Junior quarterback D’Eriq King needs to get back into his usual form or the Cougars could stumble through the rest of the season. | Courtesy of UH Athletics

After a stunning win by SMU in Dallas and a dominant upset by Tulane over USF, both teams sit just one game behind Houston and are breathing down its neck.

Houston needs to win the rest of its games or the team could lose the West and a berth into the American Athletic Conference Championship Game.

To avoid missing the AACCG, Houston simply has to win out, but it has a tougher task than the other two teams.

Houston has Temple, Tulane and Memphis left on its regular season schedule, and it is looking like none of those games will be cakewalks.

Temple nearly defeated No. 12 UCF and has just one conference loss this season. Tulane has been up and down in the conference but has a pair of big wins over Memphis and USF.

Memphis has been a power in the AAC for years. Although it is struggling this season, it has shown flashes of its former self in games against UCF and Navy.

SMU has a very light schedule with the two worst AAC teams, UConn and Tulsa, as well as Memphis. UConn is one of the worst teams in all of FBS, while Tulsa has struggled to beat everyone not named UConn.

Tulane has a bit of a tougher schedule with games against Houston and Navy, but its ECU game is of a similar or lower level as Tulsa.

SMU has the tiebreaker over both Tulane and Houston, so if it wins out and UH loses another game, the Dallas squad will go to the conference championship game, no matter what Tulane does.

The Nov. 15 game against the Green Wave is an essential win for the Cougars. A Houston win would mean Tulane would not have a head-to-head win against either of the other two contenders, while a loss would take all control of the West out of UH’s hands.

A loss in that game, or any game for that matter, would put all control in the Mustangs’ hands, and the Cougars would need to pray for someone to steal a win from the Dallas team.

SMU has hit its stride and could very well win out, so Houston has no room for error or its players will likely be watching the AACCG from their couch.

sports@thedailycougar.com

—
“Houston needs to win out or West will be in jeopardy” was originally posted on The Daily Cougar