Through 11 weeks of the 2016 season, Temple and Navy have the inside tracks on the American Athletic Conference divisional titles, though neither team can rest on its laurels in the final two weeks of regular-season play.
Navy took over sole possession of first place in The American’s West Division with a thrilling 42-40 win against Tulsa at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. QB Will Worth continued to come through in the clutch for the Midshipmen as he rushed for 122 yards and three touchdowns — two in the fourth quarter — and threw for 111 yards and a score. Tulsa QB Dane Evans did his part as well with a touchdown run, four touchdown passes and 369 passing yards, becoming the Golden Hurricane’s all-time passing leader (10,945 yards).
The win, which improved Navy to 5-1 in the West Division, was the 15th straight home victory for the Midshipmen, who own the longest home field winning streak nationally.
USF also improved to 5-1 in conference play Saturday as the Bulls moved into a first-place tie with idle Temple in the East Division with a 49-42 victory at Memphis. QB Quinton Flowers set an American Athletic Conference quarterback record with 210 rushing yards to go with three rushing touchdowns and a 24-of-29, 269-yard effort through the air, including a pair of TD passes. Flowers became the first player in league history to both rush and pass for 200 yards in a game as his 22-yard run on a broken play with 1:46 left delivered the win for the Bulls. QB Riley Ferguson threw for 331 yards and three touchdowns for Memphis.
Houston moved into second place in the West Division with a 30-18 victory against Tulane at TDECU Stadium. The Cougar defense accounted for nine points as a fumble recovery in the end zone put Houston on the board and a late safety capped the scoring on a day in which defense was prevalent on both sides. Houston picked up its 14th straight home win, trailing only Navy’s streak as the longest nationally.
UCF has punched its ticket to a bowl game as the Knights earned a 24-3 win at Cincinnati. UCF, which winless in 2015, picked up its sixth victory of the 2016 season by holding the Bearcats out of the end zone, extending the Knights’ streak to seven quarters without allowing a touchdown. LB Errol Clarke finished with three sacks and two forced fumbles as UCF improved to 6-4 overall and 4-2 in The American.
SMU got back to the .500 mark, both overall and in conference play, with a 55-31 win at East Carolina. CB Horace Richardson scored two touchdowns on interception returns, setting an American Athletic Conference single-game mark with 150 yards on INTs, while QB Ben Hicks threw three touchdown passes to lead the offense. SMU forced five turnovers to pick up the win, leaving the Mustangs within one win of bowl eligibility.