The Week That Was: Week Seven

Week seven may not have had a ton of games that shook things up but that doesn’t mean it was boring because the top games delivered. All of that and more, this is the week that was!

Top Games

1. UCF at Memphis: Up to this point the Knights had been making light work of everyone on their schedule. But they knew going into the Liberty bowl would be their toughest test yet. The Tigers showed up to play their best game all year especially running back Darrell Henderson. UCF looked flat early and trailed 30-17 at the half. But McKenzie Milton lead a surge on offense and the defense pitched a second half shutout. Because of that the Knights would take a 31-30 lead late in the 4th. The final play would come when Brady White’s pass would be complete but Pollard could not get out of bounds in time and the final seconds ran off he clock. The #10 team in the country survives on the road and snaps Memphis’ long home win streak.

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2. Middle Tennessee State at Florida International: This game will go a long way in deciding the Conference USA East. This was a back and forth lower scoring game where both offenses had their work cut out for them. The Blue Raiders would lose starting QB Brent Stockstill to injury around the half way point in this game and be replaced by Asher O’Hara. Middle Tennessse would lead late in the third quarter but the Panthers would not go away. They would score eleven unanswered points to take a 24-21 lead. They would seal the win after O’Hara’s pass was intercepted in the end zone with 34 seconds left. The Panthers win puts them in the drivers seat in the division.

Photo by Mark Brown/Getty Images

3. USF at Tulsa: The Bulls haven’t always won pretty this year. They’ve won a lot of close game and had a lot of come back wins. This week would be no different. Tulsa would find themselves in a familiar situation as well, which was a double digit lead in the second half. I think you can tell where this one is going. The Golden Hurricane would take a 24-10 lead but per usual USF would come storming back. A touchdown with a missed extra point and another touchdown with a failed two point conversion meant the Bulls would still need a field goal to keep their undefeated season alive. After a huge pass play to McCants with 10 seconds left, USF would survive with a walk off field goal to take the win 25-24.

4. Boise State at Nevada: Is this 2010? No, but it sure felt like old times as a pesky Nevada team would show up to play against the Broncos. The Wolfpack defense forced Brett Rypien to throw three interceptions and held the high powered Boise offense in check for the first half for a 17-17 tie at the half. The Broncos would score 14 in a row to get a comfortable lead but Nevada would not quit. They scored on a 50 yard touchdown pass to make it a one score game with just under 7 minutes left and a field goal with just under 2 minutes left. The comeback would not be enough though and the Broncos would hang on for a 31-27 win.

Top Dogs

1. Marcus McMaryion- Fresno State, QB: The Bulldogs quarterback helped lead his team to another big win, this time over Wyoming. He went 22-32, 287 yards and two touchdowns through the air along with two rushing touchdowns.

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2. Jalen Guyton- North Texas, WR: North Texas picked up a big win over conference foe Southern Miss and Guyton played a huge role in that. He had 7 catches for 124 yards and 1 touchdown.

Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports

3. Tyler King- Marshall, RB: The Thundering Herd picked up a win over Old Dominion thanks in large part to the day that King had. He had 22 carries for 195 yards and 1 touchdown.

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4. Jordan Love- Utah State, QB: This is the second week in a row that Love is on this list. The quarterback went 17-23 for 322 yards and FIVE touchdowns. The Aggies look like a top group of five team in the country right now.

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5. BJ Farrow- Liberty, WR: Liberty got a HUGE program win and they have Farrow to thank for that. He had 8 catches for 101 yards and the game winning touchdown. The win? Well that’s a nice transition...

Upsets of the week

1. Liberty over Troy: This was one of the most shocking results of the weekend. The same team that knocked off Nebraska in Lincoln loses on the road to Liberty. Now don’t get me wrong, the Flames have been building this year and a win like this is something the program definitely needed to take it to the next step but this one came out of nowhere. The two teams went back and forth until the aforementioned BJ Farrow caught a game winning touchdown pass with 2:23 left on the clock. The Flames win 22-16. The Trojans seem to have one of these head scratchers every year.

2. Eastern Michigan over Toledo: Let me beat this dead horse one more week but um... ANOTHER close game for the Eagles. Only this time they come out on the winning side of it. They jumped out to a 28-3 lead and quarterback Mike Glass had the offense rolling. But the Rockets surged back to score 20 points in a row but it would not be enough. Eastern Michigan holds on for the win against one of the top teams in the MAC.

App State rolls

This wasn’t an upset, I wanna make that clear. But I couldn’t find another place for it so I made the Mountaineers their own section this week. App State went on the road and steamrolled the Sun Belt west favorite Arkansas State Red Wolves, 35-9. Darryton Evans had over a 100 yards rushing and the defense forced three interceptions. The Mountaineers are starting to make their case as not only the Sun Belt favorites but one of the best Group of five teams in the country but more on that later.

Photo by Justin K. Aller/Getty Images

In the Doghouse

1. Everett Withers: While Texas State showed life in their game against Georgia Southern, it would still result in another loss. The buzz around the program feels flat too as the small crowd showing on national television this week was not a good look. With Mike Jinks (a Texas guy) now on the market after being let go by Bowling Green, is it time for the Bobcats to make a move? Or has Withers earned more time?

Isaiah J. Downing-USA TODAY Sports

2. Mike Sanford: Like Withers, Stanford is a repeat on this list. His Hilltoppers were blown out by an average Charlotte team. They showed some fight this season but not enough or at least not what the WKU faithful had become accustomed to under previous coaches. It may be time for WKU to move on after 2018.

Jeff Hanisch-USA TODAY Sports

Tweets of the Week

1. Shameless plug for me but also BIG facts.

2. SHOTS FIRED FROM MACTION TO FUN BELT!

3. Probably neither but...

Final Thoughts

1. App State and Utah State are top 25 good: If you saw the AP polls that came out on Sunday you didn’t see the Mountaineers or the Aggies which is a shame. Both teams only have a close loss on the road against ranked big ten opponents and both had late leads in those games. I know the AAC is everyone’s darling and rightfully so but there’s some good football being played in Boone and Logan too. I’m not alone in this either.

2. UAB is flying under the radar: Which is probably the way they want it. Every since a outlier loss to Coastal Carolina the Blazers have been rolling and now they sit alone atop the Conference USA West. They have a massive game this upcoming week against North Texas. It may be the biggest game in program history. Not too bad for a program that was put out to pasture a few years ago.

Bonus

MASON FINE IS AMAZING