No. 22/23 Tulane, SMU and UTSA sit atop the American Athletic Conference standings at 4-0 in conference play through Week 9. Memphis and Florida Atlantic are a game back at 3-1 in The American.
Upcoming Games Between The American’s Top Five Teams
Tulane at Florida Atlantic – Nov. 18
SMU at Memphis – Nov. 18
UTSA at Tulane – Nov. 24
Tulane won its eighth consecutive road game with its 30-28 victory at Rice Saturday. Only Georgia (13) and Michigan (9) have longer active streaks among FBS programs.
Tulane is 19-3 in its last 22 games, trailing only Georgia (23) and Michigan (21) in total wins among FBS programs in the last two seasons.
SMU, which entered the week as one of only four FBS schools (Michigan, Georgia, Penn State) to rank in the top 15 nationally in both scoring offense and scoring defense, scored a 69-10 win against Tulsa Saturday.
SMU held a 52-3 halftime lead against Tulsa. The only team to score 52 or more points in a half against an FBS opponent in the last three seasons is SMU, which has done it twice (11/5/22 vs. Houston, 10/28/23 vs. Tulsa).
UTSA LB Trey Moore had three sacks against East Carolina Saturday, giving him a program-record 12 for the season, which ranks fourth on The American’s single-season chart and leaves him 2.5 sacks shy of the conference record, which has stood since the league’s inaugural season.
American Athletic Conference Single-Season Sacks
14.5 Marcus Smith, Louisville, 2013 (14 solo, 1 assisted)
Nate Harvey, East Carolina, 2018 (14 solo, 1 assisted)
13.0 Quincy Roche, Temple, 2019 (12 solo, 2 assisted)
12.0 Patrick Nelson, SMU, 2019 (11 solo, 2 assisted)
Trey Moore, UTSA, 2023 (11 solo, 2 assisted)
UTSA improved to 26-3 in regular-season and postseason conference games under fourth-year head coach Jeff Traylor with Saturday’s win against East Carolina. The Roadrunners have won 12 consecutive regular-season conference games and 14 consecutive games against conference opponents, including the 2021 and 2022 Conference USA championship games.
Florida Atlantic WR LaJohntay Wester, who entered Friday’s game at Charlotte as the national leader in receptions (9.4 per game), had 10 catches against the 49ers, turning in his fifth game this season with at least 10 receptions.
Memphis has scored at least 20 points in 22 consecutive games, which is the longest active streak nationally.
Memphis has gained bowl eligibility for the 10th consecutive season.
Memphis QB Seth Henigan had 330 passing yards in the win against North Texas Saturday, setting the Tigers’ program record with his 14th career 300-yard game.
North Texas WR Ja’Mori Maclin, who had two touchdown receptions against Memphis Saturday, has at least one TD catch in all eight games this season.
North Texas QB Chandler Rogers has thrown 264 consecutive passes without an interception, which is the longest active streak among FBS players.
Notable Week 9 Performances
Preston Stone, QB, SMU
15 of 20, 371 yards, 3 TDs in 69-10 win against Tulsa
Makhi Hughes, RB, Tulane
23 carries, 153. yards in 30-28 win at Rice
Frank Harris, QB, UTSA
20 of 32, 395 yards, 4 TDs in 41-27 win against East Carolina
Joshua Cephus, WR, UTSA
4 rec., 183 yards, 1 TD in 41-27 win against East Carolina
Trey Moore, LB, UTSA
7 tackles, 3 sacks in 41-27 win against East Carolina; school-record 12 sacks in 2023
LaJohntay Wester, WR, Florida Atlantic
10 rec., 149 yards, 2 TDs in 38-16 win at Charlotte
Blake Watson, RB, Memphis
17 carries, 169 yards, 3 TDs; 5 rec., 100 yards in 45-42 win at North Texas; 269 all-purpose yards
Chandler Rogers, QB, North Texas
32 of 49, 411 yards, 5 TDs in 45-42 loss vs. Memphis
Roderic Burns, WR, North Texas
5 rec., 102 yards, 3 TDs in 45-42 loss vs. Memphis
Jaylen Johnson, WR, East Carolina
8 rec., 105 yards, 1 TD in 41-27 loss at UTSA
Week 9 Results
Friday, October 27
Florida Atlantic 38, Charlotte 16 * (7:30 p.m., ESPN2)
Saturday, October 28
SMU 69, Tulsa 10 *
Memphis 45, North Texas 42 *
UTSA 41, East Carolina 27 *
Tulane 30, Rice 28 *
Week 10 Schedule
Saturday, November 4
Navy at Temple * (2 p.m., ESPN+)
Florida Atlantic at UAB * (3 p.m., ESPN+)
South Florida at Memphis * (3 p.m., ESPN+)
UTSA at North Texas * (3 p.m., ESPN+)
Tulane at East Carolina * (3:30 p.m., ESPN2 or ESPNU)
Charlotte at Tulsa * (4 p.m., ESPN+)
SMU at Rice * (7:30 p.m., ESPNU)
