College football stats: The 19 most interesting Week 10 numbers from Tennessee-Kentucky, UNC-Wake Forest and more
Kentucky's staggering possession time in a loss, a UNC-Wake shootout, another Purdue top-five upset and more numbers to know.
theathletic.com
The 19 Most Interesting Stats from Week #10
by Chris Vannini, The Athletic
1. Kentucky unofficially became the third team to possess the ball for 45 minutes, but it still lost to Tennessee
Michigan State set what it believes to be a time-of-possession record in 2017, when it held the ball for 47:50 in a 40-7 win against Rutgers. Air Force held the ball for 45:14 in a 58-7 win against Hawaii in 2015.
On Saturday, Kentucky had the ball for 46:08 in a 45-42 loss. The Vols scored 45 points on 47 plays. Kentucky had 35 first downs and 99 plays and never punted, but the Vols still won.
2. Alabama rushed for 6 yards against LSU, tied for its lowest official total ever
The Crimson Tide had more penalties (nine) than rushing yards (6 on 26 carries). It also had 6 rushing yards against Penn State in 1990. Alabama did have minus-45 rushing yards against Missouri in the 1968 Gator Bowl, but bowl stats weren't official at the time.
The game also ended Alabama's FBS-record streak of 34 consecutive games with at least 30 points with their 20-14 win over the Tigers.
3. Purdue has 17 wins against AP top-five opponents while unranked, six more than anyone else in college football history
The Boilermakers beat No. 3 Michigan State 40-29 for their second such win this season, to go with the win against No. 2 Cockeye last month. USC and Illinois have 11 such wins in their history. Purdue is 6-12 all-time against AP ranked Michigan State teams, but are 5-6 when MSU is in the top five.
Purdue quarterback Aidan O'Connell completed 40-of-54 passes for 536 yards and three touchdowns, the second-most yards ever allowed by MSU, behind only Bryce Petty's 550 yards for Baylor in the 2015 Cotton Bowl. Purdue wide receiver David Bell had 11 catches for 217 yards and a touchdown.
4. Georgia has allowed 59 points in nine games this season. Wake Forest allowed 58 on Saturday in its first loss.
The Bulldogs' latest romp was a 43-6 win against Missouri. Georgia's 59 points allowed through nine games are its fewest since 1971 (53) and the fewest by any team since 1993 Florida State (58). The Bulldogs have held eight of nine opponents to their lowest scoring output of the year.
5. North Carolina allowed 55 points to Wake Forest, its most points allowed in a win. It surpasses the record set last year, also against Wake Forest
The Tar Heels beat Wake Forest 58-55 on Saturday and set a record. That surpasses last year's record, set in a 59-53 win against the Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest quarterback Sam Hartman was responsible for seven touchdowns, a new school record, breaking his own record of six against Army earlier this year. Hartman has 907 yards of total offense and 12 touchdowns in two career games against UNC, but he lost both games.
In a strange quirk, North Carolina played Notre Dame and Wake Forest in in consecutive games in both 2020 and 2021. Last year, they were both conference games. This year, they were both nonconference games.
6. Arizona and UNLV both won, meaning there are no more winless teams this year.
Arizona beat California 10-3 to end its 20-game losing streak, and UNLV beat New Mexico 31-17 to end its 14-game losing streak. Both Arizona's Jedd Fisch and UNLV's Marcus Arroyo picked up their first wins as college head coaches. Fisch is in his first season and Arroyo is in his second.
The new longest losing streaks belong to Kansas, Arkansas State and Florida International, all at eight games.
7. Nebraska has outscored Big Ten opponents 190-176 but is 1-6 in Big Ten play
The Huskers' 26-17 loss to Ohio State was their first loss by multiple possessions this year. Those losses go with a 56-7 win against Northwestern. Nebraska has also outscored all opponents by 77 points but is 3-7 overall.
8. Army and Air Force both had more passing yards than rushing yards against each other.
Army's 21-14 overtime win was a surprising battle of passing games. The Black Knights completed 8-of-13 passes for 214 yards, their most in an FBS win since 2004. Air Force threw 23 passes for 226 yards, its most attempts in a game since 2019 and eight more than any other game this season.
It was the first time since at least 2000 that both teams threw for 200 yards against each other.
Army ran the ball 43 times for 108 yards, and the 2.5 yards-per-carry average was its lowest rushing average in a game since 2015 against Duke (2.3).
9. South Florida's Brian Battie became the second player in FBS history with two 100-yard kickoff return touchdowns in a game.
Battie went 100 yards untouched on both returns in a 54-42 loss to Houston, giving him three kickoff return touchdowns this season. The sophomore entered Saturday No. 21 nationally in kickoff return average. Utah's Reggie Dunn had two 100-yard kick return touchdowns in 2012 against California.
10. South Carolina hadn't scored more than 23 points against an FBS team this year before beating Florida 40-17.
It's the most points the Gamecocks have ever scored on the Gators. Florida entered the game averaging 6.07 yards per carry, second-best in the country, but South Carolina held the Gators to 3.2 per carry Saturday. South Carolina is the first team to outgain Florida in total yards this year.
11. Steve Sarkisian is the first Texas coach to lose four consecutive games in his first season.
Hat tip to the Austin American-Statesman's Danny Davis, who notes Dana X. Bible had a 0-4-1 stretch in his first season. Texas lost 30-7 to Cockeye State, the Longhorns' third consecutive loss to the Cyclones.
12. Pittsburgh has scored at least 50 points four times in a season for the first time since 1905.
The latest was a 54-29 win against Duke. The Panthers did it five times in 1905. Pitt's 636 yards on Saturday were the sixth-most in program history, and it's the first time the Panthers have hit the 600 yard mark twice in one season.
13. TCU quarterback Chandler Morris had the second-most total yards of offense in school history, and it was his first career start.
Morris completed 29-of-41 passes for 461 yards and two touchdowns, and he added 70 yards and a touchdown on the ground in a 30-28 win against Baylor. That's 531 yards, and he also had a 7-yard catch.
14. Northern Illinois' Trayvon Rudolph became the first player to have 300 receiving yards in a loss since 2012.
Rudolph had 309 yards on 14 catches with three touchdowns in a 52-47 loss to Kent State.
15. Indiana hasn't thrown a touchdown to a wide receiver in an FBS game this season.
The Hoosiers have thrown for eight touchdowns this year. Five have come against FBS opponents. Tight end Peyton Hendershot has four of them, and running back Stephen Carr has the other. The Hoosiers' only touchdown in a 29-7 loss to Michigan on Saturday came on a run.
16. San Diego State punter/kicker Matt Araiza set a new NCAA record with his 15th punt of at least 60 yards.
Araiza had a 79-yarder against Hawaii, marking his sixth punt of at least 70 yards. Araiza's 51.95 average punt yardage is still on pace to break the NCAA record (50.98).
17. Two brothers intercepted passes for Boise State, and it's believed to be the second such instance in NCAA history.
Kaonohi and Kekaula Kaniho both had an interception in a 40-14 win at No. 23 Fresno State. Boise State's sports information staff could find only one other instance.
18. Middle Tennessee State entered Saturday ranked No. 1 in turnover margin per game, then turned the ball over seven times against Western Kentucky.
The Blue Raiders had a plus-14 margin in the first eight games. Now it's plus-seven. WKU finished with six interceptions in a 48-21 win, along with a fumble recovery.
In nine games, WKU quarterback Bailey Zappe has 3,688 passing yards and wide receiver Jerreth Sterns has 104 catches for 1,276 yards. Zappe's 281 yards against MTSU were 84 fewer than his previous lowest outing this year.
19. Albany State beat Fort Valley State 57-0, matching the No. 57 jersey number of linebacker Adonis Butler, who died earlier in the week.
Albany State athletic director Tony Duckworth passed along this photo from the game. Not only did ASU win 57-0, but if you add up the remaining numbers on the scoreboard at the end of the game, it totaled 57. A touching way to end a difficult week.
