April Absurdity: Day 7 Results

#9 Rice at #8 Iowa:
Rice, 24-9

I'm pretty sure this is the biggest 8/9 upset we could have had - 'A' rated Iowa being defeated by 'C+' rated Rice, at Iowa! The 9th seeded Owls defeated the 8th seeded Hawkeyes, 24-9, behind halfback Quinton Smith's 95 yards and 1 touchdown rushing effort. But the first two scores of the game were actually on defense - Iowa scored on a safety of all things to make it 2-0, but then Rice came back with a 44 yard INT return touchdown by OLB Carl Taylor. The teams then traded long passing touchdowns, with Rice scoring on a 65 yard pass and Iowa scoring on a 69 yarder, but a field goal by the Owls followed by a 1 yard TD plunge by the HB Smith with 50 seconds left in the third gave 9th seeded Rice the victory over 8th seeded Iowa, 24-9.

Rice:
Chase Clement: 3-5-114, TD
Quinton Smith, HB: 25-95, TD
Carl Taylor, OLB: 3 TKL, TFL, SK, INT, TD

Iowa:
Drew Tate: 12-22-225, TD, 2 INT
Calvin Davis, WR: 3-90, TD
Edmond Miles, OLB: 3 TKL, TFL, Safety

#12 Tulane at #5 Houston:
Tulane, 24-23

Another upset, as 12th seeded Tulane defeats 5th seeded Houston, 24-23! The Green Wave scored first, on an 80 yard touchdown pass from Lester Ricard to Davis, but Houston came right back as Kevin Kolb completed a 37 yarder to Avery for the score to tie it at 7. Tulane then got a 13 yard TD run by Forte. The teams traded field goals - one for Houston, one for Tulane, another for Houston, and the Green Wave leads 17-13. But then the Cougars get a 24 yard fumble return touchdown by Allen and then a 23 yard field goal to take a 23-17 lead! But, Tulane would come back. They got a break with Kevin Kolb, starting QB of the Cougars getting injured. And then, with 41 seconds left in the game, Ricard completes a 24 yard touchdown pass to Brown which gave the 12th seeded Green Wave the upset over 5th seeded Houston, 24-23.

Tulane:
Lester Ricard: 14-34-276, 2 TD, INT
Damarcus Davis, WR: 4-142, TD
Antonio Harris, LE: 4 TKL, 2 TFL, SK

Houston:
Kevin Kolb: 15-21-216, TD
Donnie Avery, WR: 8-133, TD
Trent Allen, MLB: 4 TKL, TFL, SK, FR, TD

#13 Connecticut at #4 Georgia Tech:
Georgia Tech, 35-10

A Johnson was the best receiver for 4th seeded Georgia Tech in their win over 13th seeded Connecticut, but it wasn't Calvin. James Johnson had 7 receptions for 95 yards and 2 touchdowns as the Yellow Jackets defeated UConn, 35-10. The game never looked in doubt, as QB Reggie Ball passed for three touchdowns and ran for one more in the Georgia Tech win.

Connecticut:
Matt Bonislawski: 13-25-178, INT
Brandon Young, WR: 6-92
Marvin Taylor, FS: 5 TKL, TFL, FF, FR

Georgia Tech:
Reggie Ball: 14-23-149, 4 total TD
James Johnson, WR: 7-95, 2 TD
Philip Wheeler, MLB: 3 TKL, TFL

#16 Youngstown State at #1 Southern California:
Southern California, 63-14

The highest scoring game of April Absurdity (yes, I know it's not April) occurs as top seeded USC defeats 16th seeded Youngstown State of I-AA, 63-14. No surprises there. John David Booty went 14 of 16 for 323 yards, with 7 touchdowns and 1 interception. Oh, and Mark Sanchez passed for a touchdown too.

Day-umn.

Steve Smith was the top receiver for USC, with 5 receptions for 134 yards and 4 touchdowns, while the Trojans also has an interception return for a touchdown by cornerback Kevin Thomas. So, basically, USC demolished a I-AA opponent. No surprises there WHATsoever.

Youngstown State:
QB #14: 11-17-159, 2 TD, 3 INT
HB #32: 2-75, TD (rec), 17-45 (rush)
MLB #45: 3 TKL, TFL, SK, FF

Southern California:
John David Booty: 14-16-323, 7 TD, INT
Steve Smith, WR: 5-134, 4 TD
Kevin Thomas, CB: 2 TKL, INT, TD