AAC Power Rankings: Week 8
I sure did stir up a hornets’ nest of Vols fans with my thoughts on Butch Jones’ recruiting last week. By the way, I don’t care if Butch has a few “highly ranked” classes in a row at UT. The arbitrary two-digit number and little stars some guy at Rivals or 247 gives a player after watching 30 minutes of tape on him is meaningless. Mark Dantonio and Brian Kelly recruited numerous “two-star” players who went on to the NFL, because they actually had the ability to evaluate talent (Wolfe, Nakamura, Celek, Linkenbach, Barwin, Mickens, Bujnoch, Pike, Binns, and Schaeffer were all “two-star” players who have played or still play on Sundays). Jones clearly does not have that same ability to evaluate talent. He may have the ability to pick the top guys off a list (that somebody else – Rivals, ESPN, or 247 – made) and convince a few of them to play in the SEC in front of 100,000 fans, but any average “Joe Public” can do that. It takes skill to sift through the hordes of two- and three-star players and find the ones who can actually play major college football. The talent on this roster is a glaring example that Lyle Jones lacks that skill.
Anyway… Here are my Week 8 AAC Power Rankings:
1. East Carolina (Last Week: 1) – Week 8 Bye, 5-1 (2-0)
ECU had the weekend off as they prepare to host UConn for an ESPN-U Thursday night game. Just a side note: Roger Goodell, I know you are reading the AAC Power Rankings. The NFL should do what college football does for these Thursday night games: The two teams slated to play on a given Thursday night must have been on a bye week the week prior. This basically gives the teams two “half” bye weeks. 10 days before and 10 days after a Thursday night game. With the beating they take, it’s unfair to make pro football players play on 4-days’ rest, especially the road team. It’s no coincidence that the road team almost always loses (and usually gets blown out) on Thursdays in the NFL. Okay, I’ll step down from my soapbox now.
2. UCF (LW: 2) – Win 20-13 vs. Tulane, 4-2 (2-0)
This game was one of the ugliest and sloppiest I’ve seen in a while. Both teams had issues with longsnapping that caused turnovers, and UCF yanked ineffective starting QB Justin Holman briefly in the second quarter. The Knights were actually outgained, and managed just 233 total yards. Overall, it was an underwhelming victory for UCF, but that has become the norm for this team over the past two seasons. We all remember the close call after close call they had last year en route to finishing unbeaten in the league and then winning the Fiesta Bowl. I sure wouldn’t bet on this team to cover the spread, but with their remaining schedule, it certainly looks as if they’ll be favored to win their next four, which would create a de facto league title game when they visit ECU in December.
3. Houston (LW: 4) – Won 31-10 vs. Temple, 4-3, (2-1)
Houston sure looks like a pretty good team right now in this conference. They definitely looked better than UCF this week, but I can’t put them above the Knights since UCF did beat them two weeks ago. Greg Ward, Jr. played another excellent game, and was very accurate throwing the football. Come the end of the year, the Cougars may be shaking their head and wondering what could have been if not for that ill-timed fumble at the goal line in the final minute against UCF. They now need a slip-up to get back into the AAC race, as they do not play ECU head-to-head and would lose the head-to-head tie-breaker to UCF.
4. Memphis (LW: 5) – Week 8 Bye, 3-3, (1-1)
Had the week off, and visit lowly SMU next week.
5. Temple (LW: 3) – Lost 31-10 at Houston, 4-2 (2-1)
Has Temple been a pretender all along in the conference race? It sure looks that way. Before Friday night, the Owls were off to a solid start to the 2014 season, but were untested. They did beat an SEC team, but that win looks worse and worse every week – Vanderbilt is really bad this year. Facing their first real test, the Owls did not have a good night. PJ Walker was Struggle Jones, going just 12-for-29 and chucking 3 picks against just one TD. It won’t get any easier for the Owls, who visit UCF and then host ECU for their next two. Will they descend to full “pretender” status, or climb back into the AAC title race?
6. Cincinnati (LW: 6) – Won 41-3 at SMU, 3-3 (1-1)
This was a very encouraging bounceback performance for the Bearcats. Yes, it was against SMU, so take it with a grain of salt, but I was especially encouraged by the defensive effort. The Bearcats allowed a season-low 99 rushing yards, a sight for sore eyes after UC’s previous three opponents had bludgeoned this defense for an average of 338 yards per game on the ground. The defense also forced a season-high four turnovers. Again, it was against one of the worst teams in the FBS, but it sure was nice to be the hammer instead of the nail for once. Cincinnati is now no longer dead last in total defense, either. The solid effort allowed UC to move up two spots from #125 to #123. When you’re done laughing, keep reading below.
One would hope that this game will help the ‘Cats get some positive momentum going for conference play. UC continues a soft stretch in the schedule in the two weeks to come, hosting USF before visiting Tulane. There are no excuses to lose either game. It is imperative that the Bearcats beat the teams they are supposed to beat if this team is to play in the postseason, because East Carolina and Houston are starting to play like dynamos.
Also, UC is starting to challenge USF in the Cool Helmet Power Rankings. I was definitely a fan of the flat red headgear the ‘Cats wore in Dallas.
7. USF (LW: 7) – Won 38-30 at Tulsa, 3-4 (2-1)
It looked like USF was dead in the water when they trailed 27-7 at the half in Tulsa. But the Bulls came back with a vengeance after the break, and scored four second-half TDs to beat Tulsa on the road. The Bulls scored three times on an 84-yd pass and two long TD runs against the Hurricane, so UC must solve its issues with giving up the big play when the Bulls visit PBS on Friday night. The big plays may have had more to do with the Tulsa meltdown than USF actually being good on offense, but UC must be vigilant this week. The Bulls salvaged their postseason hopes for now, but will have to pull multiple upsets in order to go bowling this season.
8. Tulsa (LW: 8) – Lost 38-30 vs. USF, 1-4 (1-1)
As noted above, it looked like Tulsa was going to blow out USF at home, leading 27-7 at the half. But the Golden Hurricane had a nuclear meltdown in the second half, giving up several big plays to the Bulls. The opening night OT win over Tulane may end up being the highlight of the year for Tulsa.
9. Tulane (LW: 9) – Lost 20-13 at UCF, 2-5 (1-2)
Tulane is another team that may already have its best days of this season in the rear-view mirror. They did keep in close against UCF, but they lack the offensive firepower to truly have a chance to win many more games this season. Their only shot to get one may be against Temple.
10. UConn (LW: 10) – Week 8 Bye, 1-5 (0-3)
Had the week off. See #1 ECU.
11. SMU (LW: 11) – vs. Cincinnati, 0-5 (0-1)
I feel bad for these kids. They are simply out-manned every week.