Young quarterbacks headlined the As For Football AAC preview for Week 11. Those kids delivered. However, we saw dominant running back performances and a seasoned signal caller steal the headlines this past Saturday. Meanwhile, League front runners continued to set the stage for a pair of climactic final battles, featuring national-level implications.
Tulane Struggles While SMU and UTSA Roll
As predicted in last week’s preview, New Year’s Six frontrunner Tulane (9-1, 6-0) just barely squeaked by another lowly AAC squad. This time, the Green Wave nearly fell to lowly Tulsa (3-7, 1-5). The Golden Hurricane fought back from 11-down and came within a failed two-point conversion of sending the game to overtime.
Tulane escaped with a 24-22 victory, but this was their third straight lackluster performance against an AAC bottom-feeder. Alas, freshman RB Makhi Hughes’ streak of six straight 100-yard rushing games has been all but lost in the Green Wave’s struggles. Hughes continued his campaign admirably with 131 yards rushing this week on just 19 carries (6.9 yards/carry!). This brought him over 1000 yards on the season with two regular season games plus a potential AAC Championship game remaining.
To make matters worse for the Green Wave, fellow AAC leaders SMU (8-2, 6-0) and UTSA (7-3, 6-0) both easily defeated teams that gave Tulane trouble. SMU QB Preston Stone only threw 20 passes against North Texas (3-7, 1-5), while SMU RB Jaylan Knighton galloped to a 129 yards game on the ground. With that, the Mustangs whooped up on the Mean Green, winning 45-21. Similarly, UTSA out-rushed Rice (4-6, 2-4) 199 yards to 47 on their way to a sterling 34-14 win over the Owls.
Two games will define what remains of the AAC season. First comes this week’s big showdown, SMU at Memphis (8-2, 5-1). Second, Black Friday’s marquee AAC match-up, UTSA at Tulane. If Tulane defeats UTSA the day after Thanksgiving, they will still probably struggle against either SMU or Memphis (8-2, 5-1), both of whom have mostly been a good bit better than their 8-2 records would seemingly indicate.
Makhi Hughes: remember the name! First freshman in @GreenWaveFB history to rush for 1,000 yards AND the NCAA leader for consecutive 100 yard rushing games
— The American (@American_Conf) November 16, 2023
The freshman has filled Tyjae Spear's shoes in a major way and now hear all about him as he joins @Morgan_Uber in The… pic.twitter.com/sku16ruN0c
Memphis Stays in the Hunt
With four teams vying for spots in the conference title game and numerous near-upsets, the American has arguably the most parity of any league in the FBS. Charlotte’s (3-7, 2-4) overtime loss to Memphis proves this point. Memphis needed a field goal with just 35 seconds remaining to force overtime. RB Blake Watson then scored in extra time, allowing the Tigers to escape with a win.
This week’s struggle aside, Memphis still only has one conference loss. They therefore still have a realistic path both to the AAC title game and perhaps to the New Year’s Six if they can win out.
Meanwhile, Charlotte continues to show promise and could perhaps become a bowl team next year. Sophomore RB Hahsaun Wilson put up 198 yards rushing and 3 rushing touchdowns for the 49ers after notching just one carry in his two-year career. Getting that kind of production off the depth chart shows the potency of Charlotte’s offense, giving them something to build on going forward.
Make An Impact 💪#ALLIN | #GoTigersGo pic.twitter.com/PXwi2gG3YS
— Memphis Football (@MemphisFB) November 15, 2023
Young Movement Delivers in Tampa
Last week’s preview spotlighted the quarterback matchup between Temple’s E.J. Warner and USF’s Byrum Brown. That matchup delivered. Warner went 24/47 passing for 280 yards, 3 touchdowns and 3 interceptions. Brown bettered that by going 18/26 for 316 yards through the air, though he threw for just 1 touchdown and 1 interception, and he took *6* sacks.
With all those sacks, Temple (3-7, 1-5) actually held Brown to -14 yards rushing on the day. Thankfully, the rest of the Bulls’ rushing attack picked up the slack. USF (5-5, 3-3) ran for 135 yards and held the ball for 32:14 time-of-possession. The Bulls got up 20-10 at the half and 27-10 by the end of the third quarter. Warner and the Owls rallied to score 13 unanswered in the final period but fell just short of completing the comeback.
Final score: USF 27, Temple 23.
The Bulls now need either a massive upset on the road this week at UTSA or a home win against Charlotte in their final home game in order to play in the postseason.
"Truly growing your program from the inside out, building mental toughness, physical toughness, camaraderie among the team, leadership within the team. That's where we're headed.''
— USF Football (@USFFootball) November 15, 2023
– @CoachGolesh
Bulls seek big primetime road win at UTSA Friday ⤵️https://t.co/O3d56t41mw
Arline Takes To The Skies For Navy
Navy QB Xavier Arline is doing his best Geno Smith impersonation. Navy fans tried to write him off, but “he ain’t write back”. Arline’s comeback has become one of college football’s best feel-good stories this season.
In 15 career games before his start at Temple, Arline had gone just 15/41 passing for a meager 254 yards. In his last two starts alone, however, he has nearly doubled his career output in both completions and yards, going 13/25 through the air for 218 total yards. His efficiency made the difference against UAB (3-7, 2-4). He completed a career-best 7/10 passes for 94 yards and a touchdown, providing his beleaguered offense a much-needed spark in a must-win game. Navy DB Rayuan Lane’s Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium-record 97-yard pick-six then sealed a dominant 31-6 win over the Blazers.
Navy (4-5, 3-3) could cause chaos for bowl committees should they beat either East Carolina (2-8, 1-5) or SMU in the next two weeks. They would then head into America’s Game with a 5-6 record.
.@CollegeGameDay is returning to America’s Game on Dec. 9 🇺🇸#ArmyNavy pic.twitter.com/agsf7xkdx0
— Army-Navy Game (@ArmyNavyGame) November 11, 2023
Conrad Kicks East Carolina To An Upset Win
East Carolina continued their upward trajectory since losing to Tulane. This week, they got an upset win over bowl-hopeful FAU (4-6, 3-3). Pirates’ K Andrew Conrad kicked 5 field goals to bring his season total to an impressive 16. The Pirates’ defense then held the Owls to 172 yards of total offense and sacked FAU QB Daniel Richardson 5 times.
East Carolina goes into this week’s game against Navy with significant momentum. Despite their struggles earlier in the year, the Pirates could realistically walk away from Annapolis with a season-ruining upset over the Midshipmen this Saturday.
👉👆👈 pic.twitter.com/rJHxiidzve
— ECU Football (@ECUPiratesFB) November 14, 2023
Current Bowl Projections
Peach Bowl
Tulane vs. Alabama
Military Bowl
Memphis vs. Virginia Tech
Fenway Bowl
UTSA vs. Syracuse
First Responder Bowl
SMU vs. West Virginia
Hawaii Bowl
Rice vs. Boise State
Birmingham Bowl
USF vs. South Alabama
Go Army! Beat Coastal Carolina!!!
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