Here are some observations from Saturday's action in the AAC. Nothing that happened Saturday, though, was anywhere near as big as what UCF did to Louisville on Friday night.
1. Smallwood has big game in loss
UConn (0-6) is a bad team, but Huskies junior LB Yawin Smallwood (6-foot-4, 236 pounds) is a legit star. He had 13 tackles in a 41-16 loss at Cincinnati. That gives him 77 tackles for the season. Smallwood is both physical and fast, moves well laterally and is a big hitter to boot. Cincinnati had eight sacks in cruising to the victory.
2. Ifedi adds another sack to his totals
Memphis junior DE Martin Ifedi (6-3, 265) had a sack, five tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, a pass breakup and a quarterback hurry in the Tigers' 34-29 loss to SMU. SMU led 34-3 late in the third quarter before Memphis returned two fumbles for touchdowns to make things interesting. Ifedi now has seven sacks and 11.5 tackles for loss this season.
3. Owls finally get a win
Temple got its first victory of the season, thumping Army 33-14. Sophomore LB Tyler Matakevich (6-1, 230) was the Owls' defensive star with 13 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. He now has 95 stops in seven games this season.
4. Hoffman helps BYU outduel Houston
BYU showed off a heretofore unseen passing attack to nip host Houston 47-46; it was Houston's first loss of the season. QB Taysom Hill threw for 417 yards and four TDs, and senior WR Cody Hoffman (6-4, 210) had seven receptions for 156 yards and a score. Hoffman seems an almost-certain third-day draft pick because of his size/speed mixture. Houston sophomore WR Deontay Greenberry (6-3, 198) had six catches for 68 yards and two scores. BYU seemed intent on not letting Greenberry get deep, and his longest reception was just 13 yards. BYU rang up 683 yards of offense. Houston scored on a kickoff return, an interception return and a safety to keep it close. There were 45 points scored in the first quarter.
Mike Huguenin can be reached at mike.huguenin@nfl.com. You also can follow him on Twitter @MikeHuguenin.
