CFW Week 12 Results - Two coaches and an OC fired

 CFW Week 12 Results – Two coaches and an OC fired

BYU and Tennessee lose,

Oregon and Texas get a scare

 

In all, seven Top 25 teams lost and five got a scare. The picture is starting to develop. However, it is still anybody’s guess who will play for the SEC and Big 12 titles. Two more weeks to go. Be patient.

 

BYU (9-1) is no longer undefeated. Late Saturday night, the No. 6 Cougars lost, at home, to Kansas (4-6), 17-13. As the third quarter came to an end, BYU led the Jayhawks, 13-10. But early in the fourth quarter, Kansas scored a touchdown and went up, 17-13. For the remaining 13 minutes, the Jayhawks kept BYU out of the end zone. Kansas handed the Cougars their first loss.

 

It was a strange game. BYU had more total yards (354 to 242), more rushing yards (162 to 73), more passing yards (192 to 169) and more first downs (23 to 13). Yet, Kansas won. BYU coaches and players must still be scratching their heads.

 

No. 7 Tennessee (8-2) lost to No. 12 Georgia (8-2), 31-17. This was an exciting, close and tense game in the first half. The score was 17-17 at the break. But the second half belonged to the Dawgs. The Vols went to sleep. Georgia outscored Tennessee 14-0 in the second half.

 

Had Georgia lost, the Dawgs would have fallen out of contention for the SEC title game and out of contention for the playoff. With the loss, Tennessee remains in contention for both the SEC title game and the playoff. Stay tuned!

 

The No. 1 and No. 3 teams didn’t lose, but they sure got a good fright. No. 1 and undefeated Oregon trailed Wisconsin, 10-6 at halftime. As the fourth quarter began, Oregon trailed Wisconsin 13-6. In the final 13 minutes of the game, Oregon (11-0) scored a touchdown and kicked a field goal to beat Wisconsin (5-5), 16-13. Oregon’s game clinching fourth-quarter field goal came with 2:36 on the clock. Oregon’s win assures the Ducks will have a spot in the Big Ten championship game.

 

No. 3 Texas led Arkansas 10-0 at halftime. The Longhorns increased their lead to 13-0 midway through the third quarter. Then Arkansas came alive. The Razorbacks scored a touchdown late in the third quarter and kicked a field goal early in the fourth quarter. Just like that, the Texas lead was cut to three points, 13-10. With 9:05 to go in the game, Texas increased its lead to 20-10. But Arkansas continued to threaten. However, Texas (9-1) hung on and beat Arkansas (5-5), 20-10.

 

Five more Top 25 teams lost on Saturday. No. 16 Kansas State (7-3) fell to Arizona State (8-2), 24-14. Kansas State’s chances for the Big 12 title game and the playoff are all but gone. However, Arizona State’s chances have improved. Stay tuned!

 

No. 18 Washington State lost to New Mexico, 38-35. The Cougars led the Lobos 21-7 midway through the second quarter. Washington State led New Mexico 28-14 at halftime. However, the Lobos outscored the Cougars 24-7 in the second half. Trailing 35-31, New Mexico’s winning touchdown came with 0:21 remaining in the game.

 

No. 19 Louisville (6-4) was stunned by Stanford (3-7), 38-35. Stanford scored 10 points in the final 45 seconds of the game to win. First, the Trees scored a touchdown with 0:45 left on the clock. Then, after forcing a turnover on downs, Stanford’s Emmet Kenney kicked a 52-yard field goal as time expired.

 

No. 22 LSU (6-4), lost its third-straight game, falling to Florida (5-5), 27-16. The loss knocked LSU out of contention for the SEC title game.

 

The seventh Top 25 team to lose was No. 23 Missouri. The Tigers (7-3) lost to No. 21 South Carolina (7-3), 34-30.  

 

Three more Top 25 teams got a scare Saturday. No. 14 SMU (9-1) kept their ACC title game and playoff hopes alive, beating Boston College (5-5), 38-28. But it wasn’t easy for the Mustangs. Boston College hung with SMU throughout the game. BC led SMU, 21-20, early in the third quarter. With 5:52 to go in the game, the Eagles scored and trailed the Mustangs, 31-28. SMU secured the win, scoring a touchdown with 0:08 remaining in the game.   

 

Trailing Pitt 20-17, No. 20 Clemson (8-2) scored a touchdown with 1:16 remaining on the clock to beat the Panthers (7-3), 24-20. The win keeps Clemson’s hopes alive for the ACC title game and playoff.  

 

Finally, and as mentioned above, No. 21 South Carolina barely escaped No. 23 Missouri, 34-30. The Gamecocks, trailing the Tigers, 30-27, scored a touchdown with 0:15 remaining in the game to grab the win. South Carolina has remote chances of making the playoff.

 

College football Week 12 began Tuesday evening with three Mid-American Conference games. Buffalo (6-4) won a thriller over Ball State (3-7), 51-48 (OT). With less than six minutes remaining in regulation, Buffalo trailed Ball State 45-31. The Bulls scored two touchdowns in four minutes to tie the score at 45-45. In overtime, Ball State kicked a field goal, while Buffalo got a touchdown. The teams combined for 1,010 total yards.

 

Bowling Green (6-4) had an easy time of it, discarding Western Michigan (5-5), 31-13. Bowling Green running back Terion Stewart rushed for 150 yards and one touchdown. In the third game, Toledo (7-3) crushed Central Michigan (3-7), 37-10. Toledo quarterback Tucker Gleason passed for 136 yards and one touchdown. Gleason also rushed for 66 yards and two more touchdowns.

 

Three more MAC games took place on Wednesday night. Miami (6-4) unloaded on Kent State (0-10), 34-7. Miami running back Keyon Mozee rushed for 196 yards and one touchdown. Northern Illinois (6-4) had a tougher time with Akron (2-8). Halfway through the fourth quarter, the Huskies led the Zips by one touchdown, 23-16. But with less than eight minutes remaining in the game, Northern Illinois scored the clincher and beat Akron, 29-16.

 

In the final game on Wednesday night, Ohio (7-3) took care of business, beating Eastern Michigan (5-5), 35-10. Ohio quarterback Parker Navarro passed for 277 yards. Navarro also rushed for 106 yards, scoring four touchdowns.

 

In the sole game on Thursday night, East Carolina (6-4) overcame four turnovers and 12 penalties (125 yards) to beat Tulsa (3-7), 38-31. Trailing Tulsa 31-30, the Pirates scored their winning touchdown with 2:07 remaining in the game. East Carolina had 536 total yards.

 

Friday night lights was a busy night under the lights with four games – all with a western flair. In the opener, Colorado State (7-3) remained undefeated in MWC play. The Rams downed Wyoming (2-8), 24-10. Colorado State quarterback Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi was 14-17-0, passing for 192 yards and one touchdown.

 

Moving down to Texas, UTSA (5-5) put a beating on North Texas (5-5), 48-27.  North Texas running back Shane Porter rushed for 193 yards and three touchdowns. UTSA quarterback Owen McCown was 29-43-1, passing for 379 yards and two touchdowns. Roadrunner running back Robert Henry rushed for 168 yards and two touchdowns.

 

In the Pacific northwest, Washington (6-5) beat UCLA (4-6), 31-19. Early in the third quarter, Washington only led by one point – 14-13. Then the Huskies scored 17 unanswered points to take a 31-13 lead in the fourth quarter. UCLA scored its last touchdown as time expired.

 

Moving down to the southwest, Arizona (4-6), losers of five-straight games, knocked off Houston (4-6), 27-3. In Friday’s nightcap, Arizona running back Quali Conley rushed for 107 yards and one touchdown. Wildcat quarterback Noah Fifita passed for 224 yards and two touchdowns.  

 

In some other games on Saturday, Colorado (8-2) won its fourth-straight game and seventh in its last eight games, beating Utah (4-6), 49-24. Colorado quarterback Shedeur Sanders was 30-41-1, passing for 340 yards and three touchdowns.

 

In the Big Ten, Rutgers (6-4) beat Maryland (4-6), 31-17. Rutgers receiver Dymere Miller had eight receptions for 107 yards and one touchdown. I’m thinking Maryland will be getting rid of head coach Mike Locksley.

 

James Madison (8-2) kept its Sun Belt title game hopes alive, beating Old Dominion (4-6), 35-32. JMU quarterback Alonza Barnett was 18-26-0, passing for 192 yards and one touchdown. JMU receiver Yamir Knight had eight receptions for 121 yards and one touchdown.

 

After you went to bed Saturday night, UNLV (8-2) downed San Diego State (3-7), 41-20.

 

So, with BYU’s loss, three teams remain undefeated – Oregon (11-0), Indiana (10-9) and Army (9-0). Oregon has one game remaining against Washington. Indiana has two games left against Ohio State and Purdue. Army has three games to play against Notre Dame, UTSA and Navy.

 

We’re still waiting on eight of the conferences, but we know who will be playing in the American Athletic Conference championship game – Tulane and Army. And at this stage, you have to figure that the Group of Five team in the College Football Playoff will either be Tulane or Army from the AAC or Boise State or UNLV from the MWC – one of those four teams.

 

With two games remaining, Temple fired head coach Stan Drayton yesterday. In his third season with the Owls, Drayton was 9-25 – 3-7 this season. He never won more than three games in a single season. Defensive coordinator Everitt Withers will serve as the interim head coach for the remainder of the season.

 

The previous day, Ball State fired head coach Mike Neu. In his ninth year with the Cardinals, Neu was 40-63 – 3-7 this season. Offensive line coach Colin Johnson was named the interim head coach for the rest of the season. Ball State has two games remaining.

 

Wisconsin coach Luke Fickell fired his offensive coordinator Phil Longo yesterday.

 

Touchdown Tom

November 18, 2024

https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com

 

(The next CFW – Week 13 Forecast – will be posted Thursday morning, November 21.)

 

 

Weekend Recap

 

GAME OF THE WEEK: Back in the saddle again – Georgia 31, Tennessee 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Georgia 28, Tennessee 27). After the team’s loss to Ole Miss last week and after Carson Beck’s two frustrating games, both Georgia and Beck found themselves back in the saddle again against Tennessee. As a team. Georgia looked solid against the Vols. As a player, Beck was near perfect going 25-40-0, passing for 347 yards and two touchdowns. Beck also ran for 32 yards and another touchdown. Tennessee played Georgia tough in the first half. But the Vols were no match for the Dawgs in the second half. The win should propel Georgia back into the Top 11 in the CFP rankings when they come out tomorrow. Georgia was the first team out last week. Tennessee will most likely fall out of playoff spot for the time being at least. Both teams still have a shot at playing in the SEC championship game. Attendance in Athens: 93,033

 

RUNNER-UP: AAC title game here we come – Tulane 35, Navy 0 (Touchdown Tom said: Tulane 24, Navy 21). With the win over Navy, Tulane secured a spot in the AAC championship game. Without quarterback Blake Horvath, Navy isn’t the same football team. Horvath was knocked out of the game with a rib injury. Tulane quarterback Darian Mensah was 10-14-0, passing for 138 yards and two touchdowns. Mensah also ran for 57 yards and another touchdown. The Tulane defense held Navy to just 113 total yards. Attendance in Annapolis: 38,914

 

REST OF THE BEST: The Badger almost caught himself a Duck – Oregon 16, Wisconsin 13 (Touchdown Tom said: Oregon 27, Wisconsin 16). Oregon dominated Wisconsin in total yards, passing yards, rushing yards and first downs. But the Ducks couldn’t get the ball across the goal line. Oregon had three field goals and only one touchdown. The game was definitely a defensive struggle, as Wisconsin had two field goals and only one touchdown. Oregon quarterback Dillon Gabriel was 22-31-1, passing for 218 yards. Oregon running back Jordan James rushed for 121 yards and one touchdown. Attendance in Madison: 76,298

 

Shocker in the Little Apple – Arizona State 24, Kansas State 14 (Touchdown Tom said: Kansas State 30, Arizona State 27). The Sun Devils really took it to the Wildcats. Arizona State led Kansas State 24-0 before the Wildcats knew what hit them. Finally, late in the third quarter, K-State put 6 points on the board. The Wildcats added 8 more points in the fourth quarter and that was the best they could do. ASU quarterback Sam Leavitt was 21-34-0, passing for 275 yards and three touchdowns. Leavitt added another 42 yards rushing. Three turnovers added to K-State’s woes. ASU took advantage of ball possession 36:36 to 23:24. Attendance in Manhattan: 51,880

 

Klubnik can run – Clemson 24, Pitt 20 (Touchdown Tom said: Clemson 30, Pitt 19). This game had an exciting finish. As the fourth quarter began, Clemson led Pitt 17-7. Then Pitt woke up and scored 13 unanswered points. With 1:36 remaining in the game, Pitt led 20-17. Just 20 seconds later, 1:16 to go, Clemson quarterback Cade Klubnik broke loose on a 50-yard touchdown run. Clemson was up 24-20 and won the game. Klubnik was 27-41-0, passing for 288 yards and two touchdowns. Pitt quarterback Nate Yarnell had a good day too. Yarnell was 34-54 -1, passing for 350 yards and one touchdown. Attendance in Pittsburgh: 58,667

 

Close for a while – Boise State 42, San Jose State 21 (Touchdown Tom said: Boise State 31, San Jose State 23). San Jose State actually jumped out to a 14-0 second quarter lead. But it didn’t take Boise State long to get back into the game. However, the Broncos couldn’t shake the Spartans for a while. The score was 21-21 late in the third quarter. Then Boise State scored 21 unanswered points. San Jose State’s success was from quarterback Walker Eget. He was 34-50-2, passing for 446 yards and three touchdowns. Spartan receiver Justin Lockhart had 10 receptions for 172 yards and one touchdown. Boise State quarterback Maddux Madsen was 22-30-0, passing for 288 yards and one touchdown. Bronco running back Ashton Jeanty rushed for 159 yards and three touchdowns. The teams combined for 939 total yards. But San Jose State only had 37 yards rushing. Attendance in San Jose: 20,517

 

Down to the final seconds – South Carolina 34, Missouri 30 (Touchdown Tom said: South Carolina 24, Missouri 20). This became an exciting game in the fourth quarter. South Carolina led 21-6 at halftime. But Missouri took a 22-21 lead with 9:12 to go in the fourth quarter. The Gamecocks retook the lead – 27-22 – at the 5:04 mark in the fourth. Missouri went back up – 30-27 – at the 1:10 mark. South Carolina scored its winning touchdown with 0:15 left in the game. Mizzou running back Nate Noel rushed for 150 yards and one touchdown. South Carolina quarterback LaNorris Sellers was 21-30-1, passing for 353 yards and five touchdowns. Attendance in Columbia: 79,361

 

Texas a little wimpy – Texas 20, Arkansas 10 (Touchdown Tom said: Texas 33, Arkansas 16). Texas started out like a house-a -fire. Before you knew it, the Longhorns were up 10-0. The score became 13-0 in the third quarter. Then Texas went cold. Arkansas scored 10 points, and we had ourselves a ball game. Ultimately, Texas added a security touchdown to go back up by 10 points. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers didn’t look that good. He may have caught Carson Beck disease. Texas only had 315 total yards. Attendance in Fayetteville: 74,929

 

Pony power – SMU 38, Boston College 28 (Touchdown Tom said: SMU 30, Boston College 20). Boston College stayed on SMU’s heels all game. The Eagles actually went up briefly in the third quarter – 21-20. The Eagles had a new quarterback. BC coach Bill O’Brien benched quarterback Thomas Castellanos earlier in the week. Grayson James became the new quarterback for the Eagles. James passed for 237 yards and one touchdown. SMU quarterback Kevin Jennings was 24-35-1, passing for 298 yards and three touchdowns. SMU running back Brashard Smith rushed for 120 yards and one touchdown. Mustang receiver Jordan Hudson had seven receptions for 99 yards and one touchdown. The teams were pretty closely matched in the stats. Attendance in Dallas: 34,438

 

Second half strong – Iowa State 34, Cincinnati 17 (Touchdown Tom said: Iowa State 27, Cincinnati 18). Iowa State didn’t take control of this game until the second half. The score was 10-10 at halftime. The Cyclones outscored the Bearcats 24-7 in the second half. Cincinnati quarterback Brandan Sorsby had a terrible day passing, but he ran for 141 yards and one touchdown. Iowa State quarterback Rocco Becht passed for 234 yards and one touchdown. Cincinnati only had 66 yards passing. Attendance in Ames: 52,881

 

 

YE OLDE STOMPING GROUNDS:

 

Get rid of Neal Brown – Baylor 49, West Virginia 35 (Touchdown Tom said: West Virginia 27, Baylor 24). This was a wild first half with 63 points scored. Baylor led 35-28 at the break. Only 21 points were scored in the second half – all in the fourth quarter. Baylor had 14 of those points. Baylor quarterback Sawyer Robertson was 26-36-0, passing for 329 yards and three touchdowns. WVU quarterback Garrett Greene rushed for 129 yards and two touchdowns. Greene was terrible at passing. The teams combined for 1,011 total yards. It probably won’t be but this game should be the final nail in Neal Brown’s coffin. In his sixth season at WVU, Brown is a total mess as a coach. He has accomplished nothing. Attendance in Morgantown: 52,376

 

A pleasant surprise in The Swamp – Florida 27, LSU 16 (Touchdown Tom said: LSU 33, Florida 24). I just love seeing LSU coach Brian Kelly having a mental breakdown on the sideline. Kelly really can’t handle losing. And it’s always someone else’s fault. Kelly was yelling at his players, and his players were yelling at him. LSU’s only lead was a brief one in the third quarter at 13-10. Otherwise, Florida led throughout the game. When Florida had the ball, the Gators scored quickly. LSU ruled time of possession 41:43 to 18:17. Attendance in Gainesville: 90,067  

 

Where was Dana? – USC 28, Nebraska 20 (Touchdown Tom said: USC 28, Nebraska 20). This game was nip-and-tuck throughout. The score was tied twice – 7-7 and 14-14. Nebraska briefly led 17-14 in the third quarter. As the fourth quarter began, the Trojans led 21-20. If Dana Holgorsen did anything for Nebraska’s offense, it wasn’t obvious. USC quarterback Jayden Maiava was 25-35-11, passing for 259 yards and three touchdowns. USC running back Woody Marks rushed for 146 yards. Nebraska only had 310 total yards. Attendance in Los Angeles: 75,304

 

Take a knee – Penn State 49, Purdue 10 (Touchdown Tom said: Penn State 42, Purdue 10). Whenever James Franklin has the opportunity to show character and have his quarterback take a knee at the end of a game, he never does. Franklin has no character. Up 42-10 with 1:51 left in the game, Penn State scored on a 24-yard pass play. Franklin must be hurting for attention. Penn State quarterback Drew Allar was 17-19-0, passing for 247 yards and three touchdowns. Penn State racked up 539 total yards. Attendance in West Lafayette: 58,346

 

Week 11 Results:  11 winners, 3 fumbles (78.6 percent)

For the Season:    116 winners, 51 fumbles (69.5 percent)

 

 

ELSEWHERE AROUND FLORIDA:

 

Mississippi Valley State 24, Florida A&M 21 – Attendance in Tallahassee: 12,485

Jacksonville State 34, FIU 31 – Attendance in Jacksonville: 17,688

 

Temple 18, Florida Atlantic 15 (OT) – Attendance in Philadelphia: 12,291

Texas Southern 17, Bethune-Cookman 14 – Attendance in Houston: 6,916

South Florida 39, Charlotte 24 – Attendance in Charlotte: 15,030

 

San Diego 45, Stetson 6 – Attendance in San Diego: 1,996

Valdosta State 28, West Florida  7 – Attendance in Valdosta: 3,833

 

 

Superlatives

 

Impressive Passers:

 

San Jose State’s Walker Eget – 34-50-2 for 446 yards (3TDs); UTSA’s Owen McCown –29-43-1-379 (2TDs); Washington State’s John Mateer – 25-36-0-375 (4TDs); South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers – 21-30-1-353 (5TDs); Pitt’s Nate Yarnell – 34-54-1-350 (1TD), and Georgia’s Carson Beck – 25-40-0-346 (2TDs).

 

Also, Colorado’s Shedeur Sanders – 30-41-1 for 340 yards (3TDs); Maryland’s Billy Edwards – 32-55-1-335 (1TD); Texas State’s Jordan McCloud – 23-28-1-335 (4TDs); Baylor’s Sawyer Robertson – 26-36-0-329 (3TDs); Ball State’s Kadin Semonza – 25-37-1-327 (4TDs), and Syracuse’s Kyle McCord – 29-46-0-323 (1TD).

 

 

Impressive Rushers:

 

North Carolina’s Omarion Hampton – 244 yards (12TD); Miami of Ohio’s Keyon Mozee – 196 yards (1TD); New Mexico’s Devon Dampier – 193 yards (3TDs), and North Texas’ Shane Porter – 193 yards (3TDs).

 

Also, Utah State’s Rahsul Faison – 191 yards (2TDs); UTSA’s Robert Henry – 168 yards (2TDs); Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty – 159 yards (3TDs); Bowling Green’s Terion Stewart – 150 yards (1TD); Missouri’s Nate Noel – 150 yards (1TD), and Liberty’s Quinton Cooley – 147 yards (3TDs).

 

 

Quotes of the Week

 

“Is Tennessee football a CFP team? Maybe, maybe not. Are the Vols a national championship contender? Absolutely not. Not with this offense. What happened to Josh Heupel, once an offensive savant,” USA Today sports columnist Blake Toppmeyer.

 

“Quinn Ewers has become a problem for Texas. Ewers’ pocket presence is not where it needs to be for a player that has spent five years at the collegiate level. He runs himself into sacks far too often and gets happy feet if his early reads aren’t there,” CBS Sports columnist Will Backus.

 

 

Touchdown Tom

https://collegefootballweek.blogspot.com

 

 

P.S.

 

Not exactly college football related, but as the regular season was coming to an end and Thanksgiving turkey and pumpkin pies were almost in the oven, the number one song in the country…

 

…80 years ago, this week in 1943, was “Paper Doll” by The Mills Brothers

 

…75 years ago, this week in 1948, was “Buttons And Bows” by Dinah Shore

 

…70 years ago, this week in 1953, was “Rags To Riches” by Tony Bennett

 

…65 years ago, this week in 1958, was “Tom Dooley” by The Kingston Trio, and “It’s Only Make Believe” by Conway Twitty

 

…60 years ago, this week in 1963, was “Deep Purple” by Nino Tempo and April Stevens, and “I’m Leaving It Up To You” by Dale and Grace

 

…55 years ago, this week in 1968, was “Hey Jude” by The Beatles

 

…50 years ago, this week in 1973, was “Keep On Truckin’” by Eddie Kendricks and, “Photograph” by Ringo Starr

 

…45 years ago, this week in 1978, was “Mac Arthur Park” by Donna Summer

 

…40 years ago, this week in 1983, was “All Night Long (All Night) by Lionel Richie

 

…35 years ago, this week in 1988, was “Bad Medicine” by Bon Jovi