OTHER TOP 25
North Texas 45, No. 15 UTSA 23: UTSA’s undefeated season ended in a blowout as host North Texas running backs DeAndre Torrey and Ikaika Ragsdale combined for five touchdowns. Quarterback Frank Harris had two of UTSA’s three lost fumbles among six overall before sitting the second half at UNT’s rainsoaked Apogee Stadium, a 10-year-old facility where a Top 25 team had never played. UTSA (11-1, 7-1 Conference USA), which never started with more than five consecutive wins in the program’s first nine seasons, is still hosting the conference championship game Friday night.
The Roadrunners, ranked 10th nationally in rushing defense, had given up six touchdowns on the ground all season. The Mean Green (6-6, 5-3) matched that late in the third quarter of their fifth consecutive victory that followed a six-game losing streak as UNT earned bowl eligibility.
No. 19 Houston 45, UConn 17: Clayton Tune threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns as Houston tuned up for next week’s American Athletic Conference championship game with a win over host UConn. Nathaniel Dell caught two touchdowns and Jake Herslow and Jeremy Singleton each topped 100 receiving yards to go with a TD apiece for Houston (11-1, 8-0 American), which plays at No. 4 Cincinnati for the AAC title next Saturday. Freshman Alton McCaskill had a 31-yard touchdown run, his 16th of the year for the Cougars, but left the game in the second quarter holding his right shoulder. He finished with 54 yards on the ground. The Cougars led 21-10 at halftime and scored on their first four possessions of the second half to put the game away. Tune completed 20 of his 31 passes in three quarters of work. UConn’s Steven Krajewski had a 34-yard touchdown pass to Kevens Clercius before leaving the game in the second quarter with an injury. He was replaced by Micah Leon, who completed 10 of 13 passes for 62 yards for the Huskies (1-11). Leon left with a leg injury with 2 minutes left and was replaced by Jacob Drenn, a freshman walk-on and the fifth UConn quarterback to see action this season. UConn has lost 14 consecutive games against FBS opponents.
No. 23 Louisiana-Lafayette 21, Louisiana-Monroe 16: Emani Bailey scored on a 2-yard run to give host Louisiana-Lafayette a double-digit lead in the third quarter, and the Ragin’ Cajuns held off LouisianaMonroe. The Ragin’ Cajuns (11-1, 8-0) won their school-record 11th straight game after a seasonopening loss at Texas and went unbeaten in Sun Belt Conference play for the first time. Lafayette will host Appalachian State in the conference championship game next Saturday. The Ragin’ Cajuns also extended their win streak against Sun Belt West Division opponents to 17 games under fourth-year coach Billy Napier.