WEEK 8 PREVIEWS
FRIDAY, OCT. 21 • 7:30 P.M. • ESPN2
TULSA at TEMPLE
Lincoln Financial Field (69,596/Natural Grass)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Television
ESPN2
Roy Philpott, Andre Ware and Paul Carcaterra
Tulsa Radio Temple Radio
KXBL-FM 99.5 WPEN-FM 97.5
SiriusXM 380/970 SiriusXM 84
THE GAME
Friday’s game will be the seventh meeting between Tulsa and Temple … The series is tied at 3-3 after the Golden Hurricane’s 44-10 victory last season in Tulsa … Temple had won the three previous meetings … The Owls are 2-1 against the Golden Hurricane in Philadelphia and have won three of the four American Athletic Conference meetings.
TULSA
2-4, 0-2 American
Head Coach
Philip Montgomery (Tarleton State ’95)
40-50, eighth season
Notes
Tulsa enters Friday’s game looking to snap a three-game slide after a 53-21 loss at Navy Oct. 8 … The Golden Hurricane was idle last weekend … Tulsa’s two wins have been against Northern Illinois (38-35) and Jacksonville State (54-17) … QB Davis Brin has completed 121 of 199 passes for 1,839 yards and 14 touchdowns against five interceptions … WR Keylon Stokes has 44 receptions for 765 yards and four touchdowns and is averaging 127.5 yards per game (second in FBS) … Stokes enters Friday’s game needing 28 yards to tie Howard Twilley’s school record of 3,343 career yards, set in 1965 … Stokes ranks fourth on The American’s career receiving yards chart … S Bryson Powers and LB Justin Wright are tied for the team lead with 51 tackles each … DE Anthony Goodlow has a team-leading 6.5 tackles for loss.
TEMPLE
2-4, 0-2 American
Head Coach
Stan Drayton (Allegheny ’93)
2-4, first season
Notes
Temple had leads of 3-0 and 10-7 against UCF and trailed 14-13 late in the first half before the Knights pulled away for a 70-13 victory in Orlando last Thursday … Temple looks to snap a two-game slide that has coincided with the start of conference play … The Owls are playing at home for the first time since a 28-0 win against Massachusetts Sept. 24 … Temple is 2-1 at Lincoln Financial Field and 0-3 on the road … Freshman QB E.J. Warner has completed 86 of 153 passes for 1,040 yards and six touchdowns with six interceptions … WR Jose Barbon leads the team with 420 receiving yards on 28 catches … Adonicas Sanders has 28 receptions for 350 yards and a touchdown… LB Layton Jordan leads the defense with 27 tackles, 4.5 sacks, 9.0 tackles for loss and an interception … Temple has registered 21 sacks through six games.
SATURDAY, OCT. 22 • NOON • ESPN
CINCINNATI at SMU
Gerald J. Ford Stadium (32,000/FieldTurf)
Dallas, Texas
Television
ESPN
Mark Jones, Robert Griffin III and Quint Kessenich
Cincinnati Radio SMU Radio
WLW-AM 700 KTCK-FM 96.7
SiriusXM 158/203/966 SiriusXM 384/974
THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the seventh meeting between Cincinnati and SMU … The Bearcats have won five of the first six matchups and have taken the last three meetings … Cincinnati took last year’s matchup 48-14 at Nippert Stadium … SMU’s lone win was a 31-28 decision in 2017 … The Bearcats are 3-0 against SMU in Dallas.
21/19 CINCINNATI
5-1, 1-0 American
Head Coach
Luke Fickell (Ohio State ’97)
53-16, sixth season at Cincinnati
59-23, seventh season as collegiate head coach
Notes
Cincinnati takes a five-game winning streak into Saturday’s game after a 28-24 victory against South Florida Oct. 8 … The Bearcats were idle last week … The lone loss on the ledger was a 31-24 setback to Arkansas in the season-opener … Cincinnati has won 30 straight games at Nippert Stadium, trailing only Clemson (37) for the nation’s longest home field winning streak … QB Ben Bryant has completed 122 of 185 passes for 1,561 yards and 15 touchdowns and six interceptions … The leading receiver is WR Tyler Scott, who has 28 catches for 500 yards and six TDs … RB Charles McClelland has 502 rushing yards and five touchdowns … LB Ivan Pace Jr. has 62 tackles with 12.5 tackles for loss, 5.0 sacks and a forced fumble … Pace leads The American with 10.3 tackles per game.
SMU
3-3, 1-1 American
Head Coach
Rhett Lashlee (Arkansas ’08)
3-3, first season
Notes
SMU snapped a three-game slide with a 40-34 win against Navy to even the Mustangs’ conference record at 1-1 … The Mustangs are averaging 35.5 points per game and rank second in The American in total offense at 490.3 yards per game … QB Tanner Mordecai has completed 145 of 238 passes for 2,016 yards and 15 touchdowns with six interceptions … WR Rashee Rice has 49 receptions for 761 yards and four touchdowns and ranks third nationally in both receiving yards (126.8 ypg) and receptions (8.2 per game) … RB Velton Gardner has 230 rushing yards, while RB Tre Siggers has 229, but neither player saw action against Navy … DE Nelson Paul and DE Eligah Chatman have 3.0 sacks each, while LB Jimmy Phillips Jr. has 34 tackles with 4.0 tackles for loss … K Collin Rogers has made nine of his 10 field goal attempts.
SATURDAY, OCT. 22 • NOON • ESPNU
HOUSTON at NAVY
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000/FieldTurf)
Annapolis, Maryland
Television
ESPNU
Clay Matvick, Rocky Boiman and Dawn Davenport
Houston Radio Navy Radio
KPRC-AM 950 WBAL-AM 1090
SiriusXM 383/973 SiriusXM 138/202/965
THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the ninth meeting between Houston and Navy … The schools first met in the 1980 Garden City Bowl and have played each year since 2015 under the American Athletic Conference banner … Houston is 6-2 against Navy and has won the last two matchups, including a 28-20 decision at TDECU Stadium last year.
HOUSTON
3-3, 1-1 American
Head Coach
Dana Holgorsen (Iowa Wesleyan ’93)
22-18, fourth season at Houston 83-59, 12th season as collegiate head coach
Notes
Houston enjoyed an open date last week which came on the heels of a 33-32 come-from-behind win at Memphis Oct. 7 … The Cougars erased a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit against the Tigers as QB Clayton Tune threw a pair of touchdown passes to WR KeSean Carter in the final two minutes … NCAA FBS teams had been 0-129 when trailing by 19 or more in the fourth quarter prior to the Cougars’ win … Tune has completed 141 of 218 passes for 1,567 yards and 12 touchdowns against four interceptions … WR Nathaniel Dell has 43 receptions for 534 yards and six TDs … RB Brandon Campbell has 296 rushing yards and three touchdowns … LB Donavan Mutin has 33 tackles with 4.0 tackles for loss to lead the defense … Houston has averaged 9.83 penalties per game, ranking last in FBS.
NAVY
2-4, 2-2 American
Head Coach
Ken Niumatalolo (Hawaii ’89)
107-79, 15th season
Notes
Navy looks to bounce back from a 40-34 loss at SMU that evened the Midshipmen’s record at 2-2 in The American … Navy had not scored more than 23 points in any of its first four games, but the Midshipmen have averaged 43.5 points in their last two … Navy ran 101 offensive plays, had 32 first downs and rushed for 372 yards against SMU last week … Navy is ranked fifth nationally in rushing at 255.2 yards per game … QB Tai Lavatai has passed for 660 yards and four touchdowns and has 267 rushing yards with five TDs on the ground … The defense has been led by LB John Marshall, who has 42 tackles with 2.0 sacks, 5.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble … DE Jacob Busic has 4.0 sacks, while LB Colin Ramos has 33 tackles with an interception, a forced fumble, a sack and 2.5 tackles for loss … Navy has registered 14 sacks through six games.
SATURDAY, OCT. 22 • 3:30 P.M. • ESPN2
MEMPHIS at TULANE
Yulman Stadium (30,000/UBU Speed Series 5M)
New Orleans, Louisiana
Television
ESPN2
Beth Mowins, Kirk Morrison and Stormy Buonatony
Memphis Radio Tulane Radio
WKIM-FM 98.9 KVDU-FM 104.1
SiriusXM 970 SiriusXM 381/971
THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the 39th meeting between Memphis and Tulane in a series that traces its roots to 1954 … The Tigers hold a 24-13-1 series lead after a 33-28 win in Memphis last season … The home team has won the last five matchups … Tulane took a 35-21 win in 2020, which
was the last meeting in New Orleans.
MEMPHIS
4-3, 2-2 American
Head Coach
Ryan Silverfield (Hamden-Sydney ’03)
18-15, third season
Notes
Memphis looks to rebound from back-to-back heartbreaking losses after the Tigers fell 47-45 to East Carolina in four overtimes … Memphis fell despite an early 17-0 lead against the Pirates and saw Houston overcome a 19-point fourth-quarter deficit a week earlier … QB Seth Henigan has completed 152 of 234 passes for 1,912 yards and 12 touchdowns with three interceptions … TE Caden Prieskorn has 27 receptions for 323 yards and a team-high six touchdowns and is one of five Memphis players with at least 200 receiving yards … RB Asa Martin leads a group of four Memphis players with at least 200 rushing yards … All-conference S Quindell Johnson did not play against East Carolina last week due to injury … K Chris Howard has made all 14 of his field goal attempts, while P Joe Doyle is second nationally in punting average (48.2 yards).
25/25 TULANE
6-1, 3-0 American
Head Coach
Willie Fritz (Pittsburg State ’83)
37-44, seventh season at Tulane 208-113, 25th season as collegiate head coach
Notes
Tulane has earned a spot in the top 25 for the first time since the Green Wave was ranked No. 7 to close the 1998 season … Tulane has won three straight following a 45- 31 victory at South Florida last Saturday … Tulane leads The American and ranks 10th nationally in pass defense, allowing 159.5 yards per game … QB Michael Pratt has completed 111 of 165 passes for 1,560 yards and 11 touchdowns against three interceptions … RB Tyjae Spears has 463 rushing yards and eight TDs … TE Tyrick James and WR Duece Watts have a team-high four touchdown catches each … LB Dorian Williams has 46 tackles with 3.5 tackles for loss and an interception, while LB Nick Anderson has 45 stops with two forced fumbles … S Macon Clark has a team-high two interceptions.
SATURDAY, OCT. 22 • 7:30 P.M. • ESPNU
UCF at EAST CAROLINA
Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium (50,000/Natural Grass)
Greenville, North Carolina
Television
ESPNU
John Schriffen and Rene Ingoglia
UCF Radio East Carolina Radio
WYGM-FM 96.9 WNCT-FM 107.9
THE GAME
Saturday’s game will be the 21st meeting between UCF and East Carolina in a series that dates to 1991 … The Knights have won the last six meetings to forge a 10-10 tie in the series … The Pirates’ last win was a 44-7 decision in Orlando in 2015 … UCF has won the last four meetings in Greenville.
rv/rv UCF
5-1, 2-0 American
Head Coach
Gus Malzahn (Henderson State ’90)
14-5, second season at UCF 91-43, 11th season as collegiate head coach
Notes
UCF enters Saturday’s game on the heels of a 70-13 win against Temple last Thursday … The Knights held a 14-13 lead in the second quarter before scoring the last 56 points of the game … UCF is ranked fifth nationally in total offense (525.2 ypg) and fourth in rushing offense (261.2 ypg) … QB John Rhys Plumlee accounted for seven touchdowns (four passing, three rushing) against Temple … Plumlee is averaging 252.7 passing yards and 78.0 rushing yards per game … RB Isaiah Bowser has a team-high nine rushing touchdowns … WR Ryan O’Keefe has 28 catches for 364 yards and four touchdowns, while WR Javon Baker has 25 receptions for a team-high 403 yards with two TDs … DE Tre’Mon Morris-Brash has 3.0 sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries.
EAST CAROLINA
4-3, 2-2 American
Head Coach
Mike Houston (Mars Hill ’94)
18-22, fourth season at East Carolina 98-47, 12th season as collegiate head coach
Notes
East Carolina looks for back-to-back wins following a thrilling 47-45 decision against Memphis in four overtimes last Saturday … The Pirates overcame an early 17-0 deficit and scored on all four of their overtime possessions against the Tigers … Two of the Pirates’ four American Athletic Conference games have been decided in overtime … The Pirates are led by QB Holton Ahlers, who has completed 152 of 226 passes for 2,124 yards and 17 touchdowns with five interceptions … RB Keaton Mitchell is The American’s leading rusher at 97.0 yards per game … Mitchell has rushed for 582 yards and six touchdowns after scoring three TDs after the 1:45 mark of the fourth quarter last week against Memphis … WR Isaiah Winstead has 52 catches for 719 yards and three touchdowns.
