From Memphis Commercial Appeal...
The American Athletic Conference had another strong showing last week, with a pair of teams beating Power Five opponents on the road and two others facing off in a close game that lived up to its billing. Now that the dust has settled, here's how the AAC teams stack up through the first two weeks of the season.
1. Temple (2-0): The Owls announced themselves as a legitimate conference-title contender by winning at Cincinnati last week, 34-26. Jahad Thomas set a conference record with 342 all-purpose yards in the win. The Owls have Massachusetts this week, and with a weak upcoming schedule, they could very well be 7-0 entering a Halloween matchup with No. 8 Notre Dame. Watch out, y’all.
2. Memphis (2-0): The Tigers rolled at Kansas, 55-23, and will face a much tougher test this week at Bowling Green. They will then only have four days to turn the page for one of their most important games of the season: A Thursday night meeting with Cincinnati at the Liberty Bowl on ESPN.
3. Houston (2-0): A 34-31 victory at Louisville gives the Cougars a bump in the rankings this week. There were five lead changes in the fourth quarter alone, but Houston and quarterback Greg Ward Jr. (236 passing yards, 98 rushing yards) escaped with the win. They’ll now have a week off before hosting Texas State on Sept. 26.
4. Navy (1-0): The Midshipmen were idle last week, so it’s only fair that they remain idle in the conference rankings. Next up is a conference-opener against East Carolina on Saturday.
5. Cincinnati (1-1): The Bearcats lost to Temple but racked up 557 offensive yards, including 427 yards passing yards by Gunner Kiel. Kiel’s four interceptions, however, derailed Cincinnati’s chance at the win. The Bearcats will now hit the road in back-to-back weeks, beginning with a game at Miami (Ohio) on Saturday.
6. Tulsa (2-0): It’s only been two games, but it seems like Philip Montgomery’s Baylor-style offense is working. The Golden Hurricane put up 600 yards -- again -- in a 40-21 win over New Mexico to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2009. Tulsa may not be undefeated for long, however; It plays at No. 16 Oklahoma on Saturday.
7. Connecticut (2-0): The Huskies have faced two middling teams to begin their season, but they’ve also picked up two wins, most recently edging Army, 22-17. It’s still too early to tell if UConn is for real. How they stack up against No. 22 Missouri on Saturday will give us a better indication.
8. East Carolina (1-1): The Pirates lost to Florida, 31-24, but they kept it close. Closer than a lot of folks (including me) expected. Quarterback Blake Kemp, who’s replaced injured starter Kurt Benkert, threw for 333 yards in the loss. He’ll have to be equally effective if the Pirates hope to win in Annapolis this week.
9. South Florida (1-1): There’s no such thing as a morale-boosting loss, but the Bulls did perhaps have a morale-boosting half against No. 9 Florida State last week. The game was tied at 7 before the Seminoles ran away with the game in the second half and won 34-14. Another tough test is on the way this week, when South Florida travels to play Maryland.
10. SMU (1-1): Chad Morris got his first win as the Mustangs’ head coach last week, a 31-13 victory over Texas State. But he’ll probably have to wait another week for a good shot at No. 2. SMU will play at No. 3 TCU on Saturday night. Last year’s meeting between the teams was a 56-0 blowout for the Horned Frogs.
11. Central Florida (0-2): It’s been a rough start to 2015 for the Knights, who lost to Florida International in the opener and were then clobbered by Stanford, 31-7, in Week 2. An injury to quarterback Justin Holman was simply salt on the wound. Holman is expected to miss two to four weeks, including this week’s matchup with Furman.
12. Tulane (0-2): Speaking of rough starts: The Green Wave, man. Yikes. Tulane lost to No. 14 Georgia Tech last week, 65-10, and has been outscored 102-17 through two games. Not good. There’s plenty of season left, beginning with an easier matchup against Maine this week, but still. Not good.
The American Athletic Conference had another strong showing last week, with a pair of teams beating Power Five opponents on the road and two others facing off in a close game that lived up to its billing. Now that the dust has settled, here's how the AAC teams stack up through the first two weeks of the season.
1. Temple (2-0): The Owls announced themselves as a legitimate conference-title contender by winning at Cincinnati last week, 34-26. Jahad Thomas set a conference record with 342 all-purpose yards in the win. The Owls have Massachusetts this week, and with a weak upcoming schedule, they could very well be 7-0 entering a Halloween matchup with No. 8 Notre Dame. Watch out, y’all.
2. Memphis (2-0): The Tigers rolled at Kansas, 55-23, and will face a much tougher test this week at Bowling Green. They will then only have four days to turn the page for one of their most important games of the season: A Thursday night meeting with Cincinnati at the Liberty Bowl on ESPN.
3. Houston (2-0): A 34-31 victory at Louisville gives the Cougars a bump in the rankings this week. There were five lead changes in the fourth quarter alone, but Houston and quarterback Greg Ward Jr. (236 passing yards, 98 rushing yards) escaped with the win. They’ll now have a week off before hosting Texas State on Sept. 26.
4. Navy (1-0): The Midshipmen were idle last week, so it’s only fair that they remain idle in the conference rankings. Next up is a conference-opener against East Carolina on Saturday.
5. Cincinnati (1-1): The Bearcats lost to Temple but racked up 557 offensive yards, including 427 yards passing yards by Gunner Kiel. Kiel’s four interceptions, however, derailed Cincinnati’s chance at the win. The Bearcats will now hit the road in back-to-back weeks, beginning with a game at Miami (Ohio) on Saturday.
6. Tulsa (2-0): It’s only been two games, but it seems like Philip Montgomery’s Baylor-style offense is working. The Golden Hurricane put up 600 yards -- again -- in a 40-21 win over New Mexico to improve to 2-0 for the first time since 2009. Tulsa may not be undefeated for long, however; It plays at No. 16 Oklahoma on Saturday.
7. Connecticut (2-0): The Huskies have faced two middling teams to begin their season, but they’ve also picked up two wins, most recently edging Army, 22-17. It’s still too early to tell if UConn is for real. How they stack up against No. 22 Missouri on Saturday will give us a better indication.
8. East Carolina (1-1): The Pirates lost to Florida, 31-24, but they kept it close. Closer than a lot of folks (including me) expected. Quarterback Blake Kemp, who’s replaced injured starter Kurt Benkert, threw for 333 yards in the loss. He’ll have to be equally effective if the Pirates hope to win in Annapolis this week.
9. South Florida (1-1): There’s no such thing as a morale-boosting loss, but the Bulls did perhaps have a morale-boosting half against No. 9 Florida State last week. The game was tied at 7 before the Seminoles ran away with the game in the second half and won 34-14. Another tough test is on the way this week, when South Florida travels to play Maryland.
10. SMU (1-1): Chad Morris got his first win as the Mustangs’ head coach last week, a 31-13 victory over Texas State. But he’ll probably have to wait another week for a good shot at No. 2. SMU will play at No. 3 TCU on Saturday night. Last year’s meeting between the teams was a 56-0 blowout for the Horned Frogs.
11. Central Florida (0-2): It’s been a rough start to 2015 for the Knights, who lost to Florida International in the opener and were then clobbered by Stanford, 31-7, in Week 2. An injury to quarterback Justin Holman was simply salt on the wound. Holman is expected to miss two to four weeks, including this week’s matchup with Furman.
12. Tulane (0-2): Speaking of rough starts: The Green Wave, man. Yikes. Tulane lost to No. 14 Georgia Tech last week, 65-10, and has been outscored 102-17 through two games. Not good. There’s plenty of season left, beginning with an easier matchup against Maine this week, but still. Not good.
