Conference USA Football Week Nine Recap - 10/28/2006

Tulsa 30 - UTEP 20 (October 27th)

The Golden Hurricane (7-1, 4-0) used a strong second half to defeat the Miners, 30-20, on Friday night at Skelly Stadium in Tulsa. The win, which was Tulsa’s sixth in a row, kept the Golden Hurricane a perfect 4-0 and on top of Conference USA’s West division.

UTEP (4-4, 2-2) took a 13-6 lead into the lockerroom, following a strong second quarter during which the Miners outscored Tulsa 13-3. They kept their momentum going early in the third quarter when Jordan Palmer hooked up with his favorite target, Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr., for a 69-yard touchdown pass.

From that point on, it was all Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane would begin to chip away at the 14-point deficit. A 39-yard Jarod Tracy field goal, his third successful attempt of the game, with 18 seconds remaining in the third quarter cut the lead to 20-16.

On the first play of the fourth quarter, Tulsa’s Chris Chamberlain picked off UTEP’s Jordan Palmer and returned it 25 yards to give the Golden Hurricane the lead for good at 23-20.

The Tulsa defense then forced UTEP to go three and out. Paul Smith and Courtney Tennial would then lead the offense on an eight-play, 52-yard touchdown drive that took nearly five minutes off the clock.

The Golden Hurricane defense kept the Miners off the scoreboard for the remainder of the evening.

Three of the big differences in the game were the pick-six thrown by UTEP’s Jordan Palmer, the Miners inability to match Tulsa’s success on the ground, and the fact that they were only able to convert three of their 13 first downs. Their running game has struggled all season and it did again in this one. Tulsa outgained UTEP on the ground 154-40.

Palmer completed 21 of 37 for 253 yards with a touchdown and the costly interception for a touchdown.

His counterpart, Paul Smith, was 16 of 23 for 176 yards. He also threw one touchdown and an interception. Courtney Tennial finished the game with 23 carries for 83 yards, but he also hauled in three passes for 47 yards.

Tulane 42 - Army 28

The Green Wave (3-5, 1-3) used strong performances by quarterback Lester Ricard and running back Matt Forte to win what was Tulane’s first homecoming game in the Louisiana Superdome since the fall of 2001.

Tulane led 17-6 at the break, following a 12-play, 79-yard touchdown drive that concluded with just under a minute left in the opening half.

Ricard threw for 409 yards and three touchdowns on the day, as he completed 33 of his 43 attempts. It was the second-highest total of his career, ranking only behind his 417-yard performance in 2004 against UAB. He was not sacked for the third consecutive game.

The offensive line’s solid protection combined with the fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game for Matt Forte really benefited Ricard.

Ricard spread the ball around nicely, completing passes to nine different receivers. Forte caught five balls for 54 yards to go along with his strong game on the ground.

Tulane led 17-6 at halftime, but Army scored on their first possession of the second half to get within four at 17-13.

The Green Wave pushed their lead to 17 at 30-13, but the Black Knights would not go down without a fight. Carson Williams connected with Tim Dunn for a 71-yard touchdown strike to pull Army within 30-20 near the end of the third quarter.

Tulane would not allow them to get any closer though, pushing their lead to 22 at 42-20 before Army scored a touchdown late.

Black Knight freshman quarterback Carson Williams, who was making his first career start, went 16-of-24 for 194 yards while throwing three touchdowns and two interceptions. Tim Dunn hauled in four passes for 113 yards and two scores.

Houston 51 - UCF 31

82 points and 1,046 yards—that’s what the Cougars and Golden Knights combined to produce on Saturday afternoon at Robertson Stadium in Houston. UCF (2-6, 1-3) tied the game at 31 early in the fourth, but Houston proceeded to score 20 unanswered to win a wild shootout, 51-31. The Cougars (6-3, 4-1) scored 34 points in the second half.

The UCF defense has struggled to slow anyone down. Houston ran roughshod over them, as they totaled 230 yards on the ground. Jackie Battle finished with 70 yards on 14 carries and three touchdowns. Anthony Aldridge rushed for 131 yards on only nine carries.

The UH passing game was sharp once again. Senior quarterback Kevin Kolb passed for 303 yards and three touchdowns while completing 22 of his 34 attempts. He did throw one interception.

Eight different Cougar receivers recorded receptions. Biren Ealy, who caught four balls for 85 yards, including a 52-yard touchdown, led them.

Marshall 41 - Memphis 27

The Thundering Herd (3-5, 2-2) won their second straight by beating Memphis, 41-27, on Saturday night at Joan C. Edwards Stadium in Huntington. Marshall got another 100-plus yard rushing performance out of Ahmad Bradshaw, who rushed for 125 yards on 25 carries.

Bradshaw, who has 988 yards on the ground on the season, is only 12 yards away from becoming the eighth player in Marshall history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season.

The Herd played most of the game without starting quarterback Bernie Morris, who left in the first quarter after completing 2 of 3 attempts for 94 yards and a touchdown.

Back-up Jimmy Skinner came to the rescue though, going 13 of 21 for 184 yards and two touchdowns.

Cody Slate finished with 135 yards receiving on only four receptions.

Memphis (1-7, 0-4) put up 469 yards of offense, but was plagued by four turnovers. Quarterback Martin Hankins went 26 of 42 for 322 yard and two touchdowns, but threw three costly interceptions.

The Thundering Herd returned one of those 85 yards for a touchdown slightly over midway through the final quarter. It all but sealed the game, making the MU lead 41-20.

Joseph Doss finished with 80 yards on 20 carries for the Tigers.

East Carolina 20 - Southern Miss 17 - OT

The Pirates (4-4, 3-2) used an overtime interception by Travis Williams to defeat their old nemesis Southern Miss, 20-17, on Saturday night at M.M. Roberts Stadium in Hattiesburg.

East Carolina forced overtime with 13 seconds remaining in the game when senior quarterback James Pinkney scored on a draw play on fourth and goal from the Southern Miss’ two-yard line.

The Pirates were only able to produce 299 yards of offense in the game, but took advantage of strong special teams’ and defensive efforts. Redshirt freshman place kicker Ben Hartman made two of his three attempts, including the game winning 19-yarder in overtime. He also made a 47-yard attempt in the waning seconds of the first quarter that gave ECU a 3-0 lead.

USM took a 7-3 lead early in the second quarter when Jeremy Young found Ed Morgan for a nine-yard touchdown pass.

However, that lead would be short lived as East Carolina’s Chris Johnson returned the ensuing kickoff 96 yards for a touchdown.

USM tied the game just before the half when Darren McCaleb drilled a 43-yard field goal.

The Pirate defense limited Southern Miss’ Damion Fletcher to only 59 yards on 16 carries.

Pinkney was 21 of 37 for 197 yards on the day with no touchdowns and two interceptions, one of which was returned 87 yards for a touchdown midway through the third quarter that gave USM a 17-10 lead. Steven Rogers and Aundrae Allison led the Pirates with four receptions each.