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CINCINNATI: The Bearcats were one of three Big East teams that were idle this past weekend and will return to action on October 9th against Miami-Ohio. In their most recent outing, the Bearcats welcomed national powerhouse Oklahoma to Cincinnati, and to the surprise of many fans and analysts the home team put up a tremendous fight. Unfortunately, the Sooners prevailed in a 31-29 final. Zach Collaros went 23-of-38 for 305 yards, three touchdowns and one interception for UC. Isaiah Pead gained 169 yards on 21 carries, while D.J. Woods caught seven passes for 171 yards and a score, although he muffed a late punt that all but handed the Sooners their final touchdown.
CONNECTICUT: The Huskies took on SEC foe Vanderbilt in East Hartford this past weekend, and the result of that game was an impressive 40-21 victory. Jordan Todman proved once again to be a workhorse back, as he carried 37 times for 190 yards and two touchdowns to lead the way in the triumph. Todman has now eclipsed 100 yards rushing in seven of his last eight games after missing last week's tilt against Buffalo with a left arm injury. Cody Endres completed 21- of-30 passes for 179 yards with two touchdowns and one interception for UConn. He completed passes to eight different receivers in the victory. Up next for UConn is a date with Rutgers this Friday.
LOUISVILLE: The Cardinals were in action this past Saturday against Arkansas State, and first-year head coach Charlie Strong's team improved to 2-2 with a 34-24 triumph. Adam Froman threw for 308 yards and three touchdowns, while Bilal Powell led the ground attack with 157 yards and one touchdown on 21 carries. Josh Bellamy hauled in two of Froman's TD passes and finished the contest with 66 yards on four receptions. The Cardinals were able to rack up 575 total yards and finished with 26 first downs. Defensively, they certainly could have played better, yielding 409 yards to a mediocre opponent. Another non-conference game is on the slate this coming weekend for Louisville, as it will take on Memphis in front of the home crowd.
PITTSBURGH: The Panthers played host to Florida International over the weekend, and the result of that tilt was an easy 44-17 victory. Ray Graham ran for 277 yards and three touchdowns, as he certainly made the most of his 29 carries. As a team, Pitt amassed 300 rushing yards and four scores on 36 attempts. Tino Sunseri converted 15-of-23 passes for 169 yards and a score as the Panthers won for the second time in the last three outings. Pittsburgh was held scoreless in the first quarter and found itself deadlocked at 10-10 in the second quarter before blowing the game open. This Saturday, Pitt will be in South Bend to clash with the Notre Dame Fighting Irish.
RUTGERS: The Scarlet Knights collided with Tulane on Saturday, and the result was a disappointing 17-14 defeat. Mohamed Sanu rushed for 121 yards and one touchdown on just nine carries in the loss for Rutgers. Quarterbacks Chas Dodd and Tom Savage combined to hit just 15-of-34 passes for 205 yards, one TD and one interception, but they were also sacked a collective four times on the afternoon. Sanu, who also caught five balls for 70 yards, gave the Scarlet Knights an early 7-0 lead after a long 91-yard touchdown run on the game's second play from scrimmage. Unfortunately, the offense couldn't get much going from that point on. Up next for the Scarlet Knights is a battle with UConn on Friday night.
SOUTH FLORIDA: USF welcomed Florida Atlantic to Tampa on Saturday and proceeded to crush the Owls by a 31-3 final. Moise Plancher rushed for 93 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Bulls. B.J. Daniels threw for 155 yards and one touchdown for South Florida, while Dontavia Bogan hauled in the touchdown pass and finished with 66 yards on five receptions. The USF defense deserves a great deal of credit for the triumph, as the team was able to limit FAU to 208 total yards, including 72 net rushing yards. The fact that the Bulls didn't commit a single turnover in the game was obviously a key to the win. The Bulls are looking forward to this weekend's battle with conference foe Syracuse.
SYRACUSE: The Orange were idle this past weekend, as they continue to prepare for this Saturday's Big East battle with USF. The most recent outing for Syracuse occurred on September 25th against Colgate and resulted in an easy 42-7 victory. Senior tailback Delone Carter led the way in that tilt, as he dashed for a career-high 172 rushing yards and four touchdowns on only 14 carries. Carter is now 11th all-time at Syracuse in career rushing yardage (2,290). Ryan Nassib, the team's quarterback, connected on 8-of-15 throws for 169 yards with one touchdown. Marquis Spruill made his presence felt on the defensive side of the ball, as he recorded 12 tackles, two of which resulted in lost yardage.
WEST VIRGINIA: After an emotional and physical battle against LSU on September 25th, West Virginia was idle this past weekend. Despite a solid effort, WVU became the 29th consecutive non-conference opponent to lose to LSU at Tiger Stadium. Geno Smith threw for 119 yards on 14-of-29 attempts with two touchdowns and an interception for WVU. Noel Devine was held to 37 yards rushing, and West Virginia gained just 21 more yards on the ground as a team. After the contest, Mountaineers head coach Bill Stewart said that his squad lost the game in all three phases. Many expect a spirited performance by WVU against non-conference foe UNLV this coming weekend.