Ten Best Games of the
Week
10.
Air Force 31 … Houston 28
In the rain and wind thanks to Hurricane Ike, Air Force jumped out to a
31-7 lead, and then held on for deal life. The Falcons didn’t complete a
pass, but they ran for 380 yards and got three short touchdown runs from
Shea Smith. Houston owned the final 20 minutes with Case Keenum throwing
three touchdown passes including two seven-yarders to Mark Hafner in the
fourth quarter. Houston never got the ball back as Air Force ran out the
clock. The two teams combined for 20 penalties for 160 yards.
Player of the game: Air Force QB Shea Smith failed to complete
any of his seven passes, but rushed 15 times for 93 yards and three
touchdowns.
Stat Leaders: Air Force - Passing: Shea Smith, 0-7, 0
yds, 0 TDs
Rushing: Shea Smith, 15-93, 3 TDs. Receiving: none
Houston - Passing: Case Keenum, 34-57, 362 yds, 4 TDs,
1 INT
Rushing: Case Keenum, 10-75. Receiving: Tyron Carrier,
8-91
9.
Kentucky 20 … Middle Tennessee 14
Kentucky overcame a 14-10 deficit with 10 points in the fourth quarter
on a Derrick Locke six-yard catch and a Lones Seiber 25-yard field goal,
but that’s not what anyone will remember. Middle Tennessee almost pulled
off the play of the season as Joe Craddock threw the ball as far as he
could on the final play of the game, Eldred King caught it and was
headed to the end zone but was tackled on the one-yard line by Robbie
McAtee. Middle Tennessee started off the scoring with a 62-yard Desmond
Gee touchdown catch and Malcolm Beyah gave the Blue Raiders the lead
with a 22-yard catch. MT outgained UK 383 yards to 356, helped by the
last play.
Player of the game: Kentucky QB Mike Hartline completed 28-of-47
passes for 254 yards and two touchdowns.
Stat Leaders: Middle Tennessee - Passing: Joe
Craddock, 21-37, 352 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing:
Phillip Tanner, 11-26. Receiving: Eldred King, 6-82
Kentucky
-
Passing: Mike Hartline, 28-37, 254 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: Alfonso Smith, 9-36. Receiving: Dicky Lyons,
12-79
8.
East Carolina 28 … Tulane 24
Jamar Bryant gave East Carolina the lead with a 24-yard touchdown catch
with 1:41 to play, but it took a Pierre Bell interception in the final
minute to seal the win. The two teams traded scores all day long, with
Tulane getting the lead for the first time in the fourth quarter after a
one-yard Andre Allison touchdown run and a 28-yard Ross Thevenot field
goal. ECU started off the scoring with a blocked field goal for a
touchdown from linebacker Quentin Cotton, and got a 51-yard touchdown
catch from Norman Whitley and a three-yard Brandon Simmons scoring run
as part of a wild third quarter. Tulane got two short Anderson scoring
dashes and a 4-yard Jeremy Williams touchdown catch, but couldn’t rally
in the end.
Player of the game: East Carolina LB Quentin Cotton had a couple of
tackles, a sack, an interception, and a 44-yard blocked field goal
return for a touchdown.
Stat Leaders: East Carolina - Passing: Patrick Pinkney,
22-32, 260 yds, 2 TDs, 1 INT
Rushing: Brandon Simmons, 9-27, 1 TD. Receiving:
Dwayne Harris, 6-72
Tulane - Passing: Kevin Moore, 21-37, 236 yds, 1 TD, 2
INTs
Rushing: Andre Anderson, 33-82, 2 TDs. Receiving:
Jeremy Williams, 8-138, 1 TD
7.
Southern Miss 27 … Arkansas State 24
Arkansas State tried to come back late with a five-yard Jeff Blake
touchdown catch to pull within three in the final two minutes, and it
had a shot late to win but USM’s Eddie Willingham snuffed out the final
drive with an interception. USM got the offense moving with two Austin
Davis touchdown passes and a one-yard Tory Harrison score, but ASU came
back with a 14-point third quarter on a 16-yard David Johnson touchdown
catch and an eight-yard Reggie Arnold scoring run to tie it at 17 going
into the fourth. USM’s Britt Barefoot gave USM the lead for good on a
28-yard field goal, and Damion Fletcher put it away with a 24-yard
scoring play.
Player of the game: Southern Miss CB Chico Hunter made 15 tackles, a
tackle for loss, and broke up two passes
Stat Leaders: Southern Miss - Passing: Austin Davis,
18-31, 219 yds, 2 TD
Rushing:
Damion Fletcher, 23-87. Receiving: Shawn Nelson, 7-110
Arkansas
State
-
Passing: Corey Leonard, 17-34, 256 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Reggie Arnold, 15-84, 1 TD. Receiving: Trevor
Gillott, 5-79
6.
UNLV
23 … Arizona State 20 OT
Kyle Watson hit a 20-yard field goal in overtime, and Malo Taumua
blocked the ASU field goal attempt as UNLV stunned the Sun Devils.
Arizona State appeared to be cruising with a 20-10 lead midway through
the fourth quarter, helped by Rudy Carpenter touchdown passes to Chris
McGaha and Kyle Williams from 29 and 49 yards out, respectively, but the
Rebels came back with a 20-yard Watson field goal and a brilliant
one-handed diving eight-yard touchdown catch from Phillip Payne with 18
seconds to play to force overtime. Payne also caught a two-yard
touchdown pass in the second quarter.
Player of the game: UNLV QB Omar Clayton completed 19-of-31 passes
for 191 yards and two touchdowns, and ran eight times for 17 yards.
Stat Leaders: UNLV - Passing: Omar Clayton, 19-31, 191
yds, 2 TD
Rushing:
Frank Summers, 22-103. Receiving: Ryan Wolfe, 8-79
Arizona
State
-
Passing: Rudy Carpenter, 13-23, 242 yds, 2 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Dimitri Nance, 20-92. Receiving: Kyle Williams,
3-115, 1 TD
5.
Georgia 14 ... South Carolina 7
Georgia got two field goals from Blair Walsh in the second quarter and a
four-yard Knowshon Moreno touchdown run in the third, and then held on
for deal life. South Carolina had two deep drives late, but Mike Davis
lost a fumble in the end zone and Reshad Jones snuffed out the final
drive with an interception just outside of the goal line. The Gamecocks
only gained 18 rushing yards on 16 carries, but the offense outgained
the Bulldogs 289 yards to 252.
Player
of the game:
Georgia
DB Asher Allen made six tackles, broke up two passes, and recovered a
fumble in the end zone.
Stat Leaders: Georgia - Passing: Matt Stafford, 15-25,
146 yds
Rushing: Knowshon Moreno, 20-79, 1 TD. Receiving: A.J. Green,
3-61
South Carolina - Passing: Chris Smelley, 23-39, 271 yds,
1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Mike Davis, 12-22. Receiving: Moe Brown, 7-130, 1 TD
4.
Wisconsin 13 ... Fresno State 10
In a defensive slugfest, Wisconsin forced an first quarter turnover with
DeAndre Levy picking off a tipped pass leading to a two-yard Garrett
Graham touchdown catch. Philip Welch added field goals from 38 and 23
yards to keep the Badgers ahead, but it would be a battle. Fresno State
relied on the big play, highlighted by a 47-yard Devon Wylie touchdown
catch, but Kevin Goessling missed three field goals to stall potential
momentum-stealing drives. The Badgers were pinned on their one-yard line
in the final minutes, but powered their way to a first down and the win.
Player of the game: Wisconsin LB
DeAndre Levy made nine tackles, four tackles for loss, a sack and an
interception that set up Wisconsin's only touchdown
Stat Leaders: Wisconsin - Passing: Allan Evridge,
12-24, 143 yds, 1 TD
Rushing: P.J. Hill, 26-112 Receiving: Garrett Graham, 5-58
Fresno State - Passing: Tom Brandstater, 15-27, 225
yds, 1 TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Lonyae Miller, 7-58. Receiving: Bear Pascoe, 3-32
3.
Oregon 32 ...
Purdue 26 2OT
Oregon got a three-yard touchdown run from LeGarrette Blount in the
second overtime to finish off the comeback. Purdue jumped out to a 20-3
lead helped by Kory Sheets touchdown runs from 80 and two yards, and had
a chance to win in regulation but Chris Summers badly missed a 44-yard
field goal. The Ducks roared back in the second half with an 87-yard
Jairus Byrd punt return for a score and a five-yard Blount touchdown
run, but they could only manage a 38-yard Matt Evenson field goal in the
fourth quarter to tie it at 23. Summers hit a 22-yarder in the first
overtime but missed a 47-yarder in the second.
Player of the game: Oregon
RB
LeGarrette Blount ran 12 times for 132 yards and two touchdowns
Stat Leaders: Purdue - Passing: Curtis Painter,
26-50, 207 yds, 2 INT
Rushing: Kory Sheets, 29-180, 2 TD. Receiving: Greg Orton,
9-82
Oregon - Passing: Justin Roper, 20-48, 197 yds, 2
INT
Rushing: LeGarrette Blount,
12-132, 2 TD. Receiving: Ed Dickson, 7-93
2.
South Florida 37 ... Kansas 34
South Florida's Nate Allen picked off a Todd Reesing pass to set 43-yard
Maikon Bonani field goal as time expired to give the Bulls the thrilling
win. Kansas dominated for most of the first half with Reesing running
for a four-yard score and connecting with Jonathan Wilson for a 36-yard
touchdown on the way to a 20-3 lead. And then USF got hot reeling off
31-straight points highlighted by a 21-yard Taurus Johnson juggling
scoring catch, but KU rallied. Reesing marched the Jayhawks to a 78-yard
drive finishing with an 18-yard touchdown pass to Wilson, and tied the
game on a 14-yard pass to Angus Quigley. Reesing appeared to be on his
way to a game-winning score before throwing the pick to Allen. The loss
overshadowed a great game from KU's James Holt, who made 12.5 tackles, a
sack, three tackles for loss and forced two fumbles.
Player of the game: South
Florida QB Matt Grothe completed 32-of-45
passes for 338 yards and two touchdowns, and ran 11 times for 30 yards
and a score.
Stat Leaders: South Florida - Passing: Matt Grothe,
32-45, 338 yds, 2 TD
Rushing: James Taylor, 11-72, 1 TD. Receiving: Taurus
Johnson, 7-82, 1 TD
Kansas - Passing: Todd Reesing, 34-51, 373 yds, 3
TD, 1 INT
Rushing: Angus Quigley, 3-22. Receiving: Kerry Meier,
11-120
1.
Buffalo 30 … Temple 28
Drew Willy and Naaman Roosevelt connected on a 35-yard Hail Mary as time
ran out to give Buffalo the thrilling win to cap off a terrific game.
Temple marched 74 yards in 1:44 with Adam DiMichele hitting Bruce
Francis on an 11-yard pass for the lead with 38 seconds to play, but
Willy was able to take the Bulls the 60 yards in five plays for the
winning score. DiMichele threw three touchdown passes and kept the
offense moving with his legs, but Willy kept pace with two short
touchdown throws.
Player of the game: Buffalo QB Drew Willy completed 29-of-42 passes
for 348 yards and three touchdowns with an interception.
Stat Leaders: Buffalo - Passing: Drew Willy, 29-42,
348 yds, 3 TD, 1 INT
Rushing:
Brandon Thermilus, 14-42, 1 TD. Receiving: Naaman Roosevelt,
8-132, 1 TD
Temple
-
Passing: Adam DiMichele, 24-33, 285 yds, 3 TD
Rushing: Adam DiMichele, 12-51. Receiving: Dy’Onne Crudup,
5-41, 1 TD
Worst Game of the
Weekend
Troy 65 … Alcorn State 0
Troy set a school record with 736 yards of total offense and hung up 52
points at halftime thanks to four Jamie Hampton touchdown passes and a
one-yard scoring run. Maurice Greer added a 60-yard dash in the 38-point
second quarter, and all the starters came out. The Trojans forced seven
turnovers and picked off ASU quarterbacks seven times.
Player of the game: Troy QB Jamie Hampton completed 26-of-37 passes
for 323 yards and four touchdown with two interceptions, and he ran six
times for 45 yards and a score in just one half.
Stat Leaders: Alcorn State - Passing: Tony Hobson,
4-12, 24 yds, 2 INT
Rushing:
Eric Relf, 7-43. Receiving: Elliott Moore, 4-7
Troy
-
Passing: Jamie Hampton, 26-37, 323 yds, 4 TD, 2 INT
Rushing: Maurice Greer, 9-113, 1 TD. Receiving: Jerrell
Jernigan, 8-94, 1 TD