2023 Weekly Results/Award Winners

[adam]

Week 1 Scores

Thursday, August 31

UAB 35, North Carolina A&T 6

Tulsa 42, Arkansas-Pine Bluff 7

Saturday, September 2

Michigan 30, East Carolina 3

SMU 38, Louisiana Tech 14

Temple 24, Akron 21

Texas 37, Rice 10

Western Kentucky 41, South Florida 24

California 58, North Texas 21

Charlotte 24, South Carolina State 3

Florida Atlantic 42, Monmouth 20

Memphis 56, Bethune-Cookman 14

Houston 17, UTSA 14

Tulane 37, South Alabama 17

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Michael Pratt • Jr. • QB • Tulane

Pratt was nearly perfect in No. 23 Tulane’s 37-17 win against South Alabama as he completed 14 of 15 passes for 294 yards and four touchdowns. Pratt engineered scoring drives on Tulane’s first four possessions, while his pass efficiency rating of 346.0 was the best of any NCAA FBS player in Week 1.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Yvandy Rigby • Gr. • LB • Temple

Rigby led a Temple defense that limited Akron to 74 rushing yards, 279 total yards and only 41 yards in the second half, allowing the Owls to take a 24-21 win. Rigby had 14 total tackles, including 11 solo stops to help Temple hold the Zips scoreless in the second half.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Seth Morgan • Jr. • K • Memphis

Morgan scored 12 points, connecting on field goals of 45 and 26 yards and going 6-for-6 on PATs to help Memphis to a 56-14 win against Bethune-Cookman. A transfer from Sam Houston State, Morgan’s two field goals helped stake the Tigers to a 20-7 first-half lead.

HONOR ROLL

Jacob Zeno • Sr. • QB • UAB

Completed a school-record 38 of 41 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns in a 35-6 win against North Carolina A&T.

Ja’Mori Maclin • So. • WR • North Texas

Had four receptions for 122 yards and two touchdowns (58, 59) in a 58-21 loss to California.

Preston Stone • So. • QB • SMU

Completed 23 of 37 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns - all career highs - in a 38-14 win against Louisiana Tech.

Joshua Cephus • Sr. • WR • UTSA

Had nine receptions for 123 yards and a touchdown in a 17-14 loss at Houston.

Cardell Williams • RFr. • QB • Tulsa

Completed 13 of 14 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns while adding a rushing TD in a 42-7 win against Arkansas-Pine Bluff in his first collegiate game. Completed his first 13 passes.

[aldo]

Lots of fun QBs to watch in this league

[adam]

Forgot the previous week but here is week 3

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Preston Stone • So. • QB • SMU

Stone enjoyed the most productive day of his young career as he completed 15 of 20 passes for career highs of 300 yards and five touchdowns while adding a rushing TD in a 69-0 win against Prairie View A&M. Stone engineered scoring drives on six of the Mustangs’ first seven possessions before coming out of the game early in the third quarter.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Daquan Evans • Sr. • S • South Florida

Evans led a South Florida defense that kept No. 10 Alabama out of the end zone until late in the third quarter in a 17-3 loss to the Crimson Tide. Evans finished with eight tackles, including three sacks and four tackles for loss to go with a pass breakup as the Bulls held Alabama to its fewest points in a win since the 2016 season.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Noah Rauschenberg • Sr. • K • North Texas

Rauschenberg scored 16 points - the most by an American Athletic Conference kicker this season - and hit the game-winning field goal with three seconds left in regulation to lift North Texas to a 40-37 win at Louisiana Tech. Rauschenberg’s gamewinner was his fourth field goal of the day as he connected from 25, 22, 48 and 31 yards.

HONOR ROLL

Blake Watson • Sr. • RB • Memphis

Rushed for 169 yards and a touchdown on 10 carries and had six receptions for 68 yards in a 28-24 win against Navy.

Ayo Adeyi • Jr. • RB • North Texas

Rushed for 148 yards and two touchdowns on 19 carries in a 40-37 win at Louisiana Tech.

JT Daniels • Sr. • QB • Rice

Completed 11 of 17 passes for 255 yards and four touchdowns - all in the first half - in a 59-7 win against Texas Southern.

Joquez Smith • Fr. • RB • Temple

Rushed for 142 yards and a touchdown on 15 carries and had a 15-yard TD reception in a 41-7 win against Norfolk State.

Kai Horton • So. • QB • Tulane

Completed 12 of 19 passes for 186 yards and two touchdowns and added a rushing TD to figure in all three Tulane touchdowns in a 21-3 win at Southern Miss.

[adam]

Oh Noahmatic is a Lou Groza star of the week.

[adam]

Ayo Adeyi getting a little love –

[adam]

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Byrum Brown • RFr. • QB • South Florida

Brown passed for a career-high 435 yards and completed 22 of 29 attempts with two touchdowns to lead South Florida to a 42-29 win against Rice in both teams’ American Athletic Conference opener. Brown added a team-high 82 rushing yards with a TD on the ground to finish with 517 yards of total offense, the most of any NCAA FBS player in a game in the 2023 season Brown leads all FBS quarterbacks with 350 rushing yards this season.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Kendarin Ray • Sr. • S • Tulsa

Ray had a team-high 10 tackles and came up with a game-clinching interception to lead Tulsa to a 22-14 win at Northern Illinois. He made a pivotal tackle on a fourth-and-1 play from the NIU 28-yard line that allowed Tulsa to get a key field goal, while his interception came at the Tulsa 21 with 26 seconds left in the fourth quarter. Ray, who leads The American with 38 tackles, registered his third game this season with at least 10 stops.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Grant Gonya • Sr. • P • Charlotte

A transfer from Division III John Carroll, Gonya averaged 48.5 yards on six punts in Charlotte’s 22-7 loss at No. 25 Florida. Gonya hit two punts of least 50 yards, with a long of 60, and pinned the Gators inside their own 20-yard line twice.Gonya is ranked second among American Athletic Conference punters with a 45.7-yard average in 2023.

HONOR ROLL

Amare Thomas • Fr. • WR • UAB

Had a game-high nine receptions for 60 yards and a touchdown in a 49-21 loss at No. 1 Georgia.

Eyabi Okie-Anoma • Gr. • DE • Charlotte

Had eight tackles with a sack, 1.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble in a 22-7 loss at No. 25 Florida.

Tanner Gillis • Jr. • P/K • Memphis

Scored nine points, going 2-for-2 on field goals (43, 22) in his first career appearance as a placekicker in a 34-27 loss to Missouri.

Luke McCaffrey • Jr. • WR • Rice

Had nine receptions for a career-high 199 yards in a 42-29 loss at South Florida.

Naiem Simmons • Jr. • WR • South Florida

Had eight receptions for a school-record 272 yards and a touchdown in a 42-29 win against Rice.

[adam]

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Cardell Williams • RFr. • QB • Tulsa

Williams accounted for 334 yards of total offense and four touchdowns to lead Tulsa to a 48-26 win against Temple. He completed 14 of 17 passes (82%) for 244 yards and three touchdowns without an interception and led all players with 90 rushing yards and a TD on 10 carries.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Tramel Logan • Jr. • DE • South Florida

Logan had four tackles and made a pivotal defensive play to help South Florida to a 44-30 win at Navy, improving the Bulls to 2-0 in American Athletic Conference play for the first time since 2018. With Navy threatening to tie the score early in the fourth quarter, Logan recovered a Navy fumble and returned it 70 yards for a touchdown, giving the Bulls a 37-23 lead. It was the first fumble return touchdown for a South Florida player since the 2018 season.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Geoffrey Cantin-Arku • Sr. • LB • Memphis

Cantin-Arku delivered a game-changing play on special teams to spark Memphis’ 35-32 come-from-behind win against Boise State. As the Broncos lined up for a short field goal that would have given them a 20-14 lead late in the third quarter, Cantin-Arku blocked the kick, recovered the ball and raced 80 yards for a touchdown, giving Memphis the lead. It was the first blocked field goal return for a touchdown by a Memphis player since 2006.

HONOR ROLL

Chandler Rogers • Jr. • QB • North Texas

Completed 23 of 36 passes for 321 yards and three touchdowns and added a rushing TD in a 45-31 win against Abilene Christian.

Byrum Brown • RFr. • QB • South Florida

Completed 26 of 34 passes for 338 yards and three touchdowns in a 44-30 win at Navy.

Jaylan Knighton • Sr. • RB • SMU

Rushed for 150 yards and two touchdowns, including a 95-yard score, in a 34-16 win against Charlotte.

Devean Deal • So. • DE • Tulane

Had eight tackles, a sack and four tackles for loss in a 35-23 win against UAB.

Makhi Hughes • RFr. • RB • Tulane

Rushed for a career-high 123 yards and two touchdowns in a 35-23 win against UAB.

[adam]

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Daniel Richardson • Jr. • QB • Florida Atlantic

Richardson completed 31 of 38 passes for a career-high 382 yards and three touchdowns against one interception to help Florida Atlantic break open what had been a one-score game at halftime in what turned into a 56-14 victory at South Florida. Richardson led an Owls offense that scored the final 35 points of the game as Florida Atlantic improved to 2-0 in American Athletic Conference play.

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Trey Moore • So. • LB • UTSA

Moore registered a career-high 3.5 sacks — the third-most by an American Athletic Conference player in league history — to pace UTSA to a 41-20 win against UAB. Moore added a key strip-sack and fumble recovery to set up a Roadrunner touchdown and finished with five total tackles. Moore leads The American and ranks third nationally with 7.5 sacks in 2023.

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK

Riley Riethman • Jr. • P • Navy

On a day in which points were at a premium, Riethman was instrumental to the field position battle in Navy’s 14-0 win at Charlotte as the Midshipmen earned their second shutout of the season. Riethmanpunted 11 times for 509 yards, averaging 46.3 yards and downing four punts inside the 20-yard line and two inside the 6.

HONOR ROLL

LaJohntay Wester • Jr. • WR • Florida Atlantic

Had 190 all-purpose yards and two total touchdowns in a 56-14 win at South Florida. Had 10 receptions for 123 yards and a TD along with a 67-yard punt return for a score.

Will Harbour • Sr. • LB • Navy

Had a career-high 11 tackles with a tackle for loss and 0.5 sacks in a 14-0 win at Charlotte.

Chandler Rogers • Jr. • QB • North Texas

Completed 25 of 39 passes for 307 yards and four touchdowns in a 45-14 win against Temple.

Kobe Wilson • Jr. • LB • SMU

Had seven tackles, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery in a 31-10 win at East Carolina.

Michael Pratt • Jr. • QB • Tulane

Completed 19 of 31 passes for 259 yards and two touchdowns and had a rushing TD in a 31-21 win at Memphis.