NCAA Football Weekend of 11.16
NCAA Football Top Ten-Weekend of Nov. 16, 2013
The #9 Missouri Tigers were the only Top 10 team that had off this week. Missouri will not play again until Saturday, Nov. 23 when they go on the road to face Ole Miss, a team who pulled off a stunning 27-24 upset over the #6 ranked LSU Tigers back on Oct. 19.
Thursday, Nov. 14
#8 Clemson 55 vs. Georgia Tech 31
Once again, Tajh Boyd led Clemson to victory with his arm. Boyd completed 20 of 26 passes for 340-yards and four touchdown passes and added another score on the ground. The Tigers had two receivers go over the 100-yard mark as Martavis Bryant caught five passes for 176-yards and scored a touchdown from 76-yards out while Sammy Watkins made five receptions for 104-yards and two touchdowns. The Yellow Jackets gained 440-yards of total offense with 248 of them coming on the ground. Running back Robert Godhigh gained 126-yards on only 12 carries and scored two touchdowns, including one from 65-yards out. Godhigh also caught five passes for 103-yards.
Saturday, Nov. 16
#1 Alabama 20 @ Mississippi State 7
Alabama found themselves in a grind against the Mississippi State Bulldogs as the Tide committed four turnovers and managed to score only 20 points, their lowest point output since last seasons’ 21-17 victory over LSU. The offense did come up with the key plays when they needed them as T.J. Yeldon gained 160-yards on 24 carries and his power running set up A.J. McCarron as he overcame two interceptions by throwing two touchdown passes. On the other side of the ball, Alabama held Mississippi State to a total of 53-yards rushing as well as 197 total yards and 10 first downs.
#2 Florida State 59 vs. Syracuse 3
The Florida State offense never missed a beat against Syracuse as they rolled up 523 total yards and seven touchdowns despite the Orange holding the advantage in time of possession (41:42-18:18). Jameis Winston completed 19 of 21 passes for 277-yards and two touchdown passes while backup Sean McGuire threw one of his own. The Noles gained a total of 225-yards on the ground while scoring four touchdowns, including two from James Wilder, Jr. and a 74-yard lightning bolt that came courtesy of Levonte Whitfield. Florida State’s defense held Syracuse to 247-yards of total offense, a single field goal, and scored the Noles eighth touchdown when Chris Casher recovered a fumble and ran into the end zone from 31-yards out for the icing on the cake.
#3 Ohio State 60 @ Illinois 35
Braxton Miller helped the Buckeyes jump out to a 28-0 lead as he threw two touchdown passes and ran for another from 70-yards out. Bradley Roby also intercepted a pass and ran it back from 63-yards out. At that point, many people believed that the rout was on, but the Illini refused to be blown out. Nathan Scheelhaase threw two touchdown passes and ran for another. The Illinois special teams made a contribution when V’Angelo Bentley scored on a 67-yard punt return. Illinois pulled within striking distance on a few occasions, but Carlos Hyde scored a pair of long touchdowns in the fourth quarter to put the game away.
Both teams combined for over 1,000-yards of total offense, 49 first downs, and 11 touchdowns. Ohio State ran for a total of 441-yards as a bulk of it came courtesy of Carlos Hyde, who gained 246-yards on 24 carries with four touchdowns while Miller gained 184-yards on 16 carries. Nathan Scheelhaase single handedly brought the Illini back with his arm and legs as he completed 33 of 50 passes for 288-yards while running for 46 more yards.
USC 20 vs. #4 Stanford 17
The Trojans built a 17-7 lead as quarterback Cody Kessler led two scoring drives with one of which including a nine play, 63-yard drive which ended with him throwing a touchdown pass to fullback Soma Vainuku. Kessler completed 25 of 37 passes for 288-yards in the game, but this did not keep Stanford from mounting a comeback as running back Tyler Gaffney scored two touchdowns while rushing for 158-yards on 24 carries. With just over three minutes remaining, the game was tied at 17 and Kessler worked the offense into field goal range by leading a nine play drive. Andre Heidari calmly made the 47-yard field goal attempt with 19 seconds remaining as USC pulled off an improbable upset of the Cardinal.
#5 Baylor 63 vs. Texas Tech 34 (Cowboys Stadium-Arlington, Texas)
One team stayed with the other as the Bears held a 21-20 lead after the first quarter. Baylor quarterback Bryce Petty threw for two touchdown passes, including one to Levi Norwood, who made seven receptions for 156-yards while returning a punt for a 58-yard touchdown. Baker Mayfield threw for two touchdowns as well and running back added a scoring pass of his own. Mayfield went on to complete 28 of 51 passes for 314-yards and an overall total of four touchdown passes, but Baylor humbled the Red Raiders for the rest of the game, outscoring them 42-14. Petty completed 17 of 31 passes for 331-yards and three touchdown passes while the Bears rushed for 340-yards. Shock Linwood gained 187-yards on 29 carries while scoring a touchdown while Devin Chafin gained 100-yards on only 11 carries and added two touchdowns of his own, including a 47-yarder.
#6 Oregon 44 vs. Utah 21
Marcus Mariota completed 19 of 26 passes for 288-yards and three touchdown passes while Byron Marshall scored two touchdowns as the Ducks gained a total of 433-yards on offense. Oregon’s special teams scored when De’Anthony Thomas ran a kickoff all the way to the end zone from 86-yards out to start a string of 27 unanswered points which put Utah away. Utes quarterback Adam Schulz did throw for a touchdown and ran for another, but he was inconsistent during the game, completing only 13 of 30 passes.
#7 Auburn 43 vs. #25 Georgia 38
Auburn jumped out to a 27-7 lead behind three rushing touchdowns, two came from Nick Marshall and Tre Mason and Marshall’s second score helped the Tigers build a 37-17 fourth quarter lead. Georgia mounted a comeback as Aaron Murray threw for two touchdowns and ran for another to give the Bulldogs took a one point lead. With 1:49 remaining, Auburn had time for one final drive for the game winning score. All hope seemed lost when the Tigers were faced with a fourth and 18 at their own 27-yard line with time running out. Marshall threw up a prayer and when his pass landed, two Georgia defenders tipped the ball and it fell into the hands of Ricardo Louis, who raced into the end zone to complete the 73-yard touchdown with 25 seconds remaining.
Nick Marshall completed 15 of 26 passes for 229-yards with the game winning Hail Mary touchdown pass and he also ran for 89-yards. Tre Mason rushed for 116-yards on 25 carries and Ricardo Louis racked up 131-yards on only four receptions. Aaron Murray completed 33 of 49 passes for 415-yards.
#10 South Carolina 19 vs. Florida 14
The Gators stuck with the Gamecocks and they built a 14-6 lead first half lead behind two touchdown runs by Kelvin Taylor, who carried 21 times for 96 yards. Freshman quarterback Skyler Mornhinweg started for Florida and he completed 10 of 13 passes in helping the offense move efficiently down the field in the early going. However, the much more experienced South Carolina squad would turn it up a notch in the second half and get the necessary points that they needed. Connor Shaw threw a 32-yard touchdown pass to Bruce Ellington and kicker Elliott Fry added two field goals in the fourth quarter. When the Gators were driving in the final two minutes, Mornhinweg’s pass was intercepted with 1:22 remaining and the Gamecocks hung on to beat their head coach Steve Spurrier’s former team.
Changes in the Top Ten (from 11/9-11/16)
- Oregon dropped from #3 to #6 after their 26-20 loss to Stanford, who moved up a spot from #5 to #4 following the upset. Stanford’s win also helped Ohio State move from #4 to #3 in the rankings.
- Baylor moved from #6 to #5 following their 41-12 victory over Oklahoma. The Sooners dropped out of the Top Ten from #10 all the way down to #18.
- Auburn moved from #9 to #7 after beating Tennessee, 55-23. The Tigers moved ahead of Clemson and Missouri in the rankings.
- On Nov. 2, #14 South Carolina beat Mississippi State at home, 34-16. Even though they had off last week, they moved to #12 and going into this weeks’ game against Florida, they currently sit at #10.
