ONLINE NCAA FOOTBALL BETTING

Week 4 - Part 1

Inside the Boxscores is a weekly feature from Matt Fargo that has been widely recognized as the best summation in college football over the past four years. He takes an in-depth look at each game and pulls out the most pertinent information that will help you handicap games in the future. College football is filled with quirky plays, misleading scores and surprise endings. Fargo takes you inside the action.

BOISE STATE 48 Bowling Green 20

Boise St. dominated right from the start as the Broncos outgained Bowling Green 546-304. The Falcons added two late touchdowns to make the score look more respectable as 102 of their total yards came in the fourth quarter. The Broncos crossed midfield on each of their first nine possessions. Bowling Green could not stop the run as Boise St. gained 337 yards on 64 carries (5.3 ypc).

UL-Monroe 28 FLA ATLANTIC 21

The Indians rallied in the fourth quarter and scored the game winner with just 1:23 remaining thanks to an interception. Florida Atlantic had a chance to tie but the Owls threw their fourth interception as they were driving. Florida Atlantic started the scoring with an interception return for a touchdown but the offense was able to generate only one drive longer than 38 yards through the first three quarters.

UTAH 38 Air Force 35

Air Force took a 14-7 lead but Utah ran off 21 straight points to pull ahead by two touchdowns and never surrendered the lead. The Falcons made the game close with two touchdowns late in the fourth quarter on drives of 86 and 80 yards but were not able to get the ball back. The Air Force defense was stung early but the Falcons forced Utah to punt on each of its last five possessions.

(23) Iowa State 28 ARMY 21

Army outgained the Cyclones 365-229 and the Black Knights took a seven-point lead into the fourth quarter but an interception led to the tying touchdown. Army got the ball down to the Iowa St. 21-yard line with less than a minute remaining but turned the ball over on downs. The Cyclones had just one drive that was more than 39 yards as they were held to 71 yards rushing on 32 carries (2.2 ypc).

(12) California 41 NEW MEXICO ST 13

Cal outgained the Aggies 595-342 and broke open a close game early by scoring 28 of the final 31 points of the game. New Mexico St. scored its only touchdown on a kickoff return that went 93 yards for a score. Following that, the Aggies got inside the Bears 25-yard line three times but managed just one field goal while missing two others. Cal rushed for 311 yards on 45 carries (6.9 ypc).

(21) Boston College 16 CLEMSON 13

Clemson endured yet another overtime loss as Boston College was able to score the game-winning touchdown after the Tigers managed just a field goal in overtime. The Eagles outgained Clemson 385-251 but failed on an opportunity in regulation, missing a 48-yard field goal with 1:14 remaining. After scoring 10 points in the first half, Clemson was held to 119 total yards and six punts the rest of the way.

(9) MIAMI-FLORIDA 23 Colorado 3

Colorado's only score came on a 58-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter as mistakes hurt the Buffaloes all day. Colorado was outgained by only 58 total yards but three turnovers along with 17 penalties that totaled 109 yards killed any chances of putting points on the board. The other scoring opportunity came early but resulted in a missed field goal of 28 yards.

(8) OHIO STATE 31 Iowa 6

Ohio St. outgained the Hawkeyes 530-137 and had 14 more first downs thanks to dominating the running game. The Buckeyes rushed for 314 yards on 60 carries (5.2 ypc) while holding Iowa to -9 yards on 18 carries (-0.5 ypc). Ohio St. had nearly a 2-1 edge in TOP as the Hawkeyes were forced to punt on their first seven possessions. It could have been worse but Ohio St. fumbled twice inside the Iowa five-yard line.

Penn State 34 NORTHWESTERN 29

Northwestern jumped out to a 23-7 lead but the Nittany Lions clawed back to take their first lead midway through the fourth quarter. After a Northwestern field goal gave the Wildcats a two-point lead, Penn St. went 80 yards in just 1:19 to score the game-winning touchdown. Northwestern was then intercepted on the next play to end the game. Penn St. rushed for 209 yards on just 27 carries (7.7 ypc).

(18) MINNESOTA 42 (22) Purdue 35

Minnesota outgained the Boilermakers 572-426 but the Gophers needed a late touchdown pass and a two-point conversion on fourth down to send the game to overtime. That came after Purdue returned an interception for a touchdown to take an eight-point lead. The Gophers were able to stop Purdue on the second overtime possession to preserve the win.

WEST VIRGINIA 20 East Carolina 15

West Virginia started strong by taking a 20-3 lead thanks to a punt return for a touchdown but the Pirates defense kept the Mountaineers in check in the second half. West Virginia mustered only 114 total yards in the second half as the rushing game was a huge disappointment. The Mountaineers rushed for just 127 yards on 46 carries (2.8 ypc). The Pirates three field goals all came off turnovers.

Michigan State 61 ILLINOIS 14

The Michigan St. offense continues to roll along as the Spartans racked up 705 yards of total offense while the defense held the Illini to just 271 yards. Michigan St. threw for 329 yards while rushing for 376 yards on 48 carries (7.8 ypc). The Spartans scored on nine of their first 11 possessions while forcing Illinois to punt on seven of its first nine possessions. Six of Michigan St.'s scoring drives were 75 yards or more.

No Carolina 31 NC STATE 24

A blocked punt and a lateral fumble set up North Carolina's first two touchdowns and the defense shut down the Wolfpack most of the second half. NC State took a 10-point lead early in the third quarter but the Wolfpack gained only 68 total yards the rest of the way. The Tar Heels scored on three of its final four possessions to take the lead for good. NC State rushed for only 13 yards on 28 carries (0.5 ypc).

(15) ALABAMA 24 Arkansas 13

Arkansas outgained Alabama 318-301 but 163 of those yards came in the fourth quarter as the Razorbacks made a late charge. They cut the lead to four points and got the ball back once again but an interception led to the final Alabama touchdown that put the game away. Arkansas had a first down at the Alabama 11-yard line but gained nothing and kicked a field goal instead of being able to tie the game.

Western Mich 19 TEMPLE 16

Western Michigan outgained the Owls 378-285 but needed a field goal as time expired to pull out the win. Turnovers were the story on both sides. The Broncos were inside Temple territory on four straight drives but three turnovers and a missed field goal resulted in no points. Temple fumbled twice in the second half in Western Michigan territory, one occurring at the Broncos two-yard line.

Eastern Mich 23 CENTRAL MICH 20

Eastern Michigan outyarded the Chippewas but it took a field goal at the end of regulation and another in overtime to get the win. The Eagles got inside the Central Michigan eight-yard line on its final two possessions but had to settle for two field goals. The Chippewas were held to 105 total yards in the second half as the only touchdown was set up by a long punt return.

OHIO U 35 Kent State 32

Ohio piled up 518 yards of total offense but had to hold off a fourth quarter rally from the Golden Flashes. Kent held the Bobcats to just 45 yards in the fourth quarter but the offense threw two interceptions in the period and totaled six for the entire game. Surprisingly, only one of those touchdowns turned into points for the Bobcats, who rushed for 373 yards while holding Kent to 72 yards on the ground.

KANSAS STATE 54 North Texas 7

The Wildcats piled up 658 yards of offense while holding North Texas to just 161 yards and five first downs. The Mean Green didn't score their touchdown until 2:06 remaining in the game where they tallied 71 of their total yards. North Texas punted on its first 12 possessions, never gaining more than 18 yards on its last 11 drives while having nine three and outs.

T-C-U 51 B-Y-U 50

A wild finish saw TCU rally from an 18-point second half deficit to take a three-point fourth quarter lead but the Cougars sent the game into overtime with a last second field goal. BYU scored a touchdown on its overtime possession but a muffed snap led to a missed extra point. TCU scored and kicked the point after to pull out the win. BYU outgained TCU 614-475 but three turnovers led to 10 Horned Frog points.

(13) Notre Dame 36 WASHINGTON 17

Notre Dame struggled to score early despite getting inside the Washington 28-yard line on its first 10 possessions of the game. The Irish were stopped on fourth down three times in their first six possessions while also settling for two field goals in that span. Washington had three turnovers inside Note Dame territory including two inside the redzone in the first half.

(19) VIRGINIA 38 Duke 7

Virginia held Duke to 215 total yards and 11 first downs but its own offense struggled as well with just 324 yards and 17 first downs. The Cavaliers opened the game up by scoring touchdowns on their first four possessions with only one of those drives being more than 23 yards thanks to turnovers and special teams. Virginia's average starting field position was its own 47-yard line compared the 20-yard line for Duke.

Part Two will be released on Wednesday