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.
Old Dominion 21, Liberty 7
The first half could not have gone worse for Liberty as a promising 54-yard kickoff return to open the game resulted in a missed field goal and the other five possessions not counting the end of the half drive consisted of three punts, a fumble and an interception while gaining 36 yards total. Old Dominion had turnovers in two of its first three possessions but then scored touchdowns on back-to-back drives and that is all it needed. The Monarchs won the yards 489-210 and 6.9 to 3.8 yppl.
Kennesaw State 24, Middle Tennessee 16
Middle Tennessee fumbled on the second play of the game, the Owls scored three plays later, forced a punt and went 87 yards for another touchdown and eventually built a 21-3 at the end of the first quarter. The Blue Raiders got it to 21-16 early in the fourth quarter and after a Kennesaw St. field goal, Middle Tennessee had two chances but was stopped on fourth down twice. Middle Tennessee ran 28 more plays and outgained the Owls 460-334 but was outgained 6.5 to 5.8 yppl.
WKU 27, Missouri State 22
Missouri St. struck first with a field goal after the opening kickoff and after falling behind 10-3, the Bears scored on three of four possessions between the second and third quarters to take a 16-10 lead. Western Kentucky then scored 17 points on three straight possessions totaling 219 yards and was able to run out the clock after another Bears touchdown that cut it to five points. The Hilltoppers outgained Missouri St. 476-414 but were guilty of nine penalties for 94 yards.
Memphis 55, Florida Atlantic 26
It was back and forth for a while with Florida Atlantic taking the lead late in the second quarter before Memphis took a one point advantage into halftime. It was a five-point game after three quarters and the Tigers then went off with a 31-7 fourth quarter. They were helped by three missed fourth down conversions from the Owls. Memphis outgained Florida Atlantic 487-397 despite running 15 fewer plays and had a 7.5 to 5.0 yppl advantage. The Owls finished with 10 penalties.
Southern Miss 42, Jacksonville State 25
After a punt on its opening possession, Southern Mississippi forced a fumble on the Gamecocks first play of the game and then went 25 yards on four plays and scored on its next possession to take a 14-0 lead that eventually turned into a 28-3 advantage late in the third quarter. The Golden Eagles were outscored 22-14 the rest of the way but were never threatened. Jacksonville St. scored a couple late meaningless touchdowns that gave them the yardage edge 390-377 while going -3 in turnovers.
Iowa State 39, Arizona 14
The Cyclones were never in danger as they jumped ahead 22-0 taking advantage of a missed field goal and an interception, the latter that led to a short field. Iowa St. scored touchdowns on its first two second half possessions and the offense let up following that after a 36-7 lead. Arizona was only outgained 399-360 and 5.8 to 5.0 yppl but went just 5-16 on third and fourth down and found the redzone only three times, converting twice while Iowa St. was 6-7 inside the redzone.
Virginia Tech 23, NC State 21
It was a pair of punts to open the game before Virginia Tech struck first with a field goal and then the Wolfpack took the lead on the next possession. The Hokies tacked on the only 10 points of the second quarter and had the lead until early in the fourth quarter until NC State went 75 yards to take the lead by one. The Hokies kicked a 49-yard field goal to get it back and forced a punt and a fourth down stop to end the game. Virginia Tech outgained the Wolfpack 406-299 and 6.2 to 4.5 yppl.
Boise State 47, Appalachian State 14
Boise St. jumped ahead 21-0 as it went 75 yards in 10 plays on its opening possession for a touchdown, returned an interception 26 yards for a touchdown and then put together an 80-yard drive for another score and never looked back. The Broncos ended the scoring with a 33-yard interception return for a touchdown which put a close on a 4-0 turnover edge. Boise St. had the ball for over 16 more minutes while outgaining the Mountaineers 473-184 and holding them to nine first downs.
Washington State 20, Colorado State 3
Colorado St. got the opening kickoff and put together a 33-yard drive that resulted in a 50-yard field goal and that was it for the offense because of miscues. The Rams got inside the Cougars 30-yard line four times but fumbled, turned it over on downs and missed two field goals. Washington St. scored on four of its first five possessions and was shut out in the second half but it did not matter. Colorado St. outgained the Cougars 347-334 and 5.7 to 5.1 yppl but those mistakes did them in.
Oregon 30, Penn State 24
It was all about defense in the first half as Penn St. and Oregon traded second quarter field goals and then it was the Ducks that put together two drives of 75 and 80 yards to take a 17-3 lead. Penn St. came right back and got a touchdown on the first possession after the second Oregon score then forced a punt and went 62 yards in 15 plays to tie the game with 15 seconds left. They traded overtime scores and then Oregon picked off Penn St. after it scored a second overtime touchdown.
Alabama 24, Georgia 21
Alabama opened up a 7-0 lead that it increased to 14-0 in the second quarter and it was never tied or trailed in the game. The Tide had a 10-point lead at halftime and the Bulldogs cut it to three points midway through the third quarter and while they got three more possessions, they could not cash in with a missed fourth down conversion at the Alabama 11-yard line being the difference. Georgia was outgained by 40 yards but ran 24 fewer plays and won the yppl 6.7 to 5.2.
Missouri 42, UMass 6
Missouri forced a three and out on the first Massachusetts possession and put together a 68-yard drive for a touchdown and after another three and out, the Tigers were intercepted which the Minutemen took advantage of on a 21-yard touchdown drive. Then it was game over as Missouri closed with a 35-0 run and it was dominant throughout as the Tigers outgained Massachusetts 521-124 and 6.2 to 2.3 yppl. They controlled over 17 minutes of the clock and committed just one penalty.
Stanford 30, San Jose State 29
Stanford took the opening kickoff and put together an 81-yard drive on 11 plays in 7:12 to take a 7-0 lead and it was back and forth through halftime. San Jose St. took a 12-point lead early in the fourth quarter and led by eight points before the Cardinal cut it to five points and forced a punt which they responded with an 80-yard, 12-play possession to take the lead with 19 seconds remaining. The Spartans outgained Stanford 524-481 and 7.3 to 7.0 yppl but two missed field goals took away 125 yards.
South Carolina 35, Kentucky 13
Kentucky went 65 yards on its opening possession to take a 7-0 lead and the Gamecocks responded with a 75-yard drive to tie the game. The Wildcats grabbed the lead back on a 76-yard drive but had to settle for a 27-yard field goal and then the South Carolina defense took over. The Gamecocks scored on a 41-yard fumble return and two plays later scored on a 45-yard interception return. The Gamecocks outgained Kentucky 341-232 while going 8-15 on third down and were +4 in turnovers.
Louisiana 54, Marshall 51
Marshall had a 34-17 lead midway through the third quarter which included an interception returned for a touchdown but Louisiana scored 17 unanswered points to tie it. The teams traded touchdowns in the final minute to force overtime where the Thundering Herd had to settle for a field goal and let the Cajuns score the final touchdown. Marshall outgained Louisiana 503-461 but with just a 6.4 to 6.2 yppl advantage and committed 12 penalties for 102 yards while the Cajuns had one penalty.
Louisiana Tech 30, UTEP 11
Louisiana Tech had a 10-0 lead through three quarters and UTEP was able to get it down to a one possession game with a field goal early in the fourth quarter. The Miners then recovered a fumble at the Louisiana Tech 38-yard line but tossed an interception two plays later that was returned for a touchdown. The Bulldogs closed the scoring with another pick six and in the end they were actually outgained 273-232 and 3.7 to 3.4 yppl but benefitted from five total interceptions from their defense.
BYU 24, Colorado 21
Colorado took an early 14-0 lead as it scored on its first two possessions that accumulated 137 yards. BYU then ran off 17 straight points to take the lead late in the fourth quarter but the Buffaloes responded on their next possession as they went 75 yards on six plays to retake the lead. The Cougars came right back and got the three-point advantage back early in the fourth quarter and held Colorado to nine yards on its final three possessions. BYU outgained Colorado 387-291 and 6.0 to 5.5 yppl.