American Athletic Conference News and Notes
Nov 4, 2013 - 3:39 PM Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) -CINCINNATI: In a rare Wednesday night matchup, the Bearcats took down Memphis, 34-21, for their third win in a row. With the win the Bearcats improved to 6-2 overall and 3-1 in league play. The Bearcats finished with 437 yards of total offense marking the 21st straight game in which they have had at least 340 yards. Cincinnati also allowed only 232 yards to the Tigers while having 10 more first downs (25-15). Brendon Kay completed 27-of-35 pass attempts for 321 yards and a touchdown to match an interception. Kay completed his first nine passes of the game and recorded his third career 300-yard game and his second in the last two weeks. Shaq Washington matched his career-high with 11 receptions, while setting a personal best with 96 yards. Anthony McClung pulled in a career-high nine balls for 98 yards and a score. Ralph David Abernathy rushed for 46 yards and a touchdown as the leading rusher while Jordan Luallen had 41 yards and a score of his own. Zach Edwards had more than twice as many tackles as any other player for Cincinnati with 11 stops. Next week features a matchup against SMU.
CONNECTICUT: The Huskies' quest for their first win was put on hold this weekend with UConn on a bye. UConn will try to top Louisville next Friday.
HOUSTON: The Cougars held onto their spot at the head of the AAC standings with a 35-23 triumph over South Florida. At 7-1 overall and 4-0 in league play the Cougars own a half-game lead over UCF for first place in the conference. Houston had a bit of a down game on offense with just 388 total yards but it had points in each quarter and now has scored in every period this season. The Cougars are the only team to have done so at the FBS level this year. John O'Korn threw for 263 yards and three touchdowns on 22-of-27 passing. O'Korn leads all true freshman with 21 passing touchdowns this season. Deontay Greenberry had his fifth 100-yard game of the campaign with 106 yards and a score on four receptions. Ryan Jackson (54 yards, TD) and Kenneth Farrow (51 yards, TD) combined for 105 yards and two scores, though the Cougars averaged just 3.7 yards per carry. Houston forced two turnovers and gave up just 364 yards of total offense to the Bulls. Efrem Oliphant led the way with a game- high 13 tackles. Houston faces a real challenge next week when it takes on UCF in Orlando.
LOUISVILLE: The Cardinals were idle this past Saturday following a 34-3 win over South Florida in the previous week. Louisville hits the road to face Connecticut next weekend.
MEMPHIS: Coming off a bye the Tigers were bested 34-21 by Cincinnati in a conference skirmish at the Liberty Bowl. The setback was the fourth straight for the Tigers, who are just 1-6 overall and 0-4 against the rest of the league. Memphis finished with 200 yards fewer than Cincinnati (437-232) and 10 fewer first downs (25-15). The Tigers also converted on just 2-of-12 third down chances, though they were successful on 4-of-5 tries on fourth down. Brandon Hayes rushed for 76 yards and a touchdown on 17 attempts, though the Tigers rushed for just 3.3 yards per carry as a team. Hayes also added a receiving touchdown. Paxton Lynch completed just 17-of-33 pass attempts for 140 yards but he did throw two touchdown passes. Lynch was also picked off once. Tevin Jones (three receptions, 27 yards, TD) brought in the second passing score, while Joe Craig (five receptions, 28 yards) led the squad in catches. Charles Harris finished the game with a team-best 10 tackles and Martin Ifedi had a sack and now has 8.5 total this year. Next week Memphis will step out of league play when it hosts FCS foe Tennessee-Martin.
RUTGERS: Leonte Carroo scored two touchdowns in the fourth quarter as the Scarlet Knights rallied for a 23-20 victory over the Temple Owls. Rutgers' victory ended a two-game slide for the Scarlet Knights, who are now 5-3 overall and an even 2-2 in conference action. Carroo had career-highs in receptions (seven) and receiving yards (147), while tying the third-best single season touchdown total in program history with nine scores this year. Gary Nova was on the other end of those two scoring strikes, while adding a third to Michael Burton. In all Nova tallied 371 yards on a career-high 27 completions while avoiding an interception. Quron Pratt chipped in 88 yards on five receptions as well. Justin Goodwin had 60 of a total 69 rushing yards for Rutgers, which averaged just 2.5 yards per carry. The Scarlet Knights had 440 yards of total offense and scored a touchdown on just one of their four trips into the red zone. Kevin Snyder and Steve Longa tied for the team lead with 12 tackles, while Jamal Merrell had nine stops and his second interception of the year. Rutgers is off next week and will get back to work against Cincinnati on Nov. 16.
SMU: The Mustangs, winner of back-to-back contests, had a bye this week. Next week will feature a matchup with Cincinnati.
SOUTH FLORIDA: The Bulls fell to 2-2 in conference play with a 35-23 loss on the road to Houston. USF started the conference schedule at 2-0 but have lost their last two games, while allowing at least 30 points in each setback. The Bulls had allowed just one other opponent all season to score more than 30 points to previously. Mike White got the start at quarterback and finished with 311 yards and two touchdowns, completing 26-of-41 pass attempts. White was intercepted once and sacked three times. Andre Davis had his best game of the year with nine receptions for 134 yards. Mike McFarland had four receptions for 40 yards and also had both of the receiving touchdowns for the Bulls. Marcus Shaw was the leading rusher with 34 yards on 18 carries. His longest rush of the game was seven yards and he averaged just 1.9 yards per carry. USF was able to hold Houston to just 388 yards of total offense but gave up four touchdowns in as many red zone chances. The Bulls had nine tackles for loss and a pair of fumble recoveries. Mark Joyce had a team-high nine tackles, including 1.5 for loss. USF will be on the field next in two weeks against Memphis.
TEMPLE: The Owls let another lead slip through their fingers as they dropped a 23-20 decision to Rutgers. Temple led 13-9 heading into the fourth quarter but was unable to hold on for its first league win of the season. The Owls, who are now 1-8 overall and 0-5 against the AAC, had only 322 yards of total offense and a single trip into the red zone. P.J. Walker totaled 203 yards on 21-of-31 passing but he offset his two touchdown passes with a pair of interceptions. Zaire Williams was the leading rusher with 59 yards on 13 carries while Kenneth Harper finished with 49 yards and a touchdown on 12 attempts. Harper also scored a touchdown through the air. Ryan Anderson had four receptions for 57 yards and also brought in a touchdown pass. Jalen Fitzpatrick added 31 yards on three catches. Tyler Matakevich recorded a team- high 10 tackles, including a sack. Matakevich has had double-digit tackles in seven games this year and is leading the country with 113 stops all together. Following an off week next Saturday the Owls will get back to business with a battle against UCF.
UCF: The No. 19 Knights did not have an opportunity to go for their seventh win of the season as they were idle over the weekend. UCF faces Houston next week in a battle of the two teams at the top of the league standings.
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