American Conference Football Close to Mid-Season Check In
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We are at the not quite, but close midway point of the season, but, most importantly, Tulane has their yearly bye this weekend, so we wanted to give you a look at where everyone stands at this point in the American Conference and if they're legit.
American Conference Standings Five Games In (or Four)
Team | Conference Record | Overall Record |
|---|---|---|
Navy | 3-0 | 4-0 |
Memphis | 1-0 | 5-0 |
North Texas | 1-0 | 5-0 |
Tulane | 1-0 | 4-1 |
East Carolina | 1-0 | 3-2 |
Rice | 1-1 | 3-2 |
South Florida | 0-0 | 3-1 |
Temple | 0-0 | 2-2 |
UTSA | 0-0 | 2-2 |
UAB | 0-1 | 2-2 |
Charlotte | 0-1 | 1-3 |
FL Atlantic | 0-1 | 1-3 |
Tulsa | 0-2 | 2-3 |
Army | 0-2 | 1-3 |
Contenders
Let's start with the obvious. If you're looking for Navy, don't look here in Contenders. Memphis feels like the real deal. They've beaten an SEC school. Sure, it was Arkansas, but that's still a step up from their earlier opponents, like Chattanooga, Georgia State and Troy. They've got a lot of fluff the next two weeks with Florida Atlantic and Tulsa. The UAB game in Birmingham might test the Tigers a bit, but it's the October 25 game in Memphis against South Florida that will be the real gauge for Memphis. By the way, Memphis plays home games against both the Bulls and Tulane. That's scheduling magic for the Tigers.
The Mean Green of North Texas are a real 5-0. They beat Washington State of the PAC-12 and handled South Alabama last weekend. We'll see where they stand when South Florida comes to Denton a week from now
The Tulane Green Wave have handled the toughest schedule in the American Conference pretty handily, except for the Ole Miss game. But, come on, the Rebels are ranked #4 in the polls now, so give the Greenies a break. The true test for Tulane comes in Memphis on November 7.
Pretenders
The Midshipmen of Navy have an unbeaten mark so far. And, they've played absolutely no one. Here's the powerhouse record they show in their four victories: VMI, UAB, Tulsa, and Rice. Their next two games are Air Force and Temple, so don't be surprised to see Navy at 6-0 going into Florida Atlantic. The Midshipmen will be in South Bend on November 8. That's where the dream will come crashing down. Oh, Navy has South Florida the next weekend, then they're at Memphis on November 27. Ouch
Doug has covered a gamut of sporting events in his fifty-plus years in the field. He started doing sideline reporting for Louisiana Tech football games for the student radio station. Doug was Sports Director for KNOE-AM/FM in Monroe in the mid-80s, winning numerous awards from the Louisiana Sports Writers Association for Best Sportscast and Best Play-by-Play. High school play-by-play for teams in Monroe, Natchitoches, New Orleans, and Thibodaux, LA dot his resume. He did college play-by-play for Northwestern State University in Natchitoches for nine years. Then, moving to the Crescent City, Doug did television PBP of Tulane games and even filled in for legendary Tulane broadcaster, Ken Berthelot in the only game Kenny ever missed while doing the Green Wave games. His father was an alumnus of Tulane in the 1940s, so Doug has attended Tulane football games in old Tulane Stadium, the Superdome, and Yulman. He was one of the 86,000 plus on December 1, 1973, sitting in the North End Zone to seeTulane shutout the LSU Tigers, 14-0. He was there when the Posse ruled Fogelman and in Turchin when the Wave made it to the World Series. He currently is the public address voice of the Tulane baseball team.