Sep 25, 2017

ACC & Big 12 Week 4 Recap: College Football Takes Over NYC, TCU Impresses on the Road and What’s With All The Slow Starts?

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

College Football Takes Over New York City

This weekend College GameDay took the show on the road to Times Square in New York City. Just because there is no FBS program housed in the Big Apple, doesn’t mean that college football doesn’t flow through the veins of those in the City the Never Sleeps!

Don’t believe us? Take a look at what you missed if you didn’t start your morning with Rece Davis and the rest of the gang.

We’re thinking Lee can make it in NYC…

Since GameDay was not located on a college campus, Coach Corso had another trick up his sleeves when it came to his show-closing headgear picks.

And… it’s not College GameDay without the classic GameDay signs. New York City didn’t let us down, check out some of our favorites below.

1. #PlotTwist

2. If anyone is, it’d probably be him. He’s a man, he’s 40, after all!

3. That’s not how this works, that’s not how any of this works!

4. Loophole!

5. Plz be safe up there, Coach!

6. Where is Carson Daly?

7. #FordhamStrong

TCU Surprises Oklahoma State in Stillwater

No. 6 Oklahoma State and No. 16 TCU opened their respective conference slates over the weekend, with the Horned Frogs holding off a late rally from the Cowboys to earn the 44-31 victory on the road.

Normally an offensive powerhouse, the Cowboys were kept in check early, scoring just 10 points in the first half. Their lone score came on a deep shot downfield from Mason Rudolph to James Washington, who did the rest, outrunning two defenders for an 86-yard touchdown.

Following second quarter touchdowns from running back Darius Anderson and former LSU wideout John Diarse, TCU took a 20-10 lead into the half.

After exchanging scores during the third quarter, TCU took its largest lead of the game with a field goal early in the fourth quarter to increase their lead to 37-17. Even so, Mason Rudolph was able to help claw the Cowboys back into the game late with two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to make it a six-point deficit with just over three minutes to play.

After a long return on the ensuing kickoff gave TCU the ball in Cowboy territory, the Horned Frogs were faced with a 3rd-and-4 with Oklahoma State, needing a stop to have a chance for the tie or game-winning drive. TCU gave the ball to running back Darius Anderson, who took it 42 yards to the house to ice the game. It was the third touchdown of the game for the sophomore, who finished with 160 yards on the ground and 41 yards through the air.

TCU impressed many with their win, including college football broadcaster and College GameDay analyst Kirk Herbstreit, who moved the Horned Frogs up to No. 4 in his own rankings after their road upset.

NC State Holds Off Florida State

Florida State opened up its home and conference schedules after its past two games were canceled or rescheduled due to the effects of Hurricane Irma, and NC State didn’t make it easy on the Seminoles in their return to the field. The Wolfpack upended Florida State 27-21 to move to 3-1 on the year and keep the Seminoles winless at 0-2.

The loss is the first in a home opener for the Seminoles since Jimbo Fisher took over as head coach and the first for the program since Bobby Bowden’s final season at the helm in 2009, when they lost to Miami in their season opener on a Monday night at Doak Cambell Stadium. This is Florida State’s first 0-2 start since 1989.

While talk leading up to the game was on Seminoles freshman James Blackman making his first career start at quarterback, NC State’s offense was the one that stole the show. The play of the game may have been wide receiver Jakobi Meyers’ catch and run for 71 yards, including a juke of Derwin Jones — whom many call the nation’s best defensive player — and a front flip into the end zone.

Unlike Iowa’s Akrum Wadley last week, this early celebration into the end zone did not cancel the touchdown as a penalty was assessed on the following kickoff.

Upset: Avoided

Week 4 saw plenty of heart-pumping, sweat-inducing action in the ACC and Big 12 thanks to several heavy favorites who started slowly only to pull away late. Here’s a list:

  1. Boston College appeared to have No. 2 Clemson on the ropes in Death Valley, as the Eagles and Tigers were tied 7-7 heading into the fourth quarter. Like the flip of a switch, the Tigers erupted for four touchdowns in the fourth quarter to rout BC, 34-7.
  2. After four straight scoring drives in the second quarter gave the Toledo Rockets a 16-10 halftime lead, the Miami Hurricanes turned things around in the second half, scoring twice to take an eight-point lead into the fourth before tacking on four more touchdowns in the final frame to seal a 52-30 victory that was closer that the score suggests.
  3. Appalachian State, best known for its take down of No. 5 Michigan in the 2007 season’s opening week, gave Wake Forest all it could handle over the weekend. The Demon Deacons were able to eke out a victory with a field goal midway through the fourth quarter to win 20-19. A blocked PAT in the first quarter proved to be the difference for the Mountaineers.
  4. After jumping out to a 28-10 lead over Baylor, the Sooners allowed three straight touchdowns, and trailed the 0-3 Bears 31-28 late in the third quarter. The Sooners rebounded to go back up 49-31, but allowed a pair of late touchdowns, barely fending off Baylor, 49-41.
  5. Following a rough two-week stretch with losses against two MAC opponents, Kansas looked like it may have caught West Virginia looking ahead to next week, as the Jayhawks offense exploded for 34 points to pull within eight points of its Big 12 counterpart midway through the fourth quarter. However, the Mountaineers tallied two more touchdowns  to close out the game and left Lawrence with 56-34 win.

Team Selection Committee Recap

The Florida Citrus Sports Team Selection Committee held its second meeting of the 2017-18 season Monday morning at Camping World Stadium, and after four 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

There were two monster plays in the Oklahoma-Baylor game this weekend and instead of choosing, we’re going to show you both and let you decide:

1) Baylor’s Denzel Mims catches a tipped pass along the sidelines and gets both feet down for the completion.

2) Oklahoma’s Abdul Adams sets the school record with a 99-yard rushing touchdown to give the Sooners a 21-7 lead at the end of the first quarter.

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