Oct. 13, 2012

Ryan Griffin returned to action for Tulane and threw for 302 yards and three touchdowns to lead the Green Wave to a 27-26 win over SMU. Matt Hogan became the first player in C-USA history to kick six field goals in a game, helping Houston to a 39-17 victory over UAB. Shane Carden threw five touchdowns, three to Justin Jones and two to Justin Hardy, to lead East Carolina past Memphis, 41-7.

TULANE 27, SMU 26
NEW ORLEANS -- Ryan Griffin returned from a shoulder injury to throw for 302 yards and three touchdowns to beat SMU, 27-26 Saturday.

Griffin, who missed the last three games, completed 17 of 32 passes and threw touchdown passes of 31, 79 and 16 yards. His first touchdown gave Tulane a 7-0 lead and his second helped the Green Wave (1-5, 1-1 Conference USA) jump ahead 20-6 at halftime.

SMU's offense picked up after halftime, scoring 20 consecutive points behind two Chase Hover field goals and two Garrett Gilbert touchdowns.

Hover's second field goal, a 19-yarder, gave the Mustangs a 26-20 lead with 1:22 remaining.

Tulane began its next drive on its own 32 but quickly advanced to the SMU (2-4, 1-1) 16 behind two deep passes from Griffin.

Griffin and Kelley then linked up for their second touchdown, a 16-yard strike that put Tulane ahead with 35 seconds left.

HOUSTON 39, UAB 17
HOUSTON -- David Piland threw for 362 yards and a touchdown and Matt Hogan kicked six field goals and Houston defeated UAB 39-17 on Saturday.

Charles Sims added 134 yards on 26 carries and Kenneth Farrow and Ryan Jackson each ran for a touchdown for the Cougars (3-3, 2-0 Conference USA). Shane Ros led Houston with seven catches for 114 yards and one touchdown.

Hogan connected on six of seven field goal attempts, the longest from 52 yards.

UAB's Austin Brown was 20 of 43 for 302 yards and connected with Jay Davis on a 16-yard touchdown pass. Greg Franklin added a touchdown on a 4-yard run for the Blazers (1-5, 0-2).

Ty Long connected on a 27-yard field goal for UAB.

EAST CAROLINA 41, MEMPHIS 7
GREENVILLE, N.C. -- Shane Carden tossed five touchdowns and threw for 308 yards as East Carolina trounced Memphis 41-7 Saturday in Conference USA action.

Despite posting minus-9 yards rushing in the first half, East Carolina (4-3, 3-1) outgained Memphis (1-5, 1-1) 236-105 before the break as the Pirates built a 17-0 advantage. Shane Carden was 16 of 21 for 245 yards with two passing scores in the half.

Justin Hardy was Carden's favorite target, pulling in five passes for 126 yards and a score in the first half. Hardy caught just one ball in the second half -- an 11-yard touchdown.

Carden's other first-half score went to Justin Jones for 39 yards. That duo would hook up twice more in the second half, as Jones reeled in scoring catches of 14 and 4 yards.

Marcus Rucker caught seven passes for 88 yards for Memphis, which has lost seven straight to East Carolina.

UCF 38, SOUTHERN MISS 31 (2 OT)
ORLANDO, Fla. -- Latavius Murray had two scoring runs in overtime and Kemal Ishmael had a game-deciding interception to help Central Florida defeat Southern Miss 38-31 in double overtime Saturday night.

UCF quarterback Blake Bortles ran for two touchdowns and threw for 259 yards, while Storm Johnson rushed for 85 yards and a touchdown in regulation for the Knights (4-2, 2-0 Conference USA). UCF won in overtime for the first time in school history.

Southern Miss (0-6, 0-2) kicker Corey Acosta booted a 27-yard field goal with 13 seconds left in regulation to force overtime. Freshman quarterback Anthony Alford had a 2-yard touchdown run in the first overtime, but threw an interception on the Golden Eagles first play in the second overtime to seal the game.

The Golden Eagles got touchdown runs of 15 and 14 yards from freshman Jalen Richard and a 16-yard scoring run from Alford in regulation.

RICE 34, UTSA 14
HOUSTON (AP) - Quarterback Taylor McHargue ran for two touchdowns and Turner Petersen added another as Rice's ground game overwhelmed UTSA in a 34-14 Owls victory Saturday.

McHargue completed 12 of 21 passes for 144 yards and ran for another 68 yards. Charles Ross led all rushers with 117 yards on 16 carries as Rice (2-5) rolled up 301 yards on the ground.

While Rice's quarterback didn't throw for a touchdown, running back Luke Turner hit Donte Moore for a 38-yard TD pass in the second quarter. Two Chris Boswell field goals rounded out the scoring for Rice.

David Glasco II scored UTSA's sole touchdown on a 36-yard pass from Eric Soza. Glasco also ran it in for the 2-point conversion.

Kristian Stern had two field goals for the Roadrunners, who lost for the first time this season after a 5-0 start.