2018 American Athletic Conference football season


The 2018 American Athletic Conference football season is the 27th NCAA Division I FBS Football season of the American Athletic Conference. The season is the sixth since the former Big East Conference dissolved and became the American Athletic Conference, and the fifth season with the College Football Playoff in place. The American is considered a member of the "Group of Five", meaning that the conference shares with the other G5 conferences one automatic spot in the New Year's Six bowl games. The entire schedule was released on February 13.

Previous season

UCF defeated Memphis in the 2017 AAC Championship game' The game was a rematch of the September 30 matchup, which UCF won 40–13.
Seven Teams participated in bowl games, and finished with a record of 4–3. UCF defeated Auburn 34–27 in the Peach Bowl. The Knights finished the regular season 12–0. The effort came just two years after an 0–12 winless season. UCF became the first team in the history of NCAA Division I FBS to improve from a winless regular season to an undefeated regular season in only two years. Memphis lost to Iowa State 20–21 in the 2017 Liberty Bowl. Navy defeated Virginia in the Military Bowl 49–7, Houston lost to Fresno State in the Hawaii Bowl 27–33. USF Defeated Texas Tech 38–24 in the Birmingham Bowl. Temple defeated FIU 28–3 in the Gasparilla Bowl, and SMU lost to Louisiana Tech 10–51 in the Frisco Bowl.

Preseason

Recruiting classes

American Athletic Conference Media Day

The American Athletic Conference Media Day took place July 18 in Newport, Rhode Island.

Preseason Media Poll

AAC Champion Voting
East
West
References:

Fifth Anniversary Football Team

with 2018 marking the Fifth Year of American Athletic Conference Football under the new league, the Conference announced the Fifth Anniversary Team

Head coaches

Coaching changes

There were two coaching changes after the regular season ended, On December 2, 2017 Scott Frost left UCF to take the Nebraska job, but stayed on to coach in the AAC Championship game and Peach Bowl, UCF ended up hiring Missouri Offensive Coordinator Josh Heupel. On December 7, 2017 SMU coach Chad Morris left to take the Arkansas job, on December 12, 2017 former Cal coach Sonny Dykes was hired as the new SMU coach.

Coaches

''Note: All stats current through the completion of the 2017 season
TeamHead coachYears at schoolOverall recordRecord at schoolAAC record
CincinnatiLuke Fickell2
ConnecticutRandy Edsall14
East CarolinaScottie Montgomery3
HoustonMajor Applewhite2
MemphisMike Norvell2
NavyKen Niumatalolo11
SMUSonny Dykes2
South FloridaCharlie Strong2
TempleGeoff Collins2
TulaneWillie Fritz3
TulsaPhilip Montgomery4
UCFJosh Heupel1

Source:

Rankings

Schedule

''
Index to colors and formatting
American member won
American member loss
American teams in bold

Week 1

Week 2

Week 3

Week 4

Week 5

DateBye Week
Sept. 29Tulsa, Navy, Houston, South Florida

Week 6

Week 7

DateBye Week
Oct. 13Tulane, SMU, Cincinnati, Connecticut

Week 8

Week 9

DateBye Week
Oct. 27Memphis, UCF, Temple, East Carolina

Week 10

Week 11

Week 12

Week 13

Week 14

AAC Championship game

Week 15

Bowl games

American vs other conferences

American vs Power conference matchups

This is a list of the power conference teams The American will playing during the 2018 season.
DateVisitorHomeSiteScore
August 30Wake ForestTulaneYulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA17–23 OT
September 1CincinnatiUCLARose Bowl • Pasadena, CA26–17
September 7TCUSMUFord Staduium • Dallas, TX12–42
September 8ArizonaHoustonTDECU Stadium • Houston, TX45–18
September 8North CarolinaEast CarolinaDowdy-Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC41–19
September 8Georgia TechSouth FloridaRaymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL49–38
September 8TulsaTexasDarrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX21–28
September 15TempleMarylandMaryland Stadium • College Park, MD35–14
September 15South FloridaIllinoisSoldier Field • Chicago, IL25–19
September 15SMUMichiganMichigan Stadium • Ann Arbor, MI20–45
September 15HoustonTexas TechJones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, TX49–63
September 22TulaneOhio StateOhio Stadium • Columbus, OH6–49
September 22ConnecticutSyracuseCarrier Dome • Syracuse, NY21–51
September 29PittsburghNo. 13 UCFSpectrum Stadium • Orlando, FL45–14
September 29TempleBoston CollegeAlumni Stadium • Chestnut Hill, MA35–45
October 20MemphisMissouriFaurot Field • Columbia, MO33–65
October 20TulsaArkansasDonald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR0–23
October 27Notre DameNavySDCCU Stadium • San Diego, CA22–44
December 1East CarolinaNC StateCarter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC3–58

Records against other conferences

Regular Season
Post Season

Awards and honors

Players of the week

Conference awards

The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the American Athletic Conference football coaches at the end of the season

NFL Draft

The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2019 NFL draft.
PlayerPositionSchoolDraft
Round		Round
Pick		Overall
Pick		Team
Ed OliverDTHouston199Buffalo Bills
Rock Ya-SinCBTemple2234Indianapolis Colts
Trysten HillDTUCF22658Dallas Cowboys
Darrell HendersonRBMemphis3670Los Angeles Rams
Tony PollardRBMemphis426128Dallas Cowboys
Isaiah JohnsonCBHouston427129Oakland Raiders
Ryquell ArmsteadRBTemple52140Jacksonville Jaguars
Emeke EgbuleLBHouston627200Los Angeles Chargers
Donnie Lewis Jr.CBTulane77221Cleveland Browns
Cortez BroughtonDTCincinnati728242Los Angeles Chargers
Michael DogbeDETemple735249Arizona Cardinals