Three things we learned from the AAC in Week 10

Well, it wasn’t a great week for the AAC. Not because anything disastrous occurred within the conference, but because their playoff hopes took a significant hit. Cincinnati remains the top team in the conference, but they have a big thing they need to address. The Bearcats continue dominating the competition, so the impressive wins continue to rack up on their resume. They just need some help from the outside.

Cincinnati has a drop problem

While the Bearcats playoff hopes took a hit when Notre Dame upset Clemson, but all isn’t lost quite yet. There’s still time for Cincinnati to impress the committee, but there are also things they can still address. Like hanging on to the football. While the Bearcats didn’t have much trouble taking care of business against Houston this weekend, there were a number of drops that plagued the offense along with a couple fumbles. With the passing game as the only remaining concern for this team, dropping the football will only hurt them in the long run. Especially against teams like UCF, or even a future Power 5 opponent (in the playoff or bowl game). Simply put, they have to hang on to the football better to be considered a legitimate threat.

Brady White is the king of quiet big days

Maybe it has more to do with Memphis’ struggles, especially this weekend against USF, but it feels like Brady White’s been dominating. Domination without recognition. White threw the ball 50 times this weekend, just the second time in his career he’s done that (both this season), and led a comeback against the Bulls. White finished the game with 437 yards and four touchdowns, including two touchdown passes in the last 3:19 of the game. I don’t really know why we don’t talk more about White’s performances, but it feels like he’s due more credit than he gets.

I know a couple things

Yes, Memphis losing to Cincinnati and USF losing to ECU aren’t the same, but there’s some validity to my observations. I made a comment in last week’s Power Rankings that USF had a chance to jump on a Memphis team that might still be hungover from their previous loss. Teams that get stomped in a big game tend to struggle in the next game because they’re not mentally prepared, and that was clearly the case as USF jumped out to a 27-13 lead before falling 34-33. Yes, USF choked the game away, but my prediction came true. So every once in a while, just give me a chance. I know a thing or two.