The top 6 teams in the AAC based on results so far this season plus some knowledge of their past history, returning players, coaching, plus some intuition in my mind are: 1. Memphis 2. Houston 3. Navy 4. Temple 5. Cincy 6. ECU.
The following 6 are an enigma. They are either too new to rate or in the case of UCF a total unsolved mystery: 7. Tulsa 8. UCONN 9. USF 10. SMU 11. Tulane 12. UCF.
I think Memphis, Houston or Navy will represent the west in the championship game. Memphis and Houston are nos 1 & 2 in scoring and they both are undefeated and they are nos 1 & 2 in margin of victory also. Navy is also undefeated and their offense is awful hard to stop, plus they play really good defense. Navy stands number 3 in margin of victory. Navy has wins over ECU and UCONN and is atop the AAC at 2-0 currently. Memphis has a win over Cincy and Houston has a road win over Louisville.
In the east, Temple beat Penn State and Cincy, but slipped a little against UMass. ECU lost a tough one to Florida and also to Navy, but then they turn around and beat VaTech. Cincy can score but their defense has been scored on a lot. But those Ohio kids are tough and they are angry now. They will be dangerous the rest of the season I think.
Picking who represents the east in the Championship game is a little trickier. Right now the three front runners would be Temple, Cincy and ECU, but a lot of football is yet to be played. I'll just go out on a limb and pick the Bulls to win the east because their offense finally makes it's debut and no Bulls fan is disappointed !!!!! But the smart money will be on either Temple or Cincy.
The enigma 6 has some sleepers that could be real scary. First off, I will mention Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane beat FAU in a shootout (avenging a 2014 loss), traveled to New Mexico and beat the Lobos by 19 and then went to Norman and scored 38 on Oklahoma and only lost by 2 TDs (52-38). That is impressive. Tulsa is the third highest scoring team in the league, but their defense has been scored on a lot.
Before anyone starts writing off SMU (1-3), they need to take into account that the Ponies lost to two top 5 teams in Baylor (56-21) and TCU (56-37) and they dropped a 48-45 loss to James Madison. JMU is 4-0 and sitting on top of the Colonial Athletic Association. I don’t take these smaller conferences lightly nowadays with the 85 scholarship limit. The Bulls got a huge dose of McNeese State in 13 and barely escaped WCU in 14. SMU has a new coach and they are averaging 33.5 ppg. (6th in the conference). The Mustangs problems lie on the defensive side of the ball. Or maybe they don’t, maybe they just ran into 3 very high powered offenses. SMU's defense is last in the conference at this point, having given up 173 points in the first 4 games. 112 of those points came from Baylor and TCU, 48 more came from James Madison. I think teams from the CAA are gritty and they don't quit. You can kind of compare USF's 2013 loss to McNeese State to SMU's loss to JMU this year with the exception that SMU's offense at least showed up. You take a team from a small conference that has a good offensive scheme and they can bring trouble (especially early in the year) because teams are not familiar with them and maybe don't have enough film. They fly in under the radar and bop you in the snoot before you know what's happening.
Tulane hasn’t shown too well coming out of the gate this year. UCONN has the same problem they have every year, strong defense and underachieving offense. I won’t go into USF because I am biased. UCF looks to be falling apart at the seams, but they haven’t played a conference game yet. They could pop up and play spoiler this year, so don't take them lightly. The Knights defense is rated 5th against the score so far (USF is 6th against the score), but the Knights offense has been awol through the first 4 games (all losses).
The AAC is a pretty good offensive league this year, but the defenses are all lacking somewhat. Maybe it has to do with some powerful P5 opponents. But that should be offset by the cupcake 1AA opponents they all play. I hate these 1AA games because they prove nothing and you learn nothing about your team after a victory over them, because your team’s second string is usually better than the 1AA team’s starters. Unless your team is composed of Skip Holtz recruits.
I think things will begin to shake out as these conference games get played. USF will be a lab rat this coming Friday against Memphis.
GO BULLS !!!!!
The following 6 are an enigma. They are either too new to rate or in the case of UCF a total unsolved mystery: 7. Tulsa 8. UCONN 9. USF 10. SMU 11. Tulane 12. UCF.
I think Memphis, Houston or Navy will represent the west in the championship game. Memphis and Houston are nos 1 & 2 in scoring and they both are undefeated and they are nos 1 & 2 in margin of victory also. Navy is also undefeated and their offense is awful hard to stop, plus they play really good defense. Navy stands number 3 in margin of victory. Navy has wins over ECU and UCONN and is atop the AAC at 2-0 currently. Memphis has a win over Cincy and Houston has a road win over Louisville.
In the east, Temple beat Penn State and Cincy, but slipped a little against UMass. ECU lost a tough one to Florida and also to Navy, but then they turn around and beat VaTech. Cincy can score but their defense has been scored on a lot. But those Ohio kids are tough and they are angry now. They will be dangerous the rest of the season I think.
Picking who represents the east in the Championship game is a little trickier. Right now the three front runners would be Temple, Cincy and ECU, but a lot of football is yet to be played. I'll just go out on a limb and pick the Bulls to win the east because their offense finally makes it's debut and no Bulls fan is disappointed !!!!! But the smart money will be on either Temple or Cincy.
The enigma 6 has some sleepers that could be real scary. First off, I will mention Tulsa. The Golden Hurricane beat FAU in a shootout (avenging a 2014 loss), traveled to New Mexico and beat the Lobos by 19 and then went to Norman and scored 38 on Oklahoma and only lost by 2 TDs (52-38). That is impressive. Tulsa is the third highest scoring team in the league, but their defense has been scored on a lot.
Before anyone starts writing off SMU (1-3), they need to take into account that the Ponies lost to two top 5 teams in Baylor (56-21) and TCU (56-37) and they dropped a 48-45 loss to James Madison. JMU is 4-0 and sitting on top of the Colonial Athletic Association. I don’t take these smaller conferences lightly nowadays with the 85 scholarship limit. The Bulls got a huge dose of McNeese State in 13 and barely escaped WCU in 14. SMU has a new coach and they are averaging 33.5 ppg. (6th in the conference). The Mustangs problems lie on the defensive side of the ball. Or maybe they don’t, maybe they just ran into 3 very high powered offenses. SMU's defense is last in the conference at this point, having given up 173 points in the first 4 games. 112 of those points came from Baylor and TCU, 48 more came from James Madison. I think teams from the CAA are gritty and they don't quit. You can kind of compare USF's 2013 loss to McNeese State to SMU's loss to JMU this year with the exception that SMU's offense at least showed up. You take a team from a small conference that has a good offensive scheme and they can bring trouble (especially early in the year) because teams are not familiar with them and maybe don't have enough film. They fly in under the radar and bop you in the snoot before you know what's happening.
Tulane hasn’t shown too well coming out of the gate this year. UCONN has the same problem they have every year, strong defense and underachieving offense. I won’t go into USF because I am biased. UCF looks to be falling apart at the seams, but they haven’t played a conference game yet. They could pop up and play spoiler this year, so don't take them lightly. The Knights defense is rated 5th against the score so far (USF is 6th against the score), but the Knights offense has been awol through the first 4 games (all losses).
The AAC is a pretty good offensive league this year, but the defenses are all lacking somewhat. Maybe it has to do with some powerful P5 opponents. But that should be offset by the cupcake 1AA opponents they all play. I hate these 1AA games because they prove nothing and you learn nothing about your team after a victory over them, because your team’s second string is usually better than the 1AA team’s starters. Unless your team is composed of Skip Holtz recruits.
I think things will begin to shake out as these conference games get played. USF will be a lab rat this coming Friday against Memphis.
GO BULLS !!!!!
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