We’ve got a LOT of interesting non-conference match-ups in college football this weekend. America’s Conference will be involved in several of them.
Here are our Top Five in the American.
USF at Miami
6:00 pm on the CW Network
It’s hard to believe that USF might beat UF and Miami in back-to-back weeks, and yet here we are. This South Florida defense looks legit, having held the Gators to just 4/12 on third down and 0/1 on fourth down while forcing 7 tackles-for-loss and one crucial interception. Friends, that is getting it done. Plus, if you haven’t noticed, USF QB Byrom Brown has caught fire this season. Dude has completed fully 65% of his passes without a pick, and he’s become his team’s leading rusher by attempts, yards, and touchdowns.
Can USF do it again?
Neither Vegas nor any of the mathematical ranking services give the Bulls much chance. The betting line opened at Miami (-15.5) and has since slid to (-17.5). Massey makes this a 14-point game, and even SP+ predicts a 12-point Miami victory. More to the point, there’s not much chance of USF sneaking up on anybody again.
This USF team will go as far as Brown and his defense can take them. If they can pull it off, though, this win will put the Bulls firmly into the fast lane headed towards the College Football Playoff.
🗣️ @byrumbrown17: "It's a player-led team…everybody has the same goal and same standard."#ComeToTheBay | #StayInTheBay pic.twitter.com/hfp0dakIUv
— USF Football (@USFFootball) September 10, 2025
Oklahoma at Temple
12:00 pm on ESPN2
Temple beat UMass, 42-10, in Week 1 and then beat FCS Howard last weekend, 55-7. QB Evan Simon is now 27/35 passing for 422 yards (77.1%!) and *9* touchdowns with no picks. On top of that, my man has taken just two sacks so far this season.
How good can Temple be this season?
We’ll find out this weekend when Oklahoma visits them at Lincoln Financial Field tomorrow afternoon. The Owls might not get a victory, but if they can keep this thing close into the fourth quarter, that will say plenty about how far this team has come in a year.
Almost ready at @LFFStadium 🖌️#TempleTUFF pic.twitter.com/yv6riYhqGB
— Temple Football (@Temple_FB) September 11, 2025
Washington State at North Texas
3:30 pm on ESPNU
For Army fans, arguably the week’s most important game comes Saturday afternoon when the Washington State Cougars visit the North Texas Mean Green. This game features two outstanding passing attacks, two undefeated teams, and an interesting overall match-up.
North Texas has a better-balanced overall with RBs Makenzie McGill II and Kiefer Sibley backing up a strong downfield passing game led by QB Drew Mestemaker. By comparison, the Cougars have put their entire offense squarely on QB Jaxon Potter’s shoulders, and he’s responded by throwing for nearly 500 yards and 4 touchdowns in just two games without a pick and without taking a sack. But maybe WSU finally gets their running game going this week given that UNT let hapless Western Michigan run for a whopping 216 yards last weekend while holding the ball for damn near 37 minutes overall.
Can North Texas stop the run?
The betting line favors UNT by almost a touchdown, but Massey and SP+ both make this game a pick’em. We’ll see. This should be a sneaky good game and maybe the conference’s Game of the Week.
Duke at Tulane
8:00 pm on ESPN2
Tulane looked like the class of the conference after Week 1 when they beat the actual Hell out of Northwestern. Last week, though, they let South Alabama come roaring back with a 17-point fourth quarter to nearly take the game. In the end, Tulane escaped with a 33-31 victory.
Who exactly is this Tulane team?
On the other side, Duke took a beating this past weekend at Illinois. Former Tulane QB Darian Mensah, now starting for the Blue Devils, has looked good this season, but he didn’t get much run support from the rest of his offense last Saturday. With that, he threw a pick, took 2 sacks, and fumbled twice in what became a team-wide *4* fumble performance. Ain’t nobody winning with 5 turnovers.
If Tulane is the team they claim they are, then they gotta get after Mensah, force some turnovers, and beat this Duke team. If the Green Wave maybe isn’t as good as advertised, though, the Blue Devils will get-right and get that “W” this week.
Massey and SP+ both make Tulane something like a 4-point favorite. The betting line currently sits at Tulane (-1.5).
Be there when Uptown comes alive! https://t.co/PIW7zOItug pic.twitter.com/NMBqMz54xQ
— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) September 10, 2025
East Carolina at Coastal Carolina
7:30 pm on ESPN+
ECU and CCU both stand 1-1 after two weeks, and in both cases, it’s not clear what we’ve learned as yet about either team. ECU dropped a Week 1 road loss to NC State, 24-17, while CCU got the snot beat out of them at Virginia that same week. Since then, both schools have had a bite at the FCS cupcake, though notably, only ECU’s offense has looked good so far this season.
Can ECU get a road win against a team they probably ought to beat?
Maybe the most important aspect of this week’s match-up is that ECU QB Katin Houser has looked good this season while CCU QB MJ Morris has thrown 4 picks but no touchdowns. Add in CCU’s pedestrian 4.1 yards/carry on the ground, and yeah… this Coastal team has some serious issues on offense. The Pirates will have to make something with that, or they’ll deserve to lose.
The betting line on this one makes ECU a little more than a touchdown favorite. This squares exactly with expectations from both Massey and SP+.
Start the year off hot 🔥 @spalding_brock pic.twitter.com/P4VbmqtNH1
— ECU Football (@ECUPiratesFB) September 10, 2025
Other Games This Week
Memphis (-3.5) at Troy. Folks are giving Troy a lot of credit for a kind-of close loss against Clemson last week.
Incarnate Word at UTSA
FAU (+2.5) at FIU. We’re gonna need FAU to defend the conference’s honor in this one.
Monmouth at Charlotte
Prairie View at Rice
Navy (-14) at Tulsa. How good is this Navy team? Alas, we’re not gonna find out this week, I don’t think.
Akron at UAB (-11). Again, we’re gonna need the Blazers to defend the conference’s honor in this one.
Final Thoughts
This looks like a pretty good weekend of action overall despite getting just one conference game and that one involving the Squids. What can you do? Enjoy it, friends.
Let us know what you’re watching.
Our Call of the Game presented by @USAA is Cale Hellums's 14-yard TD run that gave us the 24-21. lead against Kansas State on the road last Saturday night! pic.twitter.com/3RsJv7h026
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) September 10, 2025
Go Army! Beat North Texas!!!
