AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE FOOTBALL REPORT 2020 Season • Championship Week @American_FB Contact: Chuck Sullivan, Assistant Commissioner for Communications [email protected] • 469.840.3132 • @ChuckSullivan15 545 East John Carpenter Freeway • Irving, TX 75062 AMERICAN OVERALL SCHOOL AP/Coaches W-L PCT PF PA H A W-L PCT PF PA H A N STREAK CINCINNATI 6/6 6-0 1.000 248 90 4-0 2-0 8-0 1.000 327 120 6-0 2-0 0-0 Won 9 TULSA 20/20 6-0 1.000 187 123 3-0 3-0 6-1 .857 194 139 3-0 3-1 0-0 Won 6 MEMPHIS 5-3 .625 223 259 4-0 1-3 7-3 .700 316 297 6-0 1-3 0-0 Won 1 UCF rv/- 5-3 .625 350 262 2-2 3-1 6-3 .667 399 283 2-2 4-1 0-0 Won 1 SMU -/rv 4-3 .571 240 243 2-1 2-2 7-3 .700 386 309 3-1 4-2 0-0 Lost 2 HOUSTON 3-3 .500 200 185 2-1 1-2 3-4 .429 216 218 2-2 1-2 0-0 Lost 1 NAVY 3-4 .429 156 193 1-3 2-1 3-7 .300 166 303 1-4 2-3 0-0 Lost 5 TULANE 3-5 .375 258 239 2-2 1-3 6-5 .556 389 299 4-2 2-3 0-0 Won 1 EAST CAROLINA 3-5 .375 243 270 1-3 2-2 3-6 .333 274 322 1-3 2-3 0-0 Won 2 TEMPLE 1-6 .143 139 260 1-2 0-4 1-6 .143 139 260 1-2 0-4 0-0 Lost 5 USF 0-7 .000 181 301 0-3 0-4 1-8 .125 208 359 1-3 0-5 0-0 Lost 8 THIS WEEK POSTSEASON HONORS SATURDAY, DECEMBER 19 OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Desmond Ridder • Jr. • QB • Cincinnati • Louisville, Ky. AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE Ridder, who is a semifinalist for the Maxwell Award as the nation’s most outstanding player, has been instrumental CHAMPIONSHIP GAME in Cincinnati’s 8-0 record. He has passed for 1,821 yards and 16 touchdowns while rushing for 526 yards and 11 TDs, engineering an offense that averages 40.9 points and 473.1 yards per game. He has accounted for 21 touchdowns in Tulsa at Cincinnati * the Bearcats’ last five games, throwing 10 touchdown passes and rushing for 11 scores. Ridder, who was The American Time: 4 p.m. Series: Tulsa leads, 17-15-2 Rookie of the Year in 2018, is the first Cincinnati player to be chosen as the conference’s Offensive Player of the Year. Last Meeting: Oct. 19, 2019 (Cincinnati, 24-13) DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR Zaven Collins • Jr. • LB • Tulsa • Hominy, Okla. Collins was unanimously chosen as The American Defensive Player of the Year, becoming the first player in league history to earn unanimous player-of-the-year honors. A finalist for the Bronko Nagurski Trophy as the nation’s top defensive player and for the Butkus Award as the top linebacker, Collins has registered 51 tackles, 11.5 tackles for loss, four sacks and four interceptions, including two that were returned for touchdowns. Two of Collins’ four interceptions clinched wins for Tulsa, including a highlight-reel 96-yard pick six against Tulane in an overtime victory. He is the first player from Tulsa to be named as the conference’s Defensive Player of the Year. BOWL SEASON SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR Chris Naggar • Sr. • K • SMU • Arlington, Texas TUESDAY, DECEMBER 22 Naggar is a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Collegiate Place-Kicker Award and is the first SMU player to be selected as FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL The American’s Special Teams Player of the Year. Naggar leads the conference in scoring in 2020, averaging 9.4 points Tulsa vs. Nevada per game, and has made a league-leading 17 field goals in 21 attempts. He hit game-winning field goals in back-to-back Time: 3:30 p.m. weeks for the Mustangs in victories against Memphis and Tulane to help SMU to a 5-0 start. Series: Tulane leads, 1-0 Last Meeting: Sept. 26, 1992 (Tulane, 34-17) ROOKIE OF THE YEAR Rahjai Harris • Fr. • RB • East Carolina • Duncan, S.C. ROOFCLAIM.COM BOCA RATON BOWL Harris rushed for 624 yards and four touchdowns in eight games, averaging 4.9 yards per carry and ranking third in The UCF vs. BYU American in rushing as a true freshman (78.0 ypg). Time: 7 p.m. Series: Tied, 1-1 Last Meeting: Oct. 19, 2014 (UCF, 31-24) Ulysses Bentley IV • RFr. • RB • SMU • Houston, Texas Bentley, a redshirt freshman, led The American with 913 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns in 10 games and topped the WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 23 conference with 91.3 yards per game. MONTGOMERY BOWL COACH OF THE YEAR Memphis vs. Florida Atlantic Luke Fickell • Cincinnati Time: 7 p.m. Series: Florida Atlantic leads, 1-0 Fickell was named as The American Coach of the Year for the second time in three seasons. Fickell takes his 8-0 Cincinnati Last Meeting: Dec. 21, 2007 (Florida Atlantic, 44-27) squad into Saturday’s American Athletic Conference Championship Game with a national ranking of No. 6 in the Associated Press and USA Today polls. The Bearcats have won their eight games by an average of 25.9 points against a schedule THURSDAY, DECEMBER 24 that included two top-25 opponents. NEW MEXICO BOWL Houston vs. Hawaii Time: 3:30 p.m. Series: Hawaii leads, 1-0 Last Meeting: Dec. 25, 2003 (Hawaii, 54-48) All times Eastern 1 AMERICAN NOTEBOOK Perfection On A Roll 2020 COLLEGE FOOTBALL RULES CHANGES Cincinnati is one of four NCAA FBS teams that is unde- Cincinnati has gone 30-5 since the start of the 2018 feated while having played at least eight games in 2020. season. UCF is 41-7 since the beginning of the 2017 Players Numbering 2020 NCAA FBS Unbeaten Teams season. SMU and Memphis are both 17-6 since the start No more than two squad members may be assigned or (at least seven games played) of the 2019 campaign. Tulsa has won eight of its last 10, wear the same jersey number. There were no limits to Team W L dating to last season. duplicate numbers in previous seasons. With the recog- Coastal Carolina 11 0 nized popularity of the single-digit numbers, the digit “0” Notre Dame 10 0 Big Three is added as a legal number. Any number to be preceded Alabama 10 0 Navy CB Cameron Kinley and Memphis QB Brady White by “0” such as “07” or “00” remains illegal. Cincinnati 8 0 were both chosen as finalists for the 2020 William V. Campbell Trophy, which is presented to the top scholar- Targeting - Disqualified Player The Stage Is Set athlete in college football. Kinley and White both earned There were no changes to the targeting rule from an The pairings for the 2020 American Athletic Conference $18,000 postgraduate scholarships as finalists. on-field officiating perspective and the rule continues to Football Championship Game are set as Cincinnati will serve the game well and is changing player behavior in face Tulsa Dec. 19. Big Three terms of use of the helmet. The change for 2020 is that UCF QB Dillon Gabriel is secodn among all NCAA FBS now a player disqualified for targeting will be declared Defend This House players with 3,353 passing yards in 2020. Memphis QB ineligible for further participation in the game, but the Cincinnati has won its last 19 games at Nippert Stadium, Brady White is sixth at 3,096 yards, while SMU QB Shane player may remain in the team area. which is the fourth-longest home field winning streak Buechele is seventh at 3,095 yards. nationally, while Memphis is fifth with 14 straight home All other disqualifying fouls such as fighting, two un- wins. Clemson leads the nation at 28 straight home wins, Taking Offense sportsmanlike conduct fouls, flagrant personal fouls, etc. followed by Notre Dame (24) and Ohio State (23). UCF QB Dillon Gabriel is the national leader in both total will be reclassified as fouls requiring ejection. Players offense (387.9 yards per game) and passing offense ejected will be required to leave the playing enclosure Representing The Defense (372.6 ypg). and must remain out of view of the field of play under Cincinnati ranks fifth nationally in scoring defense at team supervision. 15.0 points allowed per game. The Bearcats are second Get Your Picks nationally in pass efficiency defense (94.74) and ninth in Tulsa LB Zaven Collins, SMU CB Brandon Crossley and Pregame Warmup /Officials’ Jurisdiction total defense (308.1 ypg). East Carolina CB Ja’Quan McMillian are tied for fifth The Rules Committee address issues of unsportsmanlike nationally with four interceptions each. Collins is one behavior in the pregame and took steps to clean this Pulling Rank of three players nationally with two interception returns action up. The officials’ jurisdiction will now begin at 90 Cincinnati and Tulsa both have two wins against top-25 for touchdowns. minutes before kickoff (previously 60 minutes). Addition- teams in 2020. The Golden Hurricane has defeated two ally, when any squad member enters the playing enclosure top-25 opponents in the same season for the first time Career Day prior to the game, the head coach or an assistant coach in program history.