Future Opponents:
Duke (5-3, 4-1 ACC): Beat Clemson (3-5, 2-4) 46-45
It was a wild back-and-forth affair in South Carolina, with Duke jumping out to a 21-7 lead after one quarter, followed by Clemson posting their own 21-7 second quarter, causing a deadlock at the half. Trailing 45-38, the Blue Devils, led by QB Darian Mensah, went on an eleven play, 94 yard drive over 4:39 to take the lead in a frantic finish. The controversy was a pass interference call on 4th and 10 at the Clemson 18, a play which caused enough of a reaction in Dabo that he was fined by the ACC for his comments. Getting the ball at the three, Nate Sheppard would punch it in, and Mensah hit Sahmir Hagans for the two point conversion and the win.
At 4-1 in conference, Duke has a huge matchup with first place UVA (perhaps looking ahead?), and if they can win that, have very winnable games against UNC and Wake, making 7-1 in conference and a possible championship game a possibility.
- Current ESPN FPI UConn W Odds: 27.9%
- Up next: at UConn (6-3)
Air Force (2-6, 1-4 MW): Lost to Army (4-4, 2-3 American) 20-17
In their second leg of the Commander-in-Chief’s trophy games, Air Force again came up just short, losing to both Army and Navy by three. Amazingly, neither team had a 100+ yard rusher, with the Black Knights rushing for 4.3 ypc on 45 carries, and the Falcons rushing for 3.5 ypc on 50 carries. In the pass game, Army threw nine times, completing five for 102 yards, and Air Force threw for 161 yards on 13 completions.
This was also a wild finish. With Air Force trailing 17-10 in the fourth, they get down to the Army 11, before fumbling, and Army taking over at their own 17. After getting nine yards, they opted to go for it on 4th and 1 from their 26, and would not get it. It took just three plays for QB Liam Szarka to punch it in, tying the game up with 1:26 left. Army would go eight plays for 65 yards, accented by a 42 yard pass to eventually reach the Air Force 10, booting the game-winning FG as time expired for the win. Air Force will take on San Jose State, and the leading WR in the country, just ahead of Skyler Bell, in Danny Scudero (63 catches, 1,091 yards, 10 TDs) before heading out to east to face the Huskies.
- Current ESPN FPI UConn W Odds: 80.3%
- Up next: at San Jose State (3-5, 2-2 MW)
FAU (3-5, 2-3 American): Bye Week
- Current ESPN FPI UConn W Odds: 67.3%
- Up next: Tulsa (2-6, 0-5 American)
Past Opponents:
Rice (4-5, 1-4 American): Lost to #25 Memphis (8-1, 4-1 American) 38-14
After looking the part against the Huskies the week prior, Rice looked, respectfully, worse against the Tigers. On a Halloween night national broadcast, Memphis scored the first 28 points of the game, until Rice QB hit Aaron Turner for a 12 yard TD pass with 2:03 to go in the half, but allowed Memphis to get downfield and hit a 37 yard FG as time expired. It was largely garbage time from there, with Memphis QB Brendon Lewis throwing for 225 yards on 18-21 passing, but rushing 12 times for 87 yards. For Rice, Jenkins threw for 100 yards on 11-16 passing, and rushing for just 34. After amassing 300 yards on 5.4 ypc against the Huskies, the Owls rushed for just 112 yards on 2.4 ypc against the Tigers.
Rice takes on UAB this weekend, before finishing up with two of the other top teams in the American, North Texas and South Florida.
- Up next: UAB (3-5, 1-3 American)
Boston College (1-8, 0-5): Lost to #12 Notre Dame (6-2) 25-10
BC made Notre Dame work for it, but ultimately it was the Irish that left Chestnut Hill with the victory. Based on the box score, one would think that the Irish won by far more than 15, but alas, that was not the case. Notre Dame would be stopped on a 4th down in BC territory, and a fumble in the first half, wasting 96 yards, and allowing BC to stick around. BC would end up throwing three interceptions, not helping their cause. Grayson James threw two, and the Eagles went back to season starter Dylan Lonergan, who also threw one.
BC would trim the Irish lead to 12-10 in the third quarter, after an incredible 21 play, 74 yard drive that took 11:24 off the clock, culminating in a FG. Notre Dame responded with a Jeremiyah Love rushing TD, then James threw a pick at the Notre Dame 6, and the wheels were off from there. Love would rush for a 94 yard TD on the ensuing play, and BC would get just 11 yards on the next three possessions.
- Up next: SMU (6-3, 4-1 ACC)
FIU (3-5, 1-3 CUSA): Bye Week
- Up next: at Middle Tennessee State (1-7, 0-4 CUSA)
Buffalo (5-4, 4-1 MAC): Won at Bowling Green (3-6, 1-4 MAC) 28-3
A week after a tough loss to Akron, the Bulls bounced back with a win over Eddie George’s Falcons. A week after throwing four picks and attempting 36 passes, and two weeks after attempting 55 passes against UMass, Ta’Quan Roberson tossed a much more manageable 24 passes, completing 13 for 136 yards for one TD and one INT. Perhaps a better sign for the Bulls, RB Al-Jay Henderson rushed for over 100 yards for the first time this season, averaging 6.6 ypc.
CT native Drew Pyne got the start for Bowling Green, after making stops at several schools, and struggled, throwing for just 52 yards on 7-17 passing before backup Hunter Najm took over. Najm didn’t fare much better, throwing for 48 yards on 4-10 passing with an INT. As a team, Bowling Green rushed 44 times, averaging just 2.7 ypc. Buffalo is now deadlocked in a four-way tie for first place in the MAC. They will take on two of those other first place teams, and second place Central Michigan. After a promising start with wins over Liberty and Toledo, Bowling Green has lost their last three, and will need to win all three of their final games against Eastern Michigan, Akron, and UMass to become bowl-eligible.
- Up next: Bye Week
Ball State (3-5, 2-2 MAC): Bye Week
- Up next: Kent State (3-5, 2-2 MAC) Wednesday MACtion
Delaware (4-4, 2-3 CUSA): Lost at Liberty (4-4, 3-1 CUSA) 59-30
After a 3-1 start, the Blue Hens have lost three of four, and finding life in the CUSA is not smooth sailing. They’ve lost to first place Jacksonville State, second place Western Kentucky, and now third place Liberty. It is year one of transitioning from FCS, so it’s not completely out of place, but wasn’t foreseen after their start to the season. This game against Liberty was arguably their worst, especially defensively. Prior to this game, the 41 points allowed to UConn was their previous high.
After a Delaware FG that made the score 7-6 early in the second quarter, Liberty exploded, with three straight TDs. Delaware got a FG as the half came to a close, but trailed 28-9 at the half. It took the Flames just 31 seconds to get their next score, a 72 yard TD rush. The Blue Hens would get the next two TDs, two Nick Minicucci TD passes to cut the lead to 35-24, but Liberty would get two more TDs before the third quarter ended to go up 49-24. The Flames outgained Delaware 561-420, rushing for 282 yards. Minicucci did have 344 yards, but the Blue Hens run game continued to struggle, rushing for just 76 yards on 26 carries.
- Up next: Louisiana Tech (5-3, 3-2 CUSA)
Syracuse (3-6, 1-5 ACC) lost to North Carolina (3-5, 1-3 ACC) 27-10
What is there to say about our friends to the north? Ever since QB Steve Angeli was lost for the season, they’ve been playing non-competitve football. Granted, they played Duke, Pitt, Georgia Tech, and SMU, all pretty good teams. So how did they fare against UNC? Well, it still wasn’t good. The Orange had just a FG offensively, with their one TD coming on a fumble return for a score. HC Fran Brown opted to start walk-on freshman Joseph Filardi, a two-sport athlete who was a top recruit for the Orange lacrosse team team.
Filardi threw for 39 yards on 4-18 passing. There’s no further commentary on that. With the passing game the way it was, the Tar Heels were able to focus on the run. Yasin Willis rushed for 60 yards on 14 carries, and Will Nixon had 29 yards on five carries. UNC dominated time of possession, holding possession for over 35 minutes, and outgained Syracuse 425-147. Prior to the game, Brown stated that backup QB Rickie Collins just wasn’t get the job done, but it remains to be seen if they go back to Collins, ride it out with Filardi, or try freshman Luke Carney. Syracuse has Miami and Notre Dame left on the road, before hosting BC in the finale, which is most likely their only chance at a victory. For BC, they’ll be looking for their first FBS win and trying to avoid an 1-11 season.
- Up next: at Miami (6-2, 2-2 ACC)
CCSU (6-3, 4-0 NEC): Beat Long Island (3-6, 1-3 NEC) 10-7
Heading over to the FCS ranks, the Blue Devils haven’t had an easy road thus far, but they’ve survived all their conference games, including this 10-7 win. CCSU blocked two FGs in the fourth quarter, including an 18 yard game-tying attempt in the last minute. QB Brady Olson threw for 200 yards on 16-29 passing, and Elijah Howard was held to just 57 yards on 17 carries on the ground. CCSU will take on third place Stonehill this weekend, before their annual de-facto NEC championship game against Duquense.
- Up next: Stonehill (3-6, 2-2 NEC)
