Bye week blues are upon us for a lot of the teams in the AAC during week 6, but week 5 brought storylines that will keep us busy through the bye week and beyond.
Tulane asserted themselves as a top team in the AAC, dominating USF 45-10. The Bulls are left with serious questions following an injury to Byrum Brown and unsatisfactory play from their backup QB Bryce Archie and now sit at 2-3 heading into the teeth of conference play.
FAU debuted a 2-QB approach in their wire-to-wire 41-10 win over FCS Wagner. Although the Owls led for the entirety of the game, they were only up 7 at the half, but to the joy of Owls fans Colorado Transfer Kasen Weisman led 4 scoring drives in the second half en route to a 24-0 shutout.
2 pairs of coaches made questionable comments during week 5, as UAB Coach questioned the legitimacy of his employer, quoting it as “not Alabama” and leaving many Blazer fans calling for his job after he failed to apologize and even doubled down on his comments.
While some teams in the conference were getting into drama, the service academies kept on rolling, with Army rolling over Temple 42-14 and Navy sending Dilfer and UAB into disarray, shellacking the Blazers at home 41-18. Both service academies now sit undefeated at 4-0 and have a serious chance at competing for an AAC title if they can keep up their American domination.
Week 6 in the AAC is dialed back due to numerous teams on bye, however the first leg of the Commander In Chief Trophy race begins with a battle between Navy and Air Force, Tulane has a chance to heat up Trent Dilfer’s seat on the road, and a regional rivalry between ECU and Charlotte will surely bring fireworks.
Before we dive into the matchups in week 6, let’s take a deeper look at some of the headlines that stood out during week 5.
Tulane makes a statement and USF left with serious concerns
Tulane came into their matchup with USF needing to make a statement following 2 tough losses to Kansas State and Oklahoma, and a win over Louisiana Lafayette that was a lot closer than many would have wanted.
They did exactly that, jumping out to a 31-0 lead and never looking back. Tulane was able to get everything they wanted and more out of their freshman gunslinger Darian Mensah as he completed 18 of 22 passes for 326 yards and 3 TDs, while sophomore standout RB Makhi Hughes added 61 yards and 2 scores on the ground.
Defensively, the Green Wave recorded 6 sacks and 7 PBU’s, forcing the USF offense into their worst performance of the season, although that was partially due to the injury of star QB Byrum Brown.
Tulane now sits at 3-2 and will head into a matchup against UAB where the Blazers will potentially be starting backup QB Jalen Kitna and be led by a head coach who is facing the wrath of his own fanbase. So with that in mind it is safe to say the Green Wave should be heavily favored and this one will have the potential to get ugly, fast, if UAB starts out slow.
As for USF, on a sack early in the 3rd quarter QB Byrum Brown was sacked by Tyler Grubbs of Tulane and he went down with an injury to his left leg, leaving the game and not returning, but to the sideline where he appeared with a boot on his foot. Bryce Archie took over during that game during garbage time, but has been underwhelming in relief action this season, completing only 50% of his passes for 98 yards 1 TD to 2 INTs.
In Alex Golesh’s up-tempo offense it is imperative that USF has competent QB play and it hasn’t looked like Archie would be able to run the offense at a similar level of Brown which would severely handicap what the Bulls are capable of.
To make matters worse for USF, starting defensive lineman and major producer in 2023 Rashad Chaney announced his medical retirement from football on Friday, citing a need to prioritize his health for his daughter.
USF is on bye this week and has not released an injury update on their star quarterback, but with a potentially season-defining matchup with Memphis on deck, the health of Brown and the team as a whole will be a major storyline to watch, as that will be a game where both Memphis and USF will be needing a win.
Trent Dilfer, what are you doing?
If losing at home to Navy 41-18 wasn’t bad enough, what Trent Dilfer had to say after the game was arguably one of the worst post game comments in recent memory.
Mid-question from a reporter, Dilfer cuts the question off and motions for his grandchildren to come on stage, which is more than fine, however he added an unnecessary comment saying “he can come up, it’s not freaking Alabama.”
It’s a slap in the face to UAB fans who have supported their athletic programs through the thick and thin, which included losing their football team in 2017 after a majority UA dominated board of trustees opted to disband the program.
To make things worse, he doubled down on the comments. After a reporter asked about it in the Monday press conference, Dilfer said “Were you there,” and after the reporter responded no he elaborated “There’s my answer, there were 2 people there and my grandson wanted to come up and I heard stirring, there’s 2 people, this isn’t Alabama’s press conference.”
I highly doubt anyone was stirring, as if there were 2 people there like were mentioned, who would have been left to “stir” about your children coming up… nobody.
It’s an embarrassing display of lack of awareness from someone who is supposed to be a leader and representative of the university, something that is assumed for someone who holds the tag of “highest paid university employee.”
One would also assume a person would be grateful to go from coaching High School, to leading at the D1 level but after his comments over the past week, Dilfer seems like somebody that is lost and needing to find their way.
There has been no apology, no sign that Dilfer realized what he said was buffoonery to the outside world and disrespectful to the UAB fanbase, and with a red-hot Tulane team coming to town, things may go from bad to worse for the second year head coach.
One thing is for certain and that somebody needs to remind him he is the head coach of the school he is making a mockery out of in the public setting and since he elected not to apologize, that the only way he can change his public perception is by winning, which has seemed about as elusive as his ability to remain respectful in a press conference.
Service Academies keep on keeping on
Army and Navy have come into the AAC and asserted themselves atop the conference through the early portion of the season, both sitting at 4-0 and having dominating performances in week 5.
Army rolled over Temple 42-14, rushing for 417 total yards with Bryson Daly going for 152 and 3 TDs while Kanye Udoh added 128 and a TD and Noah Short added 72 and a score. Daly, Udoh and Short have combined to be a tough trio to take down in the backfield as Army has rushed for 400 yards twice now against conference opponents having no issue running their offense in year one in the AAC.
Navy sent Trent Dilfer and UAB into total disarray, winning 41-18 behind a true “sling-t” performance, as QB Blake Horvath completed 9 of 11 passes for 225 yards and 2 scores, while they also rushed for 227 yards and 3 scores as a team, with Horvath also leading the way on the ground with 84 yards rushing and a score.
Some questioned whether Navy and Army would be able to run their respective offenses effectively in the AAC, however through 4 games both teams have been able to do whatever they want for the most part and both have picked up 2 wins against conference opponents, including Navy who upset AAC favorite Memphis.
While their respective offenses have had their way, in week 5 both defenses were able to stymie a conference opponent as Navy recorded 3 sacks and 8 TFL’s, limiting UAB to 4.5 YPC and intercepting Jacob Zeno twice. Army completely shut down Temple, getting a season high 7 sacks, recording an INT and locked the Owls run game up entirely, as Temple carried it 22 times for -5 yards.
If these squads are able to have their way in the trenches consistently, there is a real possibility that both Navy and Army are competing for an AAC title and potentially more, but one thing is for certain and that is both will be an extremely tough opponent during the remaining slate of conference play.
FAU finds their flow
It took until week 5, however FAU was able to put together an offensive performance that left fans satisfied for the first time this season.
The Owls won 41-10 over Wagner in week 5, recording their first, first offensive possession that didn’t result in a 3 and out as the Owls scored in just 2 plays, which included a 71 yard passing play on the first snap of the game.
It was a sight for sore eyes, as although the second quarter saw a bit of a blip, that was partially due to some young QB rust from Kasen Weisman who saw his first extended action of the season, taking over for Cam Fancher following a thumb injury and never looking back.
Weisman led 4 scoring drives in the second half, 3 TDs and 1 FG, also getting his first career score on a rushing TD in the 4th quarter.
Overall, Weisman completed 7/12 passes for 98 yards, having 2 turnovers but showing a lot of promise in the second half, also finishing with the Owls highest depth of target of the season at 9.6.
A big factor for FAU was 315 yards rushing, 129 of which came from Cj Campbell who also scored 2 TDs, also getting 93 yards and a TD from Zuberi Mobley. If FAU is going to make a push for a bowl game during the second half of the season, it’s going to be largely in part due to the success of their backs and if they’re able to find consistency at the QB position, this offense has a chance to be a force during AAC play.
The defense also bounced back, as following allowing 400 yards to UConn, they held Wagner to 21 yards and less than a yard per carry, also recording 2 sacks and 13 TFLs, consistently putting someone in the backfield, which has been a struggle at times this season.
The start to the season brought some bumps in the road, however if FAU can build on what they accomplished in week 5 there is a good chance this team is competing for a bowl game come the end of the season.
What to watch for in week 6
Navy vs Air Force
A majority of AAC teams are on bye during week 6, however there are still a solid slate of games that are worth keeping an eye on.
Navy ships up to Colorado and will take on Air Force in the first leg of the Commander in Chief trophy battle. Air Force has struggled this season,coming into this matchup at 1-3 including 2 mountain west losses.
Their option game has not worked as effectively as Navy and Army have been able to accomplish, as they’re averaging only 3.5 yards per carry and QB John Busha has only averaged 2.5 YPC on a team high 57 attempts and he has yet to score.
With the production Navy has been having offensively, this game has a chance to be a dominating one in favor of the midshipmen if Air Force is unable to find success in the ground game.
Navy will look to follow their leader in Blake Horvath and if he is able to find his flow in the trenches the way he has been able to all season, Navy should win this one handily and head into the rest of AAC play with a rivalry victory in hand.
Tulane vs UAB
Tulane heads to UAB following their dominating win over USF and faces a UAB team who is battling injuries and some off of the field issues with their head coach.
Jalen Kitna may be the starting QB for UAB as Jacob Zeno deals with an injury, which would mean a debut game for Kitna and UAB against a Tulane defense that had their way with a seasoned veteran in Byrum Brown.
Not much has gone right for UAB so far this season as following a 41-3 victory to start the year over FCS Alcorn State, they’ve dropped games to Bryant Vincent and ULM, battled with Arkansas before ultimately losing, and last weeks shellacking against Navy.
Tulane is coming into this game with a boatload of momentum, and if Darian Mensah gets going early, this game may be over earl, as the young gunslinger is coming in off a big performance and will be looking to add to it against a UAB team which has struggled in pass defenses
UAB will have their hands full in this matchup, and if they’re going to pull off the upset it will start with their defense slowing Mensah down, and if that happens they will need to work in a heavy dose of the ground game with Lee Beebee which will provide relief for what looks to be a dialed back passing offense.
Ultimately, I expect Mensah to come out hot in this one and look to make it back to back road wins, sending UAB to 1-4 and warming up Trent Dilfer’s seat to a point it hasn’t gotten to yet this season.
ECU vs Charlotte
The AAC battle of North Carolina commences this Saturday, as ECU and Charlotte go toe to toe from Jerry Richardson stadium in Charlotte in what is expected to be a sellout crowd under the lights.
Charlotte comes into this game following their first win of conference play, winning a squeaker over Rice 21-20 and getting a big performance from their freshman QB Deshawn Purdie as he completed 10 of 15 passes for 183 yards and 2 TDs.
ECU also comes in off of a victory, getting 294 yards and 2 TDs from Jake Garcia in a 30-20 victory over UTSA. Their defense was also dominant, intercepting Owen McCown twice and forcing a fumble on UTSA RB Robert Henry.
Both ECU and Charlotte have had their respective struggles this season, with the 9ers dealing with offensive issues partially due to their injuries at QB, while ECU has been hampered with turnover issues and the loss of their top cornerback.
This game is going to come down to who can play their best version of clean football and find consistency offensively. For ECU, it will start with Jake Garcia not turning the ball over and implementing a ground game with Rahjai Harris and for Charlotte it will be whomever they send out at QB finding a connection with his receivers and getting their defense involved to force Garcia into INTs.
This game will be an evenly contested battle and it’s going to come down to who can step up when it matters the most, but Charlotte will be backed by an expected record crowd filled with 9ers fans and they are looking to make it back to back conference wins over ECU in consecutive years.