Our first official college football games have been played out for 2017, and although it was not a lineup of stellar offerings, we still had meaningful football being played this weekend. There were few thrills to be offered, and the biggest game of the week, an FCS game between Richmond and Sam Houston State, was taken off the board by Hurricane Harvey, but still, it was just enough to get us primed for a huge week of football coming up this week. Here are my reviews on the weekend:
Colorado State 58, Oregon State 27
The CSU Rams used a strong defensive effort in the second half to stifle what had been a pesky Oregon State team in the first half, as the Rams used a 34 -7 run to blow out the Beavers in the game that opened a brand new stadium in Fort Collins.
Oregon State dropped to 0-12 in road games under Gary Anderson, Ryan Nall, who had rushed for 107 yards at the half (75 on one run), he finished with just 8 yards on 5 carries in the second half as the Beavers somehow went away from the run.
Colorado State had some discipline issues in the first half, committing 5 penalties before the break, including one the nullified a blocked FG, but were penalized just 3 times in the second half.
Nick Stevens was the star of the show for the Rams, as he passed for 334 yards and 3 scores in the win.
BYU 20, Portland State 6
The Cougars survived a stagnant effort in an embarrassing win over Portland State in Provo. The Cougars were 33.5 point favorites entering the game over the FCS Vikings, who were picked to finish 8th in the Big Sky Conference this season. BYU could have been looking past the Vikings, as a game looms large against LSU next week.
Tanner Mangum was hardly impressive in his full time return to the starting QB job, passing for just 194 yards in the win. His receivers hardly helped him out in the effort.
Portland State had just 30 yards of total offense at one point in the second quarter, but somehow stayed within 8 points of the heavily favored Cougars.
BYU is now 8-0 all-time vs. FCS opponents since 2008.
Portland State punter Hayden Cowden punted seven times, and averaged 47.9 yards per punt.
Hawaii 38, U Mass 35
The Rainbow Warriors and Minutemen combined for 900 yards of offense, and 40 1st downs, and were tied three times, but it was the Warriors who rallied from being 14 points down to come back to put away U Mass in the final minute in Amherst.
U Mass star TE Adam Breneman caught 9 passes for 179 yards in the opener in the losing effort, but it was Hawaii WR John Ursua who stole the show with 12 catches for a whopping 272 yards in the win. It was the highest total for a Hawaii receiver since Jason Roberts went for 308 yards on 12/24/06 against Arizona State (308 yards).
Neither team ran the ball effectively, as Hawaii averaged just 3.2 yards per carry, and U Mass averaged just 2.8.
Dru Brown passed for 391 yards in the win for the Rainbow Warriors.
USF 42, San Jose State 22
San Jose State got an early jump on the lethargic Bulls, as the Spartans jumped out to a 10-0 lead, and held the Bulls to -10 yards on their first two possessions. The tide soon turned, and the Bulls jumped out to a 28-16 lead at the half, and never looked back.
USF finished with just 22 yards of offense in the first quarter, allowing Spartan fans to start thinking about an upset.
The Bulls out gained the Spartans 548 yards to 347.
USF scored 30 points for their 18th straight game.
The Bulls rushed for 315 yards on the game, with SJSU rushing for just 109.
USF is now 16-5 in season openers for their short history.
Stanford 62, Rice 7
Stanford cruised to a 38-0 lead over the Owls at the half, and had already rolled up 404 yards of offense at the break on the way to a massive blowout in Sydney, Australia. Bryce Love rushed for 176 yards and a score by the half.
Stanford has not lost to Rice since 1963, and is now 3-3 all-time against the Owls.
Rice had just 3 1st downs at the half, and did not convert a 3rd down in the first half.
Cameron Scarlett rushed for 3 1st half scores for the Cardinal.
The Stanford defense held Rice to just 240 yards for the game.
Florida A&M 29, Texas Southern 7
The Rattlers held TSU to just 62 yards rushing on the night, and QB Ryan Stanley passed for 217 yards and a score in the win. Florida A&M jumped out to a 29-0 lead, and was never seriously challenged on any level in the home opener.
Jacksonville State 27, Chattanooga 13
The UTC Mocs were behind the 8 ball prospectively when starting QB Alejandro Bennifield was suspended just before the opener for academic issues. The Mocs did hang in for a time, as they trailed just 10-6 at the hald, but JSU used a 10-0 3rd quarter to open up the game, and the Gamecocks got 122 yards rushing from former Auburn player Roc Thomas in the win.
Sophomore Nick Tiano, a Mississippi State transfer, started for the Mocs at QB, and held his own, passing for 218 yards and a score. He also led the Mocs with 68 yards rushing on just 8 carries.
Colgate 20, Cal Poly 14
The Red Raiders made a rare trip to the West Coast, and rolled out to an early 20-0 lead before the home Mustangs got on track to fall short in a late rally in the loss. Cal Poly scored all 14 points in the final quarter, and Mustangs star Joe Protheroe was frustrated early in the loss. Protheroe finally got on track, and finished with 139 yards on 39 carries, btut it was hard work.
James Holland rushed for 91 yards for the Red Raiders in the win.
Neither team managed to run and pass for a combined 300 yards in a game that was mostly defensive in nature.
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