USF - Temple - East Carolina - UConn
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FLORIDA STATE at USF
Saturday, Sept. 24 • Noon • ABC
Raymond James Stadium (65,857/Grass)
Tampa, Fla.
Television
ABC -
WATCH LIVE
Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard and Allison Williams
USF Radio
WWBA-AM 820 (flagship)
THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the third meeting between USF and Florida State … The Bulls took the series opener with a 17-7 decision in 2009 against the No. 18-ranked Seminoles, but Florida State has won the last two, including a 34-14 decision in Tallahassee last season … This year’s game will be the second to be played in Tampa.
13/14 FLORIDA STATE
2-1, 0-1 ACC
Head Coach
Jimbo Fisher (Salem ’89)
70-15, seventh season
NOTES
Florida State looks to bounce back from a 63-20 setback to Louisville as the Seminoles lost for the first time in 2016 … The Seminoles entered the game ranked No. 2 nationally and fell to No. 13 in the Associated Press poll … Florida State opened the season with a 45-34 win against Mississippi and had a 52-8 win against Charleston Southern in Week 2 … The top player is RB Dalvin Cook, who has 228 rushing yards and two touchdowns through three games … Cook was a first-team All-America selection by the FWAA last season … QB Deondre Francois has completed 65 of 102 passes for 782 yards and six touchdowns with two interceptions … WR Travis Rudolph leads the team with three touchdown catches … DE DeMarcus Walker has registered 4.5 sacks and two forced fumbles in the first three games.
rv/rv USF
3-0, 0-0 American
Head Coach
Willie Taggart (Western Kentucky ’98)
19-20, fourth season
NOTES
USF is off to a 3-0 start, while the Bulls have won their last seven regular-season games following a 45-20 win against Syracuse … USF has outscored its first three opponents by a 149-57 margin and has an average margin of victory of 30.7 points this season … The “Gulf Coast Offense” has averaged 518.7 yards per game this season … The top player has been QB Quinton Flowers, who has completed 41 of 75 passes for 716 yards and seven touchdowns with one interception to go with two rushing TDs … RB Marlon Mack has rushed for 173 yards and three touchdowns on 18 carries and is averaging 9.6 yards per attempt … WR Rodney Adams has 11 catches for 153 yards and two touchdowns and has added four rushing TDs … LB Auggie Sanchez leads the team with 33 tackles and two sacks.
CHARLOTTE at TEMPLE
Saturday, Sept. 24 • Noon • ASN/ESPN3
Lincoln Financial Field (68,532/Grass)
Philadelphia, Pa.
Television
American Sports Network/ESPN3 -
WATCH LIVE -
LIVE STATS
Eric Collins, Glen Mason and Rick Pizzo
Temple Radio
WPEN-FM 97.5 (flagship)
THE GAME
Saturday’s game between Temple and Charlotte will be the second meeting in the series and the first to be played in Philadelphia … The Owls were 37-3 winners last year in Charlotte behind 109 rushing yards and two touchdowns by RB Jahad Thomas on a rainy and cool day … Temple scored the last 28 points of the game.
CHARLOTTE
1-2, 0-0 Conference USA
Head Coach
Brad Lambert (Kansas State ’87)
13-24, fourth season
NOTES
Charlotte fell to 1-2 on the year with a 37-19 setback to Eastern Michigan Saturday … The 49ers opened with a 70-14 loss to Louisville, but bounced back to beat Elon, 47-14, in Week 2 … Charlotte held Eastern Michigan to 72 rushing yards, marking the second straight week that the 49ers held their opponent to double digits … The game at Temple will be the second for Charlotte in an NFL stadium — the 49ers defeated Georgia State, 23-20, last year at the Georgia Dome … QB Kevin Olsen has completed 49 of 82 passes for 419 yards and four TDs with two interceptions … WR Austin Duke has team highs with 18 receptions, 241 receiving yards and two touchdown catches … Charlotte has had at least one interception in all three games this year … CB Kendrick Davis has two picks, while LB Nick Cook has a team-high 31 tackles.
TEMPLE
1-2, 0-0 American
Head Coach
Matt Rhule (Penn State ’97)
19-22, third season
NOTES
Temple faced a 24-10 hole in the third quarter against Penn State, closed to within three in the fourth quarter, but saw the Nittany Lions answer in a 34-27 setback for the Owls … Temple was a 38-0 winner against Stony Brook, which followed a 28-13 setback to an Army team that stands at 3-0 … QB Phillip Walker has thrown for 578 yards and three touchdowns with five interceptions in the first three games … RB Jahad Thomas — a first-team all-conference selection last year — made his first appearance of the season against Penn State and scored two rushing touchdowns on 14 carries … WR Keith Kirkwood has two of the Owls’ three touchdown receptions … LB Avery Williams and S Sean Chandler lead the defense with 20 tackles each … S Delvon Randle has a team-high two interceptions.
EAST CAROLINA at VIRGINIA TECH
Saturday, Sept. 24 • 12:30 p.m. • ACC Network
Lane Stadium (66,23/Grass)
Columbia, S.C.
Television
ACC Network -
WATCH LIVE
Tom Werme, Dave Archer and Roddy Jones
East Carolina Radio
WNCT-FM 107.9 (flagship)
THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the 21st meeting between East Carolina and Virginia Tech in a series that dates to the 1956 season … The Hokies hold a 13-7 series lead, but the Pirates have won the last two matchups, including a 35-28 win in Greenville, North Carolina, last season … East Carolina was a 28-21 winner in Blacksburg in 2014.
EAST CAROLINA
2-1, 0-0 American
Head Coach
Scottie Montgomery (Duke ’00)
2-1, first season
NOTES
East Carolina fell for the first time under first-year head coach Scottie Montgomery as the Pirates dropped a 20-15 decision at South Carolina last Saturday … The Pirates held a 519-312 advantage in total offense and a 34-13 edge in first downs, but were undone by three costly turnovers … The Pirates were 2-of-6 in red zone scoring opportunities against South Carolina … East Carolina opened the season with a 52-7 win against Western Carolina and beat North Carolina State, 33-30 … East Carolina has won its last six games against Atlantic Coast Conference opponents … WR Zay Jones enters Saturday’s game as the NCAA leader in receptions (13.0 per game) … Jones has 39 catches for 443 yards and a touchdown this season after he had 22 receptions for 190 yards against South Carolina.
rv/- VIRGINIA TECH
2-1, 1-0 ACC
Head Coach
Justin Fuente (Murray State ’99)
2-1, first season at Virginia Tech
28-24, fifth season as collegiate head coach
NOTES
Virginia Tech bounced back from its first loss in commanding fashion as the Hokies hammered Boston College, 49-0, last Saturday … Virginia Tech opened with a 36-13 win against Liberty before falling to Tennessee in front of a college football-record crowd of 156,990 at Bristol Motor Speedway … The Hokies are coached by Justin Fuente, who spent three years in The American as head coach at Memphis … Virginia Tech ranks second nationally in total defense, averaging 204.7 yards allowed per game in 2016 … The shutout of Boston College was the 31st whitewash under defensive coordinator Bud Foster … LB Andrew Motuapuaka leads the Hokies and is second in the ACC with 29 tackles … QB Jerod Evans has thrown for 682 yards and 10 touchdowns with one interception.
SYRACUSE at UCONN
Saturday, Sept. 24 • 1 p.m. • CBS Sports Network
Pratt & Whitney Stadium (40,000/Grass)
East Hartford, Conn.
Television
CBS Sports Network -
LIVE STATS
Dave Ryan, Corey Chavous and Melanie Collins
UConn Radio
WTIC-AM 1080 (flagship)
THE GAME
UConn and Syracuse renew acquaintances as the schools meet for the 10th time overall, but the first time since 2012 … The schools played each year from 2004-12 while both competed in the Big East … UConn holds a 6-3 series lead and won five straight between 2007-11, but the Orange took the most recent matchup, 40-10.
SYRACUSE
1-2, 0-1 ACC
Head Coach
Dino Babers (Hawaii ’84)
1-2, first season at Syracuse
38-17, fifth season as collegiate head coach
NOTES
Syracuse looks to rid itself of a two-game slide after the Orange fell 45-20 to USF last Saturday at the Carrier Dome … Syracuse scored the first 17 points of the game, but saw the Bulls answer with a 28-point second quarter … Syracuse opened the Dino Babers era with a 33-7 win against Colgate and fell 62-28 to Louisville… The game at UConn is Syracuse’s first road date of the season … Syracuse leads the ACC and is 10th nationally in passing through three games, averaging 360.0 yards per game … QB Eric Dungey is the top performer with 960 passing yards and seven touchdowns against three interceptions … WR Amba Etta-Tawo has 28 receptions for 436 yards and three touchdowns … The Orange has averaged 93.0 plays in 2016 after averaging 62.6 plays last season.
UCONN
2-1, 0-1 American
Head Coach
Bob Diaco (Iowa ’95)
10-18, third season
NOTES
UConn plays the second of back-to-back home games against teams from the ACC with the game against Syracuse … The Huskies defeated Virginia 13-10 last Saturday on a field goal from K Bobby Puyol with 1:33 left in the fourth quarter … Puyol also kicked the game-winning field goal in the Huskies’ 24-21 win against Maine to open the season … UConn overcame a 10-0 deficit with 13 straight points to get the win against Virginia … The Huskies overcame a 21-0 deficit to take the lead against Navy before the Midshipmen scored in the final minutes … QB Bryant Shirreffs leads the Huskies in both passing (555 yards) and rushing (160 yards) … WR Noel Thomas is seventh nationally in receptions (second in The American) with 8.7 per game … Thomas has 26 of the Huskies’ 53 receptions in 2016.