Sep 20, 2017

ACC & Big 12 Week 3 Recap: Clemson Shines on the Road, Texas’ Upset Bid Comes Up Short Against Southern Cal & More

Standings and Results

ACC

Big 12

AP Top 10

1. Alabama
2. Clemson
3. Oklahoma
4. Penn State
5. USC
6. Oklahoma State
7. Washington
8. Michigan
9. Wisconsin
10. Ohio State

No Deshaun Watson, No Problem

In Week 3’s most highly anticipated matchup, Clemson stormed into Louisville and knocked off defending Heisman Trophy winner Lamar Jackson and 14th-ranked Louisville, 47-21. The game was tight early, as the teams closed the first quarter tied 7-7, but Clemson rattled off 26 unanswered points over the next two quarters to give the Tigers a 33-7 leading heading into the final frame.

Despite defeating No. 13 Auburn at home last week, some still had questions for Clemson quarterback Kelly Bryant and the Tigers offense heading into Saturday night’s showdown. After scoring 47 points and tallying 342 total yards and three touchdowns (two rushing) on the road against a ranked division rival, however, Bryant figured to garner a little more support around college football.

Of course, no one had more impressive words for the quarterback than the man he played behind the last two seasons:

Texas-USC II

Texas and USC met Saturday night in a rematch of the 2006 National Championship Game which took place just a few miles up the road at the Rose Bowl. USC fended off a late Texas comeback to earn a 27-24 victory in double-overtime.

The Trojans entered the game as heavy favorites following their win over a ranked Stanford team the week prior, but Texas head coach Tom Herman was 5-0 all-time coaching as the underdog, suggesting that a tight game would likely be on the menu.

Following 21 minutes of scoreless action, Deontay Burnett opened up the scoring with a 15-yard touchdown from Sam Darnold. Texas responded on their ensuing drive to pull the game even with 19 seconds to play in the half. After a quick run set them up close to midfield with five ticks of the clock left, Darnold threw a pass to Ronald Jones II and let the running back do the rest.

Much like the first half, the defenses held strong during the opening part of the second half, with a lone Texas field goal the only scoring in the third quarter. With 45 seconds left in the game Texas secured its first lead, and it appeared as if Tom Herman would remain unbeaten as an underdog after a nice toe drag catch in the end zone from Armanti Foreman.

The game was not over, however, as Sam Darnold quickly led the Trojans down the field to set up a 31-yard field goal attempt with two seconds remaining for a chance to send the game into overtime. The kick, the first of his collegiate career, was taken and made by walk-on freshman Chase McGrath.

How’s a guy supposed to top sending a game to overtime with his first career field goal attempt? By kicking the game-winner in double-overtime on his second career attempt, naturally. And that is what the young kicker did! After the Trojans defense recovered a Longhorns fumble in the second overtime, USC set up the field goal, a 41-yard attempt, and McGrath booted it  inside the right upright for the victory.

Big 12 Offensive Weapons

Through three weeks of play the Big 12 has been an offensive showcase with four teams from the conference earning a spot among the top 10 in the nation for points per game average. Take a look at the current top 10:

1.   UCF (61.0 ppg)
2.   Maryland (57.0)
3.   Oregon (56.0)
4.  Oklahoma State (54.0)
      Texas Tech (54.0)
6.  SMU (49.3)
7.  TCU (49.0)
8.  UCLA (48.7)
9. Oklahoma (47.7)
     Mississippi State (47.7)

Oklahoma State and Texas Tech took care of business against other Power Five non-conference teams over the weekend with the Cowboys defeating Pittsburgh 59-21 on the road and Texas Tech outscoring Arizona State 52-45 in Lubbock.

The Cowboys took off from the get-go, jumping out to a 35-0 lead early in the second quarter. Quarterback Mason Rudolph continued to make his case in the Heisman race with a 497-yard, five touchdown effort on the road. The Cowboys had four different receivers finish with over 100 receiving yards on the day, the first such effort in the past 12 years.

The Red Raiders also jumped out to a quick lead on the day, holding a 21-3 edge after the first quarter. After trading touchdowns for much of the next quarter and more, Texas Tech held a 42-24 lead midway through the third. The Sun Devils offense awoke in the second half scoring on three consecutive drives of over 70 yards in the third quarter before tying the game early in the fourth, 45-45.

With momentum seemingly fading, the Red Raiders put together a 12-play, 90-yard drive to retake the lead with under two minutes to play and eventually hold on for the victory. You can see a couple highlights from the game in the Play(s) of the Week below, as Texas Tech didn’t hold back on its scoring or style points against Arizona State.

Holy War Reignited

Boston College looked to halt a lengthy Notre Dame win streak in the series at home over the weekend, but was unable to stop the Fighting Irish’s rushing attack, which totaled 515 yards on the ground in the 49-20 victory over the Eagles.

Quarterback Brandon Wimbush ran for 207 yards and four scores while running back Josh Adams tallied 229 rushing yards in the win. The Fighting Irish led just 14-13 lead midway through the third quarter, but a nine-play, 70-yard drive sparked the offense leading them to touchdowns on five of their next six offensive drives.

The Irish had three rushes of at least 60 yards in the game, and Wimbush set the school record for rushing yards by a quarterback (207), passing Bill Etter’s mark against Navy in 1969. The team posted a 10.1 yards-per-rush average, which also topped the school record of 10.0 that had stood since 1942.

And while it was the Fighting Irish offense that went off in the second half, the defense showed it had something special up its sleeve, as well.

Team Selection Committee Recap

The Florida Citrus Sports Team Selection Committee held its first meeting of the 2017-18 season Monday morning at Camping World Stadium, and after three weeks of memorable college football action and nearly two dozen campus visits already logged this year, there were more than a few exciting stories to go around. READ MORE >>>

 

Play of the Week

We’ve got a two-for-one for you this week courtesy of the Texas Tech Red Raiders. A little taste of broken ankles followed by a David Tyree-type catch.

Take a look for yourself:

 

Sign Up
for Alerts

Keep up to date with all of the news from the Pop-Tarts Bowl including event information, presale opportunities and more.

This field is for validation purposes and should be left unchanged.