UConn football future opponents: Week 3

UConn has an early bye week this year while all 10 of the remaining teams on the schedule were in action this week, nine on Saturday afternoon. Here is how those squads fared across the weekend of college football.

Indiana (2-1) - Sept. 21

No. 6 Ohio State came to Bloomington one week before UConn and the Buckeyes took Indiana to the woodshed, 51-10. Ohio State rattled off 23 unanswered points during the second quarter to put the game away, as they led 30-10 headed into the half. The Hoosiers gained only 257 yards against the Buckeyes’ 520. Peyton Ramsey was 19-of-33 passing for 162 yards and an interception. Donavan Hale completed his only pass for a 49-yard touchdown. Indiana gained only 42 yards on the ground and no runner gained more than 15 yards. However, Ohio State ran the football very effectively, with two runners going for more than 100 yards each.

No. 18 UCF (3-0) - Sept. 28

UCF blitzed Stanford for three touchdowns in the first seven minutes of the contest and cruised to a 45-27 win at home. Dillon Gabriel was surgical, throwing for four touchdowns on 22-of-30 passing. Greg McRae added another 109 yards on the ground and scored once. Stanford scored 17 of its points in the fourth quarter, well after the game was out of reach. The Cardinal only had three drives that went more than 30 yards, two of which came in the fourth quarter. The Knights’ 45 points was its lowest production on the season and the 27 points allowed was the most the defense surrendered.

USF (1-2) - Oct. 5

USF hosted an FCS opponent in South Carolina State and sent the Bulldogs packing with a 55-16 defeat. It was actually South Carolina State that scored first with a field goal, but the Bulls posted 31 straight points and forced eight turnovers throughout the contest. Jordan McCloud was 16-of-27 passing for 217 yards with three touchdowns, while Blake Barnett completed two of his six passes in relief for 24 yards and another score. McCloud added 56 yards rushing on 12 attempts and found the end zone a pair of times. Kelley Joiner, Jr. led the team’s 218-yard rushing attack with 64 yards of his own.

Tulane (1-1) - Oct. 12

The Green Wave welcomed FCS opponent Missouri State to uptown New Orleans and hung a 58-6 defeat on the Bears as they dominated in all phases. Missouri State gained just 182 yards and when it was able to find the end zone, the PAT attempt was blocked. Tulane forced three turnovers and allowed just 11 first downs. Justin McMillan was an impressive 13-of-16 passing for 122 yards, but did throw an interception. However, the quarterback scored twice on the ground. Tyjae Spears (89 yards) and Amare Jones (73 yards) found the end zone once and twice, respectively.

Houston (1-2) - Oct. 19

By the record, Houston may look disappointing. However, its losses are to No. 5 Oklahoma in Norman and No. 20 Washington State, who beat them 31-24 on Friday night. D’Eriq King was largely held in check in the passing game, completing 13 of his 24 passes for just 128 yards and a score. However, he did rush for 94 yards to lead the team, with two more touchdowns mixed in. Patrick Carr (77 yards) and Kyle Porter (53 yards) each eclipsed the 50-yard plateau on the ground as well. However, the Houston defense had no answer for Mike Leach’s Air Raid offense, allowing 440 yards through the air. The Cougars will still contend in the AAC West.

UMass (0-3) - Oct. 26

A rough year for UMass got a little tougher after a big loss to Charlotte, 52-17, where the Minutemen allowed 533 yards on defense. Andrew Brito was 18-of-27 passing for 127 yards with a touchdown and an interception. Cam Roberson was relatively successful on the ground, rushing for 73 yards on just 10 attempts. Isaiah Roberts also returned a punt 42 yards for a touchdown. Charlotte gained 338 yards rushing, with three players grabbing more than 50 yards.

Navy (2-0) - Nov. 1

The Midshipmen scored a pair of touchdowns in each of the first three quarters and took a 42-10 win to open American Athletic Conference play against ECU. Malcolm Perry was 5-of-7 passing for 151 yards and a pair of touchdowns. He also was the focal point of the triple option offense, rushing for 156 yards and four more scores. Nelson Smith had another 52 yards rushing as part of Navy’s 315 yards rushing as a team. Eight players had more than 10 yards rushing.

Cincinnati (2-1) - Nov. 9

The Bearcats retained the Victory Bell over Miami (OH) for the 14th straight year with a 35-13 win. Miami took a 10-0 lead after the first quarter, but Cincinnati scored a pair of touchdowns before the half and added three more scores during the third quarter to take control. Desmond Ridder was inefficient passing, completing 14 of his 30 passes for 186 yards, but he did find the end zone twice, with one interception. Michael Warren II also rushed for 113 yards and a trio of touchdowns. The RedHawks were limited to 207 yards of offense.

ECU (0-2) - Nov. 23

The Pirates visited Annapolis and struggled mightily, gaining only 222 yards and 10 first downs, as Navy took a 42-10 victory. Holton Ahlers was 11-of-23 passing for 138 yards and an interception with a rushing touchdown. The Midshipmen dominated the time of possession, holding the ball for 38:12 to ECU’s 21:48. The Pirates also turned the ball over twice and struggled with Navy’s option attack. The Midshipmen gained 468 yards, of which 315 were on the ground.

Temple (2-0) - Nov. 30

Temple hosted No. 21 Maryland and held a five-point lead on fourth-and-goal after a bad punt gave the Terrapins possession just 10 yards away from the end zone as the Owls won, 20-17. In an interesting twist, Maryland forced two safeties, one in the first and one on the final play of the game. Anthony Russo was 20-of-37 passing for 277 yards and three scores. He also was intercepted once. Re’Mahn Davis and Jager Gardner proved to be an effective 1-2 punch, rushing for 92 yards and 82 yards, respectively. Temple turned the ball over three times, but still pulled out the victory over a ranked opponent.