Conference USA Weekend Game Reviews

Missouri 21, UCF 16--Despite giving the SEC's Missouri Tigers everything that could handle, the Central Florida Knights fell to 2-2 with a 21-16 home loss Saturday. The Knights were the better statistical team and only turned the ball over once but were done in by a 66-yard punt return that gave Missouri just enough breathing room to pull out the win. Central Florida looks to get back to winning ways with a Thursday night visit from the suddenly surging East Carolina Pirates.

Tulsa 49, UAB 42--With a 3-1 record going into the game and an impressive rushing attack, the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes were nearly blindsided by the UAB Blazers holding on for the 49-42 win on Saturday. The Blazers score 42 points despite only having 338 yards of total offense and 3 turnovers. Tulsa held UAB to only 1 total yard rushing in the win. Tulsa takes their 4-1 record on the road to Marshall Saturday while UAB continues to look for their first win with a home game versus FCS opponent Southeastern Louisiana.

Marshall 41, Purdue 51--Despite 439 yards passing from quarterback Rakeem Cato, the Marshall Thundering Herd could not overcome 4 turnovers losing to Purdue 51-41 Saturday in Indiana. The Thundering Herd gave up 443 yards to the Boilermakers and 45 first half points before getting as close as 10 points on two occasions in the 4th quarter. Marshall falls to 2-3 and host the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes Saturday in an important Conference USA matchup.

Houston 35, Rice 14--With the offense sputtering in the first half and the defense again playing poorly, the Rice Owls were dominated in a 35-14 loss to the Rice Owls Saturday. Houston gashed the Owls for 608 yards but turned the ball over three times giving Rice chance after chance to get in the game. Rice was unable to cut the second half lead to anything less than 21 points. Houston improves to 1-3 on the season with another Texas matchup Saturday, this time versus Sun Belt foe North Texas while Rice goes on the road to face CUSA doormat Memphis.

Louisiana-Monroe 63, Tulane 10--In a show of strength versus an undermanned Tulane squad, the ULM Warhawks won 63-10 in New Orleans Saturday night. The Warhawks put up 553 yards of total offense and feasted on 4 Green Wave turnovers in the blowout loss. The score was 35-3 in favor of the Warhawks at the half. ULM improves to 2-2 with a suddenly more challenging road trip to Murfreesboro, Tennessee to face MTSU while Tulane falls to 0-4 with a trip to Sun Belt foe Louisiana-Lafayette.

East Carolina 28, UTEP 18--In an ugly game that involved 8 total turnovers, the East Carolina Pirates overcame their miscues in defeating UTEP 28-18 in Greenville, North Carolina Saturday night. The Pirates put up 475 yards of total offense including 151 on the ground from running back Vintavoius Cooper on the night. East Carolina improves to 3-2 on the year and have to travel to southern Florida for a Thursday night matchup with Central Florida while UTEP falls to 1-4 with a visit from conference rival SMU Saturday night.

#15 TCU 24, SMU 16--Despite holding #15 TCU to only 156 yards of total offense, the SMU Mustangs fell just short in their upset bid falling 24-16 in Dallas Saturday night. The Mustangs outgained the Horned Frogs by 64 yards but turned the ball over 6 times in the defeat. Running back Zach Line was held to 44 yards on 15 carries in the game. SMU falls to 1-3 on the year but look to get back to winning ways traveling to El Paso to face conference rival UTEP Saturday.

#19 Louisville 21, Southern Miss 17--Up by 11-points and dominating #19 Louisville in the game, the Southern Miss Golden Eagles could not hold on for the win losing 21-17 in Hattiesburg Saturday night. The passing game was again a wreck but the Golden Eagles ran for 224 yards in the loss. Southern Miss was outscored 15-0 in the final 2 1/2 quarters of the game. Southern Miss falls to 0-4 on the season and host Boise State Saturday in a virtual must win game to keep bowl hopes alive.