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American Conference Football 2025: Week 1 Roundup

August 31, 2025 By Matthew Bartlett

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

TeamRecord This WeekResultUp Next
Army0-1 (0-0)vs Tarleton StL, 30-27 (OT)at Kansas St
Charlotte0-1 (0-0)vs AppL, 34-11vs N Carolina
ECU0-1 (0-0)at NC StL, 24-17vs Campbell
FAU0-1 (0-0)at MarylandL, 39-7vs FAMU
Memphis1-0 (0-0)vs ChattanoogaW, 45-10at Georgia St
Navy1-0 (0-0)vs VMIW, 52-7vs UAB
North Texas1-0 (0-0)vs LamarW, 51-0at W. Michigan
Rice1-0 (0-0)at LouisianaW, 14-12vs Houston
Temple1-0 (0-0)at UMassW, 42-10vs Howard
Tulane1-0 (0-0)vs NorthwesternW, 23-3at S Alabama
Tulsa1-0 (0-0)vs ACUW, 35-7at NMSU
UAB1-0 (0-0)vs Alabama StW, 52-42at Navy
USF1-0 (0-0)vs Boise StW, 34-7at Florida
UTSA0-1 (0-0)at Texas A&ML, 42-24vs Texas St

Storylines // Standings // Preseason Poll

G5 Standard Bearer Goes Down

Boise State has been the cream of the crop of programs outside the Power conferences for decades now and represented that cohort in the College Football Playoff last season. Beating the Broncos would have been impressive in its own right, but the South Florida Bulls did more than that, thrashing the defending MWC champs in a blowout victory on Thursday night in front of a national audience.

Troops Stumble Against the Texans

Army, the defending American Conference champs, who recently clinched that title on their home turf, suffered a crushing loss to FCS Tarleton State at West Point on Friday night. Newly installed quarterback Dewayne Coleman was effective, but a pair of missed field goals, including a crucial kick in overtime, dropped the Cadets to 0-1 on the season.

New-Look Owls Fly High

In the first game of the Scott Abell era, Rice football upset Louisiana on the road, spoiling the Ragin’ Cajuns’ first game at Our Lady of Lourdes Stadium. The Owls won their first home opener since 2018 and their first road contest since the 2023 season. Not a bad start for the double-digit road dogs.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Going for Two?

South Florida was a trendy college football playoff pick a year ago before quarterback Byrum Brown went down with an injury. This time around the Bulls already have a Top 25 win under their belt and take a trip to No. 15 Florida in Week 2. Can the Bulls pull of one more upset? If so they’d be firmly in the driver’s seat among the Group of 5 playoff hopefuls, clearly boasting the best resume possible to this point.

Bye Bye to the Bucket

No more scheduled contests remain between Houston and Rice football, the closest FBS institutions who have played nearly annually for the Bayou Bucket Trophy. The Owls upset the Cougars in 2023 to claim it before Houston took the Bucket back last season. Whoever wins on Saturday could have it in their trophy collection for some time.

High Stakes Early Season Tilts

In addition to the two power conference matchups above, the American should have at least a few additional opportunities to notch some signature wins. UTSA will want a bounce-back win after their season-opening loss to Texas A&M and some revenge from last season’s beatdown at the hands of the Texas State Bobcats.

Tulane will look to improve to 2-0 with a road trip to South Alabama and Army will look to rebound from this week’s disaster against a reeling Kansas State team, which barely snuck past FCS North Dakota in Week 1.

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Recent Posts
  • Rice Football 2025 Game Preview: Houston
  • American Conference Football 2025: Week 1 Roundup
  • Rice Football knocks off Louisiana in Scott Abell’s Debut
  • Rice Football 2025 Season Preview: Preseason Superlatives

Filed Under: AAC, Archive, Football Tagged With: AAC

American Conference Media Days Roundup

July 25, 2025 By Matthew Bartlett

American Conference Media Days were held this week in Charlotte, NC. Here’s a roundup of important news, quotes and insights from the event.

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In Their Own Words

.@RiceFootball head coach Scott Abell describes his offensive philosophy:

"We're going to run the football. My programs have led the country at all levels in rushing… We're going to run the rock, creatively." pic.twitter.com/ZMsxWwyuMP

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) July 25, 2025

.@RiceFootball head coach Scott Abell on why he did not bring players with him from Davidson, like has become more common in today's world of college football.

"I think it's important to immediately establish your roots there." pic.twitter.com/us1gsGnwTf

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) July 25, 2025

.@RiceFootball head coach Scott Abell on the unique variations between his offense and the option offenses at Army and Navy:

"We are wildly unique when you look at the different systems… We're all three different and how teams have to defend us is going to be different." pic.twitter.com/aSsJgMu453

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) July 25, 2025

With three options teams in the conference now, Army head coach Jeff Monken weighed in on the schematic similarities.

"It's now going to create in the league the need for defensive coordinators and defensive staffs to come up with an option plan." pic.twitter.com/icBF9mFrbj

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) July 25, 2025

UTSA head coach Jeff Traylor on Jon Kay, another Texas High School Football Coach, becoming a defensive coordinator this offseason for @RiceFootball.

"It doesn't surprise me at all that he's in that role and I promise you they'll playing really good defense." pic.twitter.com/sHFW4DO4AB

— The Roost (@AtTheRoost) July 25, 2025

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Recent Posts
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  • American Conference Football 2025: Week 1 Roundup
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Filed Under: AAC, Archive, Football, Premium Tagged With: AAC, Media Days

Seeking Relevance: American Conference Aims to Overcome the Noise

July 25, 2025 By Matthew Bartlett

Commissioner Tim Pernetti made his pitch for relevance at American Conference Media Days, an increasingly more difficult challenge in the ever-evolving world of college athletics.

AMERICAN CONFERENCE MEDIA DAYS | It was a short walk from the designated media hotel to the Charlotte Convention Center, just a few blocks in what turned out to be a sunny, beautiful summer day in the Queen City. Along the path was the Hilton Charlotte Uptown Hotel, the host of the ACC — not to be confused with the conference formerly known as the AAC — Media Days.

Outside of the Hilton were three giant letters, A.C.C., a clear identifier of who was on campus and what was happening inside those revolving doors. A little further down the street was the convention center, which had a graphic for the American Conference Media Days rotating on the large digital sign on the outside of the building.

One step inside those doors, however, and all the eye could see was pink. Mary Kay Pink, to be specific.

JULY 24, 2025 | Hosted on the same day as the American Conference Media Days, the 2025 Mary Kay Seminar dominated the floor space at the Charlotte Convention Center.

Hosted in the same building and dominating the air, the Mary Kay Seminar included hundreds of attendees, all pink-clad with signs and logos everywhere. There were no visible signs for the American, the American Conference, the AAC or any other iteration of the namesake of the league ostensibly holding court in the very same building.

Two separate venue attendants, when I stopped to ask for directions to the American event, did not know what I was referring to or where the event was being held.

During a week meant to set the conference apart as distinctive, modern, and unique, simply my arrival at the conference’s flagship event was marked by external noise.

That’s the real challenge this conference faces right now. It’s not just a name — the conference issued new brand guidelines this past week — it’s relevance in an ever-changing landscape marked more by turnover and inconsistency than anything else. For better or worse, the conferences the American would call its peers have identities formed over years of like membership, longstanding rivalries and tradition. How do you manufacture that in 2025? It’s hard.

When commissioner Tim Pernetti took the podium, he was bold, direct and assertive. “A brand is more than a logo,” he said, describing his league as leaders, not followers, multiple times throughout his address.

Pernetti pointed towards the conference’s brand ambassador, Soar the Eagle, the first such character at the college football level. He mentioned the league’s willingness to explore new ventures, to challenge perceived norms and call out parts of the college sports world right now that simply aren’t working.

“We’re not waiting for this industry, in case you haven’t noticed,” Pernetti quipped. “We’re building it. We’re leading it, strategically, and with purpose and thought along the way.”

At the same time, Pernetti’s conference eliminated its standard preseason media poll, following in the steps of the Big 12, which did the same thing, despite previously acknowledging plans to conduct the poll. The league will also introduce player availability reporting, adopting a policy similar to that of the autonomy league’s which began doing those a year ago.

More: Independent American Conference Media Poll

Whether through originality or adaptation, the American believes it is doing all it can to differentiate itself from the hundreds of college programs and dozens of conferences across the country, a seemingly increasingly more challenging prospect with each passing year.

On the field, they’ve fared well, producing three 10+ win teams a year ago and having multiple teams in the College Football Playoff conversation late in the season. Army was ranked inside the Top 25 for a large portion of the regular season. Memphis finished as a Top 25 team. When it comes to making a name for itself on the gridiron, this is a conference that has done its part.

“Line up. Play the games. Let’s see where the chips fall at the end of the year,” Pernetti advocated, pushing for access to the College Football Playoff and multiple at-large spots.

To be fair to the league, so many of the factors that drive culture and brand identity exist beyond its control. But fairness has never been something with which college sports have ever really concerned themselves. No, the American must do the best it can with the cards it has been dealt and find a way to stand out, from all-pink convention centers to the college football world, at large.

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Recent Posts
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Filed Under: AAC, Archive, Football Tagged With: AAC, Media Days

Tulane is the Favorite in 2025 American Conference Preseason Media Poll

July 25, 2025 By Matthew Bartlett

Tulane is the favorite to win the American Conference in 2025, following a vote from the league’s media cohort.

In what has turned out to be a rather eventful week for the American Conference, The Roost reported Monday that the league intended to do away with its preseason media poll. The American did not return a request for comment as to why this long-standing tradition was being dropped.

In response, The Roost gathered a representative sample of media members to conduct our own poll, including representation from all 14 programs. Here are the results, with first-place votes in parentheses:

Following a runner-up finish in 2024, Tulane has been named the favorite in 2025. They edge out Navy and Memphis, the only other teams to receive first-place votes. East Carolina is the only program with a new head coach to crack the top half of the poll, coming in at seventh. Florida Atlantic, Rice, Charlotte, Temple and Tulsa bring up the next group of new coaches in their first year in the league.

When asked for comment as to why the league abruptly stopped the poll, commissioner Tim Pernetti called it an “industry-wide trend” although at this point, the American marks just the second of 12 conferences to step away from an annual preseason poll of this sort.

Pernetti went on to elaborate, saying, “The reason we’re moving away from this now, I think it’s more difficult to actually put your finger on how this should look, given that rosters look dramatically different every year. The transfer portal has created a lot of uncertainty and chaos.”

Seeking Relevance: American Conference Aims to Overcome the Noise
Rice Football News and Notes from American Conference Media Days
QB Flux marks 2025 American Athletic Conference Landscape
College Football Returning Production woes in the American
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Recent Posts
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  • American Conference Football 2025: Week 1 Roundup
  • Rice Football knocks off Louisiana in Scott Abell’s Debut
  • Rice Football 2025 Season Preview: Preseason Superlatives

Filed Under: AAC, Archive, Football, Premium Tagged With: AAC, Media Days

Rice Football News and Notes from American Conference Media Days

July 24, 2025 By Matthew Bartlett

Rice Football made its initial appearances at American Conference Media Days on Thursday, eagerly describing what’s to come on South Main.

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  • American Conference Football 2025: Week 1 Roundup
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Filed Under: AAC, Archive, Football, Premium Tagged With: AAC, Media Days, Rice Football

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