The American Athletic Conference (AAC) is officially prepared to declare half of its championship.
No. 17 (AP) Memphis, stampeded over the Southern Methodist Mustangs in a 66-45 win in Tennessee to cement the West division.
SMU was the only hope for any teams in the division to have a shot to claw back on top. Even if the Mustangs were victorious, Houston would remain jealous as their hopes were drowned by the Green Wave of Tulane while Navy’s hopes were sunk in a noble effort against Notre Dame’s Fighting Irish. In short, even if the Tigers had fallen to the ‘Stangs, they would still be sharpening their teeth to face either No. 13 (AP) University of Central Florida or No. 22( AP) University of South Florida in the conference championship.
In the East, the Knights charged past the Temple Owls in a dominant 45-19 victory in their final road game while the Bulls outlasted Tulsa at home, 27-20. This means that the Black Friday “War on I-4” in Orlando will determine who will represent the East in the AAC Championship Game.
Milton completed 16 of 23 passes for 208 yards and four TDs and added a rushing TD before coming out of the game late in the 3Q of @UCF_Football‘s 45-19 win against Temple. pic.twitter.com/ReO90PXOMg
— American Football (@American_FB) November 20, 2017
For the Offensive Player of the Week, UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton and East Carolina wide receiver Trevon Brown split the honor. Milton posted 16-23 passing for 208 yards and four touchdowns while leading his Knights to seven scoring drives out of the 10 total possessions.
Meanwhile, Brown posted a conference and school record as he lit up the stat sheet with nine catches, 270 yards, and two end zone trips to help the Pirates plunder the Cincinnati Bearcats in a 48-20 victory.
Brown set @ECUPiratesFB‘s and The American’s single-game record for receiving yards as he had nine catches for 270 yards and two touchdowns in a 48-20 win against Cincinnati. pic.twitter.com/asHlzYh5pm
— American Football (@American_FB) November 20, 2017
On Defense, this week’s top AAC player is USF’s Auggie Sanchez. The linebacker matched a career-high 14 tackles including three for a loss in the win over the Golden Hurricane. Sanchez now boasts 378 tackles in his career which lists him third for the pulls all time with one more game still to play in the regular season.
Sanchez matched his career high with 14 tackles, including a sack and 3.0 tackles for loss, to lead @USFFootball to a 27-20 win against Tulsa. pic.twitter.com/xnvzG13qpR
— American Football (@American_FB) November 20, 2017
The accolades stay in Tampa as South Florida’s Emilio Nadelman once again gets the nod for Special Teams Player of the Week. Nadelman went two-for-two on field goals from 41 and 48 yards with three PATs. This performance leaves him with 20 three-pointers on the season which sets a school record with still at least one more contest remaining for USF.
It’s self-evident that the upcoming Game of the Week is the nationally televised USF vs. UCF match-up set to air on ABC @ 3:30 pm Eastern
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