AAC Football Championship Race – 12/1

The last look we will take at the AAC Football Championship race finds things very different. The same five teams that could all share the Conference title are no longer all equals in the chase. Temple cannot play any role in the chase any longer. So what do the final games in the American mean for the championship? Let’s look at the standings and then look at the games.

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American Athletic Conference Standings:

Memphis Tigers (7-1)
Central Florida Knights (6-1)
Cincinnati Bearcats (6-1)
East Carolina Pirates (5-2)
Houston Cougars (5-2)

Houston and East Carolina were eliminated over the weekend, and not because they lost games. They did not. Memphis played its final conference game and is now in the clubhouse at 7-1, and any team with two losses can no longer tie for the conference title. So the only two teams that could force a tie for the championship is Central Florida and Cincinnati.

Nov 29, 2014; Memphis, TN, USA; Memphis Tigers celebrate after the game against the Connecticut Huskies at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. Memphis Tigers beat Connecticut Huskies 41-10. Mandatory Credit: Justin Ford-USA TODAY Sports

How good are those chances? I have been calling for the Pirates to beat the Knights of Central Florida since before the season. I am not going to change that now. So Central Florida will likely not be in the final story of the Championship race.

On the other hand, Cincinnati should defeat Houston at home. It will not be easy, but I think it will happen. So Memphis fans should expend their psychic energy pulling for Houston in order to secure that sole championship. Next year, the Championship will not end like this, because there will be a game when Navy comes in.

That means there is still one more regular season football preview article to write, the one for East Carolina and Central Florida.