A Look At The AAC

The UH/AAC Report: Coogs win ugly as other AAC teams stay dominant

Jermaine Every
Oct 23, 2019, 5:25 am
UH Football Official Twitter Account

The Coogs won a game in which they were outperformed. There were also some dominant performances by other AAC heavyweights. Here's what Week Eight in the AAC looked like from my point of view:

UH outlasts UConn

In a game in which they were outperformed in every statistical category except turnover margin (+1), the Coogs managed to beat the Huskies 24-17. I don't give a damn how ugly it looked, but winning on the road against a conference opponent in what some may deem as a "tanking" season is still impressive to me! After dad was caught pitching a fit on the sideline, Young Holgorsen threw a 58-yard bomb that proved to be a game-winning score at the end of the 3rd quater. Now 3-4 on the season (1-2 in the AAC), they only need three more wins for bowl eligibility; something that was unfathomable a few weeks ago.

Other key results

SMU 45, Temple 21: The Mustangs stayed undefeated by totally dominmating the Owls. They outgained the Owls by 382 yards behind Shane Buechele and Reggie Roberson's unstoppable connection.

Memphis 47, Tulane 17: The Green Wave were mauled by the Tigers' Kenneth Gainwell and his record-breaking performance. Add in Brady White throwing five touchdown passes, and it was a recipe for disaster.

Cincinnati 24, Tulsa 13: The Bearcats pulled out a win to advance to 6-1 and stay ranked (#21). Had it not been for five turnovers, the Golden Hurricanes could've pulled off an upset.

Stars of the week

Shane Buechele, QB, SMU: He completed 56.6% of his passes, but threw for 457 yards and six touchdowns. His day was made easier because...

Reggie Roberson Jr., WR, SMU: ...had eight catches for 250 yards and three touchdowns. He made Buechele's job much easier because he was wide open most of the day. Great performances by both guys.

Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Memphis: Gainwell became the first Memphis Tiger ever and the first FBS player since LA Tech's Troy Edwards in 1997 to have 100+ yards rushing and 200+ yards receiving in a game. Oh, and he scored three touchdowns as well.

Games to watch this week

SMU @ UH

Tulane @ Navy

UCF @ Temple

Players to watch this week

Logan Holgorsen, UH: Perhaps it should be Clayton Tune who should be here. Either way, the quarterback play for the Coogs will be critical this week if they look to knock off the undefeated Mustangs.

Malcolm Perry, Navy: Coming off a record-setting performance they gave up to Memphis' Gainwell, will the Midshipmen's Perry be able to put up ridiculous stats as well?

Kenneth Gainwell, Memphis: Speaking of Gainwell, will he be able to repeat or come close to repeating last week's performance this week against the Golden Hurricanes?

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A Look At The AAC

The UH/AAC Report: with UH off, the rest off the AAC delivered some action

With only four games on the slate this week and the Coogs off, there was still some exciting football in the AAC this week. Let's take a look at week 11:

Coogs had a week off

With a week off, the Coogs also stayed out of the news. No crazy rumors or stories from national media members to address this week. The team had a normal week of practice in preparation for their big game next week against Memphis as the Tigers come to town ranked No. 21 sporting an 8-1 record.

Other key results

Tulsa 34, UCF 31: To say the luster is off UCF as a bully in the AAC would be accurate. While they have tons of talent, nobody fears them the way they did in years past. They've lost more games this year than they have the past two years.

SMU 59, ECU 51: Whenever a top team in the conference struggles to beat a bottom feeder, two narratives are put out: A) the favorite underestimated the underdog, or B) the underdog caught the favorite off guard. Either way, SMU put another notch in the win column and continues to march towards a decent bowl game.

Temple 17, USF 7: The Owls became bowl eligible with a well balanced offensive attack against the Bulls. 167 yards through the air and another 153 on the ground kept the attack even. Despite a -60 penalty yard margin, the Owls managed to grind out a win.

Stars Of The Week

Shane Buechele, QB, SMU: Buechele's 33/46 for 414 yards and five touchdowns were very necessary to pull out the eight point win over ECU. He put up video game numbers partly because...

James Proche & Kylen Granson, WRs, SMU: ...these two combined for 21 catches for 305 yards and accounted for all five of Buechele's passing touchdowns. They caught 73.6% of Burchele's passing yards. Had ECU applied more pressure and/or covered better, they may have won this game.

Cincinnati Rushing Attack: In a 45-point win, you'd imagine there were some crazy number put up. The Bearcats ran the ball 43 times for 307 yards for a 7.1 yards per carry average and four touchdowns. For comparion sake, UConn ran 40 times for only 148 yards and of course didn't score a touchdown.

Games To Watch This Week

Tulane @ Temple

#24 Navy @ #15 Notre Dame

#20 Cincinnati @ USF

Players To Watch This Week

Malcolm Perry, Navy: Facing the #15 ranked Fighting Irish in a midday showdown on national television gives Perry a chance to shine. I can't wait to see what he can do against a defacto Power 5 school.

Justn McMillan, Tulane: Going East and facing Temple at 11am CST will be a slight body clock test for the Green Wave. McMillan is their leading passer and rusher. He, like the aforementioned Perry, will get to prove himself on the road against a tough opponent.

Cincinnati Rushing Attack: The Bearcats average 202.4 yards per game on the ground. USF averages giving up 194 yards per game on the ground. I fully expect the game to be won or lost depending upon who wins this battle.

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