Contact: Chuck Sullivan, Assistant Commissioner for Communications Park Row West Providence, RI 02903

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1 American Athletic Conference Football Report 2015 Season Week 1 Contact: Chuck Sullivan, Assistant Commissioner for Communicions csullivan@theamerican.org Park Row West Providence, RI AMERICAN OVERALL SCHOOL W-L PCT PF PA H A W-L PCT PF PA H A N STREAK UCF Lost 1 Cincinni Lost 1 EAST UConn Lost 4 East Carolina Lost 2 USF Lost 2 Temple Won 1 SCHOOL W-L PCT PF PA H A W-L PCT PF PA H A N STREAK Houston Won 1 Memphis Won 7 WEST Navy Won 4 SMU Won 1 Tulane Lost 3 Tulsa Lost 3 THIS WEEK Thursday, September 3 Florida Internional UCF... 6 p.m. : CBS Sports Network Series: UCF leads, 2-1 Last Meeting: Sept. 6, 2013 UCF, 38-0 Villanova UConn...7:30 p.m. : ESPN3/SNY Series: Villanova leads, 7-4 Last Meeting: Oct. 16, 1999 Villanova, (3ot) Duke Tulane... 9:30 p.m. : CBS Sports Network Series: Tied, 2-2 Last Meeting: Aug. 28, 2014 Duke, Friday, September 4 Baylor SMU... 7 p.m. : ESPN Series: Baylor leads, Last Meeting: Aug. 31, 2014 Baylor, 45-0 Surday, September 5 Colge Navy...Noon : CBS Sports Network Series: Navy leads, 6-0 Last Meeting: Oct. 17, 1998 Navy, Penn Ste Temple...3:30 p.m. : ESPN Series: Penn Ste leads, Last Meeting: Nov. 15, 2014 Penn Ste, Florida Atlantic Tulsa...3:30 p.m. : CBS Sports Network Series: Florida Atlantic leads, 1-0 Last Meeting: Sept. 13, 2014 Florida Atlantic, Towson East Carolina... 6 p.m. : ESPN3 Series: First meeting Alabama A&M Cincinni... 7 p.m. : ESPN3 Series: First meeting Missouri Ste Memphis... 7 p.m. : ESPN3 Series: Tied, 1-1 Last Meeting: Oct. 9, 1942 Memphis, 6-0 Florida A&M USF... 7 p.m. : ESPN3 Series: USF leads, 2-0 Last Meeting: Sept. 17, 2011 USF, Tennessee Tech Houston... 8 p.m. : ESPN3 Series: First meeting THE AMERICAN TODAY All 12 American Athletic Conference teams play home to open the 2015 season as the quest for the league championship formally begins. The first American Athletic Conference Football Championship will take place Dec. 5 and will pair the winners of the league s East and West divisions. Though the 2015 season is the third for The American, it is the first for the conference under its 12-team configurion. Cincinni and Memphis have been tabbed as the preseason divisional favorites, while the Bearcs were the overwhelming choice to win the conference title. The season begins Thursday, as UCF kicks off against Florida Internional Bright House Networks Stadium 6 p.m. ET. UConn hosts Villanova Prt & Whitney Stadium 7:30 ET, while Tulane welcomes Duke to Yulman Stadium 9:30 p.m. ET. SMU will play its first game under new coach Chad Morris Friday as the Mustangs host No. 4 Baylor 7 p.m. ET from Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Surday s sle is headlined by an in-ste mchup between Temple and Penn Ste Lincoln Financial Field. Tulsa and new coach Philip Montgomery host Florida Atlantic H.A. Chapman Stadium while six American Athletic Conference teams face FCS opponents. Navy s first game as a member of The American will be against Colge noon ET. East Carolina takes on Towson 6 p.m. ET. Cincinni unveils a newly renoved Nippert Stadium 7 p.m. ET against Alabama A&M. Memphis goes for its eighth straight win as the Tigers host Missouri Ste 7 p.m. ET. USF hosts Florida A&M 7 p.m. ET, while Houston and first-year coach Tom Herman host Tennessee Tech 8 p.m. ET.

2 AMERICAN NOTEBOOK Welcome Aboard The American Athletic Conference welcomes the United Stes Naval Academy as its 12th footballplaying member this season. Navy had played as an independent for the previous 134 seasons. Streaking Memphis enters the 2015 season on a seven-game winning streak the Tigers longest winning streak since The only teams th take longer winning streaks into the season are Ohio Ste (13 games), Boise Ste (nine games) and TCU (eight games). Seen This Before Cincinni claimed a share of the American Athletic Conference title in 2014 to give the Bearcs five conference championships in seven seasons. Just Win UCF is a combined 15-1 in American Athletic Conference games with two conference titles in its first two seasons in the league. Grand Totals Temple LB Tyler Makevich registered 117 tackles in his junior season, marking the third straight season in which he had least 100 tackles. He is only the third player in Temple history with three straight 100-tackle seasons, joining Joe Klecko ( ) and Steve Conjar ( ). Rank And File Seven of the 12 teams in the American Athletic Conference were ranked in the top 25 of the Bowl Championship Series standings or the College Football Playoff committee rankings between 2008 and Team Years Ranked ( ) UCF 2010, 2013 Cincinni 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011, 2012 UConn 2008 East Carolina 2014 Houston 2009, 2011 USF 2008, 2009 Tulsa 2008 Wh A Rush Navy QB Keenan Reynolds enters the 2015 season as the NCAA career leader in rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (64). Reynolds ranks fourth among all players on the NCAA s career rushing touchdowns chart. Player, School (Years) TD 1. Montee Ball, Wisconsin ( ) Travis Prentice, Miami (Ohio) ( ) Ricky Williams, Texas ( ) Keenan Reynolds, Navy (2012-)...64 Anthony Thompson, Indiana ( )...64 Cedric Benson, Texas ( )...64 Play On Seven of the 12 American Athletic Conference teams in 2015 were bowl-eligible in 2014 (UCF, Cincinni, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, Navy, Temple). Houston, Memphis and Navy earned bowl victories last season. Defense Wins Six American Athletic Conference teams were ranked among the top 50 nionally in total defense in Team YPG 5. UCF Houston Temple Memphis East Carolina UConn Th s Grand USF RB Marlon Mack, the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year, became the first Bulls freshman to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Mack finished with 1,041 rushing yards in his rookie year and was the American Athletic Conference rushing leader. Stop, Thief Houston S Adrian McDonald had a turnover in seven of the Cougars 13 games. McDonald finished the season with five interceptions and three fumble recoveries. Even Kiel Cincinni QB Gunner Kiel tied a Bearcs singleseason record with 31 touchdown passes, set by Ben Mauk in Veteran Presence Navy coach Ken Niumalolo, who enters his eighth year as the Midshipmen s head coach, has more head coaching experience than the other five West Division coaches combined (six years). Start Me Up Temple returns 19 starters from last season, including 10 from a defense th ranked fourth nionally in points allowed (17.5 ppg). Tulane returns 18 starters, while Tulsa returns 17 and SMU 16. Introductions The American Athletic Conference West Division feures three first-year head coaches. SMU is led by Chad Morris, who was formerly the offensive coordinor Clemson and a highly successful high school coach in Texas. Houston hired Tom Herman, the former Ohio Ste offensive coordinor and the 2014 winner of the Broyles Award as the nion s top assistant. Tulsa is led by Philip Montgomery, who was the offensive coordinor for Baylor s back-to-back Big 12 championship teams. To Be The Best American Athletic Conference teams will face seven of the teams th were ranked in the final Associed Press poll of the 2014 season. The American s nonconference sle includes games against No. 3 TCU, No. 5 Florida Ste, No. 7 Baylor, No. 8 Georgia Tech, No. 14 Missouri, No. 17 Mississippi and No. 24 Louisville. Teams from The American will also face Notre Dame, Stanford, Air Force, Duke and Oklahoma which all received votes in the final nional poll. The first American Athletic Conference Football Championship will be played Surday, Dec. 5, 2015, noon ET and will be televised nionally on either ABC or ESPN. The 2015 season will be The American s first in its new 12-team, two-division form, in which each team will play eight conference games. Each team will face the other five teams in its own division as well as three teams from the other division. The American s East Division includes UCF, Cincinni, UConn, East Carolina, USF and Temple. The West Division lineup is Houston, Memphis, Navy, SMU, Tulane and Tulsa. The two divisional champions will meet in The American Championship the home site of one of the participants. The winner of the American Athletic Conference Football Championship will have the opportunity to participe in one of the College Football Playoff New Year s Bowls if it is the highest-ranked team among the champions of Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, the Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference. Divisional Champions The divisional champions will be the teams from each division with the highest winning percentage in all conference games both divisional and non-divisional. In the event of a two-team tie within a division, the head-to-head result between the tied teams will determine the divisional champion. Championship Site The site of the American Athletic Conference Football Championship will be the home venue of the divisional champion with the best record in conference games. If the two divisional champions have the same conference record, then the regular-season headto-head winner between the divisional champions would host the championship. If the divisional champions have the same conference record and did not play in the regular season, then the team with the better overall regular-season record would host the championship American Athletic Conference Football

3 EAST DIVISION TALKING POINTS UCF, American UCONN, American USF, Last: Lost to North Carolina Ste, Next: Sept. 3 vs. Florida Internional UCF has gone 15-1 in American Athletic Conference games in the league s first two years. The Knights won the outright league title in 2013 and shared the crown in The Knights have won 10 straight home. UCF went 6-0 Bright House Network Stadium last season and is 22-3 in its last 25 home games. RB William Stanback is a two-time allconference selection who rushed for 697 yards and 10 touchdowns last season. Stanback was sixth in The American in rushing. The Knights return only four starters from last year s defense, which allowed just yards per game to lead The American. Last: Lost to SMU, Next: Sept. 3 vs. UConn heads into its second season under head coach Bob Diaco with 13 returning starters, including seven on defense. The Huskies had reeled off four straight winning seasons between 2007 and 2010 a stretch th included two conference titles and a Fiesta Bowl appearance. RB Ron Johnson emerged as the Huskies leading rusher as a freshman last season. Johnson rushed for 429 yards and three touchdowns. WR Noel Thomas had a team-high four touchdown receptions last year and is the Huskies top returning receiver. LB Marquis Vann (eighth), S Andrew Adams (10th) and LB Graham Stewart (12th) were all among the American Athletic Conference leaders in tackles. Next: Lost to UCF, 16-0 Next: Sept. 5 vs. Florida USF doubled its wins total from 2013 in Willie Taggart s second year as the Bulls head coach. Since 2007, USF has registered nonconference wins against Auburn, UCF, Clemson, Florida Ste, Miami (Fla.), North Carolina, Northern Illinois and Notre Dame, among others. The Bulls will have new coordinors on both offense and defense in Cooffensive coordinor Danny Hope was formerly the head coach Purdue. RB Marlon Mack was named the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 2014 after he led the conference in rushing (86.8 ypg). Mack had four 100-yard games and five touchdown runs of least 54 yards in his freshman season. CINCINNATI, American Last: Lost to Virginia Tech, Next: Sept. 5 vs. Alabama Cincinni has won least nine games seven times in the last eight years. The Bearcs won their last seven regularseason games to close the 2014 season before falling to Virginia Tech in the Military Bowl. The Bearcs return to Nippert Stadium in 2015 after the venerable stadium underwent an $86 million renovion. Cincinni played its 2014 home games Paul Brown Stadium. QB Gunner Kiel led the American Athletic Conference with 31 touchdown passes and a efficiency ring. The Bearcs return their top seven receivers from last season players who caught a combined 33 touchdown passes in EAST CAROLINA, American Last: Lost to Florida, Next: Sept. 5 vs. East Carolina has made eight bowl appearances in the last nine years. The Pires registered two wins against top-25 opponents last year, defeing No. 17 Virginia Tech and No. 25 North Carolina in nonconference play. East Carolina, which fell to Florida in the Birmingham Bowl last season, has a remch with the Gors in the second game of the 2015 season. QB Kurt Benkert, who had been named the starting signal-caller in the preseason, suffered a knee injury in training camp th will sideline him for the season. LB Zeek Bigger led the American Athletic Conference in tackles in 2014 (140) and was a second team all-conference selection. TEMPLE, American Last: Be Tulane, 10-3 Next: Sept. 5 vs. Penn Temple improved by four wins in Mt Rhule s second season with the Owls, going from 2-10 to 6-6. Temple has 19 returning starters from last season the most of any American Athletic Conference team. C Kyle Friend, who has made 33 consecutive starts, anchors an offensive line which returns four starters from last year. Temple returns 10 starters from a defense th ranked fourth nionally in scoring last season (17.5 ppg). LB Tyler Makevich enters his senior year with 355 career tackles. He could become the seventh FBS player to register four seasons with least 100 tackles American Athletic Conference Football

4 WEST DIVISION TALKING POINTS HOUSTON, NAVY, TULANE, Last: Be Pittsburgh, Next: Sept. 5 vs. Tennessee Tech Houston coach Tom Herman is in his first year on the Cougar sideline after he helped Ohio Ste to the 2014 College Football Playoff Nional Championship as the Buckeyes offensive coordinor and quarterbacks coach. QB Greg Ward Jr. went 6-2 as Houston s starting signal-caller last season. Ward completed 67.0 percent of his passes (175 of 261) and accounted for 18 touchdowns (12 passing, six rushing). RB Kenneth Farrow led the American Athletic Conference with seven 100-yard games last season. S Adrian McDonald had a hand in eight turnovers last season. He had five interceptions and three fumble recoveries and was a first-team all-conference selection last year. Last: Be San Diego Ste, Next: Sept. 5 vs. Colge Navy joins the American Athletic Conference this season after playing as an independent for the previous 134 seasons. Navy went 8-5 last season, marking the 11th time in 12 years th the Midshipmen finished with least eight wins. Navy has made 10 bowl appearances in the last 11 years. Navy led the nion in fewest penalties per game in 2014 (2.54). It was the fourth time in the last six years th Navy was the nion s least-penalized team. QB Keenan Reynolds enters his senior year with 64 career rushing touchdowns, which is tied for fourth in NCAA history. The NCAA record is 77 (Monte Ball, Wisconsin). Reynolds rushed for 1,191 yards and 23 touchdowns last season. Last: Lost to Temple, 10-3 Next: Sept. 3 vs. Duke Tulane has 34 sophomores on its roster this year. Head coach Curtis Johnson has won a Super Bowl title (in 2009 with the New Orleans Saints) and a BCS Nional Championship (in 2001 with Miami) as an assistant coach. Tulane returns nine offensive starters from last season. The Green Wave has its starting quarterback and top three rushers back for Tulane s leading passer (QB Tanner Lee), rusher (RB Sherman Badie) and receiver (WR Teddy Veal) were all freshmen last season. CB Parry Nickerson registered six interceptions in 2014 and was named to the USA Today Freshman All-America Team. MEMPHIS, SMU, TULSA, Last: Be Brigham Young, Next: Sept. 5 vs. Missouri Ste Memphis takes a seven-game winning streak into the 2015 season. Only Ohio Ste, Boise Ste and TCU have longer active winning streaks entering the season. Memphis American Athletic Conference title was the Tigers first league championship since the 1971 season. The Tigers scored 471 points in 2014, shtering the old school record of 430 points, set in QB Paxton Lynch threw 22 touchdown passes and added 13 rushing TDs as a sophomore in Memphis was ranked 11th nionally in scoring defense (19.5 ppg) in 2014, but the Tigers return only three starters from th unit. Last: Be UConn, Next: Sept. 4 vs. Baylor SMU had played in a bowl game in four consecutive years between , but have gone back-to-back years without reaching the postseason. First-year head coach Chad Morris, a nive of Dallas, amassed a record as a high school coach in the ste of Texas. SMU s nonconference schedule includes two games against teams ranked in the top seven of last year s final poll (No. 3 TCU, No. 7 Baylor). QB Mt Davis, a transfer from Texas A&M, started the last five games of the year and finished as the Mustangs leading passer and rusher. The Mustangs first six games will be played in Texas. Last: Lost to East Carolina, Next: Sept. 5 vs. Florida Atlantic Tulsa s Philip Montgomery makes his head coaching debut this season following a record-breaking tenure as Baylor s offensive coordinor. Tulsa has reached double digits in wins four times since the 2007 season, most recently in The Golden Hurricane returns 10 starters from an offensive unit th averaged yards per game in WR Keevan Lucas finished second in The American in both receptions (101) and receiving yards (1,219) last season and led the conference with 11 touchdown receptions. RB Zack Langer registered four 100-yard games in his final six appearances American Athletic Conference Football

5 WEEK 1 CAPSULES Thursday, Sept. 3 6 p.m. CBSSN FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL UCF Bright House Networks Stadium (43,323/Grass) Orlando, Fla. CBS Sports Network Dave Ryan, Corey Chavous and Lauren Gardner UCF Radio WYGM-AM 740 (flagship) Thursday s game will be the fourth meeting between UCF and Florida Internional The Knights hold a 2-1 series lead after a 38-0 win in Miami in 2013 UCF got three touchdown runs from RB Storm Johnson, while QB Blake Bortles had rushing and passing TDs UCF looks for its eighth straight win in a home-opener. FLORIDA INTERNATIONAL Ron Turner (Pacific 77) 5-19, third season Florida Internional 47-80, 12th season as collegie head coach Paul Dodson (305) , pdodson@fiu.edu Florida Internional returns 49 letterwinners and 17 starters from last year s team, which finished 4-8 overall and 3-5 in Conference USA Four of the eight losses were by a combined 12 points, including two in which FIU had the lead or was tied in the final two minutes The Panthers look to reach the postseason for the first time since 2011 Florida Internional opens the 2015 season with four road games in its first five contests The only home game in September is a Sept. 19 mchup against North Carolina Central Six of the first nine games will be on the road for the Panthers QB Alex McGlough returns after he threw for 1,680 yards and 14 touchdowns with 10 interceptions last season RB Anthon Samuel and RB Alex Gardner both finished with exactly 582 rushing yards a year ago Samuel led the team with five rushing touchdowns WR Jonnu Smith is the top deep thre after he registered 61 receptions for 710 yards and eight TDs in 2014 The defense is led by DE Mike Wakefield, who had eight sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss last season CB Richard Leonard had five interceptions. UCF George O Leary (New Hampshire 69) 81-60, 12th season UCF , 20th season as collegie head coach Brian Ormiston (407) , bormiston@ucf.edu UCF went 9-4 overall and was 7-1 in the American Athletic Conference last season as the Knights registered their third straight winning season UCF improved to 15-1 all-time in American Athletic Conference play The Knights are a combined 31-9 in the last three seasons and in the last five years UCF had nine players named to The American s all-conference teams last season, but only two of those players are back on the roster for 2015 RB William Stanback was a first-team selection after he rushed for 697 yards and 10 touchdowns in an injury-shortened season DE Thomas Niles was a second-team pick after he had 7.5 sacks and 13 tackles for loss last year QB Justin Holman took over as the starter last season and completed 223 of 392 passes for 2,952 yards and 23 touchdowns with 14 interceptions The Knights lost their top four receivers from last year, leaving WR Jordan Akins (12 rec., 135 yards) as the top returner The defense will be without the top five leading tacklers from last year as well as CB Jacoby Glenn, who was The American s Defensive Player of the Year Three of the four returning starters on defense are on the defensive line. Thursday, Sept. 3 7:30 p.m. ESPN3 VILLANOVA UCONN Prt & Whitney Stadium (40,000/Grass) East Hartford, Conn. ESPN3/SNY Eric Frede, Andy Gresh and Kerith Burke UConn Radio WTIC-AM 1080 (flagship) Thursday s game will be the 12th meeting between UConn and Villanova in a series th des to 1987, when both schools competed in the Yankee Conference Villanova holds a 7-4 series lead after the Wildcs took a win in triple-overtime in 1999 the Huskies final year as an FCS program. VILLANOVA Andy Talley (Southern Connecticut 67) , 31st season Villanova , 36th season as collegie head coach Dean Kenefick (610) , dean.kenefick@villanova.edu Villanova returns 14 starters and 32 letterwinners from last year s team, which went 11-3 overall and 7-1 in the Colonial Athletic Associion The Wildcs advanced to the quarterfinal round of the NCAA FCS Championship before falling to Sam Houston Ste, Villanova was picked as the favorite in the CAA this season as the Wildcs earned 14 of the 24 first-place votes in the preseason media poll QB John Robertson was the FCS nional offensive player of the year last season after he completed 197 of 301 passes for 2,846 yards and 35 touchdowns with just three interceptions Robertson also rushed for 1,078 yards and 11 touchdowns and averaged 82.9 rushing yards per game LB Don Cherry was tabbed as the CAA Preseason Defensive Player of the Year after he registered 134 tackles, 21.5 tackles for loss, 10 sacks, five forced fumbles, an interception and a fumble recovery in 2014 Cherry was the runner-up for nional defensive player-of-the-year honors last season Head coach Andy Talley has led Villanova to 11 NCAA Championship appearances, including the 2009 nional title. UCONN Bob Diaco (Iowa 95) 2-10, second season Mike Enright (860) , mike.enright@uconn.edu UConn returns 13 starters, including seven on defense, from last year s team The Huskies went 2-10 in Bob Diaco s first year as head coach as UConn looks to end a four-game slide from the end of last season UConn won Big East titles in 2007 and 2010 and played in the Fiesta Bowl to cap the 2010 season, but has finished below the.500 mark in each of the last four seasons RB Ron Johnson rushed for 429 yards and three touchdowns to lead the team as a freshman last year, while WR Noel Thomas had a team-high four touchdown receptions and is the team s top returning receiver QB Tim Boyle is the only returning player who saw time behind center last year, but QB Bryant Shirreffs, a transfer from North Carolina Ste, could end up as the Opening Day starter The Huskies have three returning starters on the offensive line, including six-foot-eight, 310-pound OT Andreas Knappe, who emerged to start the last seven games right tackle last season The defense is led by LB Marquise Vann, who registered 105 tackles and seven tackles for loss, and LB Graham Stewart, who had 94 tackles and 10.5 tackles for loss S Andrew Adams had 95 tackles, four tackles for loss, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Thursday, Sept. 3 9:30 p.m. CBSSN DUKE TULANE Yulman Stadium (30,000/UBU Speed Series 5M) New Orleans, La. CBS Sports Network Rich Waltz, Adam Archuleta and Cassie Gallo Tulane Radio WMTI-FM (flagship) Tulane and Duke have met four times since the 1964 season The Green Wave took the first two mchups (in 1964 and 1973), while the Blue Devils have won the last two (in 2011 and 2014) The only previous meeting in New Orleans was Tulane s 17-0 win in 1964 Last year s mchup saw Duke take advantage of five Tulane turnovers in a decision. DUKE David Cutcliffe (Alabama 76) 40-48, eighth season Duke 84-77, 14th season as collegie head coach Art Chase (919) , chasea@duaa.duke.edu Duke looks to continue its most successful run in program history The Blue Devils went 9-4 last season, one year after setting a school record with 10 wins in 2013 The 2013 squad played in the ACC Championship Game, falling to eventual nional champion Florida Ste Duke won eight of its first nine last year, but dropped three of its last four after the Blue Devils fell to Arizona Ste in the Hyundai Sun Bowl The 19 combined wins in the last two seasons are the most in program history in a two-year span Duke had won just 10 combined games in the eight seasons prior to Cutcliffe s arrival and has 40 wins in his seven years in Durham Duke returns 15 starters from last season, including a pair of running backs who combined for 1,216 yards and seven touchdowns RB Shaquille Powell had 618 yards and two TDs, while RB Shaun Wilson went for 598 yards and five TDs S DeVon Edwards had 133 tackles last season to go with 4.5 sacks, 7.5 tackles for loss, nine pass breakups and five forced fumbles Edwards also has three career kickoff returns for touchdowns. TULANE Curtis Johnson (Idaho 85) 12-25, fourth season Roger Dunaway (504) , roger@tulane.edu Tulane fielded one of the youngest teams in college football last season as the Green Wave went 3-9 in its first season in The American Tulane had 27 underclassmen on its two-deep roster last season The Green Wave has 34 sophomores on its roster this season Tulane returns its leading passer, rusher and receiver from last season All three of those players were freshmen last year QB Tanner Lee played in 10 games as a redshirt freshman in 2014 and threw for 1,962 yards with 12 touchdowns and 14 interceptions RB Sherman Badie leads a talented group in the backfield Badie rushed for 688 yards and three TDs a year ago, while RB Lazedrick Thompson went for 533 yards and four TDs, while RB Dontrell Hilliard had 452 yards and three touchdowns WR Teddy Veal had a team-high 40 receptions for 381 yards and a touchdown The defense is led by CB Parry Nickerson, who earned USA Today Freshman All-America accolades last season after he registered six interceptions S Darion Monroe ha 73 tackles and two forced fumbles, while veteran LB Nico Marley had 81 stops the most among returning players DE Royce LaFrance had a team-high 5.5 sacks with 10 tackles for loss American Athletic Conference Football

6 WEEK 1 CAPSULES Friday, Sept. 4 7 p.m. ESPN BAYLOR SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium (32,000/FieldTurf) Dallas, Texas ESPN Dave Flemming, Mack Brown and Allison Williams SMU Radio KTCK-FM 96.7 (flagship) Friday s game will be the 81st meeting between SMU and Baylor, which are loced about 100 miles apart The Bears hold a series lead and have won 11 straight against the Mustangs after last year s 45-0 win in Waco SMU s last win against Baylor was a decision in 1986 The series des to the 1916 season. BAYLOR Art Briles (Texas Tech 79) 55-34, eighth season Baylor 89-62, 13th season as collegie head coach Heh Nielsen (254) , heh_nielsen@baylor.edu Baylor is enjoying its best stretch in program history as the Bears have registered back-to-back Big 12 championships Baylor is ranked No. 4 in the 2015 USA Today preseason poll Baylor has 18 starters back from last year and boasts 30 players who have lettered on the Bears back-to-back conference championship teams The most decored returning player is OT Spencer Drango, who was a consensus All-America selection last year DE Shawn Oakman was a third-team All-America choice by the Associed Press Oakman, who had 11 sacks and 19.5 tackles for loss last year, leads a defensive line th returns all four starters The offense, which has led the nion in total offense and scoring in each of the last two years, will have to replace QB Bryce Petty, who threw for 3,855 yards and 29 touchdowns last year QB Seth Russell, who served as the primary backup last year, takes over as the starter RB Shock Linwood rushed for 1,252 yards and 16 touchdowns in 2014 WR Corey Coleman had team highs with 64 receptions, 1,119 receiving yards and 11 touchdown cches. SMU Chad Morris (Texas A&M 92), first season Brad Sutton (214) , bsutton@smu.edu Friday s game against Baylor will be the first for SMU s Chad Morris as a collegie head coach Morris, a nive of Dallas, spent 16 seasons as a high school coach in Texas, posting a combined record five schools and winning three ste championships Morris looks to rebuild a Mustang squad th went 1-11 last season, but had played in four straight bowl games between 2009 and 2012 The last time SMU went 1-11 was in 2008, but the Mustangs went 8-5 the following season QB Mt Davis, who transferred from Texas A&M, will have the run of the offense this season after he led SMU in rushing (613 yards) and passing (855 yards) in 2014 Davis started the last five games of 2014 and registered the two highest rushing totals by a Mustang quarterback in program history (191 yards against UConn and 181 against Tulsa) RB Prescott Line rushed for 256 yards and four touchdowns last season WR Darius Joseph was second in The American with 108 receptions in 2013, but had 54 cches last season The offensive line returns all five starters from last year, who have combined 104 career starts among them WR Deion Sanders Jr. was an all-conference selection as a return specialist in Surday, Sept. 5 Noon CBSSN COLGATE NAVY Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium (34,000/FieldTurf) Annapolis, Md. CBS Sports Network John Sadak, Randy Cross and Sheehan Burch Navy Radio WBAL-AM 1090 (flagship) Surday s game will be the seventh meeting on the gridiron between Navy and Colge Navy has won all six previous meetings, most recently a decision in 1998 All six previous games in the series have been played in Annapolis Navy and Colge compete in the Priot League in most of their other varsity sports. COLGATE Dan Hunt (Springfield 92) 5-7, second season John Painter (315) , jpainter@colge.edu Colge begins its 125th season of varsity football with its mchup against Navy Head coach Dan Hunt is in his second year as the Raiders head coach after serving as an assistant with the program since 1996 Colge went 5-7 overall and was 3-3 in the Priot League last season The Raiders were 4-1 home and 1-6 on the road The Raiders return 17 starters from last year s team, including nine on offense Colge was picked third in the Priot League preseason poll this year and had five players chosen to the preseason All-Priot League Team QB Jake Melville returns as the starting signal-caller after he therw for 1,028 yards and six touchdowns in a 2014 season th was limited by illness to seven games RB Demetrius Russell led the Raiders in rushing with 703 yards and two touchdowns, while RB John Wilkins led the squad with nine rushing touchdowns TE John Quazza was a second-team All-Priot League selection last year after he led the team with 34 receptions and 400 receiving yards LB Kyle Diener another all-conference selection leads the defense after he had 89 tackles and three interceptions in NAVY Ken Niumalolo (Hawaii 89) 57-35, eighth season Scott Strasemeier (410) , sstrasem@usna.edu Navy s game against Colge will be the Midshipmen s first in program history as a member of a football-playing conference Navy played as an independent in football for the past 134 seasons The Midshipmen went 8-5 last season It was the 11th time th Navy won least eight games in the last 12 years The Midshipmen held a halftime lead against eventual nional champion Ohio Ste in last year seasonopener Navy ranked second nionally in rushing last year, averaging rushing yards per game The Midshipmen led the nion in fewest penalties per game in 2014 (2.54) The offensive leader is QB Keenan Reynolds, who already holds the NCAA career record for rushing touchdowns by a quarterback (64) Reynolds needs 13 rushing TDs to tie the NCAA mark for all players, held by former Wisconsin running back Montee Ball (77) Reynolds rushed for 1,191 yards and 23 TDs last year, while he threw for 843 yards and six touchdowns FB Chris Swain rushed for 693 yards and four TDs as part of Navy s triple-option offense The defense has six returning starters, including NG Bernard Sarra, who had 38 tackles and three blocked kicks in 2014 DE Will Anthony led the team with 11 tackles for loss. Surday, Sept. 5 3:30 p.m. ESPN PENN STATE TEMPLE Lincoln Financial Field (68,532/Grass) Philadelphia, Pa. ESPN Bob Wischusen, Brock Huard and Shannon Spake Temple Radio WPEN-FM 97.5 (flagship) Surday s game will be the 44th meeting between Pennsylvania s two Division I ste institutions The Owls are looking for their first win against the Nittany Lions since Oct. 18, 1941, when Temple was a 14-0 winner Temple won three of the first four meetings against Penn Ste, but the Nittany Lions hold a series lead. PENN STATE James Franklin (East Stroudsburg 95) 7-6, second season Penn Ste 31-21, fifth season as collegie head coach Kris Petersen (814) , kap18@psu.edu Penn Ste returns 15 starters from last year s team, which went 7-6 overall and 2-6 in the Big Ten, but capped the year with a overtime win against Boston College in the Pinstripe Bowl Penn Ste has won 849 games in its history, good for eighth all-time After opening with the road trip to Temple, Penn Ste plays a string of five straight home games The Nittany Lions ranked among the nional top 10 in pass efficiency defense (second), total defense (second), rushing defense (third) and scoring defense (seventh) last year QB Christian Hackenberg has started 25 straight games and is one of just eight Penn Ste players with least 5,000 career passing yards Hackenberg threw for 2,977 yards and 12 touchdowns with 15 interceptions last season RB Akeel Lynch led the Nittany Lions in rushing last year with 678 yards and four touchdowns WR Dae- Sean Hamilton has team highs with 82 receptions and 899 receiving yards DT Anthony Zettel was an All-Big Ten first team selection last year after he registered eight sacks with 17 tackles for loss and three interceptions. TEMPLE Mt Rhule (Penn Ste 97) 8-16, third season Rich Burg (215) , rich.burg@temple.edu Temple improved by four wins in Mt Rhule s second season on the Owl sideline With 19 returning starters, expections are high in Philadelphia for 2015 Temple won four of their first five last season on their way to a 6-6 overall record It was Temple s fourth season.500 or better in the last six years Temple s calling card last year was its defense, which ranked fourth nionally in scoring (17.5 ppg) Ten starters return on defense, including LB Tyler Makevich Makevich is a legitime All-America candide who could become just the seventh player in NCAA FBS history to register four seasons with least 100 tackles Makevich had a team-high 117 tackles last season DE Praise Martin-Oguike had a team-high 7.5 sacks last year, while DE Mt Ioannidis led the squad with 11 tackles for loss The secondary is led by CB Tavon Young, who had four interceptions Offensively, the key player will be QB P.J. Walker, who enters his third year as a starter Walker threw for 2,317 yards and 13 touchdowns last year The Owls received a boost with the return of WR Robby Anderson, who had a team-high nine touchdown receptions in 2013 and returns to the lineup after missing last season American Athletic Conference Football

7 WEEK 1 CAPSULES Surday, Sept. 5 3:30 p.m. CBSSN FLORIDA ATLANTIC TULSA H.A. Chapman Stadium (30,000/FieldTurf) Tulsa, Okla. CBS Sports Network Sean Grande, Corey Chavous and Melanie Collins Tulsa Radio KXBL-FM 99.5 (flagship) Surday s game will be just the second meeting between Tulsa and Florida Atlantic The schools competed consecutively in Conference USA, but did not face each other until last year, by which time Tulsa had joined The American Florida Atlantic QB Jaquez Jackson threw three touchdown passes in the Owls win last year in Boca Ron. FLORIDA ATLANTIC Charlie Partridge (Drake 95) 3-9, second season Krina McCormack (561) , kmccormi@fau.edu Florida Atlantic went 3-9 last season as the Owls scored wins against Tulsa, Texas-San Antonio and Western Kentucky The final record is a bit deceptive, however, as four of the nine losses came by three points or fewer, including two one-point setbacks Those four losses all came in the final 30 seconds of regulion The Owls went 0-7 on the road last season Florida Atlantic first played varsity football in 2001, when legendary head coach Howard Schnellenberger founded the program The Owls are led by QB Jaquez Johnson, who threw for 2,215 yards and 17 touchdowns with just five interceptions last season Johnson was also Florida Atlantic s second-leading rusher with 513 yards and seven rushing touchdowns RB Jay Warren was the leading rusher last year with 571 yards and two TDs The top returning receiver is WR Jenson Stoshak, who had 37 receptions for 508 yards and two TDs The defense boasts six returning starters, including all four on the defensive line DE Trey Hendrickson led the squad with five sacks last season CB Cre von LeBlanc registered 71 tackles and six pass breakups in TULSA Philip Montgomery (Tarleton Ste 95), first season Don Tomkalski (918) , donald-tomkalski@utulsa.edu Tulsa registered four seasons with least 10 wins in a sixyear span between 2007 and 2012, but the Golden Hurricane has won just five games in the last two years Tulsa looks to Philip Montgomery, the former offensive coordinor Baylor, to return the Golden Hurricane to form For a coach who has orchestred one of the most prolific offenses in college football history, Montgomery finds an offensive unit which returns 10 starters from last season QB Dane Evans emerged as the starter last season and responded by throwing for 3,102 yards and 23 touchdowns with 17 interceptions The leading target was WR Keevan Lucas, who was second in The American in both receptions (101) and receiving yards (1,219) Lucas had 11 touchdown cches, while WR Keyarris Garrett had five TDs on 698 receiving yards RB Zack Langer, who made just six starts last season, finished as the second-leading rusher in The American with 801 rushing yards and four TDs The defense returns six starters and looks to improve upon last year s group, which allowed 39.3 points and 487 yards per game S Michael Mudoh registered 113 tackles last season, while DE Derrick Alexander had 7.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. Surday, Sept. 5 6 p.m. ESPN3 TOWSON EAST CAROLINA Dowdy-Ficklin Stadium (50,000/Grass) Greenville, N.C. ESPN3 Taylor Zarzour and Mickey Mthews East Carolina Radio WNCT-FM (flagship) Surday s game will be the first meeting between East Carolina and Towson on the gridiron East Carolina has won its last three home openers and has taken nine of its last 10 The Pires last dropped a home opener in 2011, when they fell to 11th-ranked Virginia Tech, East Carolina and Towson are loced about 335 miles apart. TOWSON Rob Ambrose (Towson 93) 36-37, seventh season Towson 39-44, ninth season as collegie head coach John Brush (410) , jbrush@towson.edu Towson looks to bounce back from a 4-8 season in 2014 Th season came on the heels of a 2013 campaign, which saw Towson finish as the FCS nional runner-up The Tigers went 13-3 in 2013, falling to North Dakota Ste in the NCAA final Towson was projected to finish ninth in the Colonial Athletic Associion by the league s head coaches The Tigers had two players chosen to the preseason All-CAA Team DT Jon Desir was chosen after he registered 61 tackles last season Desir has made 28 consecutive starts on the Twoson defensive line RB Darius Victor was also chosen to the preseason team after he earned all-conference first team honors last season and was the 2013 CAA Offensive Rookie of the Year Victor led the CAA and was 15th in FCS with 1,305 rushing yards the most by a Towson sophomore in program history Victor also had a league-leading 12 rushing touchdowns Towson head coach Rob Ambrose served as an assistant UConn from , helping the Huskies to a share of the Big East title in EAST CAROLINA Ruffin McNeill (East Carolina 80) 37-27, sixth season East Carolina 38-27, sixth full season as collegie head coach Tom McClellan (252) , mcclellant@ecu.edu East Carolina went 8-5 last season, with all five losses coming by 10 points or fewer The Pires were ranked as high as No. 18 nionally, but dropped four of their last six to close the year East Carolina returns 11 starters from last season The Pires look to replace the production of QB Shane Carden, the American Athletic Conference Offensive Player of the Year, and WR Justin Hardy, who set the NCAA career receptions record (387) QB Kurt Benkert was named as the starter for the 2015 season during training camp, but was lost to a season-ending knee injury, leaving QB Blake Kemp or QB Cody Keith as the starting signal-caller RB Chris Hairston rushed for 528 yards and two TDs and is the top returner in the backfield WR Isaiah Jones was third in The American, with 81 receptions, while his 830 receiving yards ranked seventh in the conference OT Ike Harris and OG J.T. Boyd were both all-conference second-team choices and lead an offensive line th returns four starters LB Zeek Bigger led The American with 140 tackles on his way to second-team all-conference honors CB Josh Hawkins registered five interceptions. Surday, Sept. 5 7 p.m. ESPN3 ALABAMA A&M CINCINNATI Nippert Stadium (40,000/UBU Speed Series 55M) Cincinni, Ohio ESPN3 Jim Barbar and Wayne Gandy Cincinni Radio WLW-AM 700 (flagship) Surday s game will be the first meeting between Cincinni and Alabama A&M The Bearcs look for their 14th straight win in a home-opener Cincinni s last game against an FCS opponent was a 66-9 win against Northwestern Ste in the 2013 season The game will be the first Nippert Stadium since the facility s $86 million renovion. ALABAMA A&M James Spady (UTEP 95) 4-8, second season Bud McLaughlin (256) , aamusportsinfo@yahoo.com Alabama A&M went 4-8 last season in its first year under head coach James Spady Spady spent four seasons as an assistant Nevada before taking over Alabama A&M The Bulldogs play four of their first five games on the road Alabama A&M last faced an FBS opponent Sept. 13, 2014, when they fell to UAB, Alabama A&M has just eight seniors on its 2015 roster The Bulldogs return their top three rushers from last year, but must replace their starting quarterback and top receiver RB Harvey Harris rushed for 651 yards and six touchdowns on 156 carries, while RB Brandon Eldemire had 530 yards and six TDs on 143 carries The top eight tackle leaders from last year return to lead the Bulldogs defense LB Bryan Browner had a team-high 83 tackles with seven tackles for loss as a true freshman DE Anthony Lanier registered 54 stops with 18 tackles for loss, four sacks and two forced fumbles on his way to All-SWAC firs-team honors CB Dexter Reese registered a team-high five interceptions and had nine pass breakups Alabama A&M s most prominent football alumnus is Hall of Fame receiver John Stallworth, a 1974 gradue. CINCINNATI Tommy Tuberville (Southern Arkansas 76) 18-8, third season Cincinni , 19th season as collegie head coach Ryan Koslen (513) , ryan.koslen@uc.edu Cincinni is the runaway favorite to win the American Athletic Conference East Division as well as the outright conference title in the league s preseason media poll The Bearcs return 13 starters from a 2014 squad th went 9-4 overall and tied for the conference crown 7-1 in The American Cincinni has won least nine games in each of the last four years and in seven of the last eight After playing their home games Paul Brown Stadium last year, the Bearcs return to an upgraded Nippert Stadium, where they have gone 16-3 in their last 19 games The offense is led by QB Gunner Kiel, who threw for 3,254 yards and a league-leading 31 touchdowns last season A deep and talented group of receivers is led by WR Shaq Washington, who had 66 receptions for 761 yards and four touchdowns last season WR Mekale McKay and WR Chris Moore had eight TDs each last year, while seven players finished with least two touchdown receptions RB Mike Boone stepped in as a freshman to lead the Bearcs in rushing (650 yards, nine TDs) The defense must replace six starters S Zach Edwards registered 121 tackles and two interceptions American Athletic Conference Football

8 WEEK 1 CAPSULES Surday, Sept. 5 7 p.m. ESPN3 MISSOURI STATE MEMPHIS Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium (61,000/FieldTurf) Memphis, Tenn. ESPN3 Joel Meyers and Chad Brown Memphis Radio WREC-AM 600 (flagship) Surday s game will be the third meeting between Memphis and Missouri Ste, but the first since 1942 Missouri Ste was a 2 winner in 1923, while Memphis took the 1942 mchup, 6-0 The schools are loced approximely 290 miles apart Memphis was a 63-0 winner against Austin Peay last year in its last game against an FCS opponent. MISSOURI STATE Dave Steckel (Kutztown 82), first season Rick Kindhart (417) , rkindhart@missouriste.edu Missouri Ste returns 12 starters from a team th went 4-8 overall and was 1-7 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference last season Dave Steckel will make his head coaching debut in the game against Memphis Steckel had most recently been associe head coach and defensive coordinor Missouri, where he was one of five finalists for the 2014 Broyles Award as the nion s top assistant Of Missouri Ste s eight losses last season, seven were to teams th were nionally ranked in FCS, while the other came to Oklahoma Ste In addition to the season-opener against Memphis, Missouri Ste heads to Arkansas Ste Sept. 19 for a second de against an FBS opponent The Bears will be led on offense by RB Calan Crowder, who rushed for 762 yards and four touchdowns in 2014 WR Eric Christophel and WR Malik Earl were second and third on the squad in receptions last season as Christophel had 21 cches for 208 yards and Earl had 19 receptions for 302 yards LB Dylan Cole is the top returner on defense after he registered 92 tackles with 14.5 tackles for loss last season CB Eric Phillips led the team with three interceptions. MEMPHIS Justin Fuente (Murray Ste 99) 17-20, fourth season Ron Mears (901) , rmears@memphis.edu Memphis enjoyed its most successful season in decades last year as the Tigers went 10-3 overall, won a share of the American Athletic Conference title 7-1 in league play, and rallied for an overtime win against Brigham Young in the first Miami Beach Bowl The 10 wins tied a school record set in 1938, while the conference title was Memphis first since 1971 Memphis takes a seven-game winning streak into the 2015 season The Tigers have eight offensive starters returning from last year, but will have just three starters back on defense QB Paxton Lynch was a second-team all-conference selection last year after he threw for 3,031 yards and 22 touchdowns and added 13 rushing TDs The offensive line has four starters back, while TE Alan Cross returns after earning first-team all-conference honors last year The top receiver is WR Mose Frazier, who had 47 receptions for 506 yards and three touchdowns in 2014 The only defensive starters returning are DE Ernest Suttles, LB Jackson Dillon and S Reggis Ball Dillon had 43 tackles with 3.5 sacks and two forced fumbles K Jake Elliott is one of the nion s top kickers He hit 21 field goals last season, including three from 50 yards or longer. Surday, Sept. 5 7 p.m. ESPN3 FLORIDA A&M USF Raymond James Stadium (65,857/Grass) Tampa, Fla. ESPN3 Mike Corey and Rene Ingoglia USF Radio WWBA-AM 820 (flagship) Surday s game will be the third meeting between USF and Florida A&M, which is loced in Tallahassee The Bulls are 2-0 in the series after then-20th-ranked USF took a win in the 2011 season USF is 17-1 all-time in home openers, with the lone loss coming to McNeese Ste in the 2013 season. FLORIDA A&M Alex Wood (Iowa 79), first season Florida A&M 25-24, fifth full season as collegie head coach Alvin Hollins (850) , alvin.hollins@famu.edu Florida A&M looks to bounce back from a 3-9 season in 2014 The Rtlers scored wins against Savannah Ste, Howard and Delaware Ste last season Florida A&M plays four of its first five games on the road Head coach Alex Wood previously served as head coach James Madison and was the running backs coach for two Miami (Fla.) teams th won nional championships Wood most recently served as offensive coordinor Buffalo and was the Bulls interim head coach for the final four games of the 2014 season.rb Gerald Hearns rushed for 475 yards on 131 carries last season WR Brandon Norwood had 36 receptions for 516 yards and a touchdown The defense is led by LB Akili Blount, who had a team-high 72 tackles in 2014 CB Jacques Bryant had 59 stops with two sacks and five tackles for loss NT Michael Lovejoy was tabbed as a preseason All-MEAC selection after he registered 3.5 sacks and seven tackles for loss in 2014 The Rtlers were projected to finish eighth in the MEAC preseason poll Florida A&M is not eligible for postseason competition in USF Willie Taggart (Western Kentucky 98) 6-18, third season USF 24-38, sixth season as collegie head coach Brian Siegrist (813) , siegrist@usf.edu USF improved to 4-8 in the 2014 season after the Bulls finished 2-10 in 2013 The Bulls look to return to postseason play after going four straight years without a bowl bid RB Marlon Mack was named the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year and earned first-team all-conference honors last season Mack rushed for a league-leading 1,041 yards with nine touchdowns on 202 carries as a true freshman The top returning receiver is WR Rodney Adams, who had 23 cches for 323 yards and two touchdowns in 2014 The starting spot behind center will go to QB Quinton Flowers, who saw action in five games and made one start as a freshman last year The Bulls have developed depth and talent on defense and have seven returning starters this season LB Jamie Byrd had a team-high 95 tackles with two interceptions, while LB Nigel Harris had 77 tackles with 10.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a school-record six forced fumbles Harris and LB Tashon Whitehurst will miss the first two games of the season for a team-imposed suspension P Mtias Ciabti, who averaged 44.4 yards last season, is a candide for the Ray Guy Award. Surday, Sept. 5 8 p.m. ESPN3 TENNESSEE TECH HOUSTON TDECU Stadium (40,000/Synthetic) Houston, Texas ESPN3 Brett Dolan and George Wrighster Houston Radio KPRC-AM 950 (flagship) Surday s game will be the first meeting between Houston and Tennessee Tech Houston has won its last three games against FCS opponents by a combined score of (a 47-0 victory against Grambling Ste last season, a win against Southern in 2013 and a 56-0 win against Georgia Ste in TENNESSEE TECH Wson Brown (Vanderbilt 73) 38-53, ninth season Tennessee Tech , 31st season as collegie head coach Rob Schabert (931) , rschabert@tntech.edu Tennessee Tech was tabbed for seventh place in the Ohio Valley Conference preseason poll The Golden Eagles went 5-7 last season and have 51 letterwinners returning Head coach Wson Brown is quite familiar with the city of Houston after serving as head coach Rice from Brown was head coach Cincinni in 1983 Brown led Tennessee Tech to the OVC title and a spot in the NCAA FCS playoffs in 2012 Brown and his brother (former Tulane, North Carolina and Texas coach Mack Brown) have 370 career combined wins the most of any brother combinion in Division I history LB Tra Darius Goff was chosen to the preseason All-OVC team despite his missing most of the 2014 season due to a shoulder injury Goff registered 101 tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss and three forced fumbles in 2013 RB Ladarius Vanlier was one of just four players in FCS football with a kickoff return and punt return for a touchdown last season Vanlier is the team s top returning rusher after he went for 494 yards and five TDs in 2014 WR Brock McCoin had 43 receptions for 517 yards and two TDs. HOUSTON Tom Herman (Minnesota 96), first season David Bassity (713) , dbassity@central.uh.edu Houston has 11 starters returning from a program th has turned in back-to-back 8-5 seasons Head coach Tom Herman makes his debut on the Houston sideline after he helped Ohio Ste to the College Football Playoff Nional Championship as offensive coordinor in 2014 The Cougars finished the 2014 season by rallying from a 31-6 fourthquarter deficit to be Pittsburgh, 35-34, in the Armed Forces Bowl Many of the key players from th game are back, including RB Kenneth Farrow, who rushed for 1,037 yards and an American Athletic Conference-leading 14 touchdowns last season QB Greg Ward Jr. threw for 1,919 yards and 12 touchdowns and added 569 rushing yards last season QB Adam Schulz, a transfer from Utah, where he started the last three games of the 2013 season, also should see snaps this season WR Demarcus Ayers was second on the team with 33 receptions last season The Cougar defense feures one of the nion s top secondaries S Adrian McDonald earned first-team all-conference honors last season, while CB William Jackson was a second-team choice McDonald had five interceptions, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries American Athletic Conference Football

9 NATIONAL POLLS Associed Press Poll USA Today Poll American Preseason Media Poll Preseason Poll School Record Pts 1. Ohio Ste (61) TCU Alabama Baylor Michigan Ste Auburn Oregon USC Georgia Florida Ste Notre Dame Clemson UCLA LSU Arizona Ste Georgia Tech Mississippi Arkansas Oklahoma Wisconsin Stanford Arizona Boise Ste Missouri Tennessee 114 Preseason Poll School Record Pts 1. Ohio Ste (62) TCU (1) Alabama (1) Baylor Oregon Michigan Ste Auburn Florida Ste Georgia USC Notre Dame Clemson LSU UCLA Mississsippi Arizona Ste Georgia Tech Wisconsin Oklahoma Arkansas Stanford Arizona Missouri Boise Ste Tennessee American Championship Team... Points Cincinni...22 Memphis...5 Houston... 2 UCF...1 East Division Team (First-Place Votes)... Points 1. Cincinni (29) UCF (1) Temple East Carolina USF UConn West Division Team (First-Place Votes)... Points 1. Memphis (13) Houston (10) Navy (7) Tulane SMU Tulsa...47 Receiving votes: Mississippi Ste 100, Texas A&M 61, Oklahoma Ste 46, Virginia Tech 42, Utah 36, Penn Ste 20, Louisville 12, Cincinni 8, Nebraska 6, Kansas Ste 5, Florida 4, North Carolina Ste 4, Texas 3, Brigham Young 2, Northern Illinois 2, Michigan 2, California 1, Western Kentucky 1, West Virginia 1 Receiving votes: Mississippi Ste 164, Texas A&M 149, Oklahoma Ste 89, Virginia Tech 70, Utah 40, Kansas Ste 37, Nebraska 27, Louisville 27, Minnesota 25, Penn Ste 20, South Carolina 18, Miami (Fla.) 16, Texas 8, Illinois 7, Duke 6, Air Force 5, Louisiana Tech 5, Marshall 4, Utah Ste 4, West Virginia 3, North Carolina Ste 3, Brigham Young 3, North Carolina 2, Florida 2, Georgia Southern 2, UCF 1, Cincinni 1, Kentucky 1, Maryland 1, Michigan 1, Washington 1 WEEK-BY-WEEK IN THE NATIONAL POLLS Below is a weekly look each American Athletic Conference team s spot in the Associed Press and USA Today polls in Rankings are listed as AP/USA Today. UCF Cincinni UConn East Carolina Houston Memphis Navy USF SMU Temple Tulane Tulsa Preseason rv/- rv/rv -/- -/- -/- -/- -/- -/- -/- -/- -/- -/- Sept. 6 Sept. 13 Sept. 20 Sept. 27 Oct. 4 Oct. 11 Oct. 18 Oct. 25 Nov. 1 Nov. 8 Nov. 15 Nov. 22 Nov. 29 Dec. 7 Final American Athletic Conference Football

10 THE 2015 SEASON 2015 HOME ATTENDANCE SCHOOL (Capacity) GP TOTAL AVG. LARGEST CROWD UCF (45,323) Cincinni (40,000) UConn (40,000) East Carolina (50,000) Houston (40,000) Memphis (61,000) Navy (34,000) USF (65,897) SMU (32,000) Temple (68,532) Tulane (30,000) Tulsa (30,000) 2015 TOTALS TOP PERFORMANCES 100-YARD RUSHING GAMES Player, School, Year 2015 Career Keenan Reynolds, Navy, Sr. 14 Kenneth Farrow, Houston, Sr. 7 Marlon Mack, USF, So. 4 Zack Langer, Tulsa, Sr. 4 Ryan Jackson, Houston, Sr. 4 William Stanback, UCF, Jr. 3 Mike Boone, Cincinni, So. 2 Mt Davis, SMU, Jr. 2 Sherman Badie, Tulane, So. 2 James Flanders, Tulsa, Jr. 2 Micha Reed, UCF, Jr. 1 Ron Johnson, UConn, So. 1 Chris Hairston, East Carolina, Sr. 1 Jarvis Cooper, Memphis, So. 1 Sam Craft, Memphis, Jr. 1 Chris Swain, Navy, Sr. 1 Jahad Thomas, Temple, Jr. 1 Dontrell Hilliard, Tulane, So. 1 Lazedrick Thompson, Tulane, Jr YARD RECEIVING GAMES Player, School, Year 2015 Career Keevan Lucas, Tulsa, Jr. 5 Isaiah Jones, East Carolina, Jr. 5 Darius Joseph, SMU, Sr. 5 Shaq Washington, Cincinni, Sr. 4 Mekale McKay, Cincinni, Sr. 3 Keyarris Garrett, Tulsa, Sr. 3 Chris Moore, Cincinni, Sr. 2 Robby Anderson, Temple, Sr. 2 Trevon Brown, East Carolina, So. 1 Steven Dunbar, Houston, So. Mose Frazier, Memphis, Sr. 1 Jamie Gilmore, Temple, Sr. 1 Jahad Thomas, Temple, Jr. 1 Dontrell Hilliard, Tulane, So YARD PASSING GAMES Player, School, Year 2015 Career Gunner Kiel, Cincinni, Jr. 4 Paxton Lynch, Memphis, Jr. 4 Dane Evans, Tulsa, Jr. 3 Justin Holman, UCF, Jr. 2 P.J. Walker, Temple, Jr. 2 Greg Ward Jr., Houston, Jr. 1 Garrett Krstich, SMU, So. 1 Tanner Lee, Tulane, So. 1 Tim Boyle, UConn, Jr. 1 THE RECORD BOOK The American s single-game records: Most Rushing Yards 1. Marlon Mack, USF vs. Western Carolina (8/30/14) Sherman Badie, Tulane Tulsa (8/28/14) Mike Boone, Cincinni vs. USF (10/24/14) Breon Allen, East Carolina vs. North Carolina (9/20/14) Brandon Hayes, Memphis vs. Tulsa (10/31/14) 199 Most Rushing Touchdowns 1. Marlon Mack, USF vs. Western Carolina (8/30/14) 4 Kenneth Farrow, Houston vs. Tulsa (11/22/14) 4 Longest Rush 1. Sherman Badie, Tulane Tulsa (8/28/14) 90 yds 2. Sherman Badie, Tulane Rutgers (9/27/14) 86 yds 3. Marcus Shaw, USF vs. McNeese Ste (8/31/13) 80 yds Most Passing Yards 1. Garrett Gilbert, SMU vs. Temple (10/26/13) Garrett Gilbert, SMU vs. Rutgers (10/5/13) 484 Most Pass Completions 1. Garrett Gilbert, SMU, vs. Rutgers (10/5/13) 45 2, Garrett Krstich, SMU vs. East Carolina (10/2/14) Garrett Gilbert, SMU vs. Texas Tech (8/30/13) 41 Longest Pass 1. Blake Bortles, UCF vs. Akron (8/29/13) 91 yds 2. Greg Ward Jr., Houston vs. Cincinni (12/6/14) 89 yds 3. Chandler Whitmer, UConn East Carolina (10/23/14) 88 yds Most Touchdown Passes 1. Gunner Kiel, Cincinni vs. Toledo (9/12/14) 6 2. Gary Nova, Rutgers Fresno Ste (8/29/13) 5 Teddy Bridgewer, Louisville vs. Ohio (9/1/13) 5 Garrett Gilbert, SMU vs. Rutgers (10/5/13) 5 John O Korn, Houston vs. Rutgers (10/26/13) 5 Dane Evans, Tulsa vs. SMU (11/8/14) 5 Most Receiving Yards 1. Robby Anderson, Temple vs. SMU (10/26/13) Keevan Lucas, Tulsa vs. Tulane (8/28/14) Cam Worthy, East Carolina Virginia Tech (9/13/14) Chris Moore, Cincinni Ohio Ste (9/28/14) Jeremy Johnson, SMU vs. Rutgers (10/5/13) 217 Most Receptions 1. Jeremy Johnson, SMU vs. Rutgers (10/5/15) Justin Hardy, East Carolina Cincinni (11/13/14) Deontay Greenberry, Houston Temple (9/7/13) 14 Justin Hardy, East Carolina vs. UConn (10/23/14) 14 Keevan Lucas, Tulsa Houston (11/22/14) 14 Most Touchdown Receptions 1. Leonte Carroo, Rutgers Fresno Ste (8/29/13) 3 Jeremy Johnson, SMU vs. Rutgers (10/5/15) 3 Deontay Greenberry, Houston vs. Rutgers (10/26/13) 3 Jeff Godfrey, UCF vs. UConn (10/26/13) 3 Keevan Lucas, Tulsa vs. Tulane (8/24/14) 3 Chris Moore, Cincinni Ohio Ste (9/28/14) 3 Justin Hardy, East Carolina vs. SMU (10/4/14) 3 Andre Davis, USF Tulsa (10/18/14) 3 Josh Reese, UCF vs. North Carolina Ste (12/26/14) 3 Longest Reception 1. Breshad Perriman, UCF vs. Akron (8/29/13) 91 yds Most Field Goals 1. Richie Leone, Houston Temple (9/7/13) 5 Jake Elliott, Memphis Houston (10/12/13) 5 Longest Field Goal 1. Jake Elliott, Memphis vs. USF (11/17/03) 56 yds Longest Punt Return 1. Khalif Herbin, Temple vs. Delaware Ste (9/20/14) 84 yds Longest Kickoff Return 1. Janarion Grant, Rutgers Fresno Ste (8/29/13) 100 yds Most Tackles 1. Tyler Makevich, Temple Idaho (9/28/23) Randall Joyner, SMU vs. Rutgers (10/5/13) 18 Greg Blair, Cincinni vs. Louisville (12/5/13) 18 DeDe Ltimore, USF vs. Rutgers (12/7/13) 18 Jeff Luc, Cincinni vs. Miami (Ohio) (9/20/14) 18 Jeff Luc, Cincinni Ohio Ste, 9/28/14 18 Zach Edwards, Cincinni vs. Memphis, 10/4/ American Athletic Conference Football

11 THE 2015 SEASON AWARD WINNERS OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Oct. 26 Nov. 2 Nov. 9 Nov. 15 Nov. 23 Nov. 30 Dec. 7 DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Oct. 26 Nov. 2 Nov. 9 Nov. 15 Nov. 23 Nov. 30 Dec. 7 SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE WEEK Sept. 7 Sept. 14 Sept. 21 Sept. 28 Oct. 5 Oct. 12 Oct. 19 Oct. 26 Nov. 2 Nov. 9 Nov. 15 Nov. 23 Nov. 30 Dec. 7 ACTIVE CAREER WEEKLY AWARD WINNERS 4 Jake Elliott (K, Memphis) 3 Andrew Gantz (K, Cincinni) 2 Shawn Moffitt (K, UCF); Gunner Kiel (QB, Cincinni); Paxton Lynch (QB, Memphis); Praise Martin-Oguike (DE, Temple) 1 Justin Holman (QB, UCF); Breshad Perriman (WR, UCF); Sam Geraci (P, Cincinni); Chris Moore (WR, Cincinni); Josh Hawkins (CB, East Carolina); Kyle Bullard (K, Houston); Kenneth Farrow (RB, Houston); William Jackson (CB, Houston); Trevon Stewart (S, Houston); Steven Taylor (LB, Houston); Brandon Wilson (CB, Houston); Mtias Ciabti (P, USF); Nigel Harris (LB, USF); Austin Jones (K, Temple); Tyler Makevich (LB, Temple); Tavon Young (CB, Temple); Parry Nickerson (CB, Tulane); Dane Evans (QB, Tulsa); Keevan Lucas (WR, Tulsa) 2015 STATISTICAL RANKINGS OFFENSE DEFENSE Team Rush Pass Total Score Rush Pass Total Score KR PR Int. Sacks TFL T/O UCF Cincinni UConn East Carolina Houston Memphis Navy USF SMU Temple Tulane Tulsa AGAINST THE CONFERENCES ATLANTIC COAST () Duke Tulane (9/3) USF Florida Ste (9/12) Houston Louisville (9/12) Tulane Georgia Tech (9/12) Virginia Tech East Carolina (9/26) Miami (Fla.) Cincinni (10/1) Syracuse USF (10/10) BIG 12 () Baylor SMU (9/4) Memphis Kansas (9/12) Tulsa Oklahoma (9/19) SMU TCU (9/19) BIG TEN () Penn Ste Temple (9/5) USF Maryland (9/19) COLONIAL ATHLETIC () Villanova UConn (9/3) Towson East Carolina (9/5) Maine Tulane (9/19) James Madison SMU (9/26) CONFERENCE USA () Florida Internional UCF (9/3) Florida Atlantic Tulsa (9/5) North Texas SMU (9/12) Temple Charlotte (10/2) MID-AMERICAN () Memphis Bowling Green (9/19) Temple Massachusetts (9/19) Cincinni Miami (Ohio) (9/19) MID-EASTERN ATHLETIC () Florida A&M USF (9/5) MISSOURI VALLEY () Missouri Ste Memphis (9/5) MOUNTAIN WEST () Tulsa New Mexico (9/12) Air Force Navy (10/3) OHIO VALLEY () Tennessee Tech Houston (9/5) PAC-12 () UCF Stanford (9/12) PATRIOT () Colge Navy (9/5) SOUTHEASTERN () East Carolina Florida (9/12) UConn Missouri (9/19) UCF South Carolina (9/26) Mississippi Memphis (10/17) Vanderbilt Houston (10/31) SOUTHERN () Furman UCF (9/19) SOUTHWESTERN () Alabama A&M Cincinni (9/5) SUN BELT () Texas Ste Houston (9/26) Louisiana-Monroe Tulsa (10/10) INDEPENDENTS () Army UConn (9/12) UConn Brigham Young (10/2) East Carolina Brigham Young (10/10) Navy Notre Dame (10/10) Cincinni Brigham Young (10/16) Notre Dame Temple (10/31) Tulane Army (11/14) Navy vs. Army (12/12) Total Nonconference Records All Games... FBS Opponents... FCS Opponents... AP Top USA Today Top Bowl Games American Athletic Conference Football

12 NCAA LEADERS INDIVIDUAL LEADERS Rushing... YPG 41. Marlon Mack, USF Completions Per Game... CPG 2. Shane Carden, East Carolina Dane Evans, Tulsa Paxton Lynch, Memphis Tanner Lee, Tulane Gunner Kiel, Cincinni Passing Yards Per Game... YPG 2. Shane Carden, East Carolina Gunner Kiel, Cincinni Dane Evans, Tulsa Paxton Lynch, Memphis Justin Holman, UCF Passing Efficiency... Ring 14. Gunner Kiel, Cincinni Shane Carden, East Carolina Paxton Lynch, Memphis Greg Ward Jr., Houston Justin Holman, UCF Receptions Per Game... RPG 4. Justin Hardy, East Carolina Keevan Lucas, Tulsa Isaiah Jones, East Carolina Receiving Yards Per Game... YPG 8. Justin Hardy, East Carolina Keevan Lucas, Tulsa Cam Worthy, East Carolina Breshad Perriman, UCF Total Offense... YPG 2. Shane Carden, East Carolina Gunner Kiel, Cincinni Dane Evans, Tulsa Paxton Lynch, Memphis Scoring...PPG 25. Jake Elliott, Memphis Andrew Gantz, Cincinni Tackles...TPG 7. Efrem Oliphant, Houston Jeff Luc, Cincinni Zeek Bigger, East Carolina Michael Mudoh, Tulsa Tyler Makevich, Temple Marquise Vann, UConn Zach Edwards, Cincinni Tackles For Loss... TFL/Game 20. Tank Jakes, Memphis Terrance Plummer, UCF Sacks...SPG 18. Terrell Hartsfield, Cincinni Praise Martin-Oguike, Temple Passes Defended... PD/Game 7. Jacoby Glenn, UCF Josh Hawkins, East Carolina Interceptions... Int/Game 3. Jacoby Glenn, UCF Parry Nickerson, Tulane Adrian McDonald, Houston Andrew Adams, UConn Josh Hawkins, East Carolina Tavon Young, Temple Bobby McCain, Memphis Forced Fumbles...FF/Game 1. Nigel Harris, USF Praise Martin-Oguike, Temple Jeff Luc, Cincinni Tank Jakes, Memphis Adrian McDonald, Houston Ne D. Smith, Temple Terry Williams, East Carolina Punting... Avg 8. Mtias Ciabti, USF Jackson Koonce, SMU Dalton Parks, Tulsa Punt Returns... Avg 26. J.J. Worton, UCF Keiwone Malone, Memphis Kickoff Returns... Avg 27. Jordan Akins, UCF Joe Craig, Memphis Jahad Thomas, Temple Field Goals...FG/Game 17. Jake Elliott, Memphis Kyle Bullard, Houston Andrew Gantz, Cincinni Shawn Moffitt, UCF Marvin Kloss, USF TEAM LEADERS Rushing Offense... YPG 42. Memphis East Carolina Houston Cincinni Tulane Tulsa UCF USF Temple UConn SMU Rushing Defense... YPG 4. East Carolina UCF Memphis Houston UConn Tulane Temple USF Cincinni Tulsa SMU Passing Offense... YPG 2. East Carolina Cincinni Tulsa UCF Memphis Houston Tulane USF UConn SMU Pass Efficiency Defense... Avg 1. UCF Memphis Houston Temple East Carolina Tulane UConn Cincinni USF Tulsa SMU Total Offense... YPG 3. East Carolina Cincinni Memphis Tulsa Houston UCF Tulane USF Temple UConn SMU Total Defense... YPG 4. UCF Houston Memphis East Carolina Temple UConn Tulane USF Cincinni Tulsa SMU Scoring Offense... Avg 17. East Carolina Cincinni Memphis Houston UCF Temple Tulsa USF Tulane UConn SMU Scoring Defense...PPG 8. Memphis Houston Temple UCF East Carolina UConn USF Tulane Cincinni Tulsa SMU Net Punting...Net Avg 20. USF Tulsa Memphis East Carolina Houston UConn Temple SMU Cincinni Tulane UCF Punt Returns... Avg 10. Temple UConn UCF Memphis Cincinni USF Tulsa Houston Tulane East Carolina SMU Kickoff Returns... Avg 10. UCF Memphis UConn USF Tulsa Cincinni Temple East Carolina SMU Houston Tulane Fumbles Recovered... Total 2. Temple Cincinni USF Memphis Tulane Houston Tulsa SMU UCF...5 UConn East Carolina...2 Interceptions... Total 6. Houston Tulane UCF Memphis East Carolina...10 Temple Tulsa UConn Cincinni...5 USF SMU...2 Turnovers Gained... Total 2. Temple Tulane Houston Memphis UCF Cincinni USF Tulsa East Carolina UConn SMU...8 Turnovers Lost... Total 44. Memphis East Carolina Cincinni UConn Tulsa USF Houston SMU UCF Tulane Temple Turnover Margin...Margin/Game 12. Memphis Houston Temple Tulane Cincinni USF UCF Tulsa East Carolina UConn SMU Tackles For Loss...Per Game 24. UCF Memphis Tulane Temple Tulsa USF Cincinni UConn Houston East Carolina SMU Sacks...Per Game 30. Cincinni UCF Memphis Temple USF Tulane Houston Tulsa East Carolina UConn SMU Sacks Allowed...Per Game 18. Cincinni Memphis USF Temple Tulane East Carolina UCF Tulsa Houston UConn SMU American Athletic Conference Football

13 COLLEGE FOOTBALL PLAYOFF The College Football Playoff is a big success. Fans, including many who are new to the sport, enjoy it. The first College Football Playoff semifinals and nional championship were the three most-viewed programs in cable television history. Every Game Counts The playoff preserves the excitement and significance of college football s unique regular season where every game counts. Four Teams The selection committee ranks the teams based on championships won, strength of schedule, head-to-head results, comparive outcomes of common opponents and other factors. Two Days New Year s Eve and New Year s Day belong to college football, with two semifinal games and four other top bowl games continuing a wonderful tradition. The two teams winning the playoff semifinals compete for the College Football Playoff Nional Championship. Th game is in a different city each year, always on a Monday night. Universal Access Every FBS team has equal access to the College Football Playoff based on its performance. No team automically qualifies. Governance University presidents and chancellors from all 10 FBS conferences and Notre Dame serve on the CFP Board of Managers and govern the administrive operions, with commissioners (the Management Committee) managing the event. A small staff in the playoff office in Irving, Texas, carries out the detailed responsibilities. Selection Committee A talented group of high-integrity individuals with experience as coaches, student-hletes, college administrors and journalists, along with sitting hletics directors, comprise the selection committee. Members of the committee are: Jeff Long (chair), Barry Alvarez, Mike Gould, P Haden, Kirby Hocutt, Tom Jernstedt, Bobby Johnson, Tom Osborne, Dan Radakovich, Condoleezza Rice, Mike Tranghese, Steve Wieberg and Tyrone Willingham. Selection Committee Responsibilities Rank the top 25 teams and assign the top four to semifinal sites. Assign teams to New Year s bowls Cree competitive mchups Attempt to avoid remches of regular-season games and repe appearances Consider geography College Football Playoff Schedule SEMIFINAL Capital One Orange Bowl December 31, p.m./8 p.m. ET, ESPN Sun Life Stadium, Miami Gardens, Fla. SEMIFINAL Goodyear Cotton Bowl December 31, p.m./8 p.m. ET, ESPN AT&T Stadium, Arlington, Texas Chick-Fil-A Peach Bowl December 31, 2015 Noon ET, ESPN Georgia Dome, Atlanta, Ga. Vizio Fiesta Bowl January 1, p.m. ET, ESPN University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz. Rose Bowl Game presented by Northwestern Mutual January 1, p.m. ET, ESPN Rose Bowl Stadium, Pasadena, Calif. Allste Sugar Bowl January 1, p.m. ET, ESPN Mercedez-Benz Superdome, New Orleans, La. College Football Playoff Nional Championship January 11, :30 p.m. ET, ESPN University of Phoenix Stadium, Glendale, Ariz. Participants In New Year s Bowls Both participants in the Orange, Rose and Sugar Bowls are contracted outside the playoff arrange ment (Big Ten and Pac- 12 to Rose Bowl; SEC and Big 12 to Sugar Bowl; ACC to Orange Bowl against the highest ranked available team from the SEC, Big Ten and Notre Dame). If a conference champion qualifies for the playoff, then the bowl will choose a replacement from th conference. When those bowls host the semifinals and their contracted conference champions do not qualify, then the dis placed champion(s) will play in one of the other New Year s bowls. When not hosting semifinals, the Cotton, Fiesta and Peach Bowls will welcome displaced conference champions and the topranked champion from a non-contract conference. The highestranked available teams will fill any other berths. The selection committee will make the pairings American Athletic Conference Football

14 BOWL PARTNERSHIPS In addition to the College Football Playoff and New Year s Bowls, The American will have either a primary or secondary affiliion with 12 bowl games during its current six-year bowl cycle. The American works annually with its member schools and bowl partners to cree the most sensible and tractive postseason mchups. The Miami Beach Bowl was played for the first time in 2014 ste-of-the-art Marlins Park in Miami, which sits on the site of the historic Orange Bowl stadium. An American Athletic Conference plays in the bowl each year, beginning with last year s mchup against Brigham Young. Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference and the Sun Belt Conference are scheduled for future years, though institutions from other conferences also will have the opportunity to participe. The Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman takes place Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis, Maryland, while the events and activities surrounding the game are based in Washington, D.C. The American Athletic Conference will face an opponent from the Atlantic Coast Conference each year in the current cycle. The Birmingham Bowl takes place Legion Field in Birmingham, Alabama. The American/Big East has partnered with the bowl since its inception in the 2006 season. The American Athletic Conference will annually face an opponent from the Southeastern Conference. The St. Petersburg Bowl is played Tropicana Field in St. Petersburg, Florida. The American Athletic Conference will supply a team to the bowl during each year of the six-year cycle. Conference USA will play in the game in 2015, 2017 and 2019, while the Atlantic Coast Conference provides the opposing team in 2014, 2016 and The Hawaii Bowl is played on Hawaiian Airlines Field Aloha Stadium on the campus of the University of Hawaii. The American Athletic Conference will participe in the bowl in 2015, 2017 and 2019, facing an opponent from the Mountain West Conference. The Boca Ron Bowl is a new game th will feure an American Athletic Conference team three times during the six-year cycle FAU Stadium in Boca Ron, Florida. The American representive will play a team from the Mid-American Conference in The AutoNion Cure Bowl will debut in 2015 the newly renoved Citrus Bowl in Orlando, Florida. An American Athletic Conference team will be paired against an opponent from the Sun Belt Conference. Net proceeds from the game will benefit the Breast Cancer Research Foundion. The Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl is played Amon G. Carter Stadium on the campus of Texas Christian University. The American Athletic Conference sends a team to the bowl in 2014, 2016 and The opponent will be a Big 12 team in 2016 and 2018, with Conference USA as a secondary affiliion. The Popeye s Bahamas Bowl is played in Thomas A. Robinson Stadium in Nassau, Bahamas. The American Athletic Conference will face the Mid-American Conference in 2016 and Conference USA in The R&L Carriers New Orleans Bowl is held the Mercedes-Benz Superdome in New Orleans. The American Athletic Conference has agreed to play in the bowl in 2018 and In addition to the conference s primary bowl affiliions, The American holds secondary partnerships with the AutoZone Liberty Bowl in Memphis, Tennessee, the Duck Commander Independence Bowl in Shreveport, Louisiana, and the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl in San Diego, as well as with other ESPN-owned bowls. AutoNion Cure Bowl Florida Citrus Bowl Orlando, Fla. Dec. 19, 2015 TBD CBSSN vs. Miami Beach Bowl Marlins Park Miami, Fla. Dec. 21, :30 p.m. ET ESPN vs. Boca Ron Bowl FAU Stadium Boca Ron, Fla. Dec. 22, p.m. ET ESPN vs. Hawaii Bowl Aloha Stadium Honolulu, Hawaii Dec. 24, p.m. ET ESPN vs. St. Petersburg Bowl Tropicana Field St. Petersburg, Fla. Dec. 26, a.m. ET ESPN vs. Military Bowl presented by Northrop Grumman Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium Annapolis, Md. Dec. 28, :30 p.m. ET ESPN vs. Birmingham Bowl Legion Field Birmingham, Ala. Dec. 30, 2015 Noon ET ESPN vs American Athletic Conference Football

15 THE AMERICAN ON TELEVISION The 2015 football season will be the second under the American Athletic Conference s comprehensive television partnerships with ESPN and CBS Sports. The new arrangements began with the basketball season and will be in place through the academic year. The contracts provide for unprecedented exposure on two of the industry leaders in sports television. In football, the contract calls for all conference-controlled games which encompasses all conference games and home nonconference games to be televised. Nearly 90 percent of those games will be carried on either nional broadcast or nional cable plforms. In addition to contracted games on ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU and ESPNews, American Athletic Conference teams will regularly appear on CBS Sports Network through a sublicensing agreement with ESPN. Additional nonconference games will be available on ESPN3 ESPN s live multi-screen sports network, giving fans an online destinion th delivers thousands of global sports events annually. It is accessible online WchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WchESPN app and streamed on televisions through Amazon Fire TV and Fire TV Stick, Apple TV, Chromecast, Roku, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. The network is currently available to more than 99 million homes no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affilied service provider. The network is also available no cost to approximely 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.- based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educional and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks. ESPN, Inc., is the world s leading multinional, multimedia sports entertainment company feuring a portfolio of more than 50 multimedia sports assets. The company is comprised of eight U.S. 24-hour television networks and five HD simulcast services. Based in Bristol, Connecticut, ESPN is 80-percent owned by ABC, Inc., which is an indirect subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company. The Hearst Corporion holds a 20 percent interest in ESPN. CBS Sports Network is available to 100 million homes and may be seen on a digital basic cable package in all American Athletic Conference markets. Talent for The American s weekly game on CBS Sports Network includes Dave Ryan on play-by-play, Corey Chavous as the analyst and Lauren Gardner as the reporter. ESPN Fri., Sept. 4 Baylor SMU 7 p.m. S., Sept. 5 Penn Ste Temple 3:30 p.m. S., Sept. 12 USF Florida Ste 11:30 a.m. Thu., Sept. 24 Cincinni Memphis * 7:30 p.m. Thu., Oct. 1 Miami (Fla.) Cincinni 7:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 16 Cincinni Brigham Young 8 p.m. Fri., Oct. 23 Memphis Tulsa * 8 p.m. Thu., Nov. 19 East Carolina UCF * 7:30 p.m. ESPN2 S., Sept. 12 East Carolina Florida 7 p.m. Fri., Oct. 2 Memphis USF * 7 p.m. Thu., Oct. 8 SMU Houston * 8 p.m. Thu., Oct. 22 Temple East Carolina * 7 p.m. Fri., Nov. 6 Temple SMU * 8 p.m. ESPN or ESPN2 Fri., Oct. 2 UConn Brigham Young 10:15 p.m. ESPNU S., Sept. 19 UConn Missouri Noon Fri., Oct. 16 Houston Tulane * 9 p.m. Fri., Oct. 30 East Carolina UConn * 7 p.m. ESPNews S., Sept. 12 Temple Cincinni * 8 p.m. S., Sept. 19 USF Maryland Noon ESPN3 Thu., Sept. 3 Villanova UConn 7:30 p.m. S., Sept. 5 Towson East Carolina 6 p.m. Alabama A&M Cincinni 7 p.m. Missouri Ste Memphis 7 p.m. Florida A&M USF 7 p.m. Tennessee Tech Houston 8 p.m. S., Sept. 12 Memphis Kansas 7 p.m. North Texas SMU 7 p.m. S., Sept. 19 Memphis Bowling Green 3 p.m. Temple Massachusetts 3 p.m. Cincinni Miami (Ohio) 3:30 p.m. Furman UCF 6 p.m. Maine Tulane 8 p.m. S., Sept. 26 James Madison SMU 7 p.m. CBS S., Dec. 12 Navy vs. Army 3 p.m. CBS Sports Network Thu., Sept. 3 Florida Internional UCF 6 p.m. Duke Tulane 9:30 p.m. S., Sept. 5 Colge Navy Noon Florida Atlantic Tulsa 3:30 p.m. S., Sept. 12 Army UConn Noon S., Sept. 19 East Carolina Navy * 3:30 p.m. Fri., Oct. 2 Temple Charlotte 7 p.m. S., Oct. 3 Air Force Navy 3:30 p.m. S., Oct. 24 Tulane Navy * 1 p.m. S., Oct. 31 USF Navy * Noon S., Nov. 14 SMU Navy * 3:30 p.m. Fri., Nov. 20 Cincinni USF * 8 p.m. NBC S., Oct. 10 Navy Notre Dame TBD FS1 S., Sept. 12 UCF Stanford 10:30 p.m. S., Sept. 19 Tulsa Oklahoma Noon FSN S., Sept. 19 SMU TCU 8 p.m. All times Eastern and subject to change. * American Athletic Conference game American Athletic Conference Football

16 MEDIA SERVICES BIG EAST FOOTBALL MEDIA SERVICES TheAmerican.org The official website of the American Athletic Conference feures up-to-de informion on all facets of the league. Football standings, results, stistics and notes are upded as games are played. In addition, in-game scores for all football contests involving American Athletic Conference teams will be upded in-progress. CollegePressBox.com is the official media website for American Athletic Conference football and the media home for informion on every Division I team and conference. Access and download weekly game notes, quotes, stistics, media guides, photos and more for the conference and each of its 11 member schools throughout the season. Login informion will be distributed to accredited media, or you can apply for a password by sending an to password@ collegepressbox.com. Weekly Teleconference The American Athletic Conference will hold weekly teleconferences with its 12 head football coaches, beginning Monday, Aug. 31 and continuing each Monday through Nov. 30. Each coach will be available for 10 minutes. Media representives wishing to participe in the teleconference should contact The American office for the phone number. This year s schedule is as follows (all times Eastern): 11 a.m. Ken Niumalolo, Navy 11:10 a.m. Chad Morris, SMU 11:20 a.m. Bob Diaco, UConn 11:30 a.m. Ruffin McNeill, East Carolina 11:40 a.m. Philip Montgomery, Tulsa 11:50 a.m. Tom Herman, Houston Noon Tommy Tuberville, Cincinni 12:10 p.m. Willie Taggart, USF 12:20 p.m. Mt Rhule, Temple 12:30 p.m. Justin Fuente, Memphis 12:40 p.m. George O Leary, UCF 12:50 p.m. Curtis Johnson, Tulane Social Media Fans and media members are invited to follow the lest American Athletic Conference football news through social media. The American Twitter feed may be American_FB and the conference s official Facebook page is Conf. The American s Instagram handle AmericanConf American_Conf Weekly Release & Stistics Media members may access PDF versions of the complete weekly release, including conference and team-by-team stistics, on TheAmerican.org or via CollegePressBox. com. Regular updes of the weekly release will be distributed via from the conference office. To be included on the distribution list, send an request to Chuck Sullivan csullivan@theamerican.org. Weekly Football Highlights The American Athletic Conference offers video highlights and clips of selected press conferences on a weekly basis through the XOS Digital XChange FTP tool. Content is available in full broadcast-quality resolution. Contact Chuck Sullivan (csullivan@ theamerican.org) for informion on how to access the highlights. Weekly Awards The American names offensive, defensive and special teams Players of the Week each Monday morning during the season. Winners are chosen from nominions provided by conference sports informion directors. The informion will be available from the conference office via release as well as on the league web site. Annual Awards The American Athletic Conference will name first and second all-conference teams, players of the year on offense, defense and special teams, rookie of the year and coach of the year. The awards are chosen by a vote of the league s 12 head coaches the conclusion of the regular season. The awards will be announced Dec. 2, The American Athletic Conference All-Academic Team is comprised of players who have an overall grade-point average of 3.00 or better over the previous academic year and completed least two semesters of academic work. The team is announced in August. The American Athletic Conference Football Scholar-Athlete of the Year was established to recognize student-hletes who have achieved success in the classroom and on the field. The winner receives a scholarship which may be applied to gradue or professional studies. American Athletic Conference Communicions phone Football Contact Chuck Sullivan Director of Communicions csullivan@theamerican.org Mobile: American Athletic Conference Communicions Contacts UCF Brian Ormiston Office...(407) Mobile...(407) bormiston@hletics.ucf.edu CINCINNATI Ryan Koslen Office... (513) Mobile...(513) ryan.koslen@uc.edu UCONN Mike Enright Office...(860) Mobile...(860) menright@uconn.edu EAST CAROLINA Tom McClellan Office...(252) Mobile... (252) mcclellant@ecu.edu HOUSTON David Bassity Office...(713) Mobile... (405) dbassity@central.uh.edu MEMPHIS Ron Mears Office...(901) Mobile... (832) rmears@memphis.edu NAVY Scott Strasemeier Office... (410) Mobile...(443) sstrasem@usna.edu USF Brian Siegrist Office...(813) Mobile...(813) siegrist@usf.edu SMU Brad Sutton Office...(214) Mobile...(214) bsutton@smu.edu TEMPLE Rich Burg Office...(215) Mobile...(215) rich.burg@temple.edu TULANE Roger Dunaway Office... (504) Mobile... (504) roger@tulane.edu TULSA Don Tomkalski Office...(918) Mobile... (918) donald-tomkalski@utulsa.edu American Athletic Conference Football