Inside the Boxscores Week 5 Part 2
Inside the Boxscores is a weekly article by Matt Fargo that has been widely recognized as the best summary of college football. Take an in-depth look at each game and extract the most relevant information that will help you in future handicap games. College football is full of wacky plays, tricky scores, and unexpected endings. Fargo takes you inside the action.
Rice 48 ARMY 14
An inspired effort after losing a teammate by Rice saw him outlast Army 457-302. The Owls fell behind 7-0 when the Black Knights took the kickoff and drove to score. The Owls had 28 unanswered points, including an interception return for a touchdown. Rice scored on six of his first seven possessions and overall had 20 points on four Army turnovers. Rice finished a perfect 5-5 inside the red zone.
(16) California 41 STATE OF OREGON 13
California jumped out to a 31-0 lead and cruised the rest of the way. The Golden Bears outscored Oregon St. 483-300 with most of their yards coming in the first three quarters. The Beavers had a chance to tie the game early, but they missed at the Bears 12-yard line on their first possession and that changed the momentum. Oregon St. finished with just 56 rushing yards on 24 carries (2.3 ypc).
UL LAFAYETTE 33 Eastern Michigan 14
UL-Lafayette scored the first 33 points of the game and shut down the Eagles well into the fourth quarter. The Eagles have produced 119 yards on their last two drives after gaining just 127 yards in the entire game before that. The Cajuns went an amazing 0-13 on third-down conversions, but made up for it with a 3-4 record on fourth down. Eastern Michigan finished with 75 rushing yards on 24 carries (3.1 ypc).
KENTUCKY 45 Central Michigan 36
Kentucky jumped out to a 21-0 lead but needed a final touchdown late in the game to secure the win. The Chippe actually outscored the Wildcats 558-373, but were plagued by four turnovers and two fourth-down conversion blows. Central Michigan began the game committing three turnovers in their first eight plays from scrimmage. Both teams finished 5-5 inside the red zone.
MIAMI-FLORIDA 14 Houston 13
Houston scored 13 straight points to take the lead early in the third quarter, but Miami responded with its longest drive of the day and the defense held on the rest of the way. Before the Hurricanes’ final score, the Cougars had a chance to extend their six-point lead, but failed at the Miami eight-yard line. Houston’s first 10 points came from Miami turnovers as the Hurricanes outscored the Cougars 420-276.
31 SAN JOSE STREET 10 SAN DIEGO STREET
The Spartans led 14-0 before San Diego St. pulled within four points at halftime, but Jose St. scored the only 17 points of the second half to win and went on. The Spartans racked up 418 yards of offense and the score could have been worse, but they missed a short field goal while also digging into the red zone. San Jose St. limited the Aztecs to just 85 yards in the second half.
State of Arkansas 31 FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL 6
The Indians held the Florida International to 186 total yards with 84 of them on their only scoring drive. Arkansas St. scored 21 points on four Golden Panthers turnovers and forced two failed conversions on fourth down. Those three touchdown turnovers were 31 yards or less, as the Indians’ overall average field position was their own 48-yard line. Florida International had nine rushing yards on 19 carries (0.5 ypc).
Northern Illinois 40 STATE BALL 28
Northern Illinois gave up a touchdown early in the second quarter before scoring 33 unanswered points to walk away. The Huskies had 610 total yards, including 358 rushing yards on 41 carries (8.7 ypc). Ball St. had two meaningless touchdowns late in the game that accounted for 124 of his 385 total yards. The Huskies missed two other scoring opportunities in the red zone and didn’t punt once the entire game.
(15) CLEMSON 51 Louisiana Tech 0
Clemson topped 50 points for the second straight game when they outscored the Bulldogs 526-259 and threw the shutout thanks to five forced turnovers. Louisiana Tech got inside the Tigers’ 40-yard line on five of eight possessions between the second and fourth quarters, but ran out. Clemson allowed just 25 total yards on the Bulldogs’ first six possessions and stopped them at the five-yard line to end the first half.
Florida Atlantic 21 UL-MONROE 19
UL-Monroe outscored the Owls 407-336 and crossed midfield on eight of his nine possessions, but an interception at the four-yard line before halftime ended up being costly. The Warhawks scored a touchdown with 1:57 remaining, but missed the tying two-point conversion and never got the ball back. Florida Atlantic recovered the onside kick to seal the victory.
(22) NEBRASKA 39 Kansas 32
Kansas rallied from a 24-7 deficit by taking a one-point lead late in the fourth quarter. The Huskers responded with an 80-yard touchdown run to regain the lead before Kansas once again rallied to send the game into overtime. Kansas outscored the Huskers 574-511 but the Jayhawks went just 5-8 inside the red zone as the defense allowed three touchdown passes of 75 yards or more.
UAB 21 Troy 3
The Blazers just outscored Troy 285-202, but the Trojans couldn’t capitalize on their two long drives, missing a field goal and turning the ball over. UAB scored touchdowns on two of their first three possessions and the Trojans were forced out of the running game early on as they finished with 58 rushing yards on 32 carries (1.8 ypc). Troy only had seven penalties, but four of them resulted in first downs for UAB.
(3) USC 28 WASHINGTON ST 22
Washington St. outscored the Trojans 418-404 but was forced to make three field goals while USC was able to get the ball into the end zone. The Cougars closed within six points late in the fourth quarter and then forced a punt to win the ball back, but a final-play interception ended the comeback. The Trojans controlled the clock for more than nine more minutes in the second half.
BAYLOR 17 Kansas State 3
This game featured 19 clearances and nine turnovers and both teams had 17 offensive possessions. Kansas St. outscored the Bears 341-312, but five turnovers, including two inside Baylor’s 10-yard line and another at the 24-yard line, killed three scoring opportunities. Of Baylor’s 17 possessions, only one of them went over 34 yards. The teams combined for just 63 rushing yards.
VANDERBILT 43 Temple 14
Vanderbilt outscored Temple 448-270 as the running game could not be stopped. The Commodores finished with 279 rushing yards on 31 carries (9.0 ypc) despite the Owls controlling about 15 minutes over the clock. Of Vanderbilt’s six touchdown drives, only one lasted more than five plays. Temple had just 70 total yards on his first six possessions before scoring on a 78-yard run on the final play of the half.
Middle Tennessee 35 NORTH TEXAS 0
Middle Tennessee held Mean Green to just 103 total yards and eight first downs. North Texas didn’t cross midfield on any of its 12 possessions and had only one drive longer than five plays. The Blue Raiders scored touchdowns on their first two possessions and never looked back. They controlled more than 40 minutes of the game clock while going 10-for-15 on third-down conversions.
EMS 33 TULANE 28
SMU jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead and had to hold off a fierce rally from Tulane to pull out the win. The Green Wave took the lead midway through the 4th quarter but the Mustangs responded by taking the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown. SMU then recovered a fumble on the ensuing possession to set up another scoring drive. Tulane won the yardage battle by six yards despite having -33 rushing yards on 21 carries (-1.6 ypc).
(6) Michigan 28 MINNESOTA 14
Michigan outscored the Gophers 518-323 and finished with 234 rushing yards on 45 carries (5.2 ypc). The Wolverines controlled more than 15 minutes left on the clock as they had five possessions that lasted more than four minutes compared to just one for Minnesota. Michigan went 11-16 on third and fourth down while the Gophers went 4-14.
(1) Ohio State 38 (19) IOWA 17
The Buckeyes outscored Iowa by just 64 total yards, but the defense forced four turnovers that led to 14 points. The Hawkeyes closed within four points early in the second quarter, but Ohio scored the next 17 points to pull away. The Buckeyes were able to control the game clock for more than 40 minutes, as the Hawkeyes had nine possessions that lasted less than two minutes.
(10) Georgia 14 OLE MISS 9
Georgia had to bounce back for the second week in a row as they were shut out in the first half once again. The Bulldogs outscored Mississippi by just five total yards as they were forced to punt on each of their five first-half possessions. The Rebels were affected by a missed field goal in the first half and a fumble on attempts at the Georgia 19-yard line in the third quarter. Mississippi had just 87 passing yards.
TEXAS-EL PASO 44 New Mexico St 38
New Mexico St. had 573 yards of offense while the Miners had 537 yards. UTEP jumped ahead 17-0 but the Aggies rallied to tie the game at 31 apiece late in the third quarter, but were never able to take the lead. New Mexico St. had one last chance, but was intercepted at the Miners 47-yard line to end the game. The Aggies ran 43 more snaps while UTEP averaged 10.1 ypp.
Nevada 31 UNLV 3
Nevada just outscored the Rebels 311-227, but forced four turnovers, including one just before halftime that led to a nine-yard touchdown drive. UNLV didn’t get past the Wolf Pack 36-yard line until their 12th possession when they kicked a 21-yard field goal to avoid the shutout. Both teams converted just two third-down conversions, while the Rebels finished with just 74 rushing yards on 31 carries (2.4 ypc).
State of Colorado 35 STATE OF FRESNO 23
Fresno St. took a three-point lead into halftime, but the Rams scored the first three touchdowns of the second half to pull away. The Bulldogs outscored Colorado St. 320-302, but the Rams made their possessions count as four touchdown drives were 60 yards or more, while the fifth touchdown came on a punt return. Fresno St. scored his final touchdown on a blocked punt return.
Washington 21 ARIZONA 10
Washington scored 21 points in the second quarter and the defense did its job the rest of the way. The Huskies held Arizona to -7 yards rushing on 24 carries (-0.3 ypc) as six catches for 54 yards helped the cause. The Wildcats went just 1-14 on third-down conversions, while Washington went just 3-14 and the Huskies went just 2-4 inside the red zone.
UCLA 31 Stanford 0
UCLA was far from dominating on offense, but the defense was huge, allowing only 166 total yards and 11 first downs. The Bruins scored their first touchdown on a blocked punt return and scored their last on a fumble return. Stanford finished with five turnovers and the only two times he crossed midfield resulted in a missed field goal and an interception. UCLA was only 2-4 inside the red zone.
