Post by Mojave Gator on Sept 1, 2023 18:55:16 GMT -5
SEC
Utah 24, Florida 11 - And it wasn't this close. Where to begin. Florida aided a Utah touchdown drive with one of the dumbest penalties I have ever seen: A five yard penalty for having two players on the field on the punt return team with the same number, which gave Utah a first down on fourth and three after the defense had gotten a stop. False start penalties killed drives all game long. Florida had to call a time out less than two minutes into the second half for reasons I can't fathom. A 70-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage set the tone for the game - and Utah was playing a backup quarterback. Graham Mertz wasn't awful, as many of us had feared. Play calling was atrocious, with no effort to get the ball to playmakers in space. Our receivers couldn't get open, causing Mertz to take coverage sacks. I didn't understand the decision to go for two after the touchdown trailing by 15. The Gators only converted one of 13 third downs. In the second quarter, with the Gators threatening to score, a false start penalty occurred on third and two, the first down wasn't picked up and the field goal was missed. Florida also had either eight or nine players on the field for a Utah field goal attempt. Watching the game, I couldn't help but think how poorly the Gators were prepared for a game against an opponent they faced last year, so there was some familiarity. Coaching jobs this bad harken back to the Zook days.
Florida State 45, LSU 24 - The Tigers kicked a field goal on the final play of the half to lead 17-14. A 21-point fourth quarter blew open a 24-17 game (FSU leading). Statistics were roughly even. LSU scored a meaningless touchdown with 1:15 remaining trailing 45-17.
Missouri 35, South Dakota 10 - The Tigers led 28-3 at the half and put it on cruise control. The Coyotes were held to 38 yards rushing.
Georgia 48, Tennessee-Martin 7 - This game was 7-0 for a long time, and 17-0 at the half. The Bulldogs passed for 400 yards.
Alabama 56, Middle Tennessee 7 - Another game that was tight early before turning into a blowout. The Crimson Tide scored 14 points in each quarter.
Tennessee 49, Virginia 13 - The Vols rushed for 287 yards while holding the Cavaliers to 95.
North Carolina 31, South Carolina 17 - After trailing 17-14 at the half, the Gamecocks only managed a fourth quarter field goal in the second half. SC had -2 yards rushing.
Ole Miss 73, Mercer 7 - The Bears scored on a 75-yard touchdown run just over a minute into the game, and not again. The Rebels had 38 points at the half, and put up another 28 in the third quarter. Ole Miss passed for 524 yards.
Texas A&M 52, New Mexico 10 - After the Aggies put up 28 points in the second quarter, it was over.
Kentucky 44, Ball State 14 - Relatively close statistically. The Cardinals led 7-3 after one quarter, then the Wildcats put up 20 in the second quarter. Ball State goes to Athens next week.
Arkansas 56, Western Carolina 13 - Four turnovers by the Catamounts killed whatever chance they had to make this a game. The Razorbacks led 35-3 at the half.
Mississippi State 48, Southeast Louisiana 7 - The Bulldogs started slowly, leading only 3-0 after one quarter. A 21-point fourth quarter put a capper on it.
Vanderbilt 47, Alabama A&M 13 - The Bulldogs took an early 3-0 lead, and Vanderbilt scored five in the first quarter. The Commodores led only 12-3 at the half before pulling away.
Auburn 59, Massachusetts 14 - It appeared early on that the Minutemen might make this a game. The score was 7-7, then Auburn scored 21 points in the second and third quarters to blow the game open.
National games
Colorado 45, TCU 42 - Colorado's first win over a top 20 team since 2002. Like many people, I believed that it was a stunt when Deion Sanders took his son Shedur with him to Colorado to play quarterback. The kid can flat out fling it. He passed for over 500 yards, breaking the school record for passing yardage in a game. Four different receivers had over 100 yards receiving, the first time that this had happened in the Pac 12. Someone told me that the younger Sanders has been learning quarterback play from Tom Brady.
Duke 28, Clemson 7 - The Tigers missed a chip shot field goal and turned the ball over twice inside the Duke 10. Duke's largest margin of victory in this game since 1936.
Northern Illinois 27, Boston College 24, OT - The Eagles had to come back from a 21-7 deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime. In OT, the Huskies scored a touchdown after BC had kicked a field goal.
North Carolina State 24, Connecticut 14 - Tighter than many expected. The Wolfpack led 10-7 at the half. The Huskies had more total yardage by about 90 yards.
Texas State 42, Baylor 31 - The Bobcats took a 28-13 lead into the locker room at halftime, and the Bears never got closer than 28-21. This was Texas State's first win over a Power 5 opponent. Their average margin of defeat in the previous 11 games was just under 28 points.
Fresno State 39, Purdue 35 - A 22-yard touchdown pass with 59 seconds remaining won it for the Bulldogs.
Wyoming 35, Texas Tech 33, 2 OT - The Red Raiders took a 17-0 first quarter lead, then didn't score again until kicking a tying field goal with 41 seconds remaining to make it 20-20. The teams traded touchdowns in both overtimes, but only the Cowboys made the two point conversion in the second. Wyoming's final touchdown came on fourth and seven from the Tech 11 yard line.
Louisiana-Monroe 17, Army 13 - The Warhawks scored three points in the first three quarters before scoring two touchdowns in the fourth, the last with 2:48 remaining.
Marshall 21, Albany 17 - The Thundering Herd had to come from behind in the fourth quarter to edge the Great Danes. Marshall trailed 3-0 at the break. They trailed 17-7 in the third quarter and they never led until the final scoring play with 12:53 remaining.
Illinois 30, Toledo 28 - The Illini won on a 29 yard field goal with five seconds remaining. The Rockets had taken a 28-27 lead on a touchdown with 2:59 remaining, but they missed the two point conversion.
Minnesota 13, Nebraska 10 - The Matt Rhule era in Lincoln began with a road loss in a low scoring game. Nebraska turned the ball over four times. The Gophers led 3-0 at the half. After the Cornhuskers took a 10-3 fourth quarter lead with 12:42 remaining, Minnesota scored ten points in the final 2:32, including a game winning 47-yard field goal on the final play.
Louisville 39, Georgia Tech 34 - A tale of two halves. The Yellow Jackets led 28-13 at the half, then the Cardinals dominated after halftime.
Utah 24, Florida 11 - And it wasn't this close. Where to begin. Florida aided a Utah touchdown drive with one of the dumbest penalties I have ever seen: A five yard penalty for having two players on the field on the punt return team with the same number, which gave Utah a first down on fourth and three after the defense had gotten a stop. False start penalties killed drives all game long. Florida had to call a time out less than two minutes into the second half for reasons I can't fathom. A 70-yard touchdown pass on the first play from scrimmage set the tone for the game - and Utah was playing a backup quarterback. Graham Mertz wasn't awful, as many of us had feared. Play calling was atrocious, with no effort to get the ball to playmakers in space. Our receivers couldn't get open, causing Mertz to take coverage sacks. I didn't understand the decision to go for two after the touchdown trailing by 15. The Gators only converted one of 13 third downs. In the second quarter, with the Gators threatening to score, a false start penalty occurred on third and two, the first down wasn't picked up and the field goal was missed. Florida also had either eight or nine players on the field for a Utah field goal attempt. Watching the game, I couldn't help but think how poorly the Gators were prepared for a game against an opponent they faced last year, so there was some familiarity. Coaching jobs this bad harken back to the Zook days.
Florida State 45, LSU 24 - The Tigers kicked a field goal on the final play of the half to lead 17-14. A 21-point fourth quarter blew open a 24-17 game (FSU leading). Statistics were roughly even. LSU scored a meaningless touchdown with 1:15 remaining trailing 45-17.
Missouri 35, South Dakota 10 - The Tigers led 28-3 at the half and put it on cruise control. The Coyotes were held to 38 yards rushing.
Georgia 48, Tennessee-Martin 7 - This game was 7-0 for a long time, and 17-0 at the half. The Bulldogs passed for 400 yards.
Alabama 56, Middle Tennessee 7 - Another game that was tight early before turning into a blowout. The Crimson Tide scored 14 points in each quarter.
Tennessee 49, Virginia 13 - The Vols rushed for 287 yards while holding the Cavaliers to 95.
North Carolina 31, South Carolina 17 - After trailing 17-14 at the half, the Gamecocks only managed a fourth quarter field goal in the second half. SC had -2 yards rushing.
Ole Miss 73, Mercer 7 - The Bears scored on a 75-yard touchdown run just over a minute into the game, and not again. The Rebels had 38 points at the half, and put up another 28 in the third quarter. Ole Miss passed for 524 yards.
Texas A&M 52, New Mexico 10 - After the Aggies put up 28 points in the second quarter, it was over.
Kentucky 44, Ball State 14 - Relatively close statistically. The Cardinals led 7-3 after one quarter, then the Wildcats put up 20 in the second quarter. Ball State goes to Athens next week.
Arkansas 56, Western Carolina 13 - Four turnovers by the Catamounts killed whatever chance they had to make this a game. The Razorbacks led 35-3 at the half.
Mississippi State 48, Southeast Louisiana 7 - The Bulldogs started slowly, leading only 3-0 after one quarter. A 21-point fourth quarter put a capper on it.
Vanderbilt 47, Alabama A&M 13 - The Bulldogs took an early 3-0 lead, and Vanderbilt scored five in the first quarter. The Commodores led only 12-3 at the half before pulling away.
Auburn 59, Massachusetts 14 - It appeared early on that the Minutemen might make this a game. The score was 7-7, then Auburn scored 21 points in the second and third quarters to blow the game open.
National games
Colorado 45, TCU 42 - Colorado's first win over a top 20 team since 2002. Like many people, I believed that it was a stunt when Deion Sanders took his son Shedur with him to Colorado to play quarterback. The kid can flat out fling it. He passed for over 500 yards, breaking the school record for passing yardage in a game. Four different receivers had over 100 yards receiving, the first time that this had happened in the Pac 12. Someone told me that the younger Sanders has been learning quarterback play from Tom Brady.
Duke 28, Clemson 7 - The Tigers missed a chip shot field goal and turned the ball over twice inside the Duke 10. Duke's largest margin of victory in this game since 1936.
Northern Illinois 27, Boston College 24, OT - The Eagles had to come back from a 21-7 deficit in the fourth quarter to force overtime. In OT, the Huskies scored a touchdown after BC had kicked a field goal.
North Carolina State 24, Connecticut 14 - Tighter than many expected. The Wolfpack led 10-7 at the half. The Huskies had more total yardage by about 90 yards.
Texas State 42, Baylor 31 - The Bobcats took a 28-13 lead into the locker room at halftime, and the Bears never got closer than 28-21. This was Texas State's first win over a Power 5 opponent. Their average margin of defeat in the previous 11 games was just under 28 points.
Fresno State 39, Purdue 35 - A 22-yard touchdown pass with 59 seconds remaining won it for the Bulldogs.
Wyoming 35, Texas Tech 33, 2 OT - The Red Raiders took a 17-0 first quarter lead, then didn't score again until kicking a tying field goal with 41 seconds remaining to make it 20-20. The teams traded touchdowns in both overtimes, but only the Cowboys made the two point conversion in the second. Wyoming's final touchdown came on fourth and seven from the Tech 11 yard line.
Louisiana-Monroe 17, Army 13 - The Warhawks scored three points in the first three quarters before scoring two touchdowns in the fourth, the last with 2:48 remaining.
Marshall 21, Albany 17 - The Thundering Herd had to come from behind in the fourth quarter to edge the Great Danes. Marshall trailed 3-0 at the break. They trailed 17-7 in the third quarter and they never led until the final scoring play with 12:53 remaining.
Illinois 30, Toledo 28 - The Illini won on a 29 yard field goal with five seconds remaining. The Rockets had taken a 28-27 lead on a touchdown with 2:59 remaining, but they missed the two point conversion.
Minnesota 13, Nebraska 10 - The Matt Rhule era in Lincoln began with a road loss in a low scoring game. Nebraska turned the ball over four times. The Gophers led 3-0 at the half. After the Cornhuskers took a 10-3 fourth quarter lead with 12:42 remaining, Minnesota scored ten points in the final 2:32, including a game winning 47-yard field goal on the final play.
Louisville 39, Georgia Tech 34 - A tale of two halves. The Yellow Jackets led 28-13 at the half, then the Cardinals dominated after halftime.