Weekend Recap - Clemson, Texas A&M Among the Upset Victims

September 26, 2021 by Staff

Clemson fell to 2-2 with a 27-21 loss in double-overtime to NC State.  Devin Carter scored the winning points in the second OT on a 22-yard haul from Devin Leary and the Tigers were unable to answer on their ensuing possession. The teams traded TD's in the first overtime.

TJ Finley's 10-yard pass to Shedrick Jackson with 45 seconds left in the game lifted Auburn to a comeback victory over Georgia State. The Tigers then added a 33-yard pick-6 to make the final 34-24.

Minnesota wasn't so lucky. Bowling Green used defense to slow and tame the Gophers as the Falcons pulled off a gigantic 14-10 upset win. The Golden Gophers, who had won a nation-leading 21 straight nonconference games, were a 30-point favorite in the sportsbooks and a 48.59-point pick by the Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com.

The upset bug bit Texas A&M, too, as Arkansas never trailed and defeated the Aggies 20-10 in Arlington.

Baylor was a 31-29 upset winner over Iowa State as a 2-point conversion attempt went awry as a bobbled snap forced a desperation throw that was intercepted in the end zone.

USC's up-and-down season went down again on Saturday as the Trojans were upset 45-27 at home by Oregon State. USC was a 12.5-point favorite.

UTSA stayed undefeated with a 31-28 upset win at Memphis.

Oklahoma needed a 30-yard walk-off field goal by Gabe Brkic for a 16-13 home win over West Virginia.

Iowa escaped a home upset attempt by Colorado State, 24-14. the Hawkeyes trailed the Rams 14-7 at halftime and didn't take the lead until the 6:01 mark of the 3rd quarter.

Notre Dame trailed Wisconsin 13-10 at Soldier Field in Chicago with 14:14 left in the game, but the Irish tallied the last 31 points, including a pair of pick-6's, for a 41-13 win.

Heartbreak befell Old Dominion which rallied from a 35-7 halftime deficit to Buffalo to pull within 35-34 with 19 seconds left, only to miss the game-tying PAT.

Meanwhile, Alabama rolled 63-14 over Southern Miss, Ohio State zapped Akron 59-7, and Georgia smothered Vanderbilt 62-0.

In the 100th meeting of the two schools, SMU downed TCU 42-34. It's the second straight win for the Mustangs, but the Horned Frogs still lead the series 51-42-7.

Some games of note in the ACC saw Georgia Tech drop North Carolina 45-22, Wake Forest romp 37-17 at Virginia, and Syracuse upend Liberty 24-21. In a nonconference game, Boston College downed Missouri 41-34 in overtime.

In the only American Conference game, Houston downed Navy 28-20.

A field goal in overtime gave Michigan State a 23-20 win over Nebraska. In other Big Ten action, Purdue edged Illinois 13-9 and Michigan held off Rutgers 20-13.

Oklahoma State was a 31-20 winner in the Big 12 over Kansas State, and Texas doubled-up Texas Tech 70-35.

A Friday night Conference USA game saw Charlotte prevail 42-39 over visiting MTSU.

In the lone MAC conference clash, Toledo was a 22-12 winner at Ball State.

Fresno State had to rally for a 38-30 home win over UNLV on Friday night. In the only other Mountain West conference game, Boise State took care of Utah State 27-3.

Washington forced a Cal fumble at the goal line in overtime to escape with a 31-24 win. Elsewhere in the PAC-12, UCLA  toppled Stanford 35-24, Arizona State downed Colorado 35-13, Oregon was a 41-19 home winner over Arizona, and Utah was a 24-13 winner at home over Washington State.

In the SEC, Florida pulled away in the second half for a 38-14 victory over Tennessee in The Swamp, Kentucky edged South Carolina 16-10 in Columbia, and LSU downed Mississippi State 28-25.

Also See: This Week's Picks/Scores

FCS vs. FBS

2 teams will play 2 FCS teams this fall (UConn and UMass), and 115 teams will play 1 FCS school for a total of 117 such matchups.

With the 9 games played this week, 105 of those 117 games have already been played. The FBS was 9-0 in those games this week and is 95-10 this season. Since we began tracking this in 2003, the FBS teams are now 1,564-138 (.919).

Last year, 30 FBS teams played a total of just 34 games against FCS schools and the FCS won just 1 game (1-33). That honor also went to Jacksonville State with its 19-10 victory over FIU.

Here are the FCS wins in 2021:
September 2: UC Davis 19, Tulsa 17
September 2: Eastern Washington 35, UNLV 33 (2 OT)
September 3: South Dakota State 42, Colorado State 23
September 4: Holy Cross 38, UConn 28
September 4: Montana 13, Washington 7
September 4: ETSU 23, Vanderbilt 3
September 11: Duquesne 28, Ohio 26
September 11: Jacksonville State 20, Florida State 17.
September 18: Incarnate Word 42, Texas State 34.
September 18: Northern Arizona 21, Arizona 19

This was the only FCS win vs. the FBS in 2020:
October 23: Jacksonville State 19, FIU 10

In 2019, FBS teams were 111-3 (.974) in such games. These were the only FCS wins that season:
August 29: Central Arkansas 35, Western Kentucky 28
September 7: Southern Illinois 45, Massachusetts 20
September 14: The Citadel 27, Georgia Tech 24 (OT)

Streaks

ALABAMA - Won 18 straight games overall (FBS longest).
Last: Won 63-14 vs. Southern Miss on Saturday, Sept. 25.
Next: Hosts Ole Miss on Saturday, Oct. 2.

OHIO STATE - Won 22 straight conference games (FBS longest), and 10 straight road games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 59-7 at home over Akron on Saturday, Sept. 25.
Next: Visits Rutgers on Saturday, Oct. 2.

NOTRE DAME - Won 18 straight regular season games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 41-13 versus Wisconsin at Soldier Field in Chicago on Saturday, Sept. 25.
Next: Hosts Cincinnati on Saturday, Oct. 2.

CLEMSON - Won 30 straight home games (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 27-21 in double-OT at N.C. State on Saturday, Sept. 25.
Next: Hosts Boston College on Saturday, Oct. 2.

NEW MEXICO - Lost 15 straight road games (tied with Akron for FBS longest).
Last: Lost 20-13 at UTEP on Saturday, Sept. 25.
Next: Hosts Air Force on Saturday, Oct. 2.

AKRON - Lost 14 straight road games (one behind New Mexico for FBS second-longest).
Last: Lost 59-7 at Ohio State on Saturday, Sept. 25.
Next: Hosts Ohio on Saturday, Oct. 2.

KANSAS - Lost 16 straight to FBS schools (tied with Arizona for FBS longest).
Last: Lost 52-33 at Duke on Saturday, Sept. 25.
Next: Visits North Carolina on Saturday, Oct. 2.

ARIZONA - Lost 16 straight over-all (FBS longest), and 15 straight to FBS schools (one behind Kansas for FBS longest).
Last: Lost 41-19 at Oregon on Saturday, Sept. 25.
Next: Visits Stanford on Saturday, Oct. 2.

MASSACHUSETTS - Lost 15 straight over-all (FBS second-longest).
Last: Lost 53-3 at Coastal Carolina on Saturday, Sept. 25.

UTEP - Ended a 15-game conference losing streak (FBS longest).
Last: Won 20-13 vs. New Mexico on Saturday, Sept. 25.
Next: Hosts Old Dominion on Saturday, Oct. 2.