Inside The College Football Boxscores Week 7 – 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.

James Madison 24, Louisiana 14

After a scoreless first quarter, Louisiana struck first with a six-play, 80-yard touchdown drive and then recovered a fumble two plays later but could not take advantage as it had a 51-yard field goal blocked. James Madison turned that into a touchdown but the Cajuns went 75 yards in three plays to take a 14-7 halftime lead. The Dukes scored on the first play of the second half and the defense clamped down. James Madison outgained Louisiana 477-288 and 5.9 to 5.1 yppl.

Ole Miss 24, Washington State 21

Mississippi was caught in an unexpected dogfight as Washington St. hit the scoreboard first late in the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead and the Rebels did not get into the endzone until 31 seconds remaining in the second quarter. The Cougars took the opening second half kickoff and went 75 yards in seven plays before Mississippi scored the next two touchdowns. The Rebels outgained Washington St. 439-345 but did run 11 more plays and they were hurt by eight penalties for 99 yards.

Eastern Michigan 16, NIU 10

The teams traded field goals in the first half with Eastern Michigan taking a 6-3 lead. Northern Illinois opened the scoring in the second half with an 80-yard touchdown run before the Eagles reclaimed the lead early in the fourth quarter. They intercepted a pass two plays later and tacked on a field goal and the Huskies were stopped on downs twice to end the game. Northern Illinois had only 252 yards besides that touchdown run and finished 4-16 in third down. The Eagles had only 296 yards of offense.

Kent State 42, UMass 6

Kent St. opened the game by returning the kickoff 91 yards for a touchdown and the Golden Flashes never looked back. They took a 21-6 lead into halftime so it was still a game but they forced a punt on the first Minutemen possession and went 80 yards in 14 plays for a touchdown and took advantage of a failed fourth down try and an interception to add two more scores. Kent St. outgained Massachusetts by only 330-271 but ran 20 fewer plays and had a 5.3 to 3.3 yppl advantage.

Notre Dame 36, NC State 7

Notre Dame forced a punt to open the game and went 58 yards in six plays to go ahead 7-0. The Wolf Pack responded to open the second quarter with an 11-play, 83-yard drive before Notre Dame kicked a field goal right before the half. The Irish then took over as after punting on its first possession, it scored on four of its next five possessions. Notre Dame outgained the Wolfpack 485-233 and 6.8 to 3.9 yppl. The last four NC State possessions resulted in three interceptions and a safety.

Marshall 48, Old Dominion 24

Marshall opened the scoring with a 22-yard interception return and after a Thundering Herd missed field goal, Old Dominion tied the game on a 71-yard touchdown pass. It was all Marshall after that as it went on a 41-3 run before the Monarchs added a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns. Old Dominion was outgained by only 445-439 but 155 of its yards were those last two touchdown drives. Additionally, it lost the turnover battle 3-0 that led to 21 points for the Thundering Herd.

Western Michigan 42, Ball State 0

Western Michigan turned it over on downs inside the Cardinals redzone on its first possession but then scored touchdowns on its next three possessions and the rout was on. The Broncos were far from perfect as besides the fourth down miss, they had a missed field goal and a one play interception. Western Michigan outgained the Cardinals 461-88 and 6.3 to 1.8 yppl as it forced 10 punts with Ball St. converting only one third down and it crossed midfield only once.

Appalachian State 41, Georgia State 20

Appalachian St. opened up a 17-0 lead at halftime which eventually became 31-0 and the Mountaineers coasted the rest of the way. They were outscored 20-10 after that as the Panthers offense finally got going with three touchdown drives of 75 yards each which added some fluff yardage. Appalachian St. outgained Georgia Southern 435-381 on 10 fewer plays which made it 5.9 to 4.9 yppl. The Mountaineers punted on four of their first five possessions but did not punt after that.

UNLV 51, Air Force 48

The Rebels did it again with another late win to remain undefeated. Air Force was able to build an 11-point lead late in the second quarter but UNLV went on a 16-0 run and then it was back and forth and after the Falcons went up 48-44 with 1:13 remaining, the Rebels went 75 yards on six plays in 37 seconds for the game winning touchdown. Air Force outgained the Rebels 603-597 but ran 23 more plays thanks to a 14-minute clock edge and UNLV took the yppl 10.0 to 7.3.

Kansas State 41, TCU 28

The Wildcats spotted TCU and 7-0 lead and then ran off 28 straight points that included a 15-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown and a 25-yard interception return for a touchdown. The Horned Frogs never got it below 14 points until the end of the game on a garbage touchdown. The two defensive touchdowns were the difference as TCU outgained the Wildcats 448-343 and 6.5 to 4.8 yppl and another interception led to a touchdown and they committed eight penalties.

Colorado 24, Iowa State 17

Colorado scored at the end of the first quarter to take a 7-0 lead but Iowa St. scored the only 10 points in the second quarter to lead at the half. The Cyclones retook the lead after the Buffaloes took it back two plays into the second half but Colorado finished on a 10-0 run. Iowa St. outgained Colorado 441-395 and 6.3 to 6.2 yppl but the Cyclones went just 2-12 on third down and had a questionable decision to go for it on their own 18-yard line with 7:13 left and missed it.

Wake Forest 39, Oregon State 14

Wake Forest took the opening kickoff and went 60 yards in just three plays to take a 7-0 lead which was eventually extended to 32-0 after three quarters. The Demon Deacons had a yardage edge of 358-211 through the three quarters as Oregon St. missed a field goal, had two turnovers and turned it over on downs which accounted for 148 of those 211 yards. Overall, Wake Forest outgained the Beavers 468-309 and it ran 26 fewer plays and had a 8.7 to 3.9 yppl advantage.

Georgia Tech 35, Virginia Tech 20

Georgia Tech opened up an 18-0 lead which turned into 21-7 at halftime but the Hokies took the second half kickoff and went 75 yards in nine plays to make it a one possession game. The Yellow Jackets put up two more touchdowns to put them away before a late garbage Virginia Tech touchdown. Georgia Tech outgained the Hokies 481-367 but did run 11 more plays so it only had a 7.3 to 6.7 yppl advantage but Virginia Tech committed 10 penalties and was 0-8 on third down.

Texas 23, Oklahoma 6

Oklahoma opened up a 6-0 lead early in the second quarter at which time Texas had only 22 yards of offense and had a missed field goal in there following an interception. The Longhorns finally got on the board with a field goal and then took over in the second half. They scored on their first two second half possessions and three of four that included another missed field goal. Texas outgained the Sooners 302-258 and 4.9 to 3.7 yppl and it went 10-17 on third down.

Northwestern 22, Penn State 21

Northwestern had the only points in the first quarter as it used a 7:23 drive in 12 plays but it resulted in just a 27-yard field goal. It was a back and forth game the whole way and it was Penn St. that took a 21-16 lead with 10:50 left in the fourth quarter. The Wildcats then went 75 yards in 11 plays to retake the lead with 4:51 left and Penn St. could not get a first down after and never got the ball back. Northwestern outgained Penn St. 282-274 but was outgained 5.4 to 4.1 in yppl.

Nebraska 34, Maryland 31

This was a game of runs as Nebraska opened with a 10-0 lead, Maryland responded with 14 points, Nebraska responded 14 points, Maryland responded with 17 points including an interception return for a touchdown and Nebraska scored the final 10 points including the winning touchdown with 1:08 remaining. The Huskers outgained Maryland 453-379 and 7.7 to 5.7 yppl as it ran eight fewer plays but lost the turnover battle 3-0 with three interceptions. Maryland had eight penalties for 100 yards.

Indiana 30, Oregon 20

Indiana opened the scoring with a field goal and after the teams traded punts, Oregon went 51 yards in three plays to take a 7-3 lead. The Hoosiers took the ensuing kickoff and went 75 yards on nine plays in 5:00 to take a 10-7 lead and they never trailed again. Oregon tied it up three different times and Indiana put the game away with 2:06 left on a 22-yard field goal. Indiana outgained the Ducks 326-267 and 4.8 to 4.2 yppl with the Hoosiers going 5-14 on third down and the Ducks just 3-14.

Navy 32, Temple 31

The Midshipmen got on the board first on a 50-yard touchdown pass but Temple scored the next 17 points, its first of two 10-point leads. The Owls blew the second one with 6:34 left in the fourth quarter but they went 75 yards on 11 plays in 5:18 to take a 31-24 lead. Navy then went 75 yards in 37 seconds to score and made the two-point conversion and the Owls ran out of time. Temple outgained Navy 518-384 but ran 22 more plays and was outgained 7.1 to 6.8 yppl.

Tennessee 34, Arkansas 31

Arkansas opened the scoring after taking the opening kickoff 75 yards on nine plays in 4:50 for a 7-0 lead and it was back and forth with the Razorbacks holding a 17-10 lead. The Volunteers then scored 24 unanswered points before Arkansas cut it back to 10 points and then to three points with 2:55 left but never got the ball back. The yardage differential was only nine yet Tennessee outgained Arkansas 7.5 to 6.5 but was hurt by 10 penalties with Arkansas committing just one. 

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