College football will find a reason to put just about anything on a trophy. A bell. An axe. A bucket.
The American has a nearly 100-pound bronze rack of ribs.
Which feels appropriate for a conference whose Week 6 game notes also include a linebacker barbecue, two sets of brothers in the same secondary and a team that has not played at home in 35 days.
But some of the best finds this week have very little to do with who wins Saturday. A Temple walk-on finally got the tackle he spent three seasons chasing.
A South Florida receiver is helping communities in Nigeria get access to water. Those stories belong in the conversation, too.
As always, credit to the sports information staffs preserving the history, tracking the numbers, and giving the rest of us something interesting to read between depth charts.
For the record, here’s what caught my eye in the American’s Week 6 packets.
1. UAB and Memphis are playing for some very heavy leftovers
The Battle for the Bones trophy is a nearly 100-pound bronze rack of ribs. This is a rivalry prize that probably requires a lifting plan.
Introduced in 2006, it was created at Birmingham’s historic Sloss Furnaces. Artist Heather Spencer Holmes used actual racks of ribs to help make the mold for the roughly two-foot-by-two-foot trophy.
The original rivalry celebration included a barbecue competition, with 16 teams in the inaugural event and dozens of competitors joining in later years. One side of the trophy records the football winners. The other recognizes the barbecue champions.
Saturday marks the 19th meeting between UAB and Memphis and the 11th with the Bones at stake. UAB leads the series 11-7 and reclaimed the trophy with a 31-24 victory last season.
Memphis enters at 4-1. UAB is 3-2. Both are 1-0 in the conference.
2. Temple’s linebackers are building chemistry over barbecue
Apparently, the best place to get to know Temple’s linebacker room is Jordan Montgomery’s apartment. Bring an appetite.
The Owls gather there for barbecues, with fifth-year linebacker Eric Stuart making sure everyone makes an appearance. Five minutes or five hours, the point is to show up and spend some time together without helmets on.
The game notes don’t identify who handles the grill, which feels like a significant omission. We have follow-up questions. But the tradition gives a position group built around communication and trust a chance to develop both away from the practice field.
Temple hosts UConn on Saturday. The linebackers have already been putting in some work around a different kind of line of scrimmage: whoever is standing closest to the food.
3. Mudia Reuben is shortening a much more important journey
South Florida receiver Mudia Reuben has helped build six water wells for communities in Nigeria.
Six.
The graduate receiver is a first-generation American whose family is from Nigeria. His work includes developing and funding the project, bringing water access closer to people who, according to USF’s notes, previously could face a daily trip of as much as four miles to collect it.
Now, for some, that journey is just steps.
Reuben became the first South Florida football player selected to the Allstate AFCA Good Works Team, one of 11 FBS players recognized this year.
The Bulls visit UTSA on Thursday with both teams at 4-1.
4. North Texas has a family plan in the defensive backfield
The Mean Green secondary has two sets of brothers. Apparently, one family reunion was not enough.
Safety BJ Allen Jr. and cornerback Jaden Allen arrived by different routes. BJ transferred from Texas in 2023 and is in his third season at North Texas. Jaden joined after spending the 2025 season at Arkansas.
Safety Cameren Jenkins and cornerback Caden Jenkins are twins. They came from Baylor, where both played in 2024 and 2025, joining a North Texas defense coordinated by former Baylor defensive coordinator Matt Powledge. While Caden suffered a season-ending injury in fall camp, Cameren is thriving with 13 tackles.
That is a lot of shared history in a position group that spends its Saturdays trying to prevent other people from making connections.
The Mean Green host Charlotte after a 45-44 overtime win at Tulsa. Running back Jahiem White supplied a career-high 219 rushing yards in that one.
The offense has plenty of firepower. The secondary has plenty of people who already know each other’s tells.
5. Navy finally gets to unpack
Saturday will be Navy’s first home game in 35 days.
The Midshipmen opened at home against Towson, then played at FAU, UAB, and Air Force. It was their first stretch of three consecutive true road games since 2010.
The return to Annapolis comes at a useful time. Navy is 1-3 after losing three straight one-score games, a run the program had not experienced since 2011.
Home has been considerably kinder. Under Brian Newberry, the Mids are 15-3 at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium. They have won seven straight there and are 11-1 at home since 2024.
Here is the particularly stubborn number: Navy has won 79 consecutive home games when leading after three quarters. The last exception was against Akron in October 1999.
Tulsa visits Saturday after its own one-point overtime loss to North Texas. Both teams could use a happier ending. Navy, at least, finally gets to try for one in its own house.
6. Tulane’s running backs joined a club with a 1931 founding member
When a game note sends you back to a Sewanee matchup from 1931, you should probably keep reading.
Tulane has had only three running backs average at least 15 yards per carry in a game with a minimum of 10 attempts: Jimmy Hodgins against Sewanee on November 21, 1931, Jaylin Lucas against South Alabama this September and Maurice Turner against Southern Miss two weeks later.
One member for nearly a century. Then two more in the same month.
Lucas rushed for 214 yards against South Alabama. Turner became the second player to reach 200 rushing yards at Yulman Stadium, following Lucas, and added a 74-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter against Southern Miss.
The Green Wave open conference play at Army on Saturday. The programs split their last two meetings: Army won the 2024 American Championship Game 35-14, and Tulane answered with a 24-17 win last season.
Army brings a runner coming off his own career day, with Samari Howard gaining 158 yards on 12 carries at Louisiana Tech. There should be plenty of reason to watch what happens on the ground at West Point.
More from around the conference
- UTSA: Thursday is the Roadrunners’ annual Lights Out game. They are 2-0 in the event, beating No. 25 Memphis 44-36 in 2024 for the program’s first ranked win, then defeating eventual conference champion Tulane 48-26 last season. South Florida is the next guest on that particular invitation list.
- UAB: Defensive back Jeremiah Jordan returns to Memphis, where he played last season, on his 23rd birthday. The Cordova High School graduate gets a hometown visit, a rivalry game, and a birthday all at once.
- Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane lead the American with 14 sacks through five games and have forced a turnover in every game this season. Navy’s home-field comfort will come with some pressure attached.
- Charlotte: The 49ers’ name honors 1949, when Bonnie Cone and her supporters helped save the school from closure. The institution originally used “Owls,” reflecting its night-school roots, before students voted for “49ers” in 1961.
- East Carolina and Rice: The Pirates return from a bye for their conference opener and Homecoming/Letterwinners Weekend. Rice leads the series 3-2 and arrives after a 16-14 loss to UTSA. ECU is coming off a 42-9 win over N.C. Central. The Owls would be happy to make themselves the less nostalgic part of the festivities.
- FAU: The Owls are on bye this week.
