Thursday CFB: G5 playoff candidate falls, South Alabama drops 87

Texas State HC GJ Kinne Raymond Carlin III-Imagn Images

Thursday night CFB: Group of Five playoff candidate falls while South Alabama drops 87 points

By Austen Bundy | Last updated Sep 13, 2024 12:54 AM ET

While most football fans were tuned in to the Buffalo Bills-Miami Dolphins NFL game on "Thursday Night Football," they were missing out on some epic Week 3 college action.

Only two games were played but they both had a significant impact on the 2024-25 season. Let's get you caught up.

Arizona State knocks off Texas State, hampers playoff chances for Group of Five candidate

It wasn't the high-stakes matchup with major College Football Playoff implications everyone was anticipating for Week 3, but that's what ASU's upset of Texas State represented.

Surprising as it may be, the Bobcats were favored against the Sun Devils for two reasons: ASU was picked to finish last in the Big 12 and Texas State was a preseason favorite to reach the College Football Playoff as the highest-ranked Group of Five conference champion.

Down 21-7 at one point, ASU mounted a comeback that was capped with three straight defensive stands resulting in turnovers in the fourth quarter. The Sun Devils escaped San Marcos, Texas with the 31-28 win.

Jordan McCloud makes a mistake throwing the pick late in the 4th quarter. That puts a lot more pressure on the Texas State defense as Arizona leads by 3. pic.twitter.com/qNqi3Cpbo6
— College Football Buzz (@CFBBUZ) September 13, 2024

ASU is now 3-0 for the first time since 2019 and has matched its win totals from the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The Sun Devils travel to Lubbock to face Texas Tech in its first-ever Big 12 game on Sept. 21.

South Alabama nearly breaks FBS record for points scored

Down in Mobile, Alabama, the South Alabama Jaguars whooped on FCS Northwestern State, dropping 87 points on the helpless Demons from Natchitoches, La.

According to ESPN, South Alabama's offensive nuclear explosion was the most points scored by an FBS team since 1991. Fresno State holds the mark with 91 points.

Complete domination from South Alabama

@SouthAlabamaFB pic.twitter.com/39EX1FMk25
— ESPN (@espn) September 13, 2024

South Alabama's beatdown of Northwestern State was so bad the officials had to shorten the fourth quarter. Talk about a mercy rule.

The 87-10 performance was, naturally, a school and conference record. South Alabama recorded 620 yards of total offense with nine different players scoring a touchdown on both sides of the ball combined.

Austen Bundy

Austen Bundy is a journalist and sports junkie from the Washington, D. C. area

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