, 2012) in the Steve Spurrier era.  They have won all six.
  • South Carolina is now 9-0 when Marcus Lattimore has at least 100 rushing yards.
  • South Carolina turned the ball over twice in its first three plays from scrimmage. The Gamecocks only turned the ball over twice during their four-game win streak to finish the 2011 season.
  • Marcus Lattimore fumbled on his first carry of the season. In his first two seasons at South Carolina, he only fumbled three times on 412 carries.
  • Connor Shaw has won nine of his 10 starts for the Gamecocks.
  • Akron coach Terry Bowden made his return to major college football, 19 years after his run ended at Auburn.  Unfortunately for Bowden and the Zips, UCF defeated them handily, 56-14.
  • Jahwan Edwards, a sophomore, ran for a career-high 200 yards and tied a career-best three touchdowns in Ball State’s win over Eastern Michigan.  His previous high was 123 yards last year against Ohio on October 15th.
  • Andre Parker, a linebacker at Kent State, made a name for himself Thursday night in the Golden Flashes win over Towson.  Parker returned a muffed punt 58 yards…in the wrong direction.  He ran it towards his own end zone, but the crazy part was instead of letting him go all the way for a safety, Towson tackled Parker out of bounds.  The ball was brought back to the place of the muff, Towson’s seven-yard line.
  • Utah set a Rice-Eccles Stadium record with a 21-play, 91-yard drive that consumed 10:42 and culminated with a Jordan Wynn-to-Jake Murphy 8-yard touchdown connection.
  • The Utah 41-0 win over Northern Colorado marked the Utes’ first shutout victory since beating Wyoming 50-0 in 2007.
  • Connecticut’s defense dominated their game, holding UMass to just 59 yards of offense and limiting the Minutemen to three first downs. UMass did not have an offensive snap in UConn territory.  UMass never got its offense started, averaging just over 1 yard per play, and failing to get a first down until just 34 seconds before halftime.
  • The game was the first between Football Bowl Subdivision programs from New England since 2004, when UConn faced Boston College.  This was UMass’ first game as a FBS member.
  • Rice linebacker Cameron Nwosu blocked three extra-point attempts in the first half, breaking the NCAA single-game record for blocked PATs.
  • All four of UCLA’s first-half offensive touchdowns were scored on drives that lasted less than a minute. Last year, the Bruins only had six touchdown drives that were that quick all season.
  • UCLA has two 70+ yard touchdown runs in the first quarter at Rice. Last season, the Bruins only had one play of 70+ yards all season (and no runs longer than 42 yards).
  • McNeese State recorded its first win against an FBS school since 2001 when it beat Middle Tennessee 27-21 Thursday.
  • Eastern Washington’s 20-3 win over Idaho was their first over an FBS opponent since 2003, when it coincidentally defeated Idaho as well, 8-5.
  • Despite only gaining 42 yards on their four third quarter possessions, UNLV was able to take a 10-7 lead on Minnesota into the fourth quarter.  The Rebels’ first two drives resulted in zero yards, their third nine yards and the scoring drive 33.
  • After each scoring only 13 points in regulation, Minnesota and UNLV scored 17 and 14 points, respectively, in three overtimes in a Gopher 30-27 3 OT win.
  • Arizona State outgained Northern Arizona  346-79 in the first half.
  • In his starting debut, Taylor Kelly completed 15-of-19 passes for 247 yards
  • Washington State managed -5 rushing yards against BYU
  • At Texas Tech, Mike Leach’s teams averaged more than 37 points per game for 10 seasons. Washington State scored just 6 in Leach’s debut. That’s the fewest points a Mike Leach team has scored since scoring 6 in a loss at Colorado in 2006 and tied for the 3rd-fewest overall.

College Football Preview: Illinois

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Illinois started out 6-0 and was ranked in the Top 20.  Then it lost it’s next six games and barely qualified for a bowl.  The 6-0 start and then 0-6 finish was the first time an FBS team had ever done that.  In comes a new coach to save the day after Ron Zook went goodbye. Continue reading →

College Football Preview: Hawaii

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The 2012 season will be one of giant change for the Warriors.  Not only are they bringing in a new coach, native-born Norm Chow, but joining a new league (MWC) and scraping the old Run ‘n’ Shoot offense for one with more running and usage of a tight end. Continue reading →