#BoxScoreReview Week 6
After a 2 week hiatus #BoxsoreReview is back with a vengeance. For those unfamiliar with the exercise these are the handful of nuggets that you may have missed from a busy weekend of college football. Remember final scores don’t always tell the full story for what went down meaning a misleading Box Score creates value on teams moving forward.
Arizona @ Oregon
There was nothing fluke like about Arizona’s upset of Oregon as 21 pt dogs. Arizona stayed committed to the run, averaging less than 4 YPC but running the rock 55 times to soften the interior of the Ducks o-line. The largest deficit Arizona faced all night was 4 points at 2 different junctures.
UCF @ Houston
UCF only gained 228 yards picking up just 10 first downs en route to upsetting Houston as 3 pt underdogs. As has so often been the case for the Cougars this year they lost the turnover battle 3-1. Starting QB John O’Korn was removed in favor of backup Greg Ward for a large portion of the 2nd half.
FAU @ FIU
By the looks of a 38-10 final score you’d think 6.5 pt underdog FIU put a whooping on their in-state rivals. However they were out first downed and out gained by Florida Atlantic. They took full advantage of 4 Owls turnovers, using a 24-0 2nd half to win comfortably.
San Diego St @ Fresno St
San Diego St missed the services of starting QB Quinn Kaehler vs Fresno St. Nick Bawden (2* recruit) made his first start going 9-24 in the passing department but did gain some confidence late before 2 critical interceptions doomed Aztec comeback efforts.
Utah St @ BYU
BYU’s slim hopes of making the inaugural CFB playoff were dashed by Utah St. Dual threat QB Taysom Hill for BYU was lost for the season and Christian Stewart came in for relief. There was no relief as Stewart went 10-29, tossing 3 picks. Unlike Hill he won’t be the same running threat, carrying the ball 7 times for a grand total of 11 yards.
Florida @ Tennessee
Florida and Tennessee played one of the ugliest football games of the weekend. The teams were nearly dead even in yardage and combined didn’t eclipse 500 yards total. UF benched Jeff Driskell when trailing 9-0 and true Freshman Treon Harris led the Gators to the final 10 points salvaging an otherwise ugly afternoon. Florida didn’t have a single receiver gain more than 30 yards.
SMU @ East Carolina
SMU had their biggest offensive output of the season against ECU, scoring 24 points and gaining just under 400 yards on offense. Not to ruin an otherwise good game for the Mustangs (relatively speaking) they were still only able to convert 4 of 17 3rd downs. ECU was no slouch on offense either, gaining 581 yards (410 passing, 171 rushing).
Purdue @ Illinois
Purdue gained 349 yards on the ground (7.8 ypc) against the Illini defensive front. Coming into the game, the Boilermakers were among the bottom feeders in all the power conferences on a yards per play basis. Illinois’ starting QB Wes Lundt suffered a leg injury that will sideline him for 4-6 weeks.
Marshall @ Old Dominion
Over backers in Marshall vs ODU caught a bad beat when the Thundering Herd taking their foot off the gas in the 4th quarter. Marshall led 56-7 headed into the final stanza and only needed a FG to push the game over the closing number but it was not to be despite the 49 point explosion (42 by Marshall) scored in the 1st half.
Southern Miss @ MTSU
Have some late scoring in the MTSU vs Southern Miss game. A 24-12 Blue Raider lead heading into the 4th quarter turned into a wild affair that saw the teams combine for 32 points over the last 12:26 including the final 2 scores from the Eagles, sneaking them in the backdoor.
Virginia Tech @ North Carolina
Virginia Tech led wire to wire in dispatching an underachieving Tarheels. The single most impressive stat from the Hokies in their win? They possessed the football for 41 minutes. Tech did take advantage of their opportunities traveling less than 20 yards on 2 touchdown drives while also getting the added benefit of a pick 6 that stretched their lead to 17 before the half.
Eastern Michigan @ Akron
Akron won (and covered) against EMU depending on the line you were able to secure. Zips started slow but scored the game’s final 21 points en route to their 31-6 win. The gained 552 yards as a team but were also penalized 15 times for 124 yards which would have hurt a lot more if they played a real football team.
Tulsa @ Colorado St
Rashard Higgins earned a game ball for Colorado St with his 6 reception, 178 yard output and 4 touchdowns. Dee Hart was no slouch running the football either for the Rams picking up 143 yards on only 11 carries in leading CSU to a convincing 42-17 win against Tulsa.
NC State @ Clemson
Clemson disposed of NC State in easy fashion beating the Pack 41-0. The most impressive stat line for the Tiger’s defense is they held NCSU’s starting QB Jacoby Brissett to 4-18 for 35 yards on the afternoon
Wake Forest @ Florida St
Wake Forest continues to have one of the worst offenses you’ll ever see in D-1 football. That is all…
Baylor @ Texas
Baylor was the major beneficiary of Texas ineptitude. The Bears 1st TD of the game came courtesy of a blocked field goal and the play the ultimately changed the game was a UT turnover on the 1 yard line right before the half. Bryce Petty was anything but Heisman like in the game, completing just 7 of his 22 pass attempts in the winning effort.
Ohio @ Central Michigan
CMU’s lead back Thomas Rawls may have stolen headlines in the Chips 28-10 win going for 229 yards rushing on 29 carries but it was the team’s defense against Ohio that made the difference. The Bobcats gained 8 first downs and were held below 200 yards of offense. Time of possession was indicative of how the game flowed with CMU holding the ball for 42 minutes compared to Ohio’s 17:41.
Oklahoma @ TCU
Trevor Knight struggled in Oklahoma’s losing effort, only completing 14 of his 35 attempts. The game started off at a torrid pace but came to a crawl in the 4th quarter with the only points coming via a TCU pick 6 and subsequent blocked extra point. OU drove as deep as the TCU 22 with 2:41 left but they were short on downs thwarting any late comeback ideas.
New Mexio @ UTSA
You’d have been hard pressed to figure out who was favored by 16.5 when New Mexico dismantled UTSA. The Lobos (like always) were able to get their option attack going early and often gaining 283 on the ground, a shade under 5.9 ypc. UTSA did build a 9-0 lead before UNM scored the game’s final 21 in completing the upset.
Wisconsin @ Northwestern
When is 259 yards rushing and nearly 10 ypc not enough? Apparently when you’re Melvin Gordon of the Badgers and your team loses outright 20-14 as 7 pt favs. Northwestern was outgained in their upset but benefited immensely from 4 Badger turnovers at momentum changing junctures of the game.
Stanford @ Notre Dame
Notre Dame needed late heroics to upset Stanford in South Bend 17-14. However, the Irish outgained the Cardinal 370-205 and were much more disciplined in committing only 1 penalty to Stanford’s 9. The biggest difference was the Notre Dame run defense that held Stanford to 1.5 ypc.
Kansas @ West Virginia
The final score was a lot closer than the game actually was between West Virginia and Kansas. WVU out firstdowned KU 25-9, outgained them 557-176, and built a 26-0 lead at the half. However 3 Mountaineers turnovers and a lethargic 2nd half allowed Kansas to cover a large number despite being the inferior side for much of the afternoon.
UL Monroe @ Arkansas St
It’s rare that a scoreless game at the half turns into a 28-14 shootout. Arkansas St compiled 572 yards of total offense with a perfect run/pass balance (284-288 respectively).
LSU @ Auburn
Auburn’s defense was the strength of their 41-7 domination of LSU. The Tigers (from Baton Rouge) only gained 280 yards of total offense compared to the 566 Auburn put up on the other side. Both Cameron Artis Payne and Nick Marshall broke the century mark toting the rock for Gus Malzahn’s squad.
Hawaii @ Rice
Rice flirted with a push all night against Hawaii until the waning seconds of the game when Driphus Jackson connected with Jordan Taylor for a TD that put the Owls outside the closing number of 7 for the first time of the entire game.
Idaho @ Texas St
I’m sure Idaho fans (if there are any) and players are trying to make sense of how they lost to Texas St. Idaho had a 33-14 first down advantage and 347-76 edge in passing yards. However it was the Bobcats rushing attack (390 yards), specifically Terrance Franks 15 carries for 284 yards that did in the Vandals.
UTEP @ Louisiana Tech
UTEP didn’t get off the bus for their game in Ruston against Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs ended the night +3 in the turnover department and doubled up the Miners offensive output. However it’s worth noting that only 1 of Tech’s TD drives covered more than 61 yards in total.
Memphis @ Cincinnati
Cincinnati’s defense was a sieve for the 2nd straight week, this time allowing Memphis to gain 600+ yards and pick up 30 first downs. I’m not sure how the Bearcats defense is alive, they’ve spent over 80 minutes on the field in their last 2 football games. Sam Craft did the damage on the ground for the Tigers carrying 38 times for 170 yards.
Miami @ Georgia Tech
Miami only ran 44 plays, possessing the ball for less than 20 minutes in their 28-17 loss to Georgia Tech in Atlanta. Two Brad Kaaya interceptions were the difference in the ball game for the Hurricanes.
Pittsburgh @ Virginia
Virginia built a 24-3 halftime lead on the strength of a Pick 6 to close the first 30 minutes. However Pitt scored the game’s final 16 points including a TD with 1:27 left to sneak in the backdoor as 6 point underdogs.
Arizona St @ USC
ASU didn’t even try to run the football against USC, carrying the rock as a team 22 times for a grand total of 31 yards. Under backers had a real gripe in this one when a 27-18 game blew up with 4 touchdowns (3 scored by ASU) coming in the game’s final 4 minutes.
South Carolina @ Kentucky
If Steve Spurrier doesn’t have an explanation for what happened the final 8 minutes in Lexington I sure as hell don’t. South Carolina had their 38-24 lead evaporate in a matter of seconds late in the game giving up a game tying Kentucky TD to tie it with 2:46 and then go ahead score on a pick 6 only 17 seconds later.
UNLV @ San Jose St
San Jose St scored 33 straight points at one point in their blowout victory of MWC doormat UNLV. SJSU’s defense was the real story, holding the Rebels to only 221 total yards of offense on the night.
Nebraska @ Michigan St
Holy backdoor Husker fans…left for dead at 27-3, Nebraska stormed back with the game’s final 3 touchdowns in the 4th quarter to not only cover but put an outright scare into Michigan St late. Ameer Abdullah was held in check, carrying 24 times for 45 total yards. Connor Cook struggled in the winning effort, completing 11 of 29 passes for 234 yards.
Utah @ UCLA
Brett Hundley was sacked 1,237 times for UCLA in their loss to Utah. The Utes lost their starting QB Travis Wilson early in the game but Oklahoma transfer Kendal Thompson filled in admirably. Utah relied on a ground and pound attack, carrying 55 times as a team as opposed to only 18 pass attempts.
California @ Washington St
I won’t even attempt to review the boxscore for Washington St vs Cal, I just know I needed an adult tracking this http://scores.espn.go.com/ncf/boxscore?gameId=400548278
