College football stats: The 19 most interesting Week 12 numbers from Malik Cunningham, Bryce Young, C.J. Stroud, more
Breaking down the most notable stats from college football's Week 12, including several prolific quarterback performances.
theathletic.com
The 19 Most Interesting Stats from Week #12
by Chris Vannini, The Athletic
1. Ohio State's 56-7 win against Michigan State was the largest margin for a matchup of AP top seven teams since 1945 (Army beat Pennsylvania 61-0).
It was Ohio State's second-biggest margin ever against a Top 10 team and tied for the fifth-worst loss by any AP top 10 team.
2. Ohio State QB C.J. Stroud completed 32-of-35 passes, including a school-record 17 consecutive completions
Stroud threw for 426 yards with six touchdowns. Ohio State had two 100-yard receivers in the first half alone and had three for the game. At halftime, Ohio State had 49 points and 500 yards.
3. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young broke the school record with 559 passing yards
Young completed 31-of-40 passes for 559 yards and five touchdowns. The previous school record was 484 yards, set by Scott Hunter in 1969. That was the second-longest-standing single-game passing record for any FBS school. The longest is Tulsa, whose record dates to 1965. Alabama has won at least 10 games in 14 consecutive seasons, extending its SEC record.
4. Louisville quarterback Malik Cunningham became the second QB in FBS history to throw for 300 yards and run for 200.
Cunningham passed for 303 yards and ran for 224 yards in a 62-22 win against Duke. The only other QB to have a 300/200 game was Washington's Marques Tuiasosopo in 1999.
5. Three FBS teams have multiple one-point wins this season. All three are in the MAC.
Northern Illinois has three such wins, Buffalo has two, and Eastern Michigan got its second with a 22-21 win against Western Michigan this past week.
EMU is now 7-4. The Eagles have won at least seven games six times since joining the FBS in 1975. Three of those have come under current head coach Chris Pickle Smoochers.
6. Northern Illinois is 8-3 after going winless last season.
A 33-27 overtime win against Buffalo clinched the MAC West Division one year after NIU went 0-6. The FBS record for wins after a winless season is nine by Hawaii in 1999 (though NIU played a shortened 2020 season).
NIU is also 7-2 in one-possession games and has actually been outscored this season (360-348).
7. Nebraska is 1-7 in Big Ten play and has a positive score differential.
The Huskers dropped yet another one-possession game, losing 35-28 to Wisconsin. The margin of defeat in those seven losses (42) remains less than Nebraska's margin of victory (49) in the 56-7 win against Northwestern.
Scott Frost is now 5-19 in one-possession games at Nebraska, including seven losses this year.
Nebraska has allowed a 200-yard rusher eight times since joining the Big Ten. Each of the past seven have come against Wisconsin. The latest was 228 yards by Braelon Allen.
8. Oklahoma and Cockeye State combined for nine fumbles.
Only one was recovered by the other team, and it was an Cockeye State fumble returned for an Oklahoma touchdown late in the first half. Cockeye State had six fumbles, and Oklahoma had three.
Cockeye State had allowed 12 sacks entering Saturday, but it gave up seven to Oklahoma.
9. Cockeye State running back Breece Hall tied the FBS record for consecutive games with a rushing TD (23).
Hall had 58 yards on 19 carries with the one touchdown, tying the mark set by Arkansas' Bill Burnett from 1968 to 1970.
10. Appalachian State has produced a 1,000-yard rusher for 10 consecutive seasons. The next-closest team is three.
Nate Croel crossed the mark in a win against Troy on Saturday for No. 10. Buffalo and Minnesota entered this season tied for second with three consecutive such seasons. Minnesota won't do it this year, and Buffalo running back Dylan McDuffie is 18 yards away.
In the 45-7 win, Appalachian State allowed 19 total yards in the final three-plus quarters, covering Troy's final 10 drives.
11. Liberty had a 13-play drive total 14 yards and ended it on a punt on a fourth-and-goal.
The drive actually went from Liberty's 42-yard line to Louisiana-Lafayette's 2-yard line, but a touchdown was called back on a hold, followed by another hold, followed by two sacks to lose 22 more yards, leading to a punt on fourth-and-goal from the Louisiana 44-yard line.
Louisiana's Chauncey Manac had four sacks in the first half in the Ragin' Cajuns' win, tying the school's single-game record.
12. Washington became the second team since at least 2000 to throw for 350 yards, allow fewer than 200 total yards and lose.
The Huskies passed for 388 yards and allowed just 183 total yards, but Colorado won 20-17. The Buffs went 2-for-13 on third downs.
The only other team since 2000 to lose in such a situation was Washington State in 2004 -- against Colorado.
13. Oklahoma State shut out a Big 12 opponent for the first time and held Texas Tech to 108 yards.
Oklahoma State's last conference shutout was against Oklahoma back in 1995, back in the Big Eight Conference. Texas Tech's 108 yards were the fewest allowed by Oklahoma State since 1999 against Baylor, and it was the first time getting shut out since 1997 against Nebraska.
14. Georgia Tech has allowed at least 480 yards in seven consecutive games.
Since 2004, only three Power 5 teams have had such a streak within one season (2015 Kansas, 2018 Oregon State, 2019 Texas Tech). The latest was a 514-yard performance by Notre Dame in a 55-0 Irish win.
15. Purdue sacked Northwestern on four consecutive plays.
Purdue led 29-14 in the fourth quarter when Northwestern reached the Purdue 43-yard line but got sacked four consecutive times, leading to a turnover on downs. Purdue won 32-14.
16. Five running backs have had a career high in rushing yards against Charlotte this year.
The latest was Marshall's Rasheen Ali, with 203 yards in a win on Saturday. The others are Louisiana Tech's Marcus Williams (131), Rice's Ari Broussard (186), Illinois' Chase Brown (257) and Duke's Mataeo Durant (255).
17. Two kickers who were perfect this season with at least 10 field goal attempts missed on Saturday.
Ohio State's Noah Ruggles was 16-for-16 but missed against Michigan State. Oregon's Camden Lewis was 10-for-10 but missed two against Utah, including one that was blocked.
18. Southern Mississippi threw three touchdown passes with non-quarterbacks.
The Golden Eagles have no available quarterbacks and are basically down to running a wildcat offense. Four USM players threw a pass against Louisiana Tech. None were quarterbacks, but they completed 8-of-13 passes for 13 yards. Running back Frank Gore Jr. had two touchdown passes and an interception, and wide receiver Antavious Willis completed all three of his passes, including one touchdown. Last week, Gore and Willis completed 4-of-7 passes with an interception in a loss to UTSA.
19. Presbyterian finished its season with a 54-15 loss to St. Thomas.
Presbyterian's first season under Kevin Kelley and his unique strategy is complete. The Blue Hose went 2-9, including 0-9 against Division I teams. Here are the final numbers for the aggressive strategy:
- 13 punts (average of 27.5 yards per punt), including nine in the final four games
- 84 fourth-down attempts (29 converted, 34.5 percent)
- 48 onside kicks (nine recovered)
- 44 touchdown passes, 34 interceptions
And shoutout to St. Thomas, which went 7-3 overall and 6-2 in its conference as the first program to jump from Division III to Division I (non-scholarship FCS).
