0 – Punts for Texas A&M in its 35-10 victory over Iowa State. The Aggies were 10-of-13 on third down and 2-of-3 on fourth.
0.933 – Florida head coach Urban Meyer’s combined winning percentage against Georgia, Tennessee, Florida State and Miami (14-1).
1 – Touchdown allowed by the Tennessee defense in its last three games. During that same span, Tennessee has allowed only three “red zone” trips.
2 – Combined lost fumbles for Cincinnati (zero), Colorado State (one) and Oregon State (one) this season. On the flipside, Purdue has lost a national-worst 14 fumbles.
3 – Colorado State players who have thrown, caught and run for touchdowns this season. They are quarterback Grant Stucker, running back John Mosure and wide receiver Dion Morton.
5 – Plays longer than 25 yards gained against the Tennessee defense all season.
6 – Games in a row that Colorado State has lost. However, the Rams actually have a good shot to become bowl eligible and sneak into the Humanitarian Bowl. All they have to do is beat UNLV, New Mexico and Wyoming to finish out the season. Very doable since those teams have combined for only three MWC wins this season. Of course, the Rams have zero league victories so far in 2009.
7 – Tackles for losses by Nebraska’s “other” defensive tackle Jared Crick last Saturday against Baylor. Ndamukong Suh’s partner in crime had five quarterback sacks among his 13 total tackles and also had a crucial fumble recovery in the fourth quarter of the 20-10 victory over the Bears.
9 – Times Georgia has given up 41 or more points in its last 17 games.
10 – Passes Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi (pictured) attempted during a second-half span against Indiana in which he threw four interceptions and two touchdown passes that covered 158 yards, sparking the Hawkeyes to a 42-24 come-from-behind victory. In case you were wondering about the other four passes … three hit the turf and one was completed for a gain of 10 yards.
24 – Number of 100-yard receiving games by Elon wide receiver Terrell Hudgins, breaking the Division I-AA (FCS) record of 23 established by Mississippi Valley State’s Jerry Rice from 1981 to 1984. The 6-foot-2, 235-pound senior had 11 receptions for 153 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Phoenix to a 34-6 victory at Wofford last Saturday. Hudgins, who has 4,629 career receiving yards, needs just 65 more on Saturday at Western Carolina to break another of Rice’s all-time Division I-AA records.
27 – Oregon’s margin of victory last Saturday against USC. In their previous seven defeats, the Trojans lost by a total of just 26 points.
28 – Consecutive games won by TCU when it rushes for at least 167 yards. The Horned Frogs easily kept that streak going on Saturday, rushing for 390 yards in a 41-0 victory over UNLV.
30 – Years since Temple last participated in a postseason game (1979 Garden State Bowl). After losing to Villanova and Penn State to open the season, the Owls have won their last six games and are now bowl eligible.
44 & 48 – The point-spread and total (over/under) for last Saturday’s Ohio State-New Mexico State game. How many gamblers had the winning parlay of the Buckeyes -44 and under 48? Zero?
56 – Length of field goal nailed by Florida kicker Caleb Sturgis in Saturday’s 41-17 victory over Georgia. With the SEC Championship and possibly the BCS title games coming up, knowing that he has that in him gives the Gators some piece of mind. Sturgis has hit all three of his field goal attempts from 49 or more yards out this season (49, 51, 56).
61 – Length of Boise State quarterback Kellen Moore’s (pictured) first touchdown pass to his baby brother, Kirby Moore, to kickoff the Bronco’s 45-7 victory over San Jose State last Saturday.
66 – Combined first downs in Houston’s 50-43 win over Southern Miss last Saturday. The Cougars and Golden Eagles also combined for 1,358 yards of total offense. Houston quarterback Case Keenum passed for a career-high 559 yards and five touchdowns.
78.8 – Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros’ completion percentage while subbing for the injured Tony Pike (41-of-52). Collaros has thrown for 620 yards and seven touchdowns in those 10 quarters, in addition to rushing for 206 yards and two scores.
139 – Unanswered points scored by Missouri against Colorado until Buffalo kicker Aric Goodman hit a 48-yard field goal in the second quarter last Saturday to cut the Tiger lead down to 33-3. Missouri pounded Colorado 58-0 last season and scored the final 48 points in a 55-10 victory over the Buffs in 2007. Yikes.
267 – Rushing yards by Temple freshman running back Bernard Pierce (pictured) in the Owls’ 27-24 victory at Navy. That performance is believed to represent the most rushing yards by an opposing player in Midshipmen history. It also marked the second consecutive game in which Pierce surpassed the 200-yard mark. He rumbled for 212 yards at Toldeo on Oct. 24.
391 – Oregon’s rushing yardage against USC in its 47-20 victory over the Trojans last Saturday. That’s the most yards an opponent as rushed for against USC since Texas A&M exploded for 486 in the 1977 Bluebonnet Bowl.
2,010 – Rushing yards by Wayne State’s Joique Bell to lead all of college football this season. He exploded for 314 yards on 33 carries in the Division II Warriors’ 38-24 loss to Northwood last Saturday.
2,588 – Career rushing yards for Florida quarterback Tim Tebow. He added 85 yards to that total last Saturday in the win over Georgia to break the SEC record for all-time rushing by a quarterback, previously held by Arkansas’ Matt Jones.
67,712 – Fans who came out to see Florida State host N.C. State last Saturday afternoon. They comprised the smallest crowd to watch a game at Doak Campbell Stadium in 16 years. Those in attendance were rewarded with an exciting game. The Seminoles scored a late touchdown to post a 45-42 victory in a contest that featured 1,093 total yards.
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Since we’re always talking numbers and football, what’s more natural than discussing matters associated to wagering? With that in mind, Marc Doch
e, who has been a “Predictions 101″ consultant for several years, is back with another look at a game that had them talking in Las Vegas over the weekend.
Indiana at Iowa
Hoosier backers getting 17 points on Saturday had to feel a great deal of comfort when they went into halftime leading the Hawkeyes, 21-7. If they knew that Iowa quarterback Ricky Stanzi would throw four interceptions in the third quarter they would be all but certain of being on a winner.
Not so fast …
An amazing sequence of events that led to the game’s point-spread outcome being decided in the final minute began with Indiana facing a third-and-goal at the Hawkeye two-yard line. Quarterback Ben Chappell’s pass was deflected four times before settling into the waiting hands of Iowa’s Tyler Sash, who sprinted 86 yards all by his lonesome to cut Indiana’s lead to 21-14.
After blowing a 28-3 lead against Northwestern last week, the Hoosiers were determined to avoid another second half meltdown as they answered by driving deep into Hawkeye territory again.
A third-down touchdown pass from Chappell to Terrance Turner from 11 yards out was curiously overturned after a replay booth review. And then Indiana came away empty when Nick Freeland missed a chip shot 28-yard field goal.
You could feel another Hoosier debacle coming on.
After Indiana came up with just a single field goal off of Stanzi’s third and fourth interceptions of the third quarter, the Hawkeyes started their rampage.
Stanzi combined with Marvin McNutt on a 92-yard touchdown pass to make it 24-21. Then, immediately after Indiana went three-and-out, Iowa took a 28-24 lead on a 66-yard toss from Stanzi to Derrell Johnson-Koulianos.
Brandon Wegher, who opened the season as the Hawkeyes’ fourth-string running back, scored on a six-yard run to put Iowa ahead 35-24 with 7:34 left
After another Indiana three-and-out, Wegher went to work again, pounding out yards and forcing the Hoosiers to use all their timeouts. While Iowa’s comeback was complete and its BCS title dreams still alive, those with action couldn’t exhale just yet.
The Hawkeyes faced a third-and-two from the Indiana 27-yard line with just over a minute remaining. One more first down and they could line up in victory formation to kill the rest of the clock.
Or … Wegher could cut back against an over-pursuing Hoosier defense and rumble for Iowa’s fourth touchdown of the final quarter. Daniel Murray’s extra point gave them a multifaceted miracle cover at 42-24.
