1. Georgia's defense has 15 sacks in its past two games
The Bulldogs had a school-record eight against Cincinnati in last season's Peach Bowl and seven in Saturday's 10-3 win against Clemson. With sacks included, Georgia held Clemson to 2 rushing yards.
The 2 rushing yards were Clemson's fewest since it had zero against Alabama in 2008, and the seven sacks allowed were the most since 2007 against Georgia Tech, according to Sports Reference. It's the third time in three seasons the Dawgs allowed 2 rushing yards or fewer (Tennessee's minus-1 in 2020 and Texas A&M's minus-2 in 2019).
2. Alabama is 11-0 in neutral-site openers under Nick Saban, winning by an average of 25.8 points per game.
That average score is 38-6 to 12.8, and only two of those 11 opponents have cracked 20 points. The latest blowout was a 44-13 win vs. Miami (FL) in Atlanta. The two teams to hit 20 points were Virginia Tech in 2009 and West Virginia in 2014. Saturday may mark the end of these Alabama neutral-site games for now as the Crimson Tide have several nonconference home-and-home series scheduled in the coming years.
3. Oklahoma kicker Gabe Brkic tied an FBS record with three field goals of at least 50 yards.
Brkic hit from 51, 56 and 55 yards, and they were needed in a 40-35 win against Tulane. No Oklahoma kicker had ever made more than one such field goal in a game. He also made a 26-yarder and missed a 31-yarder. Brkic has made at least two field goals in eight consecutive games.
4. Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud averaged 47.2 yards per completion in the second half against Minnesota.
Those five completions went for 11, 38, 56, 70 and 61 yards. In total, he was 13-of-22 for 294 yards with four touchdowns and one interception in a 45-31 win. Ohio State's 10.3 yards per play set a school record, surpassing its 10.2 yards per play at Virginia Tech in 2015.
5. Wisconsin ran 95 plays and scored just 10 points, the third team to do that since at least 2000.
In a 16-10 loss to Penn State, the Badgers held the ball for 42 minutes and 24 seconds but averaged just 3.8 yards per play, committed three turnovers and scored just once in four red zone trips. The loss snapped Wisconsin's 25-game home opener winning streak dating back to 1995, the second-longest in the FBS.
6. FCS teams already have six wins against FBS teams, more than the 2020 and 2019 seasons combined.
Since there were 10 FCS-over-FBS results in 2016, the number had dropped each successive year, down to two last year (largely due to COVID-19 and fewer matchups), according to NCAA.com. Since 2000, the most wins in one season was 16 (2013 and 2000).
7. Eastern Washington leads all Washington teams in FBS wins.
The FCS program defeated UNLV in double overtime on Thursday, while Washington lost to Montana and Washington State lost to Utah State. Eastern Washington has four road wins against FBS teams in the past decade, which is twice as many as Kansas. Utah State's win was its first road victory against a power conference team in 50 years (Kansas State, 1971).
8. Montana's win against No. 20 Washington was the fifth time an FCS team beat a ranked FBS team since Division I split in 1978.
The others were North Dakota State vs. No. 13 Cockeye (2016), Eastern Washington vs. No. 25 Oregon State (2013), James Madison vs. No. 13 Virginia Tech (2010) and Appalachian State vs. No. 5 Michigan (2007).
The good news for Washington: The other four FBS teams all finished with winning records.
9. North Carolina quarterback Sam Howell had thrown 19 touchdowns and zero interceptions in the fourth quarter entering this season, but he had two fourth quarter interceptions at Virginia Tech.
Howell completed 53.1 percent of his passes, the fourth-lowest completion percentage of his career with his lowest pass efficiency rating (99.3). The Tar Heels are 1-4 in their past five games as a Top 10 team.
10. Cockeye State has allowed 16 total second-half points in its past six games.
Those six games: Kansas State (0), Texas (7), West Virginia (6), Oklahoma (3), Oregon (0), and Northern Cockeye (0).
The Cyclones had yet another scare with the Panthers on Saturday. Under Matt Campbell, Cockeye State has the following results against Northern Cockeye:
2016: 25-20 loss
2017: 42-24 win
2019: 29-26 win (triple overtime)
2020: 16-10 win
11. Cockeye has won seven consecutive Big Ten games by an average score of 35.4 to 12.7
The latest was a 34-6 win against Indiana. Defensive back Riley Moss had two pick sixes in the first half.
12. Rutgers racked up 61 points on just 365 yards in a 61-14 win against Temple, the fewest total yards by a 60-point team since 2002.
The Scarlet Knights had six scoring drives of fewer than 30 yards, thanks to five Temple turnovers. The last team to put up final numbers like that was Kansas State against Eastern Illinois in a 63-13 win in 2002.
13. Florida International running back D'vonte Price ran for 165 yards and three touchdowns on just five carries.
That's the most yards for someone with five or fewer carries since at least 2000. FIU beat Long Island 48-10.
14. Louisiana-Monroe led in a game for the first time since 2019, spanning 10-plus games and 40 quarters.
The WarHawks went 0-10 last year, failing to take a lead in any game. On Saturday, they took a 7-0 lead at Kentucky before losing 45-10.
15. Mississippi State and Central Florida completed their largest comebacks in school history.
Mississippi State trailed Louisiana Tech 34-14 in the fourth quarter but rallied to win 35-34. UCF trailed Boise State 21-0 in the second quarter and rallied to win 36-31.
16. Fordham linebacker Ryan Greenhagen had 30 tackles in a loss at Nebraska, the most by any player against an FBS team since at least 2000.
NCAA defensive statistics became official in 2000. The 30 tackles tied the overall Division I record, which happened three other times at the FCS level. No other player in Saturday's game had more than eight tackles.
Fordham lost 52-7 but scored its first touchdown against a power conference team since 1954 (Syracuse).
17. A Michigan State running back scored a rushing touchdown for the first time since 2019.
That spanned more than 11 games, including all six in 2020 and the last four and a half of 2019. The drought ended quickly as Kenneth Walker III went 75 yards for a touchdown on the first play from scrimmage in a 38-21 win at Northwestern on Friday.
Walker finished with 264 yards and four rushing touchdowns, becoming the first MSU player with at least 250 yards and four TDs since 1971 when Eric Allen set the MSU single-game rushing record.
18. Kansas won a game for the first time in 677 days.
The 17-14 win against South Dakota ended a 13-game losing streak. The Jayhawks allowed their fewest yards (262) in any game since 2016 against Rhode Island.
19. Presbyterian attempted 10 onside kicks, recovering one.
Quarterback Ren Hefley threw an FCS-record 10 touchdowns in an 84-43 win against NAIA program St. Andrews of North Carolina. Presbyterian of South Carolina finished with 814 total yards and averaged 8.7 yards per play. It was the debut for coach Kevin Kelley, who became famous at the high school level for never punting and attempting fourth downs, two-point conversions and onside kicks.
Presbyterian did not punt, converted four-of-five fourth-down attempts and converted three-of-6 two-point attempts. The Blue Hose onside kicked 10 times, recovering only the opening kickoff of the game.
