What Happened in the Rest of the AAC?

Its always a good idea to keep tabs on your competition. This weekend, the Cincinnati Bearcats could focus solely on that task as they were on bye. Here’s what was witnessed in American Athletic Conference play during week six of the college football season.

No. 25 Navy at East Carolina

Originally scheduled for Thursday, Oct. 14, it was announced early last week that this game would be rescheduled for Nov. 19 due to flooding from Hurricane Matthew.

Memphis 24 Tulane 14

Memphis (5-1, 2-0 AAC) continues to be one of the hottest teams in the conference but not because Tulane (3-3, 0-2) just rolled over. A 20-yard touchdown pass from Glen Cuiellette to tight end Kendall Ardoin put Tulane up 7-6 early in the second quarter and the Green Wave held the advantage until 1:01 left in the second quarter when the Tigers pulled ahead for good on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Riley Ferguson to Darrell Henderson. The rebuild for Tulane may be on a faster track than we realized and Memphis is clearly still benefiting from the remnants of the Justin Fuente era, not that Mike Norvell doesn’t deserve some credit for keeping the ship afloat.

Temple 26 UCF 25

UCF (3-3, 1-1) led 25-7 in the second quarter and it appeared that the Knights were on their way to a statement win. Even as Temple (4-3, 2-1) clawed its way back into striking distance it still didn’t seem possible that the Owls were going to overcome the 18-point deficit from the first half. Especially when their last possession began from their own 30-yard line with 32 seconds left. Oh and without any timeouts. But then this happened.

It certainly appears that Temple is not the title contender it was painted as in the preseason, but that doesn’t mean it should be counted out. Even WITH 32 SECONDS LEFT AND NO TIMEOUTS.

No. 13 Houston 38 Tulsa 31

Tulsa (4-2, 1-1) saw what Navy did to Houston (6-1, 3-1) last weekend and decided it wanted to get in on that. Perhaps the Golden Hurricane fell short, but it hung right with the Cougars to the very end. Dane Evans threw for 365 yards, 129 of which went to Justin Hobbs. Greg Ward had an effective game for Houston (254 yards passing, 142 yards rushing) but it was the defense that won the game, as Garrett Davis sacked Evans, forcing a fumble which Emeke Egbule picked up and returned for the game-winning score.

USF 42 UConn 27

Quinton Flowers accounted for 370 yards of total offense and five touchdowns in leading USF (6-1, 3-0) to another conference victory. The Bulls are now one of three teams who are still undefeated in conference play, with Navy and Memphis also proud owners of a clean sheet. But before we start handing out trophies, it is concerning that the Bulls allowed 306 passing yards to a team that ranks 57th in the country in passing offense.

Current AAC Standings

East Division

USF 6-1, 3-0

Temple 4-3, 2-1

UCF 3-3, 1-1

UConn 3-4, 1-3

ECU 2-4, 0-2

Cincinnati 3-3, 0-3

West Division

Navy 4-1, 3-0

Memphis 5-1, 2-0

Houston 6-1, 3-1

Tulsa 4-2, 1-1

Tulane 3-3, 0-2

SMU 2-4, 0-2