Conference USA Quick Recaps For Week 12

Southern Miss 59, Houston 41

The Southern Miss Golden Eagles (8-3, 5-2) beat Conference USA rivals Houston (5-6, 4-4) at their own game on Saturday, outscoring the Cougars 35-21 in the second half to claim a 59-41 victory in a wild, back-and-forth affair.  The Golden Eagles’ victory came following an emotional week, in which Southern Miss dealt with the aftermath of three players being shot outside a nightclub last Saturday.

Junior signal caller Austin Davis and frosh running back Kendrick Hardy ran for touchdowns in the decisive third quarter, as the Golden Eagles extended a 24-20 halftime lead to a seemingly commanding 38-20 lead.  Both Davis and Hardy proved to be too much for the Houston defense to handle.  Davis played just about as perfect a game as a quarterback possibly can, rushing for four touchdowns and 111 yards on 17 carries while completing 23 of 30 passes for 285 yards and two touchdowns.  Hardy pounded the Coogs’ defense for 205 yards and two touchdowns on 26 carries.

David Piland (28-of-47, 467 yards, 4 touchdowns, 1 interception) threw three touchdown passes in the fourth quarter, as Houston tried to mount a rally after falling behind 45-20.  However, the Golden Eagles responded, scoring three fourth quarter touchdowns of their own to hold off the Cougars.  The teams combined for 1,133 yards of total offense.

UAB 31, Memphis 15

The UAB Blazers (4-7, 3-4) contentedly traded first half touchdowns for field goals, racing to a 24-9 halftime lead en route to a 31-15 victory over Conference USA rivals Memphis (1-10, 0-7) at Legion Field in Birmingham on Saturday. The Blazers began the game by taking the opening kickoff and scoring almost immediately when Bryan Ellis (21-of-38, 361 yards, 3 touchdowns, 2 interceptions) hit Jeffrey Anderson (6 catches, 80 yards, 1 touchdown) for a 52-yard touchdown on a third-and-ten, nine plays into the game, staking UAB  to a 7-0 lead.

Following a 44-yard field goal by the Tigers’ Paulo Henriques, the Blazers drove 80-yards on nine plays, taking a 14-3 lead when Pat Shed crashed into the end-zone for a one-yard touchdown run.  Shed’s second touchdown came in the second quarter when he took a short pass from Ellis and sprinted through the Memphis defense for a 54-yard touchdown that staked UAB to a 24-6 lead.  Shed finished with 125 yards rushing on 20 carries to go along with two receptions for 63 yards and one touchdown. 

The Tigers got as close as 24-15 when Ryan Williams connected with Marcus Rucker on a 28-yard pitch-and-catch in the third quarter.  However, Memphis got no closer and Bryan Ellis’s 72-yard touchdown pass to Patrick Hearn, which started the fourth quarter, extended the UAB lead to 31-15. 

Rucker caught four passes for 90 yards and one touchdown while Williams completed 16-of-31 passes for 228 yards and one touchdown and one interception for the Tigers.