AAC Power Rankings: Week 3
Lots of channel changing during the Noon games on Saturday, with ECU, UCF, and UConn all in action against quality opponents. The American is starting to look like it’s going to be very top-heavy this year, as it was another bad week for most of the league.
Here are my post-Week 3 American Conference Power Rankings.
1. Cincinnati (Last Week: 1) – Won 58-34 vs. Toledo, 1-0 (0-0)
We finally got to see the Bearcats in action on Friday night, and they gave us a first half to remember, racing out to a 41-7 lead, then winning by the final of 58-34. Gunner Kiel shined in his collegiate debut, throwing for 418 yards, and tying Tony Pike’s school record with 6 Pass TDs in a single game. It was disappointing to see the Bearcats shut it down so early and let Toledo back into the game for a while, but I saw a lot more reasons to be excited than to be worried about this team.
2. East Carolina (LW: 2) – Won 28-21 at #17 Virginia Tech, 2-1 (0-0)
The Pirates came out strong on the road against VT, reaching paydirt on their first two possessions for an early lead. After letting a 21-7 fourth-quarter lead slip away, Shane Carden calmly led ECU down the field in the final two minutes and ran the ball into the end zone with 0:16 left to win the game. This guy is a cool customer, and played much better than he did in last week’s loss to South Carolina. ECU’s defensive line was giving the Hokies all they could handle up front, too. Look for ECU to start receiving votes in the polls next week. I like the Pirates’ chances to go into Chapel Hill, beat the Tar Heels next weekend, and jump into the Top 25. They’re playing very well. It would be great for the AAC and for the Bearcats if that UC-ECU showdown in November is a battle of ranked teams.
3. UCF (LW: 3) – Lost 38-10 at #20 Mizzou, 0-2 (0-0)
It’s never good to start 0-2, but at least Central Florida has played two pretty good football teams. That being said, I wasn’t impressed with what I saw from the Knights on Saturday. Several passes were literally thrown up for grabs by Justin Holman, who was constantly under pressure. The UCF defense was manhandled on the ground. Still, I can’t justify dropping UCF below Temple or Memphis at this time (especially with both on bye weeks during Week 3). I’ll cut UCF a break, since they were on the road against the defending SEC-East champs. There’s a definite gap in talent between the top three teams in The American and the middle of the pack.
4. Temple (LW: 4) – Week 3 Bye, 1-1 (0-0)
Had a bye week after a close loss against Navy in Week 2.
5. Memphis (LW: 5) – Week 3 Bye, 1-1, (0-0)
Had the week off after a close loss to UCLA. While the Tigers played well in an upset bid against a ranked team, I have to keep them below Temple. Close losses are great, but Temple actually beat (and dominated) an FBS team in Vanderbilt, so I give them the slight edge for now.
6. Houston (LW: 7) – Lost 33-25 at #25 BYU, 1-2, (0-0)
This battle between Cougars really wasn’t as close as the score indicates. BYU raced out to a 23-0 lead, led 33-15 in the 4th, and outgained Houston by 200 yards. Still, Houston managed to find themselves with the ball, down one score, with 2:48 to play. Thanks to terrible offensive line play, they had no realistic chance to drive the 88 yards in the final minutes. John O’Korn played relatively well considering that he had zero protection all night. O’Korn spent most of the night running for his life and throwing the ball away. Houston’s front seven was also chewed up all night by BYU’s running game. Still, this loss showed progress (you have nowhere to go but up after losing 27-7 to UT-San Antonio), and Houston will be a tough out in AAC play if they continue to improve.
7. Tulsa (LW: 6) – Lost 50-21 at Florida Atlantic, 1-2 (1-0)
Tulsa was destroyed on the road by Florida Atlantic, which isn’t good. But everyone below them was also equally as unimpressive, and they beat Tulane already, so they only drop to #7. Really, I could almost list teams 7-11 as 11a-11e at this point. The bottom of the league looks putrid.
8. USF (LW: 8) Lost 49-17 vs. NC State, 1-2 (0-0) – After hanging in with decent Maryland team, the Bulls were totally dominated by NC State at home this weekend. This game was never close, and NC State outgained USF 589-159. Ouch. At least Bulls’ fans can brag about how shiny those gold helmets were.
9. Tulane (LW: 9) – Won 35-20 vs. SE Louisiana, 1-2 (0-1)
I didn’t know that Southeastern Louisiana had a football team, but this still counts as a win, which the Wave will take at this point. They have a tough stretch coming up, and I could see them being 1-6 or 2-5 by the time they host UC on Halloween.
10. UConn (LW: 10) – Lost 38-21 vs. Boise State, 1-2 (0-0)
If you have two quarterbacks, you really have none. The two-quarterback system continues not to work for the Huskies. UConn hung in with Boise for three quarters, but Chandler Whitmer, who is getting the lion’s share of the split snaps at QB, tossed two INTs in the 4th, one a pick-6. The Broncos went from a dogfight to winning it going away thanks to those turnovers.
11. SMU (LW: 11) – Week 3 Bye, 0-2 (0-0)
Probably not a fun week off for the Mustangs after starting 0-2 with two embarrassing losses by a combined 88-6. Things may get worse before they get better, as SMU’s next four games are against #7 Texas A&M, TCU, East Carolina, and Cincinnati.