Cincinnati is the favorite to claim victory in the American Athletic Conference’s first championship game according to the latest media poll.
The Bearcats (9-4, 7-1), Memphis (10-3, 7-1) and Central Florida (9-4, 7-1) all shared the title in 2014, but with the addition of Navy into the league a title tilt can be staged between the two division winners.
Here is the predicted order of finish for both divisions, according to the media.
In the East Division, Cincinnati is in the top spot followed by UCF, Temple (6-6, 4-4), East Carolina (8-5, 5-3), South Florida (4-8, 3-5) and Connecticut (2-10, 1-7).
Memphis was chosen to lead the way in the West Division. Houston (8-5, 5-3) was second, while Navy (8-5) was third with Tulane (3-9, 2-6), Southern Methodist (1-11, 1-7) and Tulsa (2-10, 2-6) rounding out the field.
Cincinnati welcomes back honorable mention all-conference quarterback Gunnar Kiel, who led the Bearcats with 3,254 passing yards and a league best 31 touchdowns.
Some of the other top players in the East this season are expected to be William Stan back (UCF), Tyler Matackvich (Temple), Isaiah Jones (East Carolina), Marlon Mack (USF), Marquise Vann (UConn).
A second team all-conference choice Paxton Lynch is expected to lead Memphis to another successful season after throwing for 3,031 yards and 22 touchdowns, while rushing for 13 more scores.
Houston has a new coach in Tom Herman, who was the offensive coordinator for last year’s national champ Ohio State. The Cougars also return second team all-conference running back Kenneth Farrow, after he rushed for 1,037 yards and 14 touchdowns.
With Navy being new to the league, quarterback Keenan Reynolds doesn’t have any conference accolades, but he does have a NCAA career record on his resume with 64 rushing touchdowns. Last season, he gained 1,191 yards on the ground with 23 scores.
The players who could have an impact on the West are Nico Marley (Tulane), Matt Davis (SMU) and Keevan Lucas (Tulsa).
Editor’s note: Quotes, photos and logos courtesy of CollegePressBox.com.