AAC Power Rankings: Week 2

A pretty lackluster week for the conference.  “Good losses” to go around, but no unexpected wins.  At least it wasn’t as bad as the Big Ten’s weekend.

Here are my post-Week 2 American Conference power rankings:

1. Cincinnati (Last Week: 1) Week 2 Bye, 0-0 (0-0) – Is it Friday yet?  Still #1 until further notice, since the Bearcats were the preseason AAC favorites.  The ‘Cats have moved up in the polls despite not playing yet, so I’m not the only one who thinks this team will be pretty good.  But seriously, is it Friday yet?

2. East Carolina (LW: 2) Lost 33-23 at #21 South Carolina, 1-1 (0-0) – ECU put up a pretty darn good fight on the road against a ranked Gamecocks squad.  The game was close throughout, and the Pirates led several times.  Shane Carden did throw two picks, but he’s going to be a tough matchup for everyone in The American this year.  Their murderers’ row schedule continues next week with a trip to Blacksburg to face a now 17th-ranked Va Tech team (who is, of course, fresh off an upset of Ohio State-Columbus Branch).

3. UCF (LW: 3) Week 2 Bye, 0-1 (0-0) – The Knights stay at #3 after their week 2 bye and a last-second loss to Penn State in Week 1.  They visit #20 Mizzou on Saturday, so keep an eye on that one.

4. Temple (LW: 4) Lost 31-24 vs. Navy, 1-1 (0-0) – After putting up Week 1’s most surprising showing in a blowout of Vandy, Temple fell at home to a solid Navy team.  Not a bad loss at all, especially since Navy will most likely be an AAC contender when they join next season.

5. Memphis (LW: 8) Lost 42-35 at #11 UCLA, 1-1, (0-0) – Okay, maybe Memphis might be able to play a little.  I thought this game would be a blowout, but the Tigers opened my eyes on Saturday, when they managed to find themselves tied with #11 UCLA at 35-all in the fourth quarter.  I think UCLA may be overrated after two lackluster showings thus far, but still, not a bad loss for Memphis.  Apparently the Tigers have opened some other eyes, too.  Memphis received four votes in the coaches’ poll this week.

6. Tulsa (LW: 6) Lost 52-7 vs. Oklahoma, 1-1 (1-0) – No shame in getting beat by a top five ranked Sooners team.  UC did it in ’08, and ended up in the Orange Bowl at years’ end.  The Hurricane are still alone in first place in the conference for now.

7. Houston (LW: 7) Won 47-0 vs. Grambling, 1-1, (0-0) – After sputtering against UT-San Antonio to start the year, I’m sure the Cougars appreciated having a slump-buster from the FCS on the schedule in Week 2.  I still think Houston will bounce back during conference play, but we’ll see.  Not sure they have what it takes to win on the road at #25 BYU this week.

8. USF (LW: 9) Lost 24-17 vs. Maryland, 1-1 (0-0) – USF led this game at the break, but was victimized by a blocked punt for a TD and shut out in the second half.  Maryland isn’t good, but they’re also not awful, so this would have been a big win.  Not to be.  They get another crack at the ACC next week, when NC State comes to visit the Pirate Ship Palace.

9. Tulane (LW: 10) Lost 38-21 vs. Georgia Tech, 0-2 (0-1) – The Wave actually put up a decent fight in the first half against Georgia Tech, but that’s where it ended.  They have a few intriguing matchups against middling Power Five schools Duke and Rutgers, so we’ll know more about the Wave in a few more weeks.

10. UConn (LW: 11) Won 19-16 vs. Stony Brook, 1-1 (0-0) – The Huskies eeked out a 19-16 win against FCS Stony Brook, but are spared from sitting in the last spot this week by SMU’s ineptitude.

11. SMU (LW: 5) Lost 43-6 at North Texas, 0-2 (0-0) – After last week’s loss to #10 Baylor, I said that the Mustangs could eventually turn things around and finish in the top half of the league.  After this week’s 43-6 loss to North Texas (yes, forty-three to six), I officially take back those words.  Losing so badly against a fellow DFW-Metroplex team has to be sour for SMU alums, too.  No doubt that they will be seriously ridiculed around the water cooler this week at work.