College Football Saturday: Oklahoma, Miami, Clemson The Biggest Winners

Via Oklahoma Sooners blog Crimson And Cream Machine:

This one wasn’t ever in doubt -- it was 21-3 Oklahoma State by the beginning of the second quarter. Next week’s matchup won’t be quite so easy, with Texas A&M set to challenge the Cowboys.

For more on this game, head to Oklahoma State blog Cowboys Ride For Free.

It was another week of cupcakes, mixed in with a few conference openers and marquee matchups in the college football world. The big matchup of the week, Oklahoma vs. Florida State, kicked off in primetime, and will have a meaningful impact on the rankings. Upsets weren’t aplenty, though, likely leaving the top of the rankings mostly intact.

The bottom of the rankings, however, will see a shakeup. Teams just barely inside the top-25 last week struggled, and the lower half of the polls didn’t fare well. Ohio State and Michigan State highlighted the teams in the teens tripping and falling all over themselves, perhaps giving the polls a bit of a new look this weekend, and allowing a few new teams to earn a shiny ranking on Sunday.

Each week, college football players turn in outstanding performances that deserve a bit of a spotlight. Whether it’s quarterbacks picking apart a defense with clinical precision or running backs shouldering the load, there’s always something. And this week was no exception, with plenty of players turning in eye-opening performances and compiling monster stats.

Below are some of the best quarterback, running back and wide receiver performances of the week.

Skov went down with a nasty left knee injury early, going down awkwardly while making a tackle. Though no update on his status has been provided, he was seen lying on the training table through the game with his knee heavily wrapped. It could be bad news for the Cardinal, who rely on Skov to be an anchor on the defensive side of the ball.

For further reading, news, discussion and more, visit Stanford blog Rule Of Tree and Arizona blog Arizona Desert Storm. Check out Pacific Takes for more on the entire Pac-12.

It’s after midnight and the scheduled matchup between the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes and Oklahoma State Cowboys has yet to get underway. This game should be over by now, or at least just about over. But alas, the weather had other ideas, delaying the game for some three hours.

As a result, we get early morning football. Not 7 a.m. or 8 a.m., but just after midnight. And that’s for the start. A photo that serves as an advertisement for why you should tune-in resides after the jump.

Oklahoma State and Tulsa will try to make a go of it, but it may be Sunday morning by the time the game actually gets underway. Severe weather in Tulsa put the Cowboys and Golden Hurricane in a holding pattern, waiting out lightning for hours. The stadium was evacuated and all fell silent, except for the crackle and boom of heavy thunderstorms.

Finally, the teams are preparing to take the field at 11:55 p.m. local time. But they won’t kickoff then, instead coming out for warmups just five minutes before midnight. This game may not end until three or four a.m. in Tulsa.

It was only a matter of time before this happened. We know how bad Pac-12 Big East refs have been, and at some point they were going to forget which teams belong to their own conference. But still, it doesn’t make it any less funny when the referee announces proudly that South Carolina recovered a fumble in a game between Southern California and Syracuse.

This was just the beginning of a bad night for the official, who stumbled through his assignment with plenty of comical errors.

Skov’s injury may be much worse. He was in obvious pain as he was taken to the sideline, and teammates gathered around him as trainers attended to him on a table, holding up towels to shield him. At the moment, it doesn’t look good for him.

For further reading, news, discussion and more, visit Stanford blog Rule Of Tree and Arizona blog Arizona Desert Storm. Check out Pacific Takes for more on the entire Pac-12. Here’s this week’s college football TV schedule, and stay tuned to SB Nation’s college football news hub for more.

Both teams exchanged field goals in the second quarter, with Williamson booting a 45-yarder for the 13-3 lead.

For more news and notes on this game, visit our Stanford blog Rule of Tree and our Arizona blog AZ Desert Swarm. To catch up on all the action, visit our Week 3 college football StoryStream.

And therein lies the problem. The game is set to be played in Tulsa, and it’s already 10:45 local time there. Let’s generously assume the game lasts three hours, which seems unlikely, but humor us. Now we’re looking at a matchup that ends at 2 p.m., perhaps the best-case scenario at this point.

Nobody is quite sure if, or when, the Cowboys and Golden Hurricanes will get underway, but we’ll keep track of what’s going on. It’s going to be a long night in Tulsa, and for Oklahoma State fans.

Syracuse held a 3-0 lead in the fourth quarter and kept things interesting when a wide receiver-to-wide receiver touchdown play happened in the third quarter. However, USC’s defense did its job and kept the Orange out of the end zone for the most part (Syracuse did have a late touchdown in the final quarter).

For more news, notes and local angles on this game, visit our Syracuse blog Troy Nunes Is An Absolute Magician and our USC blog Conquest Chronicles. To catch up on all of college football’s Week 3 scores, stick with our constantly updated StoryStream.

The best part: the field goal was good.

The Razorbacks topped the Trojans today, beating the Troy, 38-28. Although being outgained in total yards, the Razorbacks were led by running back Ronnie Wingo Jr. The junior back had 110 yards off 20 carries and two scores. The running game for the Trojans was mediocre, gaining 101 yards off 22 rushes.

Troy quarterback Corey Robinson had a big day against the Razorback’s D, throwing for 354 yards and three touchdowns. Arkansas QB completed 23 passes for 303 yards and two scores.

A stern pass rush by Oklahoma didn’t give Trickett much of a chance to reverse FSU’s fortunes, and the game of the early season was won.

There has been no indication when this game will begin. A look at the weather map from Weather Underground shows that this was a massive cell making its way through Oklahoma. It looks like a monsoon there.

Fox Sports Southwest reminds us that play can resume once 30 minutes passes from the last lightning attack. It’s going to be a long night in the heartland of America. Baylor’s game against Stephen F. Austin ended early due to lightning.

Until the final moments of the first half, BYU quarterback Jake Heaps had accounted for both touchdowns of the game. The problem? One was to his own team, the other was a fumbled the Utah Utes took back for a touchdown. But Jordan Wynn finally came alive as the half ended, finding Jake Murphy for the touchdown as Utah took a 14-10 lead into the half.

The running game has been almost non-existent for the Utes and Cougars, with the former rushing for 27 total yards and the latter 18. Through the air, Heaps has completed 14 of 23 passes for 209 yards and a touchdown, but also has that fumble. Wynn completed 13 of 20 passes for 153 yards, one touchdown and an interception in the first half.

Eddie Lacy didn’t want to be left out of the party, which led him to 161 yards on nine carries, a 17.9 average. He was aided in large part by a 43-yard run and a 67-yard one, the latter the final score of the game.

For more on the Crimson Tide, visit our Alabama blog Roll ‘Bama Roll. Stick with our Week 3 StoryStream for college football updates.

Trickett has gone six-of-nine for 118 yards in relief, with that 56-yarder the longest play of the game for either offense. Oklahoma didn’t prepare for Trickett, and it’s shown so far. It remains to be seen whether Manuel will try to reclaim his job again during this game, but FSU might be fine with seeing what Trickett can do for the rest of the evening.

It was a great day for the Miami defense, as they man handled the Buckeyes, and helped the Hurricanes defeat Ohio State, 17-6.

The Buckeye passing game was non-existent today, as quarterbacks Joe Bauserman and Braxton Miller combined for 35 yards on just four completions, while also throwing an interception. The Buckeye running game did play better, with 37 rushes for 165 yards, however, they couldn’t find the endzone all game.

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↵Just put Gus in a control room and let him call every game, ever. He can handle it and we’ll all benefit from it.

Photo via @AKuperstein:

photo contains sports joke

The Illini host Western Michigan at home for their next game. The Broncos destroyed Central Michigan, 44-14, this week, but Illinois isn’t going to be a pushover.

Visit our Arizona State blog House of Sparky and our Illinois blog Hail to the Orange for local angles on the game. For more Week 3 action in college football, stick with our constantly updated StoryStream.

After leading the Trojans 24-7 at half, Troy is down seventeen points to Arkansas, down 38-21. After coming within ten points of the lead, Arkansas quarterback Tyler Wilson just completed a 56 yard touchdown pass to Joe Adams, who broke a tackle and raced in for the score, extending the Arkansas lead.

Troy quarterback has had an excellent day passing, going 23-36 for 268 yards and two scores. Razorbacks QB Wilson has had a similar day passing, 22 for 32 for 282 yards and two touchdowns, including the strike to Adams.