College Football

Penn State-Illinois, Colorado State-Colorado, more: CFB Week 3 by the numbers

Updated Sep. 13, 2023 12:03 p.m. ET

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The first two weeks of college football have been full of surprises, suspense and storylines – and Week 3 is expected to keep up the trend. 

"Big Noon Kickoff" will again be in Boulder this Saturday ahead of No. 18 Colorado's primetime showdown against Colorado State, with coverage beginning at 10 a.m. ET on FOX. 

The crew will be joined by special guest, retired NFL tight end Rob Gronkowski, to preview the upcoming action including all the hype surrounding Coach Prime and the Buffaloes.

HOW TO WATCH ‘BIG NOON KICKOFF' THIS SATURDAY

• 10 a.m.- Noon ET: "Big Noon Kickoff" pregame show on FOX

Three gridiron matchups will air on FOX, kicking off with No. 7 Penn State taking on Illinois. 

Here are the key stats to know for the marquee matchups in Week 3.

SATURDAY

No. 7 Penn State at Illinois 
Noon ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app

20-6: PSU's all-time record against Illinois. The Nittany Lions have won the six of the last eight meetings.

78.2: Completion percentage for QB Drew Allar is currently ranked sixth in the nation, and also sits 16th in passing efficiency (183.0) and 21st in yards per pass attempt (9.62).

9: Consecutive games PSU has scored at least 30 points – the nation's longest streak.

6-of-17: Passing Delaware was held to last week by PSU; the seventh time PSU has held an opponent under a 50-completion percentage over the last two seasons, tied for most in the nation.

9th: Current Big Ten rank for Illinois in scoring (26.5 PPG), total offense (357.5 YPG) and passing (204.0). The Fighting Illini also sit at seventh for rushing (153.5).

164: Yards needed by QB Luke Altmyer to crack Illinois' all-time top-10 list for rushing yards by a quarterback. Altmyer already has a team-best 139 rushing yards.

16-14: Final score for Illinois' last win over Penn State in Champaign in 2014, when David Reisner's 36-yard field goal with eight seconds left secured the W. 

3rd: Receiver Isaiah Williams' rank in the Big Ten in receptions per game (5.5). Williams is sixth in receiving yards (150).

RJ Young shares his top 25 after Week 2 and reacts to the AP rankings: Texas, Colorado move up! | No. 1 CFB Show

FOX Sports' RJ Young reacts to the AP Top 25 after Week 2 of the 2023 college football season and shares his top 25. RJ discusses his main takeaways from this week's rankings, and goes over the biggest differences between his top 25 and the AP's.

Western Kentucky at No. 6 Ohio State
4 p.m. ET FOX on FOX and the FOX Sports app

193.5: Yards per game the Buckeye's defense is allowing, including just 108.5 passing yards per game.

1: Receiving touchdowns needed by Marvin Harrison Jr. to become the ninth Ohio State player with 20 or more in his career.

6-0: Ohio State's record against Conference USA opponents since 2000.

1,500: WR Emeka Egbuka is eight receiving yards away from becoming the 25th Buckeye to eclipse this many career receiving yards.

0: This is the first meeting all-time between WKU and Ohio State. The Hilltoppers are looking for their first-ever win vs. a member of the current Big Ten conference.

7: Amount of teams nationally that have not allowed a sack this season, including WKU.

350.0: QB Austin Reed ranks first in FBS active career leaders in passing yards per game (333.4) and total offense per game (350.0).

18.5: Plays per game of 10 or more yards by Western Kentucky, which ranks 12th nationally with 327.0 passing yards per game.

TCU at Houston
8 p.m. ET on FOX and the FOX Sports app

12-13: TCU trails the series against Houston, but has won the last eight meetings. The Horned Frogs are 5-7 all-time against the Cougars in Houston.

14-0: Record for TCU under Head Coach Sonny Dykes when ahead or even in turnover margin.

2000-06: Sonny Dykes and Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen worked together for seven seasons as assistant coaches under Mike Leach at Texas Tech.

99: Houston's wins since the start of the 2011 season are tied with TCU for the most among Texas FBS programs.

5th: Consecutive victory Houston is seeking in conference debuts.

1st: Cougars wide receiver Samuel Brown leads the Big 12 in receptions (15), receptions per game (7.5), receiving yards (244) and receiving yards per game (122.0).

Colorado State at No. 18 Colorado
10 p.m. ET

18: The highest ranking AP poll since 2016 for the Buffaloes. 

451.5: Passing yards per game by QB Shedeur Sanders who leads FBS. Sanders has the most passing yards by any Colorado player in a 2-game span in school history (903 yards).

2019: Colorado's 22 point win over Nebraska was its largest in the series since 2001, and its first win vs. a Big Ten opponent since 2019.

No. 8 Washington at Michigan State
5 p.m. ET

9: Consecutive wins for the Huskies, who enter the week with the nation's second-longest active winning streak among Power 5 teams.

Top 5: Michael Penix is No. 1 in FBS in total offense, No. 2 in passing yards per game and No. 4 in completions per game, yards per game and passing TDs.

49-47-2: Washington's record all-time vs. current (i.e. 2023) Big Ten teams.

3: Touchdowns scored by Michigan State's Nate Carter in the third quarter last week vs Richmond. 

7: Amount of sacks by the Spartan's defense last week – tied for the most in the Coach Tucker era, matching seven vs. Nebraska in 2021.

3-7: Michigan State's record vs. Pac-12 teams since 2000.

Bowling Green at No. 2 Michigan
7:30 p.m. ET

7: Players for Bowling Green with at least a 0.5 sack. Last year, BGSU led the nation with 16 players with at least 1.0 sack.

300: Linebacker Darren Anders needs 12 tackles to become just the third Falcon since 2000 to reach this many career tackles.

9-20: Falcons' all-time record against current members of the Big Ten Conference.

1998: The year Bowling Green head coach Scot Loeffler graduated from Michigan. He played quarterback from 1993-96 and from 1997-99; from 2002-07, he was part of Lloyd Carr's UM coaching staff in various roles including quarterbacks coach.

27: The amount of games Michigan has won of its last 30.

83.7: Michigan's J.J. McCarthy leads the nation in completion percentage and is fourth in pass efficiency (202.5).

4: Rushing scores needed by running back Blake Corum to reach the top five all-time at Michigan in career rushing TDs.

2-0: Michigan defeated Bowling Green in 2000 and 2010.

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Big Ten

Pacific-12

Penn State Nittany Lions

Illinois Fighting Illini

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Ohio State Buckeyes

TCU Horned Frogs

Houston Cougars

Colorado State Rams

Colorado Buffaloes

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Michigan State Spartans

Michigan Wolverines

Bowling Green Falcons

CFB - Penn State Nittany Lions vs. Illinois Fighting Illini - 09/16/2023

CFB - Western Kentucky Hilltoppers vs. Ohio State Buckeyes - 09/16/2023

CFB - TCU Horned Frogs vs. Houston Cougars - 09/17/2023

CFB - Colorado State Rams vs. Colorado Buffaloes - 09/17/2023

CFB - Washington Huskies vs. Michigan State Spartans - 09/16/2023

CFB - Bowling Green Falcons vs. Michigan Wolverines - 09/16/2023