As we lead up to the kickoff of the 2016 College Football Season, many clubs will fighting to win the dynamic American Athletic Conference. Here is an outlook and forecast of the conference’s favorites to win, along with our top play as a dark horse. The betting odds to win the AAC this season have been provided by BetOnline.
HOUSTON +110
The Cougars under Coach Tom Herman came off the radar to seize the AAC with fury in 2015. The Cougars sported one of the most potent and lethal offenses in America, featuring prolific talent in wide receiver DeMarcus Ayers and running back Kenneth Farrow who have both moved on to the NFL. Houston is a dangerous football team because they have one of the best playmakers in America returning to steer the reins of this proficient attack. This playmaker is none other than quarterback Greg Ward, Jr. who was the only player besides Clemson signal caller Dashaun Watson to throw for over 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 on the ground. At these odds, there is little upside and given the fact Houston has everything to lose at this point, we will simply stay off.
SOUTH FLORIDA +325
There is a lot of hype surrounding the Bulls based on the notion they have a gifted rusher in Marlon Mack back at their disposal. Mack is a freight train and certainly a viable NFL prospect as he rushed for 1,381 yards in 2015. Nevertheless, the Bulls won eight games last year and have more or less operated on a shoe-string recruiting plan for many years. With teams like Houston, Navy and Temple hanging around, it is hard to fathom this unit overcoming teams of that caliber.
CINCINNATI +550
Cincinnati is another team that often is overhyped and never delivers or lives up to expectation. Cincinnati sported one of the worst scoring defenses in America in 2015, relying solely on their offense and the arm of returning signal caller Gunner Kiel to win games for them. Offense wins games and defense wins championships. With this notion prevailing, it is safe to say Cincinnati will win plenty of games but until their defense improves they will not ascend to AAC supremacy.
TEMPLE +750
Calling Temple a dark horse is a novelty at this point. Temple is a football team that simply knows how to win games by a methodical and old-fashioned approach. Typically, the Owls love to play defense and while they have lost several starters due to graduation, the Owls are formidable by design and schematics. Temple was right in the fold of the AAC last year, they beat Penn State in their season opener and got in to slugfests with both Notre Dame and Houston even when they fell short. Temple achieved a top twenty-five ranking which they sported for seven of the final eight weeks of the 2015 season. Price dictates the play here and Temple can certainly be primed to be a competitor for the AAC in 2016.