After a Week One filled with Power Four games and FCS tune-ups, the American slate for Week Two has a good bit more intrigue. Not only can the conference clinch defining wins over ranked teams, but league play begins for four schools. While most conferences lull through the opening month, the stakes are already high in the American.
Without further ado, let’s go #AroundTheAmerican.
Temple Resumes Its Rivalry With Penn State
After quieting upset concerns against Rhode Island, Temple hosts #16 Penn State in the first meeting in this series since 2016. The Owls have a rare opportunity to notch a win in one of college football’s most lopsided series. The Nittany Lions lead the series 40-4-1 and went unbeaten in 38 straight meetings from 1943 to 2014.
Many project the Owls to exit their early 2020s doldrums this year after a resurgent 2025 campaign that saw them go 5-7. Their defense stymied Rhode Island and returned two interceptions for touchdowns, while RB Keveun Mason ran for 158 yards. Unfortunately, Penn State played well against both of Temple’s strengths in their first game against Marshall. Penn State QB Rocco Becht threw for 271 yards and four touchdowns on just 18 passes, while the Nittany Lions’ defense held Marshall to 44 rushing yards.
A win against Penn State would immediately put Temple into the early College Football Playoff conversation, but more importantly, it would signify the Owls’ return as American Conference mainstays.
Let's go! 🦉😤#TempleTUFF pic.twitter.com/Lfw9CpgUsW
— Temple Football (@Temple_FB) September 9, 2026
American Faces Two Top 10 Teams
The American Conference enters as heavy underdogs in both of its Top 10 match-ups this weekend. Rice is a 43.5-point underdog to #3 Notre Dame, while Ole Miss is a 47.5-point favorite against Charlotte. Despite the similarly robust lines, these teams find themselves in very different places. Rice started the season with a dominant 31-3 win over Houston Christian, where they ran for 458 yards. Conversely, Charlotte just lost to The Citadel, and hope for the 2026 season is already fading.
Rice’s triple-option should pester the Fighting Irish early, even though Notre Dame held Wisconsin to 67 rushing yards. In the other game, let’s hope Charlotte QB Cole Gonzales can make things interesting early against Ole Miss. Gonzales threw for 322 yards and three touchdowns while adding two rushing touchdowns last week. If he limits his interceptions after throwing two last week, the 49ers could maybe surprise the country with a better level of play overall.
The American and New PAC-12 Finally Face Off
The PAC-12’s offseason rebuild led to some lively discussion over the past few months. PAC-12 fans did not shy away from trying to reclaim the conference’s status as a Power Conference or, at the very least, as a conference with a claim as the preeminent league among Group of Six. Whatever their status, two games against the American this week will go a long way toward shaping the national perception of both leagues.
Boise State hosts Memphis, and UTSA will travel to Texas State in respective battles for Group of Six supremacy. In fact, Boise State-Memphis may as well be a de facto playoff game. The Broncos cemented themselves as College Football Playoff contenders with their near-upset of Oregon last week, while Memphis earned a key win over Mountain West favorite UNLV in Week 0.
Memphis brings a high-powered running game to Boise, averaging 265 yards per game on the ground. RB Jaylin Carter leads the way with 280 yards. A strong performance could put him into the early Heisman conversation. The Tigers will need all of that and more to get a win this weekend.
Meanwhile, there’s no love lost between UTSA and Texas State. Their I-35 rivalry has been hotly contested over the past few years. This year, the Roadrunners seek their first win in the series since 2023. QB Owen McCown and RB Will Henderson III lead a balanced attack that gained 527 yards against UT-Rio Grande Valley last weekend. The duo could thrive against a Texas State defense that allowed 59 points and 516 yards to Texas last week.
Suited up in the icy whites ❄️#210TriangleOfToughness | #Ubuntu pic.twitter.com/alGKoZBdQr
— UTSA Football 🏈 (@UTSAFTBL) September 10, 2026
Conference Play Begins
Along with USF-Army, FAU and Navy will begin their American Conference slates this Saturday. Both teams started on opposite ends of the competitive spectrum. Navy began the Braxton Woodson Era with 506 rushing yards in a 42-15 win. However, their secondary gave up multiple big passes to a Towson team that managed just 18 points against Maine the week prior. Of course, this could help FAU’s air raid attack get back on track after a 276-yard day from Caden Veltkamp where he averaged just five yards per attempt in the Owls’ 66-21 loss to Florida.
Given Navy’s secondary lapses and Florida Atlantic’s porous run defense — they allowed 281 yards against Florida — this could be a high-scoring affair. Here’s hoping for a shootout.
Best of the Rest
North Texas hosts UNLV in what many thought would be a game with Playoff implications before the season. The Mean Green were more competitive against Indiana than the 52-16 final score indicates in that they allowed just 334 yards of total offense. Still, they must clean up their special teams play and find a way to break through against a tough UNLV defense that allows just 17 points per game.
Down in New Orleans, Tulane looks ready to start their second quarterback of the season this week against South Alabama. QB Kadin Semonza should start this week after QB Zeon Chriss-Gremillion mustered just 79 yards of total offense before he was benched in a brutal 17-3 loss to Duke. Even so, the Green Wave finished with just 258 yards of offense overall. Now they face a Jaguar defense that looked solid against Southeastern Louisiana last week. If the Green Wave struggle again, it may be time to consider this a rare rebuilding year.
The Trent Dilfer Era might be over, but the bad feelings from an embarrassing 2024 loss to Louisiana-Monroe remain. The Blazers look to avenge that 32-6 loss to the Warhawks this Saturday night in Birmingham. Fans should be cautiously optimistic about UAB. The Blazers looked competitive against College Football Playoff sleeper Illinois. A pick-six and a special teams mishap created last week’s deceiving 42-23 final score.
Tulsa looks to avoid an Oklahoma State hangover when it visits Sam Houston State on Saturday. They’ll need to because the Bearkats should make this one competitive. They lost to Sun Belt-West champion Troy by three points in their opener. The Golden Hurricane intercepted former North Texas phenom and current OK State QB Drew Mestemaker twice last week, holding him to just 241 passing yards in last week’s game. They will have their hands full again with Sam Houston’s QB Landyn Locke. Locke threw for 335 yards and three touchdowns last week.
Working for the weekend.#ReignCane pic.twitter.com/rMp0UXWnRp
— Tulsa Football (@TulsaFootball) September 9, 2026
Finally, after gaining just two rushing yards against Alabama, East Carolina looks to get its ground game going against in-state rival Appalachian State. Alas, the Pirates may continue to struggle against a Mountaineer defense that allowed just 52 rushing yards last week against Maine. The Mountaineers have won three straight in this series, with East Carolina’s last win coming in 2012.
What are you watching this week, friends?
Go Army! Beat USF!!!
