College Football Schedule Week 13: Under the Radar Games to Watch

UTSA at 23 Tulane

Friday, 2:30 PM CT on ABC

The AAC has three teams with perfect conference records heading into the final week of the season. SMU, UTSA, and Tulane are all 7-0. SMU hosts Navy, and if the Mustangs win, they’re headed to the title game. It’s also possible they still make it with a loss, but we’ll discuss that in just a minute. Meanwhile, UTSA travels to Tulane for a “win and in” game between the two.

UTSA got off to a slow start to the season with star QB Frank Harris injured, but since his return, they’ve been on a tear. Harris just posted one of the best performances any QB has had this season against USF. He threw for 411 yards and three TDs while also rushing for 112 and another three TDs, leading the Roadrunners to a dominant 49-21 win.

Tulane hasn’t been the dominant force they were last season. They’ve had several games go down to the wire, including against some clearly lesser teams. But you know what? They keep winning them. The Green Wave are 10-1, currently ranked in the top-25, and are in great position to make a second-straight New Year’s Six bowl with Michael Pratt under center.

Harris vs Pratt is one of the best QB battles of the weekend, and the stakes are plenty high here. Oh and back to the point about SMU reaching the title game with a loss, the Mustangs didn’t play either UTSA or Tulane. If the Mustangs lose to Navy, they’ll be tied with the loser of this game without a head-to-head result to break the tie. How will the AAC determine who reaches the title game in that case? Computer rankings! It’ll be a process very similar to the BCS.

The UTSA-Tulane winner is guaranteed a spot, but if SMU loses to Navy, some wackiness comes into play. The entire AAC race is worth keeping up with.