The Bulls (6-0, 2-0 American) needed a late fourth quarter rally to avoid their first loss of the season at the hands of Tulsa (1-5, 0-3) on Friday night.
The Golden Hurricane built a 24-10 lead after the first three quarters thanks to two touchdown runs by Shamari Brooks on his way to a 100 yard day while Seth Boomer had one touchdown pass to Jarion Anderson. USF's only touchdown came on a 66-yard touchdown run by Jordan Cronkite who was on his way to over 150 yards for the game.
Trailing with 12:51 left to play, the Bulls marched down the field, converting a couple third and nine's to keep the drive going before Blake Barnett snuck in for a 1-yard touchdown, however the PAT was blocked. After forcing a Tulsa punt, USF needed just 2:39 to go 80 yards before the Barnett used his legs again for a 12-yard touchdown run, but once again no PAT as the two-point conversion failed to tie the game.
Tulsa ran the clock down to 1:06 before punting the ball away. Barnett's first two passes fell incomplete forcing a third and ten with 43 seconds left, they would convert on a 15-yard connection form Barnett to Mitchell Wilcox. A holding penalty cost the Bulls ten seconds, but a costly roughing the passer penalty on Tulsa gave it right back and then some. Barnett got the big play two snaps later when he found Tyre McCants for a 32-yard strike that put the ball at the Golden Hurricane 5-yard line.
USF scrambled up to spike the ball and did so with five seconds to spare. Colby Weiss was able to put through the 22-yard field goal and the stunned Tulsa crowd could only watch as the Golden Huricane were stifled on a kickoff return attempt that ended well short.
South Florida hopes a visit from UConn (1-5, 0-3) next Saturday will help them rebuild their confidence. Normally Tulsa might be concerned about heading to Fayetteville, but the Razorbacks (1-6) have already lost to two Group of 5 teams (Colorado State/North Texas).
Another near upset in the American as Memphis (4-3, 1-3 American) watched their 12-game home winning streak come to and end while UCF (6-0, 3-0) extended their Nation's best 19-game winning streak.
The Tigers used sloppy conditions to gain a 30-17 advantage at the half. Quarterback Brady White, Darrell Henderson, and Tony Pollard all had rushing touchdowns to go with three Riley Patterson field goals. The Golden Knights got a rushing touchdown from Taj McGowan while McKenzie Milton's lone touchdown pass was a 75-yard strike to Gabriel Davis.
As the rain continued to get heavier, both teams struggled to move the ball until McGowan burst free for a 71-yard touchdown. Memphis fumbled on their next drive to set up UCF, but Milton was sacked and stripped to give the ball right back. The Tigers moved down the field, but Kedarian Jones fumbled at the UCF 26 yard line.
The Golden Knights finally held on to the ball long enough to score when Milton ran it in with 12:14 left to play to take the lead. Memphis had one last shot at the end, but with no timeouts, White threw a pass to Pollard in the middle of the field and he was tackled, allowing the clock to run out.
UCF goes for win number 20 in a row when they travel to ECU (2-4, 0-3). The Tigers go out of conference to face the SEC Tigers from Missouri (3-3).
Temple (4-3, 3-0 American) survived several miscues to top Navy (2-4, 1-2) as the Midshipmen's rally fell short.
A missed field goal and two fumbles started the game before Navy cashed in on a field goal. Tyliek Raynor punched it in from 15 yards out to give the Owls the lead, but the Midshipmen responded with a lengthy drive that ended in a Garret Lewis touchdown run to wrap up the first half scoring.
Navy got a quick score when Nelson Smith started the drive with a 45-yard run and then capped the drive with a 12-yard score to up 17-7. Temple responded with a field goal and then Rob Ritrovato tied the game after scoring on a fourth and goal from the 1-yard line.
After the Midshipmen turned the ball over at the Temple 38-yard line, Anthony Russo connected with Ventell Bryant for a 62-yard touchdown to take the lead with 9:14 left to play. The Owls had a chance to put things away, but Jarid Ryan had a potential nominee for interception of the year, as he hauled in Russo's pass with one hand. However, Navy stalled on four straight plays to secure the win for Temple.
The Owls will now run the gauntlet as three of their next four teams come against ranked, undefeated teams, starting with No. 20 Cincinnati (6-0, 2-0). Navy hosts Houston (5-1, 2-0) next.
Houston (5-1, 2-0 American) forced four ECU (2-4, 0-3) turnovers and routed the Pirates.
D'Eriq King threw for two touchdowns and ran for another while the Cougars defense turned one of those four turnovers into a scoop and score.
Three different ECU quarterbacks combined to throw for 374 yards, but also three interceptions. Holton Ahlers had the most success as he was responsible for both Pirate scores.
The Cougars will travel to Navy (2-4, 1-2) next while ECU tries to end UCF's (6-0, 3-0) 19-game winning streak.
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