College Football Preview: American Athletic Conference (AAC)

By Andrew Musur on August 24, 2015

The American Athletic Conference will be highly competitive this upcoming season, especially with the latest addition of Navy. Putting Navy in the conference gives the AAC 12 total teams, which means there will be a conference championship game between the east and west divisions.

Without further adieu, here is a look at the American Athletic Conference.

East Division

No. 1 Cincinnati 

2014 Record: 9-4 (7-1)

2015 Prediction: 10-3 (7-1)

The Skinny: There is no question that Cincinnati was unlucky last season as they were hit with injury after injury. Even with all the problems the Bearcats had, they still managed to finish with only one loss in AAC play. Hopefully with a healthier team this season Cincinnati will make some noise.

The Bearcats also have hands down the best quarterback in the conference in Gunner Kiel. Kiel was considered the best quarterback recruit in the nation coming out of high school and had originally made plans to attend Indiana University. Kiel then changed his mind to LSU and finally came to a decision to enroll at Notre Dame.

Kiel was slated at fourth on the depth chart and decided to switch it up yet again and stated his plans to transfer to Cincinnati. The junior is going to have a lot of expectations going into next season, but Kiel should have no problem silencing the critics. Cincinnati is going to be tough to beat next season.

No. 2 UCF

2014 Record: 9-4 (7-1)

2015 Prediction: 7-5 (5-3)

The Skinny: Central Florida returns one of the deepest offenses the Knights have seen in years. UCF is led by junior quarterback Justin Holman who was a serviceable replacement for former Knight and NFL quarterback, Blake Bortles.

Holman will have to be a little more consistent this season, but he will have plenty of offensive weapons surrounding him. Running back William Stanback will be back next season as he fought off injuries last year.

Stanback ran for 697 yards and 10 touchdowns in only 10 games. The best thing for Stanback is that the Knights return all but one of their starting offensive linemen. There is a lot to be excited about for Central Florida fans, but I just don’t think they have enough in the tank to take down Cincinnati in the East Division.

No. 3 Temple

2014 Record: 6-6 (4-4)

2015 Prediction: 7-5 (5-3)

The Skinny: This Temple team will be anchored by their defense. The Owls return 10 starters on the defensive side of the ball, but they are led by senior linebacker, Tyler Matakevich. Matakevich has recorded over 100 tackles in each of the last three seasons, something only six other players have done in the history of college football.

The Connecticut native will have two games on the national stage this year, as Temple takes on Penn State and Notre Dame during the non-conference portion of their schedule. The Owl’s defense is going to have to play a pivotal role if Temple hopes to make their first bowl game since 2011.

No. 4 East Caorlina

2014 Record: 8-5 (5-3)

2015 Prediction: 6-6 (5-3)

The Skinny: East Carolina took a big hit when they lost then offensive coordinator, Lincoln Riley, to Oklahoma. Riley was the orchestrator of the Pirate’s trademark air raid offense. But the losses on offense did not stop there, as East Carolina also lost AAC player of the year, quarterback Shane Carden.

Carden threw for 4,736 yards and 30 touchdowns and also added 6 touchdowns on the ground. Though Carden will leave a void at the quarterback position, East Carolina still has some offensive weapons. Sophomore Kurt Benkert will have to learn the ropes quickly, but he has plenty of talent around him to make his job a tad bit easier.

Returning receivers such as Isaiah Jones, Davon Grayson, Jimmy Williams, Trevon Brown and freshman sensation Deondre Farrier will need to step up their play if the Pirates hope to match their eight win total from a season ago.

No. 5 South Florida

2014 Record: 4-8 (3-5)

2015 Prediction: 4-8 (2-6)

The Skinny: The brightest spot on this year’s South Florida team is running back Marlon Mack. Mack was voted as the American Athletic Conference Rookie of the Year in 2014 and darted for over a thousand yards scoring nine touchdowns.

With a plethora of questions surrounding the quarterback situation at South Florida, Mack is going have to be that go-to offensive guy. Third and short and goal line situations are surely to be given to Mack. As only a sophomore, watch for Mack to have another impressive season individual wise, but not so much win wise.

South Florida has missed a bowl game for the last four years, and it looks like they may just come up short once again this season.

No. 6 Connecticut

2014 Record: 2-10 (1-7)

2014 Prediction: 2-10 (1-7)

The Skinny: It’s hard to believe that Connecticut participated in the Fiesta Bowl in 2011, as they have been one of the worst college football programs as of late. The Huskies were near the bottom of the barrel in offensive production last season squeezing out a miserable 15.5 points per game.

The offense is expected to pick up this year as quarterback and NC State transfer, Bryant Shirreffs, will be eligible to play. The sophomore is a highly talented dual-threat quarterback, who will have an enormous amount of responsibility this season. It will be hard for the Huskies to be worse than they were on offense last season as they ranked 123rd nationally.

West Division

No. 1 Navy

2014 Record: 8-5

2015 Prediction: 9-3 (6-2)

The Skinny: This is finally the year that Navy will be competing in a conference. The Midshipmen have spent over a century as an independent college football team, but everything will change this season. I really like this Navy team too as they have been one of the most dominate teams college football has seen.

The Midshipmen have been to 11 bowl games in the last 12 years. Senior quarterback Keenan Reynolds has been one special player during his time at Navy. Reynolds currently holds the record of most rushing touchdowns by a quarterback with 64 in his career.

The 5-foot-11 Reynolds has proven his ability to run the triple option to perfection and I expect big things out of him this season.

No. 2 Houston

2014 Record: 8-5 (5-3)

2015 Prediction: 9-3 (6-2)

The Skinny: There is still some uncertainty surrounding who will be lined up under center next season for the Cougars. My bet would be on junior Greg Ward Jr. Ward did not play significant minutes until the final eight games of last year’s season.

In those eight games Ward put up more than 2,000 yards and tossed 12 touchdowns. As big as Ward will be next season a great deal of the offensive responsibilities will fall onto returning running back Kenneth Farrow. Farrow was a thousand yard runner last season and will have to keep up that production if the Cougars hope to compete with Navy.

No. 3 Memphis

2014 Record: 10-3 (7-1)

2015 Prediction: 8-4 (6-2)

The Skinny: Memphis was one of the most surprising teams in all of college football last season. The Tigers won their last seven games of the season including a thriller in overtime at the Miami Beach Bowl against BYU. The impressive season gave Memphis a share of the AAC conference championship.

The Tigers are led by quarterback, Paxton Lynch. Lynch stands at a cool 6-foot-7, and has used his height to his advantage throwing for more than 3,000 yards last season. I don’t expect the Tigers to repeat their 10 win season this year, but I do think they will be highly competitive and will give teams like Houston and Navy big fits.

No. 4 Tulane

2014 Record: 3-9 (2-6)

2015 Prediction: 4-8 (2-6)

The Skinny: Tulane struggled mightily on offense last season. The Green Wave ranked a lowly 107th in total offense, something that will need be improved if Tulane hopes to surpass last season’s win total. Though there will be some problems surrounding the Tulane offense, the defense should be able to keep the Green Wave in most of their games this season.

Tulane has the talent on defense to make some noise, but they will need players like Darion Monro and Parry Nickerson to step up in the secondary. Tulane has its work cut out for them, but that does not mean a six-win season is impossible.

No. 5 SMU

2014 Record: 1-11 (1-7)

2015 Prediction: 3-9 (2-6)

The Skinny: The Mustangs are coming off one of the most dismal years in program history, and will have to fix several problems if they hope to make their first bowl game since 2012. SMU will rely heavily on junior quarterback, Matt Davis. Davis took over the starting job for the last six games of the regular season and helped give some life to an offense that scored 39 points in their first six games.

Davis will be a lot more useful this year as he will be the starting quarterback all season long. And let us not forget that Davis was a four star recruit ranked 119th nationally, who originally committed to play ball for Texas A&M, so we know the kid can play.

No. 6 Tulsa

2014 Record: 2-10 (2-6)

2015 Prediction: 2-10 (1-7)

The Skinny: Tulsa will have a little bit of a different look this season as former Baylor Offensive Coordinator, Philip Montgomery, will take over the reins atop the Tulsa program. Montgomery is hoping to have the same success with Tulsa’s offense as he did with Baylor’s.

But the problem with the Golden Hurricanes isn’t their offense, it’s their defense. Tulsa ranked 114th in total defense last season as they gave up more than 30 points in all but one game. The problem is Montgomery is an offensive orientated coach so any improvements on the defensive side of the ball are going to take time.

—–

Conference Championship Prediction: Navy Vs. Cincinnati

Conference Champion: Cincinnati

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