The American Athletic Conference couldn't have planned its final week of the regular season any better.
There are still four teams in contention for the two spots in the conference's first football championship game, which will be played Dec. 5.
The winner of Friday’s game between No. 16/15 Navy (9-1, 8-0 American) and No. 21/21 Houston (10-1, 7-1 American) at TDECU Stadium in Houston will represent the West Division in the championship and will host the game.
Temple (8-2, 6-1 American) is in control of its own fate in the East Division. If the Owls defeat UConn at Lincoln Financial Field Saturday night, they will win the East and keep the dream of its first league championship in school history alive. If the Owls lose, USF (7-4, 5-2 American), which has emerged as one of the hottest teams in the country in the last seven weeks, could represent the division if they defeat rival UCF Thanksgiving night.
No wonder attendance and viewership for this league are up. The American could have as many as nine bowl-eligible teams Navy, Houston, Temple, Memphis, USF, UConn and Cincinnati are already in. Tulsa would make it with a win at Tulane Friday, and East Carolina would qualify if the Pirates beat Cincinnati Saturday. Given the high level of competition in the league, The American champion deserves a bid to a New Year’s Bowl.
This has been a fun season and there is plenty of drama left here on all levels, folks – as much as there is in any other conference.
“This conference is second to nobody,” said Cincinnati coach Tommy Tuberville, who has been a head coach in the Big 12 (at Texas Tech) and the SEC (with Auburn and Mississippi) and won a national championship as an assistant at Miami (Fla.). “You just look at the athletes. So we’re not considered in the so-called Power 5, but I’ve never really given that much thought. It’s about who you play, and when you play, and how you play, and at the end of the year, how you’ve looked and how you’ve stacked up against everybody else.”
Temple had a huge bounceback win over Memphis, 31-12, at The Linc Saturday, as the Owl defense, which had uncharacteristically given up 84 points to SMU and USF the past two weeks, kept Payton Lynch -- arguably the best NFL quarterback prospect in the country-- and the Tigers’ high-scoring offense out of the end zone.
“When we are on the same page and the defense is rolling the way it was today, we are hard to beat,” said Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich , who had 11 tackles against Memphis, giving him 107 on the season.
Matakevich became the first Temple player to make 100 or more tackles all four years and only the seventh in Football Bowl Subdivision history, should make someone's first team All American.
Temple junior quarterback P.J. Walker threw two touchdowns, giving him a school record 50 for his career and the Owls also rushed for 200 yards, impressive given the fact star running back Jahad Thomas is still not 100 percent with sore ribs.
Temple has been the feel good story in Philadelphia this season, given the fact that no professional sports team has participated in a playoff game in the last year-and-a-half. The Phillies lost 100 games and the winless 76ers were 0-14 the last time we checked.
As well as the Owls played, they cannot take anything for granted. USF, which defeated Cincinnati 65-27 Friday night, is breathing down their necks.
“I said at the beginning, when we had those preseason rankings, some of the guys at the top won't be there and some of the guys at the bottom won't be at the bottom,” said USF coach Willie Taggart in Saturday's wee hours, shortly after his team had steamrolled to its sixth triumph in seven games.
"That's this conference. But we, as a football team, had one goal and we believed we could reach that goal."
UConn added another layer to the suspense with the biggest win of the Bob Diaco era when the Huskies upset previously unbeaten Houston, 20-17, in East Hartford to become bowl eligible for the first time in five years.
Noel Thomas caught two touchdown passes, including a 45-yard score on a double pass in the fourth quarter and the Huskies held the Cougars to 318 yards of total offense.
“It just shows a great depth from top to bottom, in terms the American Conference,” said Diaco. “There are very talented teams, strong teams, tough teams, well-coached teams with talented players.”
Navy continued to make waves, rushing for a season-high 457 yards on 61 carries during a 44-24 victory over Tulsa. Quarterback Kennan Reynolds, who holds the NCAA FBS record for rushing TDs by a quarterback, chipped in 81 and a touchdown on 19 carries and only ended up throwing three passes on the night before his early exit.
“Everybody talks about Navy's offense and they are extremely good,” said Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery. “But you look at them defensively and they are very talented.”
“I think I can speak for everybody in our program here at Navy, from coaches, to staff, to administrators, and to players, it’s been a great experience for us,” said Midshipmen coach Ken Niumatalolo. “The football has been phenomenal, there are really good teams. The venues that we’ve played in have been really good, and the whole atmosphere has been first-class.”
Conferences dream of scenarios like this. The American should sit back and enjoy it.