Another wild week in college football saw UCF dominate, Northern Illinois give the Aztecs everything they could handle, and a group of Trojans take down mighty LSU. For many teams, this was the last non-conference game until a random late season game versus a P5 program. Don’t forget, Funbelt Wednesdays start tomorrow.
Three performances to remember:
- UCF: Another week and another dominant win for the Knights. This time, they hosted a good Memphis team and absolutely destroyed them 40-13. Scott Frost and company are on a roll and could be on track to a battle of the undefeated versus South Florida on Black Friday.
- Troy: It was close but no cigar on other occasions versus LSU, but Neal Brown and company were victors in a game they dominated from the opening snap. We started to see Troy turn a corner last season and this season could see them finally earn a Sun Belt title for the first time since the Sun Belt ran through Troy.
- North Texas: Playing at Southern Miss was a measuring stick game for the Mean Green and boy did they pass the test. They took punch after punch from the Golden Eagles but proved to be the better team in the fourth quarter in winning the second half 26-7 and the game 43-28. Mason Fine threw for 366 yards (211 to Jalen Guyton) while Jeffery Wilson scored three times in route to a 148-yard day.
MACTION game of the week:
- ULM 51, Coastal Carolina 43: What is it about the Louisiana Sun Belt teams and high-scoring games? This time, ULM and Coastal combined for 94 points, 37 first downs, 785 yards, and four lead changes. We had an 82-yard kickoff return TD, 86 yard touchdown pass, 56-yard touchdown run, and a defensive touchdown on the final play of the game. That’s definitely MACtion.
Three biggest disappointments:
- Memphis: For those expecting a battle between Tigers and Knights, all we got was a one-sided blowout. The beat up Memphis defense was no match in giving up over 600 yards while Riley Ferguson did his team no favors in throwing three picks. Four different trips inside UCF territory came back with no points, including two trips inside the 10.
- UTEP: We could talk about the Miners actually looking decent at times versus Army, but the administration failed the day. Head coach Sean Kugler resigned and Mike Price ?!!?!?! was named as interim head coach. How did the players find out? Via Twitter, of course. Come on man.
- Air Force: I was among the many that thought Air Force was a top three MWC team this year. Saturday’s contest changed my view as New Mexico broke the 500 yard plateau in route to scoring 42 points in a 56-38 win. This was a disappointing performance for the Falcons and they could be looking at 1-4 with an undefeated Navy team next on the schedule.
Barely saved face:
- Houston 20, Temple 13
- Florida International 30, Charlotte 29
- Ohio 58, UMass 50
- ULM 51, Coastal Carolina 43
Five Worst G5 teams in the nation:
- Charlotte
- Coastal Carolina
- Georgia Southern
- UTEP
- UConn
National stat leaders (only if leading alone, no ties):
- Tyler Hall, Wyoming: 44.0 kickoff return average.
- Frank Ginda, SJSU: 87 tackles, 14.5 per game.
- Anthony Winbush, Ball State: 7.5 sacks.
Current Conference Rankings:
- American
- Mountain West
- MAC
- Conference USA
- Sun Belt
Week Two Scoreboard:
- #18 South Florida 61, East Carolina 31
- Houston 20, Temple 13
- Navy 31, Tulsa 21
- SMU 49, UConn 28
- Marshall 38, Cincinnati 21
- UCF 40, Memphis 13
- Pitt 42, Rice 10
- Army 35, UTEP 21
- FIU 30, Charlotte 29
- FAU 38, MTSU 20
- Louisiana Tech 34, South Alabama 16
- North Texas 43, Southern Miss 28
- Utah State 40, BYU 24
- #22 Notre Dame 52, Miami 17
- Ohio 58, UMass 50
- #19 San Diego State 34, Northern Illinois 28
- Boston College 26, CMU 8
- Buffalo 27, Kent State 13
- Kentucky 24, EMU 20
- Akron 34, BGSU 23
- WMU 55, Ball State 3
- Wyoming 45, Texas State 10
- New Mexico 56, Air Force 38
- Fresno State 41, Nevada 21
- UNLV 41, SJSU 13
- Colorado State 51, Hawaii 21
- Troy 24, #25 LSU 21
- Arkansas 42, NMSU 24
- ULM 51, Coastal Carolina 43
Players of the week:
- Offense: Jordan Chunn, Troy: 30 carries for 191 yards and a touchdown in a 24-21 win over LSU.
- Defense: Tariq Thompson, San Diego State: 6 tackles, 2 interceptions, 1 defensive touchdown in a 34-28 win over NIU.
- Special Teams: Tyler Hall, Wyoming: 1 kickoff return for a 95-yard touchdown in a 45-10 win over Texas State. He now leads the nation in kickoff return average at 44.0 per return.
