Inside the Boxscores is a weekly feature from Matt Fargo that has been widely recognized as the best summation in college football. He takes an in-depth look at each game and pulls out the most pertinent information that will help you handicap games in the future. There are, however, a few very important rules that you should always keep in mind. The first rule is that the dealer is not allowed to play. College football is filled with quirky plays, misleading scores and surprise endings. Fargo takes you inside the action.

(12) Clemson 63 TEMPLE 9

Temple went ahead 3-0 on its opening drive but Tiger QB Chase Daniel throws an interception that was returned for a touchdown to give the Tigers a 14-3 cushion. Clemson scored the final 31 points to pull away. The Tigers outgained Temple 102-53 but needed a touchdown in garbage time to pull into the win. Temple played the final 8:30 of the fourth quarter without starters as it was just that – garbage time. Clemson finished 12-2 inside the redzone.

BOSTON COLLEGE 22 (65) Boston College 14

Boston College scored 14 consecutive points to take a lead in the first half but the Owls could not stop the Tigers as they ran off 28 unanswered points in the second half. Boston College was inside the Tigers 28-yard line on all but two possessions. The Falcons were 3-0 inside the redzone but got only three scores. Boston College was a perfect 3-0 inside the redzone.

Jefferson needed help from the rest of his team to pull out the victory. The Tigers scored on a fumble return in the third quarter and then had a chance to tie the game early but fell short. Boston College got only three total yards on its final three possessions. The Eagles finished only 3-15 on third down conversions.

AIR FORCE 24 Colorado State 21

Colorado St. turned the ball over twice inside the Air Force 30-yard line and missed a field goal on its opening possession. The Rams got back to the Falcons 35-yard line before impulsively throwing an interception that was returned for a touchdown. Despite all that, the Falcons held the lead to begin the final quarter, 20-14. Air Force nearly offensive touchdowns by scoring in five of its final six possessions.

(4) U-S-C 28 Arizona State 21

USC jumped ahead 21-0 but the Sun Devils rallied to tie the game on two different occasions before the Trojans could secure the win. Arizona St. scored on its third possession of the second half to pull within a point and then recovered the onside kick. After the Sun Devils scored to go up 31-21, USC was stopped on downs at the USC 15-yard line to end the game. The Trojans could have tied the game earlier but their defense allowed three touchdown passes of 75 yards or more.

HOUSTON 27 Tulsa 10

Tulsa took a 10-7 lead early in the second quarter and the Cougars maintained the lead the rest of the way. Houston outgained the Golden Hurricane 471-249 as it ran more than one more minute more. Tulsa was held to its lowest point total of the season as it managed onlyivedown the 100-yard mark. The teams combined to achieve more than unusual 200 yards of offense.

(8) NOTRE DAME 45 North Carolina 26

Notre Dame outgained the Tar Heels 452-244 but the Irish could not put them away as they were up by 21 at halftime. The Notre Dame defense tied a season low by allowing just 16 total yards in the second half while the offense put up its biggest total of the season. The Irish ran 26 more plays as they entered the redzone only once in their remaining 10 games.

(5) AUBURN 27 Arkansas State 9

Auburn held the Indians to just 177 total yards while the Tigers offense was very efficient, gaining 399 yards on only 25 carries (8.0 ypp). Arkansas St. didn’t cross midfield until midway through the fourth quarter where it was stopped at the 15-yard line on fourth down. The one Auburn downfall was committing four turnovers, all of which were inside Indians territory.

T-C-U 25 U-N-L-V 10

TCU outgained the Rebels 416-246 in a game that was not as close as the final score indicates. UNLV had 80 yards on its lone touchdown drive in garbage time while the Horned Frogs fumbled twice and also turned it over on downs at the Rebels one-yard line. UNLV finished 1-3 inside the redzone and went 1-9 on third and fourth down conversions.

WYOMING 27 San Diego St 24

San Diego St. jumped ahead 14-3 following a fumble recovery for a touchdown but the Cowboys responded with 24 unanswered points to pull away.