Ahead of the first College Football Playoff rankings release, the American Conference continued to show its tremendous depth. While North Texas and Navy stole most of the attention, teams in the middle of the pack shook up the conference race with signature performances. Additionally, other teams saw their bowl hopes fade after tough losses, and one team might’ve fallen out of the College Football Playoff race altogether.
Without further ado, let’s go Around the American.
UTSA Stuns Tulane
UTSA started the insanity early with a 48-26 drubbing of previously 6-1 Tulane. The Roadrunners raced out to a 31-6 lead and never looked back. UTSA QB Owen McCown played near-perfect football, completing 31 of his 33 passes for 370 yards and a Quarterback Rating (QBR) of 95.1 out of 100. WR David Amador II became McCown’s top target with 10 catches for 113 yards; Amador caught two of McCown’s four touchdowns. More to the point, Amador nearly doubled his yardage from the previous seven games. The now Roadrunners (4-4, 2-2 in the American) needed this win to keep their bowl hopes alive. They’ve got a game against Charlotte on their schedule but also a pair of tough contests with USF and East Carolina remaining as well. UTSA upset Memphis at home last year in similar fashion when its bowl hopes looked lost.
Tulane likely eliminated itself from College Football Playoff contention with this embarrassing loss. Stunningly, Head Coach Jon Sumrall benched QB Jake Retzlaff after he completed only 50 percent of his passes and threw a pair of interceptions. Hardly anyone could have imagined this fall from grace after Retzlaff’s four touchdown performance against Duke back in September.
North Texas Ends Navy’s Undefeated Season
After QB Drew Mestemaker captured the nation’s attention with his 608-yard game last Friday night, UNT freshman RB Caleb Hawkins stole the show this week in the Mean Green’s 31-17 win over Navy. Hawkins ran the ball 33 times for 197 yards and four touchdowns, his second game with four touchdowns this season. Hawkins looks like an easy candidate for Freshman All-America honors with 744 yards rushing and 11 touchdowns in just eight games. Meanwhile, the North Texas defense held Navy QB Blake Horvath to 192 total yards, over 70 below his average coming into this game.
While the win keeps North Texas alive in both the conference championship and College Football Playoff races, the Mean Green might still need USF to lose another conference contest given the Bulls own the head-to-head advantage. On the other side, Navy has no need to panic. The Midshipmen can ironically help the Mean Green by winning games against USF and Memphis to close their conference slate and earn their way into the American Conference Championship Game.
East Carolina Runs Over Temple
Temple has become one of the better stories in the American Conference this season with its 5-3 start. Unfortunately, East Carolina wasn’t into the feel-good story this past Saturday. Instead, ECU beat the snot out of Temple, 45-14. East Carolina’s offense gained 614 yards, including 358 on the ground. The Pirates defense also forced Temple Q Q Evan Simon to throw his first interception of the season, ending his streak at 213 passes without a pick this year. The Owls’ bowl hopes look iffy with games against Army, Tulane, and North Texas remaining and a 5-4 record.
While the national media focuses on the quartet of Memphis, Navy, North Texas, and USF, East Carolina has quietly kept itself in the conference race. The Pirates stand 3-1 in the conference and could still find themselves in the American Conference Championship Game. Their November 15 home game against Memphis will have massive implications in East Carolina’s quest for its first outright conference championship since 2009.
Other Notes From Around the American
Memphis’ defense held Rice’s shotgun option offense to just 112 yards and 2.4 yards per carry in a 38-14 win on Friday night. The Tigers avoided a repeat of the UAB letdown and took care of business early, racing out to a 31-7 halftime lead. New Rice Head Coach Scott Abel has done a commendable job, but the Owls now have a rough path ahead if they want to earn their third bowl in four years. The Owls sit 4-5 with games against North Texas and USF remaining.
UConn held UAB’s normally proficient passing offense to 218 yards and intercepted three passes in a big Husky win, 38-19. Alas, the Blazers really needed this one to aid their campaign for a bowl bid. UAB now has a 3-5 record with games against North Texas and USF still to come. But they’ll always have Memphis. This is the American conference after all.
Go Army! Beat Temple!!!
