College Football Conferences Ranked - CBS Sports

Mean Green 93-98 · August 16

5. AAC

The American Athletic Conference once again stands above its peers. The AAC is still the only Group of Five conference to produce a College Football Playoff team -- Cincinnati in 2021 -- and would have sent a team under the current format 12-team seven times since 2015. But it's not just the past elevating the AAC's ranking here. Preseason favorite Memphis has as good a shot as any other Group of Five team to make the playoff if it can live up to expectations. The Tigers return 17 starters from 2023's 10-win squad, including the program's most prolific passer in quarterback Seth Henigan. Even with SMU out of the fold, the AAC also returns three teams that managed at least nine wins a year ago.

https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/2024-college-football-conference-power-rankings-sec-starts-season-on-top-but-big-ten-isnt-far-behind/

Jonnyeagle · August 16

Good stuff! Makes me proud to be in the AAC.

Rudy · August 16

Much better than whoring yourself out to a P5 conference which is about to lose its status, all while you are paying THEM to beat you like a red headed stepchild.

RBP79 · August 16

I think there will be a few surprises in the AAC. Just too much turn over in personnel in most all conference schools to really judge anybody. Maybe by end of Sept you'll see who put together a good team.

Cooke County Kid · August 17

I am sure that there are some who will disagree but as far as conferences go this is the best one we have ever been in and we are fortunate to have gotten here. Now we just need to show WHY we are here!

Edited August 17 by Cooke County Kid

NT80 · August 17

2 hours ago, Cooke County Kid said:

I am sure that there are some who will disagree but as far as conferences go this is the best one we have ever been in and we are fortunate to have gotten here. Now we just need to show WHY we are here!

I like the AAC's addition of Army, to go with Navy. Now if we can just get Air Force too....

The MVC (Missouri Valley Conference) was a very good conference for NT in the 60's to mid 70's before the bigger football schools left. At one time in the early 70's the conference had North Texas, Louisville, Memphis, Cincinnati, Tulsa, NMSU, Wichita St., etc.

It's a very historic conference. Other former members include OU, OSU, Houston, Iowa, Iowa St., Kansas, K-State, Missouri, and Nebraska.

Edited August 17 by NT80

MeanGreenGlory · August 17

I agree that playing the service academies is great. If we can get the Air Force Academy to join the conference along with Colorado State, even better!

ChiefTenBeers2015 · August 17

So as weird as it is to write this, am I to presume that IF the Mean Green are to win the conference (I know, I know), is it fair to ASSume that the AAC would produce the highest ranked G5 CFP contender? Does it appear as if a win-and-in situation would be in front of UNT? Realistically, is there a situation whereby AAC champ plays a first round bye team?

Mean Green 93-98 · August 17

1 hour ago, ChiefTenBeers2015 said:

So as weird as it is to write this, am I to presume that IF the Mean Green are to win the conference (I know, I know), is it fair to ASSume that the AAC would produce the highest ranked G5 CFP contender? Does it appear as if a win-and-in situation would be in front of UNT? Realistically, is there a situation whereby AAC champ plays a first round bye team?

It would depend on total resume. We could lose 2 OOC games, 1 conference game, and still win the conference. I highly doubt a 3-loss AAC champion gets into the playoff ahead of a 2- or 3-loss SEC or B1G team.

NT80 · August 17

27 minutes ago, Mean Green 93-98 said:

It would depend on total resume. We could lose 2 OOC games, 1 conference game, and still win the conference. I highly doubt a 3-loss AAC champion gets into the playoff ahead of a 2- or 3-loss SEC or B1G team.

G5's are only guaranteed one spot. I believe the wording is the "highest ranked G5" in the Top 25.

NT could win the AAC and be 11-1 but not ranked. But if Boise is 10-2 in the MWC and ranked #25 they would get the spot. If no G5 is ranked in the Top 25 then the CFP committee chooses which G5 has the better resume.

Mean Green 93-98 · August 17

2 hours ago, NT80 said:

G5's are only guaranteed one spot. I believe the wording is the "highest ranked G5" in the Top 25.

NT could win the AAC and be 11-1 but not ranked. But if Boise is 10-2 in the MWC and ranked #25 they would get the spot. If no G5 is ranked in the Top 25 then the CFP committee chooses which G5 has the better resume.

The wording is "Guaranteed bids for the top five conference champions in the CFP rankings." So yes, it would have to include at least one G5. It could theoretically include more in those guaranteed bids, but unlikely. E.g., if the American and MWC conference champs were both to outrank the ACC conference champs.

My main point earlier was that winning the conference alone won't guarantee us a spot, even among the at-large bids.

Edited August 17 by Mean Green 93-98

keith · August 17

Isn’t the PAC-? still a conference this year? I don’t know how they are going to determine a champion, but if either Oregon State or Washington State have a good year and win the “conference,” would either one be ranked higher and get the nod as the 5th highest ranked conference champion? Or has the PAC-? been declared ineligible for the playoff?

Mean Green 93-98 · August 17

18 minutes ago, keith said:

Isn’t the PAC-? still a conference this year? I don’t know how they are going to determine a champion, but if either Oregon State or Washington State have a good year and win the “conference,” would either one be ranked higher and get the nod as the 5th highest ranked conference champion? Or has the PAC-? been declared ineligible for the playoff?

They'll need to win an at-large bid to get in.

NT80 · August 18

7 hours ago, Mean Green 93-98 said:

The wording is "Guaranteed bids for the top five conference champions in the CFP rankings." So yes, it would have to include at least one G5. It could theoretically include more in those guaranteed bids, but unlikely. E.g., if the American and MWC conference champs were both to outrank the ACC conference champs.

My main point earlier was that winning the conference alone won't guarantee us a spot, even among the at-large bids.

Yes, that's the wording. An article I saw referenced the CFP committee having to decide between non-ranked conference champs, which again brings in human bias. To me all FBS Conference champs should have automatic access to any FBS playoff. Otherwise, why label it as an FBS Championship? Increase the playoff to 18 teams if need be, but all other Divisions value a conference championship.