Bringing you news and notes from the American Athletic Conference from both the football field and the classroom
Eight American Athletic Conference Teams Will Be Bowling
The American’s opponents in Bowl Season will include two SEC teams, an ACC team and a Big 12 team as well as a Mountain West squad, and three Sun Belt teams, including the SBC champion.
Army (11-1), which was ranked No. 22 in the final College Football Playoff rankings of the season after winning its first American Athletic Conference title last Friday, will face Sun Belt champion Marshall (10-3) Dec. 28 in the Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana.
Army will make its 11th bowl appearance, its second trip to the Independence Bowl and its first trip to Shreveport since 1996. The Black Knights are 7-3 in bowl games and have won five of their last six. It will be the third meeting between Army and a 10-win Marshall team that will bring a seven-game winning streak into Bowl Season. The matchup will be the first meeting between conference champions in the Independence Bowl since 1976.
Memphis (10-2), which is ranked No. 25 in the final College Football Playoff rankings, will head to the Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl Dec. 17 at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, where the Tigers will face West Virginia. Memphis is bowl-eligible for the 11th consecutive season - the seventh-longest active streak nationally - and will make its 15th appearance in Bowl Season. It will be the first meeting between Memphis and West Virginia.
Tulane (9-4) will make its 17th bowl appearance as the Green Wave plays in Bowl Season for the sixth time in seven years with this year’s trip to the Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl against Florida (7-5). It will be Tulane’s first appearance in the Gasparilla Bowl, which is played at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa. Tulane and Florida have played 21 times previously and will meet for the first time since 1984.
Navy (8-3) returns to Bowl Season for the first time since 2019 as the Midshipmen face Oklahoma (6-6) in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Dec. 27 at Amon G. Carter Stadium in Fort Worth, Texas. It will be Navy’s third appearance in the Armed Forces Bowl and its 25th bowl appearance overall as the Midshipmen have won five of their last six bowl games. The only previous meeting between the Midshipmen and Sooners was in 1965, when Navy scored a 10-0 win.
East Carolina (7-5) returns to Bowl Season for the 19th time as the Pirates await a Dec. 28 matchup against NC State in the Go Bowling Military Bowl at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland. East Carolina, which won four of its last five games to close the regular season, previously played in the Military Bowl in 2010 and will face the Wolfpack for the 33rd meeting between the in-state rivals.
South Florida (6-6) will make its second straight bowl appearance as the Bulls head to the Hawai’i Bowl for a Christmas Eve matchup against San Jose State (7-5). South Florida will make its 12th appearance in Bowl Season as the Bulls look for their eighth postseason win. South Florida and San Jose State will meet for just the second time overall and the first time since 2017.
UTSA (6-6) will make its sixth bowl appearance in program history when the Roadrunners face Coastal Carolina (6-6) in the Myrtle Beach Bowl at the Chanticleers’ Brooks Stadium in Conway, South Carolina. It will be the first meeting between the programs as the Roadrunners look for a second consecutive bowl victory.
North Texas (6-6) will make the short road trip to Dallas for its bowl destination as the Mean Green faces Texas State in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl Jan. 3 at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. It will be the 40th meeting between the Mean Green and Bobcats, North Texas’ first bowl appearance since 2022, and the Mean Green’s first appearance in the First Responder Bowl.
AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE TEAMS IN BOWL SEASON
Scooter’s Coffee Frisco Bowl | Dec. 17
Toyota Stadium | Frisco, Texas
West Virginia (6-6) vs. Memphis (10-2), 9 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Series: First meeting
Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl | Dec. 20
Raymond James Stadium | Tampa, Florida
Florida (7-5) vs. Tulane (9-4), 3:30 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Series: Florida leads, 13-6-2
Last Meeting: Sept. 15, 1984 (Florida, 63-21)
Myrtle Beach Bowl | Dec. 23
Brooks Stadium | Conway, South Carolina
Coastal Carolina (6-6) vs. UTSA (6-6), 11 a.m.
Television: ESPN
Series: First meeting
Hawaii Bowl | Dec. 24
Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex | Honolulu, Hawaii
San Jose State (7-5) vs. South Florida (6-6), 8 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Series: South Florida leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Aug. 26, 2017 (South Florida, 42-22)
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl | Dec. 27
Amon G. Carter Stadium | Fort Worth, Texas
Oklahoma (6-6) vs. Navy (8-3), Noon
Television: ESPN
Series: Navy leads, 1-0
Last Meeting: Oct. 2, 1965 (Navy, 10-0)
Go Bowling Military Bowl | Dec. 28
Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium | Annapolis, Md.
NC State (6-6) vs. East Carolina (7-5), 5:45 p.m.
Television: ESPN
Series: NC State leads, 19-13
Last Meeting: Sept. 3, 2022 (NC State, 21-20)
Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl | Dec. 28
Independence Stadium | Shreveport, Louisiana
Marshall (10-3) vs. Army (11-1), 9:15 p.m. ET
Television: ESPN
Series: Tied, 1-1
Last Meeting: Sept. 6, 1997 (Marshall, 35-25)
SERVPRO First Responder Bowl | Jan. 3
Gerald J. Ford Stadium | Dallas, Texas
Texas State (7-5) vs. North Texas (6-6), 4 p.m.
Television: ESPN
Series: North Texas leads, 29-7-3
Last Meeting: Oct. 8, 1994 (North Texas, 27-14)
American Athletic End of Season Individual Awards and All Conference Team
Army quarterback Bryson Daily was chosen as The American’s Offensive Player of the Year, while Black Knight head coach Jeff Monken was selected by his peers as Coach of the Year. UTSA linebacker Jimmori Robinson was named as Defensive Player of the Year, while UAB kicker Jonah Delange was chosen as Special Teams Player of the Year. Tulsa wide receiver Joesph Williams was tabbed as Freshman of the Year.
Daily enjoyed a record-setting year in Army’s first year in the American Athletic Conference has he finished the regular season with a conference-record 25 rushing touchdowns and a league-leading 1,354 rushing yards in only 10 games. Daily enters the American Athletic Conference Championship game ranked fourth in FBS in rushing at 135.4 yards per game, while his 25 touchdowns trails only Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty on the national list.
Robinson becomes the second consecutive UTSA player to win The American’s Defensive Player of the Year honor, joining 2023 winner Trey Moore. Robinson leads the conference with 10.5 sacks (ninth nationally) and 17.0 tackles for loss (sixth nationally).
Delange becomes the first UAB player to win a postseason individual honor in The American. Delange was the leading scorer among American Athletic Conference kickers, averaging 7.8 points per game, and was a semifinalist for the Lou Groza Award as the nation’s top kicker. Delange went 21-of-24 on field goal attempts and 31-of-31 on PATs in his sophomore season.
Williams is the first Tulsa player to be named as The American Freshman of the Year as he emerged as a big-play threat during his rookie season. Williams finished the year with 30 receptions for 588 yards and five touchdowns, averaging a team-leading 19.6 yards per reception (12th nationally).
Monken took American Coach of the Year honors after he led Army to an 8-0 record in conference games and a 10-1 overall mark in the Black Knights’ first year in The American. Army has been ranked in the national polls in eight consecutive weeks to close the season, took a 13-game winning streak into late November and will host the American Athletic Conference Championship Game Presented by USAA Friday.
Four players were repeat selections from the 2023 first team - Tulane running back Makhi Hughes, Tulane defensive lineman Patrick Johnson, Memphis linebacker Chandler Martin and Navy linebacker Colin Ramos.
2024 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE FOOTBALL AWARDS
OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Bryson Daily, QB, Army
DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jimmori Robinson, LB, UTSA
SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Jonah Delange, K, UAB
FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Joseph Williams, WR, Tulsa
COACH OF THE YEAR
Jeff Monken, Army
ALL-CONFERENCE FIRST TEAM
WR Roc Taylor Memphis
WR DT Sheffield North Texas
WR Dante Wright Temple
OT Xavier Hill Memphis
OT Derrick Graham Tulane
OG Bill Katsigiannis Army
OG Shadre Hurst Tulane
C Brady Small Army
TE Anthony Landphere Memphis
QB Bryson Daily Army
RB Mario Anderson Jr. Memphis
RB Makhi Hughes Tulane
DL Desmond Little UAB
DL William Whitlow Memphis
DL Landon Robinson Navy
DL Patrick Jenkins Tulane
LB Chandler Martin Memphis
LB Colin Ramos Navy
LB Tyquan King Temple
LB Jimmori Robinson UTSA
CB Davion Ross Memphis
CB Zah Frazier UTSA
S Max DiDomenico Army
S Rayuan Lane Navy
K Jonah Delange UAB
P Andrew Stokes South Florida
RS Kam Shanks UAB
ALL-CONFERENCE SECOND TEAM
WR O’Mega Blake Charlotte
WR Chase Sowell East Carolina
WR Mario Williams Tulane
OT Connor Finucane Army
OT Lucas Scott Army
OG Paolo Gennarelli Army
OG Josh Remetich Tulane
C Vincent Murphy Tulane
TE Oscar Cardenas UTSA
QB Chandler Morris North Texas
RB Kanye Udoh Army
RB Rahjai Harris East Carolina
DL Kyle Lewis Army
DL Justin Reed Navy
DL Decarius Hawthorne South Florida
DL Diwun Black Temple
LB Zakye Barker East Carolina
LB D.J. Woodbury Temple
LB Martavius French UTSA
LB Tyler Grubbs Tulane
LB Sam Howard Tulane
CB Dashaun Peele Navy
CB Micah Robinson Tulane
S Gabriel Taylor Rice
S Bailey Despanie Tulane
K Maddux Trujillo Temple
P Riley Riethman Navy
RS Rayshawn Pleasant Tulane
American Athletic Conference Offensive Players of the Year
2013 Blake Bortles, QB, UCF
2014 Shane Carden, QB, East Carolina
2015 Keenan Reynolds, QB, Navy
2016 Quinton Flowers, QB, USF
2017 McKenzie Milton, QB, UCF
2018 McKenzie Milton, QB, UCF
2019 Malcolm Perry, QB, Navy
2020 Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati
2021 Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati
2022 Tyjae Spears, RB, Tulane
2023 Michael Pratt, QB, Tulane
2024 Bryson Daily, QB, Army
American Athletic Conference Defensive Players of the Year
2013 Marcus Smith, DE, Louisville
2014 Jacoby Glenn, CB, UCF
Tank Jakes, LB, Memphis
2015 Tyler Matakevich, LB, Temple
2016 Shaquem Griffin, LB, UCF
2017 Ed Oliver, DT, Houston
2018 Nate Harvey, DE, East Carolina
2019 Quincy Roche, DE, Temple
2020 Zaven Collins, LB, Tulsa *
2021 Ahmad Gardner, CB, Cincinnati *
2022 Ivan Pace Jr., LB, Cincinnati
2023 Trey Moore, LB, UTSA
2024 Jimmori Robinson, LB, UTSA
American Athletic Conference Special Teams Players of the Year
2013 Demarcus Ayers, WR/KR, Houston
Tom Hornsey, P, Memphis
2014 Jake Elliott, K, Memphis
2015 Jake Elliott, K, Memphis
2016 Tony Pollard, WR/RS, Memphis
2017 Tony Pollard, WR/RS, Memphis
2018 Isaiah Wright, WR/RS, Temple
2019 Dane Roy, P, Houston
Antonio Gibson, WR/RS, Memphis
2020 Chris Naggar, K, SMU
2021 Marcus Jones, CB/RS, Houston
2022 Mason Fletcher, P, Cincinnati
2023 LaJohntay Wester, WR/RS, Florida Atlantic
2024 Jonah Delange, K, UAB
American Athletic Conference Rookies/Freshmen of the Year
2013 John O’Korn, QB, Houston
2014 Marlon Mack, RB, USF
2015 Tre’Quan Smith, WR, UCF
2016 Ed Oliver, DT, Houston
2017 T.J. Carter, CB, Memphis
2018 Desmond Ridder, QB, Cincinnati
2019 Kenneth Gainwell, RB, Memphis
2020 Rahjai Harris, RB, East Carolina
Ulysses Bentley IV, RB, SMU
2021 Alton McCaskill, RB, Houston
2022 E.J. Warner, QB, Temple
2023 Makhi Hughes, RB, Tulane
2024 Joseph Williams, WR, Tulsa
American Athletic Conference Coaches of the Year
2013 George O’Leary, UCF *
2014 Justin Fuente, Memphis *
2015 Tom Herman, Houston
Ken Niumatalolo, Navy
2016 Ken Niumatalolo, Navy
2017 Scott Frost, UCF *
2018 Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
2019 Ken Niumatalolo, Navy
2020 Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
2021 Luke Fickell, Cincinnati
2022 Willie Fritz, Tulane *
2023 Willie Fritz, Tulane
2024 Jeff Monken, Army
* unanimous selection
American Athletic Pre Season View
By George D’Alessandro
Taking a look ahead for the upcoming American Athletic Conference Football season here is my take
First let's look at each team’s strengths and weaknesses.
Returning were last year starters
School Strength Weakness
Army Running back, offensive line 3 of 11 offensive and defensive players return
Charlotte 2 of 3 WR return 2 of 11 on defense return ,all new offensive backfield
East Carolina 4 of 5 offensive line returns 1 of 3 WR return
FAU all linebackers return new offensive backfield, 2 of 11 defensive player return
Memphis quarterback, all WR’s return 4 of 11 defensive players return 2 of 5 offensive line return
Navy All defensive backs 1 of 4 offensive backfield return 3 of 5 offensive linemen
North Texas 3 of 4 defensive line 0 of 3 WR’s return new offensive 2 of 3 linebackers backfield
Rice 3 of 5 offensive line All new offense backfield and WR’s 2 of 3 linebacker, 4 of 5 DB’s
Temple 2 of 3 WR 2 of 4 defensive line 1 of 5 offensive line, 2 of 11 on defense returns
Tulane 4 of 5 offensive line, all linebackers 1 0f 4 DB’s no WR’s receivers returns
Tulsa 2 of 5 DB’s return 2 of 11 offensive and 4 of 11 defensive players return
UAB 4 of 5 offensive line QB no DB’s return, 2 of 11 offensive players return
USF 4 of 5 offensive line 8 of 11 defense 1 of 3 WR’s return, 2 of 5 DB’s return
entire offensive backfield
UTSA 3 of 5 offensive line, linebackers no WR’s, 1 0f 4 DB’s return
Let's see what the crystal ball predicts as far as records for the upcoming AAC season
School Wins Conference Non Total Loses Conference Non Total Final record
Army 5 2 7 4 1 5 7-5
Charlotte 2 1 3 6 3 9 3-9
East Carolina 4 2 6 4 2 6 6-6
FAU 4 3 7 4 1 5 7-5
Memphis 7 3 10 1 1 2 10-2
Navy 3 2 5 6 1 7 5-7
North Texas 5 3 8 3 1 4 8-4
Rice 2 3 5 6 1 7 5-7
Temple 0 2 2 8 2 10 2-10
Tulane 7 2 9 1 2 3 9-3
Tulsa 1 2 3 7 2 9 3-9
UAB 3 3 6 5 1 6 6-6
USF 6 2 8 2 2 4 8-4
UTSA 8 3 11 0 1 1 11-1
Game to circle on the calendar :
Army vs FAU 9/7
North Texas vs Tulane 9/28
UTSA vs Tulane 10/5
North Texas vs Memphis 10/19
Army vs Navy 12/14
Teams to watch
North Texas if the can win one game against either UTSA, Tulane Memphis they may just take off to be a force in the AAC
USF if they can knock off either Tulane or Memphis their season will propel them to the top of the league.
ASJ College Football Pre Season All League Team
First Team Second Team
Offense
QB Seth Hennigan, Memphis Jacob Zeno UAB
RB Makhi Hughes, Tulane Alex Tacza, Navy
Anthony Watkins, Tulsa Nay’Quan Wright USF
WR Sean Atkins, USF Kamdyn Benjamin, Tulsa
Demeer Blankumsee, Memphis Mario Williams, Tulane
Roc Taylor Memphis Amare Thomas UAB
TE Oscar Cardenas UTSA Alex Bauman, Tulane
C Federico Margnes, FAU Brady Small, Army
G Xavier Hill Memphis Zane Herring USF
Gabe Blair North Texas Jonah Gambill, Memphis
T Rashad Green, Tulsa Ethan Onianwa, Rice
DJ Jones, UAB Connor McMahon, Navy
Defense
DE Justin Reed, Navy Josh Pearce, Rice
Chad Stephens East Carolina Desmond LIttle, UAB
DT Rashad Chenney, USF Patrick Jenkins, Tulane
Kevin Penn, UAB D’Anta Johnson, East Carolina
LB Jhayln Shuler, USF Jackson Ambush, FAU
Colin Ramos, Navy Jesus Machado, Tulane
Chandler Martin, Memphis Jordan Brown, North Texas
CB Shavon Revel, East Carolina Ridge Texada, North Texas
Dontae Balfour, Charlotte Dashaun Peele, Navy
S Rayuan Lane,Navy Gabe Taylor, Rice
Plae Wyatt, Rice Bailey Despanie, Tulane
K Chase Allen, UTSA Andrew Conrad, East Carolina
P Riley Riethman, Navy Logan Lupo, FAU
KR Sutton Smith Memphis Quinton Jackson, Rice
PR Henry Rutledge Charlotte Koby Drake, Memphis
Player of the Year
Offense Seth Hennigan, Memphis Defense Rayuan Lane, Navy