Forgot to post these when I got them from the AAC on Wednesday...
Big Games Equal Big Opportunities
The Week 3 schedule shapes up as an opportunity for many American Athletic Conference teams to make some waves nationally. Four games on the schedule will be against top-25 opponents, while six will be against opponents from Power 6 conferences. No. 21 USF returns to action following a one-week layoff to host Illinois Friday night on ESPN. UConn gets the Saturday schedule underway with a noon ET game at Virginia, as the Huskies look for a second straight win against the Cavaliers. Memphis returns to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium to host No. 25 UCLA on ABC. The 3:30 p.m. ET games have ECU at home against No. 16 Virginia Tech (CBS Sports Network) and SMU making the short road trip to Fort Worth to face No. 20 TCU (ESPNU). Tulane, meanwhile, takes to the road to face No. 2 Oklahoma at 4 p.m. ET.
Rivalry Week
This week’s schedule pairs three American Athletic Conference teams against longtime local rivals from other conferences in signature trophy games. SMU and TCU will play for the 97th time as the teams compete for the Iron Skillet. The schools have met every year since 1925, with the exception of 1987, 1988 and 2006. Cincinnati and Miami (Ohio) will partake in the annual battle for the Victory Bell as the Bearcats look for their 12th straight series win against the RedHawks. The Cincinnati-Miami rivalry, which began in 1888, is the second-oldest in FBS football, behind only Michigan-Notre Dame (1887). Houston and Rice, whose campuses are located five miles apart, will play for the Bayou Bucket when they meet for the 41st time Saturday.
Perfect Seven
Seven American Athletic Conference teams enter the third full week of the 2017 season without a loss. Among the 10 Division I NCAA FBS conferences, only the SEC (9), Big Ten (8) and Pac-12 (8) have more unbeaten teams than The American.
Star Power
Three of The American’s top players turned in eye-popping performances to help their respective teams to wins in Week 2. Tulsa running back D’Angelo Brewer, the conference’s second-leading rusher in 2016, ran for a career-high 262 yards to go with three touchdowns in the Golden Hurricane’s 66-42 win against Louisiana. SMU wide receiver Courtland Sutton, an Associated Press preseason All-America selection, set a conference record with four touchdown receptions as part of his 163-yard day in the Mustangs’ 54-32 win against North Texas. Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver, tabbed by some analysts as the nation’s top defensive player, had a game-high 11 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble in the Cougars’ season opener, a 19-16 win at Arizona.
Home, Sweet Home
Houston plays its first home game of the 2017 season with Saturday’s Bayou Bucket matchup against Rice. The Cougars take a 15-game winning streak at TDECU Stadium into the game, which is the longest active home field winning streak nationally. Alabama is second with 13 straight home wins.
First Of Many
Congratulations are in order for two American Athletic Conference coaches who earned their first career head coaching victories last week. Temple’s Geoff Collins has his Owls at 1-1 after a 16-13 win against Villanova in Philadelphia last Saturday, while Houston’s Major Applewhite earned win No. 1 with the Cougars’ victory at Arizona.
Big Games Equal Big Opportunities
The Week 3 schedule shapes up as an opportunity for many American Athletic Conference teams to make some waves nationally. Four games on the schedule will be against top-25 opponents, while six will be against opponents from Power 6 conferences. No. 21 USF returns to action following a one-week layoff to host Illinois Friday night on ESPN. UConn gets the Saturday schedule underway with a noon ET game at Virginia, as the Huskies look for a second straight win against the Cavaliers. Memphis returns to Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium to host No. 25 UCLA on ABC. The 3:30 p.m. ET games have ECU at home against No. 16 Virginia Tech (CBS Sports Network) and SMU making the short road trip to Fort Worth to face No. 20 TCU (ESPNU). Tulane, meanwhile, takes to the road to face No. 2 Oklahoma at 4 p.m. ET.
Rivalry Week
This week’s schedule pairs three American Athletic Conference teams against longtime local rivals from other conferences in signature trophy games. SMU and TCU will play for the 97th time as the teams compete for the Iron Skillet. The schools have met every year since 1925, with the exception of 1987, 1988 and 2006. Cincinnati and Miami (Ohio) will partake in the annual battle for the Victory Bell as the Bearcats look for their 12th straight series win against the RedHawks. The Cincinnati-Miami rivalry, which began in 1888, is the second-oldest in FBS football, behind only Michigan-Notre Dame (1887). Houston and Rice, whose campuses are located five miles apart, will play for the Bayou Bucket when they meet for the 41st time Saturday.
Perfect Seven
Seven American Athletic Conference teams enter the third full week of the 2017 season without a loss. Among the 10 Division I NCAA FBS conferences, only the SEC (9), Big Ten (8) and Pac-12 (8) have more unbeaten teams than The American.
Star Power
Three of The American’s top players turned in eye-popping performances to help their respective teams to wins in Week 2. Tulsa running back D’Angelo Brewer, the conference’s second-leading rusher in 2016, ran for a career-high 262 yards to go with three touchdowns in the Golden Hurricane’s 66-42 win against Louisiana. SMU wide receiver Courtland Sutton, an Associated Press preseason All-America selection, set a conference record with four touchdown receptions as part of his 163-yard day in the Mustangs’ 54-32 win against North Texas. Houston defensive tackle Ed Oliver, tabbed by some analysts as the nation’s top defensive player, had a game-high 11 tackles with 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble in the Cougars’ season opener, a 19-16 win at Arizona.
Home, Sweet Home
Houston plays its first home game of the 2017 season with Saturday’s Bayou Bucket matchup against Rice. The Cougars take a 15-game winning streak at TDECU Stadium into the game, which is the longest active home field winning streak nationally. Alabama is second with 13 straight home wins.
First Of Many
Congratulations are in order for two American Athletic Conference coaches who earned their first career head coaching victories last week. Temple’s Geoff Collins has his Owls at 1-1 after a 16-13 win against Villanova in Philadelphia last Saturday, while Houston’s Major Applewhite earned win No. 1 with the Cougars’ victory at Arizona.
