Louisiana Tech wins C-USA showdown with FIU, 44-24

Carlos Henderson's 92-yard kickoff return and a big interception by Xavier Woods helped Louisiana Tech blunt Florida International comebacks and take a 44-24 victory Saturday night.

After FIU's Alex McGough hit Thomas Owens for a 6-yard pass to get within 37-24 with 6:14 left, Henderson took the ensuing kickoff the distance. After FIU got within 10 in the third quarter, Woods' 45-yard return to the FIU 2 set up a score.

The Bulldogs (5-3, 3-1) were led by Higgins' 22-of-30 night, 269 yards, two passing TDs and one rushing. Trent Taylormade 11 receptions for 156 yards and a score and went over 1,000 yards receiving for the second straight season.

While the Bulldogs won their fourth straight, the loss was the first for the Panthers (3-6, 3-2) under interim coach Ron Cooper after three victories.

McGough was 25 of 44 for 281 yards and three TDs with an interception.

McGough's 3 TDs help FIU rally to beat Charlotte 27-26

Alex McGough accounted for three touchdowns, including a 9-yard scoring pass to Jonnu Smithwith 1:05 to play, and Florida International beat Charlotte 27-26 on Saturday night for its third win in a row.

McGough completed 26 of 42 passes for 315 yards with two touchdowns and two interceptions and added a 19-yard scoring run in the first quarter.

Stephen Muscarello kicked a 32-yard field goal with 7:12 left to give Charlotte (2-5, 1-2 Conference USA) a 26-13 lead. But FIU responded with a seven-play, 75-yard drive - capped by McGough's 15-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Branisel fewer than 3 minutes later.

The Golden Panthers (3-4, 3-0) forced a punt, and a personal foul on the return gave them the ball at the Charlotte 45. After McGough hit Thomas Owens for 21 yards on first down, the 49ers were called for pass interference, setting up Smith's go-ahead TD grab.

Charlotte drove to the FIU 32, but Blake Brewer's 49-yard field goal attempt fell short with five seconds remaining.

After Robert Washington's 3-yard touchdown run gave the 49ers a 23-13 lead early in the fourth quarter, FIU blocked the PAT.

McGough throws for 3 TDs, FIU runs past UTEP 35-21

 Alex McGough threw for three touchdowns and Alex Gardner ran for another as Florida International picked up its second straight win, running past UTEP 35-21 on Saturday night.

McGough threw for 241 yards, Gardner rushed for 141, andAnthony Jones ran for 117 yards as the Golden Panthers (2-4, 2-0 Conference USA) amassed 488 yards while limiting UTEP (1-5, 0-3) to 276 total yards.

Aaron Jones, who finished with 73 yards, broke for a 49-yard scoring run to give UTEP a 7-3 lead in the first quarter. The Golden Panthers responded with 13 straight points to hold a 20-7 advantage in the third. Jones scored from the 1 with 5:40 left in the third as the Miners closed to 20-14.

McGough responded on the next series, hitting Thomas Owens on a 23-yard scoring strike for a 28-14 lead late in the third. Owens finished with 125 yards on seven catches.

McGough rallies FIU to 33-31 win over FAU

 Alex McGough ran for two touchdowns and passed for another, Austin Taylor kicked the go-ahead field goal and Florida International beat Florida Atlantic 33-31 on Saturday in a game that featured five lead changes.

FAU (1-4, 0-1 Conference USA) led 24-14 after Azeez Al-Shaair intercepted McGough's pass on the first play of the second half and returned it 30 yards for a score.

Anthony Jones replied with a 3-yard TD run to cap FIU's next drive, then McGough's 26-yard TD pass to Thomas Owensmade it 27-24 FIU.

FAU's Devin Singletary scored on a 1-yard run to regain the lead 31-27 for the Owls, but Taylor capped two FIU drives with 37- and 32-yard field goals.

McGough was 15 of 30 for 199 yards passing for FIU (0-4, 1-0).

Gregory Howell Jr. scored on a 68-yard run, Jason Driskel hit Marcus Clark on a 9-yard TD pass and Greg Joseph kicked a career-long 50-yard field goal for the Owls.

Wilson rushes for 3 TDS, UCF tops FIU 53-14

 Dontravious Wilson rushed for three touchdowns as UCF steamrolled Florida International 53-14 on Saturday night.

Wilson scored all his TDs - on runs of 1, 15 and 12 yards - on just 10 carries in the first half, the first UCF back to rush for three touchdowns in a half since Storm Johnson in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl.

Adrian Killins added a TD run of 62 yards, C.J. Jones added a 1-yard rush and Nick Patti scored on a 9-yard run as the Knights (2-2) compiled six rushing TDs in a game for the first time since 2011.

UCF racked up 501 yards total offense with 26 first downs to 189 yards and 11 first downs for FIU (0-4). None of the Knights' scoring drives lasted longer than three minutes, with Wilson's second TD capping a six-second drive.

Alex McGough and Maurice Alexander combined for 11 of 23 passing for 109 yards for FIU.

Ford throws 3TDs to lead UMass past FIU 21-13

 Andrew Ford threw three touchdown passes and Massachusetts held on beat Florida International 21-13 on Saturday night.

Massachusetts (1-2) led 14-3 at the half when Ford completed second quarter touchdown passes of 26 yards to Jalen Williams and 31 yards toAndy Isabella.

FIU (0-3) closed to 14-10 on Alex Gardner's 2-yard score, and Austin Taylormade a 35-yard field goal to reduce the deficit to one.

UMass then put together a 12-play, 66-yard scoring drive that ended when Ford threw a 1-yard score to Adam Breneman before the end of the third.

Late in the game, UMass put together an 11-play, 64-yard drive that ended when Mike Caggiano missed a 31-yard field goal with 3:20 remaining.

Florida International drove past midfield, but on fourth-and-one, the Panthers' drive ended when quarterback Alex McGough ran left for four yards but fumbled the ball and UMass recovered.

Gardner had 23 carries for 130 yards.

Maryland overwhelms Florida International 41-14

A combination of execution and fun has helped Maryland open the season with two convincing wins.

But the combination of Perry Hills to DJ Moore hasn't hurt either.

Hills threw for three touchdowns, two to Moore, to lead Maryland to a 41-14 win over Florida International on Friday night.

Hills completed 13-of-18 passes for 210 yards in three quarters. He connected with Moore for a 45-yard touchdown pass and Derrick Haywardfor a 9-yard score in the second quarter to give Maryland a 31-7 advantage at halftime. Lorenzo Harrison scored on a 40-yard run for the Terrapins' fourth touchdown of the first half.

"We're doing an unbelievable job of executing," Hills said. "We all came out here and had a good time. That's the final point - to come out here and have fun."

Moore finished with six receptions and 147 yards for Maryland (2-0).

"We watched on film (FIU cornerbacks) were going to play soft often so that was something we were going to attack," Moore said.

First-year Maryland head coach DJ Durkin rested Hills after his third touchdown pass - a 40-yard catch and run by Moore with 2:21 remaining in the third quarter.

"Just pleased the way we came out and played," Durkin said. "I thought our guys prepared really well, traveled really well. That was a big thing for us coming and how we were going to go through it as a team.

"It's not easy getting road wins in college football. The way our guys responded, I'm really excited for them."

The Terrapins never trailed after taking a 10-0 lead on Adam Greene's 23-yard field and Jermaine Carter's 15-yard interception return in the first quarter.

Carter's interception was the third interception return for FIU quarterback Alex McGough.

"I'm proud of this football team; I love this football team," FIU head coach Ron Turner said. "I'm disappointed for them more because we battled and we did a lot of good things defensively and I think they wore our defense down."

Alex Gardner rushed for 109 yards and scored on a four-yard run in the second quarter for the Panthers (0-2).

"We should be putting out more points as an offense because we're experienced so it's frustrating," Gardner said. "But the great thing about sports is that we get another chance."

The Terrapins are now 5-0 in their all-time series against the Panthers.

THE TAKEAWAY

MARYLAND: The passing connection usually is Hills to Moore but the combination switched roles on a reverse play in the first quarter, when Moore completed a 21-yard pass to Hills that led to Greene's field goal. "That was fun, I almost lost the ball for a second in the lights, first career catch," Hills said.

FIU: McGough limped off the field after attempting to tackle Carter during his interception. Red-shirt freshmanMaurice Alexander replaced McGough for the next three series. Although McGough returned with 56 seconds remaining in the first half, Alexander played the entire second half. Turner said McGough experienced stiffness in his lower back and he sat him out the rest of the game as a precaution.

UP NEXT

MARYLAND: It's back to the Sunshine State next weekend for the Terrapins, who play at Central Florida on Sept. 17 in the final tune-up before opening their Big Ten schedule at home against Purdue on Oct. 1.

FIU: The Panthers return to UMass for a second consecutive year, going to Amherst on Sept. 17.

Indiana gets 3 late TDs, gets past FIU 34-13 in opener

A fourth-quarter deficit, on the road, in a season-opening game with a new quarterback wasn't exactly the scenario Indiana would have chosen for itself.

The Hoosiers made overcoming that challenge look easy.

Richard Lagow passed for one score and ran for another in the fourth quarter, and Indiana returned two interceptions for touchdowns in its season-opening 34-13 win over Florida International on Thursday night.

Indiana (1-0) trailed 13-12 going into the fourth, then outscored FIU 22-0 in the final 15 minutes.

"A pretty good team win," Indiana coach Kevin Wilson said. "This game had my attention a lot. First game on the road, you've got new defensive coaches, you're going to have some glitches ... and I saw a lot of things we can do better."

Most of those things were likely before the fourth quarter.

Lagow connected with Daniel Friend on a 21-yard touchdown pass to put Indiana on top for good early in the final quarter, capped the next Hoosiers drive with a 6-yard scoring run and Tegray Scales capped the night with a 16-yard interception return for another score.

Lagow said he wasn't worried, even when trailing going into the fourth.

"The whole team had played so well all night," Lagow said. "Defense had played their tails off. We had been real close, a lot. It was just a matter of keeping our foot on the pedal."

Devine Redding rushed for 135 yards and Rashard Fant returned an interception 34 yards for a touchdown in the first half for Indiana (1-0). It was Indiana's first time with two interception-return touchdowns in the same game since 1966, school officials said.

Alex McGough completed 23 of 46 passes for 263 yards and three interceptions for FIU (0-1). Alex Gardner had a 1-yard rushing touchdown for the Panthers, who were outgained 486-331.

The game had a little of everything: a safety, a missed field goal, a bad snap on another field goal try, two defensive touchdowns and even an end-around for a 2-point conversion by the Hoosiers.

"We battled, we competed, we did some good things," FIU coach Ron Turner said. "But very, very disappointed in the outcome and very disappointing in the offensive execution and offensive performance. .... Way too many missed opportunities."

Friend's touchdown was his first in four years with the Hoosiers, two of those seasons getting cut short by injury.

Indiana played without six suspended players, including three who were probable starters - wide receiver Simmie Cobbs Jr., safety Chase Dutra and defensive tackle Ralph Green III.

THE TAKEAWAY

Indiana: Lagow completed 18 of 27 passes for 240 yards, and rarely seemed rattled. And there were some conditioning issues evident in the fourth on a hot, humid night in Miami - players cramping, players with hands on their hips - but Indiana did enough to escape. Tight end Jordan Fuchs had a "significant" injury, Wilson said, but there seemed to be some hope of it not being a season-ending situation.

FIU: It won't be an easy tape for the Panthers to watch. The defensive series that led to Indiana's go-ahead score early in the fourth quarter had some breakdowns as well, especially on the TD pass to a wide-open Friend. Taking a lead into the fourth and letting it slip away won't be easy for FIU to shake off.

UP NEXT

Indiana: Host Ball State, Sept. 10. This might not be the easiest home debut for the Hoosiers, either. Indiana has lost the last three games in that series, with two of those defeats coming in Bloomington.

FIU: Host Maryland, Sept. 9. Another Big Ten opponent comes in to face the Panthers. FIU is 0-4 all-time against the Terrapins, losing those games by a combined 127-61 score.