Weekend Recap: Northwestern Upsets Nebraska; WKU Breaks Away From Austin Peay in 4th

August 28, 2022 by CollegeFootballPoll.com Staff

A third Nebraska turnover, a tipped pass in its own territory with 1:27 left in the game, sealed Nebraska's fate as the Cornhuskers fell 31-28 to Northwestern in Dublin, Ireland. Last year, Nebraska rolled the Wildcats 56-7 in Lincoln for its only Big Ten victory as both of these teams finished 3-9 overall and 1-8 in the conference.

It was not a good start for embattled head coach Scott Frost who has now lost 21 games by a single score since becoming head coach in 2018.

In retrospect, an unnecessary and questionable move in the 3rd quarter stopped Nebraska's momentum when Frost opted for an onside kick after his team went ahead 28-17. Northwestern recovered the kick and drove to a touchdown to begin the rally.

On the other sideline, Pat Fitzgerald coached his 200th game with Northwestern and pocketed his 110th win.

Nebraska was a 12.5-point favorite when the line opened and was still favored by anywhere from 10.5 to 12 points on Saturday. The Congrove Computer Rankings at CollegeFootballPoll.com had the 'Huskers winning by just 1.39.

In the very first game of the 2022 season, Western Kentucky held a narrow 21-20 advantage after three quarters before opening a 35-20 4th quarter lead and eventually defeating FCS member Austin Peay 38-27. WKU was a 34-point favorite while the computer had the Hilltoppers by 16.56.

Weather interrupted the Jacksonville State vs. Stephen F. Austin game in Montgomery with 13:18 left. It was later halted in agreement and the final score went in the books as JSU 42, SFA 17. The Lumberjacks jumped out to a 17-7 lead before the Gamecocks scored the next 42 points.

Weather caused about a one-and-a-half hour delay for the start of the Duquesne vs. Florida State game that the Seminoles won 47-7. FSU was a 39.15-point computer pick and won by 40.

Alabama State won the oft-interrupted MEAC/SWC Challenge in Atlanta, 23-13 over Howard. Weather caused a 1 hour, 37 minute delay to the start of the game. Another delay followed with 4:28 left in the first quarter that lasted a little over 40 minutes, and yet another came with under 3 minutes remaining. The game ended without resumption after 1 a.m. by mutual agreement, some 6+ hours after it was originally scheduled to begin.

Out west, the Nevada vs. New Mexico State game in Las Cruces entered a lightning delay for about 35 minutes with around 3:30 to play in the first quarter. The Wolf Pack won the contest 23-12 with a lot of help from the Aggies who had five turnovers and multiple dropped passes.

North Texas and UTEP had almost identical yardage and no fumbles or INT's, but the Miners did turn the ball over on downs four times and the Mean Green prevailed 31-13 in El Paso.

Further out west, and in the final game of the evening, Vanderbilt ruined the head coaching debut of Timmy Chang as the Commodores cruised to a 63-10 win at Hawaii. Vanderbilt ran for  407 yards and 5 TD's, including 163 and 2 TD's from Mike Wright on just 13 carries.

Give Florida A&M a ton of credit. Down roughly 25 players (3 starters) and thin on the offensive line, the Rattlers hung tough at North Carolina before finally getting worn down in the second half of a 56-24 loss.  But also give Drake Maye credit for his debut at QB for UNC as he tossed 4 TD passes in the first half and 5 overall in the victory. The computer had the Tar Heels favored by 34.83 and they won by 32.

Other games saw Illinois rope Wyoming 38-6, and Utah State rally from an early 14-0 hole to defeat UConn 31-20 to spoil he debut of Jim L. Mora as the new head coach of the Huskies.

FCS vs. FBS

2 teams played 2 FCS teams last fall (UConn and UMass), and 115 teams played 1 FCS school for a total of 117 such matchups. FBS teams finished the 2021 season 105-12 vs. the FCS,

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 on Saturday. Western Kentucky downed Austin Peay 38-27, UNLV dumped Idaho State 52-21, Florida State routed Duquesne 47-7, and UNC wore down Florida A&M 56-24.

That made the FBS 4-0 for the week and 1,578-140 (.919) since we began tracking this in 2003.

These were 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
November 6: Rhode Island 35, Massachusetts 22
November 13: Maine 35, Massachusetts 10

This was the only FCS win vs. the FBS in 2020:
October 23: Jacksonville State 19, FIU 10
Note: in the 2020 Covid season, 30 FBS teams played a total of just 34 games against FCS schools and the FCS won just 1 game (1-33).

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

LOUISIANA - Won 13 straight over-all (tied FBS longest).
Last: Won 36-21 over Marshall in the New Orleans Bowl on Saturday, Dec. 18.
Next: Hosts FCS member SE Louisiana on Saturday, September 3.

NOTRE DAME - Won 9 straight true road games (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 37-35 to Oklahoma State in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan. 1.
Next: Visits Ohio State on Saturday, September 3.

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.

FIU - Lost 11 straight over-all (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 37-17 at Southern Miss on Saturday, Nov. 27.
Next: Hosts FCS member Bryant on Thursday, September 3.

VANDERBILT - Lost 21 straight conference games (FBS longest).
Last: Lost 45-21 at Tennessee on Saturday, Nov. 27.
Next: Visits Hawaii on Saturday, August 27.

NEW MEXICO STATE - Lost 18 straight road games (FBS longest).
Last: Won 44-27 at home versus Massachusetts on Saturday, Nov. 27
Next: Hosts Nevada on Saturday, August 27.