NCAAF Trends and Indexes - Week 2 (Thursday, September 10 - Saturday, September 12)

[Udog]

NCAAF

Saturday, September 12

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Game of the Day: Oregon at Michigan State
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the Ducks put up 731 yards in a 61-42 victory over Eastern Washington last week.

(5) Oregon Ducks at (6) Michigan State Spartans (-3.5, 64.5)

Sixth-ranked Michigan State looks for some payback when it hosts No. 5 Oregon in a battle of national powers Saturday night. The Spartans lost a pair of contests last season -- a 46-27 decision at Oregon early on and another against Ohio State, which defeated the Ducks in the College Football Playoff National Championship game.

While Michigan State often relies on a unit that is the only one to finish in the top 10 in the nation four consecutive seasons in total and rushing defense, the Ducks put up 731 yards in a 61-42 victory over Eastern Washington last week. Senior transfer quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. registered 340 yards of total offense in his debut for Oregon, and the Spartans must also contain productive running back Royce Freeman. Michigan State quarterback Connor Cook threw for 343 yards against Oregon last season, but was intercepted twice as the Ducks scored the game’s final 28 points. “I think we’ll be very motivated for the game, as will they, because this is a stepping stone game,” Spartans coach Mark Dantonio told reporters. “. … It’s a big, national game, and I think we all understand that.”

TV: 8 p.m. ET, ABC.

LINE HISTORY: Oddsmakers have not moved off Michigan State -3.5 since opening, but the total has dropped from 67 to 64.5.

INJURY REPORT: Oregon - C. Nelson (probable), V. Adams (probable), D. Allen (out indefinitely), P. Brown (out indefinitely), T. Tyner (out for season). Michigan State - E. Smith Jr. (questionable), M. Meyers (out indefinitely), E. Davis (out for season).

WEATHER: The forecast is calling for a partly cloudy evening with northwest winds of 3-8 mph.

ABOUT OREGON (1-0): Adams, who took a late hit Saturday but proclaimed himself fine early in the week, threw for a pair of scores against his former team in the opener while Freeman rushed for a career-high 180 yards and three TDs. The Ducks must solve some issues on the other side of the ball to remain in the national title chase, after giving up 438 passing yards. “I think maybe in some ways, getting exposed the way we did is going to make us a lot better,” Oregon secondary coach John Neal told the Register-Guard.

ABOUT MICHIGAN STATE (1-0): Cook completed 15-of-31 passes for 256 yards and two TDs in the 37-24 victory over Western Michigan last week, and his top target was Aaron Burbridge (four catches, 117 yards). One of the keys for the Spartans is developing a rushing attack with several inexperienced options behind a solid offensive line and freshman LJ Scott had a team-high 77 of their 196 yards in the opener. Linebacker Riley Bullough led the way with a career-best nine tackles and three of Michigan State’s seven sacks last week.

TRENDS:

*Spartans are 1-5 ATS in their last 6 vs. Pac-12.
*Over is 7-0 in Spartans last 7 non-conference games.
*Over is 9-1-1 in Ducks last 11 games after allowing more than 40 points in their previous game.
*Ducks are 20-7 ATS in their last 27 games on grass.

CONSENSUS: According to Consensus, 55 percent of the betting public is on the Spartans.


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[Udog]

Top 25 roundup: Sparty avenges last year loss to Ducks

EAST LANSING, Mich. -- LJ Scott rushed for two second-half touchdowns and Connor Cook tossed two scoring passes to lead Michigan State to a 31-28 victory over Oregon in a matchup of Top 10 teams on Saturday night at Spartan Stadium.

Scott, a true freshman tailback, gained 76 yards on 11 carries for the No. 5 Spartans. Senior quarterback Cook passed for 192 yards as Michigan State avenged a 46-27 loss at Oregon last season.

The Spartans extended their school record to 10 straight games with 30 or more points.

Senior quarterback Vernon Adams Jr. passed for 309 yards and a touchdown and rushed for one for No. 7 Oregon. Ducks sophomore running back Royce Freeman gained 92 yards on 24 carries and scored a touchdown.

The Spartans extended their school record to 10 straight games with 30 or more points.

No. 1 Ohio State 38, Hawaii 0

COLUMBUS, Ohio -- Ezekiel Elliott rushed for three touchdowns, but the Buckeyes could not shake heavy underdog Hawaii until late in the game.

The Buckeyes led only 17-0 going into the fourth quarter until Elliott's 1-yarder with 9:07 left completed a 91-yard drive.

Ohio State safety Vonn Bell returned a fumble 14 yards for a touchdown 79 seconds later to make it 31-0 and Bri'onte Dunn rushed for a 4-yard score with 3:51 left.

No. 2 Alabama 37, Middle Tennessee 10

TUSCALOOSA, Ala. -- Jake Coker threw for 214 yards in the first half and Derrick Henry ran for three touchdowns to as the Tide prevailed over the Blue Raiders.

But the No. 2 team in the country looked anything like a dominant power of past Alabama teams.

Two of Alabama's first four drives ended with a punt while another ended on a turnover on downs. Middle Tennessee outgained Alabama 120 to 66 in total offense in the first quarter and the Tide defense allowed the Raiders to march up and down the field.

No. 3 TCU 70, Stephen F. Austin 7

FORT WORTH, Texas -- Trevone Boykin passed for four touchdowns, Aaron Green ran for two and the Horned Frogs blasted Stephen F. Austin.

TCU had its share of questions after slipping past Minnesota the previous week. Boykin struggled to find any rhythm in the opener and the defense suffered a series of personnel losses.

None of that mattered against an overmatched FCS foe from the Southland Conference. The Horned Frogs had more touchdowns in the first quarter against the Lumberjacks than they did in the entire first game and piled up 627 yards of offense.

No. 4 Baylor 66, Lamar 31

WACO, Texas -- Seth Russell threw the ball to the opponent more than he wanted, but he found teammate Corey Coleman enough to pave the way for Baylor to cruise to victory.

However, Baylor used its quick-strike offense to offset the miscues. Russell opened the second half by connecting with Coleman for a 34-yard touchdown, the receiver's fourth score of the game.

Coleman had six catches for 182 yards and the four touchdowns. Russell completed 23 of 34 passes for 342 yards, four touchdowns and three interceptions.

No. 6 Auburn 27, Jacksonville State 20, OT

AUBURN, Ala -- FCS foe Jacksonville State has a reputation for knocking off FBS opponents, and the Gamecocks almost pulled off one of the biggest upsets in school history.

But Auburn running back Peyton Barber scored the game-winning touchdown from 4 yards. He finished the game with 125 yards on 23 carries.

Quarterback Jeremy Johnson, who once again struggled with his decision-making, connected with wideout Melvin Ray in the corner of the end zone for a 10-yard score to tie the game at 20-all with under a minute to play.

No. 8 USC 59, Idaho 9

LOS ANGELES -- It was a career-setting night for USC senior quarterback Cody Kessler and sophomore wide receiver JuJu Smith-Schuster.

Kessler completed 26 of 31 passes for a career-best 410 yards and three touchdowns as USC mauled visiting Idaho.

Kessler's favorite target was Smith-Schuster, a freshman All-American last year, who established career-highs in receptions (10) and yards gained (192). Twice Smith-Schuster blazed through the Idaho secondary on post routes to score on catches of 50 and 41 yards.

No. 9 Notre Dame 34, Virginia 27

CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va. -- Backup quarterback DeShone Kizer tossed a 39-yard touchdown to wide receiver Will Fuller with 12 seconds left after starting quarterback Malik Zaire left the game in the third quarter with an ankle injury.

Irish coach Brian Kelly said Zaire suffered a broken right ankle and will miss the rest of the season.

The sophomore was injured late in the third quarter when a defender fell on his right ankle during a 3-yard run by Zaire.

No. 10 Georgia 31, Vanderbilt 14

NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Nick Chubb ran 19 times for 189 yards as part of a Bulldog ground attack that gained 281 yards and the Georgia defense held Commodores' tailback Ralph Webb to 25 carries for 68 yards.

The Bulldogs led just 14-6 at half as Vanderbilt held the ball for 50 plays to Georgia's 23.

But Marshall Morgan's 20-yard field goal with 6:47 left in the third quarter extended the lead to 11. Exactly five minutes later, on a second-and-goal play from the Vanderbilt 5, quarterback Greyson Lambert suckered in the Commodore defense on a play-fake and waltzed into the end zone untouched.

No. 11 Florida State 34, South Florida 14

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. -- The Seminoles shook off a sluggish start and surged in the second half to beat their in-state foe behind a career day from running back Dalvin Cook.

Cook, a sophomore, carried the load for the second straight week, this time rushing for a career-high 266 yards on 30 carries and three touchdowns.

Cook became the fifth player to rush for more than 200 yards in school history and is the first Seminole to surpass that mark since 1988.

No. 12 Clemson 41, Appalachian State 10

CLEMSON, S.C. -- Charone Peake, filling in for injured wide receiver Mike Williams, caught four passes for 86 yards and two touchdowns as the Tigers rolled over the Mountaineers.

Williams, a preseason All-ACC selection, is out indefinitely after suffering a small fracture in his neck in the Tigers' season-opening game, but Clemson didn't miss a beat against Appalachian State.

Appalachian State, seeking its first win against an ACC opponent since a 20-16 victory at Wake Forest in 2000, entered the game riding a seven-game winning streak.

No. 13 UCLA 37, UNLV 3

LAS VEGAS -- Paul Perkins rushed for 151 yards and two touchdowns and linebacker Kenny Young returned an interception 23-yards for a touchdown as the Bruins crushed the Rebels.

Freshman quarterback Josh Rosen completed 22 of 42 passes for 223 yards, one touchdown and an interception and Jordan Payton caught a game-high five passes for 70 yards.

UCLA set a school record with its 11th straight victory in games played away from the Rose Bowl.

No. 14 LSU 21, No. 25 Mississippi State 19

STARKVILLE, Miss. -- Heisman Trophy candidate Leonard Fournette rushed for a career-high 159 yards and three touchdowns and the Tigers had just enough to hang on at Davis Wade Stadium.

Fournette had scoring runs of 1, 26 and 18 yards on 28 28 carries, his best output in two seasons.

Mississippi State had a chance to win the game at the end, but Devon Bell missed two shots at a 52-yard field goal attempt.

No. 15 Georgia Tech 65, Tulane 7

ATLANTA -- Quarterback Justin Thomas accounted for 168 offensive yards and three touchdowns.

The junior, who played only one quarter in last week's 69-6 win over Alcorn State, played into the middle of the third quarter before being relieved.

Thomas completed 7 of 9 passes for 97 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 10 times for 71 yards and one touchdown.

No. 16 Texas A&M 56, Ball State 23

COLLEGE STATION, Texas -- The Aggies sprinted to a big lead and then inserted backups, which allowed the Cardinals to score 20 second-half points.

A&M quarterback Kyle Allen, playing into the second quarter, completed 10 of 13 passes for 126 yards and three touchdowns.

Freshman tailback Kwame Etwi, a third-stringer, led all rushers with 116 yards.

No. 17 Mississippi 73, Fresno State 21

OXFORD, Miss. -- Records are made to be broken. At least that's the way the offense of the 17th-ranked Mississippi Rebels looks at things.

It took all of one week for the Rebels to exceed a point total for a quarter they set in the opener against Tennessee-Martin.

Quarterback Chad Kelly threw three touchdown passes and rushed for another score -- all in the first quarter. He finished with four touchdowns through the air overall. Ole Miss gained 304 yards in the first quarter.

Toledo 16, No. 18 Arkansas 12

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. -- Toledo stopped No. 18 Arkansas when it mattered most and picked up the school's first victory over an SEC team.

Arkansas quarterback Brandon Allen drove the Razorbacks 52 yards with no timeouts in the final 44 seconds thanks to three big completions, but two pass attempts into the end zone in the final six seconds fell incomplete, sealing the upset.

The Rockets won despite being outgained in total yards 515-318.

No. 19 Oklahoma 31, No. 23 Tennessee 24, (2 OT)

KNOXVILLE, Tenn. - Zack Sanchez's interception ended the Volunteers' chance for victory in the second overtime as the Sooners won in hostile territory.

Quarterback Baker Mayfield, who kept Oklahoma in the game for much of the night with his feet, found Sterling Shepard for an 18-yard touchdown in the second overtime -- his third TD pass of the game -- to put the Sooners ahead for good.

The Volunteers led 17-0 early and 17-3 in the fourth quarter.

BYU 35, NO. 20 Boise State

PROVO, Utah -- Quarterback Tanner Mangum produced yet another dramatic comeback for BYU in the final seconds.

Mangum connected with receiver Mitchell Jurgens on a 35 yard touchdown pass on fourth down with 45 seconds left to complete a fourth-quarter rally that lifted the Cougars to the win.

Mangum's Hail Mary pass on the last play of the game in Week 1 gave BYU a win over Nebraska in Lincoln.

No. 21 Missouri 27, Arkansas State 20

JONESBORO, Ark. -- Leaning on its defense to overcome an inconsistent offense, the Tigers overcame a seven-point halftime deficit and three turnovers to win.

Led by linebacker Kentrell Brothers and defensive end Charles Harris, the Tigers held the Red Wolves to 37 yards in the second half after surrendering 180 in the first two quarters.

No. 22 Arizona 44, Nevada 20

RENO, Nev. -- Sophomore running back Nick Wilson ran for 194 yards and three touchdowns as the Wildcats beat the Wolf Pack.

Wilson, who also caught two passes for 30 yards, finished with 21 carries, his last coming on the first play of the fourth quarter as Arizona began to empty its bench.

Arizona quarterback Anu Solomon was efficient, completing 24 of 33 passes for 264 yards, with two touchdowns and no interceptions.