By Lucas Owens
Last week, the American Athletic Conference started out with three teams in action and went 2-1 in their games. This week there are two games: one against an FCS foe, and another against a middling Sun Belt team. It’s safe to say that this is not the most hyped-up week. SMU and TCU were supposed to have their big rivalry game this weekend, but positive tests on TCU’s end forced that game to be cancelled. However, let’s still make the most of it and see what the American has to offer this weekend.
USF (-20.5) v The Citadel
Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida on Saturday, September 12 @ 6:00 PM CST
The Bulls of South Florida start off an entirely new era after parting ways with Charlie Strong and introducing Jeff Scott as their new head coach. Scott comes over from Clemson, where he had the privilege of winning a few national championships during his tenure as Offensive Coordinator, but he comes into a big reclamation project in Tampa now. USF does not really have much going for them on offense, but does pose a defensive threat to a lot of teams. For the Citadel, the triple option will be rough for USF to deal with it, but I think they’ll put the Bulldogs in the pound easily enough. Look for USF to win by a good margin on Saturday.
Prediction: USF 28 – 14 CIT
Tulane (-9) @ South Alabama
Hancock Whitney Stadium, Mobile, Alabama on Saturday, September 12 @ 6:30 PM CST
The Jaguars of South Alabama may have a head start on Tulane with their win over Southern Mississippi last week, but the Green Wave pose a very different threat with their spread option scheme. While South Alabama has been mired in mediocrity the last few years, they do look like a replenished squad this year that will likely put up a big fight with the Green Wave. I do not know if I would say the Jaguars are going to be able to claw their way to victory, but I think they will be able to put up a fight.
Prediction: TULN 35 – 30 USA
Pow6r Game of the Week: TULN @ USA
In case you could not tell from the acronyms, Tulane is just going to have to get past their nationalistic tendencies and bring down the hammer on the USA this weekend. In all seriousness, this looks like it will be a fun game and definitely warrants a watch.
Edited by Emma Moloney