That level of play made UTSA an easy choice for the AAC, and the Roadrunners are built to compete for a championship in 2023. UTSA went 7-5 in his first year and then went a combined 23-5 over the past two seasons with back-to-back Conference USA titles. The Roadrunners began FBS play in 2012 but had just one bowl appearance before Traylor arrived in 2020. UTSA has had a rapid rise under head coach Jeff Traylor. UTSA built to compete for title in Year 1 in AAC But one of the newcomers has the chance to ascend to the top of the standings right away. Of the teams returning to the league, SMU and Memphis look like Tulane’s toughest competition. The Green Wave have a significant amount of lost production on defense, too, particularly in the back seven.Įven with a lot of turnover on the roster, Tulane’s road to another AAC title will be easier with Cincinnati, Houston and UCF no longer on the schedule. There will be a lot of new personnel in key roles for Fritz’s offense. On the other hand, his top playmakers - running back Tyjae Spears and receivers Shae Wyatt and Duece Watts - have all moved on. Big-time programs were pursuing Pratt behind the scenes, but he opted to remain at Tulane for another year. How can Tulane and head coach Willie Fritz possibly replicate that in 2023? Well, the return of star quarterback Michael Pratt and four offensive line starters will help. It was the best season in program history and one of the biggest turnarounds - two to 12 wins - in college football history. The Green Wave miraculously overcame a 45-30 deficit in the final five minutes and pulled off a 46-45 victory. Tulane was the highest-ranked Group of Five champion in the CFP rankings, so it earned a spot in the Cotton Bowl vs. Tulane upset eventual Big 12 champions Kansas State in Week 3 before an excellent run through the AAC that closed with wins over SMU, Cincinnati and then UCF in the conference title game. On the heels of a miserable 2-10 2021 campaign that included being displaced by a hurricane, the Green Wave put together an incredible season. Tulane was one of the coolest stories in college football in 2022. Needless to say, the AAC will look a whole lot different in 2023, and a few of those new members could challenge defending champion Tulane for a conference championship.
With those three schools gone, the AAC then did its own raiding and plucked away six members of Conference USA - Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB and UTSA.
It was a major blow to the conference and its overall quality of competition. On top of that, each of those programs has played in a New Year’s Six bowl game with Cincinnati even reaching the College Football Playoff. Since the Big East dissolved into the AAC back in 2013, one of those three teams has won outright or had a share of the conference championship in seven of 10 seasons. Once the SEC raided Texas and Oklahoma from the Big 12, the Big 12 pivoted and added three of the AAC’s premier members - Cincinnati, Houston and UCF. The AAC was hit hard by conference realignment. Over the past decade, the American Athletic Conference has usually been the strongest of college football’s mid-major conferences, commonly known as the Group of Five.īut entering the 2023 season and beyond, that may no longer be the case. X2Nvb2tpZXNfd2luPXgnIHN0eWxlPSdkaXNwbGF5Om5vbmU7dmlzaWJpbGl0ĮTpoaWRkZW4nIHdpZHRoPScwJz48L2lmcmFtZT4KPC9ub3NjcmlwdD4KCgo= VE0tTUY2UFhYQycpOwo8元NjcmlwdD4KPG5vc2NyaXB0Pgo8aWZyYW1lIGhlĪWdodD0nMCcgc3JjPSdodHRwczov元d3dy5nb29nbGV0YWdtYW5hZ2VyLmNvīS9ucy5odG1sP2lkPUdUTS1NRjZQWFhDJmFtcDtndG1fYXV0aD1LaEg2aGVDĬG9XSlVIbnFWemRFYTd3JmFtcDtndG1fcHJldmlldz1lbnYtMSZhbXA7Z3Rt ICAgfSkod2luZG93LGRvY3VtZW50LCdzY3JpcHQnLCdkYXRhTGF5ZXInLCdH Zi5wYXJlbnROb2RlLmluc2VydEJlZm9yZShqLGYpOwogICAgICAgIHdpbmRvĭy5fZGlkQXN5bmNJbmplY3RHb29nbGVUYWdNYW5hZ2VyID0gdHJ1ZTsKICAg JyZndG1fcHJldmlldz0nKydlbnYtMScrJyZndG1fY29va2llc193aW49eCc7 Z3RtX2F1dGg9JysnS2hINmhlQ3BvV0pVSG5xVnpkRWE3dycrCiAgICAgICAg 元d3dy5nb29nbGV0YWdtYW5hZ2VyLmNvbS9ndG0uanM/aWQ9JytpK2RsKycm ICAgIGo9ZC5jcmVhdGVFbGVtZW50KHMpLGRsPWwhPSdkYXRhTGF5ZXInPycmīD0nK2w6Jyc7ai5hc3luYz10cnVlO2ouc3JjPQogICAgICAgICdodHRwczov PHNjcmlwdD4KICAoZnVuY3Rpb24odyxkLHMsbCxpKXsKICAgICAgICBpZiAoĭ2luZG93Ll9kaWRBc3luY0luamVjdEdvb2dsZVRhZ01hbmFnZXIpIHJldHVyījsKICAgICAgICB3W2xdPXdbbF18fFtdO3dbbF0ucHVzaCh7J2d0bS5zdGFyĭCc6CiAgICAgICAgbmV3IERhdGUoKS5nZXRUaW1lKCksZXZlbnQ6J2d0bS5qĬyd9KTt2YXIgZj1kLmdldEVsZW1lbnRzQnlUYWdOYW1lKHMpWzBdLAogICAg
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