AAC Power Rankings: ECU Pirates Undisputed No. 1

AAC Football Fever Power Rankings: Week 5

1. ECU Pirates (3-1, 0-0 AAC; LW: No. 1)—Seventy. It’s getting harder and harder not to fall in love with ECU, as it sits as the obvious new favorite to win the AAC this season. Scoring 70 points is an incredible feat in itself, but coming against a Power 5 opponent—one that was in the preseason Top 25, mind you—like North Carolina is incredulous. You have to give credit where it’s due, and the Pirates have earned this top spot. Next up: BYE

2. Memphis Tigers (2-1, 0-0; LW: No. 3)—Believe it or not, but we learned a lot about this Memphis team in its 36-17 win over Middle Tennessee. These aren’t your typical Tigers, who would have fallen flat on their face looking ahead to Ole Miss in recent years. If they can hang around with the SEC West contender, then look out—these guys will compete for the AAC title. Next up: at Ole Miss, Saturday, 7:30 p.m. ET.

3. Cincinnati Bearcats (2-0, 0-0; LW: No. 2)—It’s an unsettling 2-0 record for Cincy, which comes off a surprisingly close game against Miami (Oh.) in the Battle for the Victory Bell. The RedHawks, of course, haven’t found themselves in the win column since October 27 of 2012, and lost to FCS Eastern Kentucky in Week 2. Cincinnati only has a few days to figure things out before traveling to Columbus for a colossal showdown with the Buckeyes, where QB Gunner Kiel will have to continue his hot start for his team to have any chance. This has all the makings of a shootout—whether it’s one-sided or not has yet to be determined . Next up: at Ohio State, Saturday, 6 p.m. ET.

4. Temple Owls (2-1, 0-0; LW: No. 4)—Temple could have came out flat against Delaware State, but instead went all out in an impressive 59-0 blowout. It’s weird to say after being so uncompetitive last season, but there’s now an expectancy for the Owls to win some games and reach a bowl in December. Next up: at UConn, Saturday, 4 p.m. ET.

5. UCF Knights (1-2, 0-0; LW: No. 5)—Seeing Bethune-Cookman on the schedule was a nice breather for a team that had faced two straight Power 5 opponents, but there are still plenty of things for UCF to work on during the bye week. Next up: BYE

6. Houston Cougars (2-2, 0-0; LW: No. 6)—Coach Tony Levine may want to consider reevaluating his offensive philosophy and sticking with a major focus on the ground game if he wants to continue winning games moving forward. Next up: BYE

7. USF Bulls (2-2, 1-0; LW: No. 7)—It might be the ugliest two wins in recent history, but USF has already matched its win total from 2013. However, it might not have another chance to reach No. 3 until a trip to Tulsa in four weeks. Next up: at Wisconsin, Saturday, 12 p.m. ET.

8. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (1-2, 1-0; LW: No. 8)—Hopefully Tulsa was able to use the bye week to address some major issues on both offense and defense, because a loss to Texas State this weekend will all but seal its postseason fate. Next up: vs. Texas State, Saturday, 8 p.m. ET.

9. Tulane Green Wave (1-3, 0-1; LW: No. 9)—We’re a long ways from Tulsa’s days as a defensive juggernaut in Conference USA. (Well, that only lasted for a few weeks anyway.) Next up: at Rutgers, Saturday, 12 p.m. ET.

10. UConn Huskies (1-3, 0-1; LW: No. 11)—Chandler Whitmer was 0-for-1 at halftime and didn’t complete a pass until there was about five minutes remaining in the third quarter. UConn’s defense isn’t all that bad, but there are some catastrophic issues on the offense that just don’t seem salvageable at this point. Next up: vs. Temple, Saturday, 4 p.m. ET.

11. SMU Mustangs (0-3, 0-0; LW: No. 10)—There’s a certain kind of sadness that overcomes my fingertips when writing about SMU, but it’s mostly pity. The Mustangs rank last in most offensive and defensive categories, and are arguably one of the worst football teams in college football. Next up: vs. TCU, Saturday, 12 p.m. ET.

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