A Look At The AAC

The UH/AAC Report: UH gets back on track and SMU continues to roll

Jermaine Every
Oct 2, 2019, 5:56 am
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The Coogs got back in the win column this week. SMU rolls another outmatched opponent. UCF bounced back as well. Let's take a look at the week that was in the AAC:

UH gets a Tune-up in return to win column

The Coogs got a much needed win over UNT Saturday by a score of 46-25. Over the course of the last 20-30 years, UH has primarily been a passing team. They outrushed the Mean Green 235-96. Clayton Tune had himself a good game to the tune of 16/20 for 124 yards and a touchdown (I promise to keep the puns to a minimum). The defense gave up 456 yards, 360 of which were of the passing variety. Even though the rushing and passing stats looked the way they did, Coogs still lost the time of possession battle by almost six minutes. A win is a win, especially when you're 1-3.

Other key results

SMU 48, USF 21: The Mustangs are 5-0 for the first time since 1983. They've jumped into the top 25 rankings this week and now stand an outside chance at crashing the Power 5 bowl party if they keep this up.

UCF 56, UConn 21: The Golden Knights got back on track in a major way with their 35 point win over the Huskies. Their loss to Pitt last week may hurt their chances at a major bowl, but they're up to 18 in the polls so there's still a chance.

Memphis 35, Navy 23: The Tigers move to 4-0 by containing the Midshipmen's run game. Navy was "held" to 291 rushing yards despite averaging 371.5 coming into the game. The Tigers are going to be tough the rest of the way.

Stars of the week

Brady White, QB, Memphis: While the Tiger defense did its thing, White went 14/18 for 196 yards and three touchdowns. Usually, it's their run game that does the heavy lifting. This is a part of what will make this team tough down the stretch.

Gabriel Davis, WR, UCF: Davis had five catches for 119 yards and three touchdowns in their route of UConn. Catching touchdowns on 60% of your receptions is beyond good, regardless of the competition.

Xavier Jones, RB, SMU: Jones carried the ball 15 times for 155 yards and two touchdowns. While his QB Shane Buechele also had a great game, Jones' performance got him the nod here because running the ball well on the road is how you demoralize a team.

Games to watch this week

UCF @ Cincinnati

Tulsa @ SMU

Tulane @ Army

Air Force @ Navy

Players to watch this week

UCF's offense: Going on the road against a defense that's allowing almost 300 yards less than what their season average is could be tough. But Cincy hasn't played an offense quite like UCF's. The two Gabriel's (Doug and Davis) are the ones to watch specifically.

Malcolm Perry, Navy: The quarterback is the Midshipmen's leading rusher in their triple option attack that averages 344.7 yards a game. The Air Force Falcons only give up 93.3 on the ground. Perry only has 336 passing yards on the season, so I'll be interested in seeing how this one plays out.

Xavier Jones, SMU: The others on this list face some sort of adversity. Jones, however, faces the exact opposite in a Tulsa defense that allows 175.8 yards a game on the ground. I expect him to have another big game this week.

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THE NCAA REWIND

Saturday NCAA Football Recap: Baylor is still undefeated; LSU continues its quest for perfection in Week 8

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Maybe Bad Baylor isn't so bad after all. Here's a look at what happened in the Lone Star State and with LSU:

Houston 24, UConn 17

While my thoughts on the Cougars' coaching staff have not changed since last week, defensive back Grant Stuard further solidified my views that he is quite possibly the most disruptive player in college football. He's hungry and it shows. Stuard had 15 tackles, including a touchdown-saving effort to stop a 58-yard run by UConn's Kevin Mensah in the Cougars' 24-17 win over the Huskies on Saturday. While some credit the win to Houston coach Dana Holgorsen's son, Logan, I know the victory would not have been possible without Stuard. Dana Holgerson was caught on the sideline in the second quarter making a profanity-riddled comment about his players' inability to be coached which, to me, speaks volumes about his inability to communicate effectively with his team. "I say things all the time I don't mean," Holgorsen said. "In the heat of the battle, things on the sidelines, hot mics or cameras getting caught. My guys know good and well what I think of them, how hard I'd coach them and how much I think of them and how much I appreciate everything that they do." People who "appreciate" you show it. That's all I'm going to say about that. The Cougars return home to No. 19 SMU on Thursday night.

Texas 50, Kansas 48

Dicker. Kicker. On the brink of a massive upset by an unranked opponent, it was up to quarterback Sam Ehlinger and kicker Cameron Dicker to bring it home for the Longhorns. And they delivered. Ehlinger drove the Longhorns to the Jayhawks 21-yard line, putting Texas within field goal range with 1:11 left to play. Dicker kicked a 33-yarder as the clock expired to lift the Longhorns to a 50-48 victory, bringing an end to a fourth quarter scoring shootout that saw schools exchange six touchdowns, two field goals and a blocked extra point for a two-point safety. "I love kickers," said Herman, who makes a joke of not saying a kicker's name, and still didn't in his postgame news conference. "I'm glad that we have the one we have." Ehlinger finished with 399 yards passing, four touchdowns and added another 91 yards on the ground. "A win's a win," Ehlinger said. "Very thankful we were able to pull that out." Despite having the worst offense in the Big 12, the Jayhawks were explosive under recently promoted offensive coordinator Brent Dearmon. "I got guys that are fighting like hell to be a part of what we're doing here and Dearmon is one of them," Kansas coach Les Miles said. Despite the win, Texas could drop in the polls after nearly losing to the worst team in the Big 12. Texas is on the road against TCU next Saturday.

​Kansas State 24, TCU 17

It's been a long time coming for Kansas State. Junior quarterback Skylar Thompson threw two touchdowns that sparked a late game surge to top TCU 24-17 in Kansas State's first win on over a month and their first Big 12 win of the season. "Just the toughness and resolve because he got hit a lot and he always just kept coming back," Kansas State coach Chris Klieman said of Thompson. The Wildcats finished with only 266 yards in a game that felt like TCU should have won. "I mean, we practice what they do and then we react to whatever else they do," TCU cornerback Julius Lewis said. "We've got to keep working." TCU hosts Texas on Saturday.

Texas A&M 24, Mississippi 17

After trailing midway through the third quarter, Texas A&M defensive tackle Justin Madubuike made two game-changing plays that elevated the Aggies to a 24-17 comeback victory over Ole' Miss in Saturday night. "I just tried to put myself in position to make big plays for my team," said Madubuike, who finished with five tackles, including a tackle for loss and a quarterback hurry. "It's blocking a ball, sacking a quarterback and all those little things that helped us come out with a win." Aggie quarterback Kellen Mond was 16-of-28 for 172 yards passing and 76 yards rushing on 15 carries. The Aggies host rival Mississippi State on Saturday.

LSU 36, Mississippi State 13

Another week of college football brings about another opportunity for me to rave about the amazing Joe Burrow. The Starkville crowd got a glimpse of Burrow's backside after the star quarterback was pulled to the ground by his pants during his third sack of the game. "I heard there was supposed to be a full moon in Starkville tonight," Burrow joked. Burrow finished 25-of-34 with 327 yards passing and four touchdowns to break LSU's season record with 29 in the No. 2 Tigers' 36-13 victory over Mississippi State on Saturday. "It's a testament to him, the receivers, the offensive line, the coaches," LSU coach Ed Orgeron said. "But we're just getting started. Our team is not satisfied." We know, coach. You're never satisfied and that's probably why the Tigers are so gosh darned talented. In Burrow's postgame comments, the team leader made it clear he and Orgeron are of one mind in their relentless quest for perfection. "If we play like this next week (versus No. 11 Auburn), we'll lose," Burrow said. "I think we're going to have to execute much better in the red zone than we did this week, because I don't think we'll get as many chances." At a glance it's hard to find fault in the final score for LSU. The Tigers had 415 yards of offense and forced three turnovers against Mississippi State. However, LSU struggled to find a rhythm in the first half, having to settle for field goals on its first three drives. "We didn't play our best game today, but I knew this day was going to come, and I'm proud of our defense," Orgeron said. "Your offense is not going to play great, on fire every week." Mississippi State freshman quarterback Garrett Shrader threw for 238 yards and a touchdown but was intercepted twice by the Tigers. Expect LSU to hold its poll position after taking care of business on the road against an unranked opponent. LSU hosts No. 11 Auburn next week.

​Baylor 45, Oklahoma State 27

Somehow, some way, Bad Baylor has managed to go undefeated for seven-straight games this season. Don't worry, I'm just as shocked as you. Baylor was the four-point underdog going into Saturday's game against Oklahoma State and for the first three quarters, we learned why. Oklahoma State led at halftime, in the third quarter and in the fourth. Baylor responded with 21 unanswered points in the final 10 minutes to beat the cowboys 45-27 on Saturday. Baylor quarterback Charlie Brewer completed 13-of-17 passes for 312 yards and one touchdown and ran for another score to extend the Bears' winning streak to nine games, the third longest in program history. "I thought we showed heart and I was very appreciative of our guys' effort," Baylor coach Matt Rhule said. "We knew eventually we were going to be OK. I think our team felt like, if we just hang in there, eventually we'll make enough plays to win. I thought everyone stepped up and it was a great team win. It wasn't perfect but they didn't panic." Bad Baylor will probably move up a few spots in the rankings but that's contingent upon how the teams ahead of them fare. Baylor is off next week and faces West Virginia at home on Oct. 31.

Iowa State 34, Texas Tech 24

Iowa State quarterback Brock Burdy threw for 378 yards and three touchdowns to rout Texas Tech 34-24 on Saturday. Freshman running back Breeve Hall ran for 183 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Cyclones to victory. Texas Tech plays at Kansas next Saturday.

UTSA 31, Rice 27

The Rice Owls fell to 0-7, losing at UTSA. This might have been the last chance for Rice to win a football game, as they went in favored.

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