Conference play in The American begins Saturday with a pair of league games. Army visits Florida Atlantic for the Black Knights’ first conference game since 2004. Navy hosts Temple in the second of three consecutive home games to start the season. Both games will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
The American’s television schedule for Saturday includes two games on ESPN, two on ESPNU and two on CBS Sports Network. The conference teams will also have five games on ESPN+ and another on the ACC Network.
Five of the 14 American Athletic Conference teams held their Week 1 opponents to three points or fewer. Memphis and Tulane both registered shutouts, while East Carolina, UAB and South Florida held their respective opponents to a field goal.
Conversely, five American Athletic Conference teams scored at least 48 points in their openers. Tulsa had 62 points, Tulane and North Texas scored 52, while Navy scored 49 and South Florida scored 48.
Army’s win against Lehigh gave the Black Knights a five-game winning streak, which stands tied for the third-longest active streak in FBS.
North Texas has 77 newcomers on its roster, the most of any FBS team. The Mean Green had 11 first-time starters in its win against South Alabama.
Memphis has scored at least 20 points in 28 consecutive games, marking the longest active streak among FBS teams
Memphis QB Seth Henigan is the only fourth-year player in FBS who is starting at quarterback for the same school in all four years.
Memphis QB Seth Henigan enters Week 2 needing 2,855 yards to tie The American’s career passing yards record, set by East Carolina’s Holton Ahlers from 2018-22. Henigan has 11,072 career passing yards, good for fourth on The American’s career chart.
Career Passing Yards
1. 13,927 Holton Ahlers, East Carolina (2018-22)
2, 11,996 Clayton Tune, Houston (2019-22)
3. 11,072 Seth Henigan, Memphis (2021-)
4. 10,782 Dane Evans, Tulsa (2014-16)
5. 10,690 Brady White, Memphis (2018-20)
Career Total Offense
1. 15,373 Holton Ahlers, East Carolina (2018-22)
2, 13,247 Clayton Tune, Houston (2019-22)
3. 12,418 Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati (2018-21)
4. 11,802 Quinton Flowers, South Florida (2014-17)
5. 11,780 Seth Henigan, Memphis (2021-)
South Florida QB Byrum Brown was one of two FBS players to finish with at least 3,000 passing yards and 800 rushing yards in 2023. The other was Heisman Trophy-winner Jayden Daniels of LSU.
South Florida has won its last three games by an average of 41.3 points.
Navy has won 69 consecutive home games when leading after the third quarter. The Midshipmen’s last home loss when leading after 45 minutes was in 1999.
Rice QB E.J. Warner is the first player to start at quarterback for two American Athletic Conference schools in a career. Warner was a two-year starter at Temple.
Under its reconfigured membership, American Athletic Conference schools are located in five of the nation’s top 10 Nielsen media markets. The American has a presence in 12 of the top 50 markets, while all 14 football-playing schools are situated among the top 103 markets.
One late-season American Athletic Conference game will move to Friday, Nov. 29, for national television opportunities on either ABC or ESPN. The Black Friday selections will come from UAB-Charlotte, Navy-East Carolina, or South Florida-Rice. The selection will be made by Oct. 7
The 2024 American Athletic Conference Football Championship is scheduled for Friday, Dec. 6, and will be televised in prime time on ABC.
