http://collegefootballnews.com/2016/amer...kes-week-1
American Athletic Conference Week 1 Rankings, Predictions & Quick Takes
How are the picks so far? SU: 10-2, ATS: 4-1
1. Houston (1-0)
Final Score: Houston 33, Oklahoma 23
Prediction: Oklahoma 38, Houston 23, OU -10, o/u: 68
Up Next: Lamar
Quick Take: That wasn’t just a win, that was a dominant performance for an offense dealing with a defense that had the entire summer to get ready. There were too many issues in the red zone – settling for three early field goals – and there was a big late fumble that allowed Oklahoma a new life, but the Cougars were one bad late play from probably winning 40-17. 33-23 is good enough.
– Houston stuns Oklahoma: 5 Things That Matter
2. South Florida (1-0)
Final Score: South Florida 56, Towson 20
Prediction: South Florida 34, Towson 17
Up Next: Northern Illinois
Quick Take: Quinton Flowers has to be more accurate. He threw for 178 yards and two scores, and he ran well with two touchdowns, but he misfired on ten of his 18 passes. There weren’t any problems overall with the running game taking over in the Gulf Coast Offense, and the defense was never threatened and created four takeaways, but even though the tempo was nice and time of possession doesn’t really matter, the O will have to hold on to the ball a bit more after having it for just over 22 minutes.
3. East Carolina (1-0)
Final Score: East Carolina 52, Western Carolina 7
Prediction: East Carolina 40, Western Carolina 17
Up Next: NC State
Quick Take: Boom. What did you want to see if you’re East Carolina? QB Philip Nelson. How sharp was he going to be? 28-of-32 for 398 yards and five scores with a rushing touchdown. He was nearly flawless, Anthony Scott ran for 120 yards, and Zay Jones went off with ten catches for 180 yards and a score. It was a dominant game before getting facing NC State at home with a chance to show just how good this O can be.
4. Cincinnati (1-0)
Final Score: Cincinnati 28, UT Martin 7
Prediction: Cincinnati 52, UT Martin 17
Up Next: at Purdue
Quick Take: Yuck. It was a brutally ugly offensive effort early on, but the defense took care of keeping this from being an embarrassing loss for the Bearcats. UTM might have come up with 323 yards, but it couldn’t seem to break through after an early scoring drive. Bigger picture, QB Hayden Moore has to be better. He threw for 260 yards and two scores with a pick, but it took a while to get warmed up. The defense doesn’t get to play UT Martin every week, and it’ll have a harder time at Purdue.
5. Navy (1-0)
Final Score: Navy 52, Fordham 16
Prediction: Navy 27, Fordham 20
Up Next: Connecticut
Quick Take: Fordham is a fantastic Patriot League team that just got rocked by the Navy offense. The ground game was unstoppable throughout averaging over eight yards per pop with Chris High taking off for 176 yards and two scores and Tago Smith rumbling for 97 yards and two touchdowns in place of Keenan Reynolds. The Midshipmen completed all four of its throws and hit the downfield plays in a nearly-perfect overall performance. The defense struggled a bit early, but the running attack calmed everything down.
6. Tulsa (1-0)
Final Score: Tulsa 45, San Jose State 10
Prediction: Tulsa 47, San Jose State 37, Tulsa -4
Up Next: at Ohio State
Quick Take: Tulsa’s got a dangerous passing game, but it was the running game that rocked with D’Angelo Brewer taking off for 164 of the team’s 305 rushing yards and scoring all three of the TDs on the ground. The defense didn’t have to worry about the run after the big early lead, but it did its part with three takeaways. There were some misfires, and the passing game didn’t always rock, but going into the Ohio State game it was a terrific performance.
7. Connecticut (1-0)
Final Score: Connecticut 24, Maine 21
Prediction: Connecticut 27, Maine 11
Up Next: at Navy
Quick Take: This is going to be Connecticut football this year – again. It’s going to have to battle and fight for everything, but Maine wasn’t supposed to make it this close. The run defense was fantastic, but Bryant Shirreffs was the only thing working for the Huskies on O with a team-leading 95 rushing yards and 162 through the air. It took a late touchdown drive and a 37-yard Bobby Puyol field goal to get by, and again, get used to this. UConn might not be pretty, but it’ll grind its way to tough wins.
8. Memphis (1-0)
Final Score: Memphis 35, SE Missouri State 17
Prediction: Memphis 41, SE Missouri State 10
Up Next: Kansas (Sept. 17)
Quick Take: It might not have been too easy after getting out to a hot start, but it was a cruise control win for Mike Norvell’s first win. Up 29-0, the Tigers didn’t do much offensively in the second half settling for just two field goals. With three turnovers and little from the ground game, there’s still plenty of work to do, but Riley Ferguson threw three touchdown passes to go along with his two picks. It was good enough, and now there are two weeks to prepare for Kansas.
9. Tulane (0-1)
Final Score: Wake Forest 7, Tulane 3
Prediction: Wake Forest 31, Tulane 16, Wake Forest -17, o/u: 43
Up Next: Southern
Quick Take: The first go-round in the new offense didn’t work so hot. The Green Wave did a great job of holding on defensively – not letting Wake Forest do anything on the ground or to move the chains – but even after controlling the clock and controlling the game, the offense couldn’t put up points. QB Glen Cuiellette didn’t do anything down the field and led the team with just 54 yards on 22 carries as the whole thing seemed like a work in progress.
10. UCF (1-0)
Final Score: UCF 38, South Carolina State 0
Prediction: UCF 37, South Carolina State 15
Up Next: at Michigan
Quick Take: Michigan might be next, but after not winning a game last year, UCF got a victory in Scott Frost’s first game. It wasn’t all rosy with the running game sputtering way too much – UCF couldn’t crank out any big runs. The defense took care of the game forcing three takeaways and allowing just 223 yards, and SCSU helped with 13 penalties, but no matter how it happened, UCF got a win.
11. Temple (0-1)
Final Score: Army 28, Temple 13
Prediction: Temple 31, Army 16, Temple -17
Up Next: Stonybrook
Quick Take: Considering Temple started out last year with a big win over Penn State to set the tone for a great campaign, this couldn’t have been more disastrous. The run defense couldn’t seem to figure out how to deal with the slippery Army runners in the option, and the line couldn’t generate enough of a push against a swarming Black Knight defense. The one thing the Owls couldn’t do was throw picks, and Phillip Walker was picked off three times and got sacked four times.
12. SMU (1-0)
Final Score: SMU 34, North Texas 21
Prediction: SMU 37, North Texas 27, SMU -9.5
Up Next: at Baylor
Quick Take: The Mustangs might have had a few issues against the North Texas passing game, but the combination of Matt Davis and Ben Hicks lit up the Mean Green secondary with Courtland Sutton making four grabs for 162 yards and four scores. The offense was balanced and effective – it was another step forward, but the big plays through the air have to continue with Baylor up next.
Worse than Tulane? You don't watch much football do you?
