College football stats: The 19 most interesting Week 8 numbers, from 126 points in Wake Forest-Army to 9-OT Illinois win
What looked like a down slate of college football games still had plenty of exciting finishes and interesting numbers
theathletic.com
The 19 Most Interesting Stats from Week #8
by Chris Vannini, The Athletic
1. Wake Forest had six touchdowns of at least 40 yards in a 70-56 win at Army.
Those touchdowns included a 41-yard pass, a 54-yard pass, a 75-yard pass, an 83-yard interception return, a 75-yard pass, and a 46-yard run. Army also had a 71-yard touchdown run and a 39-yard touchdown pass.
Wake Forest finished with 638 yards on just 52 plays for averages of 12.2 yards per play and 1.3 points per play. The Demon Deacons had just 17:17 time of possession, meaning they averaged a point every 14.8 seconds. Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman completed 23-of-29 passes for 458 yards and five touchdowns.
It was the highest-scoring game in the history of both schools and the most points Army has scored against a ranked team since 1945. The over/under for this game was 53 points. Both teams hit the over on their own.
Wake Forest is now 7-0 for the first time since 1944.
2. Illinois and Penn State combined to miss 10 consecutive two-point attempts in an overtime shootout.
After trading field goals in the first and second overtimes, the teams moved to the shootout rule. They each missed their first five, then both converted their sixth, and only Illinois converted the seventh to secure a 20-18 win in nine overtimes. It was technically the most overtimes in a game in NCAA history, though this shootout rule only began in 2019.
Illinois passed for just 38 yards but ran for 357, as Chase Brown became the first Illini player to rush for 200 yards against a ranked opponent, with 33 carries for 223 yards.
This game had nine "overtimes" but still went under the point total of 46. It also wasn't the only game with a bunch of overtimes, as Princeton beat Harvard 18-16 in five overtimes.
3. Ohio State has scored on 18 consecutive first-half drives that didn't end the half, and 22 of the past 23.
That's over the past four games and includes 16 touchdowns out of those 18 scores. The Buckeyes scored touchdowns on all six first-half drives in a 54-7 win at Indiana on Saturday. The Buckeyes have scored at least 50 points in four consecutive games. It's tied for the longest streak in the Big Ten since Michigan in 1903 and the third time in the past seven years Ohio State has done so (2014, 2017).
4. Oregon running back Travis Dye scored a rushing touchdown on four consecutive carries, an FBS record.
Dye had just 35 yards on 14 carries and a long of 6 yards, but he found the end zone four times on runs of 1, 4, 1 and 5 yards in a 34-31 win at UCLA. Another Oregon note: Seven different receivers have led the Ducks in receiving in seven games.
5. Nevada quarterback Carson Strong became the first FBS player since at least 2000 to throw at least 60 passes and complete 80 percent of them.
Strong completed 49-of-61 passes for 476 yards, four touchdowns and one interception in a 34-32 loss at Fresno State.
6. Alabama is 27-of-36 on third downs over the past two weeks.
That includes 15-of-20 against Tennessee on Saturday and 12-for-16 against Mississippi State last week. The Tide have scored at least 30 points in 34 consecutive games, extending their current FBS record.
7. Oklahoma ran just 17 plays in the first half against Kansas.
The Sooners trailed Kansas for most of the game but came back for a 35-23 win. Oklahoma had just three possessions and 78 yards with zero points in the first half, then had 320 yards in the second half.
8. Clemson suffered its worst ACC loss since 2014.
Pittsburgh beat the Tigers 27-17, Clemson's largest margin of defeat in an ACC game since Georgia Tech won 28-6 in 2014. Pitt QB Kenny Picket's 879 completions for his career are a school record, and he's one touchdown away from Dan Marino's school record.
9. Cockeye State head coach Matt Campbell has now defeated every Big 12 team at home and on the road.
He's the first coach in Cockeye State history to do that. The latest was a 24-21 win against No. 8 Oklahoma State. Campbell now has 10 wins against ranked teams at Cockeye State. The program had 17 total before he arrived. He's 4-4 against Top 10 opponents.
10. Wisconsin held Purdue to minus-13 rushing yards (including sacks) in a 30-13 win.
The Badgers sacked Purdue quarterbacks six times, and Aidan O'Connell had minus-35 rushing yards. Wisconsin has defeated Purdue 15 consecutive times dating back to 2004 (the infamous Kyle Orton fumble game).
The minus-13 rushing yards are the second-fewest by an FBS team this season, ahead of only Colorado's minus-19 against Minnesota.
Wisconsin threw just two passes in the second half and didn't complete one in the final 44:16.
11. There has been a 99-yard touchdown in three consecutive weeks, and Arkansas State has given up two of them.
Two weeks ago, Coastal Carolina had a 99-yard TD pass against Arkansas State. Last week, Ohio had a 99-yard QB run against Buffalo. On Thursday night, Louisiana-Lafayette had a 99-yard TD run against the Red Wolves. The Arkansas State defense has allowed eight plays of at least 70 yards this year. No other team had allowed more than three entering Saturday.
Louisiana-Lafayette also ran off the final 10:26 of game clock on a 20-play drive to secure the one-point win.
12. Appalachian State wide receiver Thomas Hennigan broke an FBS record with his 58th career start.
Clemson offensive lineman Mitch Hyatt and Alabama offensive lineman Ross Pierschbacher each started 57 times from 2015 to 2018. Hennigan, however, is in his fifth season as a starter thanks to the NCAA COVID-19 waiver, so perhaps there should be an asterisk on this record. Hennigan has also tied the school record for catches (208).
13. Alabama-Birmingham lost a home conference game for the first time since 2014, falling 30-24 to Rice.
The Blazers had been 15-0 at home in Conference USA games since returning to play in 2017. They didn't play from 2015-16 after the program was briefly shut down.
14. San Diego State punter Matt Araiza had his second 80-yard punt in as many weeks.
Araiza had an 86-yard punt against San Jose State last week and an 81-yarder in a win against Air Force on Saturday. Araiza averages 54 yards per punt, which would break the NCAA record.
15. South Florida ran 60 more plays than Temple in a 34-14 win, including the most rush attempts by a non-option team since 2017.
The Bulls ran 94 plays, including 73 runs, while Temple had just 34 plays. USF ran for a school-record 421 yards, and those 73 rush attempts were the most by a non-option team since USF had 74 rushes against San Jose State in 2017.
16. Cincinnati and Navy both attempted a field goal within a 10-second span.
The Midshipmen lined up for a 51-yard field goal with 10 seconds left in the first half. Cincinnati blocked and returned it 20 yards, then kicked and made a 52-yard field goal as the first half expired.
17. Western Kentucky receiver Jerreth Sterns has 60 catches in the past four games.
He had 14 catches in a win against Florida International on Saturday, following games with 13, 16 and 17 in the previous three weeks, totaling 717 yards and six touchdowns in that span.
18. Central Florida held Memphis to 3.69 yards per play in a 24-7 win, Memphis' fewest in a game since 2015.
A year ago, these two same teams totaled 1,501 yards in a shootout, and Memphis averaged 7.4 yards per play. On Saturday, the two combined for 587 yards.
19. Presbyterian has punted just five times this season and allowed nine points directly off them.
The Blue Hose, who famously almost never punt under first-year head coach Kevin Kelley, have attempted just a few. One earlier this season resulted in a safety. On Saturday, a punt attempt hit a Presbyterian player and was returned by San Diego for a touchdown in a 69-28 USD win.
Presbyterian converted one of five fourth-down attempts, turned the ball over four times and attempted only one onside kick. This season, Presbyterian has recovered just six of 30 onside kick attempts. The Blue Hose have also allowed at least 63 points in four of their five FCS games and have 28 turnovers in seven total games.
