The upswing of the AAC continued this week when the East Carolina Pirates dropped 70 points on a #24 University of North Carolina squad. Even the Temple Owls had a 59-0 game... albeit one against a school called Delaware State. Let's see where everyone ranks.

The top half of the conference saw little movement, as we saw some winning this week. The bottom half? Still a lot of question marks.

11. SMU Mustangs - LW #11, 0-3 Record, L to #6 TEXAS A&M 

SMU notched another major loss with with a 58-6 loss at home when they faced the #6 Aggies squad. The program is in disarray, and they have to be close to just calling it a rebuilding year and moving on.

10. UConn Huskies - LW #8, 1-3 Record, L to U. SOUTH FLORIDA 

Tulane didn't exactly put up a perfect effort against Duke, but UConn took a much harder hit in a rough, rain-soaked Thursday night loss to a struggling USF Bulls team. UConn does not look good right now, and virtually no aspect of their game is clicking at the moment.

9. Tulane Green Wave - LW #9, 1-3 Record, L to DUKE 

Duke is a good football team. They won their division last year and took Johnny Football to the wire. It doesn't look like it, but the Green Wave was not far off from this being a competitive matchup, but a disastrous second half let the game get away. Tulane will need to rebound this week with a big opportunity to upset a Big Ten opponent in the Rutgers Scarlet Knight. Don't forget we did it in 2010 at their Homecoming. Game on.

8. Tulsa Golden Hurricane - LW #10, 1-2, No Action 

7. South Florida Bulls - LW #7, 2-2 Record, W over UCONN 

USF got their first conference win against UConn, but they didn't exactly do it in style. They're on the upswing right now though.

6. Temple Owls - LW #6, 2-1 Record, W over DELAWARE STATE 

5. Houston Cougars - LW #5, 2-2 Record, W over UNLV 

Hey, Houston showed a sign of life with a 47-14 win over the UNLV Rebels. They needed a rebound game, and that was it. That said, that won't do anything to jump them over a red hot Memphis Tigers squad.

4. Memphis Tigers - LW #4, 2-1 Record, W over MIDDLE TENNESSEE STATE 

What? The Memphis Tigers are showing up in football. Yes, it's sort of real. They took a ranked UCLA to the wire on the road. Then they come home, put 46,000 people in the Liberty Bowl, and take down an in-state rival by 19 points. This is an historic season for Memphis, and they will try to keep the good times rolling.

3. UCF Knights - LW #3, 1-2 Record, W over BETHUNE COOKMAN 

Memphis is playing great, but this is where the upper echelon of the conference starts. UCF was the last AAC team to get a win this year. Fun fact.

2. Cincinnati Bearcats - LW #2, 2-0 Record, W over MIAMI (OH) 

Cinci notched its second straight win, but it wasn't pretty, as they escaped by only one score over a weaker Redhawks team. They will get a chance to make a statement when they face in-state rival Ohio State this weekend.

1. East Carolina Pirates - LW #1, 3-1 Record, W over #24 UNC 

East Carolina just laid 70 on a solid ACC team. Shane Carden is the real McCoy, and this ECU team looks hungry. Cinci is going to need to fire it up to seriously challenge the Pirates for the conference crown, because East Carolina is the real deal. They are now ranked #23 in the country, as the first AAC team to earn a ranking this season.

The first week of the new look American Athletic Conference is in the books following a weekend of lopsided results (in addition to Tulane and Tulsa contributing the first overtime and double overtime game of this NCAA season).

Let's get the Power Rankings rolling for the American Conference. Feel free to weigh in by tweeting @fearthewaveblog or in the comments.

11. UConn Huskies (0-1): L to BYU 

While it's tough to tease the bottom out too much at this point, UConn put forth a pretty weak performance in their season opener against the BYU Cougars. In a home matchup, they fell 35-10 to a BYU team that was suffering some serious personnel issues between injuries and team-issued suspensions. Nevertheless, BYU ran all over the Huskies while average 5.5 yards per carry and producing over 200 yards rushing to UConn's 71.

10. Tulane Green Wave (0-1): L to TULSA (AAC) 

Tulane is probably the new team in the AAC with the most to prove coming in this year, and the Green Wave nearly made an incredible statement in a Thursday night thriller against the Tulsa Golden Hurricane. Freshman gunslinger QB? Check, Tanner Lee. Newcomer RB becoming the sixth RB in Tulane history to rush for over 200 yards? Sherman Badie was on it. Double overtime at an away field to start the season? That too. The only thing missing was the ability to close out a resurgent Tulsa team, either by producing more offensively in the second half or better coverage of the deep ball by the Tulane secondary. Sadly, it slipped away, and Tulane will have to make the most of these close games with an extremely tough schedule this year.

9. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (1-0): W against TULANE (AAC) 

Picked to finished last by the AAC Media Poll, Tulsa caught fire in the second half, led by QB Evans in his second season at the helm. A spirited performance helped the team notch their first home win and move past Tulane.

8. USF Bulls (1-0): W against W. CAROLINA 

USF barely escaped a huge upset by the Western Carolina Catamounts in a thin 36-31 victory at home. The Bulls looked rougher than expected, though true freshman RB Marlon Mack salvaged a bad game with 200+ yards against the fledgling FCS team. USF will have to show more to survive the conference schedule looking forward.

7. SMU Mustangs (0-1): L to BAYLOR

Tough to judge the Mustangs too harshly for scheduling such a tough game to start the season, but a 45-0 shutout against a talented Baylor team made it look like the Mustangs are not ready to set the world on fire this year or do some damage to serious opponents.

6. Memphis Tigers (1-0): W against AUSTIN PEAY

On one hand, Memphis smoked their first opponent 63-0. On the flip side, that opponent was Austin Peay.

5. Temple Owls (1-0): W against VANDERBILT 

Everyone wanted to talk about the "Anchor Down" on the back of the Vanderbilt Commodores jerseys. The Temple Owls didn't feel like talking and smoked this SEC opponent 37-7. The AAC is 1-0 against the SEC so far this season...

4. Houston Cougars (0-1): L to UT-SAN ANTONIO 

Houston Cougars got a taste of one of the more dangerous teams you probably haven't heard of yet unless you're a Green Wave fan. UTSA was a thorn in our side last year when Larry Coker (yeah, that one; the guy with the national titles from "The U" days) led his team to a nasty comeback against Tulane in the midst of our run. That was a close game. This one with Houston wasn't. The Roadrunners jacked Houston up with a 27-7 win on the road to show they are still mad about not getting a bowl bid.

3. UCF Knights (0-1): L to PENN STATE 

A strong UCF team fell by a field goal to a strong Penn State team in a wacky gimmick game played in Dublin, Ireland. Whatcha gonna do. UCF will look to rebound and establish itself as a contender for the conference, once again.

2. East Carolina (1-0): W against N. CAROLINA CENTRAL 

Quarterback Shane Carden and his squad laid out an undermatched opponent to start their season. Next three opponents? Away at South Carolina. Home against Virginia Tech. Away at UNC. We're going to know pretty quickly here how serious ECU is this season.

1. Cincinnati Bearcats (0-0): N/A 

Conference USA is beginning to see the contenders and pretenders divide as we move into the late part of the season.

For reference, here is our last set of Power Rankings. Short Story: Rice and Tulane are currently surging, while Marshall and Tulsa saw their stock fall. ECU and Marshall are now tied in the East division heading into the conference race.
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14. Southern Mississippi (0-7 Record // 0-3 in Conference // L to UNT) [14th] 
Notes: USM's 2013 campaign continues to sink deeper and deeper. Last week, they were blown out by an angry East Carolina program, and they followed this week with a stomping at the hands of UNT. The team's only hope to avoid a winless year may be Nov. 16th's home matchup with Florida Atlantic.

13. UTEP (1-6 Record // 0-4 in Conference // L to Rice) [12th]

12. Florida International (1-6 Record // 1-2 in Conference // L to LT) [13th]

11. UAB (2-5 Record // 1-2 in Conference // L to UT-SA) [10th] 
Notes: UAB has been one of those teams that I've been curious about. However, after trailing at halftime 38-10 to UT San Antonio, it became overwhelmingly clear that UAB is headed for a hopeless 2013 season.

10. Florida Atlantic (2-6 Record // 1-4 in Conference // L to Auburn) [12th] 
Notes: Florida Atlantic had the "honor" of playing one of those late season cupcake non-conference games beloved by the SEC. Auburn handed FAU a 45-10 beatdown, not unexpectedly. FAU will look to refocus for an in-conference home game against Tulane.

9. Tulsa (2-5 Record // 1-2 in Conference // L to Tulane) [6th]
Notes: Tulsa had never lost to Tulane in the history of Conference USA. In fact, the last Green Wave victory over the Golden Hurricanes was in 1968. Richard Nixon defeated Humphrey in the Presidential election that fall. It's been a while. Tulsa is now unable to defend its conference championship with a 1-2 record.

8. Louisiana Tech (3-5 Record // 2-2 in Conference // W @ FIU) [7th]

7. UT San Antonio (3-5 Record // 2-2 in Conference // W against UAB) [9th]
Notes: Nothing special to say about San Antonio's Roadrunners. They picked up a big win over a bad UAB team, but they have dropped games to both Marshall and Rice pretty heavily. UTSA doesn't have the strength or the record to contend this year.

6. Middle Tennessee State (4-4 Record // 2-2 in Conference // W against Marshall) [8th] 

5. Marshall (4-3 Record // 2-1 in Conference // L @ MTSU) [1st] 
Notes: Marshall took a damning road loss against Middle Tennessee State, a team that has struggled with consistency throughout 2013. The damage is substantial, as they forfeited their one game lead in the Conference USA East division. East Carolina will have an equal change to duke it out for a trip to the conference championship.

4. North Texas (5-3 Record // 3-1 in Conference // W @ Southern Miss) [5th] 
Notes: UNT took care of business by smoking a terrible Southern Miss team. That said, their 3-1 record in conference leaves the Mean Green on the outside looking in. In the West division, both Tulane and Rice hold 4-0 records at this point without many opportunities to falter ahead.

3. East Carolina (5-2 Record // 3-1 in Conference // Bye) [4th] 

2. Tulane (6-2 Record // 4-0 in Conference // W against Tulsa) [2nd] 
Notes: Objectively the strongest the program has been since 2002. Getting the Tulsa monkey off of the Green Wave's back (wave?) is a huge step in the right direction. That said, the offense is still shaky until the Nick Montana injury is fully resolved. Luckily, Devin Powell continues to put in his best effort, and the team is 2-0 without Montana under center.

1. Rice (6-2 Record // 4-0 in Conference // W against UTEP [3rd] 
Notes: Rice's season has equaled Tulane's thus far. The deciding factor in this week's ranking? Rice throttled UTEP 45-7, playing lockdown defense and firing on all cylinders on offense. At this stage of the season, the West division is a two horse race, and all signs point to the regular season finale between Rice and Tulane as a can't miss game.

Thoughts on the Week 10 Power Rankings? Sound off on Twitter @fearthewaveblog.

Here are your Conference USA Power Rankings going into Week 8 of the college football season.

For reference, here is last week's rankings. I have listed each team's record, conference record, result, and last week's position in brackets.

Sound off in the comments or to @fearthewaveblog on Twitter.
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Week 8 Power Rankings: 

14. Southern Mississippi (0-6 Record // 0-1 in Conference // Bye) [14th]

13. Florida International (1-5 Record // 1-1 in Conference // L to UAB) [13th]

Notes: Florida International didn't show a sign of life this week against UAB, another Conference USA bottom feeder this year. That dropped their in-conference record to 1-1, and they likely will continue to fall going into the tougher conference matchups.

12. UTEP (1-5 Record // 0-3 in Conference // L to Tulsa) [12th]

11. Florida Atlantic (2-5 Record // 1-4 in Conference // L against Marshall) [10th]

Notes: You have to hand it to Florida Atlantic. They have a drubbing next week when they head to #24 Auburn, and the early season has not been good to FAU. That said, they almost slipped by a much stronger Marshall team in a 24-23 loss this weekend. FAU is ahead of the bottom of the pack, but not by much. They have already dug themselves into a deep conference hole, and the squad is effectively eliminated from contending this year.

10. UAB (2-4 Record // 1-1 in Conference // W against FIU) [11th]

Notes: UAB picked up a Conference USA victory against Florida International, but that won't do enough to move the Dragons in front of the the middle of the conference pack. They will continue to lag toward the bottom unless the team picks up the pace in the late season.

9. UT San Antonio (2-4 Record // 1-1 in Conference // L against Rice) [9th] 

8. Middle Tennessee State (3-4 Record // 1-2 in Conference // L against UNT) [5th]

Notes: In a week without a lot of movement, MTSU is the biggest stock dropping. They were slammed last weekend on a road trip to Denton, TX. A UNT team reeling from a Tulane loss took care of business. MTSU has not competed against any solid competition and continues to falter against the middle and bottom of the conference.

7.  Louisiana Tech (2-4 Record // 1-1 in Conference // W against UTEP) [8th]

6. Tulsa (2-4 Record // 1-1 in Conference // Bye) [7th]

5. North Texas (3-3 Record // 1-1 in Conference // W against MTSU) [6th]

Notes: UNT came back from a loss to Tulane in the fourth quarter by taking care of business against MTSU. The bad news is that Rice and Tulane are both undefeated in conference, so the Mean Green cannot afford another loss.

4. East Carolina (4-2 Record // 1-1 in Conference // L against Tulane) [2nd] 

Notes: ECU has churned out conference championship-level competition over the years, but a triple overtime thriller pushed the Pirates a game back in their division. Marshall is the key barrier for ECU to return to the conference title game. Fortunately, they will have a matchup with bottom dweller USM next week to recover from their New Orleans trip.

3. Rice (4-2 Record // 3-0 in Conference // W against UTSA) [3rd] 

Notes: Rice is 3-0 and tied for the division of Tulane. Comparing their schedules, the final game of the regular season could very well determine the division champion when the Owls face off against the Green Wave. That game will be in Houston this season.

2. Tulane (5-2 Record // 3-0 in Conference // W against ECU) [4th]

Notes: Coach Curtis Johnson picked up his first signature win on Saturday when Tulane held on to win an enormous game in three overtimes. The game was the longest in Green Wave history, and it was highlighted by Lou Groza award-winner Cairo Santos' five field goals (including the game winner). Tulane heads into the bye week in the driver's seat for their division.

1. Marshall (4-2 Record // 2-0 in Conference // W against FAU) [1st] 

Notes: The Thundering Herd retain their top spot after sneaking past a much weaker Florida Atlantic team. That said, they have taken care of business so far in the conference. More importantly, they have the strongest-looking game on the schedule, having taken ranked Virginia Tech to three overtimes before ultimately losing. Marshall has ability, and, thanks to Tulane, a one game lead over perennial power ECU.