Inside The College Football Boxscores Week 2 – Part 2

Fargo looks past the top line scores and goes deep into the box scores to get a better picture of what really happened for all of the FBS games the past weekend.

TTU 62, KENT 14

Texas Tech dominated from the start as it scored touchdowns on its first three possessions before a three and out and then scored on its final four possessions of the first half. The Red Raiders outgained Kent St. 601-229 and had 27 first downs compared to only 10 for the Golden Flashes. Kent St. was held to 64 yards rushing on 34 carries (1.9 ypc) and it did not score until the fourth quarter during garbage time when it generated nearly half of its yardage as its longest drive in the first three quarters was 32 yards.

NCSU 35, UVA 31

Virginia had the edge for most of the game as it led or was tied for the first two and a half quarters as NC State did not get its first lead until 6:39 remaining in the third quarter and took the lead for good at the end of the quarter. After 66 points scored in the first three quarters, there was no scoring in the final quarter with Virginia having the best chances as it got to the NC State 8 and 12 yard line but turned it over on downs and threw an interception. The Cavaliers won the yardage battle 514-416.

PITT 45, CMU 17

Central Michigan had a tough task of coming off a west coast win and having to travel east and it showed early with the Chippewas falling behind 24-3. They got a huge interception before halftime and had to go just 13 yards for a touchdown and cut it to seven early in the third quarter before the Panthers scored the final three touchdowns. Pittsburgh outgained Central Michigan 464-217 despite possessing the ball for only 23 minutes as the Panthers went 6-9 on third down and allowed only 3.2 yppl.

SYR 27, CONN 20 (OT)

Syracuse got the win in overtime despite leading in regulation for a total of 47 seconds. The Orange scored with 48 seconds left on a 53-yard touchdown pass in what looked like the game winner but Connecticut went 52 yards on eight plays in just 47 seconds to force overtime where the Huskies allowed a touchdown and failed on their fourth down attempt. Syracuse won the yardage battle by 45 yards and while they threw for 416 yards, the Orange rushed for only 45 yards on 28 carries (1.6 ypc) and lost the turnover battle 2-0.

JVST 34, LIB 24

This was a very skewed final score as the Gamecocks pulled out the 10-point upset win but were outgained 534-390. The Flames turned the ball over on two of their first four possessions which led to 14 Gamecocks points and they also turned the ball over on downs twice. Their four scoring drives were 95, 69, 72 and 82 yards but the mistakes were too much to overcome. Jacksonville St. threw it only 12 times as it rushed for 338 yards on 50 carries (6.8 ypc) while committing only one penalty and did not turn the ball over.

MIZ 42, KU 31

The Border War was all Kansas early as it spotted Missouri an early touchdown before scoring the next three touchdowns to take a 21-6 lead after the first quarter. The Tigers then took over, outscoring Kansas 36-10 the rest of the way as it scored on six of its last eight possessions, five of those being 75 yards or more. Missouri won the first downs 28-13 while outgaining the Jayhawks 595-254 with the offense rushing for 261 yards on 47 carries (5.6 ypc) while holding Kansas to 31 yards rushing on 19 carries (1.6 ypc).

FRES 36, ORST 27

Oregon St. doubled up the Bulldogs with first downs 30-15 and outgained them 528-318 but had two costly interceptions, one at the Fresno St. 34-yard line before halftime and the other near the end of the game as the Beavers were trying to drive for the winning score but gave up the pick six. Their five scoring drives were all 68 yards or more as they were able to control the clock by close to 15 more minutes while running 37 more plays. Fresno St. rushed for 197 yards on just 28 carries (7.0 ypc).

CIN 34, BGSU 20

Cincinnati jumped ahead 21-0 with three long touchdown drives and Bowling Green had an 18-play drive just before halftime but had to settle for a field goal. The Bearcats got it back with their first drive of the second half and the Falcons got it down to the 11-yard line but failed on fourth down yet got it right back with a Cincinnati fumble, the first of two straight touchdowns but never got closer. Cincinnati outgained the Falcons by just 439-372 but ran 18 fewer plays and outgained them by 3.0 yppl.

COLO 31, DEL 7

Colorado took care of new FBS member Delaware as it jumped out to a 10-0 lead but the Blue Hens went 80 yards on seven plays and pulled within three points with 45 remaining before halftime. The Buffaloes responded with a 75-yard touchdown drive in just 36 seconds and then pitched a shutout in the second half. Colorado outgained Delaware by only two yards 398-396 but the Blue Hens turned it over twice inside the Colorado eight-yard line (fourth down and fumble) while turning it over two other times in Colorado territory.

TXST 43, UTSA 36

Texas St. jumped ahead early and did not trail in the first half as it led 19-14 at halftime but the Roadrunners took the lead two plays into the second half and it was back and forth throughout. The Bobcats took a 43-36 lead with 10 minutes remaining but UTSA was unable to cross midfield on its final three possessions, turning it over twice on downs nearing midfield. UTSA won the yardage battle 464-454 but went 3-12 on third down and 1-6 on fourth down including one at the Texas St. one-yard line.

NAVY 38, UAB 24

The first half was back and forth throughout as Navy scored first and UAB responded with the same score until they were deadlocked at 24-24 at the break. The Midshipmen defense stepped up in the second half as it pitched a shutout while forcing three turnovers although it only converted one of those into points. Navy outgained the Blazers 463-413 including 295-92 on the ground but it allowed UAB to throw for 321 yards which is a concern. Another concern was eight penalties for 97 yards.

UNT 33, WMU 30 (OT)

Western Michigan wanted to slow the game down and it accomplished that as it controlled the clock by over 13 more minutes by running the ball 57 times while throwing it just 14 times. North Texas won the yardage battle 406-303 as its five scoring drives in regulation were all 65 yards or longer while it generated only 45 total yards in its other five possessions, all resulting in punts. The Mean Green forced Bowling Green to kick a field goal in overtime and scored the winning touchdown in three plays, its only lead of the game.

WIS 42, MTSU 10

Middle Tennessee St. had a 3-0 lead all the way until just eight minutes left in the second quarter but Wisconsin scored on back-to-back possessions, the second starting after an interception but the Blue Raiders picked off a pass deep in Wisconsin territory and pulled to within four points at halftime after an 11-yard touchdown drive. Wisconsin dominated the second half as it scored a touchdown on its first four drives while outgaining the Blue Raiders 207-70 to make it a 436-241 advantage overall.

OHIO 17, WVU 10

This game was a lot closer than it should have been as the Bobcats outgained West Virginia 429-250 but the second half was a disaster as they were intercepted on their first three possessions while being forced to punt in its final two drives. The Mountaineers could not take advantage as they kicked a field goal on the opening second half drive but could muster only 50 total yards the rest of the half. Overall, the Bobcats had the ball for over 40 minutes while West Virginia was just 2-14 on third and fourth down.

RUTG 45, M-OH 17

Miami fell behind 24-7 but fought back by scoring the last touchdown of the first half and the first touchdown of the second half to pull within seven but Rutgers ran away with it by scoring the final three touchdowns of the game. The Scarlet Knights ran 32 more plays and had the ball for over 18 more minutes but outgained the RedHawks by only 53 yards and Miami had the yppl edge 8.2 to 5.5. The RedHawks were balanced but could get no momentum because of 10 penalties for 94 yard while Rutgers had just 2 for 14 yards.

ARK 56, ARST 14

The first ever meeting between Arkansas and Arkansas St. went as expected although the Red Wolves hung around for a little bit. They returned a kickoff for a touchdown to make it 14-7 and then scored early in the second quarter to pull within 14 points at 28-14 but the Razorbacks took over by scoring 28 unanswered points. It was dominant as Arkansas outgained the Red Wolves 630-285 and it was very balanced on offense with 309 yards passing and 329 yards rushing while averaging 10.9 yppl.

MOST 21, MRSH 20

Missouri St. won its first ever FBS game in just its second try as it jumped out to a 7-0 lead but the Thundering Herd scored the next 20 points. The Bears cut it to six points midway through the third quarter and then went 80 yards in nine plays and scored the go ahead touchdown with 2:12 remaining. Marshall then turned it over on downs as it managed only three yards and suffered a pretty embarrassing loss. Missouri St. won the yardage battle 474-274 but missed two field goals and were sacked six times.

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