Cincinnati Bearcats Still the Best Team in The American

If you follow the AAC, I’m sure you have heard the conference slogan: “American Rising.” With performances like the one put on by Cincinnati quarterback Gunner Kiel, underdog wins like ECU’s at Virginia Tech, and close-but-no-cigar efforts like Memphis’ road challenge against UCLA, one could say the AAC truly is on the rise. The teams in this league have shown that they are fully capable of hanging with and beating the “big dogs,” without question.

With the meat of the league schedule still yet to arrive and the preseason favorite Cincinnati Bearcats only playing one game so far, there really isn’t a legitimate way to measure which team reins supreme, so far, in the AAC. Our editor, Tyler Waddell, updated his weekly AAC power rankings on Monday and placed ECU at the top. It’s tough to argue that choice considering the Pirates are 2-1, with a big road victory over the Hokies and a close road loss to SEC powerhouse South Carolina. His top five rounds out with Cincinnati, Memphis, Temple and UCF.

ECU and Shane Carden have obviously impressed, and I did pick the Pirates to finish second in the conference in my preseason predictions. They will definitely pose the biggest threat to Cincinnati fulfilling the preseason hype. ECU is looking for another win against a Power 5 conference opponent as they host the North Carolina Tar Heels this weekend.

Memphis and Temple have both been a surprise this season, after both posted 1-7 conference records in 2013, finishing 3-9 and 2-10 overall, respectively. Memphis shellacked Austin Peay 63-0 in Week 1 and came up a touchdown short to highly-touted UCLA in Week 2. Temple beat down Vanderbilt in Week 1, 37 -7, and lost to Navy by a touchdown in Week 2. The Owls have to love what they see in sophomore quarterback P.J. Walker, who looks to be a star on the rise, and their defense currently ranks 31st in points against. Both teams should get wins in week four as the Tigers host Middle Tennessee, and Temple welcomes Delaware State to Philadelphia.

Despite beginning the season 0-2, UCF should still factor into the AAC championship discussion this season. Those two losses were to Penn State in Ireland on a last second field goal and Missouri on the road. I think the Knights will rebound as they still have one of the most talented rosters in the conference and do not have to play Cincinnati this season.

All that being said, I believe Cincinnati remains the class of The American, despite only having a home win against Toledo on its resume. The Bearcats offense, and specifically Kiel, looked dominant (minus the third quarter when cramps became an issue) against the Rockets. All the fears of Kiel’s potential rustiness, lack of chemistry with his receivers and primetime jitters were swiftly put to rest when he efficiently threw six touchdowns to six different receivers in a standalone game on national television in his college debut, setting national and school records along the way. That performance also earned him AAC offensive player of the week honors.

It’s clear the Bearcats defense needs to make a few tweaks after giving up 563 yards and 34 points to Toledo, but I think that had more to do with them getting such a large early lead and spending so much time on the field with the offense scoring so quickly. I believe it’s a unit with a high ceiling. They have impact players at all three levels, and if the offense continues to be so explosive they will get a chance to play with a lead often which will theoretically allow them to play more aggressive and free. Where the Cincinnati D can really improve is up the middle against the run, as the Rockets were able to post a 6.2 yards per rush average.

The Bearcats will host their longtime rival Miami (OH) RedHawks this Saturday, a game in which they are currently favored to win by 28 points. This should be another chance for UC to rack up yards and points, and I would expect Tommy Tuberville to emphasize stopping the run and getting a much more consistent pass rush on defense this week.

We probably won’t truly know how good Cincinnati is until it makes the trip to Columbus to take on the Ohio State Buckeyes September 27, but it certainly hasn’t given anyone a reason to doubt its AAC supremacy thus far.