Memphis runs all over struggling Huskies COLLEGE FOOTBALL / TOP 25 ROUNDUP
Memphis, Tenn. — UConn football coach Randy Edsall has been bemoaning the lack of consistency his young team has displayed this season.
It's a safe assumption that giving up 28 points to Memphis in the second quarter for the second season in a row wasn't the type of consisten- cy he was looking for.
Memphis junior tailbacks Darrell Henderson and Patrick Taylor each had a pair of scoring runs in the quarter as the host Tigers rolled to a 55-14 victory on Saturday at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium.
Memphis (4-2, 1-2 in the American Athletic Conference) wasted little time in taking the lead as Brady White hit an uncovered Joey Magnifico for a 44-yard touchdown to cap a six-play, 75-yard scoring drive. It was the 17th time this season an opponent had a scoring drive that took less than 2 minutes.
UConn (1-5, 0-3) had an answer, converting all five third-down conversions during a 17-play scoring drive which ended with David Pindell's 4-yard scoring run.
The drive took 7 minutes and 32 seconds making it the third most time consuming touchdown-scoring drive against a fellow Football Bowl Subdivision team since the Huskies began playing at the FBS level in 2002.
Memphis converted on a 3rd and 23 play on the next drive leading to Darrell Henderson's 2-yard scoring run. The extra point was no good, but the Tigers still lead 13-7.
As was the case in the 2017 meeting between the teams, the wheels fell off in the second quarter as Memphis had 178 yards on eight rushing attempts in the period. It also didn't help that for the second week in a row the offense struggled after scoring on the opening possession.
It started with Omar Fortt, Ryan Carroll and Ian Swenson all missing tackles on Henderson's 61-yard TD run. Taylor had a pair of 35-yard scoring runs before Henderson added a 26 yarder to push the lead to 41-7.
UConn did get a score back on a tough catch in traffic in the end zone by Keyion Dixon as the 14-yard reception with 26 seconds to play in the half made it 41-14.
Taylor had a 12-yard scoring run the first time Memphis got the ball in the second half and after Pindell's second interception of the game, Antonio Gibson caught a 17-yard scoring pass from reserve quarterback Connor Adair with 5:59 left to play.
Henderson ran for 174 yards and Taylor 161 for Memphis as the Tigers ran for 378 yards.
Starting cornerback Tahj Herring-Wilson returned to the field for the first time since injuring his ankle in a win over Rhode Island.
Fortt led UConn with 13 tackles. Freshman Cameron Dicker kicked a 40-yard field goal with nine seconds left to give 19th-ranked Texas a 48-45 victory over No. 7 Oklahoma on Saturday at the Cotton Bowl in Dallas. Texas won after Kyler Murray rallied Oklahoma with three touchdowns in the fourth quarter. Sam Ehlinger ran for three touchdowns and threw for 314 yards with two scores for Texas (5-1, 3-0 Big 12), which has its first five-game winning streak since 2013. He converted third-and-3 on Texas’ final drive with a 4-yard keeper and his 8-yard draw to the middle of the field set up the winning kick. The Longhorns took a 45-24 lead into the fourth quarter before Murray threw a 19yard TD pass to Lee Morris and ran 67 yards for a score on a one-play drive. Trey Sermon’s 7-yard run for the tying touchdown with 2:38 left gave the Sooners three TDs in a span of six minutes. Oklahoma (5-1, 2-1) lost to the Longhorns for the third time in six seasons. This was the first time in that span Texas was ranked for the Red River Rivalry, which had never had more combined points in a 113-game series that dates back to 1900. Murray completed 19 of 26 passes for 304 yards and four touchdowns, and ran for 92 yards. But he also had two turnovers, only his third interception of the season and a big fumble in the third quarter when he lost control of the ball when scrambling. Five plays after Murray’s fumble, not long after his 77-yard TD pass to Marquise Brown, the Longhorns led 38-24 when Ehlinger burst into the end zone on a 2-yard run. Brown had nine catches for 131 yards and two TDs. His long TD was his national-best seventh catch of at least 40 yards this season. Lil’Jordan Humphrey had nine catches for 133 yards and a touchdown, and his 2-yard TD pass to Collin Johnson capped the first Texas possession of the game.
N’Kosi Perry threw four touchdown passes, and Miami pulled off its biggest comeback ever against Florida State by rallying from 20 points down. Brevin Jordan’s 41-yard touchdown grab with just under 12 minutes left put the Hurricanes (5-1, 2-0 ACC) ahead for good, as Miami rallied from a 27-7 second-half deficit. The win was Miami’s first at home over Florida State (3-3, 1-3) since 2004, snapping a six-game slide in South Florida against its archrival. Perry’s numbers weren’t great — 13 for 32, 204 yards — but he made some big throws when they mattered most. The go-ahead score to Jordan came one play after Perry threaded a 32-yard throw to Jeff Thomas on third-and-10, meaning in the span of about a half-minute the Hurricanes went 73 yards for the lead. Deondre Francois completed 15 of 30 passes for 129 yards with two touchdowns and an interception for the Seminoles, who were held to 200 yards of offense. He’s been in three games at Hard Rock Stadium, winning two, and all three decided by exactly one point. D.J. Matthews tiptoed down the left sideline early in the third quarter for a 74-yard punt return touchdown, putting Florida State up 27-7.
Tua Tagovailoa passed for 334 yards and four touchdowns and Alabama ran its winning streak against Arkansas to 12. It took just one play for Alabama (6-0, 3-0 SEC) to set the tone as Tagovailoa hit tight end Irv Smith Jr. on a pass across the middle that Smith took 76 yards to the end zone and a 7-0 lead just 21 seconds into the game. On the Crimson Tide’s second possession, Tagovailoa hit Smith again, and the 6-foot4 junior ripped off another big gain before he was stripped from behind by Ryan Pulley. Alabama receiver Henry Ruggs III picked up the fumble in stride and carried it the remaining 12 yards for a touchdown and a 14-0 lead with 10:01 left in the first quarter. The margin grew to 21-0 before Arkansas (1-5, 0-3) got on the scoreboard.
Dwayne Haskins Jr. passed for a career-best 455 yards and school record-tying six touchdowns and Ohio State pulled away in the fourth quarter. A week after a gritty victory at Penn State, the Buckeyes (6-0, 3-0 Big Ten) were forced to work hard by quarterback Peyton Ramsey and an Indiana offense that took advantage of plenty of early defensive mistakes. The Buckeyes didn’t get a handle on this one until Haskins hooked up with Terry McLaurin for a 17-yard touchdown pass early in the fourth, and then added a 30-yard scoring pass to Binjimen Victor with seven minutes left. Haskins completed 33 of 44 passes and connected for two touchdowns each with Parris Campbell and McLaurin, and one each to Johnnie Dixon and Victor. Ohio State came from behind twice in the first half to take a 28-20 lead at the half and then kept the Hoosiers (4-2, 1-2) at bay in the second half despite the gritty play of Ramsey, who threw for a career-high 322 yards and three touchdowns.
Travis Etienne rushed for 167 yards and three touchdowns, and Clemson ran for 471 yards. Three Tigers had at least 100 yards rushing, the first time they’ve done that since 2006. In addition to Etienne — who scored on runs of 59, 3 and 70 yards — Lyn-J Dixon rushed for 163 yards and Adam Choice had 128. Dixon had touchdown runs of 65 and 52 yards, and Choice had a 64-yard TD run. Trevor Lawrence was 20 of 25 for 175 yards with a 55-yard touchdown pass to Justyn Ross and a 20-yarder to Tee Higgins in about 2 1/2 quarters before leaving with the score out of hand. This was the freshman’s second start, and first on the road. They helped the Tigers (6-0, 3-0 ACC) open with six victories for the fourth straight year.
Lamical Perine scored twice on short runs, including one after a trick play in the fourth quarter, and Florida beat LSU. Brad Stewart’s 25-yard interception return for a touchdown — the first pick Joe Burrow has thrown this season — essentially sealed the victory for the Gators (5-1, 3-1 SEC). A week after Florida beat Mississippi State with a double pass, Feleipe Franks handed off to seldom-used tight end Lucas Krull, slipped around the right end mostly unnoticed and caught a 15-yard pass from Krull that set up Perine’s second score. It immediately followed LSU’s go-ahead drive that featured two long runs from Nick Brossettte. Brossette ran for 79 yards on the drive, including a 2-yard plunge that put the Tigers (5-1, 2-1) up 19-14 with 8:48 to play.
Will Grier threw four touchdown passes, and committed four turnovers, and West Virginia beat Kansas. West Virginia (5-0, 3-0 Big 12) has won its first five games for the second time in three seasons. The Mountaineers had no trouble moving the ball but Grier’s efforts to throw into tight coverage near the goal line cost his team plenty of points. The Heisman Trophy hopeful was intercepted three times in the first half either in the end zone or at the goal line, two of them by cornerback Hasan Defense. All three of Grier’s interceptions occurred when West Virginia had driven inside the Kansas 15-yard line.
Shea Patterson threw for a season-high 282 yards and three touchdowns for Michigan. The Wolverines (5-1, 3-0 Big Ten) fell behind late in the first quarter and didn’t take the lead again until midway through the second quarter. They scored 24 straight points to take control and added another TD and two-point conversion with 6:37 remaining to seal their fifth straight victory. The Terrapins (3-2, 1-1) went ahead on Ty Johnson’s 98-yard kickoff return with 1:10 left in the first half, but they didn’t score again until early in the fourth quarter.
Clayton Thorson threw for 373 yards and three touchdowns and Northwestern recovered from another second-half slip to beat Michigan State. The Spartans (3-2, 1-1 Big Ten) entered with the nation’s top-ranked run defense and held Northwestern (2-3, 2-1) to 8 yards on the ground, but it didn’t matter. The Wildcats moved the ball consistently well through the air, and Michigan State’s offense was mostly inept. Thorson threw a 21-yard scoring pass to Cameron Green with 15 seconds left in the third, and a 2-point conversion gave Northwestern a 22-19 lead.
Wide receiver Laviska Shenault scored four touchdowns and Colorado beat Arizona State for just the second time in the program’s history. The Buffaloes (5-0, 2-0 Pac-12) overcame the ejection of star linebacker Nate Landman in the second quarter and stifled Arizona State running back Eno Benjamin in the second half. Benjamin, who set a school record a week ago with 312 yards against Oregon State, finished with 120 yards and two touchdowns. But he managed just 23 yards after halftime.
Reggie Gallaspy ran for a career-best 104 yards and two touchdowns and North Carolina State held on after squandering most of a big second-half lead. Ryan Finley threw for two touchdowns for the Wolfpack (5-0, 2-0 ACC), which led 28-3 on Finley’s scoring strike to Kelvin Harmon with 2:57 left in the third. But the Eagles (4-2, 1-1), playing without injured running back AJ Dillon, responded with 20 straight points, including a blocked punt return for a score with 3:33 left. Finley made the clinching play, connecting with Stephen Louis on the right sideline for 21 yards on a third down to move the chains with 1:08 left and send the Wolfpack into kneel-down mode.
Third-string quarterback Brock Purdy completed 18 of 23 passes for 318 yards and four touchdowns to help Iowa State beat Oklahoma State. Purdy, a true freshman who played just one series before this game, stepped in for Zeb Noland — who was starting his fourth straight game in place of injured starter Kyle Kempt — in the contest’s second series and immediately sparked Iowa State (2-3, 1-2 Big 12). He also had a rushing touchdown.