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AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE FOOTBALL REPORT 2020 Season • Week 3 @American_FB Contact: Chuck Sullivan, Assistant Commissioner for Communications [email protected] • 401.453.0660 • @ChuckSullivan15 545 East John Carpenter Freeway • Iriving, TX 02903 AMERICAN OVERALL SCHOOL AP/Coaches W-L PCT PF PA H A W-L PCT PF PA H A N STREAK MEMPHIS rv/rv 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 1-0 1.000 37 24 0-0 1-0 0-0 Won 1 USF 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 1-0 1.000 27 6 1-0 0-0 0-0 Won 1 SMU rv/rv 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 1-0 1.000 31 24 0-0 1-0 0-0 Won 1 TULANE -/rv 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 1-0 1.000 27 24 0-0 1-0 0-0 Won 2 UCF 21/21 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Won 3 CINCINNATI 20/22 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Won 1 EAST CAROLINA 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Lost 1 HOUSTON 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Lost 1 TEMPLE 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Lost 1 TULSA 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-0 Won 1 NAVY rv/rv 0-0 — 0 0 0-0 0-0 0-1 .000 3 55 0-1 0-0 0-0 Lost 1 THIS WEEK THE AMERICAN TODAY SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 19 An abbreviated Week 2 schedule in the American Athletic Conference saw USF and Tulane as the only Austin Peay at Cincinnati conference teams in action Saturday. Both squads came away with wins to improve the league’s early Time: Noon nonconference record to 4-1. Series: Cincinnati leads, 6-0 Last Meeting: Aug. 31, 2017 (Cincinnati, 26-14) Tulane played one of the more exciting games on Saturday’s college football ledger as the Green Wave overcame a late 24-6 deficit to take a 27-24 victory at South Alabama, spoiling the Jaguars’ unveiling of Houston at Baylor their new stadium. Time: Noon Series: Baylor leads, 14-13-1 Last Meeting: Oct. 14, 1995 (Baylor, 47-7) Tulane scored the last 21 points of the game and didn’t hold a lead until a 16-yard touchdown run by RB Amare Jones with 3:18 left in the fourth quarter. Redshirt freshman RB Tyjae Spears finished with a Tulsa at Oklahoma State game-high 105 rushing yards on 11 carries, while RB Cameron Carroll had two key rushing touchdowns Time: Noon as the Green Wave rushed for 203 yards and four TDs. Series: Oklahoma State leads, 42-28-5 Last Meeting: Sept. 14, 2019 (Oklahoma State, 40-21) USF made a winner of first-year head coach Jeff Scott in the season-opener as the Bulls enjoyed a 27-6 victory against The Citadel at Raymond James Stadium. On a wet and humid night in Tampa, the Bulls Navy at Tulane overwhelmed the Bulldogs thanks to 302 rushing yards, including a game-high 87 yards from RB Kelly Joiner. Time: Noon Series: Tulane leads, 12-11-1 Last Meeting: Sept. 14, 2019 (Oklahoma State, 40-21) The game also produced the early highlight of the 2020 season as WR Omarion Dollison scored his first career touchdown in unusual fashion. With The Citadel punting from its own end zone, the Bulldog punter USF at Notre Dame mishandled the snap and rushed to get a punt airborne, only for Dollison to catch it in the end zone for Time: 2:30 p.m. a rare 0-yard punt return touchdown. Series: USF leads, 1-01 Last Meeting: Sept. 3, 2011 (USF, 23-20) More conventionally, USF’s defense kept The Citadel out of the end zone and limited the Bulldogs to 284 total yards. UCF at Georgia Tech Time: 3:30 p.m. Week 3 promises to be busier for American Athletic Conference teams as eight conference teams take Series: Georgia Tech leads, 3-0 Last Meeting: Sept. 2. 2000 (Georgia Tech, 21-17) the field. Three of the seven games involving teams from The American will be on over-the-air broadcast television. SMU at North Texas Time: 6 p.m. Next Saturday is highlighted by a doubleheader on ABC as Tulane hosts Navy in the conference opener for Series: SMU leads, 32-6-1 both teams (noon ET), while UCF begins its season with a nonconference game at Georgia Tech (3:30 p.m.). Last Meeting: Sept. 7, 2019 (SMU, 49-27) Tulsa and USF will face nationally ranked opponents on the road as the Golden Hurricane opens against All times Eastern No. 15/16 Oklahoma State (noon ET, ESPN), while the Bulls visit No. 10/10 Notre Dame (2:30 p.m., USA). Houston opens its season with a trip to Waco to face Baylor (noon ET, Fox), while SMU also makes an in-state road trip to visit North Texas (6 p.m. ET, CBS Sports Network). Cincinnati, the ony team playing a nonconference home game this weekend, opens against Austin Peay (noon ET, ESPN+). 1 AMERICAN NOTEBOOK It’s A Start Home Is Where The Wins Are 2020 COLLEGE FOOTBALL RULES CHANGES The American Athletic Conference has two teams ranked UCF has won 21 straight home games, trailing only Clem- in the Associated Press and USA Today presason polls for son (22) for the nation’s longest home winning streak. Players Numbering the first time in the eight-year history of the conference. Cincinnati has won 13 straight at home, which is seventh. No more than two squad members may be assigned or wear the same jersey number. There were no limits to The Power 6 Is Real Happy New Year duplicate numbers in previous seasons. With the recog- Four American Athletic Conference teams (No. 17 Mem- American Athletic Conference teams have played in a New nized popularity of the single-digit numbers, the digit “0” phis, No. 20 Navy, No. 21 Cincinnati, No. 24 UCF) were Year’s Six bowl five times in the conference’s first seven is added as a legal number. Any number to be preceded ranked in the top 25 of both the Associated Press and seasons. The American is 3-2 in New Year’s Six games by “0” such as “07” or “00” remains illegal. the Amway Coaches’ polls to close the 2019 season. since the 2013 season. Targeting - Disqualified Player Only the Big Ten (six) and SEC (five) had more ranked Double Digits There were no changes to the targeting rule from an teams than The American. The four top-25 teams for The Memphis won 12 games for the first time in program on-field officiating perspective and the rule continues to American were more than the Big 12 (three), Pac-12 (two) history in 2019. Cincinnati has registered back-to-back serve the game well and is changing player behavior in and ACC (one) among others 11-win seasons. Navy matched its program record with terms of use of the helmet. The change for 2020 is that 11 wins in 2019. SMU registered its first 10-win season now a player disqualified for targeting will be declared Rank And File since 1984. UCF has turned in three consecutive 10-win ineligible for further participation in the game, but the The American has had at least three teams ranked in the seasons. player may remain in the team area. final polls in two of the last three seasons. Bowling League All other disqualifying fouls such as fighting, two un- Conference Calls The American had seven bowl-eligible teams in 2019 (UCF, sportsmanlike conduct fouls, flagrant personal fouls, etc. The American Athletic Conference ranked fourth among Cincinnati, Memphis, Navy, SMU, Temple and Tulane). The will be reclassified as fouls requiring ejection. Players the 10 FBS conferences in nonconference winning per- American has had at least seven teams in bowl games ejected will be required to leave the playing enclosure centage in 2019. in each year of the league’s 12-team alignment, which and must remain out of view of the field of play under 2019 Nonconference Winning Percentage (All Games) began in 2015. team supervision. Conference W L Pct. SEC 50 16 .758 Behind Center Pregame Warmup /Officials’ Jurisdiction Big Ten 38 13 .745 Nine of The American’s 11 teams return their regular The Rules Committee address issues of unsportsmanlike Big 12 25 11 .694 starting quarterback from the 2019 season. behavior in the pregame and took steps to clean this American 38 17 .691 2020 Returning Starting Quarterbacks action up. The officials’ jurisdiction will now begin at 90 Pac-12 28 15 .651 Dillon Gabriel, UCF minutes before kickoff (previously 60 minutes). Addition- ACC 39 26 .600 Desmond Ridder, Cincinnati ally, when any squad member enters the playing enclosure Sun Belt 25 20 .556 Holton Ahlers, East Carolina prior to the game, the head coach or an assistant coach Mountain West 35 21 .554 Clayton Tune, Houston from that team must be present on the field. Furthermore, Conference USA 27 37 .422 Brady White, Memphis when any squad member is present within the playing MAC 21 34 .382 Jordan McCloud, USF enclosure after the officials’ jurisdiction, they must be Shane Buechele, SMU wearing their jersey or have their numeral readily visible.