After Army and East Carolina gave the American Conference more Thursday night exposure last night, the league will have four more games tomorrow. It’s still early, but we’re starting to see plenty of positioning for the College Football Playoff within the league. One team will try to rebound from a Power Four loss while another tries to avoid a let down. Despite the smaller slate, this figures to be an enthralling week of play in America’s Conference.
Option Offenses Face Off in Annapolis
No, this headline does not describe a Commander-In-Chief’s Trophy game. Instead, Rice will give Navy a different taste of triple-option football before the Mids even begin their quest for the CIC (3:30 ET, CBSSN).
Rice is 3-1 for the first time since 2001 following an impressive win over Charlotte last Thursday night. Navy stands 3-0, but let UAB and Tulsa make things competitive in their last two games. The Midshipmen fell behind 14-0 against the Golden Hurricane thanks to turnovers on their first three drives. The Mids cannot afford to do the same against Rice.
This quarterback matchup looks fun. Rice QB Chase Jenkins has had time to get comfortable in the offense. He put up 195 rushing yards over the course of his last two games. But then again, Navy QB Blake Horvath ran for 159 in just his last outing. Rice can increase their bowl game odds exponentially with a win. The Owls have difficult games ahead against UTSA, Memphis, North Texas, and USF.
Coach Abell Turning Heads 📈🔥#WE pic.twitter.com/AFkBYxUbkX
— Rice Football (@RiceFootball) September 25, 2025
Memphis and North Texas Look To Stay Unbeaten
North Texas looks to start 4-0 for the first time since 1959. The Mean Green went to the Sun Bowl that year. They face former Sun Belt foe South Alabama Saturday (Noon ET, ESPNU). One would think the Mean Green should have no issues against the 1-3 Jaguars.
However, South Alabama nearly took Tulane to overtime and held an early 14-0 lead on the Green Wave. The North Texas running back duo of McKenzie McGill (271 yards) and Caleb Hawkins (five touchdowns) should thrive against a Jaguar rushing defense allowing 200 yards per game and five yards per carry.
Meanwhile, Memphis looks to avoid a letdown after an emotional 32-31 win over Arkansas this past week. The Tigers travel to Boca Raton to play Florida Atlantic (1-2), starting at 7 PM ET on ESPN2. Tiger QB Brendon Lewis should be on the Heisman’s radar following his team’s signature win over the Razorbacks. Lewis had 199 passing yards and 103 rushing yards against Arkansas. He has 1100 yards of total offense on the year. Memphis RB Sutton Smith is also having an excellent year with 394 rushing yards on a whopping seven yards per carry. Smith had the game-winning 64-yard touchdown last week to cap a 147-yard masterpiece performance.
That could be bad news for a Florida Atlantic squad that struggled against the run in their last outing against FIU. The Owls allowed 224 yards to the Panthers in the Shula Bowl. QB Caden Veltkamp leads a Florida Atlantic Air Raid averaging 326 passing yards per game. Veltkamp could put up gaudy stats if Florida Atlantic falls behind early.
Tulane Tries to Rebound Against Tulsa
It seems everyone forgot about Tulane after their loss to Ole Miss. ESPN’s Allstate Playoff Predictor now shows the Green Wave with less than 15% odds to make the College Football Playoff despite two Power Four wins. This puts them below even Old Dominion, whose lone Power Four win came over a bad Virginia Tech team, now 1-3.
That model must be flawed. There’s no reason to write off the Green Wave.
Packing a fan favorite for conference play! 🔵⚪️🔵#UptownFootball pic.twitter.com/FTqJzFpdxW
— Tulane Football (@GreenWaveFB) September 25, 2025
Tulane will try to get back in the win column against Tulsa at 4:00 PM ET on ESPNU. Green Wave QB Jake Retzlaff struggled against Ole Miss, completing just five of his 17 passes. He will need a solid follow-up performance after Coach Jon Sumrall benched him for Brendan Sullivan last weekend.
Oh by the way, the Golden Hurricane beat Oklahoma State last Friday night. But we still have concerns about their offense. The Golden Hurricane are averaging less than 20 points per game against FBS competition. Opening day starting QB Kirk Francis could return after missing the last two games with a concussion. We’ll see if that helps.
Beat ECU!!! AFF’s 3 Keys to Victory Over the Pirates! #GoArmy #BeatECU #ArmyFootball #AmericanFootball #CollegeFootball #BuiltToRise www.asforfootball.com/2025/09/25/b…
— As For Football (@asforfootball.bsky.social) September 25, 2025 at 6:05 AM
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Tulsa’s opportunistic defense forced three turnovers against Navy and made timely stops against Oklahoma State. That defense has kept the Golden Hurricane in several games this season.
Will it be enough? Tulsa seeks its first win against Tulane since 2021.
