College football stats: The 18 most interesting Week 9 numbers, from BYU-Virginia to Marcus Jones to Kenneth Walker III
BYU and Virginia combined for 119 points, Houston's Marcus Jones tied the special teams TD record and more Week 9 stats to know.
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The 18 Most Interesting Stats from Week #9
by Chris Vannini, The Athletic
1. Michigan State running back Kenneth Walker III had five rushing touchdowns, the most ever by a player against Michigan
Walker finished with 208 total yards on 26 touches, with the five rushing touchdowns. With the win, Mel Tucker became the first Michigan State coach to win his first two games against the Wolverines. Jim Harbaugh dropped to 2-13 against Top 10 teams at Michigan and 2-9 against ranked opponents on the road. He's also 3-9 against rivals Michigan State (3-4) and Ohio State (0-5). Michigan has lost 23 of its past 25 games against Top 10 teams.
The Wolverines are 89-1 when leading by at least 16 points in the second half since 2004, according to ESPN. This was loss No. 2.
2. Georgia's defense has scored three touchdowns and allowed five this season.
The Bulldogs defense scored one on a pick six and allowed one touchdown in a 34-7 win against Florida. That lone score came with 2:49 left in the game. Georgia has outscored its opponents by 250 points through eight games, its best such mark since 1910. Its 53 points allowed are the fewest points allowed through eight games by any team since 1993 Florida State.
In a span of 135 seconds, Georgia scored 21 points while running two offensive plays. That included two one-play touchdown drives after turnovers and a pick-six.
Georgia has also clinched a spot in the SEC Championship Game, tying the earliest division title in league history (Auburn 2004, Alabama 1993).
3. Florida has outgained its opponents in every game but is 4-4.
A good indicator of how total yardage doesn't really matter without context, given Saturday's blowout loss to Georgia. The Gators outgained Georgia 355-354 and lost 34-7. Dan Mullen and Florida are now 2-7 against ranked opponents since 2019 and 4-7 in their past 11 games overall.
4. BYU and Virginia combined for 1,322 yards of offense in a 66-49 Cougars win.
The teams combined for five touchdowns of 30-plus yards in the second quarter, the only time that's happened in a quarter in the FBS this season, per Pro Football Focus. The 80 combined points in the first half made for the highest-scoring half in the FBS this year.
BYU running back Tyler Allgeier's 266 rushing yards were the third-most in school history, and his five touchdowns tied for the most. He averaged 9.2 yards per carry.
BYU is 5-1 against Power 5 teams this year, and the 66 points are the Cougars' most ever against a power-conference team and the most allowed by Virginia since a 68-0 loss to Texas in 1977. The 49 points were the most ever scored by Virginia in a loss.
5. Houston's Marcus Jones has nine career special teams return touchdowns, tying the NCAA record. That includes a kick return TD in consecutive games.
He returned one kick for a TD against East Carolina last week and then another against Southern Methodist on Saturday with 17 seconds to play, giving Houston a 44-37 win. He has four return touchdowns this season (two kick, two punt) and nine in his career (six kick, three punt). That ties him with Boise State's Avery Williams and Washington's Dante Pettis for the NCAA record.
6. Kansas State defensive end Felix Anudike-Uzomah had an FBS-record-tying six sacks in a win against TCU -- but two sacks were later retracted on a technicality.
Two of the sacks resulted in fumbles that went beyond the line of scrimmage, technically making them rushes. By rule, that doesn't count as a sack, so Anudike-Uzomah was credited with merely four sacks and two forced fumbles in the end.
7. Navy beat Tulsa without completing a pass.
The Midshipmen attempted four without a completion and won 20-17. They rushed for 302 yards on 60 carries. It's the second time this year a team won without a pass completion. Army did the same on Sept. 25 against Miami (OH). Before that, the last time was Georgia Tech in 2018.
8. Nebraska averaged 9.3 yards per play on first down and lost to Purdue.
Nebraska had 279 yards on first down and 120 yards on all other downs, but the Huskers lost 28-23 to a Purdue team that averaged 4.05 yards per play. How? Quarterback Adrian Martinez threw four interceptions, while Purdue didn't turn the ball over. One of those interceptions was returned for a touchdown.
9. Bowling Green scored more points after head coach Scot Loeffler's third-quarter ejection than in any full game in nearly two years.
Bowling Green led 28-23 when Loeffler, who calls offensive plays, was ejected for two unsportsmanlike-conduct penalties for yelling at the refs. The Falcons scored 28 points the rest of the way in a 56-44 win. Those 28 alone were more than Bowling Green had scored in a game since Nov. 2, 2019, against Akron (35).
10. UTEP is 0-26-1 all-time in the Eastern Time Zone.
The Miners brought a 6-1 record to Florida Atlantic but were double-digit underdogs. A late Miners rally made the game close, but FAU won 28-25.
11. Texas has blown a double-digit second-half lead and lost in three consecutive games.
That includes a 41-23 lead against Oklahoma, a 24-13 lead against Oklahoma State and then 21-10 against Baylor on Saturday. Steve Sarkisian has already lost by a bigger margin than Tom Herman ever did at UT, lost more consecutive games than Herman ever did and blown a bigger lead than Herman ever did.
12. Mississippi State QB Will Rogers set an SEC record (minimum 30 attempts) by completing 92.3 percent of his passes.
Rogers completed 36-of-39 passes for 344 yards and one touchdown in a 31-17 win against Kentucky.
13. Appalachian State defensive end Caleb Spurlin had two touchdown catches.
Spurlin, who had 1.5 sacks against Coastal Carolina last week, caught two goal-line touchdown passes for two total yards in a 59-28 win against Louisiana-Monroe. Spurlin had two catches last year as well, for two more short touchdowns. That means he has four career catches for four touchdowns.
14. Wake Forest is 8-0 for the first time ever after a 45-7 win against Duke.
The Demon Deacons are the only team in the country to score 35 points in every game this year. Wake Forest is 5-0 in conference play for the first time ever.
15. Wisconsin held Cockeye to 17 total yards in the first half of a 27-7 win.
The Cockeyes had minus-1 total yards midway through the second quarter, including minus-13 rushing yards. The Badgers had more points in the first half (20) than Cockeye had yards. The Cockeyes finished the game with 24 rushing yards and a 0.8 per-carry average, its fourth-lowest average in a game since 2006.
16. Syracuse running back Sean Tucker has seven consecutive 100-yard rushing games.
He rushed for 207 yards in a 21-6 win over Boston College. His seven consecutive 100-yard games tie the school record and his 1,267 yards through nine games is the third-best single-season rushing total in school history.
17. Middle Tennessee State and Southern Mississippi combined for nine turnovers.
MTSU had four and USM had five in a 35-10 Blue Raiders win. MTSU scored touchdowns on a blocked punt, a fumble return, an interception return and two rushing plays.
18. Arizona scored 20 points for the first time this season.
USC won 41-34, but Arizona's previous season high for points was 19 points.
