Philadelphia, PA (Sports Network) -
CINCINNATI: The Bearcats looked strong yet again as Cincinnati rolled to a
34-10 win over Temple at Lincoln Financial Field. Cincinnati is now 7-2 this
season and 3-1 in conference play. The win over Temple was just the first road
victory of the season for the Bearcats. With the win Cincinnati has become
bowl eligible for the sixth time in seven seasons. In total Cincinnati has
been to 13 bowl games where it has a record of 7-6. Cincinnati rolled of 472
yards of total offense which was just over 200 more that the defense allowed
to Temple (267). Cincinnati has now surpassed 425 yards of total offense in
eight of its nine games this season and 17 times under head coach Butch Jones.
Brendon Kay got the start at quarterback for the struggling Munchie Legaux.
Kay threw for 244 yards and a pair of touchdowns, while completing 13-of-21
pass attempts He hooked up with Kenbrell Thompkins for a 75-yard touchdown
pass in the first quarter. The pass finished off a drive that lasted only 15
seconds which was the second-shortest scoring drive of the season for the
Bearcats. Drew Frey grabbed his seventh career reception and first of this
season. Cincinnati's offense will have to be on top of its game next weekend
when the Rutgers Scarlet Knights come to Nippert Stadium.
CONNECTICUT: It took 10 weeks but Connecticut finally got into the win column
in conference play by holding on for a 24-17 victory over Pittsburgh. The
Huskies are 4-6 overall this season and 1-1 in Big East play. Connecticut
scored all 24 of its points in the first half while the Panthers had all 17 of
theirs in the second half. Connecticut dominated in the first quarter
out-gaining Pittsburgh 141-39 in total yards in the first 15 minutes. Chandler
Whitmer completed 19-of-25 passes for 213 yards and a touchdown but was also
intercepted once. Ryan Griffin hauled in Whitmer's touchdown pass and finished
with six receptions for 84 yards. Griffin now has a career-high five touchdown
receptions this season. Lyle McCombs looked more like he did last season as he
rushed for 120 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries. It was only the second
time this season McCombs has rushed for over 100 yards. Special teams also
played a role in the scoring for the Huskies with Nick Williams returning a
punt 80 yards for a touchdown in the second quarter. It was Williams' second
punt return for a touchdown of the season. Yawin Smallwood led the team with
nine tackles, but Sio Moore led in tackles for loss (3) and sacks (2).
Connecticut has a tough road contest ahead next weekend when the Huskies
invade Papa John's Cardinal Stadium to face Louisville.
LOUISVILLE: The Cardinals' hopes for a perfect season were dashed as then No.
11 Louisville was upset in the Carrier Dome, 45-26 by Syracuse. With the loss
Louisville falls to 9-1 overall this season and 4-1 in Big East competition.
The Cardinals' conference record drops them a half game behind Rutgers for the
top spot in the Big East standings. The loss also pushed Louisville all the
way down to No. 20 in the top 25. In a game that featured nearly 1,000 yards
of total offense, Louisville ended up on the short end in total yards
(524-472). The Cardinals had only 48 rushing yards in the game and 424 yards
through the air. Teddy Bridgewater threw for all of those yards while
completing 36-of-49 passes with three touchdowns and an interception. Eli
Rogers was Bridgewater's favorite target in the game, with 10 receptions for
97 yards and a touchdown. Louisville's defense was beat up on the ground,
surrendering 278 yards rushing to the Orange, including three touchdowns, two
of which came on runs of 35 yards or more. Louisville will try to bounce back
next weekend when it hosts Connecticut.
PITTSBURGH: Coming off a devastating overtime loss to Notre Dame, Pittsburgh
came out slow against Connecticut and was unable to make up for it as the
Panthers fell 24-17 last weekend. It was the second straight loss for the
Panthers, who have lost consecutive games three times this season. Pittsburgh
is now 4-6 overall and just 1-4 in league play. Pittsburgh trailed 24-0 at the
half and was out-gained 141-39 in total yards in the first half. Pittsburgh
roared back in the second half with 17 points but was unable to complete the
comeback bid. The loss came despite a slim advantage for Pittsburgh in total
yards (350-345). The majority of those yards came through the air (302) with
the Panthers managing only 48 yards on the ground. Tino Sunseri completed 19-
of-34 pass attempts for 302 yards and two scores to lead the offense. The Big
East's leading receiver, Devin Street, checked in with 76 yards on six
receptions. Ray Graham was limited to only 41 yards on 15 carries in the game
a week after racking up 172 yards against Notre Dame. Pittsburgh will have a
week to regroup before battling Rutgers on Nov. 24.
RUTGERS: Two weeks after suffering its first loss of the season Rutgers
rebounded with a 28-7 win at home over Army. In a game that was tied 7-7
heading into the final quarter, Rutgers was able to finally take the upper
hand by scoring 21 unanswered points in the fourth period. Rutgers moves to
8-1 overall this season. Rutgers win moved it up a single spot in the top 25
to No. 22. With Louisville's loss, Rutgers also takes over first place in the
Big East (4-0). The Big East's second leading rusher Jawan Jamison rushed for
90 yards on 20 carries. Although he did not score a touchdown himself, Jamison
did throw for a score with a 16-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Coleman in the
second quarter. It was one of two touchdown receptions by Coleman, who
finished with three receptions for 53 yards. Gary Nova completed passes to 10
different players and finished 14-for-17 for 123 yards and both a touchdown
and interception. Rutgers' defense surrendered a season-high 282 yards on the
ground to the run-option offensive attack of Army and as a team Rutgers was
out gained by a 337-252 yard margin in total offense. Four different players
recorded double figure tackle totals for Rutgers led by Khaseem Greene who
finished with 22. It was the fifth highest single game tackle total in Big
East history. Lorenzo Waters (16), Steve Beauharnais (14) and Scott Vallone
(12) each finished with more than 10 tackles as well. The defense also put
points on the board when Duron Harmon returned a fumble recovery 73 yards for
a touchdown late in the fourth quarter. Up next Rutgers will face a much
different offense when the Scarlet Knights travel to Nippert Stadium to take
on Cincinnati.
SOUTH FLORIDA: The Bulls were rewarded for their first conference win, a 13-6
victory over Connecticut, with a week off this past weekend. Now South Florida
must gear up for a non-conference matchup against in-state rival Miami-
Florida.
SYRACUSE: In one of the most shocking upsets of the weekend, Syracuse routed
the previously unbeaten Louisville Cardinals 45-26 in the Carrier Dome. It was
the first win for Syracuse against a ranked opponent this season and the first
win for head coach Doug Marrone against the Cardinals. With the win Syracuse
evened its overall record to 5-5 and its league mark to 4-2. In a game that
pitted two of the top signal callers in the conference, Ryan Nassib bested
Louisville's Teddy Bridgewater. Nassib needed only 15 completions to rack up
246 yards and three touchdowns. Nassib now has 738 career completions which is
the all-time Big East record. Nassib also passed Donovan McNabb for second on
the Syracuse all-time passing list (8,460 yards). A pair of those touchdowns
went to Alec Lemon, who finished with nine receptions for 176 yards in the
game. No other receiver on the team had more than two receptions. Syracuse was
also proficient on the ground with the Orange finishing with 278 yards and
three touchdowns. Jerome Smith led the way with 144 yards and a 35-yard
touchdown run on 18 carries. It was Smith's four straight 100-yard rushing
effort. Prince-Tyson Gulley came two yards short of reaching the century mark
but got into the end zone twice, including a 55-yard run in the second
quarter. Syracuse will be out of league play and will face a test from an SEC
school when it heads south to take on Missouri next Saturday.
TEMPLE: The Owls' woes continued this past weekend as Temple lost in another
rout 34-10 to Cincinnati at home. The defeat was the fourth straight for
Temple, all of which have come by at least 24 points. In fact the loss to
Cincinnati was the closest game during the four-game winning streak in terms
of final score. After a promising start to the season, Temple is now 3-6
overall and 2-4 in conference play. Chris Coyer got the start at quarterback
but struggled, completing only 5-of-16 passes for 56 yards while also being
intercepted. He was replaced in the second half by Clinton "Juice" Granger who
completed 7-of-15 passes for 86 yards and a touchdown. Matt Brown was the lead
rusher in the game with 35 yards on nine carries. Montel Harris had been
rolling in the previous weeks but finished with only 19 yards on eight
carries. Coyer also added 34 yards on the ground. Jalen Fitzpatrick played
three different positions in the game (wide receiver, running back and
quarterback). Fitzpatrick finished with 31 yards receiving and 15 yards on the
ground. Brandon McManus became Temple's career leader in field goal attempts
(79) with a 20-yard attempt in the first quarter. He needs just four points to
pass running back Bernard Pierce (324 points) as the lead scorer all-time at
Temple. Tyler Matakevich failed to reach double-digits in tackles for the
first time in five weeks, but still led the team in tackles with eight. John
Youboty had a pair of sacks which was a career-high. Temple steps out of
league play next week with a road trip to West Point to face Army.
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