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DRAMA!!!!! We had plenty of excitement in Week 10, and there were many talking points when the games ended. Cincinnati got the fireworks started by stirring up controversy, Tulane pulled off a Top 25 stunner, Houston got back on track, UCF took care of business, and Tulsa pulled off an epic comeback. Even with two teams separating themselves, the race towards the conference championship is far from over.
Fake punts still produce strong reactions
Cincinnati ran a fake punt on Friday, sparking quite the reaction. At the time, the Bearcats were up 30 points in the fourth quarter, and ECU head coach Mike Houston took exception to it.
Cincinnati's and East Carolina's head coaches had a lengthy exchange after the Bearcats ran the score up to 55-17 in the final minutes. pic.twitter.com/shmABfqiSD
— ESPN College Football (@ESPNCFB) November 14, 2020
ESPN couldn’t take the time to research basic information on either coach, like their names, but the outrage remained on the play. If you’re in college, there aren’t any participation trophies. Cincinnati’s trying to make a serious case to make the College Football Playoff, and they need all the help they can get. If there’s anything ECU needs to be upset about, it’s their performance against the conference’s best team. Four turnovers and 17 points aren’t going to beat many teams this year, so maybe Houston should look internally instead of taking his frustrations out on someone else.
Don’t ever count Tulsa out
It wasn’t the ideal start that the Golden Hurricane wanted on Saturday. Two turnovers on their first two drives led to 14 SMU points, and put them behind the eight ball from the start. All Tulsa did was respond, holding the Mustangs to zero second half points. A defense led by another incredible performance by Zaven Collins kept SMU off of the scoreboard, and it gave their offense a chance to make a comeback. Zach Smith and the offense responded with 21 second half points, including two touchdown passes by Smith in the fourth quarter. As long as this team doesn’t get too far behind, they can hang with anyone. Two wins over Top 25 teams vaulted the Golden Hurricane into the AP Poll, and now they have their sights firmly set on the AAC Championship.
The conference championship game is anything but set
Even though Cincinnati and Tulsa are the frontrunners for the conference championship, there’s still plenty of potential for chaos. First, these two teams will face off to end the season. Tulsa must also play Tulane and Houston before that game, and the Bearcats have a monumental matchup against UCF before they face Temple. While it’s unlikely that both teams slip up twice, we already know that one of them (barring a cancellation) will have a conference loss at the end of the season. Cincinnati will have their hands full against the Knights, so stay tuned to that one. Tulsa is coming off an emotional win, so pay attention to their game against the Green Wave this week too.