Out Of The Gates
The American Athletic Conference has a combined nonconference record of 9-3 through the first full week of the 2017 season. The .750 winning percentage ranks fourth among the 10 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision conferences.
Conference W-L Pct.
Pac-12 12-1 .923
SEC 12-2 .857
Big Ten 10-2 .833
American 9-3 .750
ACC 10-4 .714
Big 12 7-3 .700
Mountain West 9-6 .600
Conference USA 6-7 .462
MAC 4-8 .333
Sun Belt 4-8 .333
Three Conference Games Highlight Week 2 Schedule
All 12 American Athletic Conference teams are in action as part of a Week 2 schedule that includes the first three conference games of the season. Memphis, the favorite in the West Division, will visit UCF, which was pegged for second in the East Division in The American’s preseason media poll. That game was moved to Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET to avoid a potential overlap with Hurricane Irma, which is projected to affect Florida this weekend. USF and UConn are scheduled to play Saturday in an East Division matchup, while Tulane and Navy will meet Saturday in a West Division showdown.
National Honors For SMU’s Wyatt
SMU had no trouble putting points on the board in the Mustangs’ season-opening 58-14 win against Stephen F. Austin last Saturday. Aside from the six touchdowns scored by the offense, SMU got a pair of touchdowns from its defense - in particular from safety Jordan Wyatt. Wyatt was chosen as the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America after he contributed to the scoring with an 85-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter and a fumble recovery in the end zone in the second. Wyatt became the sixth player in NCAA FBS history to score touchdowns on an interception return and a fumble recovery in the same game.
Banks’ Statement Lifts Tulane
One of the more impressive performances in Week 1 came in New Orleans, where Tulane was a 43-14 winner against a Grambling State squad that had won 11 straight games entering the season. The key for the Green Wave was the play of quarterback Jonathan Banks, who appeared to be a perfect fit for coach Willie Fritz’ multifaceted option offense. Banks completed 10 of 15 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns and finished as the game’s leading rusher with 69 yards and a TD on 16 carries. Banks came to Tulane by way of Independence Community College after initially redshirting at Kansas State.
It’s Showtime At Navy
The first episode of Season 3 of Showtime’s acclaimed series “A Season With” premiered Tuesday, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the 2017 Navy football season. Episode 1 focused on the Midshipmen’s preseason and culminated with last Friday’s 42-19 win against Florida Atlantic. The all-access documentary series, which featured Notre Dame in 2015 and Florida State in 2016, will air new episodes each Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET.
Paradise Found For Milton At UCF
Much of the preseason discussion of American Athletic Conference quarterbacks focused on USF’s Quinton Flowers and Memphis’ Riley Ferguson, who both put up eye-popping numbers in 2016. But UCF’s McKenzie Milton made his presence known in the Knights’ 61-17 win against Florida International last Thursday. Playing only into the first series of the third quarter, Milton threw for 360 yards and four touchdowns, directing an offense that produced 587 yards against the Panthers. Milton shared the first American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week honor with Navy quarterback Zach Abey.
The American Athletic Conference has a combined nonconference record of 9-3 through the first full week of the 2017 season. The .750 winning percentage ranks fourth among the 10 NCAA Football Bowl Subdivision conferences.
Conference W-L Pct.
Pac-12 12-1 .923
SEC 12-2 .857
Big Ten 10-2 .833
American 9-3 .750
ACC 10-4 .714
Big 12 7-3 .700
Mountain West 9-6 .600
Conference USA 6-7 .462
MAC 4-8 .333
Sun Belt 4-8 .333
Three Conference Games Highlight Week 2 Schedule
All 12 American Athletic Conference teams are in action as part of a Week 2 schedule that includes the first three conference games of the season. Memphis, the favorite in the West Division, will visit UCF, which was pegged for second in the East Division in The American’s preseason media poll. That game was moved to Friday at 6:30 p.m. ET to avoid a potential overlap with Hurricane Irma, which is projected to affect Florida this weekend. USF and UConn are scheduled to play Saturday in an East Division matchup, while Tulane and Navy will meet Saturday in a West Division showdown.
National Honors For SMU’s Wyatt
SMU had no trouble putting points on the board in the Mustangs’ season-opening 58-14 win against Stephen F. Austin last Saturday. Aside from the six touchdowns scored by the offense, SMU got a pair of touchdowns from its defense - in particular from safety Jordan Wyatt. Wyatt was chosen as the Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week by the Football Writers Association of America after he contributed to the scoring with an 85-yard interception return for a touchdown in the first quarter and a fumble recovery in the end zone in the second. Wyatt became the sixth player in NCAA FBS history to score touchdowns on an interception return and a fumble recovery in the same game.
Banks’ Statement Lifts Tulane
One of the more impressive performances in Week 1 came in New Orleans, where Tulane was a 43-14 winner against a Grambling State squad that had won 11 straight games entering the season. The key for the Green Wave was the play of quarterback Jonathan Banks, who appeared to be a perfect fit for coach Willie Fritz’ multifaceted option offense. Banks completed 10 of 15 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns and finished as the game’s leading rusher with 69 yards and a TD on 16 carries. Banks came to Tulane by way of Independence Community College after initially redshirting at Kansas State.
It’s Showtime At Navy
The first episode of Season 3 of Showtime’s acclaimed series “A Season With” premiered Tuesday, providing a behind-the-scenes look at the 2017 Navy football season. Episode 1 focused on the Midshipmen’s preseason and culminated with last Friday’s 42-19 win against Florida Atlantic. The all-access documentary series, which featured Notre Dame in 2015 and Florida State in 2016, will air new episodes each Tuesday at 10 p.m. ET.
Paradise Found For Milton At UCF
Much of the preseason discussion of American Athletic Conference quarterbacks focused on USF’s Quinton Flowers and Memphis’ Riley Ferguson, who both put up eye-popping numbers in 2016. But UCF’s McKenzie Milton made his presence known in the Knights’ 61-17 win against Florida International last Thursday. Playing only into the first series of the third quarter, Milton threw for 360 yards and four touchdowns, directing an offense that produced 587 yards against the Panthers. Milton shared the first American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Week honor with Navy quarterback Zach Abey.
