Monday, August 8, 2016

College Football Preview: The American Athletic Conference (sort of)

I bring the American in at this point because I want to discuss two teams.

The numbers:

East W L West W
South Florida 11 1 Houston 12-0
Cincinnati 10 2 Navy 8-4
Connecticut 8 4 SMU 5-7
Temple 7 5 Tulsa 5-7
East Carolina 5 7 Memphis 4-8
UCF 2 10 Tulane 2-10




Conference Championship:
Houston defeats South Florida
Bowl Teams: 6 (Not including 5-7 team bids)
CFP: None
Big 6: Houston
CFP 2: None
Others: South Florida
Cincinnati
Connecticut
Temple
Navy
Most Underrated: Houston
Most Overrated: Memphis
Coaches on Hot Seat: East Carolina
UCF
Tulsa
Memphis
SMU

1. Houston - Here it is:  I think the Cougars beat OU in the season opener, beat Louisville and run through a tough conference, winning the conference title game against USF and finish the season 13-0. And I STILL think they get boxed out of the CFP. If coach Herman is smart (and I think he is) he'll hang on here until a big, big name comes knocking. Not Purdue or Washington State or someone like that. I mean USC or LSU or Auburn. IMO he can accomplish more at Houston than he can any tier-two team at a power 5 conference.  The only thing he cannot do at UH is get into the CFP, but he's not likely to be doing that at a less than blue-blood program anyway so......

2. South Florida: I think they beat every team on their schedule, except Florida State but I think they make that game close. They won't get enough credit for being as good as they are because the National media is underrating the entire conference.  The AAC is just as good, if not better, than the Big XII (currently X) and the ACC and South Florida is one of the main reasons why.

The rest: Cincinnati will be good, as will Navy UConn and Temple. And the middle tier teams could expand the bowl roster for the conference beyond 6 if they pull an upset. Yes, UCF, Tulane and Memphis will probably not be very good, but they're probably not any worse than the bottom of the ACC, and most of these teams could probably beat Kansas.

The media, with their conference affiliations, does it's level best to help the power 5 conferences maintain the status quo. This is good for business (money). In everything from recruiting ratings (player star ratings have been known to move up or down depending on the school with which they sign their ROI), stupid early season top 25 polls (we don't pay any attention to early polls here at The Public $$$) and coverage.

If you don't believe me, watch ESPN's attitude toward the B1G this year now that they've signed an agreement with Fox Sports.  ESPN will pimp the ACC & SEC, Fox Sports the PAC-12 and B1G, NBC rides Notre Dame and CBS only recognizes the SEC, barely admitting the other conferences exist. The Big XII (Now X) and other conferences will be left with table scraps.

It's a crime because I think two of the better teams in the Country might be playing football in what many consider to be a "minor" conference.

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