Louisville 72, Florida International 0
Week 4 saw another relatively uneventful Louisville blowout. Teddy Bridgewater threw for 4 TD’s, including two to Devante Parker as the Cardinals took a 38-0 lead into the half. They opened the second half with a kick return TD and quickly scored another TD off a muffed punt to put the game at 51-0 halfway through the third quarter. With no major opponents on the schedule Louisville is going to have to count on margin of victory and win other forms of “style points” to remain in BCS contention. They have a bye week coming up and then open up conference play at Temple.
Rutgers 28, Arkansas 24
Rutgers pulled off an impressive come from behind victory against Arkansas on Saturday, for their second win in as many years against the Razorbacks. Quarterback Gary Nova threw for 346 yards and 3 touchdowns to help Rutgers overcome a 24-7 third quarter deficit. While nobody is confusing Arkansas for a powerhouse program, they are a solid team that plays in the best conference in football, so this is a pretty good win. After a tough loss in week 1, Rutgers has rattled off three solid wins to advance to 3-1 going into the conference slate, which opens for them at SMU after a bye this Saturday.
It’s too bad the Scarlet Knights are leaving the AAC, they would really bring some bite to the conference and realistically are destined to dwell in the cellar in the B1G while Ohio St, Michigan, etc. use them for their TV market…
Houston 36, Rice 21
Houston took a 31-13 lead early in the fourth quarter after freshmen QB John O’Korn threw his third touchdown pass of the game against the Cougars’ crosstown rival. Rice did mount a little bit of a comeback, blocking a field goal attempt and returning it for a touchdown to get within five, but they failed to recover the onside kick. Houston improves to 3-0, 1-0 in the American.
Cincinnati 14, Miami (OH) 0
In the 118th iteration of the second-oldest rivalry in FBS, Cincinnati overcame a flurry of mistakes to beat a hapless Miami (OH) team that was able to muster 1 net yard in the second half. In homage to the games of yesteryear, this game was a scoreless tie until the 4:55 mark in the fourth quarter.
Memphis 31, Arkansas St. 7
Memphis ran all over Arkansas State to the tune of 329 yards and three touchdowns to beat the Red Wolves of the Sun Belt conference. For the Tigers, this win represents progress as they’ve lost four of their past five against said Red Wolves. Running back Marquis Warford ran for a stunning 173 yards on 11 carries (15.7ypc!) to lead Memphis to their first win of the season. They have a bye week before hosting UCF on October 5th.
Texas A&M 42, SMU 13
The Mustangs headed into College Station looking to show strong against Johnny Football and the Texas A&M aggies. I saw bits and pieces of this one, and it was pretty ugly. Manziel threw for 244 yards and a touchdown while adding another 102 yards and two more TD’s on the ground. SMU, plagued by turnovers and penalties, couldn’t get anything going on offense and simply had no answer defensively for the reigning Heisman trophy winner. They’re visiting a TCU team next week that should offer a more even match-up.
Connecticut 21, Michigan 24