Inside the Boxscores is a weekly feature from Matt Fargo that has been widely recognized as the best summation in college football over the past four years. He takes an in-depth look at each game and pulls out the most pertinent information that will help you handicap games in the future. College football is filled with quirky plays, misleading scores and surprise endings. Fargo takes you inside the action.
BOISE STATE 56 New Mexico St 6
New Mexico St. looked like it would give the Broncos a game in the first quarter, but the Broncos scored the final 49 points of the game. The Aggies drove down to the Broncos 34-yard line on their first possession before getting intercepted and then scoring on their next possession. Boise St. held them to 18 yards on their next 12 possessions while putting up 524 yards of offense.
Louisiana Tech 27 UTAH STATE 17
Utah St. outgained the Bulldogs 478-276 but four lost fumbles led to 17 points for Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs had only one scoring drive more than 44 yards as their average starting field position was their own 40-yard line compared to the 19-yard line for Utah St. The Aggies were driving late to make it a one possession game but another fumble closed the door.
(15) OREGON 27 (23) California 20
The Ducks scored in overtime and then held Cal on four plays to pull out the win. The Bears had a chance to win in regulation but missed a 53-yard field goal. Cal was able to tie the game with less than a minute remaining in the third quarter and both defenses pitched a shutout in the final 15 minutes. Cal had just 301 yards of offense but had 213 yards rushing on 39 carries (5.5 ypc).
(25) COLORADO 41 Missouri 12
Colorado outgained the Tigers 396-276 but the defense was able to stop the Missouri rushing game, holding it to just 59 yards on 30 carries (2.0 ypc). The Buffaloes ran for 136 yards but the passing game was the difference with a 75 percent completion rate. Missouri scored one touchdown on a fumble return and while it had only five penalties, four gave Colorado first downs.
NC State 20 (9) FLORIDA STATE 15
NC State held the Seminoles to just 227 total yards including 43 yards rushing on 23 caries (1.9 ypc). The Wolfpack had just 281 yards of offense but made it count with three long scoring drives. Florida St. was intercepted three times in its final six drives with the first leading to the game winning touchdown for NC State. The teams were a combined 4-31 on third down.
VIRGINIA 51 Temple 3
Virginia held Temple to 170 total yards and 11 first downs and the Owls were forced to punt on their first six possessions. Temple rushed for 10 yards on 27 carries (0.4 ypc) while the Cavaliers racked up 262 yards on the ground on 45 carries (5.8 ypc). Virginia crossed midfield on nine of its first 11 possessions and finished the game a perfect 8-8 inside the redzone.
Army 27 AIR FORCE 24
Army won its second straight game despite getting outgained 433-360. Air Force coughed the ball up twice including its last possession where it was driving down for at least the tying field goal. Special teams played a big role in Army’s success as its average starting position was its own 42-yard line enabling the Black Knights to cross midfield in its first nine possessions.
(4) Alabama 17 MISS STATE 0
The Alabama defense scored two touchdowns and that defense carried the offense that turned the ball over three times in Mississippi St. territory. The Bulldogs managed just 108 yards of offense and eight first downs. Mississippi St. couldn’t capitalize on a fumble recovery in the first quarter as it was stopped on fourth down at the Alabama 10-yard line, the last time it crossed midfield.
(12) OHIO STATE 40 Illinois 2
The Buckeyes went over 40 points for the third straight game as they racked up 526 total yards of offense. The defense held Illinois to 160 total yards and nine first downs while forcing the Illini to punt on 10 of their 11 possessions. The only Illinois score came on a PAT return as the offense never got inside the Ohio St. 30-yard line.
(10) PENN STATE 35 (14) Wisconsin 14
The Penn St. offense tallied 520 total yards but miscues kept the Badgers closer than they should have been. The Nittany Lions crossed midfield in seven of their first eight possessions but threw two interceptions and missed a field goal. Wisconsin didn’t get the offense moving until late as 189 of its 302 total yards came in the 4th quarter. The Badgers rushed for -11 yards on 34 carries.
TROY 28 Fla Atlantic 14
Florida Atlantic took a seven-point lead into halftime but the Troy defense took over in the second half, holding the Owls to 105 total yards. The Trojans picked off a pass deep in its own territory and then drove down the field to tie the game. Troy then drove 80-yards on its next possession for the game winning score.
Florida Intl 31 UL-MONROE 29
UL-Monroe outgained the Panthers 484-295 but five drives inside the FIU 33-yard line resulted in no points thanks to two fumbles, two turnovers on downs and a missed 35-yard field goal with 12 seconds remaining that would have given them the win. Florida International returned a fumble 73 yards for a touchdown in the 2nd quarter, a possible swing of 14 points.
NEVADA 38 Hawaii 28
Hawaii outgained Nevada 461-440 but the Warriors had two turnovers in the 4th quarter in their own territory that led to 14 points for the Wolf Pack. Nevada used a balanced attack of 236 yards rushing and 204 yards passing to control over 13 more minutes of the clock. The Wolf Pack was also able to run 21 more plays and had four drives that were 10 plays or more.
MID TENN ST 45 Arkansas State 7
Middle Tennessee gained a season high 412 yards of offense and used a 24-point second quarter to put the game away early. The last two touchdowns of the first half were drives of 14 and 12 yards, Arkansas St. could get nothing going on offense until the final quarter where it generated 96 of its 265 total yards.
Arizona State 27 WASHINGTON ST 24
Washington St. dropped its sixth straight game despite putting up over 500 yards of offense. The problem was that the defense yielded 548 total yards with 399 of those coming in the first half. That put the Cougars in a 24-7 hole and they never recovered. Washington St. missed two field goals in the fourth quarter and was also stopped at the Sun Devils five-yard line on 4th down.
U-C-F 31 Houston 29
Central Florida held off Houston by stopping the Cougars on 4th down to end the game. The Golden Knights did a great job of keeping the Houston offense off the field as they ran 27 more plays and controlled the clock for over 15 minutes longer. Despite that, Houston was outgained by just 44 yards. Central Florida missed three field goals and finished 5-8 in the redzone.
ARIZONA 52 (7) U-C-L-A 14
Arizona gave the Bruins their first loss and did it in dominating fashion as the Wildcats outgained UCLA 519-328. The Bruins were held in check early as seven of their first 11 drives were nine yards or less. Arizona scored touchdowns on its first four possessions and scored on seven of its first eight drives. The Wildcats rushed for 315 yards on 43 carries (7.3 ypc).
Oregon State 18 WASHINGTON 10
The Beavers survived a solid effort from the Washington defense as all of their points came from six field goals. Oregon St. finished with 263 total yards but its defense was even better, holding the Huskies to 226 yards. Washington scored its only touchdown on the final play of the game as it only crossed midfield only four times and rushed for just 19 yards on 27 carries (0.7 ypc).
UL Lafayette 31 NORTH TEXAS 28
The Cajuns outgained North Texas 436-375 but needed a last minute touchdown to pull out the win. North Texas took the lead with over nine minutes left but UL-Lafayette used 8:46 to drive 88 yards for the winning score. The Cajuns controlled the clock for over 16 minutes more than the Mean Green, of which 13 minutes came in the second half.
(16) TEXAS TECH 56 Texas A&M 17
Texas Tech racked up 627 yards of offense and broke open a four-point lead by scoring 21 consecutive points on two different occasions in the 2nd half. The Red Raiders scored on every second half possession not counting the last one of the game when they were running out the clock. Texas A&M crossed midfield only one time in its last 10 possessions.
(20) T-C-U 33 Colorado State 6
TCU held the recently hot Colorado St. offense to 253 total yards and the defense picked off four passes. The Rams only had one drive of more than 36 yards in their first 10 possessions and almost half of their yards came in the final quarter. Colorado St. rushed for only 59 yards on 30 carries (2.0 ypc) while TCU rushed for 241 yards on 46 carries (5.2 ypc).
(13) FLORIDA 49 Vanderbilt 42
Vanderbilt forced overtime by scoring two touchdowns in the final 2:17 of regulation. After driving 61 yards, the Commodores recovered the onside kick and marched another 57 yards to tie the game. The Gators defense won the game however as they stopped Vanderbilt on its second overtime possession. The Commodores had just 58 yards rushing on 25 carries (2.3 ypc).
(5) Miami-Florida 27 (3) VIRGINIA TECH 7
Virginia Tech never got out of the gate as the Miami defense held the Hokies to just 61 yards in the first half and 167 yards overall. The Hokies came out in the second half even worse by turning the ball over on their first four possessions of the third quarter. Miami scored 17 points off turnovers as the offense finished with just 307 total yards.
(21) FRESNO STATE 45 San Jose St 7
Fresno St. tallied 531 total yards while the defense held San Jose St. to 259 yards including just 48 yards through the air. The Spartans were able to run without resistance from the Bulldogs as they gained 211 yards on 31 carries (6.8 ypc). They entered Fresno St. territory in six of their first eight possessions but a missed field goal, an interception and a turnover on downs killed drives.
TEXAS-EL PASO 41 Tulsa 38
UTEP never led until the final two seconds when the Miners kicked the game winning field goal. They came back from 10-point deficits on two different occasions and they got into an early hole by committing turnovers on three of their first four possessions. UTEP scored on its final three possessions by driving down the field 69, 70 and 71 yards.
(1) U-S-C 51 Stanford 21
USC continued the offensive onslaught as it generated 529 yards of offense but the concern was with the defense despite allowing only 21 points. Stanford gained 420 yards of offense but five turnovers, three in its own territory, led to 28 points for the Trojans. Stanford missed a field goal and fumbled at the goal line, killing two drives that totaled 146 yards.
Matt Fargo is a documented member of the Professional Handicappers League.
Read all of his articles at http://www.procappers.com/Matt_Fargo.htm
