#BoxscoreReview for CFB Week 2
Every week (or that’s the plan) I want to share misleading stat lines from the college football weekend. If you happen to see anything of note while watching the games, use the hashtag #BoxscoreReview to point them out and we’ll include them right here on these pages.
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The Hurricanes were out first downed 22-10, outgained 413-212, and had 16 minutes less of time of possession but found a way to upset the Gators thanks to Florida’s 5 turnovers and absolutely horrific execution in the red zone.
Kentucky’s 41-7 win over Miami OH might not have been decisive enough given their stat sheet domination. The Redhawks gained 8 first downs to Kentucky’s 27 and were crushed in total yardage 675 to 122. However, the most “impressive” stat line was for Miami’s QB’s who went 4-14 despite trailing by 17 for over 3 quarters.
Michigan St and USF combined for 27 points but even that many shouldn’t have been scored. Mich St was the beneficiary of 2 defensive touchdowns and only amassed 265 yards of offense. USF was that much worse; gaining 155 yards on 61 plays going 1-13 on 3rd downs. Bobby Eveld the starting QB was 6-25 for 66 yards, ouch. Sparty’s QBs didn’t light the world on fire either completing 12 of 24 passes for less than 100 yards.
Oklahoma State and UTSA’s final was somewhat misleading when you consider the teams combined for 42 points in the 4th quarter compared to only 49 through the first 3 frames. OSU threw for over 500 yards with efficient QB play as Chelf/Walsh combined to go 35-43.
Houston needed a late touchdown to cover against Temple but they clearly were the right side all afternoon. The Cougars were +13 in first downs and outgained the Owls by 224 yards. Houston’s biggest problem was they weren’t able to get in the end zone consistently, settling for 5 field goals in the game leaving way too many points on the board.
WVU and Oklahoma never had a shot to go over the total but 23 points is rather misleading when you see the teams combined for over 800 yards between them. Oklahoma did a bulk of their damage on offense with the ground game accounting for 316 of the team’s 435 yard output.
San Diego St was down 42-0 before they finally got on the board in the 3rd quarter. The game ended with 49 points keeping it under by a touchdown which was a bit troublesome given the 2 teams didn’t score a single point over the last 16 minutes of game play.
UVA ran 17 more plays than Oregon and held the ball for 18 more minutes…it didn’t matter in the least considering the Ducks beat the Cavs into submission by a 59-10 final.
Northwestern received excellent production from both of their quarterbacks Kain Colter and Trevor Siemian. The 2 headed monster went 30-37 with 5 TD’s and no picks.
Navy ran the ball on 70 of their 77 offensive plays. When you average 6 yards per carry, there really is no need for any other form of offense. Indiana was 8-12 on 3rd downs but fell victim to long Midshipmen drives and couldn’t get over the hump to steal a win in a contest they never led.
LSU only faced 8 third downs in their route of UAB. Zach Mettenberger showed continued improvement going 16-19 for 282 yards and 5 touchdowns. Jeremy Hill only touched the ball 6 times at running back but made the most of his carries gaining 50 yards.
Tulsa needed 13 unanswered points to beat Colorado St as 10 pt chalk. The game shouldn’t have required such Herculean efforts considering CSU only gained 286 yards on 64 plays grabbing all of 9 first downs.
Auburn’s 38-9 win over Arkansas St wasn’t nearly as dominant as the final score would have you believe. ASU had more first downs and only 40 fewer yards than the Tigers. Auburn did double up the Redwolves in the rushing department 301 to 150.
Ball St beat Army by 26 despite out gaining them by only a single yard, running 13 fewer plays, and having 4 minutes less time of possession. The difference? 3 turnovers from the Black Knights compared to 0 for the Cardinals.
Penn St may have scored 45 points and covered vs EMU as 24 pt favorites but there was an alarming stat in that romp; PSU was only 1-10 on 3rd down which doesn’t bode well against stiffer competition. They did outgain the Eagles 574-183, shutting out EMU’s offense completely with the Eagles only points courtesy of a scoop and score on defense.
Throw out the final from the WKU 52-20 loss to Tennessee for one reason: turnovers. The Hilltoppers were generous with the football giving it to the Vols 7 times (5 interceptions, 2 fumbles). Yardage, first downs, and every other major statistical category indicated a closer game but a -6 turnover differential makes it impossible to cover even as 2 TD dogs.
Washington St and USC set Pac 12 football back 100 years…that’s all.
Even though they left Sam Boyd with a 58-13 victory, Arizona’s QB play was anything but stellar. The young signal caller Denker went 8-20 for 81 yards but when you can lean on Heisman hopeful Kadeem Carey (16 carries for 171 yards), it makes the job that much easier.
