From TheHillTopics.com (SMU Rivals)...
1. Temple (1-0, 0-0). Everything that has been advertised about the Temple defense this offseason came true on Saturday for the Owls. Penn State quarterback and NFL prospect Christian Hackenberg struggled throwing for only 103 yards and an interception, as the Nittany Lions were shut down and held to only 10 points in the game. Temple is tough and they are ready for a big game in Cincinnati next week.
2. Cincinnati (1-0, 0-0). 52-10 against Alabama A&M and the Bearcats already look to be in midseason form. Quarterback Gunner Kiel only missed on four incomplete passes while throwing for two scores, and running back Tion Green was free to run for an eye opening 127 yards on just 17 carries. Cincinnati faces one of its toughest early season match ups against a competitive Temple team coming off a big week one.
3. Memphis (1-0, 0-0). The offense looked sharp, succinct, and quick on Saturday as the Tigers pulled to a 28 point lead in the first quarter and never looked back once against Missouri State. A complete team win in every sense of the word, Memphis has made a powerful claim as one of the best teams in the AAC. The Tigers should cruise through their next two games, at Kansas and at Bowling Green, until a huge week four matchup with Cincinnati.
4. East Carolina (1-0, 0-0). Chris Hairston looked like one of the best running backs in the country last Saturday for the Pirates, as he ran for 154 yards and four touchdowns against a Towson defense that couldn't stop him. Quarterback Blake Kemp reassured everyone that he can handle the starting job as he was accurate while throwing for 230 yards. The Pirates face one of their biggest tests this season as they travel into Florida to take on the Gators next week.
5. USF (1-0, 0-0). The USF Bulls stuck to their game plan on Saturday giving the ball to sophomore running back Marlon Mack 23 times and to nobody's surprise it worked. Mack took the ball and ran for 131 yards and a touchdown. The Bulls played good defense and the game went the way they needed it to. Fortunately, they will be getting a dose of reality soon as they will play the Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee next weekend.
6. Navy (1-0, 0-0). Keenan Reynolds threw six passes but that is all that it took against Colgate this past weekend as the Midshipmen ran for 370 yards as a team to go along with a healthy five touchdowns in their 48-10 victory. Bend but don't break defense seemed to be the goal for Navy as they did have issues plugging up running lanes at times, however after surrendering only 10 points coaches and fans should be happy. ECU comes to town in what should be an exciting AAC matchup next weekend.
7. Houston (1-0, 0-0). Demarcus Ayers looked like one of the best receivers in the AAC on Saturday as the Cougar wide out caught an impressive 10 balls for 121 yards in the 52-24 win over Tennessee Tech. He also ran four times for 40 yards making him versatile and extremely vital to Houston's 2015 season. The defense could use a little tune up, but that is to be expected this early in the year. A good opening win for the Cougars, it should boost the confidence of this squad as they will travel to Louisville this weekend.
8. UCF (0-1, 0-0). The Knights let FIU hang around for too long on Saturday, and because of that, they lost their first game of the season in heartbreaking fashion. Matthew Wright's game winning kick was blocked in the closing seconds and now UCF has had their confidence shattered. Something that they need desperately as they will travel to play a Stanford team hungry for a win after getting upset by a scrappy Northwestern team. The run game was nonexistent, and although quarterback Justin Holman looked good, all of the pieces upfront might not be there to help him just yet.
9. Connecticut (1-0, 0-0). Squeezing a five-point victory out of a less than stellar Villanova team isn't something that the Huskies should be proud of. The game was messy even by early season standards, and seemed to lack any real excitement. However, sophomore quarterback Bryant Shirreffs seemed to be able to play comfortably in the pocket and made some nice throws. He is young and it will be very interesting to see how he handles his next four games against real competition in Army, Missouri, Navy, and BYU.
10. SMU (0-1, 0-0). For one single half, it looked like Mustang football actually belonged again. Yes, the second half was a wake-up call as far as the difference in talent between the fourth best program in the country and the rebuilding one is that is the Mustangs, but for 30 minutes of play SMU hung in there and went play for play with Baylor. Matt Davis played as well as anyone could have asked, and there could be a rising-star in freshman receiver Courtland Sutton as he caught three balls for 80 yards and a score. One game against UNT and then onto Fort Worth as the Mustangs play another top-five team in the TCU Horned Frogs.
11. Tulsa (1-0, 0-0). Dane Evans led the Golden Hurricanes in an absolute shootout this past weekend. Tulsa would end up beating Florida Atlantic 47-44, but the game was back and forth scoring until the final whistle blew in overtime. Evans ended his night throwing for 424 yards and two touchdowns, while also using his legs to run for another score. The game probably shouldn't have been as close as it was, yet for Evans it will serve as a huge boost in his mentality, knowing that he can light it up on game day. Next three games for the Golden Hurricanes will be tough and should reveal what this team is made of.
12. Tulane (0-1, 0-0). A 37-7 defeat to Duke isn't as bad as it seems for the Green Wave. The Blue Devils were not running the score up, in fact expect for a 21 point fourth quarter, Tulane would only have lost the game 16-7. Unfortunately though, Duke did have an explosion of points at the end of the game, and despite a late touchdown throw by Tanner Lee, this game was never really close as Tulane's offense never got in rhythm and some of the play calling was bizarre. They didn't put their best foot forward, and next week should be even worse as the Green Waves travel to take on Georgia Tech.
1. Temple (1-0, 0-0). Everything that has been advertised about the Temple defense this offseason came true on Saturday for the Owls. Penn State quarterback and NFL prospect Christian Hackenberg struggled throwing for only 103 yards and an interception, as the Nittany Lions were shut down and held to only 10 points in the game. Temple is tough and they are ready for a big game in Cincinnati next week.
2. Cincinnati (1-0, 0-0). 52-10 against Alabama A&M and the Bearcats already look to be in midseason form. Quarterback Gunner Kiel only missed on four incomplete passes while throwing for two scores, and running back Tion Green was free to run for an eye opening 127 yards on just 17 carries. Cincinnati faces one of its toughest early season match ups against a competitive Temple team coming off a big week one.
3. Memphis (1-0, 0-0). The offense looked sharp, succinct, and quick on Saturday as the Tigers pulled to a 28 point lead in the first quarter and never looked back once against Missouri State. A complete team win in every sense of the word, Memphis has made a powerful claim as one of the best teams in the AAC. The Tigers should cruise through their next two games, at Kansas and at Bowling Green, until a huge week four matchup with Cincinnati.
4. East Carolina (1-0, 0-0). Chris Hairston looked like one of the best running backs in the country last Saturday for the Pirates, as he ran for 154 yards and four touchdowns against a Towson defense that couldn't stop him. Quarterback Blake Kemp reassured everyone that he can handle the starting job as he was accurate while throwing for 230 yards. The Pirates face one of their biggest tests this season as they travel into Florida to take on the Gators next week.
5. USF (1-0, 0-0). The USF Bulls stuck to their game plan on Saturday giving the ball to sophomore running back Marlon Mack 23 times and to nobody's surprise it worked. Mack took the ball and ran for 131 yards and a touchdown. The Bulls played good defense and the game went the way they needed it to. Fortunately, they will be getting a dose of reality soon as they will play the Florida State Seminoles in Tallahassee next weekend.
6. Navy (1-0, 0-0). Keenan Reynolds threw six passes but that is all that it took against Colgate this past weekend as the Midshipmen ran for 370 yards as a team to go along with a healthy five touchdowns in their 48-10 victory. Bend but don't break defense seemed to be the goal for Navy as they did have issues plugging up running lanes at times, however after surrendering only 10 points coaches and fans should be happy. ECU comes to town in what should be an exciting AAC matchup next weekend.
7. Houston (1-0, 0-0). Demarcus Ayers looked like one of the best receivers in the AAC on Saturday as the Cougar wide out caught an impressive 10 balls for 121 yards in the 52-24 win over Tennessee Tech. He also ran four times for 40 yards making him versatile and extremely vital to Houston's 2015 season. The defense could use a little tune up, but that is to be expected this early in the year. A good opening win for the Cougars, it should boost the confidence of this squad as they will travel to Louisville this weekend.
8. UCF (0-1, 0-0). The Knights let FIU hang around for too long on Saturday, and because of that, they lost their first game of the season in heartbreaking fashion. Matthew Wright's game winning kick was blocked in the closing seconds and now UCF has had their confidence shattered. Something that they need desperately as they will travel to play a Stanford team hungry for a win after getting upset by a scrappy Northwestern team. The run game was nonexistent, and although quarterback Justin Holman looked good, all of the pieces upfront might not be there to help him just yet.
9. Connecticut (1-0, 0-0). Squeezing a five-point victory out of a less than stellar Villanova team isn't something that the Huskies should be proud of. The game was messy even by early season standards, and seemed to lack any real excitement. However, sophomore quarterback Bryant Shirreffs seemed to be able to play comfortably in the pocket and made some nice throws. He is young and it will be very interesting to see how he handles his next four games against real competition in Army, Missouri, Navy, and BYU.
10. SMU (0-1, 0-0). For one single half, it looked like Mustang football actually belonged again. Yes, the second half was a wake-up call as far as the difference in talent between the fourth best program in the country and the rebuilding one is that is the Mustangs, but for 30 minutes of play SMU hung in there and went play for play with Baylor. Matt Davis played as well as anyone could have asked, and there could be a rising-star in freshman receiver Courtland Sutton as he caught three balls for 80 yards and a score. One game against UNT and then onto Fort Worth as the Mustangs play another top-five team in the TCU Horned Frogs.
11. Tulsa (1-0, 0-0). Dane Evans led the Golden Hurricanes in an absolute shootout this past weekend. Tulsa would end up beating Florida Atlantic 47-44, but the game was back and forth scoring until the final whistle blew in overtime. Evans ended his night throwing for 424 yards and two touchdowns, while also using his legs to run for another score. The game probably shouldn't have been as close as it was, yet for Evans it will serve as a huge boost in his mentality, knowing that he can light it up on game day. Next three games for the Golden Hurricanes will be tough and should reveal what this team is made of.
12. Tulane (0-1, 0-0). A 37-7 defeat to Duke isn't as bad as it seems for the Green Wave. The Blue Devils were not running the score up, in fact expect for a 21 point fourth quarter, Tulane would only have lost the game 16-7. Unfortunately though, Duke did have an explosion of points at the end of the game, and despite a late touchdown throw by Tanner Lee, this game was never really close as Tulane's offense never got in rhythm and some of the play calling was bizarre. They didn't put their best foot forward, and next week should be even worse as the Green Waves travel to take on Georgia Tech.
