The Most Americ6n Recap, Week 1: Just what happened to Navy?
September 08, 2020 | Sports,
By Lucas Owens
Coming into Week 1, the American Athletic was looking good after a very strong 2019 season. Now that Week 1 has passed and three of the top teams in the conference have already played, it’s safe to say the stock in the conference is already trending downward. AAC teams went a combined 2-1 this weekend, but they were not the prettiest of wins. Enough stalling though, time to actually talk about the games.
SMU 31 – 24 Texas State
SMU entered this game with betting odds of beating Texas State by over 20. Clearly, that is not what happened. Texas State played better football than SMU for most of the game, coming up with great catches and defensive plays, and SMU just could not get much done on their side of the ball. Credit goes to SMU QB Shane Buchele, who finished his night with 367 yards passing and a QBR of 60.2, but if it were not for some very key defensive stops late by the Mustangs, Texas State would have come away with a fantastic upset. Still, SMU lives to fight on another week where they face another in-state rival, North Texas, in two weeks.
Memphis 37 – 24 Arkansas State
Even more so than SMU vs. Texas State, it seemed like no matter what Memphis did, Arkansas State stuck in this game. After getting out to a 7-0 and 14-7 lead, Arkansas State would give up a 30-3 run to the Tigers of Memphis, though that did not stop them from staying in this game. After Logan Bonner started the game and gave up two interceptions, Arkansas State was forced to switch to Layne Hatcher at QB. However, that move was too little, too late, as his passioned play was not enough to come back from their deficit. Memphis QB Brady White had a good performance, with 275 yards passing and four touchdowns, but after last season’s 4000 yards overall, he is still getting up to speed this year. There’s no cause for concern yet, but make sure to watch his numbers as Memphis’ schedule ramps up, facing Houston in two weeks.
Navy 3 – 55 BYU
In all my time watching Navy football, I do not think I have ever been as shocked by a score as I was this Labor Day. Even if Navy has a rough day on offense, the style of the triple option usually prevents teams from running away with the game. Clearly that was not the case here. Any time an opposing running back averages 9.4 yards per carry, you know Navy is not sitting as pretty as they usually are. That is exactly what BYU’s Tyler Allgeier did, and he also got two touchdowns on his way. However, the even bigger story is what happened to their offense; Navy just was not able to accomplish anything, and their longest rusher went only for 55 yards. Overall, this was just a befuddling game by Navy, and hopefully one that will not repeat itself anytime soon.
Pow6r Team of the Week: Nobody
I was tempted to give this to BYU with how they so thoroughly dominated Navy but, in the end, no team actually in the AAC really deserves it this week. Memphis had the all-around best game out of these three, but still struggled in what should have been an easy matchup for a team that went to the Cotton Bowl last year. In the end, all three of these teams need to move past this week as soon as possible and get on with the rest of their schedules.
Edited by Emma Moloney