AAC Predictions 2022: Cougars overtake current champion Bearcats as favorite in preseason poll

August 5, 2022

The AAC should have a new champion in the upcoming 2022 season — at least according to voting media members. Houston barely topped Cincinnati in the Preseason AAC Media Poll, with the Cougars edging the defending champion Bearcats by just one point (243 to 242) in the overall tally. However, Cincinnati actually claimed more first-place votes (10) than Dana Holgorsen’s team (7).

The two schools squared off in last season’s conference championship game after posting unblemished regular-season conference records. The Bearcats topped the Cougars 35-20 to earn their second straight conference title and berth in the College Football Playoff.

UCF, which has the most conference titles in the AAC’s short history with four, was picked third with 225 points. The Knights, which are entering their second season with coach Gus Malzahn, were the only other team to earn first-place votes (7). They were followed by SMU, Memphis and East Carolina.

Here’s a look at the results of the AAC preseason media poll with each team’s point total (first-place votes in parenthesis):

Preseason AAC Media Poll

  1. Houston — 243 (7)
  2. Cincinnati — 242 (10)
  3. UCF — 225 (7)
  4. SMU — 187
  5. Memphis — 162
  6. East Carolina — 157
  7. Tulane — 115
  8. Tulsa — 93
  9. South Florida — 71
  10. Navy — 61
  11. Temple — 28

The AAC Championship Game will be held on Saturday, Dec. 3 at the home stadium of the team with the best conference winning percentage.


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