AAC Week 13 picks: SMU vs. East Carolina & 2 more

Unfortunately, COVID-19 has taken some of the best games off the AAC's Week 13 slate, including a chance to watch Cincinnati earn their keep at No. 7 in the College Football Playoff rankings. In the holiday spirit, let’s not be sad for the games we lost, but thankful for the games we can still watch.

Memphis vs. Navy

This week we celebrate Thanksgiving. Navy has not played a football game since Halloween. Memphis has been inconsistent, but at least they’ve played football games.

Even though the Midshipmen have been frisky this year, overcoming some deep deficits and an early season blowout to BYU, the rust from the long layover will be too much for Navy’s triple option attack to overcome against the high-flying Tigers that average 36.4 points and 517.9 yards per game, good enough to rank 10th nationally.

Pick: Memphis -13.5

UCF vs. South Florida

If you think Memphis is going to rack up some offense, UCF will have much, much more. The Knights rank second nationally in total offense, racking up more than 586 yards per game. While Heisman Trophy frontrunner Kyle Trask has stolen headlines as one of the nation’s most efficient passers, UCF QB Dillon Gabriel actually leads the nation in passing, throwing for more than 3,000 yards in just eight games. His touchdown to interception ratio is exceptional as well, reaching the end zone 26 times while only throwing three picks.

A week ago the Knights left it all out on the field, narrowly falling 36-33 to No. 7 Cincinnati. One might expect a let-down a week later, but USF does not have enough guns to keep up with Josh Heupel’s high-powered attack.

Pick: UCF -24.5

SMU vs. East Carolina

SMU’s offense has done an excellent job at putting points on the scoreboard in 2020 with two exceptions. They’ve scored at least 30 points in every game this season except when faced against the AAC’s top two scoring defenses: Cincinnati and Tulsa.

Lucky for the Mustangs, East Carolina’s defense has been porous. They ranked 10th in the conference in total defense and eighth in scoring defense, allowing more than 35 points per game. SMU quarterback Shane Buechele might have a little rust after missing a week due to a postponement against Houston, but expect the Mustangs to get back on track with a big win to end the scheduled portion of their season.

Pick: SMU -12

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