CFB Recap: The best from outside the region

#23 Mississippi State 40, Arkansas 17

This ended up being a tough one for Arkansas as star QB KJ Jefferson did not play due to a head injury. He was seen warming up on the field before the game, but the Razorbacks ultimately decided to start Cade Fortin in place of their program star. Though Fortin started the game, it was Malik Hornsby that produced the most for Arkansas. He ended the day with 234 passing yards and a touchdown to go along with two picks on 8-17. He also ran for 114 yards on just eight carries. Arkansas got off to quite the slow start without Jefferson and could not seem to recover. Hornsby was able to produce some offense, but they lost a bit of the multi-dimensional quality given that Hornsby is not a polished thrower of the football. Though some completions were left on the field, the big plays were present for the Razorbacks. Jadon Haselwood was still able to pull down 113 yards on three catches, which included a 68-yard reception. This is Arkansas’ third straight loss as they are quickly falling out of favor in the SEC from when they were ranked as a top ten team in the country just three weeks ago.

Some history was made in the SEC as Mississippi State QB Will Rogers broke the record for career completions in the conference. His record-breaking 922^nd completion was made in the first quarter en route to a stellar 395-yard afternoon with three touchdowns while completing 31-48 attempts. The record was previously held by former Georgia QB Aaron Murray, however, Rogers played in roughly half the games that Murray played in. The Bulldogs came out hot scoring the first 14 points of the game. MSU did a great job at controlling time of possession as they had the ball for 36 minutes of the game. RB Dillon Johnson averaged almost six yards per carry on 17 carries for 100 yards and two scores. Mississippi State is continuing their hot streak with their third straight win since losing on the road to LSU in Week 3. After earning a win last week against Texas A&M and this win over Arkansas, they carry great momentum into a tough matchup next week at Kentucky.

Up Next (Arkansas): @ BYU

Up Next (Mississippi State): @ #13 Kentucky

#8 Tennessee 40, #25 LSU 13

Tennessee is a problem. They continued their hot play off the bye week taking a big win today on the road in Death Valley. Tennessee still had a bit to prove going into this game, as they have not beaten a serious opponent outside of Florida. However, a win like this certainly puts teams in the SEC on notice. QB Hendon Hooker helped his case in the Heisman discussion throwing for 239 yards and two touchdowns. With that said, Tennessee killed LSU on the ground this afternoon outrunning the Tigers 263 yards to 55. Vols RB Jabari Small had a great day rushing for 127 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. He was a huge key to Tennessee’s success on the ground. WRs Bru McCoy and Jalin Hyatt continue to look like one of the best receiver tandems in the country as McCoy pulled down seven catches for 140 yards and Hyatt caught four balls for 63 yards and two scores. Tennessee’s pass rush was able to get at LSU QB Jayden Daniels often with five sacks on the score sheet. Tennessee has potentially their toughest matchup of the season next week as they play Alabama in Knoxville.

LSU struggled to get the ball rolling throughout the game. The running game was nonexistent as the Tigers could only muster up 55 total yards on the ground for the entire game. Daniels was their leading rusher with 38 yards rushing on 16 carries. LSU’s strength the entire season so far has been their ability to effectively run the football and Tennessee was able to shut that down completely today forcing Jayden Daniels to air the ball out. Daniels left a few completions on the field, but was still able to put up a 300-yard passing day with a touchdown and a pick. Potential first round pick WR Kayshon Boutte finally put up a score this season despite only receiving for 33 yards this afternoon. This ends LSU’s four-game winning streak and their first loss since Week 1 against Florida State. The Tigers will go on the road for just the second time this season as they take on Florida in Gainesville.

Up Next (Tennessee): vs. #1 Alabama

Up Next (LSU): @ Florida

#18 UCLA 42, #11 Utah 32

UCLA keeps on rolling as they earn the victory against Utah. This win gives the Bruins a 6-0 record to start the season with two quality wins in a row after beating Washington last week. This game for UCLA was about efficiency and being effective running the football. Star RB Zach Charbonnet was a beast on the ground today rushing for 198 yards and a touchdown on 22 carries. He came into the game averaging 6.4 yards per carry. As for efficiency, UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson was a playmaker today for the Bruins. He completed 18-23 for 299 yards and four touchdowns with a pick. He also ran for a touchdown. The Bruins’ offense was firing on all cylinders, especially in the second half scoring 28 of their 42 points in the latter half. WR Jake Bobo, who has emerged as one of DTR’s favorite targets, caught two touchdowns today. The balance on the offensive side of the football saved them today as the defense found themselves to struggle late in the game. UCLA’s run defense has been unreliable to say the least this season and really had trouble controlling the Utah rushing attack. If there were a negative takeaway from this game, the Bruins were lucky the offense rolled in this game or we could be having a different conversation about where they stand in the PAC-12.
A couple too many mistakes came from Utah QB Cameron Rising costed the Utes this game. Rising threw an interception in the first quarter, which led to a UCLA touchdown. Rising also fumbled on fourth down which led to a Charbonnet touchdown. This game can be seen as a bit of an anomaly as Utah led in time of possession and were less penalized, but still came away with a loss. Rising finished the day with 287 passing yards on 23-32 attempts and an interception, as he did not throw a touchdown. He also ran for two touchdowns. Tavion Thomas continued his hot play rushing for 91 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. This is Utah’s first loss since Week 1 against Florida. Utah will look to rebound next week as they head back home to take on PAC-12 leader USC.

Up Next (UCLA): @ Oregon 10/22

Up Next (Utah): vs. #6 USC

#14 NC State 19, Florida State 17

It certainly was not pretty, but NC State was able to pull out a much-needed win after suffering a loss to Clemson last week. Luckily, Florida State did not look right tonight either. NC State QB Devin Leary was again underwhelming before leaving the game with an injury. Leary finished 10-21 for 130 yards with a touchdown and a pick. The Wolfpack mustered up only 307 yards of total offense, but were still able to hang on. Some late defensive efforts is what held this win for NC State including a Devan Boykin interception ultimately sealing the victory. NC State held Florida State scoreless in the second half after trailing 17-3 at halftime. The Wolfpack defense was able to take advantage of the subpar play by FSU QB Jordan Travis as he struggled with accuracy throughout the game. They will head to Syracuse next week to take on the Orange.

Jordan Travis was forced to make many plays with his legs since his accuracy was below his normal level. Travis ran for 108 yards including a 71-yard burst. He ended the night completing 50% of his throws on 30 attempts for 181 yards with a touchdown and two interceptions, one of which came with about 20 seconds left in the game while the Seminoles were threatening late. The game came down to the wire and the last second turnover is what put the nail in the coffin. However, Florida State’s offense fell asleep completely in the second half after getting off to a solid start. This is Florida State’s second straight loss and it will not get any easier as they go back home to play Clemson.

Up Next (NC State): @ Syracuse

Up Next (Florida State): vs. #5 Clemson