The Cougars moved into a tie with Navy for first place in the AAC West after Memphis suffered their first loss of the season. | File photo/The Cougar
An intense weekend in the American Athletic Conference yielded some surprising results, including one team falling from the ranks of the unbeaten.
Houston and Cincinnati
The Cougars came into the game looking for their first win against the University of Cincinnati as members of the AAC, while the Bearcats were hoping to extend their winning streak to three games.
While the teams entered halftime tied up, the Cougars came out with the momentum to start the third quarter, jumping out to a 30-14 lead at one point, before the Bearcats came storming back.
Cincinnati couldn’t cap the rally, however, as Houston improved to 9-0 on the season and 5-0 in the American with the 33-30 win. Cincinnati dropped to 5-4 overall and 2-3 in the AAC.
Memphis and Navy
The United States Naval Academy and the University of Memphis entered their game tied atop the West division of the AAC, along with UH.
The Tigers also entered the night placed 13th in the College Football Playoff rankings. They looked to build on their momentum for a possible push into the post-season.
The Midshipmen had other plans, however, as they outscored the Tigers 28-10 in the second half to cement the 45-20 win.
With the loss, Navy slipped from the ranks of the unbeaten, falling to 8-1 and 4-1 in conference, while Navy improved to 7-1 overall and 5-0 in the AAC.
SMU and Temple
The Temple University Owls were coming off a physical loss against the University of Notre Dame and showed some signs of fatigue against the Southern Methodist University Mustangs.
The two teams were close the entire night, with SMU threatening to pull the upset, but the Owls put up 22 points in the final quarter to ensure the win on the road 60-40.
Tulsa and UCF
The University of Central Florida traveled to take on the University of Tulsa Golden Hurricane, looking for their first win of the season, but Tulsa had other ideas.
The Hurricane outscored UCF 21-10 in the fourth quarter, crushing any hopes of a Knights comeback to take the 45-30 win at home.
Tulsa improved to 5-4 this year with the win, gaining their second conference win, while UCF drops to 0-10 this year.
Tulane and UConn
In a low scoring affair, the University of Connecticut put together back-to-back wins for the second time this season with a win against Tulane University.
The Huskies managed to hold the Green Wave to just 140 yards of total offense in the game, allowing just a field goal in the 7-3 win.
UConn now sits at 5-5 overall and 3-3 in the AAC, while Tulane drops to 2-7 this season and just 1-5 in conference play.
ECU and USF
A matchup of two of the better teams in the AAC east, the University of South Florida and East Carolina University battled for four quarters on Saturday.
The Bulls, fueled by a 67-yard touchdown pass in the final few minutes, came away with the win, improving to 5-4 on the year and 3-2 in the AAC, while ECU dropped to 4-6 overall and 2-4 against conference foes.
