What a weekend it Was — Eight games decided in final minute!

Posted by Michael Leese

Three words for for all those fans who left early to beat the traffic, “Shame on you!” It was a wild and crazy weekend of football, as eight games finished in the last-minute and two more went to overtime. Perhaps the wildest game of all was in the desert of Arizona, where the Arizona Wildcats overcame a 31-13 third-quarter deficit to defeat California 49-45. Quarterback Anu Solomon hit Austin Hill on the final play of the game with a 47-yard Hail Mary, capping a dramatic win that saw the Wildcats score 36 fourth quarter points! The two teams combined for 1,200 yards of total offense.

Indiana used a three-yard D’Angelo Roberts touchdown run with 22 seconds left to upset Missouri 31-27. The Tigers had broken a 24-24 tie with 2:20 left in the game, when Andrew Baggett connected on a 40-yard field goal. The Hoosiers promptly drove 75 yards for the winning score. Meanwhile in Wyoming, the Cowboys got a 18-yard field goal by Stuart Williams with 15 seconds left to defeat Florida Atlantic 20-19. The Cowboys started the final drive on their own 11 yard line at the two-minute mark.

Reece White hauled in a five yard pass from Lamar Jordan with 27 seconds left to lift New Mexico past New Mexico State for there first win of the season 38-35.. The game featured five lead changes in the second half. Perhaps the most bizarre finish occurred in Hattiesburg, Mississippi. George Payne caught a 31-yard touchdown pass from Nick Mullens with 2:22 left to give the Golden Eagles a 21-14 lead. The Mountaineers took the ensuing kickoff and drove 75 yards, scoring on 2-yard Simms McElfresh reception from Taylor Lamb with six seconds left. It wasn’t enough, as the Golden Eagles blocked the PAT to secure a 21-20 win.

Harrison Butker booted a 24-yard field goal as time expired to give Georgia Tech a 27-24 victory at Virginia Tech. The Yellow Jackets scored 10 points in the final two minutes to send the Hokies to their second loss in a row, both at home, after they had stunned Ohio State in Columbus. Northwestern State rallied from a 27-17 deficit with eight minutes left to defeat Louisiana Tech on a Chris Moore 47-yard field goal as time expired. In Houston, Old Dominion got their first ever Conference-USA win as they defeated Rice 45-42. Ricky Segers made it happen for the Monarchs, booting a 25-yard field goal on the final play.

The highly anticipated battle between Florida State and Clemson didn’t disappoint. Defense was the name of the game in Tallahassee, as the Tigers and Seminoles battled to a 17-17 draw after 60 minutes. The Seminoles turned back the Tigers on their first possession of the overtime and then used a Karlos Williams 12-yard scamper to win the game. The Sunbelt Conference scored a win when Arkansas State’s Dijon Pascual caught a 24-yard scoring pass from Luke Ferguson to beat Utah State 21-14 in overtime.

LSU trailed Mississippi State 34-16 with two minutes left, and the stands at Tiger Stadium were emptying out. Quarterback Brandon Harris then tried to pull off a miraculous comeback. He hit Malachi Dupre with touchdown passes of 30 and 31 yards to pull within 34-29. The Tigers then had a chance to win the game in the final seconds, but a potential game winning touchdown pass was knocked to the ground by a Bulldog defender. LSU may have lost, but the future looks bright — Harris and Dupre are both true freshmen.

ACC NOTES

The conference struggled this weekend going 5-5 in non-Conference play, with high-profile losses by Pitt, North Carolina, Syracuse and Virginia.
Georgia Tech, Duke and North Carolina State all moved to 4-0

BIG 10 NOTES

Michigan suffered a 26-10 home loss to Utah. The game ended with just a few hundred fans in the stands after a two-hour weather delay in the second half. The Wolverines have now dropped three of their last five home games.
Iowa and Indiana pulled off impressive fourth-quarter wins on the road. Iowa downed Pitt, while Indiana rallied past Missouri.
Nebraska and Penn State both won, moving to 4-0. They are the only two teams remaining undefeated in the Conference.

BIG 12 NOTES

Oklahoma moved to 4-0 with an impressive road win over West Virginia in Morgantown.
Kansas State lost a close game to Auburn on Thursday night in the Little Apple. The Wildcats have chances to pull out a victory, but missed three field goals and had three turnovers, including an interception in the end zone.

PAC 12 NOTES

The PAC 12 continued to impress in non-conference play, going 4-0.
Arizona, Washington and Oregon all moved to 4-0
Oregon struggled on the road in Pullman, but still managed to subdue the Cougars behind Marcus Mariota’s five touchdowns.
Utah had a solid road win at Michigan and could be one of the most improved teams in the country.

SEC NOTES

Every Bulldog has its day, and Mississippi State had its way with the vaunted LSU defense, rushing for 302 yards, and putting up 570 total yards.
Alabama woke-up in the second half, scoring the last 21 points to beat Florida 42-21. The win moved the Crimson Tide to 4-0.
Texas A&M routed SMU 58-6. The win moved the Aggies to 4-0, for the first time 2006.

OUTSTANDING PERFORMANCES

Quarterback Anu Solomon of Arizona…….520 yards passing with 5 TDs.
Receiver Amari Cooper of Alabama……10 receptions for 201 yards and 3 TDs.
Running back Melvin Gordon of Wisconsin……253 yards and 5 TDs on 13 carries.

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“I hope the Bowling Green defense got to shake his hand after the game, because thats the closest they would have got to him all day.” ESPN analyst Lou Holtz on Melvin Gordon’s rushing day.

“I probably aged seven to 10 years in the final three minutes of the game,” said sixth-year Mississippi State Head Coach Dan Mullen after his team barely held off an amazing LSU comeback.

“We’ve been talking about how we’ve been knocking on the door and now you have to knock it down. We kept tapping on it and hadn’t knocked it down.” Indiana head coach Kevin Wilson on his teams win over Missouri.