2018 American Athletic Conference football season

2018 American Athletic Conference football season
League	NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision)
Sport	Football
Duration	August 30, 2018 through January 2019
Number of teams	12
TV partner(s)	ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and CBS Sports Network
2019 NFL Draft
Top draft pick	Ed Oliver (Houston)
Picked by	Buffalo Bills, 9th overall
Regular season
The American Championship
Football seasons
←  2017 2019  →

2018 American Athletic Conference football standings

v t e	Conf							Overall
Team		W		L					W		L
East Division
No. 11 UCF x$		8	–	0					12	–	1
Temple		7	–	1					8	–	5
No. 24 Cincinnati		6	–	2					11	–	2
South Florida		3	–	5					7	–	6
East Carolina		1	–	7					3	–	9
UConn		0	–	8					1	–	11
West Division
Memphis xy		5	–	3					8	–	6
Houston x		5	–	3					8	–	5
Tulane x		5	–	3					7	–	6
SMU		4	–	4					5	–	7
Navy		2	–	6					3	–	10
Tulsa		2	–	6					3	–	9
Championship: UCF 56, Memphis 41
$ – Conference champion x – Division champion/co-champions y – Championship game participant Rankings from AP Poll

The 2018 American Athletic Conference football season is the 27th NCAA Division I FBS Football season of the American Athletic Conference (The American). The season is the sixth since the former Big East Conference dissolved and became the American Athletic Conference, ^{[note 1]} and the fifth season with the College Football Playoff in place. The American is considered a member of the "Group of Five" (G5), ^{[note 2]} meaning that the conference shares with the other G5 conferences one automatic spot in the New Year's Six bowl games.

Previous season

UCF defeated Memphis in the 2017 AAC Championship game' The game was a rematch of the September 30 matchup, ^[1] which UCF won 40–13. ^[2]

Seven Teams participated in bowl games, and finished with a record of 4–3. UCF defeated Auburn 34–27 in the Peach Bowl. The Knights finished the regular season 12–0. The effort came just two years after an 0–12 winless season (2015). UCF became the first team in the history of NCAA Division I FBS to improve from a winless regular season to an undefeated regular season in only two years. ^[3] Memphis lost to Iowa State 20–21 in the 2017 Liberty Bowl. Navy defeated Virginia in the Military Bowl 49–7, Houston lost to Fresno State in the Hawaii Bowl 27–33. USF Defeated Texas Tech 38–24 in the Birmingham Bowl. Temple defeated FIU 28–3 in the Gasparilla Bowl, and SMU lost to Louisiana Tech 10–51 in the Frisco Bowl.

Preseason

Recruiting classes

National Rankings

Team	ESPN [4]	Rivals [5]	24/7 [6]
Cincinnati	75	47	47
Connecticut		89	104
East Carolina		85	87
Houston	75	60	72
Memphis		81	88
Navy		91	102
SMU		81	86
South Florida	55	56	64
Temple		76	80
Tulane	72	65	68
Tulsa		86	97
UCF	70	67	70

American Athletic Conference Media Day

The American Athletic Conference Media Day took place July 18 in Newport, Rhode Island. ^[7]

Preseason Media Poll

AAC Champion Voting

• UCF – 19
• Memphis – 7
• USF – 3
• Houston – 1

East 1. UCF (175 pts., 25 votes) 2. USF (140 pts., 5 votes) 3. Temple (132 pts.) 4. Cincinnati (91 pts.) 5. Connecticut (51 pts.) 6. East Carolina (41 pts.)

West 1. Memphis (171 pts., 23 votes) 2. Houston (146 pts., 4 votes) 3. Navy (129 pts., 3 votes) 4. SMU (72 pts.) 5. Tulane (68 pts.) 6. Tulsa (44 pts.)

References: ^[8]

Fifth Anniversary Football Team

with 2018 marking the Fifth Year of American Athletic Conference Football under the new league, the Conference announced the Fifth Anniversary Team ^[9]

FIFTH ANNIVERSARY FOOTBALL TEAM AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE
Offense	Defense
QB – Keenan Reynolds, Navy RB – D'Angelo Brewer, Tulsa RB – Marlon Mack, USF WR – Zay Jones, ECU WR – Anthony Miller, Memphis WR – Courtland Sutton, SMU TE – Jordan Akins, UCF OT – Kofi Amichia, USF OT – Dion Dawkins, Temple OT – Eric Lefeld, Cincinnati OG – E.K. Binns, Navy OG – Adam West, Navy C – Kyle Friend, Temple	DL – Matt Ioannidis, Temple DL – Justin Lawler, USF DL – Ed Oliver, Houston DL – Haason Reddick, Temple DL – Marcus Smith, Louisville LB – Genard Avery, UCF LB – Shaquem Griffin, UCF LB – Tyler Matakevich, Temple LB – Auggie Sanchez, USF CB – Jacoby Glenn, USF CB – Mike Hughes, UCF CB – Parry Nickerson, Tulane S – Clayton Geathers, UCF S – Obi Melifonwu, UConn PK – Jake Elliott, Memphis P – Tom Hornsey, Memphis RS – Tony Pollard, Memphis

Head coaches

Coaching changes

There were two coaching changes after the regular season ended, On December 2, 2017 Scott Frost left UCF to take the Nebraska job, but stayed on to coach in the AAC Championship game and Peach Bowl, UCF ended up hiring Missouri Offensive Coordinator Josh Heupel. On December 7, 2017 SMU coach Chad Morris left to take the Arkansas job, on December 12, 2017 former Cal coach Sonny Dykes was hired as the new SMU coach.

Coaches

Note: All stats current through the completion of the 2017 season

Team	Head coach	Years at school	Overall record	Record at school	AAC record
Cincinnati	Luke Fickell	2	10–15 (.400)	4–8 (.333)	2–6 (.250)
Connecticut	Randy Edsall	14	99–113 (.467)	77–79 (.494)	24–32 (.429)
East Carolina	Scottie Montgomery	3	6–18 (.250)	6–18 (.250)	3–13 (.188)
Houston	Major Applewhite	2	7–6 (.538)	7–6 (.538)	5–3 (.625)
Memphis	Mike Norvell	2	18–8 (.692)	18–8 (.692)	12–4 (.750)
Navy	Ken Niumatalolo	11	84–48 (.636)	84–48 (.636)	18–6 (.750)
SMU	Sonny Dykes	2	41–46 (.471)	0–1 (.000)	0–0 (–)
South Florida	Charlie Strong	2	63–39 (.618)	10–2 (.833)	26–11 (.703)
Temple	Geoff Collins	2	7–6 (.538)	7–6 (.538)	4–4 (.500)
Tulane	Willie Fritz	3	163–84 (.660)	9–15 (.375)	4–12 (.250)
Tulsa	Philip Montgomery	4	18–20 (.474)	18–20 (.474)	10–15 (.400)
UCF	Josh Heupel	1	0–0 (–)	0–0 (–)	0–0 (–)

Source: ^[10]

Rankings

Main article: 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings

Legend

		Increase in ranking
		Decrease in ranking
		Not ranked previous week
RV		Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll

		Pre	Wk 2	Wk 3	Wk 4	Wk 5	Wk 6	Wk 7	Wk 8	Wk 9	Wk 10	Wk 11	Wk 12	Wk 13	Wk 14	Wk 15	Final
Cincinnati	AP					RV	RV	25	20	RV	RV	25	19	RV	RV	RV	24
	C	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	25	21	RV	RV	23	20	RV	RV	RV	23
	CFP	Not released											24
Connecticut	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
East Carolina	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Houston	AP	RV	RV	RV					RV	RV	17	RV		RV
	C	RV	RV	RV	RV				RV	RV	17	RV
	CFP	Not released
Memphis	AP	RV	RV
	C	RV	RV	RV											RV
	CFP	Not released
Navy	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
SMU	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
South Florida	AP			RV	RV	RV	RV	23	21	21	RV
	C	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	RV	23	20	20	RV	RV
	CFP	Not released
Temple	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Tulane	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
Tulsa	AP
	C
	CFP	Not released
UCF	AP	21	19	18	16	13	12	10	10	10	9	11	11	8	7	7	11
	C	23	20	18	18	14	13	9	9	10	9	11	11	9	7	7	12
	CFP	Not released									12	12	11	9	8	8

Schedule

Index to colors and formatting
American member won
American member loss
American teams in bold

Week 1

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
August 30	7:00 p.m.	No. 21 UCF	Connecticut	Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT	ESPNU	UCF 56–17	23,081
August 30	8:00 p.m.	Wake Forest	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	CBSSN	L 17–23 OT	15,478
September 1	Noon	Villanova	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA (Mayor's Cup)	ESPNews	L 17–19	32,357
September 1	Noon	Houston	Rice	Rice Stadium • Houston, TX (rivalry)	CBSSN	W 45–27	26,390
September 1	6:00 p.m.	Elon	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ESPN3	W 34–14	31,217
September 1	7:00 p.m.	Central Arkansas	Tulsa	H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	ESPN3	W 38–27	18,356
September 1	7:00 p.m.	Mercer	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	ESPN3	W 66–14	33,697
September 1	7:00 p.m.	Cincinnati	UCLA	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA	ESPN	W 26–17	54,116
September 1	7:30 pm	SMU	North Texas	Apogee Stadium • Deton, TX (Safeway Bowl)	Stadium	L 23–46	29,519
September 1	11:00 p.m.	Navy	Hawaii	Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HI	CBSSN	L 41–59	29,702
September 2	3:30 p.m.	No. 14 (FCS)  North Carolina A&T	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	ESPN3	L 23–28	38,640
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 2

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 7	7:00 p.m.	No. 16  TCU	SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX (Rivalry)	ESPN2	L 12–42	24,216
September 8	Noon	Arizona	Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX	ABC/ESPN2	W 45–18	32,534
September 8	Noon	Georgia Tech	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ABC	W 49–38	34,182
September 8	3:30 p.m.	Memphis	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	CBSSN	Navy 22–21	31,762
September 8	3:30 p.m.	Buffalo	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	ESPN3	L 29–36	25,511
September 8	3:30 p.m.	North Carolina	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	ESPNU	W 41–19	39,298
September 8	6:00 pm	South Carolina State	No. 19 UCF	Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL	ESPN3	W 38–0	43,269
September 8	8:00 p.m.	Miami (OH)	Cincinnati	Paul Brown Stadium • Cincinnati, OH (Victory Bell)	ESPN3	W 21–0	65,515
September 8	8:00 p.m.	No. 11 (FCS)  Nicholls State	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPN3	W 42–17	21,092
September 8	8:00 p.m.	Tulsa	Texas	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin TX	LHN	L 21–28	90563
September 8	10:15 p.m.	Connecticut	No. 20  Boise State	Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID	ESPNU	L 7–62	34,515
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 3

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 14	7:00 p.m.	Georgia State	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	ESPN	W 59–22	27,678
September 15	Noon	No. 18 UCF	North Carolina	Kenan Memorial Stadium • Chapel Hill, NC	ESPNU	Cancelled [a]
September 15	Noon	Rhode Island	Connecticut	Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT (Rivalry)	SNY/ESPN3	W 56–49	20,691
September 15	Noon	Temple	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD	BTN	W 35–14	32,057
September 15	Noon	Tulane	UAB	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL	Stadium	L 24–31	21,991
September 15	12:20 p.m.	East Carolina	No. 13 Virginia Tech	Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA	ACCN	Cancelled [a]
September 15	3:30 p.m.	South Florida	Illinois	Soldier Field • Chicago, IL	BTN	W 25–19	21,725
September 15	3:30 p.m.	Lehigh	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	CBSSN	W 51–21	30,011
September 15	3:30 p.m.	SMU	No. 19  Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	BTN	L 20–45	110,549
September 15	4:00 p.m.	Houston	Texas Tech	Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, TX	FOX	L 49–63	53,484
September 15	7:00 p.m.	Alabama A&M	Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	ESPN3	W 63–7	28,834
September 15	7:00 p.m.	Arkansas State	Tulsa	H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	CBSSN	L 20–29	17,349
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

1. This game has been cancelled in anticipation of Hurricane Florence.

Week 4

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 20	7:30 p.m.	Tulsa	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	ESPN	TEM 31–17	24,217
September 21	7:00 p.m.	Florida Atlantic	No. 16 UCF	Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL	ESPN	W 56–36	44,257
September 22	Noon	Navy	SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX (Gansz Trophy)	ESPNews	SMU 31–30	17,531
September 22	Noon	Ohio	Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	ESPNU	W 34–30	35,220
September 22	3:30 p.m.	Tulane	No. 4  Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	BTN	L 6–49	103,336
September 22	4:00 p.m.	Connecticut	Syracuse	Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY	ESPNews	L 21–51	36,632
September 22	8:00 p.m.	Texas Southern	Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX	ESPN3	W 70–14	29,970
September 22	8:00 p.m.	South Alabama	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	WMC/ESPN3	W 52–35	27,765
September 22	8:00 p.m.	East Carolina	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ESPNews	USF 20–13	34,562
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 5

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
September 28	8:00 p.m.	Memphis	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPN2	TULN 40–24	16,631
September 29	Noon	Temple	Boston College	Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA	ESPNU	L 35–45	40,111
September 29	3:30 p.m.	Pittsburgh	No. 13 UCF	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX	ESPNU	W 45–14	44,904
September 29	3:30 p.m.	Old Dominion	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	ESPN3	W 37–35	35,047
September 29	3:30 p.m.	Cincinnati	Connecticut	Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT	CBSSN	CINCI 49–7	20,322
September 29	7:00 p.m.	Houston Baptist	SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX	ESPN3	W 63–27	18,983
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
Sept. 29	Tulsa, Navy, Houston, South Florida

Week 6

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 4	8:00 p.m.	Tulsa	Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX	ESPN	HOU 41–26	29,823
October 6	Noon	Tulane	Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	ESPNU	CIN 37–21	32,200
October 6	Noon	East Carolina	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	ESPNews	TEM 49–6	26,681
October 6	3:30 p.m	Navy	Air Force	Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	CBSSN	L 7–35	40,175
October 6	3:30 p.m.	South Florida	Massachusetts	Warren McGuirk Alumni Stadium • Hadley, MA	ELVN	W 58–42	7,988
October 6	7:00 p.m.	Connecticut	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	CBSSN	MEM 55–14	27,581
October 6	7:00 p.m.	SMU	No. 12 UCF	Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL	ESPNU	UCF 48–20	40,856
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 7

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 12	7:00 p.m.	No. 23 South Florida	Tulsa	H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	ESPN	USF 25–24	16,142
October 13	3:30 p.m.	Temple	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	CBSSN	TEM 24–17	30,106
October 13	3:30 p.m.	No. 10 UCF	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	ABC/ESPN2	UCF 31–30	38,831
October 13	7:00 p.m.	Houston	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	CBSSN	HOU 42–20	29,851
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
Oct. 13	Tulane, SMU, Cincinnati, Connecticut

Week 8

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 20	Noon	Tulsa	Arkansas	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR	SECN	L 0–23	56,691
October 20	Noon	No. 20 Cincinnati	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	ESPNU	TEM 24–17 OT	33,026
October 20	3:30 p.m.	SMU	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPNU	SMU 27–23	13,987
October 20	3:30 p.m.	Houston	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	CBSSN	HOU 49–36	33,924
October 20	4:00 p.m.	Memphis	Missouri	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO	SECN	L 33–65	52,917
October 20	7:00 p.m.	No. 10 UCF	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC (Rivalry)	ESPN2	UCF 37–10	31,159
October 20	7:00 p.m.	Connecticut	No. 21 South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	CBSSN	USF 38–30	42,127
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 9

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
October 27	Noon	Massachusetts	Connecticut	Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT (Rivalry)	ESPNU	L 17–22	24,150
October 27	3:30 p.m.	Cincinnati	SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX	CBSSN	CIN 26–20 OT	16,121
October 27	3:30 p.m.	No. 21 South Florida	Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX	ABC/ESPN2	HOU 57–36	31,631
October 27	7:00 p.m.	Tulane	Tulsa	H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	ESPNU	TULN 24–17	16,133
October 27	8:00 p.m.	No. 3  Notre Dame	Navy	SDCCU Stadium • San Diego, CA (Rip Miller Trophy)	CBS	L 22–44	63,626
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Date	Bye Week
Oct. 27	Memphis, UCF, Temple, East Carolina

Week 10

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 1	7:30 p.m.	Temple	No. 9 UCF	Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL	ESPN	UCF 52–40	41,153
November 3	Noon	Memphis	East Carolina	Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	ESPNU	MEM 59–41	29,127
November 3	3:30 p.m.	Tulane	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	CBSSN	TULN 41–15	31,388
November 3	3:30 p.m.	Navy	Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	ESPNU	CIN 42–0	36,318
November 3	7:00 p.m.	Connecticut	Tulsa	H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	CBSSN	TULSA 49–19	17,451
November 3	7:00 p.m.	No. 17 Houston	SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX (rivalry)	ESPNU	SMU 45–31	23,654
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 11

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 10	12:00 p.m.	Tulsa	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	ESPNU	MEM 47–21	27,905
November 10	12:00 p.m.	SMU	Connecticut	Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT	ESPN3	SMU 62–50	19,096
November 10	12:00 p.m.	Navy	No. 11 UCF	Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL	ESPN2	UCF 35–24	44,738
November 10	4:00 p.m.	East Carolina	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPNews	TULN 24–18	20,860
November 10	7:00 p.m.	Temple	Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX	CBSSN	TEMP 59–49	30,862
November 10	7:00 p.m.	South Florida	No. 25 Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	ESPNU	CIN 25–23	29,310
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 12

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 15	8:00 p.m.	Tulane	Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX	ESPN	HOU 48–17	24,209
November 16	9:00 p.m.	Memphis	SMU	Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX	ESPN2	MEM 28–18	15,794
November 17	Noon	South Florida	Temple	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA	ESPNews	TEM 27–17	21,029
November 17	3:30 p.m.	Tulsa	Navy	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	CBSSN	NAVY 37–29	31,517
November 17	7:00 p.m.	Connecticut	East Carolina	Dowdy-Ficklin Stadium • Greenville, NC	CBSSN	ECU 55–21	27,234
November 17	8:00 p.m.	Cincinnati	No. 11 UCF	Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL	ABC	UCF 38–13	47,795
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 13

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
November 23	Noon	Houston	Memphis	Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN	ABC	MEM 52–31	27,790
November 23	3:30 p.m.	East Carolina	Cincinnati	Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH	CBSSN	CIN 56–6	21,230
November 23	4:15 p.m.	No. 8 UCF	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL (War on I–4)	ESPN	UCF 38–10	57,626
November 24	Noon	Navy	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	ESPNU	TULN 29–28	20,042
November 24	3:30 p.m.	Temple	Connecticut	Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT	ESPNU	TEM 57–7	18,203
November 24	3:30 p.m.	SMU	Tulsa	H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK	CBSSN	TLSA 27–24	17,159
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 14

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 1	Noon	East Carolina	NC State	Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC	ACCN Extra	L 3–58	57,223
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

AAC Championship game

Main article: 2018 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 1	3:30 pm	Memphis	No. 7 UCF	Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL	ABC	UCF 56–41	45,176
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 15

Date	Time	Visiting team	Home team	Site	TV	Result	Attendance	Ref.
December 8	3:00 p.m.	No. 22  Army	Navy	Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy)	CBS	L 10–17	66,729
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Bowl games

Legend
	The American win
	The American loss

See also: 2018–19 NCAA football bowl games

Bowl game	Date	Site	Television	Time	American team	Opponent	Score	Attendance
Cure Bowl	December 15	Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL	CBSSN	2:30 p.m.	Tulane	Louisiana	41–24	19,066
Gasparilla Bowl	December 20	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	ESPN	8:00 p.m.	South Florida	Marshall	20–38	14,135
Birmingham Bowl	December 22	Legion Field • Birmingham, AL	ESPN	Noon	Memphis	Wake Forest	34–37	25,717
Armed Forces	December 22	Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX	ESPN	3:30 p.m.	Houston	Army	14–70	44,738
Independence	December 27	Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA	ESPN	1:30 p.m.	Temple	Duke	27–56	27,492
Military Bowl	December 30	Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD	ESPN	Noon	Cincinnati	Virginia Tech	35–31	32,832
New Years Six bowl games
Fiesta Bowl	January 1	State Farm Stadium • Glendale, AZ	ESPN	1:00 p.m.	No. 8 UCF	No. 11 LSU	32–40	57,246

(Rankings from final CFP Poll; All times Eastern)

American vs other conferences

American vs Power conference matchups

This is a list of the power conference teams (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Notre Dame, Pac-12 and SEC) The American will playing during the 2018 season.

Date	Visitor	Home	Site	Score
August 30	Wake Forest	Tulane	Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA	17–23 OT
September 1	Cincinnati	UCLA	Rose Bowl • Pasadena, CA	26–17
September 7	TCU	SMU	Ford Staduium • Dallas, TX	12–42
September 8	Arizona	Houston	TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX	45–18
September 8	North Carolina	East Carolina	Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC	41–19
September 8	Georgia Tech	South Florida	Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL	49–38
September 8	Tulsa	Texas	Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX	21–28
September 15	Temple	Maryland	Maryland Stadium • College Park, MD	35–14
September 15	South Florida	Illinois	Soldier Field • Chicago, IL	25–19
September 15	SMU	Michigan	Michigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI	20–45
September 15	Houston	Texas Tech	Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, TX	49–63
September 22	Tulane	Ohio State	Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH	6–49
September 22	Connecticut	Syracuse	Carrier Dome • Syracuse, NY	21–51
September 29	Pittsburgh	No. 13 UCF	Spectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL	45–14
September 29	Temple	Boston College	Alumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA	35–45
October 20	Memphis	Missouri	Faurot Field • Columbia, MO	33–65
October 20	Tulsa	Arkansas	Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR	0–23
October 27	Notre Dame	Navy	SDCCU Stadium • San Diego, CA	22–44
December 1	East Carolina	NC State	Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC	3–58

Records against other conferences

Regular Season Power Conferences Record ACC 3–4 Big Ten 2–2 Big 12 0–3 Notre Dame 0–1 Pac-12 2–0 SEC 0–2 Power Conference Total 7–12 Other FBS Conferences Record C-USA 3–2 Independents (excluding Notre Dame) 1–1 MAC 2–1 Mountain West 0–3 Sun Belt 2–2 Other FBS Total 8–8 FCS Opponents Record CAA 2–1 MEAC 1–1 Patriot 1–0 Southland 3–0 Southern 1–0 SWAC 2–0 FCS Total 10–2 Total Non-Conference Record 25–22

Post Season Power Conferences Record ACC 1–2 SEC 0–1 Power Conferences Total 1–3 Other FBS Conferences Record C-USA 0–1 Independent 0–1 Sun Belt 1–0 Other FBS Total 1–2 Total Bowl Record 2–5

Awards and honors

Players of the week

Week	Offensive			Defensive			Special Teams
	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team	Player	Position	Team
Week 1 [11]	McKenzie Milton	QB	UCF	Bryan Wright Ed Oliver	LB DT	Cincinnati Houston	Thomas Bennett	P	Tulsa
Week 2 [12]	D'Eriq King	QB	Houston	Sean Williams	S	Memphis	Terrence Horne, Jr.	KR	South Florida
Week 3 [13]	Darrell Henderson Blake Barnett	RB QB	Memphis South Florida	Michael Dogbe	DT	Temple	Bennett Moehring	K	Navy
Week 4 [14]	McKenzie Milton	QB	UCF	Quincy Roche	DE	Temple	Reggie Roberson Jr.	WR/KR	SMU
Week 5 [15]	McKenzie Milton	QB	UCF	Nate Harvey	DE	East Carolina	Jake Verity	K	East Carolina
Week 6 [16]	Jordan Cronkrite	RB	USF	Titus Davis	DE	UCF	Isaiah Wright	WR	Temple
Week 7 [17]	McKenzie Milton	QB	UCF	Ed Oliver	DT	Houston	Matthew Wright Coby Weiss	K K	UCF USF
Week 8 [18]	D'Eriq King	QB	Houston	Nate Evans Austin Robinson	LB LB	UCF Houston	Matthew Wright	K	UCF
Week 9 [19]	D'Eriq King	QB	Houston	James Wiggins	S	Cincinnati	Cole Smith	K	Cincinnati
Week 10 [20]	Ben Hicks	QB	SMU	Cortez Broughton Kyran Mitchell	DT LB	Cincinnati SMU	Merek Glover	K	SMU
Week 11 [21]	Ryquell Armstead	RB	Temple	Roderic Teamer	S	Tulane	Pop Williams	WR	Memphis
Week 12 [22]	Holton Ahlers	QB	East Carolina	Titus Davis	DE	UCF	Isaiah Wright	WR	Temple
Week 13 [23]	Justin McMillian	QB	Tulane	Arquon Bush	CB	Cincinnati	Isaiah Wright	WR	Temple

Conference awards

The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the American Athletic Conference football coaches at the end of the season

2018 American Athletic Conference Individual Awards
Award	Recipient(s)
Offensive Player of the Year	McKenzie Milton
Defensive Player of the Year	Nate Harvey
Special Teams Player of the Year	Isaiah Wright
Rookie of the Year	Desmond Ridder
Coach of the Year	Luke Fickell

2018 All-American Athletic Conference Football Teams
First Team		Second Team
Offense	Defense	Offense	Defense
WR – Trevon Brown, ECU WR – Marquez Stevenson, Houston WR – James Proche, SMU OT – Dino Boyd, Cincinnati OT – Jake Brown, UCF OG – Cole Schneider, UCF OG – Dustin Woodard, Memphis C – Jordan Johnson, UCF TE – Mitchell Wilcox, USF QB – McKenzie Milton, UCF RB – Darrell Henderson^, Memphis RB – Ryquell Armstead, Temple K – Jake Verity, ECU RS – John Williams, Memphis RS – Isaiah Wright, Temple	DL – Cortez Broughton, Cincinnati DL – Nate Harvey, ECU DL – Ed Oliver, Houston DL – Michael Dogbe, Temple LB – Nate Evans, UCF LB – Perry Young, Cincinnati LB – Austin Robinson, Houston LB – Shaun Bradley, Temple CB – Nevelle Clarke, UCF CB – Rock Ya-Sin, Temple S – Richie Grant, UCF S – Delvon Randall, Temple P – James Smith, Cincinnati	WR – Gabe Davis, UCF WR – Damonte Coxie, Memphis WR – Ventell Bryant, Temple OT – Wyatt Miller, UCF OT – Trevon Tate, Memphis OG – Jovahn Fair, Temple OG – Tyler Bowling, Tulsa C – Garrett Campbell, Cincinnati TE – Josiah Deguara, Cincinnati QB – D'Eriq King, Houston RB – Michael Warren II, Cincinnati RB – Adrian Killins, UCF K – Matthew Wright, UCF RS – Adrian Killins, UCF	DL – Titus Davis, UCF DL – Marquise Copeland, Cincinnati DL – Brendon Hayes, UCF DL – Kimoni Fitz, Cincinnati DL – Patrick Johnson, Tulane LB – Pat Jasinski, UCF LB – Bryce Huff, Memphis LB – Khalid McGee, USF LB – Zachery Harris, Tulane CB – TJ Carter, Memphis CB – Donnie Lewis, Tulane S – James Wiggins, Cincinnati S – Roderic Teamer, Tulane P – Thomas Bennett, Tulsa
^- denotes unanimous selection  Additional players added to the All-American teams due to ties in the voting

NFL Draft

The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2019 NFL draft.

Player	Position	School	Draft Round	Round Pick	Overall Pick	Team
Ed Oliver	DT	Houston	1	9	9	Buffalo Bills
Rock Ya-Sin	CB	Temple	2	2	34	Indianapolis Colts
Trysten Hill	DT	UCF	2	26	58	Dallas Cowboys
Darrell Henderson	RB	Memphis	3	6	70	Los Angeles Rams
Tony Pollard	RB	Memphis	4	26	128	Dallas Cowboys
Isaiah Johnson	CB	Houston	4	27	129	Oakland Raiders
Ryquell Armstead	RB	Temple	5	2	140	Jacksonville Jaguars
Emeke Egbule	LB	Houston	6	27	200	Los Angeles Chargers
Donnie Lewis	CB	Tulane	7	7	221	Cleveland Browns
Cortez Broughton	DT	Cincinnati	7	28	242	Los Angeles Chargers
Michael Dogbe	DE	Temple	7	35	249	Arizona Cardinals

Notes

1. The American is the legal all-sports successor to the Big East Conference (1979–2013). The Big East was rebranded and reorganized as the American Athletic Conference on July 1, 2013.
2. The other conferences in the "Group of Five are Conference USA (C–USA), the Mid–American Conference (MAC), the Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference.

References

1. Romero, Iliana Limón (November 24, 2017). "No. 15 UCF, No. 20 Memphis set for rematch in AAC title game". Orlando Sentinel.
2. "Milton, Killins lead UCF to 40–13 win over Memphis". USA TODAY. Associated Press. September 30, 2017. Retrieved November 24, 2017.
3. Reedy, Joe (November 24, 2017). "Winless to unbeaten: No. 12 UCF beats USF to cap turnaround". ABC News. Archived from the original on December 1, 2017. Retrieved November 27, 2017.
4. "Football Class Rankings – ESPN". ESPN . Retrieved December 4, 2015.
5. "Rivals.com 2018 Team Recruiting Rankings". rivals.com. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
6. "2018 Football Recruiting Team Rankings". 247sports.com. Retrieved December 4, 2015.
7. 2017 Football Media Day Retrieved November 24, 2017.
8. "UCF tabbed as favorite in 2018 American Media Poll". theamerican.org. Retrieved July 24, 2018.
9. "American Announces Fifth Anniversary Team". American Athletic Conference. SidearmSports. Retrieved June 6, 2019.
10. American Athletic Conference Coaches. Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved May 4, 2017.
11. "The American Announces Opening Week Football Honors".
12. "Houston's King, Navy's Williams, USF's Horne Take Weekly Football Honors".
13. "Memphis, USF, Temple, Navy Players Take Weekly Football Honors".
14. "UCF's Milton, Temple's Roche, SMU's Roberson Earn Weekly Football Honors".
15. "UCF's Milton, ECU's Harvey and Verity Are Weekly Football Honorees".
16. "USF's Cronkrite, UCF's Davis, Temple's Wright Earn Weekly Football Honors".
17. "American Athletic Conference" (PDF).
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20. "American Athletic Conference" (PDF).
21. "Temple, Tulane, Memphis Players Earn Weekly Football Honors".
22. "ECU, UCF, Temple Players Earn Weekly Football Honors".
23. "Tulane, Cincinnati, Temple Players Take Final Weekly Honors of 2018".