Independents News and Notes

Philadelphia, PA (SportsNetwork.com) –

ARMY: The Black Knights get back to playing football this coming weekend as they clash with the Air Force Falcons on the road as part of the Commander-In- Chief’s Trophy series. Played between the three service academies at the Football Bowl Division level, the series will conclude with the annual Army/Navy matchup in Philadelphia the second week of December. For now, Army will focus its efforts against the Falcons, a team which owns a 32-14-1 advantage in the all-time series, although the Knights did claim a 41-21 win at home in last year’s encounter.

BYU: In was a monumental Friday night in Provo as the Cougars took out Boise State for the first time in program history, 37-20. Quarterback Taysom Hill had the BYU offense firing on all cylinders, particularly in the first quarter as the unit generated more than 200 yards, surpassing their entire total from last year’s 7-6 defeat versus Boise State. Hill, one of the top offensive threats in the country, converted 27-of-41 passes for 339 yards and three touchdowns, adding another 69 yards and a score on 18 rushing attempts as the team snapped a win streak by BSU during the month of October which had stood at 50 in a row. Cody Hoffman became the all-time career touchdown receptions leader for the Cougars, turning one of his four catches into his 31st TD in the second quarter. Uani ‘Unga tallied 15 tackles, marking the fifth time he has tallied double-digit stops this season, as the team reached six wins and became bowl eligible for the ninth straight year under head coach Bronco Mendenhall. Taking a break this week, the Cougars will be back in action on Nov. 9 when they travel to Madison to challenge the Wisconsin Badgers. BYU won the only previous meeting between the squads back in 2000 by a 28-3 margin.

IDAHO: The Vandals, losers of three straight, were led by quarterback Taylor Davis who connected on 12-of-30 passes for 166 yards and a score, adding another TD on the ground in the lopsided 59-14 defeat at the hands of the Ole Miss Rebels on Saturday in Oxford. Idaho produced a mere 253 yards of offense, averaging just 3.8 yards per snap, while Ole Miss came up with a season-best 572 yards and averaged close to eight yards per play. The Vandals managed to produce just 87 rushing yards on 36 attempts, while receiver Dezmon Epps accounted for 89 receiving yards and a TD on five catches for the visitors. This coming weekend the Vandals pit themselves against the Texas State Bobcats at home. Idaho leads the all-time series by a 3-2 count, although the Bobcats won last year’s matchup, 38-7, when both teams were members of the Western Athletic Conference.

NAVY: Nick Sloan played the hero on Saturday for the Midshipmen as he knocked through a 30-yard field goal as time expired, giving Navy a 24-21 win over Pittsburgh in Annapolis. Navy, which scored 17 points in the fourth quarter, was paced by Keenan Reynolds who not only converted 8-of-18 passes for 105 yards and a score, he also delivered a team-best 93 rushing yards and another TD on 21 carries as the Academy snapped a two-game slide. Controlling the ball for less than 26 minutes, Navy registered just 220 rushing yards after entering the weekend ranked sixth in the country with more than 300 ypg on the ground. Last season, the Midshipmen battled Notre Dame over in Ireland, with the Fighting Irish posting a lopsided 50-10 win, but this time around the teams return to North America and will be matching up in South Bend on Saturday. Navy trails the all-time series, one that dates back to 1927, by a 73-12-1 margin, but head coach Ken Niumatalolo has given the Academy hope in recent years with two victories in five chances.

NEW MEXICO STATE: The Aggies are finally off the hook, snapping their 18-game losing streak on Saturday night as they defeated Abilene Christian, albeit by a score of just 34-29. Quarterback Andrew McDonald converted 23-of-30 passes for 239 yards and a score, but he was picked off twice as New Mexico State won for the first time since the 2012 season opener. Austin Franklin reeled in 11 passes for 122 yards, while Germi Morrison gained a game-high 146 yards and scored a pair of TDs on 28 rushing attempts. From a defensive standpoint, the Aggies were less than stellar as they permitted 428 yards through the air and a massive 574 yards overall. While the Aggies finally broke into the win column for the first time in more than a year, the squad still hasn’t defeated another member of the FBS since topping Fresno State, 48-45, on Nov. 12, 2011. This coming weekend the Aggies get back to facing off against other members of the FBS, this time around challenging the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns in Lafayette.

NOTRE DAME: Quarterback Tommy Rees threw a career-high five touchdowns on Saturday as he led the Fighting Irish to a comfortable 45-10 victory over the Air Force Falcons in Colorado. Rees completed all but five of his 22 pass attempts, leading to 284 yards, with TJ Jones reeling in seven balls for 104 yards and a score. Also notching receiving TDs for Notre Dame, as the team won a third straight game and now has six victories on the campaign overall, were William Fuller, Ben Koyack, Corey Robinson and Chris Brown. Defensively, Notre Dame allowed 290 yards on the ground, not all that unusual given the fact that Air Force is one of the top running teams in the country, but at least the Irish permitted only a single rushing score. This coming weekend the Fighting Irish match up against another service academy in Navy, an opponent that has won just 12 times in 86 series opportunities. UND crushed the Midshipmen in last year’s meeting, 50-10, in Ireland, and a year earlier posted another 56-14 blowout.

Categorized in: NCAA Football