AAC Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 5.
| Team | Record | This Week | Result | Up Next |
| Charlotte | 1-4 | at SMU | L, 34-16 | — |
| ECU | 1-4 | at Rice | L, 24-17 | — |
| FAU | 1-3 | — | — | vs Tulsa |
| Memphis | 4-1 | vs Boise St | W, 35-32 | — |
| Navy | 1-3 | vs USF | L, 44-30 | vs North Texas |
| North Texas | 2-2 | vs ACU | W, 45-31 | at Navy |
| Rice | 3-2 | vs ECU | W, 24-17 | vs UConn |
| SMU | 3-2 | vs Charlotte | W, 34-16 | — |
| Temple | 2-3 | at Tulsa | L, 48-26 | vs UTSA |
| Tulane | 4-1 | vs UAB | W, 35-23 | — |
| Tulsa | 3-2 | vs Temple | W, 48-26 | at FAU |
| UAB | 1-4 | at Tulane | L, 35-23 | vs USF |
| USF | 3-2 | at Navy | W, 44-30 | at UAB |
| UTSA | 1-3 | — | — | at Temple |
Notable Results (Standings)
Memphis delivers a message
Picked to finish fourth in conference in the preseason media poll, Memphis notched one of the most notable non-conference wins of any AAC school so far this season. The Tigers knocked off Boise State, staying perfect at home and putting themselves near the forefront of the conference race. They’re currently tied with Tulane as the only four-win teams in the league through five weeks.
Trouble in Greenville
UAB, Charlotte and FAU are all breaking in new head coaches. UTSA has dealt with some tough injury luck and a rigorous non-conference slate. ECU, on the other hand, has been relatively healthy but has no FBS wins to show for it. The Pirates fell on the road to Rice over the weekend, unable to overcome a hobbled JT Daniels or a Rice defense that had four fourth down stops in the second half.
Antennas raised
Neither South Florida and Tulsa had much in the form of expectations entering the 2023 seasons. With new coaches at the helm and plenty of question marks on the roster, a slow start would have been forgiven, if not expected. Instead, both programs are 3-2 and a combined 3-0 in conference play so far. Sustaining the hot starts will be a challenge, but they deserve credit for getting to this point.
Looking ahead – Key storylines
Make or break for the birds
It’s been a challenge start for both Temple and UTSA, who square off against each other in Week 6, UTSA’s first-ever AAC game. Should the Roadrunners falter, they’ll be 1-4 heading into the remainder of league play after being picked second in the preseason. Meanwhile Temple will look to prove their loss to Tulsa was a bad night instead of the continuance of a negative defensive trend.
How much fight is left?
FAU was dealt a tough blow when they learned starting quarterback Casey Thompson would miss the remainder of the 2023 season. Beaten and bruised, the Owls would be forgiven if they wrote 2023 off as a year where everything went wrong. That said, rallying despite the circumstances would be equally encouraging for Tom Herman and his staff in year one.
First to 100
South Florida has shown some sparks of life on defense so far this season. North Texas has not. For both, it hasn’t mattered too much because they have offenses that pile up the points in bunches. When they meet next weekend, one touchdown won’t be enough. Five might not either. This has shootout written all over it.
