Wild Finishes All Around

09/19/2022 Wild Finishes All Around

By: Jeff Yoder

Hail Mary, Late-Game Heroics, Upsets & Notre Dame Scare Highlight Wild Weekend in College Football

The College Football landscape is shaping up, and Saturday (Week 3) brought a number of wild finishes that were worth the watch. A pair of Hail Marys — one complete, one not — brought drama for Appalachian State and Notre Dame. Two touchdowns in the final minute between Purdue and Syracuse led to a wild finish. And upsets to the 11th, 12th and 13th ranked teams shook the rankings. If your team was in the top 10, they were on cruise control. Here’s what happened in Week 3:

 

Wild Finishes to Watch

 

Appalachian State’s Hail Mary: Appalachian State continues to play spoiler in college football.  The Mountaineers beat Troy on Saturday with a last-play, 53-yard Hail Mary that might be the play of the year.

 

Notre Dame Escapes Cal: The Irish were on the brink of a shocking 0-3 start to the season. After sealing a win against California (24-17) with an interception and a fumble recovery, the Irish were shocked by penalties on both plays. With Cal retaining the ball, their Hail Mary came within inches of being complete.

 

Syracuse Walks Off Boilers: Purdue rallied with a last-minute touchdown to take a 29-25 lead over Syracuse on the road, but they left too much time on the clock. With 11 seconds left and 25 yards to go, Syracuse QB Garrett Shrader delivered a strike to Orondo Gadsden II — ball game, Orange (32-29).

 

Washington Upsets #11 Michigan State: The biggest upset of the weekend belonged to Washington as QB Michael Penix Jr. (401 yards, 4 TDs) hung 38 on Michigan State in a blowout (38-29). The Huskies led 39-14 before the Spartans tacked on two scores in the 4th quarter.

 

Other Notable Highlights

#25 Oregon def. #12 BYYU (41-20)

#24 Texas A&M def. #13 Miami (17-9)

 

Top-10 Blowouts

#1 Georgia def. South Carolina (48-7)

#2 Alabama def. UL Monroe (63-7)

#3 Ohio State def. Toledo (77-21)

#4 Michigan def. UConn (59-0)

#5 Clemson def. Louisiana Tech (48-20)

#6 Oklahoma def. Nebraska (49-14)

#7 USC def. Fresno State (45-17)

#8 Oklahoma State def. Arkansas PB (63-7)

#9 Kentucky def. Youngstown State (31-0)

#10 Arkansas def. Missouri State (38-27)

 

Additional Storylines

CBS Sports: AP Top 25 Poll: Penn State Makes Jump, Washington Joins Rankings & More

SB Nation: 3 Takeaways From AP Poll, Including Washington’s Resurgence

 

Photo: Michael Reaves / Getty Images