The American may be the most exciting conference in college football. The opening week of October showed that not only does the league have no clear favorite, it also has parity that’s nearly unmatched by any other FBS league. Several teams asserted claims to top honors in an eventful weekend of action. Without further ado, let’s go #AroundTheAmerican.
Tulsa Comes Up One Yard Short Against North Texas
The talk of the early American Conference season, Tulsa suffered a second-straight loss in a Thursday night thriller. The Golden Hurricane stormed back from a 14-point third-quarter deficit to force overtime on Baylor Hayes’s 10-yard touchdown run with 31 seconds remaining in regulation. After both teams traded scores, Tulsa decided to go for two and the win. Unfortunately, WR Oran Singleton Jr.’s jet sweep came up just short after a controversial video review, preserving a 45-44 win for North Texas.
Tulsa QB Baylor Hayes threw for 211 yards and three touchdowns in his return, while his top target, Singleton, had 11 receptions for 104 yards. Tulsa’s proficiency on offense makes its Arkansas loss one of the biggest “what-ifs” in recent memory for fans. It is very possible that Tulsa would have notched its second Power Four win with Hayes healthy at the helm.
With that said, North Texas might be the bigger story. After most of their 2025 roster scattered following former Head Coach Eric Morris’s departure, few had any idea of what to expect from the team this season. It turns out, it’s the same North Texas squad but with different faces.
The Mean Green notched 559 yards of total offense in the win, including 219 rushing yards from RB Jaheim White. This standout performance catapulted White to a per-game average of 116 yards through North Texas’ first five contests. Many pundits pointed to UTSA RB Will Henderson III as the American’s best Doak Walker Award candidate, but White has solidified himself as the conference’s true sleeper candidate.
Thursday night showed that North Texas is just as dangerous as they were last year. Though their defense remains a major liability, much of the American lacks the sheer offensive firepower to keep up with the Mean Green this season. With that, North Texas seems to have picked up where it left off in 2025.
🏆 Victory Saturday 🏆 #GMG🦅 https://t.co/oiGlvRobWJ
— UNT Football (@MeanGreenFB) October 3, 2026
Temple Stuns Undefeated USF
Somehow, North Texas’s shootout win over Tulsa may not have been the most impactful result of the weekend. Temple (2-3, 1-1 in the American) made up for two weeks of heartbreak with a 17-13 win over USF in Tampa. After giving up late scores to Toledo and Army to lose those respective games, the Owls had some late-game heroics of their own this week to come up with their big road win.
Temple QB Ajani Sheppard capped a masterful 96-yard drive with a 34-yard touchdown run with 3:08 left for the go-ahead score. Sheppard led the Owls in rushing with 87 yards, while only attempting 14 passes. On top of this performance, Temple showed even more backfield depth. Sixth-year senior RB Hunter Smith stepped in for the injured Samuel Brown V with 69 rushing yards. The Owls now have three starting-caliber backs. This is an embarrassment of riches.
Although USF addressed its pass-protection woes and allowed just one sack this weekend, its normally consistent running game struggled against the Owls. The Bulls averaged just 3.4 yards per carry on 34 attempts. RB D.J. Crowther had just 68 yards on 13 rushes a week after carrying the USF offense with 143 yards against Bowling Green.
Temple may have turned a corner with this win. The Owls’ toughest in-conference test after this comes against Memphis on Thanksgiving Weekend. A spot in the American Conference Championship Game could be on the line at Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium that week if the Owls can get hot through the heart of the season.
Meanwhile, USF must rebound quickly to avoid falling further behind in the conference race. The Bulls travel to the Alamodome on Thursday to face UTSA. In a span of days, USF could go from being a legitimate College Football Playoff contender to being on the outside of the conference title race. Such is life in the American.
Full team effort 💯 #TempleTUFF https://t.co/pc5dFacZeQ
— Temple Football (@Temple_FB) October 4, 2026
Navy Drops First Leg of the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy
Navy’s offense stalled for the second straight week in a 14-9 loss to Air Force. The Midshipmen mustered just 110 rushing yards on 30 carries. Navy had multiple opportunities to take control of the game but missed an early field goal and fumbled in Air Force territory late in the 3rd quarter.
Navy’s defense did its best to pick up the slack. Air Force gained 188 yards rushing on barely more than three yards per carry while throwing two interceptions. Still, the Zoomies methodically wore down a Midshipmen defense that was on the field for 36 minutes.
Navy QB Braxton Woodson made the start, but QB Jackson Gutierrez played most of the game. Gutierrez had multiple solid moments, throwing for 140 yards and rushing for 33, but Navy desperately needs to find more offense. Snipe (slotback) Michael Barrow led the Midshipmen with 44 yards on nine carries, but he hardly found room outside of one 18-yard run early in the game. Overall, Navy lacks consistent fullback play. FB Vic Listorti ran the ball six times against Air Force and has only seen just 17 carries over his last three games.
The Midshipmen may find some answers on offense this week against a Tulsa squad that has given up 78 points over the two weeks prior.
Big win for Cole Christiansen ’20 and the @Chiefs to remain the only unbeaten team in the AFC at 4-0 👏👏👏 📸 Kyle Rivas & David Gray https://t.co/73xp7721Yb
— Army Football (@ArmyWP_Football) October 5, 2026
UTSA Escapes Rice in Houston
Last week, we warned that UTSA could be in for a trap game, and that is exactly what happened. The Roadrunners beat Rice (1-4, 0-1 in the American) with a tight 16-14 final score. Surprisingly, the Roadrunners’ porous run defense rose to the occasion. They held Rice to just 144 rushing yards, over 100 below their season average, and to just 3.1 yards per carry. This helped the Roadrunners win the time-of-possession battle by nearly five minutes.
But while UTSA fans might be thrilled with their defense’s performance, their offense’s inconsistency after scoring 59 against Colorado State looks concerning. UTSA QB Owen McCown threw for just 148 yards and an interception on 29 attempts this week. McCown cannot afford games like this with USF, North Texas, and FAU on the upcoming schedule. Luckily, RB Will Henderson III buoyed the offense with 90 of UTSA’s 166 rushing yards.
The Roadrunners can further legitimize themselves as frontrunners in the American with a win Thursday night against USF, but UTSA’s run defense will have to rise to the occasion against another powerful running game. Nonetheless, their win over Rice looks encouraging.
Big Boy Ball 🐶 #210TriangleOfToughness | #Ubuntu https://t.co/RjovV4MdYU
— UTSA Football 🏈 (@UTSAFTBL) October 4, 2026
Other Notes from Around the American
Memphis beat winless Charlotte by multiple scores for the first time in a 59-8 embarrassment of the 49ers. QB Marcus Stokes threw for 318 yards and five touchdowns. The Tigers outgained Charlotte 674 yards to 209 and forced four turnovers.
FAU scored 21 points before running a single offensive play against Texas Southern. RB Leonard Farrow returned two kickoffs for touchdowns and DB Wilky Denaud returned a fumble 31 yards for a score to give FAU a commanding 21-3 lead within the game’s first nine minutes. The Owls never looked back in a 66-10 win. WR Kelby Valsin also caught seven passes for 126 yards and three scores. He now leads the Owls with 40 catches for 512 yards through their first five games and is a legitimate Biletnikoff Award candidate.
UAB had trouble with crosstown rival Samford early. The Blazers trailed the Bulldogs 14-13 at halftime before scoring 20 unanswered points to end the game. Star pass rusher Marlin Dean added another tackle for loss after tallying 4.5 against Navy last week. However, the secondary stole the show on defense, intercepting three passes. On offense, UAB’s physical run game paced the Blazers with 248 yards on the ground. There is hope again in the Magic City as UAB is 3-2 for the first time since its last bowl campaign, way back in 2022.
Defense making plays👀 1⃣ in The American in total yards allowed per game 2⃣ second half shutouts 4⃣ straight shutouts in the 4th quarter #WinAsOne https://t.co/nKEnJQJuDs
— UAB Football (@UAB_FB) October 5, 2026
What did you watch this weekend, friends?
