College football: No. 5 Cincinnati routs Temple; No. 22 Arizona State beats Stanford
Desmond Ridder threw for 259 yards and three touchdowns, and No. 5 Cincinnati routed Temple 52-3 on Friday night for its 23rd consecutive home victory.
Jerome Ford ran for a career-high 149 yards and two scores to help the Bearcats (5-0, 1-0 American Athletic Conference) avoid a letdown after their big victory at Notre Dame last week.
“First time really playing a complete game,” Bearcats coach Luke Fickell said. “Not saying perfect by any means, but a complete game. We talked about keeping that pressure on.”
Cincinnati’s upset victory over Notre Dame might have been the greatest victory in Luke Fickell’s career, but it probably won’t make him a match for USC.
The home streak is the second-longest in the country, behind Clemson at 31. Temple is the last team to beat the Bearcats at Nippert Stadium, defeating them 35-24 in 2017.
Temple (3-3, 1-1) has played Cincinnati tough in recent years, with the previous three meetings decided by a combined 20 points, including a 15-13 victory by the Bearcats in the last meeting in 2019.
The Owls’ only points came on a 55-yard field goal by freshman Rory Bell.
at No. 22 Arizona State 28, Stanford 10
Deandre Pierce scored a 27-yard touchdown on a lateral off an interception, and the Sun Devils (5-1, 3-0 Pac-12) rode their explosive running game to a win over the Cardinal (3-3, 2-2).
Arizona State exploited one of the nation’s worst run defenses, racking up 255 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Jayden Daniels provided the balance, throwing for 175 yards and running for 76 more, including a 51-yard touchdown.
“When you run for 200-plus, you’re going to win a lot of games,” Sun Devils coach Herm Edwards said. “It was fun to watch the runners run.”
After a nagging calf injury kept him sidelined for three seasons, Jake Lichtenstein contemplated walking away from football. Now he’s peaking for USC.
Stanford had no answer for Arizona State’s running game and became one dimensional offensively after falling behind, limited to nine yards rushing in 20 carries.
Tanner McKee, a former Corona Centennial standout, threw for 356 yards and a touchdown but had his first three interceptions of the season for the Cardinal.
“We got into position multiple times and stalled,” Stanford coach David Shaw said. “The defense gave the offense opportunities in the second half, and the offense didn’t take advantage.”
Each week, The Times’ national college sports reporter J. Brady McCollough picks the week’s eight best games, plus the USC and UCLA games.
Charlotte 45, at Florida International 33
Chris Reynolds passed for 203 yards and four touchdowns, Shadrick Byrd had two long kickoff returns that led to points, and the 49ers (4-2, 2-0 Conference USA) defeated the Panthers (1-5, 0-2).
An interception returned 39 yards for a touchdown by Jon Alexander with 5:45 left in the game sealed the win for Charlotte, although FIU scored again on a one-play, 75-yard drive in 10 seconds and then appeared to recover an onside kick before losing it to an illegal-touch penalty.
The 49ers earned their first road win this season and are off to a 2-0 conference start for the first time. Charlotte has its best start to any season at the Football Bowl Subdivision level.
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