College Football Knockout Times: Week 2

I failed to properly credit some people last time. First, I got the idea of a "knockout" in college football from Chase Stewart of Football Perspective who tracked KOs for at least the NFL's 2012 season. Thanks, Chase!

Second, I'm not going through box scores one by one. No, no, no. After all, I have KO numbers on every game back to 2005. Instead, I am manipulating drive charts in spreadsheets so that it's all done automatically. All I need is the drive charts from fbsdrivestats.com. That's a site run by Justin Wade, who has written some things over at Football Study Hall, too. Thanks, Justin!

Third, my method of tracking KOs didn't take late score changes into consideration. Last week, Nebraska lost when BYU completed a Hail Mary with no time left. Because Nebraska lost and last had the ball with 48 seconds left, I originally said they were KO'd at that time. But they still had the lead! My method has been updated so that last scores that change the outcome of the game are automatically counted as 0:00 knockouts. Thanks C.E. Bell!

Now, to week 2. Because Auburn needed overtime to beat Jacksonville State Because the drive charts don't include FBS vs FCS games, my KO times don't either. Another week or two and every team will have a couple FBS games under their belts and we'll start ranking teams by averages. But for now, the Week 2 knockouts...

Download .CSV file with KOs and Margin of Victory for Weeks 1 and 2

Now to some weekly awards

Ronda Rousey Award

(quickest KO)

Like Ronda Rousey often does, these teams wasted no time debilitating the opponent.

The USC Trojans claimed the top spot by scoring a touchdown seven plays after kickoff, forcing the Idaho Vandals into a three-and-out, and then scoring again after just six more plays. UCLA didn't get the ball first, so it had to force two three-and-outs to KO UNLV. And Ole Miss was just behind, knocking out Fresno State in less than five minutes.

The season's top spot still belongs to Charlotte, who KO'd Georgia State with 56:31 left in their Week 1 game.

Floyd Mayweather Award

(win without a KO)

These teams won, but they let their opponents hang around all game. A little like Floyd Mayweather always boxing 12 rounds, right?

Toledo took an intentional safety with its last possession, giving Arkansas one more shot to score with just 52 seconds left. The Razorbacks had two shots at the end zone from the 16 yard line, but neither of Brandon Allen's passes connected.

Minnesota got to the Colorado State 1 yard line in a tie game and kicked a field goal with no time left.

LSU allowed Mississippi State to get back in the game with two fourth quarter touchdowns, but it avoided a one point loss when the Bulldogs' last second, 52-yard field goal attempt missed.

Conversely, Tennessee did allow Oklahoma to come back from a 17-0 deficit to force overtime. The Sooners and Vols traded TDs in the first overtime, but Oklahoma finished the comeback in the second.

Notre Dame was down by one point with just under two minutes to play. The Irish scored the game winning touchdown with 12 seconds left, leaving Virginia time for only two plays after.