It’s just week two, and the American Conference is already at peak excitement. America’s Conference notched a pair of Power Four wins and escaped a couple of upset bids against fellow Group of Five schools. We got plenty of excitement this week.
Let’s get into it!
USF Beats Florida For the First Time
USF continued its hot start with an 18-16 win over Florida. This was the program’s first over the Gators. The Bulls have now defeated every other FBS program in the state. QB Byrum Brown cemented himself in the early Heisman race with 263 passing yards and 66 rushing yards. Brown led the Bulls on an 87-yard drive in the final 2:25 to set up Nico Gramatica’s game-winning 20-yard field goal as time expired.
While everyone expected USF Head Coach Alex Golesh’s offense to excel, his defense has also been stout. The Bulls followed up their stellar performance in game one with a 16-point performance against the Gators. They also forced a safety that proved to be the margin of victory.
USF hopes to continue its magical run against Miami (FL) this weekend. The Bulls are now ranked #18 in the AP Poll, their first ranking since 2018. With a win, they could disrupt the legitimacy of the Florida Cup. But even with a loss against the Hurricanes, the Bulls still figure to be a College Football Playoff frontrunner.
Checking in with the @PopTartsUS Crazy Good Team of the Week 🤪#ComeToTheBay | #StayInTheBay pic.twitter.com/9b4GwbIHDO
— USF Football (@USFFootball) September 9, 2025
Tulane Survives Scare From South Alabama
Tulane fell behind 14-0 to South Alabama, but rallied to win a 33-31 thriller over the Jaguars. The Green Wave nearly squandered a 33-17 lead in the last ten minutes. Luckily, they stopped a two-point conversion and recovered an onside kick with a minute left.
QB Jake Retzlaff had yet another quality game both on the ground and through the air, throwing for 125 yards and rushing for 64. However, the defense showed some cause for concern. South Alabama WR Devin Voisin had 152 yards on eight catches, while RB Kentrel Bullock ran for 107 yards. Tulane will need to address these issues before facing Duke and Ole Miss in the coming weeks.
UTSA Loses Battle of I-35 Against Texas State
UTSA lost to its in-state rival for the second year in a row as the Roadrunners could not stop Texas State Coach G.J. Kinne’s high-octane offensive scheme. UTSA allowed Bobcat QB Brad Jackson to turn 12 completions into 286 yards. Texas State receivers Beau Sparks and Chris Dawn caught just seven of those completions for a whopping 264 yards!
UTSA fell behind early but managed to take the lead back early in the third quarter on a 75-yard Robert Henry Jr. touchdown run. Still, Texas State got the best of a back-and-forth battle in the second half, winning on a long bomb pass to Beau Sparks with 10 minutes remaining in regulation. That touchdown and an early goal line stand by the Bobcats decided the game.
Despite the loss, UTSA RB Robert Henry had another stellar game with 159 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Henry figures to be an early Doak Walker frontrunner with 336 yards and ten yards per carry in his first two games.
Rice and Charlotte Cannot Overcome In-State Power Four Schools
Charlotte’s defense kept them in this one, but an anemic offense could not deliver against North Carolina. The 49ers held the Tar Heels to 303 yards, but it wasn’t enough. WR Javen Nicholas proved the long bright spot on offense with 11 catches for 122 yards. Through two games, Charlotte has scored just 14 points. Their defense will maybe give them a chance in conference play, but they’ll have to average more than a touchdown going forward.
Rice’s option offense could not guide them to victory against crosstown rival, Houston. The Owls gained just 154 rushing yards and 205 total yards in a 35-9 blowout. The Owls hung around early, trailing 7-3 at halftime. But Houston scored 14 unanswered in the second half to pull away.
Rice QB Quinton Jackson could not build on his 119-yard performance against Louisiana, gaining just 52 yards against the Cougars. Rice’s passing game continued to be accurate, bringing their completion percentage for the season to 82 percent. But a mere 52 passing yards weren’t enough to keep this one close.
Former Owl, RB Dean Connors, led Houston to the win with 132 yards in a transfer portal “payback” game. While Rice’s new option offense does avoid turnovers, it leaves much to be desired on the scoreboard.
Other Notes From Around the League
North Texas overcame a 24-10 deficit to beat Western Michigan, 33-30, in overtime. UNT QB Drew Mestemaker continued to impress with 224 yards and a pair of touchdowns while RB Makenzie McGill II ran for 102 yards. Still, the Mean Green defense could not stop a one-dimensional Western Michigan attack from gaining 216 rushing yards. North Texas must improve this quickly given their upcoming road trip to Michie Stadium.
Navy overcame multiple rain delays to avoid another 2024 Rice scenario. They beat UAB, 38-24. FB Alex Tecza ran for over 100 yards while QB Blake Horvath completed six of his eight passes for 168 yards and a touchdown. Horvath added 72 rushing yards and a pair of rushing touchdowns for good measure. The Midshipmen defense showed some weakness, though, allowing UAB QB Jalen Kitna to throw for 304 yards, though they intercepted two passes to kill crucial Blazer drives late in the game.
The Memphis defense held Georgia State to 73 non-sack rushing yards and sacked transfer portal vagabond QB T.J. Finley three times in a 38-16 win. Tiger RB Makari Bodiford ran for a pair of touchdowns, while WR Brendon Lewis had 264 total yards in the win over the lowly Panthers.
FAU QB Caden Veltkamp threw for five touchdowns in the Owls 56-14 win over Florida A&M, while East Carolina also scored 56 in their own win over in-state FCS rival Campbell, winning 56-3. ECU QB Katin Houser’s threw for 314 yards, and the Pirate defense held Campbell to just 151 yards of total offense on the day.
Temple QB Evan Simon threw for three touchdown passes on ten passes in a 55-7 win against Howard. The Owl defense again looked impressive, holding the Bison to 121 yards of total offense and a mere 39 yards passing. The Owls are now 2-0 for the first time since their magical year in 2015 when they went 10-4 and won the conference championship.
Tulsa lost a 21-14 heartbreaker to former Missouri Valley Conference foe New Mexico State. Worse, Golden Hurricane QB Kirk Francis left with a concussion. But his backup, Baylor Hayes, performed admirably. Hayes went 14/17 passing for 135 yards and added a rushing touchdown in relief. He better rise to the occasion again this week, though, with Navy coming to town.
So far, so good for America’s Conference. How long can this bunch continue to rise on the national stage?
Go Army! Beat North Texas!!!
