Three weeks are in the books for the 2013 college football season and The American has had its ups and downs for three straight weeks.
There hasn't been one week that was great or atrocious for the league. However, when it's been bad, it's been really bad so far. The American has now seen three member teams fall to FCS opponents this season after Temple's loss to Fordham on Saturday. UConn and South Florida were the other FCS victims and they were defeated by Maryland and Florida Atlantic, respectively, this past week. Memphis also has started off 0-2 after being edged by Middle Tennessee, 17-15, on Saturday.
Three Undefeated AAC Teams Left
I asked last week if it was already a two-team race in the American. Out of the 10 teams that makeup the American, only three are still undefeated: Houston (2-0, 1-0 AAC), Louisville (3-0) and UCF (3-0). The Cougars were off while Louisville took the Governor's Cup, 27-13, over Kentucky and UCF knocked of Penn State in Happy Valley, 34-31. Louisville took care of business as expected but UCF's win was a pleasant surprise for the American. It was Rutgers and not Houston that looked like the dark horse candidate to win the league after Week 2, but, even after Paul James ran wild on Eastern Michigan, questions have to be raised after the Scarlet Knights lost quarterback Gary Nova to a concussion.
Will Cincinnati Bounce Back?
During the preseason, the Cincinnati Bearcats were one of the teams that could have been considered a competitor to win the league crown. In the midst of a overwhelming defeat to Illinois, the Bearcats lost quarterback Munchie Legaux for the season with a knee injury. On Saturday Legaux's successor, Brendon Kay, and indeed the whole team was nearly flawless against Northwestern State in a 66-9 victory. The win was exactly what Cincinnati needed before league play begins in two weeks and the Bearcats will get one more game to build momentum next week against Miami of Ohio.
