Conference USA Football Week Four Recap - 9/23/06

#4 West Virginia 27 - East Carolina 10

The Pirates slowed the Mountaineers’ ground attack down for a second consecutive year, but No. 4 West Virginia made enough plays in the passing game to hold off the pesky Pirates and win 27-10.

West Virginia’s Steve Slaton, a Heisman candidate as only a sophomore, was held to half his season average. He finished with 80 yards on 24 carries. However, sophomore quarterback Pat White picked up the slack, throwing for a career-best 216 yards and two touchdowns. He was aided by the solid play of wide receiver Darius Reynaud, who caught five balls for 110 yards, which included a 60-yard touchdown that put the Mountaineers in the drivers’ seat at 24-10 with just under ten minutes remaining.

The Pirates had cut the lead to 17-10 slightly over a minute into the final period.

East Carolina stayed in the game with excellent defense play, which included forcing three interceptions and a tremendous tackling performance. Their lone touchdown, which tied the game at seven with four minutes left in the first quarter, came on a 47-yard touchdown pass from James Pinkney to Aundrae Allison. Allison made a great run after the catch to get into the end zone.

Pinkney finished the day 20 of 40 for 247 yards with one touchdown and one interception.

The Pirates’ inability to run the football really hurt their ability to slow down the pass rush and score when down in the red zone.

Detailed East Carolina vs. West Virginia recap

Houston 34 - Oklahoma State 25

Art Briles has led the Houston Cougars to their first 4-0 start since 1990, following their 34-25 non-conference victory over the Big 12’s Oklahoma State Cowboys.

Cougar senior quarterback Kevin Kolb propelled UH to the win, as he completed 21 of 28 passes for 313 yards and four touchdowns. Houston running back Jackie Battle rushed for 105 yards on 23 carries.

This shootout, which featured 941 yards of offense between the two teams, also saw Oklahoma State quarterback Bobby Reid play well. Reid, who is from the Houston area, connected on 13 of 22 attempts for 283 yards and three touchdowns, without throwing an interception. Reid also ran for 83 yards on only seven carries. His favorite target was Adarius Bowman, who caught seven balls for 167 yards, which included a 75-yard touchdown.

Detailed Houston vs. Oklahoma St. recap

Mississippi State 16 - UAB 10 - OT

It wasn’t pretty, but Sylvester Croom and his Mississippi State walked out of Legion Field with a much-needed win on Saturday, following their 16-10 overtime win over UAB.

The Bulldogs—despite committing two turnovers, being flagged eight times for 75 yards, and only gaining 256 yards in total offense—were able to find a way to eek out a win.

In a game that featured only 456 yards of offense between the two teams, MSU offense put together a decent performance on the ground with an efficient performance by starting quarterback Omarr Conner. Conner wasn’t spectacular, but he completed 13 of 23 passes for 99 yards without throwing an interception. He also ran for 48 yards on ten carries.

Conner’s biggest carry was his last, when he ran 21 yards for the game-winning touchdown in overtime.

UAB quarterback Chris Williams completed only 9 of 20 attempts for 90 yards, but two costly interceptions, which included one in overtime.

New Mexico 26 - UTEP 13

What happened to the UTEP team that played against Texas Tech? The Miners had done an excellent job of protecting quarterback Jordan Palmer, who is the younger brother of current Cincinnati Bengals and former Southern Cal QB Carson Palmer; however, the Lobos didn’t allow that to continue as they sacked the younger Palmer five times in route to their 26-13 of Mike Price’s squad.

When he wasn’t on his back, Palmer was able to complete a good percentage, going 26 of 36 for 211 yards and a touchdown. However, the Miners were once again plagued by a non-existent ground game, as they only rushed for 30 yards in the game.

The Lobos led 26-3 early in the second half and was able to hang on for the victory, one that ended a five-game home losing streak.

UNM finished with slightly less than 300 yards of total offense, 193 of which came on the ground. Lobos’ running back Rodney Ferguson ran for 162 yards on 34 carries.

The Miners are now 1-2 on the season, having lost consecutive games after defeating San Diego State in the opener.

#10 LSU 49 - Tulane 7

Coming off a win at Mississippi State, Tulane was looking to end its 14-game string away from New Orleans with a win over in-state rival LSU. LSU, who was coming off a 7-3 loss at Auburn, didn’t give Tulane any hope in this one. They took control of the game early, leading 14-0 after the first quarter and 28-0 at the half.

The Tulane offense was only able to generate 231 yards against the nation’s top ranked defense. LSU knocked Green Wave quarterback Lester Ricard out of the game in the second quarter with a shoulder injury.

Quarterback Jamarcus Russell led the Tigers offensively, going 17 of 23 for 198 yards and two touchdowns. Charles Scott also ran for 101 yards on only 15 carries, which included two touchdowns.

Tulane can now return home to play its first game in the Louisiana Superdome since December 4, 2004.

Tulsa 24 - Navy 23 - OT

Tulsa racked up 444 yards of offense, including a 24 of 36, three-touchdown performance by quarterback by Paul Smith, but still needed to block an extra point in overtime to fend off Paul Johnson’s Midshipmen in Annapolis.

Navy had three leads in the game — 7-0, 14-7 and 17-14 — but the Golden Hurricane responded each time and forced overtime after tying it at 17 with just over six minutes left.

Tulsa got the ball first in OT and wasted no time in taking a 24-23 lead. Navy answered with a 25-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Brian Hampton to O.J. Washington, but the ensuing extra-point attempt was blocked.

The Midshipmen, who possess one of the nation’s most potent ground attacks, finished with 283 yards rushing. QB Brian Hampton, who carried it 30 times for 118 yards and one touchdown, led them.

#15 Tennessee 33 - Marshall 7

Lightning delayed the start of the Tennessee-Marshall game, but then it struck again after the game began. The second time around it was in the form of Volunteers’ running back LaMarcus Coker. Coker, who had been waiting for his chance to make an impact for UT, ran for an astounding 146 yards on only eight carries. He got 89 of them on one-play on a fourth quarter touchdown run that made it 23-7 early in the fourth quarter.

The Thundering Herd, who fell to 1-3 with the loss, only put up 236 yards of total offense and continued to struggle to run the ball effectively. Ahmad Bradshaw led them with 72 yards on 24 carries. Quarterback Bernie Morris completed 8 of 14 attempts for 110 yards, but did throw one interception.

The Vols’ Erik Ainge bounced back from a shaky performance against Florida by going 18 of 27 for 258 yards and one touchdown.

#18 Florida State 55 - Rice 7

Rice tied the game at seven a little over six minutes in when Joel Armstrong hooked up with Jarett Dillard for a 32-yard touchdown strike. Dillard finished the day as the Owls leading receiver with seven for 113.

However, after a brief glimmer of hope, Florida State’s athletes took over as the Seminoles found offense that they hadn’t been able to generate thus far this season. The Noles racked up 500 yards of total offense, which included 287 on the ground. This attack featured two, 100-yard rushers in Antone Smith and Lorenzo Booker. This is an area of concern for Bobby Bowden and his staff.

Seminole Quarterbacks Drew Weatherford and Xavier Lee combined to go 13 of 23 for 213 yards and two touchdowns.

Rice quarterback Joel Armstrong completed only 9 of 24 passes for 128 yards. The Owls did get a solid rushing performance out of Quinton Smith, who ran for 104 yards on 16 attempts.

Todd Graham’s Owls are now 0-4 after facing a brutal schedule to begin the season.

SMU 55 - Arkansas State 9

SMU head coach Phil Bennett said that he thought last week’s performance by Mustangs’ quarterback Justin Willis was only the beginning of many good things to come. Well, against Arkansas State, Willis made his coach’s comment look prophetic. Willis went 15 of 24 for 151 yards with four touchdowns and one interception. He has now thrown nine touchdown passes in the last two games, which helped SMU score over 40 points in consecutive games for the first time since 1982.

In addition to throwing for 231 yards, the Ponies also got a strong performance on the ground versus ASU, posting 226 rushing yards.