AAC Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron this week.
Team | Record | This Week | Result | Up Next |
Army | 5-0 (4-0) | at Tulsa | W, 49-7 | vs UAB |
Charlotte | 3-3 (2-0) | vs ECU | W, 55-24 | — OFF — |
ECU | 3-3 (1-1) | at Charlotte | L, 55-24 | — OFF — |
FAU | 2-3 (0-1) | — OFF — | — | vs North Texas |
Memphis | 4-1 (0-1) | — OFF — | — | at USF |
Navy | 5-0 (3-0) | at Air Force | W, 34-7 | — OFF — |
North Texas | 4-1 (1-0) | — OFF — | — | at FAU |
Rice | 1-4 (0-2) | — OFF — | — | vs UTSA |
Temple | 1-5 (0-2) | at UConn | L, 29-20 | — OFF — |
Tulane | 4-2 (2-0) | at UAB | W, 71-20 | — OFF — |
Tulsa | 2-4 (0-2) | vs Army | L, 49-7 | — OFF — |
UAB | 1-4 (0-2) | vs Tulane | L, 41-20 | at Army |
USF | 2-3 (0-1) | — OFF — | — | vs Memphis |
UTSA | 2-3 (0-1) | — OFF — | — | at Rice |
Notable Results and Storylines // (Standings)
5-0 Troops
For the first time since 1945, both Army and Navy have started the season 5-0. Army owns the nation’s longest winning streak (nine games) and has not trailed at any point during a game this season. Meanwhile Navy is cruising, too. The Midshipmen are the only team in the nation to score on every red zone appearance, converting 19-of-19 trips for scores this year. It’s a good time to be a service academy in the AAC.
Blazers down bad
UAB is not having a good time right now. Weeks removed from putting a scare into Arkansas the Blazers appear to have fallen apart, most recently being completely dismantled by Tulane. The Green Wave appear to be among the best of the best in the AAC, a stark difference from the product the Blazers are putting on the field right now. That’s not where Trent Dilfer and his staff hoped the program would be in year two, but that’s the reality they’re living in.
Niners off the mat
A similar sob story was close to being written about Charlotte, but the 49ers have rebounded from a perilous 1-3 start with back-to-back conference wins, this week blasting East Carolina in a burgeoning rivalry game. As things currently stand, the Nines are one of five AAC teams without a conference lost. That’s not someone anyone could have predicted a month ago, but things change quickly in this sport.
Looking ahead – Key storylines
In the thick of double bye weeks
It’s been back-to-back relatively light weeks for the AAC with almost half the league on bye this week and the other half on bye next week. If that feels like a lot of missing football, you’re not wrong. Because of the way the calendar falls this season each team will have two open weeks, split roughly in the first half and second half of the season. We’ll have much fuller AAC slates in Weeks 8 and Week 9 before another lull inaction later in the year.
Memphis and South Florida square off
Entering the year this Week 7 matchup between Memphis and South Florida was meant to be pivotal for the AAC Championship race, and that still very well might be true, but it’s taken on an additional degree of importance in recent weeks. Early stumbles by both squads and the hot starts of Army and Navy have upped the ante in this contest. The winner stays in the race while the loser might be out of luck before the calendar reaches Halloween.
What about the Mean Green?
North Texas has a Power conference loss to Texas Tech, but has otherwise handled business entering their first bye week of the season. The Mean Green weren’t expected to be among the conference frontrunners, but their offense looks like the real deal and they’re flying a bit under the radar following wins over Wyoming and Tulsa. A win over FAU this weekend would set them up for a potentially pivotal trip to Memphis in two weeks.