Tag: first half

Wisconsin punter out-rushed Penn State star running back in first half of Badgers vs. Nittany Lions

Wisconsin punter out-rushes Penn State star running back in first half

Wisconsin punter Atticus Bertrams had one of the highlights of the first half of the Badgers’ premier matchup with No. 3 Penn State. He took a fake punt on 4th-9 of Wisconsin’s opening drive for a 15-yard gain, continuing a drive that ended in a Nathanial Vakos record-setting field goal.

That opening score was a big moment in a first half that ended with Wisconsin leading 10-7. The Badgers’ defense hung tough with the Nittany Lions’ top-ranked offense — not allowing much consistent offense aside from a 90-yard touchdown drive late in the first quarter.

One stat accurately portrays Wisconsin’s performance through one half and the game’s tight margin. Bertrams (one carry, 15 rushing yards) out-rushed Penn State star running back Nicholas Singleton (five carries, nine rushing yards).

Singleton also tallied three receptions, 37 receiving yards and Penn State’s lone touchdown — so it’s not as if Bertrams bested his overall production.

But the Badgers have performed well against Singleton and Penn State’s lethal rushing attack through one half. I’m sure defensive coordinator Mike Tressel is pleased with the stat sheet listing Wisconsin’s punter ahead of Penn State’s star running back on the rushing yard leaderboard.

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Recapping Alabama’s sloppy first half performance in Week 3 against USF

No. 10 Alabama is tied 3-3 with USF at the end of the first half. Roll Tide Wire recaps the first half.

There are no words to truly describe Alabama’s first half performance against USF. The Crimson Tide are knotted up at 3-3 heading into the locker room.

Alabama decided to make a change at the quarterback position in favor of starting redshirt sophomore Tyler Buchner. The Notre Dame transfer did not do enough to move the needle and was taken out after Alabama was forced to punt in the first five drives of the game.

The defense has performed well enough to keep the Crimson Tide in the game. However, the defense has struggled to get off the field on third downs on several occasions.

The key play for Alabama in the first half was a fumble that was recovered by true freshman, defensive lineman James Smith.

Following the fumble recovery, Alabama turned to redshirt freshman Ty Simpson. He failed to help the Crimson Tide get in the end zone. Nonetheless, he did help Alabama score three points to finish out the half.

Now, it is apparent that Alabama will have to make some of the necessary changes and adjustments to come away with a win. If not, Alabama is stepping in dangerous waters.

First half analysis of Chiefs’ preseason Week 2 matchup vs. Cardinals

Take a look at our takeaways from the first half of the #Chiefs’ preseason Week 2 matchup against the #Cardinals.

The Kansas City Chiefs got off to a slow start in the first half of their second preseason game against the Arizona Cardinals on Saturday but managed to hold their own after a short week of preparation. Their first-team offense struggled early in the first quarter but got their first score on a Patrick Mahomes touchdown pass just before the second quarter started.

Defensive intensity reigned supreme for Kansas City after their first-team unit didn’t allow points until the final seconds of the second quarter. Their defense struggled against the New Orleans Saints and looked particularly motivated to dominate the Cardinals in this matchup.

While this game won’t affect their standings at the end of the 2023 season, the lessons learned against Arizona will surely help the Chiefs in their pursuit of a second-straight Super Bowl championship.

Check out our key takeaways from Kansas City’s first-half performance against Arizona on Saturday:

Inefficient first halves characterize Texans’ struggles with Davis Mills under center

The #Texans’ offense has struggled to get off to a strong start in any of their recent losses

HOUSTON – There are a lot of issues that have hampered the Houston Texans’ chances of success this year. Even with a 1-7-1 record, the Texans have been competitive in many of their losses and could have walked away victorious in most of them.

The Texans’ first-half strategies in the passing game led by second-year quarterback Davis Mills have become an issue for Houston in the Texans’ last three losses to the Tennessee Titans, Philadelphia Eagles, and New York Giants. Mills has averaged 4.7 yards passing in the first half of the last three games and has been held to under 40 yards in the first and second quarters in two of those contests (Titans-17, Giants-35).

“We have a balanced attack, and we try to run, I’m going back to the first play of the game, we try to run, we try to pass, we mix it up,” Texans head coach Lovie Smith told reporters when asked about Mills’ slow starts. “On what has happened back there, I really don’t know.”

An efficient first-half by Mills could have put the Texans in a position to lead going into halftime against New York, something they have not done since Week 3 against the Chicago Bears, where they led 14-13 at the end of the second quarter.

Houston’s defense has given up 93 first-half points in nine games, averaging 10.3 points per game. They have held opponents to 14 points or less in eight of those games, but during those first nine contests, the Texans’ offense has only been able to score 73 points which is good for an average of just over eight points per game.

With that type of inefficiency, some have wondered if it is time for coach Smith to make a change at the quarterback position and bring in backup Kyle Allen to see if he can jump-start the Texans’ offense.

“If there’s a position where you don’t rotate a guy, you’re going to let that guy play a little bit longer,” said Smith on Monday when asked about taking Mills out of the starting lineup. “We evaluate everybody. Right now, what I said yesterday right after the game and what I’m saying now, we don’t think that the play right now just Davis Mills play solves all of our problems, ‘Let’s just get Davis out of there and everything’s okay.’ We’re going to keep working on a lot of different things. That’s what I said yesterday. That’s what I’m saying today.”

Houston has a demanding back half of their schedule against teams that have a possibility to make it into the NFL’s postseason, and Mills will be rigorously tested if Smith keeps him in the starting lineup. With the season lost as far as playoff aspirations are concerned, general manager Nick Caserio could use the remaining games to evaluate the quarterback. The Texans are in a prime position to have the number one overall selection in the 2023 NFL Draft that some analysts have labeled as quarterback heavy class.

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First half analysis of Browns Week 3 matchup vs. Steelers

Here is what we saw in the first half of Thursday’s matchup between the #Browns and #Steelers

The Cleveland Browns have been able to hang with the Pittsburgh Steelers in Week 3. They’d rather have a lead, but the Browns are still within a score of getting ahead of the Steelers and are down just one point heading into halftime. Though they will kick off to Pittsburgh to start the second half, Cleveland should have a chance to take control of the game if they can play some stingy defense in the third quarter.

Here are our three biggest takeaways from the game’s first half:

Texas-Arkansas halftime report: Horns struggle on offense

For the first time in the Steve Sarkisian era, Texas has some adversity in front of them.

For the first time in the Steve Sarkisian era, Texas has some adversity in front of them. On the road against Arkansas, the SEC school is pitching a shutout against their old Southwest Conference rival, 16-0.

The Longhorns’ offensive line has been a real issue early on. Neither Hudson Card nor Bijan Robinson has been able to get anything going. Arkansas’ defensive line has been getting pressure consistently. Even when only sending three guys.

Jordan Whittington has a couple of key drops as well. One was in the endzone which would have put Texas on the scoreboard. The other would have been a big play down the field just before halftime, giving the offense the momentum it is craving.

Arkansas quarterback K.J. Jefferson has done an excellent job within the offense as well. Analyst Greg McElroy even compared him to former Heisman Trophy winner Cam Newton during the broadcast. Texas’ defense has not been the issue to this point but needs to make a few key stops to make a comeback.

Key stats

Hudson Card: 4 of 8, 39 passing yards

Bijan Robinson: 10 carries for 38 rushing yards

Xavier Worthy: One reception, 25 receiving yards

K.J. Jefferson: 12 of 15, 37 passing yards. Seven carries for 59 rushing yards

Texas has a long way to go if they want to complete a second half comeback against Arkansas. You can catch the rest of the game on ESPN.

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Stats from Auburn’s first half against Akron

What a great first half!

The Bryan Harsin era is underway and the Tigers stormed out ot a 37-0 lead against Akron. Here are the stats from the first half.

Scoring

Tank Bigsby opened the scoring with a 32-yard run and a one-yard touchdown on the fifth drive.

Bo Nix connected with Shaun Shivers on a 19-yard touchdown pass on the second possession. He then found Ja’Varrius Johnson for a 34-yard touchdown on the third drive and Kobe Hudson for a 28-yard touchdown on the fourth.

Anders Carlson closed the half with a 44-yard field goal to give Auburn a 37-0 lead.

Team Stats 

Total yards: AU 382, AK 74

Pass yards: AU 255, AK 62

Rush yards: AU 127, AK 12

Penalties: AU 2-15, AK 2-10

First downs: AU 18, AK 5

Third downs: AU 4-4, AK 2-8

Sacks: AU 3, AK 0.

Individual Stats

Bo Nix: 18 of 20, 255 yards and 3 touchdowns, 3 rushes for 32 yards

Tank Bigsby: 11 carries for 90 yards and 2 touchdowns, 1 catch for 19 yards

Shaun Shivers: 1 carry for -2 yards, 1 catch for 19 yards and 1 touchdown

Shedrick Jackson: 5 catches for 79 yards

John Samuel Shenker: 4 catches for 31 yards

Ja’Varrius Johnson: 3 catches for 51 yards and 1 touchdown

Demetris Robertson: 2 catches for 15 yards, 1 carry for 7 yards

Kobe Hudson: 2 catches for 41 yards and 1 touchdown

First half recap of Texas’ season opener vs Louisiana

The Steve Sarkisian era is off to a flying start with UT up on Louisiana at halftime, 14-6. Both sides of the ball have been playing well.

The Steve Sarkisian era is off to a flying start with Texas up on Louisiana at halftime, 14-6.

With Hudson Card making his first career start, most of the eyes have been on the redshirt freshman quarterback. He found running back Bijan Robinson late in the first quarter to get the scoring starting. It was an excellent play call by Sarkisian, shifting the offense multiple times to get Robinson in acres of space.

Cade Brewer was on the receiving end of the second touchdown. Both of Texas’ scoring drives have come on long drives. The ‘All Gas, No Brakes’ slogan has not been fully shown on offense quite yet. It’s been more of a grind for Sarkisian’s crew.

Pete Kwiatkowski’s defense has been playing better than imagined as well. Louisiana only has 124 yards and has yet to convert a third down. A first-quarter field goal is the only points the Ragin Cajuns have managed.

Nickel has been the base formation throughout the first half. Former walk-on Luke Brockermeyer has been all of the field at weakside linebacker.

Key stats

Hudson Card: 12 of 18, 165 yards, two touchdowns

Bijan Robinson: 10 carries for 38 yards. Three receptions for 55 yards, one touchdown

Jordan Whittington: Three receptions, 39 yards

Levi Lewis: 6 for 12, 86 yards

Going into the second half, Sarkisian will want to get the wide receiver involved more often. Xavier Worthy made an impressive play downfield for 34 yards, while Jordan Whittington has three receptions for 39 yards.

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WATCH: Relive all 4 Najee Harris touchdowns from the first half of SEC Championship

Najee Harris managed to work his way into the endzone four times in the first half, watch all four and see how he continues to set himse…

No. 1 Alabama is overpowering No. 7 Florida heading into the second half of the second half of the 2020 SEC Championship with a score of 35-17.

While, Mac Jones and DeVonta Smith entered the game with all eyes on them, seeing as they are the two Heisman frontrunners, running back Najee Harris is stealing the show.

He has 16 carries for 88 yards and a touchdown, but also added four receptions for 53 yards and three touchdowns.

Yes, you read that right: four (4) touchdowns.

Every single one has its own flare, so why not go back and revisit them before he does any more damage in the second half?

Key takeaways from first half of Chiefs vs. Buccaneers

The first half is in the books, so what did we learn about the Kansas City Chiefs?

That was about as good of a first half as you’ll see from a team offensively, with Patrick Mahomes and Tyreek Hill airing the ball out against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. They’ve combined for over 200 yards and two scores, with most of that coming in the first quarter. Surprisingly, this game feels like the Kansas City Chiefs should be winning by more, but the score is 20-7 heading into the half.

Here’s a look at some of the things we’ve taken away from the first half of play: