Washington State Football: 3 takeaways from win over Houston in Week 3

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HOUSTON, TEXAS – SEPTEMBER 13: Washington State Cougars fans cheer on their team against the Houston Cougars during the Advocare Texas Kickoff at NRG Stadium on September 13, 2019 in Houston, Texas. Washington State Cougars defeated Houston Cougars 31-24. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images) /

3. AAC loses chance for a Week 3 signature win

Although Memphis remains the standard bearer for the American after a Week 1 upset of the SEC’s Ole Miss, Houston was hoping to add to that number in representing the so-called “Power Six” league in 2019.

Other non-conference opportunities will continue to present themselves in games such as Central Florida-Stanford, Tulane-Army, and others. Friday night’s contest was a chance for Houston to take a shot as an upstart AAC program against a Power Five team after the Cougars failed in Norman, Okla. in Week 1, falling 49-31 to the Sooners.

Though the conference can still attempt to claim status as the best Group of Five’s best based on some other results (think of SMU beating North Texas, too) from early in the season, it’s still difficult to advocate for, say, an undefeated AAC team to qualify for the College Football Playoff when its top teams can’t knock off Top 25 programs.

Obviously one Week 3 loss in a virtual home game for Houston doesn’t determine the fate of the entire conference (or provide the verdict against Central Florida in a potentially undefeated regular season), chances like the one provided in Friday night are a big one for a league that is eager to claim its place among college football’s big boys.

Perhaps now, considering blowout losses by Boston College to Kansas and Syracuse to Maryland, the American can focus on claiming it’s just as good as the ACC minus Clemson.

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