ORLANDO, Fla. (OrlandoSportsFoundation.com) – South Florida and Troy were tabbed as the Cure Bowl Teams of the Week following the third week of the college football season on Wednesday. South Florida posted a 25-19 victory at Illinois, while Troy notched a 24-19 win on the road at Nebraska.
Around The American, Temple also registered a Power-6 road victory at Maryland, 35-14, while Memphis, Navy, UConn and Cincinnati also picked up wins.
In the Sun Belt, Arkansas State topped Tulsa, 29-20, on the road, and South Alabama defeated Texas State, 41-31, in the first league matchup of the campaign.
The AutoNation Cure Bowl featuring teams from the American Athletic Conference and Sun Belt Conference is set for Dec. 15 at 2:30 p.m. on CBS Sports Network. The bowl’s mission is to bring teams together to find a cure for cancer.
American vs. Sun Belt Matchups
MEMPHIS DEFEATED GEORGIA STATE, 59-22
Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, Tennessee
Memphis (2-1, 0-1 The American)
- RB Darrell Henderson became the first Memphis player since D’Angelo Williams to register back-to-back 200-yard games.
- QB Brady White was 19-of-26 for 269 yards and five touchdowns.
- Memphis improved to 15-0 in non-Saturday regular-season games since the start of the 2014 season.
Georgia State (1-2)
- Cornelius McCoy was the Panthers’ leading receiver with five catches for 43 yards.
- QB Dan Ellington passed for 107 yards and scored his first rushing touchdown.
- True freshmen running backs Destin Coates and Seth Paige combined for 103 yards on 19 carries.
ARKANSAS STATE DEFEATED TULSA, 29-20
Skelly Field at H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, Oklahoma
Arkansas State (2-1)
- The Red Wolves put up 415 yards of offense on the road.
- QB Justice Hansen completed 20 of 33 passes for 191 yards and ran for another 80 yards
- Red Wolves won their first non-conference road victory since defeating Texas A&M in 2008.
Tulsa (0-2)
- Tulsa brought Arkansas Sates’ 27-7 lead late in the third quarter within a touchdown in the fourth period.
- Tulsa has outscored its three opponents by a 38-16 margin in the fourth quarter.
- Tulsa has not allowed an opposing player to hit 100 rushing yards in its last four games.
American Matchups
SOUTH FLORIDA DEFEATED ILLINOIS, 25-19
Soldier Field • Chicago, Illinois
SOUTH FLORIDA (3-0)
- USF registered its second straight fourth quarter comeback win as the Bulls scored the final 18 points.
- QB Blake Barnett threw for 411 yards and two touchdowns.
- USF has gained at least 400 yards of offense in 12 consecutive games.
TEMPLE DEFEATED MARYLAND, 35-14
Maryland Stadium • College Park, Maryland
Temple (1-2)
- The Owls limited Maryland to 1-for-12 on third down.
- Temple’s defense held Maryland to 195 yards of offense and 11 first downs.
- QB Anthony Russo made his first career start and threw for 228 yards and a touchdown with one interception.
NAVY DEFEATED LEHIGH, 51-21
Navy Marine-Crops Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, Maryland
Navy (2-1)
- QB Malcolm Perry rushed for 223 yards and three touchdowns.
- Navy finished with 629 yards of total offense against Lehigh, good for 10th in program history.
- WR Zach Abey has scored 11 rushing touchdowns in Navy’s last four games.
UCONN DEFEATED RHODE ISLAND, 56-49
Pratt & Whitney Stadium • East Hartford, Connecticut
UConn (1-2, 0-1 The American)
- QB David Pindell threw for 308 yards and four touchdowns and rushed for 137 yards and two TDs.
- The win against Rhode Island snapped a seven-game losing streak.
- UConn finished with two 100-yard rushers in the same game for the first time since 2010.
CINCINNATI DEFEATED ALABAMA A&M, 63-7
Cincinnati (3-0)
- Cincinnati set a program record by gaining 741 yards of offense.
- QB Desmond Ridder completed 9 of 10 passes for 199 yards and three touchdowns.
- Cincinnati has allowed one touchdown in its last nine quarters.
SMU DEFEATS MICHIGAN, 45-20
Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, Michigan
SMU (0-3)
- QB Ben Hicks holds SMU’s career record with 55 touchdown passes.
- WR James Proche had a career-high 11 receptions for 166 yards and two touchdowns.
- QB William Brown started the second half and completed 11 of 17 passes for 82 yards and two touchdowns.
UAB DEFEATED TULANE, 31-24
Legion Field • Birmingham, Alabama
Tulane (1-2)
- WR Darnell Mooney had four receptions for 123 yards and two touchdowns.
- Tulane has rushed for at least 100 yards in 30 consecutive games.
- Tulane erased a 21-7 halftime deficit to tie the score in the fourth quarter.
TEXAS TECH DEFEATS HOUSTON, 63-49
Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, Texas
Houston (2-1)
- QB D’Eriq King threw for a career-high 431 yards and five touchdowns and added a rushing touchdown.
- King has thrown 122 passes without an interception.
- Houston has scored at least 40 points in three straight games to open the season, a first in program history.
Sun Belt Matchups
TROY DEFEATED NEBRASKA, 24-19
Memorial Stadium • Lincoln, Nebraska
Troy (2-1)
- The Trojans took down a Power Five conference opponent for the second straight year.
- Troy won its sixth straight road game which is the fourth-longest active streak in the country.
- Tyler Murray recorded his second career sack and added his second-career interception.
CLEMSON DEFEATED GEORGIA SOUTHERN, 38-7
Clemson Memorial Stadium • Clemson, South Carolina
Georgia Southern (2-1)
- Quarterback Shai Werts has already rushed for five touchdowns this season after rushing for all of three last year.
- The Eagles are +5 in the turnover margin this year, recovering three fumbles and picking off four passes while losing just two fumbles.
- The Eagles have lost their previous two contests coming off a full bye week.
SOUTH ALABAMA DEFEATED TEXAS STATE, 41-31
Ladd Peebles Stadium • Mobile, Alabama
Texas State (1-2, 0-1 Sun Belt)
- Texas State recovered three fumbles against South Alabama, the highest single-game total in the Sun Belt Conference this season.
- The most fumble recoveries by the Bobcats since they recovered three at Georgia State in 2016.
South Alabama (1-2, 1-0 Sun Belt)
- The Jaguars earned not only their initial victory of the year, but their first under first-year head coach Steve Campbell.
- Recorded the third-largest deficit overcome in a win in the program’s first nine-plus seasons of competition.
- the first time USA has had 10 or more tackles for loss in back-to-back contests since December 2016.
MISSISSIPPI STATE DEFEATS LOUISIANA, 56-10
Davis Wade Stadium at Scott Field • Starkville, Mississippi
Louisiana (1-1)
- Senior quarterback Andre Nunez finished 21 for 29, with 224 yards and one touchdown in the game.
- Nunez sits at 78.4 completion percentage which puts him at number two in the FBS in completion percentage.
- The Cajuns are one of four teams in the Sun Belt Conference that are 100 percent in the red zone.
TEXAS A&M DEFEATS ULM, 48-10
ULM (2-1)
- QB Caleb Evans recorded his second 200-yard passing game of the season and ninth of his career, completing 15-of-28 passes for 225 yards.
- Evans currently ranks second in the Sun Belt in passing yards (255.3 ypg.) and total offense (296.7 ypg.).
- ULM ranks among the Sun Belt leaders in sacks, rushing defense, and interceptions.
