A Look At The AAC

The UH/AAC Report: UH blows game vs Tulane, plus a couple surprising outcomes

D'Eriq King of UH
Tim Warner/Getty Images

Just another ho-hum week in the AAC. Nothing major to report. Not only did UH lose a road conference game, but they lost the face of their program as well. One other team had a letdown loss, while another surprised everyone with an upset win. Here's a look into week four of the AAC:

UH drops the ball vs Tulane

The Coogs snatched defeat from the jaws of victory. They led 28-7 early on in the second quarter as they looked as if they were going to cruise to an easy win. However, through sloppy play on both sides, they were outscored 31-3 the rest of the way and lost on a game-winning 53 yard touchdown pass with three seconds left. Four days later, star quarterback D'Eriq King decided to redshirt the remainder of his senior season, but says he plans on coming back to UH next season. So much for Dana Holgorsen's first season as head coach.

Other key results

UCF 34, Pitt 35: Pitt wasn't expected to end UCF's 27 game regular season win streak, but they did, and did so in dominating fashion. In rushing yards differential, Pitt was +111 and won time of possession by 11 minutes. So much for UCF's attempt to break into the CFP.

SMU 41, TCU 38: SMU topped one of the better defenses in the country by beating the then #25 ranked Horned Frogs. My rushing yards differential analytic was blown out of the water here because TCU was +118 and only had a 10 second time of possession advantage.

Temple 22, Buffalo 38: A week after beating #21 Maryland, the Owls lost to Buffalo. -2 in the turnover department and a -186 rushing yards differential will often do that to a team.

Stars of the week

Shane Buechele, QB, SMU: He helped the Mustangs upset TCU by completing 67.6% of his passes for 288 yards and two touchdowns. At 4-0, SMU is off to its best start since 1984.

Jalen McCleskey, WR, Tulane: McClesky caught the game-winning 53 yard touchdown. He also had three other catches for 70 yards and another touchdown. He accounted for 64.5% of their receiving yards and two of their three receiving touchdowns.

Gabriel Davis, WR, UCF: The Golden Knights lost, but it wasn't through any fault of Davis who totaled 10 catches for 151 yards and two touchdowns. I'm keeping an eye on this kid as he is draft eligible after this season.

Four games to watch this week

Navy @ Memphis

SMU @ USF

UConn @ UCF

UH @ UNT

Three players to watch this week

Clayton Tune, UH: With King redshirtting, Tune is now the starter. Going on the road to Denton for his third career start will be very telling as to how the rest of the season will go.

Memphis Defense: Navy averages 371.5 yards per game rushing. The Tigers' defense gives up 116.3 yards rushing per game. Something has to give.

Shane Buechele, SMU: Can the once highly touted quarterback lead SMU to a 5-0 start with a road win vs USF?

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Houston Astros get a reminder, and maybe a wake-up call

The Astros are looking to avoid being swept at home. Composite Getty Image.

The Houston Astros are looking to avoid an unexpected sweep Wednesday night as they wrap up their three-game set against the Cleveland Guardians at Daikin Park.

Winners of six of their last ten despite back-to-back losses, the Astros (55-37) turn to left-hander Brandon Walter (1-1, 4.15 ERA) to steady the ship and salvage the finale. Walter has been reliable in his recent outings, and he’ll face a Guardians lineup that has struggled to string together hits, batting just .204 over their last 10 games.

Cleveland (42-48) entered the series on a 10-game losing streak, but now has a chance to sweep the AL West leaders and take the season series. Slade Cecconi (3-4, 3.56 ERA) gets the start for the Guardians. The 26-year-old righty has kept his ERA under 4.00 this year and will look to neutralize a Houston offense that leads the American League in batting average at .260 and is hitting .295 over the last 10 games.

All eyes remain on Jose Altuve, who has driven in 16 runs and slugged four homers over his last 10 games. He’s been the heartbeat of the Houston offense, while Isaac Paredes continues to deliver steady power at the top of the lineup. The Astros have scored five or more runs in eight of their last ten games, but the bullpen faltered late in both of the first two games of this series.

Cleveland counters with the steady presence of Carlos Santana and the always-dangerous Jose Ramirez. Though Ramirez is just 6-for-38 in his last 10 games, he’s delivered key home runs in the series and remains the Guardians’ biggest threat.

With the season series now 3-2 in favor of Cleveland, Wednesday’s matchup carries added weight for the Astros as they look to regroup and avoid letting momentum slip further. First pitch is set for 8:10 p.m. ET.

BETMGM SPORTSBOOK LINE: Astros -144, Guardians +121; over/under is 8 runs

Astros lineup for the finale

What stands out? First off, Jake Meyers returns to the lineup after missing a couple of games with a calf issue. With Meyers back in the two-spot, Cam Smith returns to hitting cleanup. Caratini is playing first base again and hitting fifth, followed by Yainer Diaz (C), Cooper Hummel (DH), Taylor Trammell (LF), and Mauricio Dubon (SS).

 

  Image via: MLB.com/Screenshot.

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