LED BY MEMPHIS, AAC RISING IN STATURE
Group of Five conference places three in top 25
For a league that was maligned as the leftovers and mismatched parts of realignment, the American Athletic Conference has experienced pretty significant highs in its 21⁄2 seasons of existence, including Central Florida’s Fiesta Bowl victory in the 2013 season and Connecticut’s national basketball title in 2014.
But Sunday was maybe the most gratifying yet for Commissioner Mike Aresco, as three teams from his conference landed in the USA TODAY Sports Amway Coaches Poll — Memphis at No. 17, Houston at No. 22 and Temple at No. 24.
“I’ve always been optimistic, and some people may have been skeptical, and that’s understandable,” Aresco told USA TODAY Sports. “But I always thought we had a really good group of coaches and a great group of administrators who would hire good coaches even if we lost some. They’re really building sustainable programs. This is not the Memphis of 10 or 20 years (ago). This isn’t the Temple of 10 or 20 years ago. They’re really trying hard to sustain it. We have big markets and brands people know and a TV deal that has given us exposure.”
Aresco, who was in Memphis to watch the Tigers’ 37-24 victory Saturday against then-No. 12 Mississippi, said it was “maybe our most significant win ever” because it will change the perception of the league for the second half of the season.
Memphis beat the team that beat Alabama, yet with games coming up against Navy (Nov. 7), at Houston (Nov. 14) and at Tem- ple (Nov. 21), the 6-0 Tigers are not even a lock to win their division, much less the conference title and the spot in a New Year’s Six bowl game that goes to the highest-ranked champion among the so-called Group of Five conferences.
At the same time, if Memphis were to run the table, it would potentially have multiple wins against top 25 teams and at least spark a conversation about consideration for the College Football Playoff.
“The UCF win in the Fiesta Bowl was important and helped establish immediate credibility, but this was maybe our most significant win ever based on where we are now,” Aresco said. “Because now we’ve vaulted more into the public and media perception, and I thought if our teams kept winning it would be just a matter of time. It’s gratifying.”
Since its formation out of the chaos of the old Big East and the losses of Louisville to the Atlantic Coast Conference and Rutgers to the Big Ten, the American has been trying to position itself as unique in the dynamic between the Power Five conferences and the rest of the Football Bowl Subdivision.
This year, the American is 1816 overall against FBS competition with a few more non-conference games still to play. But more notable is the fact that AAC teams are a combined 10-1 against the Mountain West, Conference USA, Mid-American and Sun Belt.
The league is 4-3 against the ACC, including Cincinnati’s win against Miami (Fla.), Houston’s win at Louisville and East Carolina beating Virginia Tech. (Two of the three losses belong to struggling Tulane.) Temple also scored a massive early victory against Penn State.
It would appear the AAC, at least for the time being, has separated itself from the other Group of Five conferences.
“I’ve never wanted to make it about the Group of Five,” Aresco said.
“Our sights have been set on trying to be in the conversation with the other five, and this year we’ve got seven wins against them and we’ve beaten a ranked team and a couple teams that might be ranked by the end of the season, so we’ve done that part of it.
“It’s also important for us to win against the Group of Five, because we’re competing against them for that New Year’s Day slot. It’s all come together for us.”