Week 4 looked better for The American as the conference took home seven wins, with UConn losing to league foe USF. SMU looked like it’s in serious trouble right now, failing to compete in a 58-6 loss to Texas A&M. Tulane lost 47-13 to Duke, but played better than the score may suggest. Central Florida finally got on the winning track, while East Carolina continued to fly the league flag high with a 70-41 whooping over North Carolina.
Game of the Week: Miami RedHawks at Cincinnati Bearcats
This may be one of the oldest rivalries in college football, but Cincinnati has now won the last nine dating back to 2006. Both teams are at different ends of the spectrum, with Miami propping up the MAC lately, while the Bearcats have been regular contenders in the AAC/Big East.
This game wasn’t meant to be close, but no one mentioned that to the RedHawks. On a mildly interesting side note, the game feature two highly-touted former Notre Dame recruits in Andrew Hendrix and Gunner Kiel. It’s no surprise that Kiel came out on top, but a game Miami defense certainly didn’t make it easy for him.
Former Miami basketball ace Quinten Rollins showed he could play some football too, picking off Kiel twice and breaking up another of a team total of five pass break-ups. The run defense flexed some muscle too, holding the Bearcats to a team total of 99 yards.Kiel may have dipped a little from his lofty debut last week, but still completed 25-of-39 passes for 271 yards and another four TDs.
Hendrix had less success, except when he was throwing to David Frazier. Hendrix completed just 13-of-26 passes for 262 yards with two scores and an interception, but Frazier showed some worrying holes in the Cincy secondary, catching five passes for 162 yards and both touchdowns, including catches of 74 and 41 yards. The 74-yard TD score came a minute into the third quarter, pulling the RedHawks back to 24-21, but the Bearcats’ upped the tempo on defense, and Miami only managed a field goal.
A missed fourth-quarter field goal gave the ball to Cincinnati at its 20 with 6:32, but the RedHawks never saw the football again as the Bearcats methodically chewed up the remaining time behind the running of Tion Green.
Offensive Player of the Week: Shane Carden, East Carolina Pirates
This could get very boring if Carden keeps winning every week, but thankfully there are some other worthy contenders around the conference.
However, it has to go to the senior quarterback, who led a Pirate offense that pillaged North Carolina to the tune of 70 points. Carden’s numbers weren’t mind-blowing—30 completions in 48 attempts for 438 yards and four touchdowns—but don’t believe for a second that he is not the springboard which launches the entire attack.
With the Tar Heels gearing up to shut him down, running back Breon Allen gashed his way for 211 yards and two TDs on 18 carries, but would he have had the same success with a lesser quarterback? Even with UNC focused on Carden, he still picked them apart. A fine win, and an even better performance.
Defensive Player of the Week: Tank Jakes, Memphis Tigers
The Tigers have been one of the more surprising teams this season, with a dominant opening win over Austin Peay (yeah, yeah—this is Memphis remember?), and a battle against UCLA that left the Bruins needing a change of underwear at the end.
Last weekend, the defense battered and bruised a solid Middle Tennessee outfit, never letting it get into the game in a 36-17 defense-fueled win. Jakes set the tone for said defensive effort, sacking MTSU quarterback Austin Grammer for a safety in the first quarter, forcing him to fumble a ball that was returned for a TD by Bobby McCain, and later intercepting Grammer.
Overall, the senior linebacker finished with seven tackles, 3.0 for loss (two were sacks), one forced fumble, one interception, and the safety. Oh, and Grammer likely wakes up sweating with thoughts of Jakes every night since.
Special Teams Player of the Week: Mattias Ciabatti, South Florida Bulls
This could soon be the Mattias Ciabatti Award if he keeps up this level of play this season. Despite playing in a downpour that ground the offenses to a halt (yeah, UConn and USF, it was the rain), Ciabatti continued to be his defense’s best friend with another outstanding performance.
Punting six times, the junior dropped five of them inside the Huskies’ 12-yard line, forcing them to drive the length of the pitch in order to score. It was an effective tactic, as Connecticut managed just 14 points and the weather forced them to cast the passing game aside (yeah, the weather) and try and ground out the yards.
For those interested, UConn did return one of the punts, but Deshon Foxx was dropped for a two-yard loss, giving him a slightly better net punting average (41.7) than his gross (41.3).
Team of the Week: East Carolina Pirates
You could probably take your pick of teams this week and make a pretty convincing argument, but when a G5 team puts 70 points on a decent ACC team, you have to give a nod in their direction. The defense had some concerns, giving up 41 points, but UNC converted just 6-of-18 third downs, and Zeke Bigger scored on a pick-six.
What more can you say? The Pirates are currently ranked 23rd in the country, and are 2-0 against the ACC. Can anyone stop them from here on out?
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