AAC Power Rankings: Co-Champions are No. 1, 2, and 3 Heading into Postseason

AAC Football Fever Power Rankings: Week 16

1. Memphis Tigers (9-3, 7-1; LW: No. 1)—It’s been one heck of a week for the Memphis football program. The Tigers won their share of the American Athletic Conference championship, are in the middle of signing coach Justin Fuente to a contract extension, and are going to the Miami Beach Bowl to play BYU. Oh, and they should be expecting a call from the Big 12 for potential expansion.

2. Cincinnati Bearcats (9-3, 7-1; LW: No. 2)—After starting the season 2-3, Cincinnati ended up winning seven straight to notch its fifth conference title in seven years. There were several blown coverages and miscommunications again within the secondary against Houston—which almost cost them the game—but no one should have to worry about too much of that happening against an anemic Virginia Tech offense in the Military Bowl.

3. UCF Knights (9-3, 7-1; LW: No. 4)—I’m going to give UCF credit for finding a way to win and joining the three-way tie for the AAC title, but man, that was just pathetic on ECU’s part. The Knights have a chance to win 10 games for the third straight season against North Carolina State in the St. Petersburg Bowl.[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BhHIvh2qwF8]

4. East Carolina Pirates (8-4, 5-3; LW: No. 3)—Once 6-1 and the No. 18 team in the AP Top 25 with a clear path to an Access bowl (now filled by Boise State), ECU has lost three of five and is 2-4 against teams with a .500 record or better. And, as you can see from the video above, the secondary has been a serious issue, which probably won’t get much better against SEC opponent Florida in the Birmingham Bowl.

5. Houston Cougars (7-5, 5-3; LW: No. 5)—Not many were expecting Houston to win in Cincinnati, anyway, and the near comeback was exciting to watch. It wasn’t good enough for athletic director Mack Rhoades, however, who will reportedly fire coach Tony Levine before the Cougars’ Armed Forces Bowl matchup with Pittsburgh.

6. Temple Owls (6-6, 4-4; LW: No. 6)—It’s pretty cheap that the AAC sold rights for a sixth bowl bid to the C-USA, but it is what it is, and Temple is on the outside looking in for the postseason. Although it’s upsetting for fans and the seniors on the roster, the Owls exceeded expectations this season and should be proud of the product.

7. USF Bulls (4-8, 3-5; LW: No. 7)—Last night, 247Sports reported that coach Willie Taggart has pulled the trigger on some major coaching changes by firing offensive coordinator Paul Wulff, defensive coordinator Chuck Bresnahan, and defensive backs coach Ron Cooper. USF finished No. 119 in scoring offense (17.2 points per game), No. 68 in scoring defense (27.0), and No. 106 in team passing efficiency defense (141.27).

8. Tulane Green Wave (3-9, 2-6; LW: No. 8)—Tulane ended its disappointing season with a 10-3 loss to Temple, marking the third straight game with one score or less (fourth overall) as it finished with the 124^th-ranked scoring offense (16.0 per game). There were some bright spots throughout the season—including a win over Houston—but if the Green Wave want to get back to a bowl game in 2015, they need some major changes to the offense this offseason.

9. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (2-10, 2-6; LW: No. 9)—Utah State coach Matt Wells and Auburn offensive coordinator Rhett Lashlee are the two likely candidates to replace Bill Blankenship, reports Tulsa World.

10. SMU Mustangs (1-11, 1-7; LW: No. 11)—OH MY GOD SMU WON A GAME. But seriously, we were handed a small snapshot of what life will be like with quarterback Matt Davis having free reign in a Chad Morris offense. I pretty much guaranteed a bowl berth in a recent article on CFBHuddle.com.

11. UConn Huskies (2-10, 1-7; LW: No. 10)—What a major step back for UConn, which had beaten UCF (!) just a few weeks ago. Bob Diaco needs to burn everything and start from scratch starting now. (Remember: SMU was thought to be the worst team in college football since the 2005 Temple Owls. It’s bad.)