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Independents roundup
Independents Game of the Week
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Pittsburgh 37, Notre Dame 27 |
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John Turman, benched more a month ago, threw two touchdown passes to Antonio Bryant and Kevan Barlow scored twice as Pitt upset heavily favored Notre Dame in the final game in its 74-year-old stadium.
Hundreds of fans in the overcapacity crowd brought down the goal posts after Notre Dame's Jarious Jackson threw incomplete into the end zone on fourth down with nine seconds left, causing the officials to wave off the final
seconds. Some fans ripped up small sections of the artificial turf field, some of which already had been sold via an Internet auction, but security officers managed to keep the damage to a minimum.
Turman threw for 231 yards, almost exclusively to the always-open Latef Grim and Bryant, and the Panthers (5-5) positioned themselves for a possible bowl bid if they beat West Virginia on Nov. 27 -- and staged one of their biggest upsets in the 1990s. |
Other Independents action
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Navy 45, Tulane 21 |
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Tied at 21 at halftime, Tulane (3-7, 1-5) could do nothing for the rest of the game, getting outscored 24-0 and watching Navy (4-6) turn the game into a laugher. His status was uncertain entering the game, but Tulane QB Patrick Ramsey did play. Perhaps he shouldn't have. He completed 36 of 52 passes for 291 yards and two TDs, but was intercepted five times, tying a school record. The most damaging of the picks came on Tulane's first two series of the second half and set up short Navy scoring drives. The Middies ran for a season-high 417 yards against the Green Wave, ranked No. 110 against the rush nationally entering the game. Navy QB Brian Madden ran for 144 yards and three TDs while also throwing a scoring pass. |
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Louisiana Tech 41, Alabama-Birmingham 20 |
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Louisiana Tech (8-2) kept its bowl hopes alive while ending UAB's. The Blazers (4-6, 3-2) had to win out in order to gain bowl eligibility, but could not stop Tim Rattay, who threw four TD passes on the day. The Blazers trailed just 14-12 at the half, but were outscored 20-0 in the third quarter and could not recover. The win was the eighth straight for the Bulldogs, who close the regular season in two weeks at Southern California. Rattay is averaging 465 yards in his last five outings. |
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No. 21 Southern Miss 48, Louisiana-Lafayette 0 |
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Jeff Kelly found Todd Pinkston for scoring catches of 28, 45 and 43 yards and RBs Derrick Nix and Dewayne Woods each banked two TDs as Southern Miss (7-3, 5-0) rolled in its final tune-up for next week's date at Louisville. That game will be for the Conference USA championship, with the winner moving on to face the Mountain West Conference champion in the Liberty Bowl. The game marked the fifth time this year the Golden Eagles did not allow their opponents to score an offensive TD and the third time the Ragin' Cajuns (1-9) have been shutout.
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Louisiana-Monroe 37, Tulsa 34 |
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Tulsa (2-8, 1-5 WAC) held a 20-10 halftime lead, but couldn't execute in the second half, and Louisiana-Monroe (5-6) used the collapse to close out its first season under coach Bobby Keasler with a victory. Michael Mitchell scored a pair of rushing touchdowns for the Indians, but it was a defensive score that put Monroe over the top. When Cedric Robinson intercepted a Tulsa pass and took it back 64 yards for a TD midway through the third quarter, the Indians had their first lead of the evening and were on their way. The Golden Hurricane close their season out next week, hosting Southern Methodist. |
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Central Florida 39, Middle Tennessee St. 14 |
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Middle Tennessee State got on the board first, but Central Florida didn't let the Blue Raiders have much after that, scoring 27 straight points before coasting home. UCF (4-6) QB Victor Penn threw for two TDs and ran for another. MTSU (2-8) will close its first season in Division I-A with a game against Division I-AA East Tennessee State next week, while UCF closes up shop for the winter with a finale against Bowling Green.
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