A Look At The AAC
The UH/AAC Report: UH gets back on track and SMU continues to roll
Oct 2, 2019, 6:56 am
A Look At The AAC
Patrick Carr
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:
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.
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.
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.
UCF @ Cincinnati
Tulsa @ SMU
Tulane @ Army
Air Force @ Navy
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.
Victor Caratini homered, Isaac Paredes drove in a run and the Houston Astros shut out the Philadelphia Phillies for a second straight game with a 2-0 victory on Wednesday night.
Houston starter Colton Gordon (3-1) allowed four singles and struck out four in five innings.
Gordo gettin' it done! #BuiltForThis x @budweiserusa pic.twitter.com/avTNnf7Htq
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 26, 2025
Josh Hader struck out one in the ninth for his 21st save.
Jeremy Peña hit a leadoff ground-rule double and scored on a groundball single by Isaac Paredes to give Houston an early lead.
Houston’s pitching staff had retired nine straight when Brandon Marsh singled to right field off Bryan King with one out in the eighth. Trea Turner’s single on a grounder to center field sent Marsh to third before Kyle Schwarber singled on an infield grounder to load the bases.
But, King struck out Alec Bohm before Nick Castellanos grounded out to leave Philadelphia emptyhanded.
Caratini’s solo shot came with two outs in the bottom of the inning to give the Astros an insurance run.
Vic gets a hold of one!#BuiltForThis pic.twitter.com/3umvpJTCMx
— Houston Astros (@astros) June 26, 2025
Wednesday’s win comes after the Astros got a 1-0 victory in Tuesday’s series opener. Houston is now tied with Philadelphia and Chicago for the third-best record in baseball (47-33).
Philadelphia starter Zack Wheeler (7-3) yielded four hits and a run while striking out eight in six innings.
The Phillies had runners on first and second with one out in the fifth, but Gordon struck out Marsh and Turner to end the threat.
Jake Meyers sprinted to make a catch on the warning track in center field on a ball hit by Bryson Stott for the second out of the seventh inning.
King shutting the Phillies down after loading the bases in the eighth to preserve the lead.
Wednesday was the sixth time the Phillies have been shut out this season. Philadelphia has not scored a run in 19 straight innings.
Houston RHP Hunter Brown (8-3, 1.88 ERA), whose ERA leads the majors, opposes LHP Cristopher Sánchez (6-2, 2.87) when the series concludes Thursday.