Shane Carden (5) leads a potent East Carolina team. (James Guillory-USA TODAY Sports)
Three American Athletic Conference schools earned their first conference victory of the season this week, and in doing so each staked their claim to being considered one of the contenders to capture the crown this season.
The most convincing claim was made by Memphis. The Tigers went to Cincinnati and stunned the Bearcats 41-14, dominating the game so thoroughly that coach Justin Fuente was hard-pressed to say anything bad about the performance.
“We executed well and played well,” Fuente said. “Offensively, we came out excited after our performance last week. We played well. I’ll have to look at the game film to talk about the negatives, but at this point only the good things come to mind.”
The Tigers had played well this season in non-conference play, but the game against the Bearcats offered the first chance to knock off an AAC contender, an opportunity not lost on the Tigers.
“Cincinnati was picked to win the conference, so we came out with a chip on our shoulder and made a statement win on the road,” Memphis linebacker Tank James said.
Central Florida hasn’t played to its potential this season, and it didn’t do so this week either. But it did just enough to earn a 17-12 victory at Houston, a road win over a contending team that keeps the Knights in position to repeat as conference champions.
“Offensively we have to be more consistent in the plays that we’re running and the pass plays,” UCF coach George O’Leary said. “There would be guys out there running free,and the quarterback has got to hit them. We have to continue to work on that. As I told the players, any win is a good win, and we need to get better from the mistakes we made and go from there.”
East Carolina, the lone ranked team in the AAC, made its AAC debut against last-place Southern Methodist. The Pirates didn’t play their best, but had enough to ease past the winless Mustangs.
“It was a great win; the inaugural win in the league. I thought we did a good job coming out and playing as a team,” ECU coach Ruffin McNeill said. “[SMU] has faced three nationally ranked teams in [Texas] A&M, Baylor and TCU before us, so they’re not going to be intimidated. I thought our guys missed some opportunities today on all three sides of the ball. But I thought we did a good job of staying with that team and pulling out a win.”
CENTRAL FLORIDA (2-2, 1-0)
Game: Central Florida 17, Houston 12. The Knights won another nailbiter against the Cougars when Brandon Alexander knocked the ball out of the hands of Greg Ward Jr. as he dove for the end zone. It got Central Florida back to .500 after an 0-2 start to the 2014 campaign.
Takeaway: The Knights looked shaky on offense, but the defense did its job in shutting down both Houston quarterbacks. As coach George O’Leary noted after the game, however, the team gave itself a much harder road to victory with too many mistakes, a path to victory that will be much tougher this week when BYU comes to town.
Next: vs. BYU, Oct. 9.
CINCINNATI (2-2, 0-1)
Game: Memphis 41, Cincinnati 14. The Bearcats were stunned at home by the Tigers in their AAC opener, and lost quarterback Gunner Kiel just before halftime with a rib injury. The defense allowed 610 total yards, and permitted the Tigers to run off the final 12:55 on its final drive to end the game.
Takeaway: For the second week in a row, Cincinnati’s defense got torched and had no answer for its opponent. The Bearcats enter this week allowing 561.8 yards per game, ranked 124th in the NCAA. It’s allowed a combined 1320 yards over the past two weeks in losses to Ohio State and Memphis.
Next: at Miami, Oct 11.
CONNECTICUT (1-4, 0-2)
Game: Bye
Next: at Tulane, Oct. 11.
EAST CAROLINA (4-1, 1-0)
Game: East Carolina 45, Southern Methodist 24. East Carolina cruised to victory in its first American Athletic Conference game. Shane Carden threw for 410 yards and four touchdowns, and the Pirates survived a second-half comeback bid to secure the victory.
Takeaway: Focus was a problem for ECU after intermission, which the coaching staff will address this week. The Pirates allowed the Mustangs to get within 35-24 in the second half, and SMU recovered an SMU fumble on the ensuing kickoff at the ECU 26-yard line. But the East Carolina defense held, and SMU never scored again.
Next: at South Florida, Oct 11.
HOUSTON (2-3, 0-1)
Game: Central Florida 17, Houston 12. The Cougars fell just short of a comeback victory when Greg Ward Jr. fumbled the ball out of the end zone as he stretched it towards the pylon. Ward was inches from the goal line, but a review confirmed the official call and the Knights were able to run out the clock.
Takeaway: The big concern for Houston moving forward is the state of the offense. The Cougars managed only four field goals in the loss to Central Florida, and Ward replaced an ineffective John O’Korn in the third quarter. Coach Tony Levine said a decision on who would start at Memphis would be made later in the week.
Next: at Memphis, Oct. 11.
MEMPHIS (3-2, 1-0)
Game: Memphis 41, Cincinnati 14. Memphis made an early statement in the AAC with a convincing victory over the preseason conference favorites on the road. The Tigers led 27-7 by halftime, and knocked out Cincinnati quarterback Gunner Kiel at the end of the first half.
Takeaway: The Tigers were a very different team from the squad that lost to Ole Miss a week ago. Memphis managed just 104 total yards in the 24-3 loss to the Rebels. It had 610 in the victory over the Bearcats.
Next: vs. Houston, Oct. 11
SOUTHERN METHODIST (0-5, 0-1)
Game: East Carolina 45, Southern Methodist 24. SMU rediscovered its offense, but had no answers for East Carolina defensively in losing its AAC opener on the road. Shane Carden torched the Mustang defense for 410 yards and four touchdowns.
Takeaway: The Mustangs solved their passing problems, but the running game was missing in action and the defense allowed far too many yards after the catch. While the team still has a long way to go, at least there’s something to build on heading into the bye week.
Next: vs. Cincinnati, Oct. 18
SOUTH FLORIDA (2-3, 1-0)
Game: Bye.
Next: vs. East Carolina, Oct. 11
TEMPLE (3-1, 1-0)
Game: Bye
Next: vs. Tulsa, Oct. 11.
TULANE (1-4, 0-1)
Game: Bye
Next: vs. Connecticut, Oct. 11.
TULSA (1-4, 1-0)
Game: Colorado State 42, Tulsa 17. The Golden Hurricane fell behind early and never got back in the game in falling to the Rams on the road. Tulsa trailed 35-7 in the third quarter before scoring the next 10 points, but could cut the margin no further.
Takeaway: Big plays again proved fatal to Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane defense gave up 532 total yards, with 310 of those coming on just six snaps. Five first-half plays accounted for 248 of the Rams’ 310 yards over the first 30 minutes.
Next: at Temple, Oct. 11.
