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American Conference Football 2023: Week 1 Roundup

September 2, 2023 By Matthew Bartlett

American Conference Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 1.

Team Week 1 Result Record Up Next
Charlotte vs South Carolina St W, 24-3 1-0 vs Maryland
ECU at Michigan L, 30-3 0-1 vs Marshall
FAU vs Monmouth W, 42-20 1-0 vs Ohio
Memphis vs Bethune Cookman W, 56-14 1-0 at Arkansas St
Navy — OFF — — 0-1 vs Wagner
North Texas vs California L, 58-10 0-1 at FIU
Rice at Texas L, 37-10 0-1 vs Houston
SMU vs LA Tech W, 38-14 1-0 at Oklahoma
Temple vs Akron W, 24-21 1-0 at Rutgers
Tulane vs South Alabama W, 34-17 1-0 vs Ole Miss
Tulsa vs UAPB W, 42-7 1-0 at Washington
UAB vs NC A&T W, 35-6 1-0 at Georgia So
USF at WKU L, 41-24 0-1 vs FAMU
UTSA at Houston L, 17-10 0-1 vs TXST

Notable Results (Standings)

Have a day, Mr. Pratt

It doesn’t get much better than this: Michael Pratt’s stat line from Tulane’s season-opening win over South Alabama. Pratt completed 14-of-15 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns, leading the Green Waves past the Jaguars in commanding fashion and establishing themselves as one of the teams to beat in all of the Group of 5.

Houston holds serve

UTSA and Houston played a barnburner last fall, setting the stage for a highly anticipated rematch this season. There were a lot less points, but the game still went down to the wire, with Houston prevailing once again. Frank Harris was intercepted three times, spoiling what might have been a marquee victory for the Roadrunners to open the season.

Golesh debut spoiled

USF was the only AAC program that fell to a non-Power 5 program in Week 1. In their first game under new head coach Alex Golesh, the Bulls ran into the buzzsaw that is the Western Kentucky offense. The Hilltoppers piled up points in bunches, taking swift command and holding serve to the finish.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

P5 Hunting

Six AAC teams will take on Power 5 opponents next weekend: Tulane hosts Ole Miss, Rice hosts Houston, SMU visits Oklahoma, Temple visits Rutgers, Charlotte visits Maryland and Tulsa visits Washington. Of that quartet, SMU and Tulane put forth the most impressive performances in Week 1. Could they notch the first P5 win for the conference this season?

This just got interesting

Texas State stormed onto the national radar with an upset win over Baylor. Now UTSA’s home game against Texas State in Week 2 takes on additional importance. Could one of the AAC’s presumed frontrunners be in danger of falling to 0-2? The Roadrunners will be favorites, but the Bobcats might not be pushovers after all.

Buckets!

Rice didn’t win in their season opener against Texas, but they did cover the spread and the defense showed some life. They played Houston to the final possession a year ago and would love to avoid falling to 0-2 to start the season. The Bayou Bucket could be a fun one in Week 2.

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Filed Under: Archive, Football Tagged With: AAC

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