Offensive explosions and blowouts dominated the Week Six AAC slate. A trio of teams made statements with blowout wins, while the one close game had an unbelievable finish for the ages. In the end, a new bowl contender emerged, a league power reminded the conference of its presence, and an unbeaten team exorcized road demons against a hated rival.
Heidenreich and Horvath Ground Air Force
Navy avenged over a decade of road woes against Air Force with a 34-7 win. This victory marked the Midshipmen’s first on the road against the Falcons since 2012 and its largest in the series since 1978. Although the final stats were not as gaudy as we’ve seen the past two weeks, Navy QB Blake Horvath completed nine of his 15 passes for 134 yards and ran for another 115 yards. SB Eli Heidenreich had one of the greatest performances ever by a Navy slotback with 100 rushing yards on six carries plus 101 receiving yards. Heidenreich became the first Midshipman — ever — with 100 rushing yards and 100 receiving yards.
The Midshipmen defense held the Falcons to 158 yards of total offense, 45 of which came in a garbage-time drive against Navy’s backups. The Mids now have a bye week to get over any rivalry hangover. They next face a rising Charlotte squad.
Good morning to YOUR 5-0 @navyfb Midshipmen!
— Navy Athletics (@NavyAthletics) October 6, 2024
Highlights from the 34-7 win at Air Force: pic.twitter.com/LUbZT2QbD0
Charlotte Offense Explodes in Tar Heel State Tussle
Charlotte continued improving with a surprising 55-24 win over East Carolina. The 49ers used an efficient ground attack to dismantle the Pirates. RB Hashaun Wilson ran for 164 yards and three touchdowns on just 15 carries for a Charlotte attack that totaled 311 rushing yards. At the same time, Charlotte QB DeShawn Purdie solidified himself as the 49ers’ starter a week after coming off the bench to lead their comeback win over Rice. Purdue threw for 206 yards and played mistake-free football.
Charlotte now sits at 3-3, but the 49ers’ road to a bowl remains arduous. They will face Navy, Memphis, Tulane, and USF in their next four games. Still, the win over East Carolina shows that the 49ers can compete. They might just catch one of these schools looking ahead.
Meanwhile, East Carolina’s offense struggled after falling behind early. QB Jake Garcia’s tenure as ECU’s starter might be over given that Pirates Head Coach Mike Houston benched him for backup Katin Houser towards the end of the first half. The Pirates have a bye week to either get Houser comfortable or to let Garcia redeem himself. However, they face Army after the bye. That’s the very last opponent any team wants to have quarterback issues against right now.
Sleep tight Niner Nation 🛌#GoldStandard⛏️ pic.twitter.com/hiJEVQC6vD
— Charlotte Football (@CharlotteFTBL) October 6, 2024
Tulane Embarrasses UAB in Birmingham
Tulane’s 71-20 win over UAB likely received the most national attention of any AAC game this week. The Green Wave accumulated less than 500 yards of total offense, but a kickoff return touchdown and three interceptions, including a pick-six, led to 28 points. RB Makhi Hughes continued his race to a second straight 1,000-yard season with 119 yards rushing and a pair of rushing touchdowns. While much of the national buzz surrounds Army and Navy, Tulane showed that they are still very much a threat to win the conference again.
Much of the country likely wrote the Green Wave off after their pair of Power Four losses. This was premature.
UAB tried to rejuvenate its struggling offense by starting Florida transfer QB Jalen Kitna over the incumbent Jacob Zeno, who was out with a shoulder injury. However, Kitna struggled, completing less than 50% of his passes while throwing three picks. That plus UAB’s struggles against the run turned this one into a disaster. In fact, this game marked UAB’s second-most points-allowed ever. This was the team’s worst performance since giving up 72 points to Kansas way back in 1994.
UAB now looks like a shell of the program that consistently contended for Conference USA titles back in the Bill Clark era. The fan interest in various crowd shots of the game showed declining involvement in a program that is all but falling apart. Like East Carolina but without the bye week, UAB must somehow now rectify its offensive struggles and quarterback identity crisis at Michie Stadium against Army.
Heartbreak in Hartford
Temple-UConn became easily the league’s most thrilling game this week. The Huskies escaped with a 29-20 win in a game that saw seven lead changes.
The Owls put on their best defensive performance of the season, holding UConn’s vaunted run game to just 99 yards rushing, over 140 yards below the Huskies’ season average. The Owls also scored on a blocked punt. Even former starting QB Forrest Brock performed well in Evan Simon’s absence.
UConn took a late 23-20 lead, but Brock led Temple down the field in the final four minutes to the UConn one-yard-line. The Owls seemed destined for victory until they fumbled on a quarterback sneak. UConn’s Jordan Wright returned the fumble 96 yards for a deceiving 29-20 win.
Temple slid to 1-5 on the year, but they looked much better than the team the experts picked to finish last in the AAC during the preseason. The Owls could pick up wins against Tulsa, FAU, and even UTSA to distance themselves further from the league’s cellar. However, earning a bowl berth at this point would require them to beat either Tulane or North Texas. This seems unlikely though it remains at least somewhat possible.
About last night… #CTFootball #ProtectTheRent pic.twitter.com/qlquq51Etc
— UConn Football (@UConnFootball) October 6, 2024
Go Army! BEAT UAB!!!
Cover image via @CharlotteFTBL.
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