Thursday Night FBS Recap

September 2, 2022 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

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.

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