WEEK 13 PREVIEWS
FRIDAY, NOV. 25 • NOON • ABC
TULANE at CINCINNATI
Nippert Stadium (40,000/UBU Speed Series 55-M)
Cincinnati, Ohio
Television
ABC
Roy Philpott, Andre Ware and Paul Carcaterra
Tulane Radio Cincinnati Radio
KVDU-FM 104.1 WLW-AM 700
SiriusXM 103/202/965 SiriusXM 390/980
THE GAME
Friday’s game will be the 19th meeting between Tulane and Cincinnati in a series that dates to 1909 … The Green Wave holds an 11-7 series lead, but Cincinnati has won all four matchups under The American’s banner, including a 31-12 decision last year in New Orleans … Tulane’s last win against the Bearcats was a 35-17 victory in 2002.
19/20 TULANE
9-2, 6-1 American
Head Coach
Willie Fritz (Pittsburg State ’83) 40-45, seventh season at Tulane 211-114, 25th season as collegiate head coach
Notes
Tulane bounced back from its first conference loss with a solid 59-24 win against SMU last Thursday in New Orleans … The win put Tulane in position to play in a conference championship game for the first time in program history … A win against Cincinnati would put The American Championship in New Orleans … Tulane leads The American in scoring defense (19.5 ppg) … QB Michael Pratt has completed 174 of 266 passes for 2,219 yards and 20 touchdowns with four interceptions … RB Tyjae Spears has 996 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns, ranking third in The American in rushing (90.6 ypg) … Six players have at least 20 receptions … LB Dorian Williams has 93 tackles with 6.5 tackles for loss and an interception, while LB Nick Anderson has 88 stops with 5.5 tackles for loss.
21/21 CINCINNATI
9-2, 6-1 American
Head Coach
Luke Fickell (Ohio State ’97) 56-17, sixth season at Cincinnati 62-24, seventh season as collegiate head coach
Notes
Cincinnati takes a three-game winning streak into the regular-season finale as the Bearcats bid for a fourth straight appearance in The American Championship … Cincinnati has won its last 32 games at Nippert Stadium and trails only Clemson (40) for the longest active home winning streak … QB Ben Bryant has passed for 2,731 yards and 21 touchdowns, but Bryant left Saturday’s game against Temple with a foot injury … QB Evan Prater has completed 72% of his passes (18 of 25) in limited action … RB Charles McClelland has rushed for 777 yards and six touchdowns … LB Ivan Pace Jr., who was named as an Associated Press mid-season All-America selection, has 107 tackles with 19.0 tackles for loss, 9.0 sacks and a forced fumble.
SATURDAY, NOV. 26 • 1 P.M. • ESPN+
EAST CAROLINA at TEMPLE
Lincoln Financial Field (69,596/Natural Grass)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Television
ESPN+
Richard Cross and Taylor McHargue
East Carolina Radio Temple Radio
WNCT-FM 107.9 WPEN-FM 97.5
SiriusXM 391/981
THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the 19th meeting between East Carolina and Temple in a series that began in 1982 … The series is tied at 9-9 following back-to-back wins by the Pirates … East Carolina was a 45-3 winner in Greenville last season behind three touchdown passes by QB Holton Ahlers and two rushing TDs by RB Keaton Mitchell.
EAST CAROLINA
6-5, 3-4 American
Head Coach
Mike Houston (Mars Hill ’94) 20-24, fourth season at East Carolina 100-49, 12th season as collegiate head coach
Notes
East Carolina gained bowl eligibility with its Oct. 28 win at BYU, but the Pirates look to snap a two-game slide in their regular-season finale … East Carolina dropped a 42-3 decision to Houston last Saturday in its final home game … QB Holton Ahlers has thrown for 3,094 yards and 20 touchdowns and lead all active FBS players in passing yards (13,313) and total offense (14,712) … Ahlers ranks 16th on the NCAA FBS career passing chart … RB Keaton Mitchell leads The American in rushing at 110.3 yards per game and 1,103 rushing yards … WR Isaiah Winstead has 75 receptions for 950 yards and three touchdowns, while WR C.J. Johnson has nine TDs … LB Jeremy Lewis has 3.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss, while S Julius Wood leads the team with 71 tackles to go with two interceptions.
TEMPLE
3-8, 1-6 American
Head Coach
Stan Drayton (Allegheny ’93) 3-8, first season
Notes
Temple has dropped back-to-back games heading into its season finale after the Owls fell 23-3 to Cincinnati last Saturday … The Owls had scored 90 points in its previous two games before being held to a field goal against the Bearcats … Freshman QB E.J. Warner has completed 223
of 380 passes for 2,501 yards and 13 touchdowns with 11 interceptions in his rookie season … RB Edward Saydee has rushed for 575 yards and five TDs … WR Jose Barbon leads the team with 758 receiving yards on 59 catches … LB Layton Jordan has scored three defensive touchdowns … Jordan has 51 tackles with 18.5 tackles for loss and 9.0 sacks, two interceptions, three forced fumbles and a fumble recovery … LB Jordan Magee has a team-high 82 tackles … Temple leads The American with 37 sacks and has allowed a conference-best 10 sacks.
SATURDAY, NOV. 26 • 3:30 P.M. • ESPN2 OR ESPNU
MEMPHIS at SMU
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (32,000/FieldTurf)
Dallas, Texas
Television
ESPN2 OR ESPNU
TBD
Memphis Radio SMU Radio
WKIM-FM 98.9 KTCK-FM 96.7
SiriusXM 389/979
THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the 15th meeting between Memphis and SMU in a series that dates to 1976 … Memphis holds a 10-4 series lead following last year’s 28-25 victory … The home team has won the last three meetings … Memphis has won seven of the nine American Athletic Conference matchups.
MEMPHIS
6-5, 4-4 American
Head Coach
Ryan Silverfield (Hamden-Sydney ’03) 20-17, third season
Notes
Memphis looks to close the regular season with three straight wins after the Tigers clinched bowl eligibility with a 59-0 victory against North Alabama last Saturday … The Tigers went 4-1 out of the chute before suffering a four-game slide the preceded back-to-back wins in the
home stretch … Memphis is bowl eligible for the ninth consecutive season … QB Seth Henigan has completed 238 of 372 passes for 2,988 yards and 18 touchdowns with seven interceptions … TE Caden Prieskorn has 42 receptions for 548 yards and a team-high six touchdowns and is one of five Memphis players with at least 300 receiving yards … RB Jevyon Dukcer has a team-high 380 rushing yards, while RB Asa Martin has 356 yards … LB
Xavier Cullens has a team-high 92 tackles with 7.5 tackles for loss, three interceptions and four fumble recoveries.
SMU
6-5, 4-3 American
Head Coach
Rhett Lashlee (Arkansas ’08) 6-5, first season
Notes
SMU saw a three-game winning streak end with a 59-24 setback at Tulane last Thursday … The Mustangs had won four of their previous five games to secure bowl eligibility in Rhett Lashlee’s first year as head coach … SMU leads The American in scoring (38.8 ppg) and total offense (484.9 ypg) … QB Tanner Mordecai has thrown for 3,078 yards with 29 touchdowns in 2022 … WR Rashee Rice has 83 receptions for 1,208 yards and nine touchdowns and is the national leader in receiving yards (109.8 ypg) … Rice is a semifinalist for the Biletnikoff Award as the nation’s top receiver… RB Tyler Lavine has a team-high seven rushing touchdowns … DE Nelson Paul has 5.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss. … S Nick Roberts, who has played at South Florida and Louisiana-Monroe, has a team-high three interceptions.
SATURDAY, NOV. 26 • 7 P.M. • ESPN2
UCF at SOUTH FLORIDA
Raymond James Stadium (65,857/Natural Grass)
Tampa, Florida
Television
ESPN2
Taylor Zarzour, Matt Stinchcomb and Alyssa Lang
UCF Radio South Florida Radio
WYGM-FM 96.9 WHPT-FM 102.5
THE GAME • THE WAR ON I-4
Saturday’s game will be the 14th meeting between The American’s two Florida-based institutions … UCF has won the last five matchups to take a 7-6 series lead after the Bulls had won six of the first eight games … UCF took last year’s meeting in Orlando 17-13 … The Bulls’ last win in the series was a 48-31 decision in Tampa in 2016.
25/rv UCF
8-3, 5-2 American
Head Coach
Gus Malzahn (Henderson State ’90) 17-7, second season at UCF 94-45, 11th season as collegiate head coach
Notes
UCF was in position to host The American Championship Game if the Knights won their final two games, but Navy came away with a 17-14 win in Orlando last Saturday … The Knights’ hopes of playing in the championship game now hinge on a win against South Florida … UCF is ranked ninth nationally in total offense (497.7 ypg) and fifth in rushing offense (249.5 ypg) … The Knights rank second nationally in red zone defense (65.9%) … QB John Rhys Plumlee and QB Mikey Keene have both seen significant action in recent weeks … Plumlee has 715 rushing yards and nine touchdowns and has thrown for 2,122 yards and 12 TDs … WR Ryan O’Keefe has 61 catches for 645 yards and four touchdowns … DE Tre’mon Morris-Brash has 11.0 tackles for loss and 6.0 sacks.
SOUTH FLORIDA
1-10, 0-7 American
Interim Head Coach
Daniel Da Prato (Louisiana-Monroe ’04) 0-2, first season
Notes
South Florida fell 48-42 at Tulsa last Saturday in the Bulls’ second game under interim head coach Daniel Da Prato … The Bulls look to end a nine-game slide … The lone win in 2022 was a 42-20 victory against Howard … The Bulls have faced four teams that have been ranked in the top 25 this season (BYU, Florida, Cincinnati, Tulane) and will close the 2022 season on Black Friday against No. 25 UCF … The Bulls got a lift form the play of QB Byrum Brown against Tulsa … Brown made his first career start and completed 21 of 25 passes with three touchdowns, completing 21 consecutive passes to start the game … RB Brian Battie, an NCAA consensus All-America pick as a return specialist last year, has rushed for 1,042 yards and seven touchdowns … The defense is led by LB Dwayne Boyles, who has 101 tackles and two forced fumbles.
SATURDAY, NOV. 26 • 7:30 P.M. • ESPNU
TULSA at HOUSTON
TDECU Stadium (40,000/Synthetic)
Houston, Texas
Television
ESPNU
Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison and Stormy Buonantony
Tulsa Radio Houston Radio
KXBL-FM 99.5 KPRC-AM 950
SiriusXM 389/979 SiriusXM 384/974
THE GAME
Saturday’s 46th meeting between Tulsa and Houston in a series that began in 1950 … The Cougars hold a 26-19 series lead and have won three straight against the Golden Hurricane after a 45-10 victory in Tulsa last season … Tulsa’s last victory was a 45-17 win in 2017 … Tulsa has not won in Houston since 2012.
TULSA
4-7, 2-5 American
Head Coach
Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State ’95) 42-53, eighth season
Notes
Tulsa snapped a three-game slide with a 48-42 win against South Florida last Friday … The Golden Hurricane had scored a combined 23 points in its previous two games, but broke out offensively behind the play of freshman QB Braylon Braxton … Braxton completed 20 of 27 passes for 302 yards and a touchdown and had two rushing TDs against the Bulls in his second career start … WR Keylon Stokes has 69 receptions for 1,177 yards and seven touchdowns and is averaging 107.0 yards per game (fourth nationally) … Stokes has 3,727 career yards and ranks second on The American’s career receiving chart and is the conference’s career leader in all-purpose yards (3,727) … S Bryson Powers and LB Justin Wright both have 94 tackles … Wright has 9.0 tackles for loss and two interceptions.
HOUSTON
7-4, 5-2 American
Head Coach
Dana Holgorsen (Iowa Wesleyan ’93) 26-19, fourth season at Houston 87-60, 12th season as collegiate head coach
Notes
Houston has won five of its last six games after the Cougars took a 42-3 win at East Carolina last Saturday … The Cougars played three overtime games in their first five contests, going 1-2 in those games … The Cougars are tied with UCF in The American standings and are still officially in the hunt for a spot in the conference championship game, but would need favorable results on the field and in Sunday’s computer rankings to have a shot … QB Clayton Tune has passed for 3,459 yards and 35 touchdowns, four shy of The American’s single-season record … WR Nathaniel Dell has 94 receptions for 1,193 yards and 14 TDs and is a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist … LB Donavan Mutin has 73 tackles with 4.0 tackles for loss … DE D’Anthony Jones has 6.0 sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss.
