Tag: American Athletic Conference

2022 Division I Conference Preview: American Athletic Conference

CSJ’s AAC Predicted Order of Finish 1. Cincinnati 2. Houston 3. UCF 4. SMU 5. Tulane 6. East Carolina 7. Memphis 8. Tulsa 9. South Florida 10. Navy 11. Temple 2021 Bowl Results Conference Record: 3-1 Myrtle Beach Bowl: Tulsa 30 Old Dominion 17 Gasparilla Bowl: UCF 29 Florida 17  Hawai’i Bowl: Memphis vs. Hawai’i (Cancelled […]

2022 College Sports Journal Group of Five Super Seventy Preseason All-American Team

Seventy student-athletes in the NCAA Division I Football’s Group of Five FBS Conferences have been named to the 2022 College Sports Journal Group of Five All-America Team.

CSJ 2021 Goodyear Cotton Bowl (College Football Playoff Semifinal) Preview: #4 Cincinnati vs. #1 Alabama

After years of public uproar (especially of those that follow the non-Power Five leagues) in the consideration of Group of Five schools, Cincinnati gets their shot to show what it can do in a college football playoff setting. In previous years, undefeated G5 schools were passed up for one-loss Power Five teams, UCF was that team in 2017 who like Cincinnati was the only undefeated team in the FBS ranks.
The Bearcats get a shot at the top seeded team, the Alabama Crimson Tide. Alabama won the SEC Championship Game in convincing fashion, with a 41-24 win over previously undefeated Georgia.

CSJ 2021 American Athletic Conference Championship Game Preview — Houston at Cincinnati

HOUSTON AT CINCINNATIWHEN: SATURDAY, DECEMBER 4, 4:00 PM ESTWHERE: NIPPERT STADIUM, CINCINNATI, OHIOTV/STREAMING: ABC / WATCHESPN To put it simply, this is the type of championship game that American Athletic Conference Commissioner Mike Aresco was thinking when he made the claim that the AAC is the Power Six conference. While this game has had UCF and Cincinnati as undefeated […]

2021 College Sports Journal Group of Five Super Seventy Preseason All-American Team

Seventy student-athletes in the NCAA Division I Football’s Group of Five FBS Conferences have been named to the 2021 College Sports Journal G5 All-America Team.  As a reminder, the Group of Five FBS conferences include the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA (C-USA), Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MWC), and the Sun Belt Conference […]

College Sports Journal 2021 Group of Five Preseason Rankings

Rather than do a Top 25 this year, I thought I would rank all 65 schools that make up the Group of Five FBS leagues as we head into what we all hope is a more normal 2021college football season without the COVID-19 cancelations or postponements like the 2020 season had. As a reminder, the […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin Group of Five Top 25–FINAL 2020

Below are the Final 2020 Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings after all postseason games have been completed in Division I play. These rankings include all FBS Bowl games and the College Football Playoff. BYU takes over the top spot in the final rankings following its impressive Boca […]

CSJ 2020 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl Preview: Georgia vs. Cincinnati

Georgia vs. CincinnatiWhen: Friday, January 1st, 12:00 PM ESTWhere: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Ga.TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN Cincinnati gets its chance to show the Football Playoff Committee that they were ranked too low this season. The undefeated Bearcats will play Georgia in their home state in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl on New Year’s Day similar to how another undefeated […]

CSJ 2020 Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl Preview: Mississippi State vs. Tulsa

Mississippi State vs. TulsaWhen: Thursday, December 31st, 12:00 PM ESTWhere: Amon G. Carter Stadium, Fort Worth, Tex.TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN The first Group of Five versus Power Five matchup takes place with Tulsa playing the SEC’s Mississippi State. This is the first of three such match-ups in this bowl season with Army facing West Virginia in the Liberty […]

CSJ 2020 New Mexico Bowl Preview: Hawai’i vs. Houston

Houston vs. Hawai’iWhen: Thursday, December 24th, 3:30 PM ESTWhere: Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Tex.TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN This bowl game is a fitting story of the 2020 college football season. The bowl game that was originally slated to be in Frisco–the Frisco Bowl was canceled last Saturday, Dec. 21st but Frisco gets a second chance to host another game […]

CSJ 2020 Montgomery Bowl Preview: Florida Atlantic vs. Memphis

Florida Atlantic vs. MemphisWhen: Wednesday, December 23rd, 7:00 PM ESTWhere:  Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, Ala.TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN Two programs that won their respecitive conferences hope to end their season with a win this year when Florida Atlantic faces Memphis in the first ever Montgomery Bowl, which is a replacement this year of COVID-19 for the what would have […]

CSJ 2020 RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Preview: BYU vs. UCF

BYU vs. UCFWhen: Tuesday, December 22nd, 7:00 PM ESTWhere: FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, Fla.TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN UCF accepted this bowl bid almost two weeks ago but when its opponent of BYU was announced around a week later, this game just moved up the ladder in terms of significance for this bowl season. In the last regular season […]

CSJ 2020 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl Preview: Tulane vs. Nevada

Tulane vs. NevadaWhen: Tuesday, December 22nd, 3:30 PM ESTWhere: Albertsons Stadium, Boise, IdahoTV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN Tulane and Nevada are both making a bowl game for the third consecutive year, with Nevada coming back to the blue turf after losing to Ohio 30-21 last season. Tulane last year won the Armed Forces Bowl over Southern Miss. Nevada won […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Dec. 19

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Dec. 19th, 2020–the last regular season rankings. Cincinnati stays at the top spot after capturing the AAC title against Tulsa to stay undefeated. Former #1 BYU stays at the #2 spot and was off this […]

CSJ 2020 American Athletic Conference Championship Game Preview — Tulsa at Cincinnati

Tulsa at Cincinnati When: Saturday, December 19th, 8:00 PM ESTWhere: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OhioTV/Streaming: ABC / WatchESPN This championship game was supposed to be a rematch as the two teams were scheduled to play in Tulsa with the winner getting the home field advantage for the AAC title game. But COVID-19 got in the way last week to allow […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Dec. 12

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Dec. 12th, 2020. Cincinnati stays at the top spot despite missing its game this week against Tulsa due to COVID-19 reasons. Former #1 BYU stays at the #2 spot with its regular season finale win […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 15

In what was to be the last regular season weekend, there was a lot on the line in all conference races to determine the participants in the five Group of Five conference title games.  It was also a week in a normal, non-COVID-19 season that would have ended with the Army-Navy game.  While that game […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Dec. 6

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Dec. 6th, 2020. Cincinnati moves into the top spot. While Cincinnati had a bye this week, former #1 BYU lost at Coastal Carolina this week to allow the Bearcats to move into the top position […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 14

In a game that happened basically overnight, it turned out to be one that many are calling an instant classic.  The game was BYU at Coastal Carolina—a match-up of two 9-0 teams coming into the game made possible due to the Chanticleers cancelation with its game with Liberty due to COVID-19 reasons amongst the Flames […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Nov. 28

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 28th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot and Cincinnati stays at the second spot. Both teams did not have a game this week. The other undefeated G5 teams (that have played at least […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 13

This was the week that the first College Football Playoff rankings came out and to say the least, I was surprised with the rankings. Below were the Committee’s rankings from this past Tuesday. I was not too surprised with the teams selected, although I thought Liberty should have been in the Top 25 given its […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Nov. 21

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 21st, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot after is blowout win over FCS North Alabama. Cincinnati stays at the second spot after its big road win at UCF. The other undefeated G5 teams […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 12

One is down but did not go down with out a fight. That one team is Liberty, who looked as if it would again pull off another ACC road win at North Carolina State.  After Liberty QB Malik Willis had an off game in throwing three interceptions, including what lead to the game winning touchdown […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Nov. 14

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 14th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot despite being idle this week. Cincinnati stays at the second spot after its big home win against East Carolina. The other undefeated G5 teams (that have […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 11

The undefeated teams just stay that way in the Group of Five this week. Cincinnati, Liberty, and Marshall all picked up easy victories this week. BYU and Coastal Carolina were off this week. BYU had a scheduled off week, while Coastal Carolina’s game with Troy was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the Troy […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Nov. 7

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 7th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot following its win at Boise State this week. Boise State drops to fifth following the loss after being second last week. Cincinnati moves up a spot […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 10

The Group of Five undefeated teams just stay undefeated. The five schools (that have played four games or more) coming into this week stayed that way with all picking up rather easy wins this week. The group includes BYU, Cincinnati, Liberty, Coastal Carolina, and Marshall. BYU played in arguably the top match-up of the weekend […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Oct. 31

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Oct. 31st, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot following its win at home over Western Kentucky this week. Boise State moves up to the second spot following its road victory over Air Force. Cincinnati […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 9

Cincinnati has made two statements in a row. Last week, the Bearcats blew out SMU on the road and followed that up with another blowout against last year’s Group of Five’s best Memphis. The Bearcats got a little revenge from losing to the Tigers twice last year, including the AAC title game. This time, Cincinnati won 49-10.

GAME PREVIEW: Cincinnati at SMU

Cincinnati at SMUWhen: Saturday, Oct. 24th, 9:00 PM EDTWhere: Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, Tex.TV/Streaming: ESPN2/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) This American Athletic Conference clash may not have been the preseason pick as the top game in the conference but these two undefeated schools have played their way into this one. Both Cincinnati (9/10) and SMU (16/16) come into this […]

College Sports Journal FBS Group of Five National Players of the Week-Oct. 18

Six players including Brady White from Memphis, Zach Wilson from BYU, Johathan Adams, Jr. from Arkansas State, Jason Bean from North Texas, Arnold Ebiketie from Temple, and Massimo Biscardi from Coastal Carolina have been selected as the College Sports Journal All-Stars for the week ending Oct. 18, 2020 from the NCAA Division I FBS Group […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 7

Wow, what a game in Memphis even if both American Athletic Conference teams were coming off of losses coming into this game. This is not the first time these two teams have thrilled us. In 2017, the American Athletic Conference was settled with a wild 62-55 UCF win in double overtime, after Memphis had erased […]

GAME PREVIEW: UCF at Memphis

UCF at MemphisWhen: Saturday, Oct. 17th, 3:30 PM EDTWhere: Liberty Bowl Stadium, Memphis, Tenn.TV/Streaming: ABC/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) This game was one of my Group of Five games of the year in the preseason this year. It marks the last three champions of the American Athletic Association with Memphis winning last year and UCF the two prior seasons. But […]

FRIDAY NIGHT GAMES PREVIEWS OCT. 16TH: SMU at Tulane, BYU at Houston

With two big games within the Group of Five ranks this Friday, I thought I would put together a quick preview together for each of these with my picks. The two games involve three American Athletic Conference teams of SMU, Tulane, and Houston, along with independent BYU. Both SMU and BYU are currently ranked both […]

College Sports Journal FBS Group of Five National Players of the Week-Oct. 11

Five players including Marquez Stevenson from Houston, Aaron McAllister from Charlotte, Gunnar Watson from Troy, Tavante Beckett from Marshall, and Demario Douglas from Liberty have been selected as the College Sports Journal All-Stars for the week ending Oct. 11, 2020 from the NCAA Division I FBS Group of Five schools. Marquez Stevenson, Houston, WR, Sr., […]

College Sports Journal FBS Group of Five National Players of the Week-Oct. 4

Five players including Shane Buechele from SMU, Zach Wilson from BYU, Grayson McCall from Coastal Carolina, Zaven Collins from Tulsa, and Chris Naggar from SMU have been selected as the College Sports Journal All-Stars for the week ending Oct. 4, 2020 from the NCAA Division I FBS Group of Five schools. Shane Buechele, SMU, QB, […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Oct. 3

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Oct. 3, 2020. BYU takes over the top spot after defeating Louisiana Tech Friday, while former top ranked UCF fell to Tulsa. All G5 schools with the exception Old Dominion, New Mexico State, and Connecticut […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Sept. 26

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Sept. 26, 2020. UCF remains in the top spot after its big win in its first AAC conference game at East Carolina with BYU holding the second spot with its big win over Troy. With […]

GAME PREVIEW: Army at Cincinnati

Army at CincinnatiWhen: Saturday, Sept. 26th, 3:30 PM EDTWhere: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OHTV/Streaming: ESPN/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Army and Cincinnati used to be Conference USA rivals but the two schools have not met on the grid iron since 2004. And this year’s game is even more enticing as the two schools come to this match both ranked in the […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Sept. 19

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Sept. 19, 2020. Despite UCF remains in the top spot after its big win over the ACC’s Georgia Tech to start its season. As a reminder, this G5 poll will only be showing the schools […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Sept. 12

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Sept. 12, 2020. Despite UCF and BYU not playing this week, UCF overtakes BYU for the top spot in this week’s poll. As a reminder, this G5 poll will only be showing the schools playing […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Sept. 7

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 30th, 2019. BYU with its impressive win at Navy this past Labor Day takes over the top spot from UCF, which was off during Week 1 of the season. This also is the first […]

GAME PREVIEW: BYU at Navy

BYU at NavyWhen: Monday, Sept. 7th 8:00 PM EDTWhere: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MDTV/Streaming: ESPN/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) The Labor Day tradition of a a night game goes on this year, although this was not the game that most thought would be played. Georgia versus Virginia was the original game to be played on this Labor Day […]

GAME PREVIEW: Arkansas State at Memphis

Arkansas State at MemphisWhen: Saturday, Sept. 5th 8:00 PM EDTWhere: Liberty Bowl, Memphis, TNTV/Streaming: ESPN/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Let the Paint Bucket Bowl Trophy Game be played again! (I admit I searched for a picture of the bucket and could not find one anywhere). The name of this rivalry was created when officials from the two schools decided […]

2020 Division I Conference Football Preview: American Athletic Conference

With all the uncertainty going into the 2020 college football season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Athletic Conference has decided to forge ahead for a 2020 season in the fall.