AAC ROUNDUP
Houston 49, Navy 36
For 30 minutes, Navy went touchdown for touchdown with high-powered Houston. Their confidence soaring, the Midshipmen went into the locker room at halftime poised to pull off a huge upset. Few teams, however, can keep up with D’Eriq King and the mighty Cougars offense. Certainly not Navy, which was buried under a barrage of big plays and TDs in Houston’s 49-36 American Athletic Conference victory Saturday in Annapolis, Md. King threw for 413 yards and three touchdowns, ran for a score and deftly directed a Houston attack that rallied from a 24-14 second-quarter deficit with 35 straight points. “It’s great to be a Cougar and see home-grown talent like D’Eriq continue to make play after play,” Houston coach Major Applewhite said. “We just need to get more guys like him.” With King leading the way, Houston (6-1, 3-0) reached the 40-point mark in a seventh straight game, matching the school mark set in 2011. Malcolm Perry rushed for 97 yards for Navy (2-5, 1-3) despite sitting out most of the second half with a leg injury. The Midshipmen were outscored 28-0 in the second half before squeezing two touchdowns into the final two minutes.
SMU 27, Tulane 23
James Proche hauled in a sideline pass from Ben Hicks and turned it into a 67-yard touchdown for the go-ahead score with 1:15 left in the game as SMU rallied past Tulane. The late TD gave the Mustangs (3-4, 2-1 American) the lead for the first time all game, and they sealed the win when Richard Moore strip-sacked Jonathan Banks, with Jake Hall recovering with 39 seconds remaining. SMU ran out the final seconds. SMU defenders recorded a season-high five sacks, 11 tackles for loss and three takeaways — an interception by Christian Davis and strip-sacks of Banks by Moore and Delontae Scott. Hicks completed 21 of 40 passes for 291 yards and three touchdowns, each to a different receiver. He found Xavier Jones for a 55-yard score, Reggie Roberson Jr. from the 16 and Proche for the winner. Braeden West added a 29-yard run. Banks passed for 153 yards and added a rushing touchdown for Tulane (2-5, 1-2). Darius Bradwell led with 72 yards and a score.
Missouri 65, Memphis 33
Drew Lock threw for 350 yards and four touchdowns on 23-for-29 passing, and Missouri defeated Memphis in its homecoming game. After losing three straight Southeastern Conference contests, Missouri (4-3) responded with a much-needed victory. It jumped out to a 21-0 lead less than six minutes into the game, and never relinquished it. Albert Okwuegbunam caught six passes for 159 yards and three touchdowns and Jalen Knox had five catches for 104 yards and a score. Memphis (4-4) climbed back with 17 straight points, but Missouri responded with 20 consecutive of its own. Missouri’s defense slowed down the visiting Tigers in the second half, and the Tigers cruised to their first victory since Sept. 15 against Purdue.
Arkansas 23, Tulsa 0
Arkansas’ defense earned its first shutout since 2014, and the Razorbacks held Tulsa to 12 yards in the third quarter. The game ended a six-game losing streak for Arkansas (2-6) and marked the first win for freshman quarterback Connor Noland, who started in place of the injured Ty Storey. Rakeem Boyd carried the ball 22 times for 99 yards before he came out of the game early in the third quarter. Freshman quarterback Seth Boomer was 8 for 25 for 127 yards and an interception, which came at the end of the first half, for Tulsa (1-6).