College football blitz: Week 3 recap

September 18, 2019

A slow week three slate of games made for some football that was hard to watch at times. However, a football fan as dedicated as I am can sit through the slowest of bouts. And believe me when I tell you, this weekend was full of them.

We had ranked teams playing unranked opponents and unranked teams playing unranked opponents, but unfortunately for those who tune in for college football primetime there were no ranked vs. ranked matchups this weekend — probably one of the main reasons for the sluggishness.

When I say “sluggish,” I mean Michigan State only scored seven points in East Lansing before losing to Arizona State, Maryland, a team that scored 142 points in the first two weeks, did not even hit the 20-point mark in the Terps 20-17 loss to Temple, Virginia Tech nearly lost to Furman and Georgia Tech did lose to The Citadel — overall an odd week for college football.

In spite of this, however, one conference that we are happy to see regaining some of its prominence is the Pac-12.

The Pac-12 has fallen out of relevance as of late, serving little purpose other than providing the all-day football fans with their share of #Pac12AfterDark. A change may be on the horizon ,however, as the Pac-12 was treated quiet affectionately by the Associated Press this week. For the first time since week three of the 2015 football season, our friends on the west coast have six teams ranked in the A.P. Top 25.

Upsets

Arizona State @ 18 Michigan State

As far as upsets go, this one takes the cake — at least this weekend.

The Sun Devils went to Spartan Stadium on a mission, walking away with a slim 10-7 victory.

And the saddest part? MSU could have tied the game had a 12-men flag not nixed the field goal attempt with six seconds left. Spartan kicker Matt Coghlin then hooked the second try, giving ASU the winning in East Lansing.

Kansas @ Boston College

If there is one thing every seasoned college football fan knows, it is never have trust in Kansas football.

The Jayhawks are a basketball school to the fullest extent. Which is why a Kansas team, that has not won more than three games in a season since 2009, is walking into Alumni Stadium and heading home with a big win was so shocking.

Keep in mind, this is the same Boston College team that dropped 35 points while knocking off Virginia Tech and breezed right past Richmond 45-13.

So, the question now sits upon us: do the Eagles bounce back? Or does this loss to a subpar Kansas program set back Boston College’s season?

Or better yet — does this win over a fairly decent Boston College team provide enough confidence for a possible turnaround on the part of the Jayhawks?

19 Iowa @ Iowa State

Rivalry games are always fun, especially when the teams are from two different conferences.

We see matchups like this every year with Florida & Florida State, Clemson & South Carolina and Penn State & Pittsburgh just to name a few.

This year’s matchup between the Hawkeyes and the Cyclones did not disappoint, coming down to a game-deciding field goal. Granted, the field goal was hit by Iowa with 4:51 to play, so there were no as-the-clock-struck-zero plays. Iowa State had nearly five minutes to put a drive together and just could not finish the job after fumbling on its final drive of the day.

It also did not help that weather delays, making for an over six-hour event, took rhythm out of both squads.

Scores in North Carolina

North Carolina 18 Wake Forest 24

N.C. State 27 West Virginia 44

East Carolina 10 Navy 42

Charlotte 52 Massachusetts 17

Duke 41 Middle Tennessee 18

Appalachian State BYE

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