*North Texas 28, Louisiana-Monroe 26
Monroe, La. -- It wasn't easy and it wasn't pretty, but North Texas held off every threat Louisiana-Monroe could muster to post a hard-fought 28-26 win over the Indians on Saturday to clinch a Sun Belt Conference co-championship.
The win, North Texas' sixth this season and its 16th consecutive victory in Sun Belt play, sets up a key game next Saturday at home for the Mean Green (7-3, 5-0). North Texas can claim the outright Sun Belt Conference championship and berth in the 2003 New Orleans Bowl with a win over Arkansas State. Game time will be 3:05 p.m. at Fouts Field.
Twice in the first half the Indians (1-9, 1-4) posted leads over the Mean Green. And after North Texas moved in front, 14-10, late in the second quarter, UL Monroe continually answered with points to keep the pressure on the Mean Green. ULM cut the margin to one point in the third quarter, pulled to within two points 28 seconds into the fourth quarter and, finally, cut the NT lead to its final two-point different midway through the final quarter.
But the Mean Green defense stopped the Indians on a fourth-down conversion try with less than a minute remaining to secure the win.
"We came into a hornet's nest tonight," said North Texas head coach Darrell Dickey. "Monroe played well and we've got a beat up football team. But I'm proud of the team for coming over here, playing hard, battling and overcoming adversity. I'm very proud of the players for hanging in there and playing well enough to win. That's all that matters."
Junior quarterback Scott Hall passed for two touchdowns and sophomore running back Patrick Cobbs enjoyed a record-setting game while playing a role in two other touchdowns to spark the Mean Green.
Hall engineered an 85-yard scoring drive on NT's first possession of the second quarter, finishing it with a 37-yard TD pass play with sophomore wide receiver Joel Nwigwe that tied the game at 7-7. Then with 10:53 left in the game, Hall hooked up with junior Andy Blount for a 34-yard touchdown play that widened the Mean Green's lead to 28-19.
Cobbs, meanwhile, established two new school records: rushing for more than 100 yards for a sixth straight game and notching this 13th rushing touchdown this season. It didn't come easy against the Indians, though, as Cobbs carried 36 times for his 107 yards. His four-yard TD run late in the third quarter capped a six-play, 65-yard drive that widened NT's lead to 21-13 late in the third quarter.
In addition to his running, Cobbs also contributed to the win with his arm, throwing a 10-yard halfback pass to senior tight end Randy Gardner for a touchdown with 5:36 left in the second quarter that erased ULM's second lead and gave NT a 14-10 halftime edge.
Besides coming up big to stop ULM's final drive, the Mean Green defense also recorded an interception (by Chris Hurd) and recovered a fumble on a punt return by the Indians.
*Arkansas State 24, Idaho 23
Jonesboro, Ark.Lamar Lee forced a fumble by Orlando Winston on the ASU 38 with 1:35 left in the game to help seal the win as Arkansas State downed Idaho, 24-23, in Sun Belt Conference action here tonight.
ASUs defense held when needed in the fourth quarter after dominating quarters two and three on the night. A tipped ball by linebacker Les Echols led to cornerback Johnathan Burkes eighth interception of the year to knock the Vandals off the field, giving ASU another chance to run some time off the clock. Head coach Steve Roberts once again praised the entire teams effort.
Im very, very proud of our football team, said Roberts. It was a rollercoaster ride all game long, but especially in the last half of the fourth quarter. The ballgame could have gone either way. But for the second straight week in a row, we made the critical play at the critical time.
But it was a missed two-point conversion after a one yard plunge by Jason Cobb that gave the games final score. Vandal quarterback Brian Lindgrens pass attempt on the conversion sailed out of the endzone with 4:37 left to play.
The two point conversion defense was a critical play, continued Roberts. I wasnt surprised at all (that the Vandals went for the two point play). Look at the situation theyre in and searching for that victory. Boy, did they play hard. I probably would have done the same thing in that situation, to try and get a victory right then.
Tailback Chris Easley posted his second straight 100-yard game and shouldered the bulk of the offense for the Tribe. Easley finished the night with 33 carries and 168-yards. As a team, the Indians gained 190 on the ground.
I think our home fans got to see a glimpse of what everybody saw last week and how hard he runs the football, said Roberts. Hes done a tremendous job of not giving up, even if the hole isnt there or the defender is clamping down on him.
Quarterback Elliot Jacobs bounced back from an early interception in the first half to post his second straight good game. Jacobs hit 15 of 24 pass attempts on the night and ended with 137 yards and two touchdowns.
Led by linebacker Steven Tookes, the ASU defense bottled up the Vandal rushing attack, holding the visitors to just 66 yards on 35 attempts and just 12 yards rushing in the second half. Tookes registered 12 total tackles to lead the Indians and Burke added another 11 on the night.
The win gives the Indians 11 over the last two season, the most in consecutive seasons since ASU won 13 combined games in the 1987 and 1988 seasons. The win also keeps ASUs slim bowl chances alive for a berth in the New Orleans Bowl.
ASU evens the season record to 5-5 overall and moves to 3-2 in conference play with two games left in the season. The Vandals fall to 1-9 overall, 1-4 in SBC play.
+Louisiana-Lafayette 43, Florida International 10
Louisiana's Ragin' Cajuns put on an outstanding offensive display on Saturday defeating Florida International by a final score of 43-10.
The win gives the Cajuns three straight at home for the first time since 1995. Head coach Rickey Bustle ups his mark at Cajun Field to 6-5.
UL Lafayette won the toss and elected to receive. The Cajuns marched 79 yards in 16 plays to take a 7-0 lead on an eight-yard touchdown run by Chester Johnson. Johnson was responsible for the drive's key play, gaining two yards on fourth-and-one from the FIU 10-yard line.
Facing a fourth-and-two from the FIU eight-yard line, Jerry Babb ran a quarterback option and hit paydirt. Babb's fourth rushing touchdown of the season capped a 10-play, 54-yard drive, giving the Cajuns a 13-0 lead. Sean Comiskey, who had made 40 consecutive extra points, missed his first career point-after attempt.
The Golden Panthers best field position of the first half came following an interception by Babb. FIU took over at the Ragin' Cajuns 37-yard line. Adam Gorman found a seam and ran 26 yards for a touchdown to cut the Cajuns lead to 13-7.
With 5:32 remaining in the first half, Eugene Kwarteng recovered a Golden Panthers fumble at the FIU 17-yard line. Babb's first pass hit Bill Sampy down to the two-yard line. Dwight Lindon gained one yard on first down and then found the endzone on the next play. Babb hit Sampy on the two-point conversion to give the Cajuns a 21-7 lead with 4:30 left in the half.
FIU held the ball just 45 seconds before punting it back to the Cajuns with 3:45 remaining in the half. Babb directed a 10-play, 94-yard drive that consumed 3:11. The drive, the Cajuns longest of the season, ended with Josh Harrison's first career touchdown to give UL Lafayette a 28-7 lead with 34 seconds remaining.
In a carbon copy of the end of the first half at South Carolina, the Cajuns blocked a field goal attempt and returned it for a touchdown.
Derace James blocked Adam Moss' 53-yard field goal attempt and Antwain Spann picked-up the ball and raced 45 yards for a touchdown. At South Carolina, Michael Adams blocked Josh Brown's 29-yard attempt and Patrick Lamy returned the ball 89 yards for a touchdown.
Harrison scored his second touchdown of the game on a nice 22-yard run.
With 10:57 left in the fourth quarter, the Cajuns held a 43-10 lead.
Adams blocked his second field goal of the season when he stuffed Moss' 28-yard attempt in the fourth quarter.
+Middle Tennessee 27, Troy State 20
Murfreesboro, Tenn. (AP) -- Andrico Hines passed for a touchdown and ran for another to lead Middle Tennessee past Troy State 27-20 Saturday.
Hines rushed for a team-high 90 yards and completed 15-of-22 passes for 167 yards for the Blue Raiders, who improved to 3-7 overall and 3-2 in the Sun Belt Conference. The game was a designated conference game for MTSU.
Hines broke free for a 40-yard touchdown run on the Blue Raiders' first possession of the second half, extending the lead to 17-7 with 10:16 remaining.
After Troy State (4-6) had taken a 20-17 lead early in the fourth quarter, Hines connected with Kerry Wright for a 56-yard touchdown pass. Wright became Middle Tennessee's first receiver with over 1,000 yards receiving. Wright finished the game with four catches for 97 yards, extending his season total to 1,065.
Troy State's DeWhitt Batterson rushed for a game-high 177 yards and scored a pair of touchdowns.
Batterson scored from 7 yards out with 8:32 remaining in the second quarter, tying the game at 7-7. The Trojans' tailback added a 3-yard run with 2:59 left in the third quarter, cutting the Blue Raiders' lead to 17-14.
The Blue Raiders went to the trick plays to take an early lead.
Punter Robert Billings took the snap on a fourth-down spread formation and dashed 54 yards for a touchdown with 12:53 remaining in the first quarter.
The Trojans took a 20-17 lead with 10:10 remaining in the contest when Aaron Leak connected with Jason Samples for a 5-yard touchdown.
Middle Tennessee's Brian Kelly kicked a pair of field goals, a 32-yarder with 18 seconds left in the first half and a 29-yarder with 4:36 left in the game.
Troy State had two opportunities in the final minutes of the game.
The Trojans drove to the MTSU 33 before the series ended on downs.
After Troy State stopped MTSU, Leak was intercepted by Randy Arnold at the MTSU 45 to allow the Blue Raiders to run out the clock.