2017 Underrated AAC Teams
Hello college football fans. I am back to give predictions and analysis for the upcoming games this season. As for the underrated teams, I've added the Group of Five and Independent college teams after having enough time to be familiar with them. Today, I will be posting the AAC and C-USA predictions and will continue with other conferences through Saturday.
The AAC continues to be the most underrated Group of Five conference to have success against a few Power 5 college teams. There wasn't much to mention last season, but USF won a close game against South Carolina, East Carolina upset NC State, UConn upset Virginia, Navy ended their five matchup losing streak with a win against Notre Dame, and Houston got a major upset win over Oklahoma (my favorite team -_-). Here are my two underrated picks from the AAC that should be more improved this season.
SOUTH FLORIDA BULLS- AAC East
Last season: 11-2 overall; 7-1 (Tied 1st in East)
The Bulls schedule makes them a likely team to go undefeated this season. They return 16 players with 9 back on defense, and a prolific quarterback in Quinton Flowers. The offense was in the Top 5 in scoring and should continue even without running back Marlon Mack. Flowers is responsible for more than 50% of the yards combined from passing and running. He could be the Heisman dark horse if he continues his success and helps the team win games. The only thing that could hold back South Florida from making that run, a conference title, and a possible playoff steal is their defense. But with head coach Charlie Strong's defensive background, he could clean up plenty of mess that South Florida's defense made last year. Their games to be aware of are against Houston and at UCF as a possible trap finale.
SMU MUSTANGS- AAC WEST
Last season: 5-7 overall; 3-5 (5th in West)
In Chad Morris's second year, the team improved to five wins after only winning three the previous two years. What's even better is that the Mustangs return a 3000-yard passer (Ben Hicks), a 1000-yard rusher (Braeden West), and a 1000-yard receiver (Courtland Sutton), including four offensive linemen, but unfortunately Braylen Hyder was one of the returners that left the team. The defense returns key guys at each level (DE Justin Lawler, LB Anthony Rhone, and CB Jordan Wyatt) but they still have much to improve after allowing 36 points per game and 453 yards per game. There's optimism on the offensive side that should get them six wins and a bowl entry. If the defense has made some progress, they can add another win to their total, but they have to be ready for four road games that will test them.
