TWIF Notes 9/28/2020

Welcome Back!

We had an another exciting weekend of College Football!  The SEC returned to play, we had upsets and near upsets, and it looks like we may have all 10 conferences playing football by the start of November!  Let's get to the reviews.  Please understand that future opponents are apt to change at a moment's notice.

Thursday September 24

UAB routed South Alabama 42-10, looking much better than they did in their 1st 2 games.  However, their play against Miami is looking better and better with each victory the Hurricanes pile up.  The Jaguars looked good in their 1st 2 games, but laid an egg here, and finish the non-conference portion of their schedule at 1-2.  They jump into conference play next week at home against Troy.  UAB is 2-1 and opens conference play against surprisingly undefeated UTSA.

Friday, September 25

UTSA stayed undefeated by surviving Middle Tennessee 37-35.  The Blue Raiders missed a late 2-point conversion attempt, which was only necessary because they missed an earlier 2-point try.  Had they just kicked the PAT both times, they would have had the momentum going into OT.  The Roadrunners are 3-0 for the 1st time since 2017 (finished 6-5), but will get a real challenge in October as they play @UAB, Army, La Tech, and @FAU.  If they can somehow win 1 or 2 of those, they have a real shot at a winning record, as their November slate is manageable.  MTSU is 0-3, with a home game against pre-season conference favorite WKU next.

Saturday, September 26

Kansas State  pulled off the 1st big upset of the day, edging 3rd ranked Oklahoma 38-35 in Norman.  This was the 1st time in history that KSU beat an AP top 3 team on the road, and they had to score 24 unanswered points to do it, 17 of those in the 4th quarter.  This is the 2nd year in a row that the Wildcats have upset the Sooners, and the interesting thing is that OU scored the same amount of points as Arkansas St did 2 weeks ago against this same KSU defense.  KSU is 1-1 with high-scoring Texas Tech next.  OU is also 1-1 and plays at always dangerous Iowa State, who upset them in 2017, and has lost by a combined 11 points the last 2 years.  OU better get their defense fixed, but how many years have we been saying that?

Florida scored 2 TD's late in the 2nd quarter, and then early in the 3rd to blow open what had been a tie game and pull away to win over Ole Miss 51-35.  The Gators accumulated 681 total yards, but also gave up 651.  The Rebels had 29 first downs and were 9-14 on 3rd down, so UF has some work to do on defense.  However, Florida QB Kyle Trask did have 6 TD passes.  The Gators host S Carolina this week, while the Rebels travel to Kentucky.

Auburn was in danger of falling behind right before halftime, but the officials missed an obvious TD that would have given Kentucky the lead, and then UK threw a pick 6 two plays later (that was called back) and never fully recovered, botching a fake punt, and and going 0-2 on 4th downs.  The Wildcats actually outgained the Tigers, and won the statistical battles (except for turnovers) but lost the scoreboard war, as this was their 12th straight road loss to an SEC West opponent.  UK hosts Ole Miss and the War Eagles travel to Georgia.

East Carolina jumped out to a 7-0 lead, but then it was all UCF after that, as the Knights scored the next 41 points before trading scores with the Pirates, finally settling at a final score of 51-28.  Statistically, the game looks like it should have been close, but UCF won the turnover battle 5 to 1.  

Georgia Southern took a 1-point lead on a TD and 2-point conversion with 54 seconds remaining, but Louisiana hit a 53-yd FG as time expired to eke out a 20-18 win and escape with their undefeated record intact.  UL is off before a huge game at App St while GSU has ULM this week.

Pittsburgh and Louisville went back and forth in the 1st half before trading FGs in the 2nd half as the Panthers held on for the 23-20 victory over the Cardinals.  Pitt is now 3-0 and 2-0 in the ACC while UL falls to 0-2 in the conference.

Syracuse jumped out to a 17-0 1st quarter lead and then traded points with Georgia Tech for the 17-point win, 37-20.  The Orange got their 1st victory of 2020 and are now 1-2/1-2.  Tech is also 1-2 overall, and 1-1 in the ACC.

Appalachian State only led Campbell 17-13 at the half, but then put away the Fighting Camels with 35 straight points in the 2nd half before giving up a meaningless TD with about 3 minutes left, the final margin being 52-21.  The Mountaineers had 639 total yards, 31 first downs, were 9-12 on 3rd downs, and only punted once.  They host Louisiana in 2 weeks in a huge SBC game.

Liberty held on for the 36-34 win over FIU when the Panthers missed the tying 2-point conversion try on their TD with 4:35 left.  The Flames are now 2-0 with both victories over CUSA teams.  They host an FCS team this weekend.  FIU falls to 0-1.

Iowa State jumped out to a 16-7 halftime lead over TCU, and then traded TDs the rest of the way to hold on and win 37-34, never allowing the horned frogs to get any closer than 2 points.  The Cyclones evened their record at 1, as TCU dropped their opener.  Both have tough games this week as ISU hosts Oklahoma and TCU plays @Texas.

Tulane fell behind 14-0 early to Southern Miss (within the 1st 5 minutes!), then roared back and destroyed the Golden Eagles, winning 66-24 to move their record to 2-1.  USM falls to 0-3.

In the other huge upset of the day, Mississippi State, led by KJ. Costello's SEC record 623 passing yards and 7 sacks from their defense, defeated LSU 44-34.  Even with LSU winning the turnover battle 4-2, they couldn't overcome their own offensive inefficiency, as they were only 5-17 (MSU was 8-16) on 3rd downs and had to punt 7 times (to MSU's 3). The Bayou Bengals have a lot of work to do on both sides of the ball, but fortunately play @Vandy next.  The Bulldogs get to fatten up their stats when they host Arkansas, and if they continue to play this well, could be 4-0 when they travel to Tuscaloosa on Halloween.

Texas survived an upset bid by Texas Tech by scoring 15 points in the last 3:13 of regulation, and then scoring a TD and getting an INT from their defense in the 1st OT to win 63-56.  This game featured 987 yards of combined total yards and 51 combined first downs.  The Red Raiders' undoing came at the hands of turnovers- 6 to be exact- 3 INTs and 3 lost fumbles.  TT plays at Kansas St and Texas hosts TCU in an important conference game for both teams.

Cincinnati trailed for much of the 1st half, then took the lead and held on for dear life to clinch the 24-10 victory over Army.  The Bearcats held the Black Knights to only 182 rushing yards and 320 total yards.  The undefeated Bearcats jump into AAC play this week against 1-1 USF.

Oklahoma State jumped out to a big lead (stop me if you've heard this before) then held on to defeat West Virginia 27-13 and remain undefeated at 2-0.  They'll probably still be undefeated after they play @Kansas this week.  WVU hosts Baylor.

UTEP grabbed a huge lead and never looked back, cruising to a 31-6 win over ULM.  The Miners are now 3-1, their best start since 5-1 in 2010 (they finished that season 6-7).  The Warhawks are 0-3, and haven't looked good in any game.  UTEP opens CUSA play in 2 weeks at La Tech and ULM hosts Ga Southern this week.

Georgia looked completely inept on offense the 1st half, but ended up defeating Arkansas 37-10.  The Razorbacks led 7-2 after 1 quarter, and 7-5 at the half before the Dawgs exploded for 22 points in the span of about 3 minutes in the 3rd quarter.  UGA had 11 penalties for 98 yards in the 1st half, but only 1 for 10 yards in the 2nd.  Somehow, they ended up with 535 yards of total offense while holding the Hogs to only 290.  The teams were a combined 9-34 on 3rd downs, 2-4 on 4th, and combined for 9 turnovers, 15 punts, and 22 penalties.  Ouch!  UGA has a lot to figure out offensively before hosting Auburn this weekend, but 1st on their list is who will play QB.  Should it be Mathis, the redshirt freshman with potential, but who played like someone who hasn't been in a real game in 2 years, or should it be Bennett, who came on in relief, and who seems to do well with short and intermediate throws, but doesn't have accuracy on deep balls?  I'm assuming Beck and Daniels aren't ready to play, or else we would have seen them play a few snaps, especially once the game was in hand in the 4th quarter.  

Virginia won an odd game over Duke, 38-20.  The Blue Devils scored the first 10 points, then the Cavaliers scored the next 17, then Duke scored 10, then UVA scored the last 21.  What makes this even odder is that this all happened by quarter.  Duke scored only in the 1st and 3rd quarters, and UVA in the 2nd and 4th.  Weird. Anyway, Duke is now 0-3 and hosts Va Tech and Virginia finally played a game, but now gets to play @Clemson.

Texas State held a 21-7 lead until late in the 3rd quarter, but Boston College scored the last 17 points, including a FG with 11 seconds left to pull out the 24-21 win.  The Bobcats fall to 1-3, and continue to be the hard-luck team of the year, as their 3 losses are by a combined 13 points.  The Eagles are 2-0 and host UNC, one of the favorites to challenge for an ACCCG spot.  TSU is off this week.

Alabama crushed Missouri 38-19, building a 35-6 lead before giving up 2 meaningless TDs in the 4th quarter.  Three lost fumbles by the Tigers doomed their efforts, as did falling behind 21-0 by early in the 2nd quarter.  UM plays at Tennessee in an important SEC East matchup while Bama hosts Texas A&M.

La Tech let Houston Baptist hang around for a quarter before blowing them away in a 66-38 win.  The Bulldogs had 696 total yards, but gave up 545, as the 2 teams combined for 58 first downs!  LT (2-0) is off before hosting 3-1 UTEP. 

SMU destroyed Stephen F. Austin 50-7.  The 3-0 Mustangs host Memphis this Saturday.

Texas A&M survived Vanderbilt 17-12.  Like UGA-Arkansas, this game also featured a 7-5 halftime score, but this time, the team with the lead ended up winning.  TAMU plays at Bama this week, while Vandy hosts an LSU squad looking for answers.

Miami decimated FSU, running out to a 38-3 halftime lead before cruising to a 52-10 final score.  Miami had 579 total yards of offense, and had 6 sacks on defense to move to 3-0 and drop the Seminoles to 0-2.  The Hurricanes are off this week, while FSU hosts an FCS team.  

Tennessee held off a comeback attempt from South Carolina to secure a narrow 31-27 victory.  The Vols led 21-7 early in the 3rd quarter, but SC came back to tie it.  After trading FGs, UT got a TD, but the Gamecocks could only muster a FG down the stretch for the final margin.  UT hosts Missouri and SC plays at Florida, both games important in the SEC East, as a loss would make things difficult.

Baylor flattened Kansas 47-14 to win their opener and to drop the Jayhawks to 0-2.  The Bears had 560 total yards of offense and 4 sacks on defense.  They have a big game at WVU while KU will play (lose, probably) at home to Okla St.

Virginia Tech stomped NC State 45-24, jumping out to a 31-7 lead in the 1st half, and then cruising to the final margin to win their opener.  They play at Duke, a team that has given them fits recently, this weekend.  The Wolfpack fall to 1-1 and play @Pitt.

BYU stomped Troy 48-7 to stay undefeated at 2-0.  The Cougars have now outscored their 2 opponents 103-10! They are scheduled to play UTSA in 2 weeks.

That's all for today.  Feel free to leave a comment, and come back tomorrow for my updated Power Rankings.

Until next time, my you and your loved ones be blessed!

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