UCF Is No. 12 In First CFP Rankings
UCF remains one of four unbeaten teams in FBS football, along with Alabama, Clemson and Notre Dame, as the Knights stand at 7-0 and riding a 20-game winning streak that dates to last season. UCF was ranked No. 12 Tuesday in the first in-season ranking by the College Football Playoff Selection Committee. That slot matches the Knights’ final CFP ranking from last season and is the highest rank of an American Athletic Conference team in any of the initial rankings of the CFP’s first five seasons.
Three From The American Are Maxwell Award Semifinalists; Oliver On Bednarik Award List
Three players from the American Athletic Conference are among the 20 semifinalists for the 2018 Maxwell Award, which goes to the nation’s outstanding player. UCF quarterback McKenzie Milton is one of two players who were named as semifinalists in each of the last two years (along with Wisconsin running back Jonathan Taylor), while Houston quarterback D’Eriq King and Memphis running back Darrell Henderson were chosen for the first time. Houston defensive end Ed Oliver, meanwhile, was named as a semifinalist for the Chuck Bednarik Award, which goes to the nation’s top defensive player. Oliver, who was a semifinalist for the award last year, looks to become the second American Athletic Conference player in four years to win the honor; Temple’s Tyler Matakevich won in 2015.
The Home Stretch
Beginning with this week’s schedule, all 12 American Athletic Conference teams are in action each week through the end of the regular season, with six conference games on the docket in each of the next four weeks in advance of the Dec. 1 American Championship. The conference championship game will be televised on ABC for the fourth consecutive season as the East and West Division champions meet at 3:30 p.m. ET.
East Division Lead At Stake Thursday
While UCF has built its first-place standing on the heels of its record-setting winning streak, Temple has shaken off a slow start to the season to join the Knights atop the East Division. The Owls have won five of their last six games, a run that has coincided with the insertion of quarterback Anthony Russo into the starting lineup. Temple, which was idle last week, scored a 24-17 overtime win against No. 20 Cincinnati in Week 8 and looks for a second straight win against a top-25 team with Thursday’s prime time showdown on ESPN against No. 9 UCF.
The Fab Four
USF saw its impressive eight-game winning streak come to an end last week, knocking the Bulls from the ranks of college football’s unbeaten teams. USF remains one of four teams from The American with one loss or fewer as the Bulls join Cincinnati and Houston at 7-1, while UCF stands at 7-0. The American and the SEC are the only conferences nationally that have four teams with one loss or fewer.
Triple-Double On Saturday
The American’s Saturday schedule includes a tripleheader of conference games on ESPNU and a doubleheader on CBS Sports Network. The ESPNU ledger has Memphis at ECU at noon ET, Navy at Cincinnati at 3:30 and Houston at SMU at 7. CBS Sports Network’s American lineup gets started with Tulane at USF at 3:30 before UConn is at Tulsa at 7 p.m.