From Today's U...
Right around this time last year, the American Athletic Conference wasn’t held in high regard by very many college football fans. The AAC, which essentially became the Island of Misfit Toys that rose out of the remnants of the Big East after conference realignment.
Through Week 4 of the 2014 season, AAC teams had posted a collective 17-20 record. It was a painfully mediocre mark, especially for a conference that was looking to assert itself as the best of the Group of Five.
Fast forward a year, and you get a noticeable improvement by AAC teams, who have gone 24-18 though four weeks and boast a total of four teams (Memphis, Navy, Houston and Temple) that have already won at least three wins and this early point in the season. While you won’t find too many college football fans that are spreading the good word of the AAC’s new-found success, the conference’s progression is still worth noting.
Currently, Memphis leads the pack with a 4-0 record, while Navy, Houston and Temple have each posted a 3-0 record thus far. Though none of those four teams have been ranked yet, they all received votes in this week’s AP and Coaches polls, which could mean that one of them could potentially crack the Top 25 in the not-too-distant future.
The Owls have had arguably the best start out of any team so far, due in large part to their season-opening triumph over Penn State. Thanks its imposing defense, which could be one of the best units in the country, Temple made mince meat of the Nittany Lions’ porous offensive line to earn its first victory against Penn State since Franklin D. Roosevelt was our commander-in-chief.
The Tigers have been quite impressive as well, defeating Cincinnati, Bowling Green and FCS foes Missouri State and Kansas. The Tigers look like they could be the early favorites heading into conference play, and head coach Justin Fuente’s stock only continues to soar with each passing week.
Speaking of young head coaches, Tom Herman has Houston looking solid in the early stages of the season. The Cougars have already defeated Louisville and their new head coach’s offensive acumen appears to already be paying sizable dividends.
Finally, we move to the AAC’s newest member, the Navy Midshipmen.
Navy hasn’t missed a beat so far in its new conference, defeating both East Carolina and UConn to jump out to a 2-0 start in AAC play. Keenan Reynolds continues to thrive under center, and you can bet that opposing defensive coordinators aren’t looking forward to facing him and the Midshipmen offense.
These four teams are leading the pack for the AAC so far, and the future does indeed look bright for the conference. Excellent young coaches just as Fuente, Herman, SMU’s Chad Morris, and Tulsa’s Philip Montgomery all have their programs headed in the right direction. Even if they leave for greener pastures in the near future, they’ll leave behind programs that are now built to succeed.
The AAC is a long ways away from garnering a significant amount of national respect, but starts like the one the conference has had in 2015 certainly aren’t hurting its case.
Right around this time last year, the American Athletic Conference wasn’t held in high regard by very many college football fans. The AAC, which essentially became the Island of Misfit Toys that rose out of the remnants of the Big East after conference realignment.
Through Week 4 of the 2014 season, AAC teams had posted a collective 17-20 record. It was a painfully mediocre mark, especially for a conference that was looking to assert itself as the best of the Group of Five.
Fast forward a year, and you get a noticeable improvement by AAC teams, who have gone 24-18 though four weeks and boast a total of four teams (Memphis, Navy, Houston and Temple) that have already won at least three wins and this early point in the season. While you won’t find too many college football fans that are spreading the good word of the AAC’s new-found success, the conference’s progression is still worth noting.
Currently, Memphis leads the pack with a 4-0 record, while Navy, Houston and Temple have each posted a 3-0 record thus far. Though none of those four teams have been ranked yet, they all received votes in this week’s AP and Coaches polls, which could mean that one of them could potentially crack the Top 25 in the not-too-distant future.
The Owls have had arguably the best start out of any team so far, due in large part to their season-opening triumph over Penn State. Thanks its imposing defense, which could be one of the best units in the country, Temple made mince meat of the Nittany Lions’ porous offensive line to earn its first victory against Penn State since Franklin D. Roosevelt was our commander-in-chief.
The Tigers have been quite impressive as well, defeating Cincinnati, Bowling Green and FCS foes Missouri State and Kansas. The Tigers look like they could be the early favorites heading into conference play, and head coach Justin Fuente’s stock only continues to soar with each passing week.
Speaking of young head coaches, Tom Herman has Houston looking solid in the early stages of the season. The Cougars have already defeated Louisville and their new head coach’s offensive acumen appears to already be paying sizable dividends.
Finally, we move to the AAC’s newest member, the Navy Midshipmen.
Navy hasn’t missed a beat so far in its new conference, defeating both East Carolina and UConn to jump out to a 2-0 start in AAC play. Keenan Reynolds continues to thrive under center, and you can bet that opposing defensive coordinators aren’t looking forward to facing him and the Midshipmen offense.
These four teams are leading the pack for the AAC so far, and the future does indeed look bright for the conference. Excellent young coaches just as Fuente, Herman, SMU’s Chad Morris, and Tulsa’s Philip Montgomery all have their programs headed in the right direction. Even if they leave for greener pastures in the near future, they’ll leave behind programs that are now built to succeed.
The AAC is a long ways away from garnering a significant amount of national respect, but starts like the one the conference has had in 2015 certainly aren’t hurting its case.
