While Hurricane Florence hitting the Carolinas altered the schedule for two teams in the American Athletic Conference (AAC) East division, the West remains a whirlwind of movement in the standings. With four Power 5 opponents on the docket this week, the AAC was 2-2.

The Bulls of USF came back to beat the Illinois Fighting Illini, 25-19 on the back of Jordan Cronkite who recorded 136 yards on 22 carries with a touchdown. This is South Florida’s second consecutive Power 5 win as they remain undefeated on the year at 3-0. Further success was marked by Temple toppling the Terrapins of Maryland. The Owls held their opponents to only 63 yards passing and a completion rate of 8-21 with two interceptions.

The West didn’t fair as well against the Power 5 as SMU was dominated by Michigan 45-20 and Houston was declawed by Texas Tech 63-49. While losing to the Wolverines sets the Mustangs as the only AAC team without a win in 2018, the Cougars have fallen back into a tie for 2-1 teams at the top of the West. Navy is currently leading with a conference win under their belt over the Memphis Tigers and Cougs.

With East Carolina and UCF both missing games, neither school lost ground, but Cincinnati staying undefeated after beating Alabama A & M 63-7 ties them with USF at 3-0. UCF is still in the hunt remaining undefeated, but they are the only team of the three undefeateds in the East with a conference win.

Next week features three conference battles as Temple hosts the Golden Hurricanes of Tulsa on Thursday night, Navy travels to Texas to battle SMU, and the Bulls host the Pirates of ECU in Tampa. Tulane is slated to battle the AP’s no. 4 ranked Ohio State Buckeyes on the road and the UConn Huskies make the trek to Syracuse for Power 5 action next week. With week four’s slate of games looking this exciting, tribute should still be paid to this past week’s performers.

Offensive Player of the Week

232 rushing yds & a second straight 200-yd game for @MemphisFB‘s Darrell Henderson, and a 411-yd performance ranking second on the school’s single-game chart for @USFFootball‘s Blake Barnett give them #AmericanFB Offensive Players of the Week honors. 📝: https://t.co/f93jYzmUkE pic.twitter.com/FFvqYJyzqU — American Football (@American_FB) September 17, 2018

The honor was split between USF quarterback Blake Barnett and Darrell Henderson, the running back of the Memphis Tigers. Blake’s stat line featured the second-highest single game mark for passing yards in school history with 411. Meanwhile Henderson chalked up his second straight contest with 200 yards rushing finishing with 232 yards against Georgia State.

Defensive Player of the Week

After seven tackles, 2.5 sacks, 3.5 tackles for loss and two forced fumbles as he and the Owls held Maryland’s offense without a touchdown, @Temple_FB‘s Michael Dogbe is the #AmericanFB Defensive Player of the Week. 📝: https://t.co/f93jYzmUkE pic.twitter.com/gYUHgRNpPT — American Football (@American_FB) September 17, 2018

Temple’s defensive tackle Michael Dogbe was given the nod this week on defense for his significant contribution in topping the Terrapins. As the Owls held Maryland without a trip to the endzone, Dogbe himself accounted for 3.5 tackles for a loss with two sacks and two forced fumbles.

Special Teams Player of the Week

After scoring 15 points – the most by an American Athletic Conference kicker this season – to help Navy to a 51-21 win, @NavyFB‘s Bennett Moehring is the #AmericanFB Special Teams Player of the Week. 📝: https://t.co/f93jYzEvJe pic.twitter.com/TQkyWy3nWh — American Football (@American_FB) September 17, 2018

Bennett Moehring was booting mortars throughout the day for Navy’s 51-21 win over Lehigh. Moehring helped the Midshipmen cruise to a victory posting 15 total points. His field goal kicks were from 29, 37, and 45 yards.

Kyle Nash, known as The Student of the Game, covers UCF Football for SportsMediaPass.com and is a special contributor for Break the Fourth. He’s a also a writer for the DolphinsWire of USA Today and co-host of the DinnerTime and Default Assault podcasts.