![]() ![]() ![]() It means the other conferences have a greater shot at getting that NY6 bid. Both the AAC and the Mountain West failed to capture P5 wins, while the Sun Belt went out and made its mark, so it has the early-season momentum.ĭo you reset expectations? A bit, yes. Those are the type of wins that kickstart a team in the eyes of the pollsters, and the AAC doesn’t have them. Still, the top three predicted favorites (Cincinnati, Houston, UCF) all having a loss by now is surprising and definitely stops any “P6” talk for this season. Had Houston not given up a late field goal in regulation or a fourth-and-20 in overtime, it would be in prime position for an undefeated run given its AAC schedule. SMU has Maryland and TCU the next two weeks, so there is more opportunity, but this was always going to be a down year for the AAC in perception because a team like Cincinnati of the past two years was unlikely to emerge, while the middle of the league was expected to be better. The AAC has definitely missed on some big P5 win opportunities with losses to Louisville (UCF), Mississippi State ( Memphis) and Arkansas (Cincinnati) and the blown lead late against Texas Tech (Houston). I had to look up “JMA Wireless Dome” and forgot that the Carrier Dome in Syracuse got a new sponsor. ECU nearly topped NC State and through the transitive property beat Virginia Tech? - Jake Y. Cincinnati looked impressive yet sloppy enough to lose close at what is now a top-10 Arkansas team. UCF just went down in the Bounce House to a Louisville team that looked lost in the JMA Wireless Dome a week before. Houston has played a lot of bonus football to now find itself unranked. Is it time for a reset of expectations in the AAC? Only two teams remain undefeated, but neither SMU nor Tulane has faced a real test. The Sun Belt East race is going to be wild this year. Not when they still need to play App State, Georgia Southern, Coastal Carolina, etc. He thought it was great for his team because it would help the Thundering Herd focus during conference play and not get too high on themselves after the Notre Dame win. That’s what Marshall head coach Charles Huff pointed out when I talked with him about the SBC’s big day. It’s good that it has contenders for that spot - and the undefeated teams don’t include 1-1 Appalachian State, my Sun Belt pick - but all of those schools still need to play each other. Plus, at the moment, there are only 11 undefeated G5 teams left through two full game weeks, and more than half of them (six) are in the Sun Belt. There’s usually one at most in a given year. I’m going to say yes, just because the odds of any G5 team finishing undefeated are small. I think they’ll be three very solid and deep leagues. ![]() So I don’t see the AAC or the MWC falling behind the Sun Belt by any means. Some Sun Belt schools weren’t interested in moving to the AAC because of the budget differences. Most of those schools pay their football head coaches more than $1 million. The four Power 5 wins this season already make that obvious.īut the AAC and the Mountain West have more money. Its additions strengthened regional ties with programs that have a dedicated fan base and/or a winning culture. 1 in the AAC to replace them, and the other leagues have had plenty of depth and parity. The reality is that UCF, Houston and Cincinnati have taken five of those eight NY6/CFP spots, and they’ll move to the Big 12. Some years that could be the AAC, or Mountain West, or Sun Belt, or MAC, or even Conference USA perhaps. I expect we’ll have a lot of schools from different leagues contending for what will eventually be an automatic CFP berth. The AAC has earned six of those eight NY6 spots, and Cincinnati broke through as the first G5 team to make the CFP.īut I don’t really think there will be a clear No. It’s undoubtedly true that the AAC has been the top dog in the Group of 5 since the formation of the College Football Playoff and the guaranteed New Year’s Six spot for the G5. What are your thoughts on the direction of the G5 conferences? - Louis S. It now looks to me like the pecking order will be: 1) SBC, 2) AAC, 3) MWC. Meanwhile, the Mountain West standings are more or less indistinguishable from the MAC. I previously thought the three leagues would be pretty closely bunched together for the first couple of years at least, but it looks like the SBC is quickly making its case as top dog. Let’s get into it.Ĭhris, you’ve been asked a lot about which G5 conference will come out on top after realignment. There’s a lot to talk about, so this is a mailbag-only edition of the G5 Drive. ![]()
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