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College football: 10 best and 10 worst teams of Week 7 – South Carolina stunner

By Nicholas Ian Allen

ATHENS, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 12: Israel Mukuamu #24 of the South Carolina Gamecocks reacts after his second interception of the game against the Georgia Bulldogs in the second half of their 20-17 second overtime win with J.T. Ibe #29 and R.J. Roderick #10 at Sanford Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images)
ATHENS, GEORGIA - OCTOBER 12: Israel Mukuamu #24 of the South Carolina Gamecocks reacts after his second interception of the game against the Georgia Bulldogs in the second half of their 20-17 second overtime win with J.T. Ibe #29 and R.J. Roderick #10 at Sanford Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Athens, Georgia. (Photo by Kevin C. Cox/Getty Images) /
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NASHVILLE, TENNESSEE – OCTOBER 12: Head coach Derek Mason of the Vanderbilt Commodores watches his team warm up prior to a game against the UNLV Rebels at Vanderbilt Stadium on October 12, 2019 in Nashville, Tennessee. (Photo by Frederick Breedon/Getty Images) /

10 Worst Team Performances of Week 7

10. Connecticut, 69.78

Tulane made the UConn defense look like a lot the unit that posted a historically bad season in 2018. The Huskies allowed 6.8 yards per carry, 9.5 yards per pass, and were outgained by an average of 4.03 yards per play in a 49-7 loss. Only Rutgers (-6.00), UMass (-5.31), Florida (-5.21) and Oregon State (-5.21) were worse in Week 7 in terms of net yards per play.

9. Eastern Michigan, 69.58

Eastern Michigan quarterback Mike Glass III has the potential to be one of the best players in the MAC. Unfortunately, Glass can be very inconsistent. Saturday, the quarterback threw three interceptions in a 29-23 loss to Ball State and also fumbled away the Eagles chance to win the game on their final offensive possession.

8. Texas State, 68.88

The Texas State offense never got going Thursday night in San Marcos. The Bobcats were held to 92 rushing yards and 3.29 yards per carry in a 24-14 loss to ULM, which marked the fourth time this season Texas State has failed to gain at least 100 yards on the ground in a game.

7. Akron, 68.83

Only two teams rank lower than Texas State (82.83 rushing yards per game) in rushing offense this season: Purdue (63.50) and Akron (57.50). The Zips actually had a better than average rushing performance Saturday (86 rushing yards), but averaged just 2.7 yards per carry in a 26-3 loss to Kent State. Worse, Akron drove inside the Golden Flashes’ 10-yard line three times and scored only once.

6. Massachusetts. 68.83

Akron has posted the worst average Team Performance rating of the season, thanks in part to Massachusetts beating the 37-29 in Week 5. However, the Minutemen have been hopeless otherwise. UMass allowed 52 first-half points in a 69-21 loss to Louisiana Tech and was out-gained 689-347 overall in the process.

5. Tulsa, 67.98

Tulsa had played better than the 2-3 record it earned through the first five games of the season, but the improvement the Golden Hurricane had shown early in the season was not on display in a 45-17 loss to Navy. Navy racked up 388 rushing yards and averaged 6.7 yards per carry while holding Tulsa to 69 yards on the ground and 2.4 yards per attempt.

The Golden Hurricane also managed just 5.2 yards on 49 pass attempts – largely because an apparent 98-yard touchdown pass was called back by a penalty in the first quarter. Coupled with a failed field goal attempt on its first offensive drive, which started at the Midshipmen 18-yard line, Tulsa failed to take what could have been at least a 13-0 lead in the first quarter.

4. Vanderbilt, 67.38

Are Derek Mason’s days numbered in Nashville? UNLV head coach Tony Sanchez is also on the hot seat, but he led the Rebels to a 34-10 win over an SEC opponent on the road, while also starting a backup quarterback (who averaged 10.8 yards per pass). Meanwhile, Vanderbilt’s quarterback play was dreadful as Riley Neal and Deuce Wallace combined to go 16-for-41 passing for 140 yards (3.4 yards per pass) and an interception.

3. Toledo, 66.33

Toledo lost to Bowling Green 20-7, which is simply unfathomable. The Falcons had allowed an average of 50.25 points to FBS opponents coming in and had scored 27 points total against FBS teams, coming in. Toledo has opportunities to escape, but the Rockets missed two field goal attempts, lost a fumble in the red zone and tossed an interception in the end zone.

2. UTSA, 65.28

UTSA was out-gained 492-220 overall and by an average of 3.41 yards per play in a 33-14 home loss to UAB. The Roadrunners managed just 3.5 yards per rushing attempt, 4.7 yards per pass, and converted on just four of 15 combined opportunities on third and fourth downs.

1. New Mexico, 64.58

New Mexico lost 35-21 to Mountain West rival Colorado State, which certainly doesn’t look like a blowout. The Lobos also averaged 5.2 yards per carry while running for 256 yards and held the Rams to 131 rushing yards and 3.4 yards per attempt on the ground.

However, Colorado State had a huge edge in the passing game. Put simply, New Mexico couldn’t throw and finished with 89 passing yards on 8-for-17 passing: an average of 5.2 yards per attempt. The Lobos also couldn’t slow down Colorado State receiver Warren Jackson, who caught nine passes for 214 yards and two touchdowns. Patrick O’Brien completed 25 of 34 passes for 420 yards and three scores without an interception: a 12.4-yard average.

The Rams also converted 53.5 percent of their third-down opportunities and held the Lobos to three conversions on 12 attempts (33.3 percent). Overall, New Mexico was outgained 551-345, and by an average of 2.43 yards per play.

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