The American Athletic Conference reputation took a big hit when reeling Cincinnati was run over by a just okay Miami (Fla.) team, and despite showing some fight late in the game, it was an ugly loss. UCF restored some credit, taking down a tough BYU team, albeit a Cougar squad that had a new starter at quarterback after star Taysom Hill was lost for the year.
Speaking of new starters, Houston came back against Memphis to steal the win behind the dual-threat skills of Greg Ward Jr., who had been mostly moonlighting at receiver this season. UConn ran into a brick wall that was Tulane’s defense, and while Tulsa gave Temple a scare, the Owls ultimately went home with the win.
The AAC favorite, East Carolina, got a first-half wake-up call against USF, but turned on the class in the second.
Game of the Week: Houston @ Memphis
Houston was coming off a tough loss to UCF the week prior and had been sloppy on offense all season, while Memphis had been rolling. Starting wide receiver-turned-quarterback Greg Ward Jr. on the road, things didn’t look great for the Cougars.
That perception didn’t change three plays in when Ward was picked off by safety Fritz Etienne, setting up the Tigers in nice field position. The drive fizzled, and Jake Elliott missed a 44-yard field goal. Turnovers and missed opportunities would become the story of the day.
Houston was held to a three-and-out on the next drive, and Tigers quarterback Paxton Lynch quickly went to work with a smart drive that finished with his touchdown pass to Tevin Jones. The Cougars responded with a nice drive, but normally reliable kicker Keith Bullard missed from 31 yards to keep Houston off the board.
The Cougars forced a punt quickly, but Steven Aikens muffed the return and Memphis was in good scoring position again. Lynch scored from six yards out to give the Tigers a 14-0 lead, and Houston needed to put points on the board, or this game could quickly get out of hand.
It didn’t take long. After converting a short third down, Ward kept the ball and tore through the Tiger defense, showing his speed and athleticism in scoring from 64 yards out. Lynch threw a pick-six on the next play, but an illegal block in the back brought the touchdown back. Even so, Houston still had possession at the Tiger 21, and wasted little time taking advantage, with four consecutive runs, the last of which saw Kenneth Farrow punch the ball in from two yards out.
The game got even sloppier after that. On the ensuing drive, Lynch fumbled, and Cougar tackle Jeremiah Farley came up with the loose ball, but Ward coughed it right back up, with Tiger Tank Jakes doing the honors on the recovery. Memphis was back in excellent field position, but a sideline interference penalty on third down pushed them out, and Lynch was intercepted by linebacker Efrem Oliphant on the next play.
Houston couldn’t do anything with the ball, and a trio of punts followed. Keiwone Malone returned the third of those punts 23 yards into Cougar territory, and Lynch struck again with a TD pass to Daniel Montiel. Houston ran out the last few plays, and the teams entered the third quarter with the Tigers holding a 21-14 lead.
The teams traded punts to start the second half, but midway through the third, Ward led a nice drive, highlighted by his 32-yard run, and Ryan Jackson took the ball in from three yards out. After the defense shut down a promising Tiger drive, Ward and the Cougars went to work again. Helped out by a pass interference call, the quarterback hit a 25-yard TD pass at the beginning of the fourth quarter, giving Houston its first lead of the game.
Memphis struck back quickly, driving to the Houston 4-yard line, but a Steven Taylor sack on third down forced a field goal, and Jake Elliott obliged, but the Tigers still trailed. Houston couldn’t do anything with the ball, but Memphis failed to make any headway against a Cougar defense that wasn’t going to give up their lead without a fight.
Lynch completed a pass to Tevin Jones for a first down to start one drive, but William Jackson stripped the ball and recovered it to end a drive almost before it started. On the Tigers’ next drive, Oliphant intercepted Lynch for the second time, and the Cougars had the pleasure of running the victory formation for the remaining minute.
Offensive Player of the Week: Breon Allen, East Carolina
Shane Carden gets all the kudos for the Pirates’ success, but Breon Allen is a somewhat underrated part of the offense. When Carden and the passing attack was off form early against a game South Florida team, Allen carried the offense until the passing game caught up in the second half. Taking advantage of a Bulls defense intent on shutting down the Pirates aerial circus, Allen dodged and weaved his way to the tune of 124 yards and a TD on 18 carries.
He opened the scoring for ECU, slipping behind the Bulls secondary and catching a perfectly thrown Carden pass to score from 35 yards out. He also scored the go-ahead TD in the fourth quarter, bulling all 5-foot-8 and 190 pounds of himself into the endzone from four yards out. In addition to his rushing heroics, he also caught four passes for 50 yards and a score.
Defensive Player of the Week: Efrem Oliphant, Houston
This was a really hard choice between Oliphant and Terrance Plummer of UCF, who had a similarly monstrous performance. But Oliphant made some key plays, particularly at the end of the game to stem the Memphis attack. The senior linebacker was all over the field against the Tigers, making 12 tackles, 8 solo, with two in the backfield. One of his tackles for loss came at the goal-line, stuffing Brandon Hayes, and helping force a field goal instead of a TD.
Oliphant also had a pressure that forced Paxton Lynch to throw incomplete and picked him off twice, once in the second quarter to kill a drive, and the other late in the game to ruin the Tigers’ last-ditch drive. He was called for a penalty that called back a pick-six, but we can overlook that, I guess.
Special Teams Player of the Week: J.J. Worton, Central Florida
In a tough game when yards and points were often hard to come by, Worton was a factor as a punt returner, setting up two scores with big returns. The first came in the first quarter, as Worton wove through the heart of the BYU special teams unit en route to a 32-yard gain to set up a TD. The second came just minutes later, a 29-yard return that set up a field goal and 10-0 lead. Worton finished with 77 yards on 5 attempts.
Team of the Week: Central Florida
The Knights have had a tough start to the season, losing to some big name foes and struggling on offense behind a sophomore starter at quarterback and a stagnant running game. The defense has continued to play tough, and it showed against a BYU team that was lacking its star in Taysom Hill, but was still dangerous.
Justin Holman made just enough plays to overcome the struggling running game, and the defense and special teams did the rest, giving the Knights a solid win over a non-conference foe after their early losses.
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