Thursday
7:30 PM ET ESPN: #19 Miami 1-1 (-4) @ Pitt 1-1 - Both of these teams are coming off of a bye week and still looking for their first big win of the season. The 'Canes are reeling from a trip to the Horseshoe, where they were handed a 24-36 loss by the #2 Buckeyes. Senior QB Jacory Harris was 22/39 for 232 yards 1 TD and 4 INTs. The four picks pretty much tell the story of the game as Harris often made bad decisions with the ball and hurt his team more than he helped it, against a stout Buckeyes defense. After the game, coach Randy Shannon exploded on the team with a post-game speech and banned the team from Twitter. This offense will go as far as Harris takes them, so his decision making skills will need to improve if the Canes are to win this game. Expect Harris to lean heavily on his senior RB Damien Berry (139 yards rushing) and senior WR Leonard Hankerson (205 yards receiving w/ 2 TDs), which lead the team in carries and catches, respectively. For the Panthers, their season has been defined by their 24-27 loss to Utah in overtime on opening night and off the field issues. Frosh RB Jason Douglas was charged with causing an accident resulting in serious injury, aggravated assault, DUI, and underage drinking. When the police stopped him, he got out of his car and said "Hey, I play for Pitt football. Please don't arrest me." Surprisingly, that line didn't work out for him and he is now suspended indefinitely. Sophomore LB Dan Mason was in the car with him and has been demoted to the second team defense. Sophomore OL Keith Coleman was arrested last weekend and charged with aggravated assault, harassment, and disorderly conduct, after he got into a fight in downtown Pittsburgh. Like Douglas, he too has been suspended indefinitely. To make matters worse, senior DE Greg Romeus, who was the Big East co-defensive player of the year last season, is out after having surgery on his lower back. On the field, sophomore RB Dion Lewis has had a slow start, rushing for only 102 yards on 35 carries. Junior WR Jon Baldwin has been great so far with 10 catches for 171 yards and 2 TDs. Sophomore QB Tino Sunseri has been up and down with a 64.5|PERCENT| complete rate, 459 yards passing, 3 TDs, and 2 INTs. In the Utah game, he made some nice throws when his offensive line gave him time. In the overtime however, he threw a pick on the first play of the Panthers' offensive series to pretty much handed the win to Utah. I expect Miami senior DE Allen Bailey to be in his face pressuring him all game long as the Pitt offensive line can get leaky at times. Which ever team wins this game will be bringing its conference its first big win this season... and we're in week 4, which should tell you all you need to know about the ACC & Big East.
Friday
8:00 PM ET ESPN: #4 TCU 3-0 (-17.5) @ SMU 2-1 - The battle for the Iron Skillet is up for grabs in this game between the defensive minded Horned Frogs and the June Jones led Mustangs. TCU has a pretty simple formula for winning right now... play great defense and have senior QB Andy Dalton run the offense. Dalton has "managed" the game in years past, but this season he has the offense running like a well oiled machine. He has completed 74.6|PERCENT| of his passes for 624 yards, 4 TDs, and 2 INTs. Sophomore RB Ed Wesley leads the team with 384 rushing yards and 4 TDs. As a whole, the team has averaged 279.7 rushing yards per game (9th best in the FBS). The defense has allowed only 222.7 total yards per game (4th best in the FBS) and 12.7 points per game (9th best in the FBS), so good luck trying to move the ball. For SMU, coach June Jones has the program heading in the right direction with his spread offense. Last week the team won it's first game against a BCS opponent since 2000, when they defeated Washington State 35-21. Sophomore QB Kyle Padron has completed 55.2|PERCENT| of his passes for 643 yards, 8 TDs, and 3 INTs. On the ground, sophomore RB Zach Line has rushed for 276 yards and 3 TDs. Senior WR Aldrick Robinson is probably the most talented of the WR corp with 11 catches for 212 yards and 3 TDs. This game might not be too close on the scoreboard, but it's football in Texas and there are few things that can top that on a Friday night.
Week 3 Leaders
Passing:
1. Brandon Weeden (Oklahoma State) - 23/32, 409 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INT vs Tulsa
2. Corey Robinson (Troy) - 26/44, 404 yards, 2 TDs, 0 INT vs UAB
3. Alex Carder (Western Michigan) - 43/64, 403 yards, 1 TD, 4 INT vs Toledo
4. Ryan Mallet (Arkansas) - 21/33, 380 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT vs Georgia
5. Kellen Moore (Boise State) - 20/30, 370 yards, 2 TDs, 1 INT vs Wyoming
6. Dayne Crist (Notre Dame) - 32/55, 369 yards, 4 TDs, 1 INT vs Michigan State
7. Ben Chappell (Indiana) - 32/42, 366 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT vs Western Kentucky
8. Bryan Ellis (UAB) - 23/37, 360 yards, 3 TDs, 2 INT vs Troy
9. Blaine Gabbert (Missouri) - 28/51, 351 yards, 1 TD, 2 INTs vs San Diego State
10. Russell Wilson (NC State) - 26/40, 333 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INT vs Cincinnati
Rushing:
1. Ronnie Hillman (San Diego State) - 23 carries, 228 yards, 2 TDs vs Missouri
2. LaMichael James (Oregeon) - 14 carries, 227 yards, 2 TDs vs Portland State
3. Paris Cotton (Central Michigan) - 21 carries, 209 yards, 3 TDs vs Eastern Michigan
4. Shane Vereen (Cal) - 19 carries, 198 yards, 3 TDs vs Nevada
5. Jordan Todman (UConn) - 26 carries, 192 yards, 1 TD vs Temple
6. Daniel Thomas (Kansas State) - 34 carries, 181 yards, 2 TDs vs Iowa State
7. Mikel Leshoure (Illinois) - 24 carries, 180 yards, 1 TD vs Northern Illinois
8. Bernard Pierce (Temple) - 26 carries, 169 yards, 2 TDs vs UConn
9. Derrick Locke (Kentucky) - 17 carries, 166 yards, 2 TDs vs Arkansas
10. A.J. Ellis (Fresno State) - 29 carries, 165 yards, 2 TDs vs Utah State
Receiving:
1. Justin Blackmon (Oklahoma State) - 6 catches, 174 yards, 3 TDs vs Tulsa
2. Jordan White (Western Michigan) - 13 catches, 170 yards, 1 TD vs Toledo
3. Marvin Jones (Cal) - 12 catches, 161 yards, 0 TDs vs Nevada
4. Torrey Smith (Marlyand) - 3 catches, 149 yards, 2 TDs vs West Virginia
5. D.J. Woods (Cincinnati) - 6 catches, 146 yards, 2 TDs vs NC State
6. Michael Egnew (Missouri) - 13 catches, 145 yards, 0 TDs vs San Diego State
7. James Cleveland (Houston) - 6 catches, 144 yards, 1 TD vs UCLA
8. Damarlo Belcher (Indiana) - 10 catches, 135 yards, 1 TD vs Western Kentucky
9. Marquess Wilson (Washington State) - 6 catches, 134 yards, 1 TD vs SMU
10. Lance Kendricks (Wisconsin) - 7 catches, 131 yards, 1 TD vs Arizona State