News/Commentary

Complete Labor Day Weekend FBS Recap

September 5, 2022 by Dave Congrove

The final game of the 5-day football weekend saw Georgia Tech hang close for most of the first three quarters until Clemson finished on a 27-0 run for a 41-10 win in the second Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game with a 41-10 win.

Here is a review of all of the weekend's action.

Sunday

Florida State built a 24-10 lead with 9:04 to go in the game, then held on to the bitter end for a 24-23 win over LSU in New Orleans on Sunday night.

The Tigers scored a TD with 4:07 to play and were going to get the ball right back on a 3-and-out, but a muffed punt return gave FSU a chance to put the game away. Instead, the 'Noles fumbled on 3rd and goal and LSU began a 99-yard march with 1:20 remaining.

Just as it looked like the game was heading to overtime, Shyheim Brown stepped up and blocked the extra point to preserve the first season-opening home win for the Seminoles since 2016 (Ole Miss in Orlando).

LSU struck first with a field goal on its first possession of the game. After that, Florida State dominated the contest and led twice by 14 points, at 17-3 late in the 3rd and then 24-10 when the 'Noles answered an LSU touchdown in the 4th.

When LSU made it 24-17, Florida State got away from its game and called a conservative series of plays that went nowhere. But LSU muffed a second punt of the night and FSU was in  business to run clock and take no less than a 10-point lead. However, on 3rd-and-goal, the play was called to have QB Jordan Travis make a short inside pitch to Treshaun Ward who never got a good handle on the ball and lost it at the Tigers' 1-yard line.

Florida State coaches made their next conservative mistake by calling for the prevent (you from winning) defense, and LSU zipped down the field. It came down to a final play from the 2-yard line with 1 second remaining and Jayden Daniels found Jaray Jenkins in the back of the end zone.

A record sellout crowd for the Caesar's Superdome of nearly 80,000 were all expecting overtime when Brown rejected the kick and sent the FSU faithful into a delirious celebration of their good fortune.

 

For the game, Travis completed 20-of-32 passes for 260 yards and a pair of touchdowns, both of which went to Ontaria Wilson who had 7 catches for 102 yards. The ground game churned out important runs, but was held to 132 yards total.

LSU wound up with similar stats of 209 passing of 139 rushing. Jenkins caught both of Daniels' TD passes on a night when Daniels was hurried and harassed for most of the game.

This was the first meeting between the two schools since 1991 after they met annually from 1979-1983 and 1989-1991. FSU is 8-2 all-time against the Tigers.

LSU was as much as a 4.5-point favorite at the sportsbooks at the close, while the Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com had the Seminoles outright.

Saturday

Suffice it to say that Kirby Smart wasn't very nice to his former DC, Dan Lanning, as the Georgia Bulldogs drowned the Oregon Ducks 49-3 in the 2022 version 1.0 of the Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game in Atlanta. Lanning, of course, is the new head coach at Oregon. But all the familiarity in the world didn't help him slow down the 'Dawgs who shot out to a 28-3 halftime lead and were never threatened.

Georgia treated Oregon worse than Oklahoma treated UTEP. In the Sooners' head coaching debut of former Clemson OC Brent Venables, Oklahoma put together a methodical 45-13 romp over the Miners.

Meanwhile, Oregon's former head coach, Mario Cristobal, easily won his debut as the head coach of his old team. The level of competition was nowhere near the same level, but Miami will take the 70-13 opening day win over FCS member Bethune-Cookman from Daytona Beach.

Later, Ohio State got all it wanted and more than the 'experts' expected from Notre Dame. Ultimately, Ryan Day and the Buckeyes upended the Irish 21-10 and spoiled the debut of Notre Dame head coach Marcus Freeman who played linebacker at Ohio State. A 14-0 second half rallied Ohio State from a 10-7 halftime deficit, but the clinching score didn't come until there was just 4:51 left in the game when Miyan Williams scored on a 2-yard run. The Buckeyes were a 17-point favorite, but only a  14.07-point computer pick.

In Gainesville, an interception in the end zone with 17 seconds left preserved a 29-26 Florida upset of Utah in Billy Napier's debut as head coach. The game was a see-saw battle with Florida taking a 14-13 halftime lead, then falling behind 19-14 in the 3rd. The Gators took a 22-19 lead on a TD and 2-point conversion with 12:48 left, but the Utes went back in front, 26-22 on their possession. Florida answered with QB Anthony Richardson's run 1:25 to play. Utah then drove to the 6-yard line where Cameron Rising's 2nd down pass attempt was picked in the end zone by Amari Burney. The Utes were 2.5-point favorites and a 15.51-point computer choice.

Lincoln Riley's debut in La-La-Land went well as USC stirred and boiled Rice for a 66-14 treat.

In Saturday games involving some of the computer's other highly-ranked teams, No. 2 Michigan was a 51-7 home victor over Colorado State, No. 3 Alabama rolled 55-0 at home over Utah State, and No. 9 Baylor bounced FCS Albany 69-10.

Arkansas took care of business and subdued Cincinnati, 31-24. The Bearcats scored with 5:49 to play to narrow the gap, but never got the ball back as K.J. Jefferson and Raheim Sanders literally ran out the clock.

Ole Miss was OK in the debut of USC transfer Jason Dart at QB. The Rebs won 28-10 as Dart went 18-of-27 for 154, a TD and an INT. HE also added 40 yards rushing on 4 carries, while RB Zach Evans carried 20 times for 130 and Quinshon Judkins had 14 totes for 87 and a touchdown.

Hey! ACC schools - have you learned your lesson? Stop scheduling road games to Group of Five programs.

In one of the craziest games in history, North Carolina stopped a two-point conversion attempt by Appalachian State with 9 seconds left to seal a 63-61 win for the Tar Heels in Boone. The Mountaineers jumped out a 21-7 lead before UNC reeled off 34 straight points for a 41-21 lead at the end of the 3rd quarter. Then, all hell broke loose as the teams combined to score 62 points in the final quarter with Appalachian State scoring 40 of those.

Across the state in Greenville, North Carolina State also barely avoided the upset in a road game to a G5 school. East Carolina missed a PAT with 2:58 left that would have tied the game at 21, and later missed a 41-yard field goal with 5 seconds left that would have given the Pirates the upset win.

Another ACC program, Virginia Tech, lost on Friday at G5 Old Dominion.

More bad news from the ACC came on Saturday at Chestnut Hill where Rutgers registered a 22-21 upset of Boston College. Al-Shadee Salaam's 22-yard TD run with 2:43 left lifted Greg Schiano's team to the victory. The wild story in this game occurred in the first quarter when Rutgers had 2nd-and-goal at the BC 8, but proceeded to commit three penalties, take a sack and had to punt from the BC 43.

Meanwhile, Syracuse flexed its muscle and drilled Louisville 34-7 at home in a game between ACC Atlantic teams. Could the Orange be poised for a good year? A look inside the numbers says this game was actually played terribly by both teams. Syracuse was whistled for 18 penalties, including 9 false starts. Louisville QB Malik Cunningham turned the ball over on three consecutive possessions with 2 INT's and a fumble, and it would have been four if his team hadn't recovered another fumble. Cunningham also had his 30-game streak broken of accounting for at least one TD in a game.

The Tony Elliott era opened at Virginia with a 34-17 win over FCS Richmond.

Add these two things to the list of odd occurrences at a football game:

1) Iowa needed a pair of second half safeties to provide the difference in the score of its 7-3 home win over FCS South Dakota State. The Jackrabbits entered the game ranked No. 2 in  the Congrove Computer Rankings of FCS schools.

2) Arizona, punting from its own end zone, gave San Diego State a touchdown when the Wildcats' punter kicked the ball into the hip of his own protector and the ball was recovered by the Aztecs. Arizona survived the incident with a 38-20 victory in the road contest to ruin the inaugural game for the home fans at SDSU's new Snapdragon Stadium. San Diego State was a 6-point favorite by the oddsmakers and an 8.15-point computer pick.

Here are some of the other results in Saturday games:

James Madison made its debut as a FBS member by bullying MTSU 44-7 in Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Houston scored a triple-overtime 37-35 win at UTSA after trailing 21-7 at the start of the fourth. It looked like a 35-yard FG with just 23 seconds left had completed a 24-21 win for the Cougars in regulation, but UTSA marched 55 yards in 6 plays and knocked through a 37-yard field goal as time expired to force overtime. The teams swapped field goals in the first OT, then scored TD's and the mandatory 2-point conversions in the second. After that, it's up to converting a single 2-point conversion play. Houston won on a Clayton Tune's scramble to the end zone when UTSA's following attempt came up empty.

Wyoming rallied from a 34-24 deficit in the final 10:23, then defeated Tulsa on a 30-yard field goal in the second time to send the Laramie home folks home happy with the 40-37 win.

Liberty needed 4 overtimes to get out of Hattiesburg with a win as Southern Miss was hosting its first game as a new member of the Sun Belt. The teams only managed to score a combined total of 8 points in the 4 extra periods. The Flames remain an independent this season, but will move to Southern Miss' old stomping grounds, Conference USA, next season.

Navy became the second FBS team to fall to a FCS school over the Labor Day weekend when Delaware handed the Midshipmen a 14-7 loss in Annapolis. The first was Friday night's William & Mary win at Charlotte.

Delaware has a slew of wins over FCS (1-AA) programs in their history and 8 have now come over Navy (2007, 2003, 1992, 1991, 1989, 1986 and 1985). The 1-AA classification began in 1978 and was renamed FCS in 2006.

Nebraska got a hard-earned win for embattled head coach Scott Frost. After North Dakota tied the game at 17 in the 3rd quarter, the 'Huskers ended the game on a 21-0 run for the 38-17 victory.

Idaho drove to the Washington State 28 before throwing a pick that effectively ended the game and preserved a 24-17 win for the Cougars. The Vandals led much of the first half and it was 10-all at halftime.

Oregon State jumped out to a 24-0 halftime advantage and went on to double-up Boise State 34-17. The Beavers had lost 4 of the previous 6 meetings to the Broncos.

Friday

Old Dominion scored late to upend Virginia Tech for the second time since 2019 and improved to 2-2 vs. the big boys from Blacksburg while ruining Brent Pry's  debut as head coach. ODU's only offensive touchdown came with just 37 seconds remaining. Virginia Tech's only touchdown of any kind came in the first quarter.

Grant Wells, the Hokies transfer QB from Marshall, threw 4 picks in his first start in the Friday night game in Norfolk.. Virginia Tech also had a first half field goal attempt go awry on a snap over the holder's head that the Monarchs scooped and scored for a 10-7 halftime lead.

That game begs the question, why are Power 5 schools playing away games against G5 opponents? In Virginia Tech's case, it's all about the 757, the area code of the Tidewater in Virginia which is hot recruitment bed for high school stars. But that doesn't answer why North Carolina is playing at Appalachian State on Saturday, or NC State is playing at East Carolina. Those types of games have no real reward for winning, but create big problems when you lose them.

Virginia Tech will have a few days to try address deficiencies and mistakes before its ACC and home opener against Boston College next Saturday night..

Meanwhile, a Big Ten opener took place on Saturday night. Indiana, which had 70 yards the entire second half before the final drive, marched 75 yards for the game-winning 1-yard TD run with 23 seconds left in a 23-20 upset of Illinois at Bloomington. Illinois had a definite touchdown ruled as an incomplete pass, and turned the ball over on downs on another drive after reaching the 1-yard line. The win snapped an 8-game losing streak for the Hoosiers, and a 9-game skid against Big Ten foes.

The last game on Sunday saw TCU score the first 31 points of the second half en route to a 38-13 rout of Colorado at Boulder.  The Horned Frogs led 7-6 at the half. TCU starting quarterback Chandler Morris left the game with a knee injury late in the 3rd quarter and Max Duggan came off the bench to mostly hand off or run as the Colorado defense went AWOL over the last 20 minutes or so.

The FCS picked up its first win of the season over a FBS school as William & Mary outscored Charlotte 21-0 in the 4th quarter for the 41-24 win. It was the first win for the Tribe against a FBS program since toppling the Virginia Cavaliers in 2009.

Also on Friday night, Duke opened the Mike Elko era with a 30-0 shutout of Temple. That was a bit of an eye-opener. Yes, Duke was suppose to win but the line opened at 7 and closed at 9.5. This was the first shutout for a Blue Devils team since a 55-0 win over FCS member North Carolina Central in 2015. We'll find out more about Elko's team when Duke travels to Northwestern next Saturday.

Michigan State scored a 35-13 knockout of Western Michigan in a game that was 21-3 at halftime, but 21-13 going into the final quarter.

Other games saw Eastern Michigan hold off FCS Eastern Kentucky, 42-34, and Kansas romp to a 56-10 win over FCS Tennessee Tech.

57 games involving at least one FBS will take place on Saturday.

Thursday

The Backyard Brawl made a triumphant return to Pittsburgh where the Panthers knocked off West Virginia in a see-saw battle, 38-31 . Pitt scored the last 14 points of the to secure the win with the final points coming on a pick-6 off a ball that should've been caught, but deflected into the air and was taken 56 yards to the house by M.J. Devonshire.

It was the first renewal of the fierce rivalry since 2011. The Panthers, who had lost 3 straight in the series, expanded their all-time advantage to 62-40-3.

The game featured a pair of former USC quarterbacks with Kedon Slovis transferring directly to Pitt last December while J.T. Daniels took a circuitous route to West Virginia after landing in Georgia when he transferred from the Trojans after the 2019 season. Daniels was 23-of-40 for 214, 2 TD's and the pick with a QBR of 52.3. Slovis went 16-of-24 for 308 yards, 1 TD with 0 INT's and a QBR of 76.4.

A last-minute drive by Penn State sent the Purdue fans home in a sour mood as the Nittany Lions won the Big Ten opener 35-31. Sean Clifford needed just 1:25 to march 80 yards in 8 plays that ended with Keyvone Lee's 10-yard catch for the go-ahead score with 57 seconds remaining. Clifford was 6-of-7 for 72 yards on the drive. The computer had taken Purdue in an outright upset against a 3-point spread favoring Penn State.

Oklahoma State made a lot of bettors sad as the Cowboys squandered all but 14 points of a 36-point third quarter lead. The line was 21-1/2 for the home 'Pokes over Central Michigan. The final score wound up 58-44 as CMU bettors became the winners on the Chips' last score with 3:15 left in the game.

Minnesota defeated former head coach Jerry Kill and New Mexico State 38-0. Kill coached the Gophers from 2011-2015. The line was 37.5.

Three FBS schools barely avoided an upset loss to their FCS foe. FIU needed a 4th-down TD and 2-point conversion in overtime to stave-off the upset bid by FCS member Bryant, 38-37. The Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com had made the visiting Bulldogs a rare FCS favorite in a road game against a FBS school.

Akron also needed overtime to escape its FCS opponent, St. Francis (PA), 30-23.

San Jose State rallied to a  21-17 win over Portland State by virtue of a 2-yard run with 1:11 left after the Vikings had to pint on 4th-and-2 from their own 9-yard line. Isaiah Hamilton returned the 42-yard kick for 19 yards to the Portland State 32 to set-up the 6-play drive aided by 24 yards in penalties, including a facemask 15-yarder that nullified a sack.

FCS vs. FBS

There will be 118 FBS vs. FCS matchups this season with App State, Army and Marshall each playing two such games, and 115 other FBS schools playing one apiece.

Jacksonville State has victories at Florida State (2021) and FIU (2020) over the last two seasons and visits Tulsa this season. The Gamecocks will move up to the FBS next season and join Conference USA, along with Stephen F. Austin. Jacksonville State hired former West Virginia/Michigan/Arizona head coach Rich Rodriguez steer the move.

Another traditional FCS heavyweight, James Madison, has made that switch for this season as a new member of the Sun Belt.

There were 4 FBS-FCS games in Week Zero with the FBS going 4-0. Labor Day weekend saw 37 such games and the FCS broke through with two victories.

That made the FBS 39-2 for the season and 1,613-142 (.919) since we began tracking this in 2003.

Here are the FCS wins in 2022:
September 2: William & Mary 41, Charlotte 24
September 3: Delaware14, Navy 7

Streaks

LOUISIANA - Won 14 straight over-all (tied FBS longest).
Last: Won 24-7 at home over FCS member SE Louisiana on Saturday, September 3.
Next: Hosts Eastern Michigan on Saturday, September 10.

CINCINNATI: Won 16 straight conference games (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 31-24 at Arkansas on Saturday, September 3.
Next: Hosts FCS Kennesaw State on Saturday, September 10.

NOTRE DAME - Had won 9 straight true road games (was FBS longest), but lost at Ohio State .
Last: Lost 21-10 at Ohio State on Saturday, September 3.
Next: Hosts Marshall on Saturday, September 10.

GEORGIA - Won 7 straight true road games (new FCS longest).
Last: Won 49-3 over Oregon in Chick-fil-A Kickoff v1.0 in Atlanta
Next: Hosts FCS Samford on Saturday, September 10.

CLEMSON - Won 34 straight home games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 20-13 over Iowa State in the Cheez-It Bowl on Dec. 29.
Next: Plays Georgia Tech in a Chick-fil-A Kickoff Game on Monday, September 5.
Next: Hosts FCS Furman on Saturday, September 10.

FIU - Had Lost 11 straight over-all (was FBS longest), but defeated Bryant 38-37 in overtime.
Last: Won 38-37 at home over FCS member Bryant on Thursday, September 3.
Next: Visits Texas State on Saturday, September 10.

TEMPLE - Lost 8 straight over-all (new FCS longest).
Last: Lost 30-0 at Duke on Friday, September 2.
Next: Hosts FCS Lafayette on Saturday, September 10.

VANDERBILT - Lost 21 straight conference games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 42-31 over FCS member Elon on Saturday, September 3.
Next: Hosts Wake Forest on Saturday, September 10.

NEW MEXICO STATE - Lost 19 straight road games (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 38-0 at Minnesota on Thursday, September 1.
Next: Visits UTEP on Saturday, September 10.