AAC Power Rankings: ECU, Memphis Far Above Competition

We’re going to switch things up for our weekly American Athletic Conference rankings. Instead of me—Tyler Waddell—trying to be the rankings overlord, I’ve changed it to where our entire (well, most) staff has a say.

Twelve members of our 14-man staff provided their rankings on Sunday afternoon after watching a relatively quiet, yet meaningful weekend for the AAC.

During a day where all attention sat on what was formerly known as the juggernauts of college football—five teams in the Top 8 were defeated, shaking up the College Football Playoff picture—The American featured a few under-the-radar games that could have major implications on the conference’s future championship outlook.

On Thursday night, Central Florida held off Houston in a defensive battle that was capped off with a game-ending touchback in the end zone. Though the Knights struggled through their first two games of the season, they are now in prime position to reel off seven more wins before traveling to East Carolina on December 4 for what could end up deciding the AAC title.

But on the other hand, Memphis looked like a borderline Top 25 team itself after bouncing back from a brutal loss to Ole Miss by manhandling a Cincinnati team that was the preseason favorite to win the conference. The Tigers, of course, avoid playing both ECU and UCF this year and might be eyeing a down-the-road matchup with Temple that might also factor into how race for the AAC plays out.

Alas, the Pirates still retain their top ranking after a surprisingly competitive bout with bottom feeder SMU, and might have to divert their attention to just getting past South Florida this weekend before crowning themselves—it’s not like South Carolina, Virginia Tech, and North Carolina are doing them any favors, either.

*A point system was assigned, giving 11 points for a team with a No. 1 vote, 10 points for a No. 2 vote, 9 points for a No. 3 vote, and so on.