College football stats: The 19 most interesting Week 6 numbers, from Michigan State's big plays to Alabama's rare loss
The numbers to know from a wild weekend in college football, including more top-10 losses and a big-play turnaround by the Spartans.
theathletic.com
The 19 Most Interesting Stats from Week #6
by Chris Vannini, The Athletic
1. The 40 ranked teams to lose through six weeks are the most through six weeks in the entire AP Poll era (since 1936).
The streak continues. Six more ranked teams lost this week: #1 Alabama, #4 Penn State, #10 BYU, #13 Arkansas, #18 Auburn and #21 Texas, though four of those were to fellow ranked teams.
2. Texas A&M ended Alabama's 100-game winning streak against unranked teams.
The 41-38 Aggies win was Bama's first such loss since 2007 against Louisiana-Monroe. Jimbo Fisher became the first former NIck Saban assistant to beat him, moving Saban to 24-1 in such matchups. It's the first loss by the No. 1 team to an unranked opponent since Oregon State beat USC in 2008.
Alabama had also won 80 consecutive games as a favorite of 10 or more points, according to Brett McMurphy, who adds that Kentucky now has the longest such streak at 38 games.
Texas A&M scored more points on three first-quarter drives against Alabama (17) than it did on 12 first-half drives against Arkansas and Mississippi State combined (16).
3. Cockeye's defense has 10 interceptions in its past two games.
Including the four by Penn State on Saturday, that ties 2001 Miami (FL) for the second-most in a two-game span in the last 25 years, according to ESPN (Mississippi State had 11 in 2002). The Cockeyes have won six consecutive games against ranked opponents, tying the school record set entirely in the 1960 season. Penn State committed eight false starts in the loss, including three in a row at one point by three different players.
4. Oklahoma allowed its most first-quarter points ever, then made the largest Red River Showdown comeback ever in the highest-scoring game in series history.
The Sooners trailed 28-7 after one quarter, including 14-0 two minutes into the game. But Oklahoma worked its way back and won 55-48 on a touchdown with three seconds to play. That surpassed last year's 53-48 Oklahoma win in four overtimes. The Sooners' previous largest comeback in the series was 11 points. Eight consecutive regular-season matchups between Oklahoma and Texas have been decided by one possession, and the Sooners now have the nation's longest winning streak at 14 games because Alabama's 19-game streak ended. Texas' Xavier Worthy had 261 receiving yards, the second most in school history. Texas had been 42-0 since 2004 when leading by 14 points, according to ESPN.
5. Michigan State became the fifth team in FBS history with a 300-yard passer, 200-yard receiver and 200-yard rusher in the same game.
In a 31-13 win at Rutgers, Michigan State's Payton Thorne passed for 339 yards, receiver Jalen Nailor had 221 receiving yards and running back Kenneth Walker III had 233 rushing yards. Nailor had three touchdown receptions that went longer than 60 yards, and Walker had a school-record 94-yard touchdown run. Those four plays of 60-plus yards equal the number MSU has had in the past three years combined.
6. Mississippi and Arkansas combined for 1,287 total yards, including 674 rushing yards.
The Rebels won 52-51, stopping a two-point conversion on the final play. Both teams rushed for at least 320 yards, the first time that's happened in an FBS game since UCF vs. Memphis in 2018. Arkansas' 676 total yards were the fourth-most in school history, and KJ Jefferson became the first Arkansas quarterback with at least two rushing touchdowns twice in a season since at least 1997. Ole Miss has been involved in the last four SEC games in which each team had more than 600 yards.
(A separate shoutout to Texas-San Antonio and Western Kentucky, which combined for 1,234 yards in the Roadrunners' 52-46 win.)
7. Kentucky is 6-0 for the first time in 71 years.
With a 42-21 win against LSU, the Wildcats are 6-0 for the first time since 1950, when Bear Bryant was head coach. The 21-point win was Kentucky's second-largest ever against the Tigers, behind only their 1999 matchup.
8. Wake Forest is 6-0 for the first time in 77 years.
The Demon Deacons beat Syracuse 40-37 in overtime for the victory, moving to 6-0 for the first time since 1944.
9. Georgia has defeated Auburn five consecutive times for the first time since 1944-48.
The Bulldogs have now won 14 of the last 17 in the "Deep South's Oldest Rivalry," after a 34-10 win on Saturday. Auburn had averaged 40 points per game entering Saturday, though t did become the first team to hold a lead against the Bulldogs and scored just the second offensive touchdown allowed by Georgia this season. Georgia has allowed 33 points through six games, its lowest six-game total since 1935 (24), and that includes a pick-six thrown by this year's offense.
10. Mack Brown is 0-8 against Florida State.
North Carolina's 35-25 loss to the Seminoles was the latest. In fairness, six of those came against Bobby Bowden's program, when FSU was typically very good. But the past two have come to Seminole teams with losing records.
11. Colorado State kicker Cayden Camper made six field goals, tied for the most by any FBS player since at least 2000.
The longest was 53 yards in the 32-14 win against San Jose State. The six field goals are also a Mountain West record.
12. Tennessee scored on 11 consecutive first-half drives over the past two games.
That included six touchdowns and a field goal against Missouri last week, then four touchdowns to open Saturday's 45-20 win against South Carolina. The Vols have outscored their opponents 101-13 in the first quarter this year, including scoring 28 points in consecutive first quarters, both Tennessee's most in a quarter since 2000.
13. Ohio State has averaged 59.4 points per game in seven games against Maryland, all since the Terps joined the Big Ten.
The latest was a 66-17 win in Columbus. The fewest points Ohio State has scored in those seven games was 49 in 2015. The Buckeyes have returned an interception for a touchdown in four consecutive games.
14. Through six games, Coastal Carolina quarterback Grayson McCall is on pace to blow past the efficiency record.
McCall has completed 79.8 percent of his passes for 13.6 yards per attempt, both first in the country, with 14 touchdown passes and one interception, for a pass efficiency of 234.2. The NCAA record is 230.4 (Mount Union's D'Angelo Fulford in 2019), and the FBS record is 203.1 (Alabama's Mac Jones last year.)
The Chanticleers have won 18 consecutive regular-season games.
15. Vanderbilt has been outscored 104-0 in two SEC games.
That includes a 62-0 loss to Georgia and a 42-0 loss to Florida on Saturday. The Commodores missed three field goal attempts against the Gaytors.
16. Before this season, there were only 13 documented games with a 32-29 final score in major college football history. There have been three in the past five weeks, and two on Saturday.
Hat tip to Rob Daniels (@oriolesfactoids) for passing this one along. Two of those were Notre Dame wins against Toledo and then against Virginia Tech on Saturday, as well as Michigan's win against Nebraska on Saturday.
17. Memphis missed three field goals and an extra point and lost 35-29 to Tulsa.
David Kemp missed field goals of 36 and 53 yards as well as the extra point. Then Joy Doyle missed a 48-yarder in the second half with the chance to take the lead.
18. UMass won for the first time in 742 days.
The Minutemen beat UConn 27-13 to end a 16-game losing streak dating back to September 2019 against Akron. The Huskies, meanwhile, have now lost 11 in a row.
19. Presbyterian attempted five onside kicks and recovered two.
Your weekly update on the Blue Hose, which lost 38-30 to Morehead State to fall to 2-3 overall (0-3 vs. FCS).
- Converted 4-of-12 fourth down attempts
- Converted 3-of-4 two-point attempts after touchdowns
- Quarterback Ren Hefley completed 50-of-80 passes for 551 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions with six sacks.
