American boasts trio in top 25 poll

The American Athletic Conference wants to be considered closer in quality to the Power Five conferences than it is to its fellow Group of Five leagues.

That claim is backed up by the results this season, including an American uprising in the AP Top 25.

Memphis and Temple jumped into the Associated Press college football poll for the first time this season, joining Houston to give the American three ranked teams for the first time in the history of the three-year-old league.

Memphis (6-0) had the big upset of the weekend against Mississippi. The Tigers’ 37-24 victory vaulted them into the rankings at No 18.

“It’s one of the biggest wins we’ve had. It may be the most important based on where we are now,” commissioner Mike Aresco said. Sunday. “UCF’s big win over Baylor [in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl] was really important because it gave us some instant credibility that year.”

Memphis has only been ranked two other times: For one week during the 2004 season the Tigers were 25th and in the final poll of last season they were 25th.

Temple (6-0) was ranked No. 22. The Owls are in the AP poll for the first time since the final 1979 rankings.

“I’m really proud of our players and it’s a tribute to them that people have noticed how they have played to this point,” Temple coach Matt Rhule said.