The 2020 AAC Preview with the top players, biggest games, most important transfers, and thoughts on each team.
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5. AAC 2020 Preview
Don’t start worrying about the College Football Playoff – that will be what it’s going to be.
Of course, with the Big Ten and Pac-12 out of the picture, this is the perfect time for a Group of Five team to finally break through the ceiling, but the same unspoken rules are still likely going to apply.
Fair or not, it still will likely take nothing short of an undefeated championship season to get into the club – and it would help if there’s a multi-loss champ among the Power 5 programs.
But again, don’t use this of all seasons to obsess about that. This could be the year when the national spotlight shines on the conference for more than just one big Saturday night game.
With UConn taking off for life as an independent – it’s postponing football until 2021 – this now becomes a tight 11-team league with a season that should see a whole slew of twists and turns on the way to coming up with the top two.
Tulsa beat UCF last year and almost pulled off wins over Memphis and SMU. This year’s version is better, so if that’s the possible weakest team, look out.
The stars are still the stars. UCF and Memphis are going to be fantastic, Cincinnati has top 25 upside no matter who was going to play this year, and it’s possible that Houston really was on to something last season when it used the campaign as one big practice for this year.
Navy is still fantastic, Temple is going to be a problem for the top teams, the SMU offense isn’t taking any sort of a step back, and Tulane is solid across the board.
East Carolina has a fun, dangerous offense, and USF has a whole lot of talent in place for new head man Jeff Scott.
So yeah, if a team can get through all of that unbeaten and win the American Athletic Conference title, the CFP types really will take notice … maybe.
CFN AAC Preview
Teams: Surprise, Disappointments | Top Games
Players To Watch | One Thought On Each Team
– CFN Preview 2020: All 130 Team Previews
NEXT: AAC Teams That Will Surprise, Disappoint
4. AAC Surprise, Disappointment
AAC Team That Will Surprise
Navy Midshipmen
There’s no real surprise when you go 11-2 the year before, but in the race to be in the top two, it helps to miss the likely two best teams in the conference.
No UCF, no Cincinnati. Boom.
Navy is good enough to at least ball with either one of them, but not having to play with those two is a huge plus, and getting Memphis at home helps.
2020 AAC Previews
Cincinnati | East Carolina | Houston | Memphis
Navy | SMU | Temple | Tulane | Tulsa | UCF | USF
CFN Preview 2020: All of the Team Previews
AAC Team That Will Disappoint
Houston Cougars
It’s a good team that’s got just enough individual star power to come up with a winning season – but that’s not why you called.
This is supposed to be a yearly contender for the AAC title, and there’s might be just enough missing on the defensive front seven to be the difference between taking getting into the top two and being an also-ran.
It’s more about the schedule, though, with a trip to Memphis to start the conference season, a date at Cincinnati in early November, and with games at Navy and BYU to be a problem. Throw in the home game against UCF, and this isn’t going to be easy.
NEXT: AAC Game of the Year, Hot Seat Coaches
3. AAC Games, Hot Seat Coaches
AAC Game Of The Year
Cincinnati at UCF, Nov. 21
The Bearcats finally got them. They beat the Knights 27-24, and it led the way to the trip to the American Athletic Conference title game. This year’s version should all but decide championship – if they don’t meet again to do it for real a few weeks later.
The two programs have only played five times, with UCF rolling at ease with three straight wins after losing 52-7 back in 2015.
5 Other Interesting AAC Games
This is all very, very fluid, but at the moment if the AAC slate stays relatively close to the original version …
1. UCF at Memphis, Oct. 16
2. Temple at UCF, Nov. 14
3. Memphis at Navy, Nov.14
4. UCF at Houston, Oct. 31
5. Memphis at SMU, Oct. 1
– 2020 CFN AAC 5-Year Program Rankings
5 AAC Coaches On The Hot Seat
It’s not necessarily about who’s about to get fired – especially this year.
Think of it this way – who has the most pressure to deal with, for whatever reason?
1. Dana Holgorsen, Houston
2. Philip Montgomery, Tulsa
3. Ryan Silverfield, Memphis
4. Mike Houston, East Carolina
5. Willie Fritz, Tulane
NEXT: AAC Key Players To Know
2. AAC Key Players To Know
5 AAC Transfers Who Will Matter
Five players who made the jump and now should be a big deal.
1. RB Jerome Ford, Cincinnati from Alabama
2. RB Chase Hayden, East Carolina from Arkansas
3. WR Mikel Jones, Tulane from Oklahoma
4. S JoVanni Stewart, Houston from West Virginia
5. DT Michael Williams, SMU from Stanford
5 Big-Time AAC Players Who Deserve A Bigger Spotlight
Five players who deserve to be known and loved on a national level.
1. RB Kenneth Gainwell, Soph. Memphis
2. LB Dwayne Boyles, Jr. USF
3. DT Ifeanyi Maijeh, Jr. Temple
4. LB Diego Fagot, Jr. Navy
5. S Grant Stuard, Sr. Houston
5 Best Pro Prospects From The AAC
1. S Richie Grant, Sr. UCF
2. DE Patrick Johnson, Sr. Tulane
3. WR Marquez Stevenson, Sr. Houston
4. WR Damonte Coxie, Sr. Memphis
5. DT Elijah Ponder, Sr. Cincinnati
– 2020 CFN Preseason All-AAC Team
5 Biggest AAC Shoes To Fill
1. LB Eriq Gilyard for Nate Evans, UCF
2. QB Perry Olsen for Malcolm Perry, Navy
3. WR for Antonio Gibson, Memphis
4. DE Arnold Ebiketie for Quincy Roche, Temple
5. OT Patrick Paul for Josh Jones, Houston
NEXT: One Honest Thought On Each AAC Team
1. One Honest Thought On Each AAC Team
Click on each team for the preview, 5 things to know
Cincinnati
UCF has more overall talent and gets the showdown in Orlando – for whatever that’s worth this year – but this is a good enough Bearcat team to pull off the win for the second year in a row. The O, though, needs the passing game to do more to help the cause.
East Carolina
This is going to be fun, even if the big wins aren’t always there. The defense is still suspect – the linebacking corps is good, though – with the passing game needing to carry the team in shootout.
Houston
It stinks that the Cougars used 2019 to prepare for 2020, and now 2020 is … this. There’s a whole lot of offensive firepower to be a whole lot better and to keep up with everyone. It all starts out in AAC play against Memphis on the road. Win that, and the narrative of the Dana Holgorsen era changes instantly.
Memphis
The offensive talent is still in place to keep it all going, and the defensive side might be a little better, too. There shouldn’t be too much of a transition period – if any – to Ryan Silverfield with the bar set at AAC Championship or bust. UCF might be a bit better, but the Tigers get the matchup at home.
Navy
Can the Midshipmen replace Malcolm Perry under center? It’s Navy, so the running game will put up the big numbers as always, but where’s the explosive element going to come from without Perry? Beyond all of that, will any team in the league be as ready for this insane season? Locking down and being in sync won’t be an issue.
SMU
Seriously, how many years of college football is QB Shane Buechele allowed to play? The Mustang passing game will be as effective as any in the country numbers-wise, but the defense is still going to be a giant problem.
Temple
Everyone will be interested in UCF and Cincinnati, but the Owls are going to be a problem for everyone. The offensive skill parts have to do more, but the lines are good and the defense is potentially terrific.
Tulane
It’s a sneaky-good team without a real weakness. The running game is going to be a killer behind a strong line, and there aren’t any issues to be all that worried about on the defensive side. Even the schedule works – at least a bit – with Navy, SMU, and Memphis at home.
Tulsa
There’s not enough on the defensive side to make the Golden Hurricane much of a player in the title chase, but that offense is going to screw up someone’s season in a big way. The skill players might not be the most talented in the conference, but the numbers will be there
UCF
No one in the AAC has the defensive talent – especially in the secondary – that UCF is throwing out there, and the skill parts are special. As disappointing as last year was, remember, all three losses were by a grand total of seven points – and they were all on the road. It’s going to take something special to get by this year’s version.
USF
Lost in the ugliness of the 4-8 2019 season was how high the expectations were coming into the season. Nothing offensively seemed to work right, but there’s just enough talent in place – especially defensively – for new head man Jeff Scott to get off to a decent start.
