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UConn football had the weekend off before its final two games of the season. Only one of the Huskies’ final two opponents played, but there is plenty going on elsewhere around the conference.
ECU (3-7) - Nov. 23
The Pirates were also off this week before their big matchup in East Hartford with the Huskies on Saturday. Last week, when UConn lost badly to Cincinnati, ECU hung tight with a strong SMU team.
Temple (7-3) - Nov. 30
The Owls got off to a 13-0 start and were able to hold off Tulane’s fourth-quarter surge to take home a 29-21 win at home over the Green Wave. The visitors scored with 6:48 to go to bring the game back to one possession and forced two Owl three-and-outs, but both of their final drives stalled on fourth-and-longs that they could not convert. Temple forced three turnovers and scored nine points off of them, including one that was on the second to last play of the first half. Anthony Russo threw for 221 yards on 22-of-38 passing for two touchdowns and an interception. Additionally, Todd Centeio added a touchdown on 4-of-6 passing for 76 yards. On the ground, Re’Mahn Davis led the way for 69 yards.
What’s going on in the American Athletic Conference?
Cincinnati came one step closer to clinching a spot in the American Athletic Conference championship game with a last-second win over USF. The Bearcats can secure their place with a victory on Saturday over Temple. However, the West is just as crowded as it was last week.
East Division Standings
| Team | Record | Remaining Games |
|---|---|---|
| Team | Record | Remaining Games |
| Cincinnati | 6-0 | Temple, @Memphis |
| UCF | 4-2 | @ Tulane, USF |
| Temple | 4-2 | @Cincinnati, UConn |
| USF | 2-4 | Memphis, @UCF |
| UConn | 0-6 | ECU, @Temple |
| ECU | 0-6 | @UConn, Tulsa |
With Cincinnati’s win over USF, UCF is now eliminated from the division race. The only scenario in which Cincinnati does not represent the East Division is one where the Bearcats lose out and Temple wins out. Even if the Knights take both of their remaining games as well, Temple would lose out of the three-way tiebreaker first because it lost to USF, whereas the other teams, in this scenario, either have won or would win. This would create a two-way tie with Cincinnati, which has already beaten UCF.
West Division Standings
| Team | Record | Remaining Games |
|---|---|---|
| Team | Record | Remaining Games |
| SMU | 5-1 | @Navy, Tulane |
| Navy | 5-1 | SMU, @Houston |
| Memphis | 5-1 | @USF, Cincinnati |
| Tulane | 3-3 | UCF, @SMU |
| Houston | 1-5 | @Tulsa, Navy |
| Tulsa | 1-5 | Houston, @ECU |
Memphis advanced to 5-1 with a win over Houston, while Navy played Notre Dame and SMU took the week off. As a result, all three teams are tied headed into the final two weeks of play. The tie will be down to two on Saturday, when SMU and Navy square off. Memphis still controls its own destiny over its final two games, but the winner of that matchup will be first in line to represent the West if the Tigers fall to either USF or Cincinnati. Tulane was already on the outside looking in, but the Green Wave were eliminated with their loss to Temple.