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.
Florida State 66, Kent State 10
This was not expected to be a game and it certainly turned out that way. Florida St. racked up 775 yards of offense and 11.5 yppl and failed to convert only one third down in 10 attempts. The Seminoles scored on 10 of 12 possessions, throwing an interception to open the second half and turning it over on fourth down on their last drive. Kent St. scored its lone touchdown on a 75-yard pass and had only 131 yards besides that with 54 yards coming in garbage time on its field goal drive.
James Madison 31, Liberty 13
Liberty took a 10-3 lead in the second quarter and after a 10-10 halftime, the Flames retook the lead at 13-10 and then James Madison took over with a 21-0 run to close the game. In the second half, the Dukes scored on three of four possessions on long drives while the defense forced a three and out three times and made a fourth down stop. James Madison outgained the Flames 440-233 and 6.6 to 3.7 yppl while going 5-6 in the redzone and holding Liberty to 3-14 on third down.
Troy 21, Buffalo 17
Buffalo kicked a field goal on its first play of the fourth quarter to take a 17-0 lead and then the momentum went the other way. Troy went 75 yards after the kickoff for a touchdown, forced a punt and then went 66 yards to pull within three points. After two more forced three and outs, the Trojans went down and scored the game winner with 48 second left before stopping the Bulls on fourth down. Troy outgained Buffalo 365-278 but ran 21 more plays and both teams were dead even with 4.5 yppl.
Michigan 30, Nebraska 27
Michigan opened up a 10-0 lead on Huskers miscues and never trailed in the game although Nebraska was able to tie it on two different occasions. The first quarter could not have gone worse for the Huskers as they turned it over on downs at the Michigan five-yard line, missed a 43-yard field goal, threw an interception deep in their own territory and punted after losing nine yards. The Wolverines outgained Nebraska 391-351 on 16 fewer plays and outgained the Huskers 7.0 to 4.9 yppl.
Oklahoma 24, Auburn 17
Oklahoma forced a three and out to open the game and opened the scoring with a field goal and while Auburn tied the game twice at 3-3 and 10-10, the Tigers did not take their first lead until midway through the fourth quarter after a 75-yard touchdown drive. The Sooners responded with their own 75-yard drive to retake the lead and got a safety with a minute left for the seven-point win. They outgained Auburn by 16 yards and neither team could run, combining for 99 yards on 61 carries (1.6 ypc).
UConn 31, Ball State 25
After losing their last two games in overtime, Connecticut took the early lead and never gave it up while extending the lead to two touchdowns twice in the fourth quarter before Ball St. put up a meaningless touchdown with 11 seconds left. Despite never leading, the Cardinals outgained Connecticut 404-400 and 6.5 to 6.0 yppl but the Huskies were a perfect 5-5 on fourth down while sacking Ball St. four times and the Cardinals crossed midfield only twice the first three and a half quarters.
Eastern Michigan 34, Louisiana 31
This game was back and forth throughout with Eastern Michigan taking a 21-17 lead right before halftime. Louisiana got it back on a 35-yard interception return for a touchdown late in the third quarter and that was its last lead with the Eagles eventually kicking the game winning field goal with three seconds left. While Louisiana had the pick six, it tossed two costly interceptions in the fourth quarter, one in Eastern Michigan territory and the other on their own side in a span of three plays.
Duke 45, NC State 33
NC State took a 7-0 lead three plays into the game on a 75-yard touchdown pass and after Duke tied it, the Wolfpack went on two more long touchdown drives to take a 20-7 lead. The Blue Devils then took over with a 21-0 run on three straight possessions, the middle one set up by an interception deep in NC State territory and the Wolfpack never got the lead back. NC State outgained Duke 535-418 but lost the turnover battle 4-0, went 1-4 on fourth down and had a chip shot field goal blocked.
Mississippi State 38, NIU 10
Northern Illinois struck first with a 30-yard field goal and then took a 10-7 lead on the first play of the second quarter and then Mississippi St. took over. The Bulldogs scored 31 unanswered points as the defense forced three punts, picked off a pass and stopped the Huskies on fourth down twice. They outgained Northern Illinois 452-267 including 292 yards rushing on 49 carries (6.0 ypc) but ran 17 more plays while going 4-4 on fourth down and holding the Huskies to 1-11 on third and fourth down.
Georgia Tech 45, Temple 24
There was no letdown for the Yellow Jackets as they jumped out to a 21-0 lead until Temple went 75 yards in 11 plays to cut it to 14 points and then recovered a fumble two plays into the second half and scored a touchdown two plays later to make it a one score game before Georgia Tech pulled away again. The Yellow Jackets outgained Temple 468-328 despite running 33 fewer plays as they averaged 9.8 yppl to the Owls 4.0 yppl as Temple won the time of possession by 15 minutes.
Kennesaw State 28, Arkansas State 21
Arkansas St. came out flat following its close game with Iowa St. as Kennesaw St. jumped out to a 21-0 lead before the Red Wolves tried to rally but fell short. The Owls scored touchdowns on their first three possessions but did their best to implode as they turned it over on downs at the Arkansas St. 21-yard line and then fumbled it away on three straight possessions to make it a game. Kennesaw St. outgained the Red Wolves 497-318 while gaining 30 first downs to the Red Wolves 18.
Kansas 41, West Virginia 10
It was a West Virginia letdown from the Backyard Brawl as the Mountaineers went three and out to open the game and allowed Kansas to go 50 yards in four plays to take a 7-0 lead. It did not get better as West Virginia punted on its next five possessions before finally connecting on a field goal but then it was 27 unanswered points for the Jayhawks including returning the second half kickoff for a touchdown. They outgained the Mountaineers 5.8 to 4.2 yppl and held them to 3-17 on third and fourth down.
Delaware 38, FIU 16
Delaware spotted the Panthers a 7-3 lead before running off three straight touchdowns, the first coming off an interception and scoring five plays later and the third on a 68-yard punt return. The Blue Hens were actually outgained by five yards with yppl dead even at 5.4 but they were more efficient by going 11-15 on third down. Delaware had only two second half possessions but made the most of them as they went 160 yards in 27 plays that took over 14 minutes off the clock.
Boise State 49, Air Force 37
Boise St. went three and out in its opening possession and Air Force then went 75 yards in five plays to take a 7-0 lead but the Broncos got it right back on its next possession and then scored the next two touchdowns to take a 14-point lead. The Falcons tied it back up after halftime but Boise St. responded right back and never lost the lead again. The Broncos outgained Air Force 592-511 despite running 17 fewer plays as they averaged 10.2 yppl compared to 6.8 for the Falcons.
Coastal Carolina 38, South Alabama 20
South Alabama struck first with Coastal Carolina countering right back and the Jaguars getting the touchdown lead back before halftime. The Chanticleers forced a punt to open the second half that went just 11 yards and tied the game three plays later. They then intercepted a pass on the next play and took the lead for good five plays after that. South Alabama outgained Coastal Carolina 420-294 but ran 24 more plays and both teams were at 5.2 yppl while the Jaguars were -3 in turnovers.
Missouri 29, South Carolina 20
After a scoreless first quarter, the teams alternated leads in the second quarter with South Carolina taking a 14-12 lead into halftime. Missouri regained the lead late in the third quarter with the Gamecocks again taking a two-point lead into the fourth quarter but the Tigers won the fourth quarter 10-0 as the defense allowed only nine yards in three possessions. Missouri outgained the Gamecocks 456-293 but that was with 25 more plays as the yppl were closer at 6.1 to 5.9 in favor of the Tigers.
WKU 31, Nevada 16
This was another back and forth game through three quarters with Nevada taking a 13-10 lead into the fourth quarter. Western Kentucky forced a pair of punts in the first two Nevada possessions and went 85 and 87 yards to take a 24-13 lead. The Wolf Pack made it a one possession game with 29 seconds left and the Hilltoppers then returned the onsides kick for a touchdown. Nevada won the yardage by 11 yards but that was with six more plays with yppl being 5.5 to 5.2 in favor of the Hilltoppers.