2018 American Athletic Conference football season

2018 American Athletic Conference
football season
LeagueNCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision)
SportFootball
DurationAugust 30, 2018
through January 2019
Number of teams12
TV partner(s)ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and CBS Sports Network
2019 NFL Draft
Top draft pickEd Oliver (Houston)
Picked byBuffalo Bills, 9th overall
Regular season
The American Championship
Football seasons
← 2017
2019 →
2018 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
No. 11 UCF x$   8 – 0     12 – 1  
Temple   7 – 1     8 – 5  
No. 24 Cincinnati   6 – 2     11 – 2  
South Florida   3 – 5     7 – 6  
East Carolina   1 – 7     3 – 9  
UConn   0 – 8     1 – 11  
West Division
Memphis xy   5 – 3     8 – 6  
Houston x   5 – 3     8 – 5  
Tulane x   5 – 3     7 – 6  
SMU   4 – 4     5 – 7  
Navy   2 – 6     3 – 10  
Tulsa   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Championship: UCF 56, Memphis 41
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2018 American Athletic Conference football season is the 27th NCAA Division I FBS Football season of the American Athletic Conference (The American). The season is the sixth since the former Big East Conference dissolved and became the American Athletic Conference,[note 1] and the fifth season with the College Football Playoff in place. The American is considered a member of the "Group of Five" (G5),[note 2] meaning that the conference shares with the other G5 conferences one automatic spot in the New Year's Six bowl games.

Previous season

UCF defeated Memphis in the 2017 AAC Championship game' The game was a rematch of the September 30 matchup,[1] which UCF won 40–13.[2]

Seven Teams participated in bowl games, and finished with a record of 4–3. UCF defeated Auburn 34–27 in the Peach Bowl. The Knights finished the regular season 12–0. The effort came just two years after an 0–12 winless season (2015). UCF became the first team in the history of NCAA Division I FBS to improve from a winless regular season to an undefeated regular season in only two years.[3] Memphis lost to Iowa State 20–21 in the 2017 Liberty Bowl. Navy defeated Virginia in the Military Bowl 49–7, Houston lost to Fresno State in the Hawaii Bowl 27–33. USF Defeated Texas Tech 38–24 in the Birmingham Bowl. Temple defeated FIU 28–3 in the Gasparilla Bowl, and SMU lost to Louisiana Tech 10–51 in the Frisco Bowl.

Preseason

Recruiting classes

National Rankings
Team ESPN[4] Rivals[5] 24/7[6]
Cincinnati 75 47 47
Connecticut 89 104
East Carolina 85 87
Houston 75 60 72
Memphis 81 88
Navy 91 102
SMU 81 86
South Florida 55 56 64
Temple 76 80
Tulane 72 65 68
Tulsa 86 97
UCF 70 67 70

American Athletic Conference Media Day

The American Athletic Conference Media Day took place July 18 in Newport, Rhode Island.[7]

Preseason Media Poll

AAC Champion Voting

  • UCF – 19
  • Memphis – 7
  • USF – 3
  • Houston – 1

References:[8]

Fifth Anniversary Football Team

with 2018 marking the Fifth Year of American Athletic Conference Football under the new league, the Conference announced the Fifth Anniversary Team[9]

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY FOOTBALL TEAM
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Offense Defense

QB – Keenan Reynolds, Navy
RB – D'Angelo Brewer, Tulsa
RB – Marlon Mack, USF
WR – Zay Jones, ECU
WR – Anthony Miller, Memphis
WR – Courtland Sutton, SMU
TE – Jordan Akins, UCF
OT – Kofi Amichia, USF
OT – Dion Dawkins, Temple
OT – Eric Lefeld, Cincinnati
OG – E.K. Binns, Navy
OG – Adam West, Navy
C – Kyle Friend, Temple

DL – Matt Ioannidis, Temple
DL – Justin Lawler, USF
DL – Ed Oliver, Houston
DL – Haason Reddick, Temple
DL – Marcus Smith, Louisville
LB – Genard Avery, UCF
LB – Shaquem Griffin, UCF
LB – Tyler Matakevich, Temple
LB – Auggie Sanchez, USF
CB – Jacoby Glenn, USF
CB – Mike Hughes, UCF
CB – Parry Nickerson, Tulane
S – Clayton Geathers, UCF
S – Obi Melifonwu, UConn
PK – Jake Elliott, Memphis
P – Tom Hornsey, Memphis
RS – Tony Pollard, Memphis

Head coaches

Coaching changes

There were two coaching changes after the regular season ended, On December 2, 2017 Scott Frost left UCF to take the Nebraska job, but stayed on to coach in the AAC Championship game and Peach Bowl, UCF ended up hiring Missouri Offensive Coordinator Josh Heupel. On December 7, 2017 SMU coach Chad Morris left to take the Arkansas job, on December 12, 2017 former Cal coach Sonny Dykes was hired as the new SMU coach.

Coaches

Note: All stats current through the completion of the 2017 season

Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school AAC record
Cincinnati Luke Fickell 2 10–15 (.400) 4–8 (.333) 2–6 (.250)
Connecticut Randy Edsall 14 99–113 (.467) 77–79 (.494) 24–32 (.429)
East Carolina Scottie Montgomery 3 6–18 (.250) 6–18 (.250) 3–13 (.188)
Houston Major Applewhite 2 7–6 (.538) 7–6 (.538) 5–3 (.625)
Memphis Mike Norvell 2 18–8 (.692) 18–8 (.692) 12–4 (.750)
Navy Ken Niumatalolo 11 84–48 (.636) 84–48 (.636) 18–6 (.750)
SMU Sonny Dykes 2 41–46 (.471) 0–1 (.000) 0–0 (–)
South Florida Charlie Strong 2 63–39 (.618) 10–2 (.833) 26–11 (.703)
Temple Geoff Collins 2 7–6 (.538) 7–6 (.538) 4–4 (.500)
Tulane Willie Fritz 3 163–84 (.660) 9–15 (.375) 4–12 (.250)
Tulsa Philip Montgomery 4 18–20 (.474) 18–20 (.474) 10–15 (.400)
UCF Josh Heupel 1 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–) 0–0 (–)

Source:[10]

Rankings

Main article: 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Legend
    Increase in ranking
  Decrease in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
  Pre Wk
2		 Wk
3		 Wk
4		 Wk
5		 Wk
6		 Wk
7		 Wk
8		 Wk
9		 Wk
10		 Wk
11		 Wk
12		 Wk
13		 Wk
14		 Wk
15		 Final
Cincinnati AP RV RV 25 20 RV RV 25 19 RV RV RV 24
C RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 21 RV RV 23 20 RV RV RV 23
CFP Not released 24
Connecticut AP
C
CFP Not released
East Carolina AP
C
CFP Not released
Houston AP RV RV RV RV RV 17 RV RV
C RV RV RV RV RV RV 17 RV
CFP Not released
Memphis AP RV RV
C RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released
Navy AP
C
CFP Not released
SMU AP
C
CFP Not released
South Florida AP RV RV RV RV 23 21 21 RV
C RV RV RV RV RV RV 23 20 20 RV RV
CFP Not released
Temple AP
C
CFP Not released
Tulane AP
C
CFP Not released
Tulsa AP
C
CFP Not released
UCF AP 21 19 18 16 13 12 10 10 10 9 11 11 8 7 7 11
C 23 20 18 18 14 13 9 9 10 9 11 11 9 7 7 12
CFP Not released 12 12 11 9 8 8

Schedule

Index to colors and formatting
American member won
American member loss
American teams in bold

Week 1

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
August 30 7:00 p.m. No. 21 UCF Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT ESPNU  UCF 56–17   23,081
August 30 8:00 p.m. Wake Forest Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA CBSSN L 17–23 OT  15,478
September 1 Noon Villanova Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA (Mayor's Cup) ESPNews L 17–19   32,357 
September 1 Noon Houston Rice Rice Stadium • Houston, TX (rivalry) CBSSN W 45–27   26,390 
September 1 6:00 p.m. Elon South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPN3 W 34–14   31,217 
September 1 7:00 p.m. Central Arkansas Tulsa H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPN3 W 38–27   18,356 
September 1 7:00 p.m. Mercer Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPN3 W 66–14   33,697 
September 1 7:00 p.m. Cincinnati UCLA Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA ESPN W 26–17   54,116 
September 1 7:30 pm SMU North Texas Apogee Stadium • Deton, TX (Safeway Bowl) Stadium L 23–46   29,519 
September 1 11:00 p.m. Navy Hawaii Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI CBSSN L 41–59   29,702 
September 2 3:30 p.m. No. 14 (FCS) North Carolina A&T East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPN3 L 23–28   38,640
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 2

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 7 7:00 p.m. No. 16 TCU SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX (Rivalry) ESPN2 L 12–42   24,216
September 8 Noon Arizona Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ABC/ESPN2 W 45–18   32,534
September 8 Noon Georgia Tech South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ABC W 49–38   34,182
September 8 3:30 p.m. Memphis Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN  Navy 22–21   31,762
September 8 3:30 p.m. Buffalo Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPN3 L 29–36   25,511
September 8 3:30 p.m. North Carolina East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPNU W 41–19   39,298
September 8 6:00 pm South Carolina State No. 19 UCF Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL ESPN3 W 38–0   43,269
September 8 8:00 p.m. Miami (OH) Cincinnati Paul Brown Stadium • Cincinnati, OH (Victory Bell) ESPN3 W 21–0   65,515
September 8 8:00 p.m. No. 11 (FCS) Nicholls State Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPN3 W 42–17   21,092
September 8 8:00 p.m. Tulsa Texas Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin TX LHN L 21–28   90563
September 8 10:15 p.m. Connecticut No. 20 Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID ESPNU L 7–62   34,515
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 3

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 14 7:00 p.m. Georgia State Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPN W 59–22   27,678
September 15 Noon No. 18 UCF North Carolina Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC ESPNU  Cancelled[a]    
September 15 Noon Rhode Island Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT (Rivalry) SNY/ESPN3 W 56–49   20,691
September 15 Noon Temple Maryland Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD BTN W 35–14   32,057
September 15 Noon Tulane UAB Legion Field • Birmingham, AL Stadium L 24–31   21,991 
September 15 12:20 p.m. East Carolina No. 13 Virginia Tech Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA ACCN  Cancelled [a]    
September 15 3:30 p.m. South Florida Illinois Soldier Field • Chicago, IL BTN W 25–19   21,725 
September 15 3:30 p.m. Lehigh Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN W 51–21   30,011 
September 15 3:30 p.m. SMU No. 19 Michigan Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI BTN L 20–45   110,549 
September 15 4:00 p.m. Houston Texas Tech Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, TX FOX L 49–63   53,484 
September 15 7:00 p.m. Alabama A&M Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPN3 W 63–7   28,834 
September 15 7:00 p.m. Arkansas State Tulsa H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK CBSSN L 20–29   17,349 
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
  1. ^ a b This game has been cancelled in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

Week 4

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 20 7:30 p.m. Tulsa Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPN  TEM 31–17   24,217 
September 21 7:00 p.m. Florida Atlantic No. 16 UCF Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL ESPN W 56–36   44,257 
September 22 Noon Navy SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX (Gansz Trophy) ESPNews  SMU 31–30   17,531 
September 22 Noon Ohio Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPNU W 34–30   35,220 
September 22 3:30 p.m. Tulane No. 4 Ohio State Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH BTN L 6–49   103,336 
September 22 4:00 p.m. Connecticut Syracuse Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY ESPNews L 21–51   36,632 
September 22 8:00 p.m. Texas Southern Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN3 W 70–14   29,970 
September 22 8:00 p.m. South Alabama Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN WMC/ESPN3 W 52–35   27,765 
September 22 8:00 p.m. East Carolina South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPNews  USF 20–13   34,562 
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 5

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
September 28 8:00 p.m. Memphis Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPN2  TULN 40–24   16,631
September 29 Noon Temple Boston College Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA ESPNU L 35–45   40,111
September 29 3:30 p.m. Pittsburgh No. 13 UCF Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX ESPNU W 45–14   44,904
September 29 3:30 p.m. Old Dominion East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPN3 W 37–35   35,047
September 29 3:30 p.m. Cincinnati Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT CBSSN  CINCI 49–7   20,322
September 29 7:00 p.m. Houston Baptist SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX ESPN3 W 63–27   18,983
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
Sept. 29 Tulsa, Navy, Houston, South Florida

Week 6

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 4 8:00 p.m. Tulsa Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN  HOU 41–26   29,823 
October 6 Noon Tulane Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPNU  CIN 37–21   32,200 
October 6 Noon East Carolina Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPNews  TEM 49–6   26,681 
October 6 3:30 p.m Navy Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) CBSSN L 7–35   40,175 
October 6 3:30 p.m. South Florida Massachusetts Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium • Hadley, MA ELVN W 58–42   7,988 
October 6 7:00 p.m. Connecticut Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN CBSSN  MEM 55–14   27,581 
October 6 7:00 p.m. SMU No. 12 UCF Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL ESPNU  UCF 48–20   40,856 
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 7

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 12 7:00 p.m. No. 23 South Florida Tulsa H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPN  USF 25–24   16,142 
October 13 3:30 p.m. Temple Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN  TEM 24–17   30,106 
October 13 3:30 p.m. No. 10 UCF Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ABC/ESPN2  UCF 31–30   38,831 
October 13 7:00 p.m. Houston East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC CBSSN  HOU 42–20   29,851 
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
Oct. 13 Tulane, SMU, Cincinnati, Connecticut

Week 8

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 20 Noon Tulsa Arkansas Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR SECN L 0–23   56,691
October 20 Noon No. 20 Cincinnati Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPNU  TEM 24–17 OT  33,026
October 20 3:30 p.m. SMU Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPNU  SMU 27–23   13,987
October 20 3:30 p.m. Houston Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN  HOU 49–36   33,924
October 20 4:00 p.m. Memphis Missouri Faurot Field • Columbia, MO SECN L 33–65   52,917
October 20 7:00 p.m. No. 10 UCF East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC (Rivalry) ESPN2  UCF 37–10   31,159
October 20 7:00 p.m. Connecticut No. 21 South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL CBSSN  USF 38–30   42,127
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 9

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
October 27 Noon Massachusetts Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT (Rivalry) ESPNU L 17–22   24,150
October 27 3:30 p.m. Cincinnati SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX CBSSN  CIN 26–20 OT  16,121
October 27 3:30 p.m. No. 21 South Florida Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ABC/ESPN2  HOU 57–36   31,631
October 27 7:00 p.m. Tulane Tulsa H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPNU  TULN 24–17   16,133
October 27 8:00 p.m. No. 3 Notre Dame Navy SDCCU Stadium • San Diego, CA (Rip Miller Trophy) CBS L 22–44   63,626
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
Oct. 27 Memphis, UCF, Temple, East Carolina

Week 10

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 1 7:30 p.m. Temple No. 9 UCF Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL ESPN  UCF 52–40   41,153
November 3 Noon Memphis East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPNU  MEM 59–41   29,127
November 3 3:30 p.m. Tulane South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL CBSSN  TULN 41–15   31,388
November 3 3:30 p.m. Navy Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPNU  CIN 42–0   36,318
November 3 7:00 p.m. Connecticut Tulsa H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK CBSSN  TULSA 49–19   17,451
November 3 7:00 p.m. No. 17 Houston SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX (rivalry) ESPNU  SMU 45–31   23,654
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 11

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 10 12:00 p.m. Tulsa Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPNU  MEM 47–21   27,905 
November 10 12:00 p.m. SMU Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT ESPN3  SMU 62–50   19,096 
November 10 12:00 p.m. Navy No. 11 UCF Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL ESPN2  UCF 35–24   44,738
November 10 4:00 p.m. East Carolina Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPNews  TULN 24–18   20,860 
November 10 7:00 p.m. Temple Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX CBSSN  TEMP 59–49   30,862 
November 10 7:00 p.m. South Florida No. 25 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPNU  CIN 25–23   29,310 
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 12

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 15 8:00 p.m. Tulane Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN  HOU 48–17   24,209 
November 16 9:00 p.m. Memphis SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX ESPN2  MEM 28–18   15,794 
November 17 Noon South Florida Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPNews  TEM 27–17   21,029 
November 17 3:30 p.m. Tulsa Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN  NAVY 37–29   31,517 
November 17 7:00 p.m. Connecticut East Carolina Dowdy-Ficklin Stadium • Greenville, NC CBSSN  ECU 55–21   27,234 
November 17 8:00 p.m. Cincinnati No. 11 UCF Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL ABC  UCF 38–13   47,795
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 13

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
November 23 Noon Houston Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ABC  MEM 52–31   27,790 
November 23 3:30 p.m. East Carolina Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH CBSSN  CIN 56–6   21,230 
November 23 4:15 p.m. No. 8 UCF South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL (War on I–4) ESPN  UCF 38–10   57,626
November 24 Noon Navy Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPNU  TULN 29–28   20,042 
November 24 3:30 p.m. Temple Connecticut Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT ESPNU  TEM 57–7   18,203 
November 24 3:30 p.m. SMU Tulsa H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK CBSSN  TLSA 27–24   17,159 
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 14

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
December 1 Noon East Carolina NC State Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC ACCN Extra L 3–58   57,223 
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

AAC Championship game

Main article: 2018 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
December 1 3:30 pm Memphis No. 7 UCF Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL ABC  UCF 56–41   45,176 
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 15

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance Ref.
December 8 3:00 p.m. No. 22 Army Navy Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) CBS L 10–17   66,729
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Bowl games

Legend
  The American win
  The American loss
See also: 2018–19 NCAA football bowl games
Bowl game Date Site Television Time American team Opponent Score Attendance
Cure Bowl December 15 Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL CBSSN 2:30 p.m. Tulane Louisiana 41–24 19,066
Gasparilla Bowl December 20 Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPN 8:00 p.m. South Florida Marshall 20–38 14,135
Birmingham Bowl December 22 Legion Field • Birmingham, AL ESPN Noon Memphis Wake Forest 34–37 25,717
Armed Forces December 22 Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX ESPN 3:30 p.m. Houston Army 14–70 44,738
Independence December 27 Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA ESPN 1:30 p.m. Temple Duke 27–56 27,492
Military Bowl December 30 Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD ESPN Noon Cincinnati Virginia Tech 35–31 32,832
New Years Six bowl games
Fiesta Bowl January 1 State Farm Stadium • Glendale, AZ ESPN 1:00 p.m. No. 8 UCF No. 11 LSU 32–40 57,246

(Rankings from final CFP Poll; All times Eastern)

American vs other conferences

American vs Power conference matchups

This is a list of the power conference teams (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Notre Dame, Pac-12 and SEC) The American will playing during the 2018 season.

Date Visitor Home Site Score
August 30 Wake Forest Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA 17–23 OT
September 1 Cincinnati UCLA Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA 26–17
September 7 TCU SMU Ford Staduium • Dallas, TX 12–42
September 8 Arizona Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX 45–18
September 8 North Carolina East Carolina Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC 41–19
September 8 Georgia Tech South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL 49–38
September 8 Tulsa Texas Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX 21–28
September 15 Temple Maryland Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD 35–14
September 15 South Florida Illinois Soldier Field • Chicago, IL 25–19
September 15 SMU Michigan Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI 20–45
September 15 Houston Texas Tech Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, TX 49–63
September 22 Tulane Ohio State Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH 6–49
September 22 Connecticut Syracuse Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY 21–51
September 29 Pittsburgh No. 13 UCF Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL 45–14
September 29 Temple Boston College Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA 35–45
October 20 Memphis Missouri Faurot Field • Columbia, MO 33–65
October 20 Tulsa Arkansas Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR 0–23
October 27 Notre Dame Navy SDCCU Stadium • San Diego, CA 22–44
December 1 East Carolina NC State Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC 3–58

Records against other conferences

Awards and honors

Players of the week

Week Offensive Defensive Special Teams
Player Position Team Player Position Team Player Position Team
Week 1[11] McKenzie Milton QB UCF Bryan Wright
Ed Oliver 		LB
DT 		Cincinnati
Houston 		Thomas Bennett P Tulsa
Week 2[12] D'Eriq King QB Houston Sean Williams S Memphis Terrence Horne, Jr. KR South Florida
Week 3[13] Darrell Henderson
Blake Barnett 		RB
QB 		Memphis
South Florida 		Michael Dogbe DT Temple Bennett Moehring K Navy
Week 4[14] McKenzie Milton QB UCF Quincy Roche DE Temple Reggie Roberson Jr. WR/KR SMU
Week 5[15] McKenzie Milton QB UCF Nate Harvey DE East Carolina Jake Verity K East Carolina
Week 6[16] Jordan Cronkrite RB USF Titus Davis DE UCF Isaiah Wright WR Temple
Week 7[17] McKenzie Milton QB UCF Ed Oliver DT Houston Matthew Wright
Coby Weiss 		K
K 		UCF
USF
Week 8[18] D'Eriq King QB Houston Nate Evans
Austin Robinson 		LB
LB 		UCF
Houston 		Matthew Wright K UCF
Week 9[19] D'Eriq King QB Houston James Wiggins S Cincinnati Cole Smith K Cincinnati
Week 10[20] Ben Hicks QB SMU Cortez Broughton
Kyran Mitchell 		DT
LB 		Cincinnati
SMU 		Merek Glover K SMU
Week 11[21] Ryquell Armstead RB Temple Roderic Teamer S Tulane Pop Williams WR Memphis
Week 12[22] Holton Ahlers QB East Carolina Titus Davis DE UCF Isaiah Wright WR Temple
Week 13[23] Justin McMillian QB Tulane Arquon Bush CB Cincinnati Isaiah Wright WR Temple

Conference awards

The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the American Athletic Conference football coaches at the end of the season

2018 American Athletic Conference Individual Awards
Award Recipient(s)
Offensive Player of the Year McKenzie Milton
Defensive Player of the Year Nate Harvey
Special Teams Player of the Year Isaiah Wright
Rookie of the Year Desmond Ridder
Coach of the Year Luke Fickell
2018 All-American Athletic Conference Football Teams
First Team Second Team
Offense Defense Offense Defense

WR – Trevon Brown, ECU
WR – Marquez Stevenson, Houston
WR – James Proche, SMU
OT – Dino Boyd, Cincinnati
OT – Jake Brown, UCF
OG – Cole Schneider, UCF
OG – Dustin Woodard, Memphis
C – Jordan Johnson, UCF
TE – Mitchell Wilcox, USF
QB – McKenzie Milton, UCF
RB – Darrell Henderson^, Memphis
RB – Ryquell Armstead, Temple
K – Jake Verity, ECU
RS – John Williams, Memphis
RS – Isaiah Wright, Temple

DL – Cortez Broughton, Cincinnati
DL – Nate Harvey, ECU
DL – Ed Oliver, Houston
DL – Michael Dogbe, Temple
LB – Nate Evans, UCF
LB – Perry Young, Cincinnati
LB – Austin Robinson, Houston
LB – Shaun Bradley, Temple
CB – Nevelle Clarke, UCF
CB – Rock Ya-Sin, Temple
S – Richie Grant, UCF
S – Delvon Randall, Temple
P – James Smith, Cincinnati

WR – Gabe Davis, UCF
WR – Damonte Coxie, Memphis
WR – Ventell Bryant, Temple
OT – Wyatt Miller, UCF
OT – Trevon Tate, Memphis
OG – Jovahn Fair, Temple
OG – Tyler Bowling, Tulsa
C – Garrett Campbell, Cincinnati
TE – Josiah Deguara, Cincinnati
QB – D'Eriq King, Houston
RB – Michael Warren II, Cincinnati
RB – Adrian Killins, UCF
K – Matthew Wright, UCF
RS – Adrian Killins, UCF

DL – Titus Davis, UCF
DL – Marquise Copeland, Cincinnati
DL – Brendon Hayes, UCF
DL – Kimoni Fitz, Cincinnati
DL – Patrick Johnson, Tulane
LB – Pat Jasinski, UCF
LB – Bryce Huff, Memphis
LB – Khalid McGee, USF
LB – Zachery Harris, Tulane
CB – TJ Carter, Memphis
CB – Donnie Lewis, Tulane
S – James Wiggins, Cincinnati
S – Roderic Teamer, Tulane
P – Thomas Bennett, Tulsa

^ - denotes unanimous selection  Additional players added to the All-American teams due to ties in the voting

NFL Draft

The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2019 NFL draft.

Player Position School Draft
Round 		Round
Pick 		Overall
Pick 		Team
Ed Oliver DT Houston 1 9 9 Buffalo Bills
Rock Ya-Sin CB Temple 2 2 34 Indianapolis Colts
Trysten Hill DT UCF 2 26 58 Dallas Cowboys
Darrell Henderson RB Memphis 3 6 70 Los Angeles Rams
Tony Pollard RB Memphis 4 26 128 Dallas Cowboys
Isaiah Johnson CB Houston 4 27 129 Oakland Raiders
Ryquell Armstead RB Temple 5 2 140 Jacksonville Jaguars
Emeke Egbule LB Houston 6 27 200 Los Angeles Chargers
Donnie Lewis CB Tulane 7 7 221 Cleveland Browns
Cortez Broughton DT Cincinnati 7 28 242 Los Angeles Chargers
Michael Dogbe DE Temple 7 35 249 Arizona Cardinals

Notes

  1. ^ The American is the legal all-sports successor to the Big East Conference (1979–2013). The Big East was rebranded and reorganized as the American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2013.
  2. ^ The other conferences in the "Group of Five are Conference USA (C–USA), the Mid–American Conference (MAC), the Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference.

References

  1. ^ Romero, Iliana Limón (November 24, 2017). "No. 15 UCF, No. 20 Memphis set for rematch in AAC title game". Orlando Sentinel.
  2. ^ "Milton, Killins lead UCF to 40–13 win over Memphis". USA TODAY. Associated Press. September 30, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  3. ^ Reedy, Joe (November 24, 2017). "Winless to unbeaten: No. 12 UCF beats USF to cap turnaround". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
  4. ^ "Football Class Rankings – ESPN". ESPN. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  5. ^ "Rivals.com 2018 Team Recruiting Rankings". rivals.com. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  6. ^ "2018 Football Recruiting Team Rankings". 247sports.com. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
  7. ^ 2017 Football Media Day Retrieved November 24, 2017.
  8. ^ "UCF tabbed as favorite in 2018 American Media Poll". theamerican.org. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
  9. ^ "American Announces Fifth Anniversary Team". American Athletic Conference. SidearmSports. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
  10. ^ American Athletic Conference Coaches. Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
  11. ^ "The American Announces Opening Week Football Honors".
  12. ^ "Houston's King, Navy's Williams, USF's Horne Take Weekly Football Honors".
  13. ^ "Memphis, USF, Temple, Navy Players Take Weekly Football Honors".
  14. ^ "UCF's Milton, Temple's Roche, SMU's Roberson Earn Weekly Football Honors".
  15. ^ "UCF's Milton, ECU's Harvey and Verity Are Weekly Football Honorees".
  16. ^ "USF's Cronkrite, UCF's Davis, Temple's Wright Earn Weekly Football Honors".
  17. ^ "American Athletic Conference" (PDF).
  18. ^ "American Athletic Conference" (PDF).
  19. ^ "American Athletic Conference" (PDF).
  20. ^ "American Athletic Conference" (PDF).
  21. ^ "Temple, Tulane, Memphis Players Earn Weekly Football Honors".
  22. ^ "ECU, UCF, Temple Players Earn Weekly Football Honors".
  23. ^ "Tulane, Cincinnati, Temple Players Take Final Weekly Honors of 2018".