A LOOK AT THE AAC
The UH/AAC report: Memphis, Cincy get big wins; UH gets rolled by Oklahoma
Sep 4, 2019, 8:00 am
Photo via: UH Football/Facebook
The AAC season is under way with two teams - Cincinnati and Memphis - scoring big wins over power 5 schools. UCF continues to roll and Houston took a tough loss in its opener against OU. A look at the AAC in Week 1:
Cougars fall
New coach Dana Holgorsen inherited a flawed roster at UH, and it showed in the 49-31 loss to Oklahoma. The Cougar defense was rough, forcing only one punt late in the game when OU had backups in. Otherwise, two fumbles and two missed field goals were all that kept the Sooners off the board. D'Eriq King struggled in the new offense and did not hit 200 yards passing, but did rush for over 100 yards. The Cougars get a breather with Prairie View this week before another high profile opponent - Washington State - visits.
Other key results
Memphis 15, Ole Miss 10: The Tigers won in a very different way - with stout defense - knocking off an SEC bottom feeder.
Cincinnati 24, UCLA 14: Cincy's stingy defense made life terrible for UCLA, and took a huge win. Cincy gets another tough opponent with Ohio State up next.
Tulane 42, FIU 14: Willie Fritz and the Green Wave are on the upswing, and a big win over a tough FIU squad was a nice way to start the season.
UCF 62, Florida A&M 0: The Golden Knights train keeps on rolling along with another easy win over an outmatched opponent.
Three stars of the week
1) Patrick Taylor, RB, Memphis: The Tigers lost two NFL running backs in the off-season, but Taylor picked up where they left off, rushing for 128 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries in the win over Memphis.
2) Anthony Russo, QB, Temple: Russo hit on 31 of 42 passes for 409 yards and 4 TDs for the Owls in a 56-12 romp. Granted, it was Bucknell, but still a big effort.
3) Shane Buechele, QB, SMU: The Texas transfer was 30-of-49 for 360 yards as the Mustangs knocked off Arkansas State 37-30.
5 games to watch this week
1) Cincinnati at No. 5 Ohio State
2) North Texas at SMU
3) Prairie View at Houston
4) Tulane at Auburn
5) South Florida at Georgia Tech
3 players to watch
1) D'Eriq King, Houston: The mercurial quarterback did not have a good passing day at OU. He should rectify that this week against Prairie View.
2) Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati: After a solid debut against Ole Miss, Ridder will need a big effort to keep Cincy in shouting distance of Ohio State.
3) Reggie Roberson, Jr., WR, SMU: Roberson had a monster week with 11 catch for 180 yards against Arkansas State. He will need to be just as good as the Ponies face a tough North Texas team this week.
Zack Short hits an RBI single in 11th inning to lift Astros over Rangers
Jul 13, 2025, 12:05 am
Wyatt Langford homered with a career-high tying four hits and Adolis García added a solo shot to lead the Texas Rangers to a 7-3 win over the Houston Astros on Friday night.
The Rangers jumped on Lance McCullers Jr. (2-4) early. There were two outs with the bases loaded in the first when Evan Carter’s single to right field knocked in a pair to put the Rangers up 2-0.
The AL West-leading Astros cut the deficit to 2-1 when Cam Smith scored on a groundout in the bottom of the inning.
García homered for a second straight game with one out in the third that made it 3-1. Carter walked with two outs before a single from Jake Burger. Jonah Heim’s double to right field scored them both to extend the lead to 5-1.
McCullers allowed six hits and five runs in three innings as Houston’s losing streak reached a season-high four games.
Langford’s blast came with two outs in the seventh to push the lead to 7-3.
Jack Leiter (5-6) yielded five hits and three runs while striking out six in 5 1/3 innings.
Christian Walker singled to open Houston’s fourth before Victor Caratini’s home run to right field got the Astros within 5-3.Burger was replaced in the middle of the sixth inning with discomfort in his left quad.
Houston’s top prospect, second baseman Brice Matthews, went 0 for 4 with with three strikeouts in his major league debut.
Key moment
Heim’s two RBI double in the third that pushed the lead to four.
Key stat
The Rangers forced McCullers to throw 36 pitches in the first inning.
Up next
Houston LHP Framber Valdez (10-4, 2.90 ERA) opposes RHP Jacob deGrom (9-2, 2.29) when the series continues Saturday.