Big East roundup - Week 2
Happy Monday, folks. This is a weekly feature that I'll usually put up on Sunday, but since I was travelling yesterday, it's coming to you a day late. That said, let's check in on how the rest of the Big East fared this weekend.
No. 23 Louisville (beat Missouri St. 35-7): Teddy Bridgewater had a career day, completing 30 of 39 passes for 344 yards and two touchdowns. The Cardinals outgained Missouri State 475-249, and looked the part of conference favorite in dominating their Division I-AA opponent.
Connecticut (lost to N.C. State 10-7): The Huskies managed just 35 net yards on the ground, and running back Lyle McCombs ran for 60 yards. The Huskies converted 2 of 12 third-down attempts. Quarterback Chandler Whitmer threw three interceptions, and failed to convert a fourth-down pass on UConn's final drive that could have kept the Huskies' hopes alive. On the other side of the ball, though, the Huskies limited the Wolfpack to 258 total yards.
Temple (lost to Maryland 36-27): The Owls were outscored in the second quarter 23-0, and never recovered. They trailed 26-3 at halftime and a late second-half rally ultimately came up short. Temple was beaten by former Central Catholic quarterback Perry Hills, who threw two touchdowns and ran for another for the Terrapins.
Rutgers (beat Howard 26-0): Rutgers defense, widely considered to be one of (if not the) strongest in the Big East, dominated an overmatched foe. The Scarlet Knights gave up just 149 total yards, and limited Howard to 1.9 yards per rush. Rutgers also ran for 191 yards.
Syracuse (lost to No. 2 USC 42-29): The Orange actually held their own against the overwhelmingly favored Trojans. Syracuse trailed just 21-16 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but couldn't close the gap any more than that. Ryan Nassib went 30 of 46 for 322 yards and two touchdowns. The Orange actually outgained USC in total yards, 455-445.
South Florida (beat Nevada 32-31): B.J. Daniels found Andre Davis with 38 seconds remaining for a 56-yard touchdown pass that give the Bulls a dramatic win. Daniels only completed 22 of his 40 passing attempts, but racked up 363 yards and three touchdowns. The two teams combined for 1, 121 total yards.
That's all for now. I'll be back in a bit with a recap from Paul Chryst's press conference this afternoon.