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Group I
#9 USC (Pac 12, 7-2, 9-3)
#25 Navy (American, 7-1, 9-4)
Buffalo (MAC, 1-7, 2-10)
Charlotte (Conference USA, 3-5, 4-8)
Northwestern (Big Ten, 5-4, 6-6)
South Carolina (SEC, 3-5, 6-6)
UL Lafayette (Sun Belt, 5-3, 6-7)
Virginia (ACC, 1-7, 2-10)
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Week 1
USC- 48, Virginia- 24
UL Lafayette- 28, Navy- 27
South Carolina- 28, Buffalo- 14
Northwestern- 19, Charlotte- 14
The Trojans rolled over Virginia by amassing over 600 yards of total offense. Meanwhile, UL Lafayette shocks Navy, building a lead as big as 13 in the first half. Despite that, they still had to rally at the end, getting a 10 yard TD pass from Anthony Jennings to Elijah McGuire to steal a victory. Northwestern also needed a late comeback to win, getting a 25 yard Justin Jackson TD run with just 30 seconds left. The Gamecocks handled Buffalo in an uneventful game.
Week 2
USC- 41, UL Lafayette- 7
South Carolina- 34, Virginia- 28
Northwestern- 31, Navy- 13
Charlotte- 17, Buffalo- 14
No upset this week for UL Lafayette, as the Trojans demolished them. However, Navy is already in a hole as Northwestern took care of business. South Carolina also stays undefeated early on, and Charlotte gets their first win of group play in a good defensive battle.
Week 3
USC- 38, South Carolina- 29
Northwestern- 30, UL Lafayette- 7
Virginia- 37, Charlotte- 14
Navy- 13, Buffalo- 10
Not much adventure this week, as we had 2 blowouts, plus our top ranked teams struggle to victories.
Standings after 3 weeks, with point differential in parenthesis:
USC 3-0 (+67)
Northwestern 3-0 (+46)
South Carolina 2-1 (+11)
Virginia 1-2 (-7)
Navy 1-2 (-16)
Charlotte 1-2 (-25)
UL Lafayette 1-2 (-56)
Buffalo 0-3 (-20)
No surprise to see the Trojans on top of the standings, but I really expected Navy to be right there behind them. They are definitely the most disappointing team so far, with 2 upset losses and an uninspiring win against a winless Buffalo. Already a logjam for that final spot, but unless something changes, that top spot seems to be USC's to lose.
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