Big East Football Week #4 Recap

Louisville 38 - Kansas State 29

This is the offense Louisville fans have been waiting for.

Victor Anderson rushed for 176 yards and three touchdowns, Hunter Cantwell threw for 274 yards and two more and the Cardinals rolled out 577 yards of total offense- only two games after not scoring an offensive point- in a 38-29 win over Kansas State.

Anderson, a freshman, was the star on this night. His first touchdown run came with 2:54 left in the second quarter, giving Louisville its first lead. The last- a 27-yarder in early in the fourth quarter, all but sealed the Cardinals victory. And the one in between was his most spectacular- a 56 yard run, around and through the Wildcats overmatched defense.

Kansas State which came into the game 2-0- but with little national respect- did nothing to change their reputation as a bully that beats up on the little guys but can’t hang with higher caliber competition. Quarterback Josh Freeman was as good as advertised, throwing for 313 yards and three touchdowns, but got no help from a rushing attack that finished the game with only 30 yards.

Brock Bolen added 104 yards on the ground, with receiver Doug Beaumont adding nine catches for 119 yards.

Colorado 17 - West Virginia 14

On a night which everything that could go wrong for West Virginia did, Pat McAfee missed an overtime field goal attempt, and Colorado kicker Aric Goodman made his, as the Buffaloes won at home to improve to 3-0. West Virginia fell to 1-2.

McAfee can hardly be blamed for the loss however. The Mountaineers were only 3-13 on third down attempts, committed several costly penalties, relied on questionable play calling which led to only 43 yards passing, and mismanaged timeouts as the clock ran down in regulation- and still had a chance to win the game.

But as things had been going all evening, the missed kick capped the woeful night for West Virginia. After the miss, Colorado came in and ran two plays, before kicking the game winner on 3 rd down.

Cody Hawkins led the Buffaloes on two early scoring drives- the second of which came after a West Virginia fumble deep in their own territory- as Colorado jumped out a quick 14 point lead only minutes into the first quarter. From there however, the Mountaineers defense held their ground, and the offense looked more like West Virginia’s Big East championship teams of years past.

With the game tied at 14-14 late in the game, West Virginia had its chances. On one play late in the fourth quarter, a deep pass by back-up quarterback Bradley Starks fell short of the hands of a wide-open Jock Sanders. That drive was later de-railed by a 15-yard penalty. And on their last possession in regulation and driving with the ball, West Virginia’s players and coaching staff were confused about when and how many timeouts they had, losing valuable seconds off the clock. Regulation ended when a Pat White hail mary pass was knocked down.

Cody Hawkins led the Buffaloes with 179 yards passing and two touchdowns throws. 5’7 running back Rodney “I get no respect,” Stewart paced the ground game with 166 yards. Both White and Noel Devine looked similar to their 2007 form, each rushing for over 100 yards. But in the end, too many mental and physical errors cost the Mountaineers.

After three weeks away from Milan-Puskar Stadium, West Virginia returns home Saturday to play Marshall, before opening Big East play the following week.

UConn 31 - Baylor 28

In a back-and-forth battle that didn’t end until the closing minutes of the game, UConn- behind the typical steady of play of running back Donald Brown - did just enough to beat the Baylor Bears at home. The final score was 31-28.

Brown, who’s had over 100 rushing yards in the first half of each of the Huskies four games, was again the story. His fourth quarter 3-yard run gave UConn its final margin of victory.

Equally impressive was Baylor quarterback Robert Griffin III. With the Huskies defense geared up to stop the mobile quarterbacks running ability, Griffin torched UConn through the air- throwing for 208 yards and three touchdowns. His final one, to Kendall Wright early in the fourth quarter, gave Baylor the lead. But as has been the story all year, UConn got the ball, rode Brown and played the defense needed for victory.

Tyler Lorenzen- coming off his best game of the season- struggled again, throwing two interceptions. However, he helped his team in other ways, rushing for 73 yards including two touchdown runs.

For UConn, its toughest stretch of the season is set to begin, as they played three consecutive road games. The first, against Louisville this Friday, will be broadcast at 8 p.m. on ESPN 2.

> Gear up for the 2008 college football season with Big East football merchandise through Big East Fans!

Pittsburgh 21 - Iowa 20

Maybe this Pitt team is different after all.

LeSean McCoy scored on a 27-yard go-ahead run in the fourth quarter, and the defense made key stops and forced one final Iowa turnover, as Pittsburgh won a hard fought, back-and-forth game (one which they have traditionally lost under Dave Wannstedt) 21-20 at home.

Early on, it looked like it might be another Pitt loss to a big time opponent. Despite the Panthers holding a 14-10 halftime lead, the Hawkeyes scored out of the gate in the second half on a Jake Christensen run, to go up 17-10. On the drive, Iowa running back Shonn Greene had several big gains, as he gave the Panthers fits all day, rushing for 147 yards.

> Buy Pitt Panthers clothing & hats online through Big East Fans & partner sites!

But it was Pitt who got the final word. McCoy’s run capped a nine play, 80 yard drive which gave the Panthers its final lead. The Hawkeyes got a field goal on their next possession to cut the lead to one, but could do nothing three drives to take the lead. Christensen- who took every snap in the second half despite being outplayed by his back-up Ricky Stanzi in the first- fumbled with under a minute to go, as Pitt wrapped up its second victory of the year.

The Panthers look to improve to 3-1 on the year, as they travel to Syracuse next week, for their road game, and first conference contest of the season. Kick-off is at 12 p.m.

Syracuse 30 - Northeastern 21

Welcome to the win column Syracuse University.

Doug Hogue and Curtis Brinkley each ran for over 100 yards and scored three touchdowns combined, as the Orange won for the first time this season- albeit against FCS opponent Northeastern- 30-21 at home.

The scoring started early, as Hogue ran in his first touchdown of the game just minutes into the first quarter. After two more touchdowns and a field goal, it looked as if Orange fans could finally breathe a sigh of relief, as Syracuse went into the half with a 24-7 lead.

With Syracuse however, it’s never that easy.

It took Northeastern only five plays to put up a touchdown to start the second half, and were down only one score until the closing minutes. With the Syracuse lead at 27-21, Randy McKinnon intercepted an Anthony Orio pass, and Patrick Shadle field goal four minutes later sealed the victory.

Syracuse will look to continue its new found winning ways, as they play Pittsburgh at home this weekend. This game will be the conference opener for both teams and starts at 12 p.m.

Navy 23 - Rutgers 21

For quarterback Mike Teel and the Rutgers Scarlet Knights, the season from hell just keeps getting worse.

The fifth-year senior threw a crucial late game interception and Rutgers remains winless on the year, as Navy shocked the Scarlet Knights in Annapolis, MD.

Eric Kettani- who played only one snap a week ago- was the star for the Midshipmen, rushing for 133 yards, including a 42 yard scamper that set up kicker Matt Harmon’s game winning field goal. He also added a touchdown late in the third quarter.

Rutgers was led by freshman running Jourdan Brooks who rushed for 134 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries. His second touchdown of the day gave Rutgers a momentary 21-20 lead, one which they could not hold onto.

After Harmon’s third field goal on the afternoon put the Midshipmen up by the final margin, Rutgers had one last chance. But a Teel interception to Navy’s Ross Pospisil put the final exclamation point on the victory. When coming off the field, Teel attempted to throw a punch at teammate Glen Lee, and later apologized for the action. Rutgers coach Greg Schiano said that Teel would not be disciplined for his behavior.

The Scarlet Knights remain the only winless team in the Big East, and will look for their first victory of the season against FCS opponent Morgan State on Saturday. The game will kickoff from Rutgers Stadium at 3:30 p.m.

South Florida 17 - Florida International 9

Matt Grothe threw for 136 yards and Mike Ford had two short touchdown runs, as South Florida survived a scare on the field and on the scoreboard.

Ford scored on runs of two and one yards, as the Bulls beat FIU on an evening in which the Golden Panthers were opening up their brand new stadium.

With a comfortable 17-0 lead late in the fourth quarter, things got very dicey for South Florida. Ford was tackled in the end zone for a safety, and just a minute later Julian Reams scored on a one yard to cut the lead to 17-9. But wide receiver A.J. Love recovered the ensuing onside kick, and the Bulls ran out the clock, clinging to victory.

A scary moment occurred in the third quarter, when Brouce Mompremier collided with safety Carlton Williams. The linebacker- a Miami native playing in front of several friends and family- was airlifted to the hospital when trainers became concerned he may have suffered a serious neck injury. He was cleared to return home Sunday.

South Florida- which has a tradition of playing down to perceived weaker competition, must now re-focus as they go to North Carolina State this Saturday night. The Wolfpack are coming off a surprising win over No. 15 ranked East Carolina on Saturday. The game will be shown on ESPNU at 7:30 pm.

Cincinnati 45 - Miami (OH) 20

If Tony Pike was nervous, he didn’t show it.

Making his first career start for the injured Dustin Grutza, Pike completed 20 of 24 passes for 241 yards and three touchdowns. Not bad for a guy who had only thrown 30 passes his whole career.

Throughout the day Pike got help from an underrated supporting cast. Kazeem Alli, Ben Guidugli and Marshwan Gilyard had a touchdown catch each- Gilyard’s a diving reception to put Cincinnati up 17-3. Running back John Goebel added a touchdown run, and All-American cornerback Mike Mickens returned an interception 72 yards for a score of his own.

> Support the Bearcats with Cincinnati Bearcat apparel & hats online through Big East Fans & partner sites!

The Bearcats leave the cozy confines of Nippert Stadium this week as they take on the Akron Zips. The Zips- which already have beaten a Big East team this season, a 42-28 victory at Syracuse- are 2-2 on the year after a 22-3 victory at Army a week ago. Game time is set for 3:30 p.m.

By Aaron Torres
BigEast-fans.com Staff Writer

More of Aaron's writing at BigEast-fans.com:

• Big East Football 2008: Week #4 preview
• Big East Football 2008: Week #3 recap
• Big East Football 2008: Week #3 preview
• Big East Football 2008: Week #2 recap
• Big East Football 2008: Week #2 preview
• Big East Football 2008: Week #1 recap
• Big East Football 2008: Week #1 preview