2016 American Athletic Conference football season explained

2016 American Athletic Conference
football season
Pixels:150px
Color:
  1. 002654
Color Text:
  1. FFFFFF
League:NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision)
Sport:Football
Duration:September 1, 2016
through January 2017
No Of Teams:12
Tv:ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and CBS Sports Network
Draft:2017 NFL Draft
Draft Link:2017 NFL Draft
Top Pick:Haason Reddick (Temple)
Picked By:Arizona Cardinals, 13th overall
Season:Regular season
Top Scorer:Will Worth (150 points)
Conf1:East
Conf1 Champ:Temple
Conf1 Runner-Up:South Florida
Conf2:West
Conf2 Champ:Navy
Conf2 Runner-Up:Tulsa
Finals:The American Championship
Finals Link:2016 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game
Finals Champ:Temple
Finals Runner-Up:Navy
Finals Mvp Link:American Football Championship MVP
Seasonslistnames:Football
Prevseason Year:2015
Nextseason Year:2017

The 2016 American Athletic Conference football season was the 25th NCAA Division I FBS football season of the American Athletic Conference (The American). The season was the third since the breakup of the former Big East Conference, and the third season with the College Football Playoff in place. The American was considered a member of the "Group of Five" (G5) with Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference. Whereas under the previous system the champion of the conference was guaranteed an automatic berth to a BCS bowl game, the highest-ranked champion member of the G5 received a bid to one of the six major bowls.[1]

The American consisted of 12 members: Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, South Florida, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, UConn, Navy. In June 2015, the Collegiate Commissioner's Association announced that it would postpone final rankings until after the annual Army–Navy Game if Navy or Army are in contention for a spot in the semifinals or a New Years Six bowl. If Navy was the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion and loses to Army, it would be replaced by next highest-ranked Group of 5 champion in the New Years Six Bowl.[2]

In the 2016 season, the American had four new coaches. Willie Fritz, formerly the head coach at Georgia Southern, was hired by Tulane to replace Curtis Johnson. After beginning the 2013 season, Johnson lost 22 of his final 27 games against FBS opponents. He finished at Tulane with a 15–4 record through four full seasons. He compiled a 7–9 conference record in the C-USA (2012–2013), and a 3–13 conference record in the American Athletic Conference (2014–2015). On December 1, 2015, UCF hired Oregon offensive coordinator Scott Frost.[3] Frost replaced longtime UCF head coach George O'Leary and interim head coach Danny Barrett, who took over the Knights when O'Leary resigned following an 0–8 start. On December 3, 2015, Memphis hired Arizona State offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Mike Norvell, replacing Justin Fuente who took the job at Virginia Tech.[4] On December 13, 2015, East Carolina hired Duke (/) Scottie Montgomery.[5] replacing Ruffin McNeill who was relieved of his duties as ECU head coach after finishing the season with a record of 5–7.[6]

American Athletic Conference Media Day

The American Athletic Conference Media Day took place August 12 in Newport, Rhode Island.[7]

Preseason poll

East Division

West Division

Head coaches

East

West

Recruiting classes

Rankings! Team! ESPN[8] ! Rivals[9] ! Scout[10] ! 24/7[11] !Signees
Cincinnati7575737621
Connecticut––1019816
East Carolina–81887722
Houston3044514019
Memphis7272696322
Navy––988336
SMU6774617222
South Florida6370776116
Temple5959765726
Tulane–86 1008924
Tulsa–87859220
UCF6658746620

Rankings

See main article: 2016 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings.

Legend
  Improvement in ranking
 Drop in ranking
 Not ranked previous week
 No change in ranking from previous week
RVReceived votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
тTied with team above or below also with this symbol
  Pre Wk
2 		Wk
3 		Wk
4 		Wk
5 		Wk
6 		Wk
7 		Wk
8 		Wk
9 		Wk
10 		Wk
11 		Wk
12 		Wk
13 		Wk
14 		Wk
15 		Final
CincinnatiAP RV
C
CFPNot released
ConnecticutAP
C
CFPNot released
East CarolinaAP
C
CFPNot released
HoustonAP 15666661311RVRVRVRV18RVRV
C1377775121124RVRVRV21RVRV
CFPNot released2024
MemphisAP RV
CRVRVRVRVRV
CFPNot released
NavyAP RVRV252422RVRVRV20RV
CRVRVRVRVRVRV2522RVRVRVRV20RV
CFPNot released251925
SMUAP RV
C
CFPNot released
South FloridaAP RVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV2425
CRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRVRV2322
CFPNot released
TempleAP RVRV23
CRV24
CFPNot released24
TulaneAP
C
CFPNot released
TulsaAP RVRVRV
CRVRVRVRVRVRVRV
CFPNot released
UCFAP
C
CFPNot released

Schedule

All Times and Dates are Tentative,[12] The 2016 conference football schedule was released February 9[13]

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

Week 6

The October 7th game in Orlando between Tulane and UCF was postponed due to Hurricane Matthew and rescheduled for November 5, a date which both teams had open.[14]

Week 7

The October 13th game in Greenville, NC between Navy and East Carolina was postponed due because of flooding associated with Hurricane Matthew, the game will be rescheduled for November 19, a date which both teams had open.[15]

American Athletic Conference Championship Game

See main article: 2016 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game.

Week 15

Bowl games

American Athletic Conference bowl games[16] for the 2016 season are:

See also: 2016–17 NCAA football bowl games.

Bowl gameDateSiteTelevisionTime (EST)AAC teamOpponentScoreAttendance
Las Vegas BowlDecember 17Sam Boyd Stadium • Whitney, NVABC3:30 p.m.HoustonSan Diego State10–3429,286
AutoNation Cure BowlDecember 17Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FLCBSSN5:30 p.m.UCFArkansas State13–3127,213
Miami Beach BowlDecember 19Marlins Park • Miami, FLESPN2:30 p.m.TulsaCentral Michigan55–1015,262
Marmot Boca Raton BowlDecember 20FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FLESPN7:00 p.m.MemphisWKU31–5124,726
Lockheed Martin Armed Forces BowlDecember 23Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TXESPN4:30 p.m.
  1. 25 Navy
Louisiana Tech45–4840,542
Military BowlDecember 27Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MDESPN3:30 p.m.
  1. 24 Temple
Wake Forest26–3426,656
Birmingham BowlDecember 29Legion Field • Birmingham, AlabamaESPN2:00 p.m.South FloridaSouth Carolina46–39 OT31,229
Rankings are from CFP Poll. All times Eastern Time Zone.

Selection of teams

Records against FBS conferences

2016 records against FBS conferences

Through Dec 29, 2016

ConferenceRecord
ACC4–6
Big Ten1–4
Big 122–2
C-USA3–2
Independents2–3
MAC4–0
Mountain West2–2
SEC1–2
Sun Belt2–1
Total21–22

The American vs. Power Conferences

Index to colors and formatting
American member won
American member loss
Date Visitor Home Winning TeamOpponent
Conference
September 1 Tulane Wake Forest Wake Forest ACC
September 3‡
  1. 3 Oklahoma
  1. 15 Houston
Houston Big 12
September 10 Cincinnati Purdue CincinnatiBig Ten
September 10 UCF
  1. 5 Michigan
Michigan Big Ten
September 10 NC State East Carolina East Carolina ACC
September 10 SMU
  1. 23 Baylor
Baylor Big 12
September 10 Tulsa
  1. 4 Ohio State
Ohio State Big Ten
September 17 Maryland UCF Maryland Big Ten
September 17 Virginia Connecticut Connecticut ACC
September 17 East Carolina South Carolina South Carolina SEC
September 17 Kansas Memphis Memphis Big 12
September 17 South Florida Syracuse South Florida ACC
September 17 Temple Penn State Penn State Big Ten
September 24 Syracuse Connecticut Syracuse ACC
September 24 East Carolina Virginia Tech Virginia Tech ACC
September 24 TCU SMU TCU Big 12
September 24
  1. 13 Florida State
South Florida Florida State ACC
October 1 Memphis
  1. 16 Ole Miss
Ole Miss SEC
November 5‡ Notre Dame Navy Navy IND
November 17
  1. 3 Louisville
Houston Houston ACC
November 19 Connecticut Boston College Boston College ACC
December 27‡ Wake Forest
  1. 23 Temple
Wake Forest ACC
December 29‡ South Carolina
  1. 25 South Florida
South Florida SEC
‡This game was played at a neutral site

Players of the Week

WeekOffensiveDefensiveSpecial Teams
PlayerPositionTeamPlayerPositionTeamPlayerPositionTeam
Week 1Greg Ward Jr.QBHoustonTrent MartinLBTulsaBrandon WilsonCBHouston
Week 2Quinton FlowersQBUSFAlohi GilmanLB/DB NavySherman BadieRBTulane
Week 3Greg Ward Jr.QBHoustonSteven TaylorLBHoustonBobby PuyolKUConn
Week 4Riley FergusonQBMemphisJeremy BradySTulsaAndrew DiRoccoKTulane
Week 5Greg Ward Jr.QBHoustonHaason ReddickDETempleAdrian KillinsRBUCF
Week 6Will WorthQBNavyJosiah PowellLBNavyBennett MoehringKNavy
Week 7Will WorthQBNavyJarvis PruittDESMUAaron BoumerhiKTemple
Week 8James FlandersRBTulsaShaquem GriffinLBUCFJake ElliottKMemphis
Week 9Riley FergusonQBMemphisDrico JohnsonDBUCFAaron BoumerhiKTemple
Week 10Quinton FlowersQBUSFHorace RichardsonCBSMUDane RoyP Houston
Week 11
Week 12

Awards and honors

Conference awards

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

2016 American Athletic Conference Individual Awards
AwardRecipient(s)
Offensive Player of the YearQuinton Flowers
Defensive Player of the YearShaquem Griffin
Special Teams Player of the YearTony Pollard
Rookie of the Year
Coach of the YearKen Niumatalolo
2016 All-American Athletic Conference Football Teams
First TeamSecond Team
OffenseDefenseOffenseDefense
WR – Zay Jones, East Carolina
WR – Courtland Sutton, SMU
WR – Keevan Lucas, Tulsa
OT – Kofi Amichia, South Florida
OT – Dion Dawkins, Temple
OG – Adam West, Navy
OG – Black Belcher, Tulsa
C – Chandler Miller, Tulsa
TE – Daniel Montiel, Memphis
QB – Quinton Flowers, South Florida
RB – Marlon Mack, South Florida
K – Jake Elliott, Memphis
RS – Tony Pollard, Memphis
DL – Haason Reddick, Temple*
DL – Ed Oliver, Houston*
DL – Tanzel Smart, Tulane
DL Justin Lawler, SMU
LB – Shaquem Griffin, UCF
LB – Eric Wilson, Cincinnati
LB – Steven Taylor, Houston
LB – Genard Avery, Memphis
LB – Nico Marley, Tulane
CB Horace Richardson, SMU
CB – Howard Wilson, Houston
S – Darrion Millines, SMU
S – Obi Melifonwu, UConn
P – Spencer Smith, Memphis
WR – Noel Thomas, UConn
WR – Anthony Miller, Memphis
WR – Rodney Adams, South Florida
OT – Blake Copeland, Navy
OT – Evan Plagg, Tulsa
OG – Dominique Threatt, South Florida
OG – Tyler Bowling, Tulsa
C – Maurice Morris, Navy
TE – Mitchell Wilcox, South Florida
QB – Greg Ward Jr., Houston
RB – Jahad Thomas, Temple
RB – D'Angelo Brewer, Tulsa
K – Aaron Boumerhi, Temple
RS – D'Ernest Johnson, South Florida
DL – Jamiyus Pittman, UCF
DL – Cortez Broughton, Cincinnati
DL – Deadrin Senat, South Florida
DL – Praise Martin-Oguike, Temple
LB – Tyus Bowser, Houston
LB – Micah Thomas, Navy
LB – Auggie Sanchez, South Florida
LB – Avery Williams, Temple
CB – Shaquill Griffin, UCF
CB – Brandon Wilson, Houston
CB – Deatrick Nichols, South Florida
CB – Parry Nickerson, Tulane
S – Garrett Davis, Houston
S – Sean Chandler, Temple
P – Worth Gregory, ECU
^ - denotes unanimous selection  Additional players added to the all-conference teams due to ties in the voting.[17]

NFL Draft

The American had a conference-record 15 players selected in the 2017 NFL draft, which placed it as the fifth most prolific conference in the draft. The American made headlines by having more selections than the Big 12 Conference, a Power 5 Conference.[18]

The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2017 NFL draft.

PlayerPositionSchoolDraft
Round		Round
Pick		Overall
Pick		Team
Haason ReddickLBTemple11313Arizona Cardinals
Zay JonesWREast Carolina2537Buffalo Bills
Tyus BowserOLBHouston21547Baltimore Ravens
Obi MelifonwuSUConn22456Oakland Raiders
Dion DawkinsGTemple23163Buffalo Bills
Shaquill GriffinCBCentral Florida32690Seattle Seahawks
Howard WilsonCBHouston419126Cleveland Browns
Marlon MackRBSouth Florida436143Indianapolis Colts
Jake ElliottKMemphis59153Cincinnati Bengals
Nate HairstonCBTemple514158Indianapolis Colts
Rodney AdamsWRSouth Florida526170Minnesota Vikings
Michael TysonSCincinnati63187Seattle Seahawks
Tanzel SmartDTTulane65189Los Angeles Rams
Brandon WilsonCBHouston623207Cincinnati Bengals
Kofi AmichiaOTSouth Florida628212Green Bay Packers

Attendance

TeamStadiumCapacityGame 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5Game 6Game 7Total Average% of Capacity
CincinnatiNippert Stadium40,00028,52040,015†38,112 35,10832,02237,52225,796237,09533,87084.68%
ConnecticutPratt & Whitney Stadium at Rentschler Field40,64229,37731,03631,899†24,16928,00822,31620,764187,56926,79565.93%
East CarolinaDowdy–Ficklen Stadium50,00044,16150,719†46,04241,37042,908 39,480264,68044,11388.23%
HoustonTDECU Stadium40,00039,40240,87338,22135,846 36,552 42,822†233,71638,95397.38%
MemphisLiberty Bowl Memorial Stadium59,308 42,876†34,44838,71334,74336,89437,21836,527261,41937,34562.97%
NavyNavy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium34,00028,23831,50134,53135,94336,397†166,61033,32298.01%
SMUGerald J. Ford Stadium32,000 22,12730,987†25,07924,379 18,41721,283142,27223,71274.10%
South FloridaRaymond James Stadium65,89035,97636,55761,665†30,39730,29731,82436,056262,77237,53856.97%
TempleLincoln Financial Field69,17634,005†22,29627,786 22,40125,95029,76328,373190,57427,22539.36%
TulaneYulman Stadium30,00027,179†21,50324,25321,09825,780 16,497136,31022,71875.73%
TulsaSkelly Field at H. A. Chapman Stadium30,00018,74816,11120,08922,349†17,557 18,550113,40418,90063.00%
UCFBright House Networks Stadium44,206 36,26043,197 38,299†31,57130,346 35,141214,81435,80280.99%

Attendance for neutral site games

[19]

Notes and References

  1. https://www.espn.com/i/ncf/bcs/CFP_One_Pager_Cities_1.pdf About the College Football Playoff.
  2. Web site: Playoff committee will wait for Army-Navy game if necessary. FOXSports.com. 16 June 2015.
  3. Web site: Frost a Knight - UCF Knights - Official Athletics Site . www.ucfknights.com . dead . https://web.archive.org/web/20151203223037/http://www.ucfknights.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/120115aad.html . 2015-12-03.
  4. News: ASU's Mike Norvell tapped to coach U of M football . . December 3, 2015 . December 3, 2015 . Calkins, Geoff.
  5. News: Duke offensive coordinator Scottie Montgomery named ECU head coach . . December 13, 2015 . December 13, 2015 . Keeley, Laura.
  6. Web site: East Carolina fires Ruffin McNeill. ESPN. ESPN.com news services. 2015-12-04. 2015-12-04.
  7. http://theamerican.org/sports/2016/7/12/AmericanKickoff2016.aspx?id=206& 2016 Football Media Day
  8. Web site: RecruitingNation Class Rankings top75-ESPN . https://archive.today/20140328190009/http://insider.espn.go.com/college-sports/football/recruiting/classrankings?action=login . dead . March 28, 2014 . . 2016-02-05.
  9. Web site: 2016 Rivals Team Rankings . Rivals.com . 2016-02-05.
  10. Web site: 2016 Scout.com College Football Team Recruiting Rankings . Scout.com . 2016-02-05.
  11. Web site: 2016 Football Recruiting Composite Team Rankings . 247sports.com . 2016-02-05.
  12. Web site: AAC Football Schedule. FBSchedules.com. FBSchedules.com. 5 February 2016.
  13. Web site: American Athletic Conference Athletic Directors Conclude Winter Meetings. American Athletic Conference. SideArm Sports. 6 February 2016.
  14. Web site: Hurricane Matthew forces Knights to move football, volleyball contests. UCFKnights.com. Sidearm Sports. 7 October 2016.
  15. Web site: Navy-East Carolina Football Game Rescheduled For Nov. 19. ECUPirates.com. SideArm Sports. 10 October 2016.
  16. Web site: American Bowl Lineup 2014–2019. American Athletic Conference. SideArm Sports.
  17. Web site: American Athletic Conference Announces 2016 Football Honors.
  18. Web site: Record Haul from the American in the 2017 NFL Draft.
  19. Web site: NCAA Football Attendance Report. NCAA. NCAA.

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the Wikipedia article "2016 American Athletic Conference football season".

Except where otherwise indicated, Everything.Explained.Today is © Copyright 2009-2024, A B Cryer, All Rights Reserved. Cookie policy.