Numbers game: 13 stats you need to know from Week 8
Each Sunday, On3 takes a look at some interesting stats you should know coming out of that week’s games. Here are 13 from Week 8:
2: Pittsburgh’s win over Clemson was the Panthers’ second victory in their past four games against the Tigers. The first was a 43-42 win over the Deshaun Watson-led 2016 Clemson squad that went on to win the national title. Since the beginning of the 2015 season, only two coaches have multiple wins over Dabo Swinney and Clemson — Pitt’s Pat Narduzzi and Alabama’s Nick Saban. Both are 2-2 against the Tigers during that stretch. Other coaches are a combined 6-79.
3: Clemson’s loss to Pitt dropped the Tigers to 4-3. It’s the first time since 2010 that Clemson has lost three games before November.
4: BYU’s 21-19 win over Washington State was its fourth victory over a Pac-12 opponent. The Cougars (6-2) are 4-0 against Pac-12 teams this season; they also have wins over Arizona, Arizona State and Utah.
5: Ole Miss ended a five-game losing streak to LSU with a 31-17 victory over the Tigers. The Rebels are 10-2 in their past 12 games under Lane Kiffin, including 6-1 this season. It’s Ole Miss’ best start since 2014. The Rebels are also off to their first 3-1 start in SEC play since 2015.
5.5: Wisconsin linebacker Leo Chenal posted nine tackles, 5.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks in the Badgers’ 30-13 win over Purdue. The 5.5 tackles for loss are the most this season in a matchup between Power 5 teams and the third-most in a Power 5 game since the beginning of the 2018 season. Former Texas linebacker and current Cincinnati Bengals rookie Joseph Ossai is the only player who’s had more in a Power 5 game during the past four seasons. He had six tackles for loss against Utah in 2019, then six versus Oklahoma State in 2020.
9: Houston secured a 30-24 win over East Carolina nearly nine hours (eight hours and 46 minutes, to be exact) after the game was supposed to start. Kickoff, which was set for 4 p.m. ET, was pushed back more than five hours because of a weather delay. The game was then further extended because it went to overtime.
15: USC star wide receiver Drake London followed up a 16-catch performance against Utah with 15 catches for 171 yards during a 31-16 loss to Notre Dame. London is responsible for the two highest catch totals this season in games between Power 5 teams. Through seven games, London has 79 catches for 1,003 yards and five touchdowns. That’s the most ever by a Power 5 player through seven games in NCAA history; the previous high was 78 from Texas Tech’s Michael Crabtree in 2007.
20: Clemson, which was held to 17 points in its loss to Pitt, has yet to reach 20 points in regulation against an FBS opponent. Arizona, which is 0-7, and Clemson are the only two Power Five teams yet to score 20 points in regulation against an FBS opponent. Both have played six FBS teams.
75: Alabama converted 75 percent of its third downs (15 of 20) during its 52-24 win over Tennessee. The Crimson Tide’s offense now ranks as the best nationally on third downs for the season with a 58.47 percent conversion rate.
227: Penn State finished with just 227 yards of total offense and an average of 3.6 yards per play in its 20-18 nine overtime loss to Illinois. To put that into perspective, Navy ranks last nationally in yards per play this season at 3.97.
268.9: Wake Forest QB Sam Hartman was 23-of-29 for 458 yards, five touchdowns and no interceptions during the Demon Deacons’ 70-56 win over Army; he also rushed for a score. His passer rating (268.9) ranks as the fourth-highest in a game this season among quarterbacks with at least 20 pass attempts. Fresno State quarterback Jake Haener’s passer rating of 282.4 in a win over Cal Poly ranks as the highest.
302: Pitt QB Kenny Pickett threw for 302 yards with two touchdown passes in the Panthers’ win over Clemson. Pickett is the first ACC quarterback with 300-plus passing yards and multiple passing TDs against Clemson since Louisville’s Lamar Jackson and NC State’s Ryan Finley in 2017. Pickett has accounted for 12 touchdowns (10 passing, two rushing) with zero turnovers in Pittsburgh’s first four games against Power 5 opponents.
448: Texas A&M’s win over South Carolina was so one-sided that the Aggies were outgaining the Gamecocks by 448 yards entering the fourth quarter, which Texas A&M began with a 41-0 lead. At the time, A&M had outgained South Carolina 463-15. The Aggies, who ended up winning 44-14, are on a three-game winning streak since losing their first two SEC games.