| 2021 American Athletic Conference football season | |
| Pixels: | 150px |
| Color: |
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| League: | NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision |
| Sport: | Football |
| Duration: | September 2, 2021 — December 31, 2021 |
| No Of Teams: | 11 |
| Tv: | ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and CBS Sports Network |
| Draft: | 2022 NFL Draft |
| Draft Link: | 2022 NFL Draft |
| Top Pick: | Sauce Gardner (Cincinnati) |
| Picked By: | New York Jets, 4th overall |
| Season: | Regular season |
| Season Champs: | Cincinnati |
| Second Place: | Houston |
| Finals: | The American Championship |
| Finals Link: | 2021 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game |
| Finals Mvp Link: | American Football Championship MVP |
| Seasonslistnames: | Football |
| Prevseason Year: | 2020 |
| Nextseason Year: | 2022 |
The 2021 American Athletic Conference football season was the 30th NCAA Division I FBS Football season of the American Athletic Conference (The American). The season was the ninth since the former Big East Conference dissolved and became the American Athletic Conference and the eighth season of the College Football Playoff in place. The American was considered a member of the Group of Five (G5) together with Conference USA (C–USA), the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference.
Cincinnati secured their second consecutive championship game appearance and faced Tulsa in the 2020 AAC Championship game.[1]
Six teams participated in bowl games during the 2020 season; the league went 1–5.
Tulane lost to Nevada 38-27 in the 2020 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl.[2] UCF lost to BYU in the Boca Raton Bowl 49-23.[3] Memphis defeated Florida Atlantic 25–10 in the Montgomery Bowl.[4] Houston lost to Hawaii 28-14 in the 2020 New Mexico Bowl.[5] No. 24 Tulsa lost to Mississippi State 28-26 in the 2020 Armed Forces Bowl in a game that ended with a benches clearing brawl.[6]
In the New Year's Six Game, No. 8 Cincinnati lost in an instant classic to No. 9 Georgia 24–21 in the Peach Bowl.[7]
| Cincinnati | 39 | 45 | ||
| East Carolina | 100 | 97 | ||
| Houston | 85 | 84 | ||
| Memphis | 48 | 47 | ||
| Navy | 68 | 104 | ||
| SMU | 61 | 51 | ||
| South Florida | 56 | 64 | ||
| Temple | 117 | |||
| Tulane | 85 | 81 | ||
| Tulsa | 127 | |||
| UCF | 54 | 58 |
The 2021 American Media day was held virtually August 3 and 4, 2021[11]
•2021 The American Virtual Football Media Days
The American Athletic Conference preseason media poll was released at the virtual media day held August 4, 2021.[12] Cincinnati, who finished the 2020 season ranked No. 8 nationally, was tabbed as the preseason favorite in the 2021 preseason media poll.
| Media poll | |||
| 1 | Cincinnati | 262 (22) | |
| 2 | UCF | 241 (2) | |
| 3 | SMU | 188 | |
| 4 | Houston | 181 | |
| 5 | Memphis | 168 | |
| 6 | Tulsa | 153 | |
| 7 | Tulane | 132 | |
| т-8 | East Carolina | 85 | |
| т-8 | Navy | 85 | |
| 10 | Temple | 46 | |
| 11 | South Florida | 43 | |
| Award | Head Coach/Player | School | Position | Link |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lott Trophy | Coby Bryant | Cincinnati | CB | [13] |
| Dodd Trophy | Luke Fickell | Cincinnati | HC | [14] |
| Maxwell Award | Desmond Ridder | Cincinnati | QB | [15] |
| Calvin Austin | Memphis | WR | ||
| Ulysses Bentley IV | SMU | RB | ||
| Reggie Roberson Jr. | SMU | WR | ||
| Dillon Gabriel | UCF | QB | ||
| Bednarik Award | Sauce Gardner | Cincinnati | CB | [16] |
| Myjai Sanders | Cincinnati | DE | ||
| Quindell Johnson | Memphis | S | ||
| Diego Fagot | Navy | LB | ||
| Davey O'Brien Award | Desmond Ridder | Cincinnati | QB | [17] |
| Dillon Gabriel | UCF | QB | ||
| Doak Walker Award | Rahjai Harris | East Carolina | RB | [18] |
| Mulbah Car | Houston | RB | ||
| Ulysses Bentley, IV | SMU | RB | ||
| Cameron Carroll | Tulane | RB | ||
| Shamari Brooks | Tulsa | RB | ||
| Fred Biletnikoff Award | Calvin Austin | Memphis | WR | [19] |
| Rashee Rice | SMU | WR | ||
| Reggie Roberson Jr. | SMU | WR | ||
| Keylon Stokes | Tulsa | WR | ||
| Jaylon Robinson | UCF | WR | ||
| John Mackey Award | Josh Whyle | Cincinnati | TE | [20] |
| Grant Calcaterra | SMU | TE | ||
| Rimington Trophy | Kody Russey | Houston | OL | [21] |
| C.J. Perez | Temple | OL | ||
| Sincere Haynesworth | Tulane | OL | ||
| Outland Trophy | Dylan Parham | Memphis | G | [22] |
| Jaylon Thomas | SMU | T | ||
| Corey Dublin | Tulane | G | ||
| Tyler Smith | Tulsa | T | ||
| Cole Schneider | UCF | DT | ||
| Bronko Nagurski Trophy | Diego Fagot | Navy | LB | [23] |
| Sauce Gardner | Cincinnati | CB | ||
| Myjai Sanders | Cincinnati | DE | ||
| Jaxon Player | Tulsa | DT | ||
| Lou Groza Award | Blake Mazza | SMU | PK | [24] |
| Paul Hornung Award | Tyler Snead | East Carolina | WR | [25] |
| Nathaniel Dell | Houston | WR | ||
| Danny Gray | SMU | WR | ||
| Jha'Quan Jackson | Tulane | WR | ||
| Keylon Stokes | Tulsa | WR | ||
| Wuerffel Trophy | Holton Ahlers | East Carolina | QB | [26] |
| Marcus Jones | Houston | DB | ||
| Preston Brady | Memphis | LS | ||
| Shaine Hailey | SMU | LB | ||
| Mitchell Brinkman | South Florida | CB | ||
| Re-Al Mitchell | Temple | QB | ||
| Nick Anderson | Tulane | LB | ||
| Chris Paul | Tulsa | OG | ||
| Walter Camp Award | Desmond Ridder | Cincinnati | QB | [27] |
| Dillon Gabriel | UCF | QB | ||
| Manning Award | Desmond Ridder | Cincinnati | QB | [28] |
| Michael Pratt | Tulane | QB | ||
| Dillon Gabriel | UCF | QB | ||
| Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award | Clayton Tune | Houston | QB | [29] |
| Sean Dykes | Memphis | TE | ||
| Ulysses Bentley IV | SMU | RB | ||
| Reggie Roberson, Jr. | SMU | RB | ||
| Deneric Prince | Tulsa | RB | ||
| Keylon Stokes | Tulsa | WR | ||
| Jaylon Robinson | UCF | WR | ||
| Ray Guy Award | Jonn Young | East Carolina | P | [30] |
| Laine Wilkins | Houston | P | ||
| Daniel Davies | Navy | P | ||
| Adam Barry | Temple | P | ||
| Ryan Wright | Tulane | P | ||
| Lachlan Wilson | Tulsa | P | ||
| Andrew Osteen | UCF | P | ||
| Polynesian College Football Player Of The Year Award | Tama Tuitele | Navy | LB | [31] |
| Desmond Ridder | Cincinnati | QB | [32] | |
| Clayton Tune | Houston | QB | ||
| Dillon Gabriel | UCF | QB |
On January 27, 2021 Josh Heupel departed UCF to Tennessee. Gus Malzahn was hired to serve as the new head coach on February 15, 2021.[33]
Note: All stats current through the completion of the 2021 regular season
| Team | Head coach | Years at school | Overall record | Record at school | AAC record | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | Luke Fickell | 5 | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | ||||
| East Carolina | Mike Houston | 3 | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | ||||
| Houston | Dana Holgorsen | 3 | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | ||||
| Memphis | Ryan Silverfield | 2 | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | ||||
| Navy | Ken Niumatalolo | 14 | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | ||||
| SMU | Sonny Dykes | 4 | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | ||||
| South Florida | Jeff Scott | 2 | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | ||||
| Temple | Rod Carey | 3 | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | ||||
| Tulane | Willie Fritz | 6 | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | ||||
| Tulsa | Philip Montgomery | 7 | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | ||||
| UCF | Gus Malzahn | 1 | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= | data-sort-value= |
See also: 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings.
| Improvement in ranking | ||
| Drop in ranking | ||
| Not ranked previous week | ||
| align=center style="width:20px; border:1px solid #aaaaaa; background:white;" | RV | Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll |
| т | Tied 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 | Final | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cincinnati | AP | 7 | 8 | 8 | 7 | 5 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 3 | 4 | 4 |
| C | 10 | 8 | 9 | 8 | 6 | 4 | 3 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 4 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |
| CFP | Not released | 6 | 5 | 5 | 4 | 4 | 4 | |||||||||
| East Carolina | AP | |||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||
| CFP | Not released | |||||||||||||||
| Houston | AP | RV | RV | RV | 20 | 17 | 17 | 19 | 16 | 21 | 17 | |||||
| C | RV | RV | RV | RV | 19 | 17 | 17 | 16 | 16 | 21 | 17 | |||||
| CFP | Not released | 24 | 24 | 21 | 20 | |||||||||||
| Memphis | AP | RV | ||||||||||||||
| C | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||||
| CFP | Not released | |||||||||||||||
| Navy | AP | |||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||
| CFP | Not released | |||||||||||||||
| SMU | AP | RV | 24 | 23 | 21 | 19 | 23 | RV | RV | |||||||
| C | RV | RV | RV | RV | RV | 24 | 23 | 19 | 16 | 24 | RV | RV | ||||
| CFP | Not released | |||||||||||||||
| South Florida | AP | |||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||
| CFP | Not released | |||||||||||||||
| Temple | AP | |||||||||||||||
| C | ||||||||||||||||
| CFP | Not released | |||||||||||||||
| Tulane | AP | |||||||||||||||
| C | RV | RV | RV | |||||||||||||
| CFP | Not released | |||||||||||||||
| Tulsa | AP | |||||||||||||||
| C | RV | |||||||||||||||
| CFP | Not released | |||||||||||||||
| UCF | AP | RV | RV | RV | ||||||||||||
| C | RV | RV | RV | RV | ||||||||||||
| CFP | Not released | |||||||||||||||
The regular season will begin on September 2, 2021 and will end on November 27, 2021. The season will conclude with the 2021 American Athletic Conference Championship Game on December 4.
At Media Day American Commissioner Mike Aresco said games will not be rescheduled this year because of COVID & if teams can’t play, they will have to forfeit[35]
| Index to colors and formatting | |
|---|---|
| American member won | |
| American member lost | |
| American teams in bold |
See also: Army–Navy Game.
See also: 2021–22 NCAA football bowl games.
In 2021 the American will send teams to the Military Bowl, Fenway Bowl, and Hawaii Bowl annually. The American will have four selections from the following bowls:Frisco Bowl, Cure Bowl, Boca Raton Bowl, Gasparilla Bowl. Birmingham Bowl, First Responder Bowl and Myrtle Beach Bowl.[37] The American champion will go to a New Year's Six bowl if a team finishes higher than the champions of Group of Five conferences in the final College Football Playoff rankings. American teams are also eligible for the College Football Playoff if they're among the top four teams in the final CFP ranking.[38]
The following bowl games tied in with the American Athletic Conference had their 2021 editions canceled :
| Legend | ||
|---|---|---|
| American win | ||
| American loss | ||
| Bowl game[42] | Date | Site | Television | Time (EST) | American team | Opponent | Score | Attendance |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Myrtle Beach Bowl | December 20, 2021 | Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC | ESPN | 2:30 p.m. | Tulsa | Old Dominion | W 30–17 | 6,557 |
| Gasparilla Bowl | December 23, 2021 | Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL | ESPN | 7:00 p.m. | UCF | Florida | W 29–17 | 63,669 |
| Hawaii Bowl | December 24, 2021 | Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI | ESPN | 8:00 p.m. | Memphis | Hawaii | Cancelled | |
| Military Bowl | December 27, 2021 | Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD | ESPN | 2:30 p.m. | East Carolina | Boston College | Cancelled | |
| Birmingham Bowl | December 28, 2021 | Protective Stadium • Birmingham, AL | ESPN | 12:00 p.m. | No. 20 Houston | Auburn | W 17–13 | 47,100 |
| Fenway Bowl | December 29, 2021 | Fenway Park • Boston, MA | ESPN | 11:00 a.m. | SMU | Virginia | Cancelled | |
| College Football Playoff | ||||||||
| Cotton Bowl Classic | December 31, 2021 | AT&T Stadium • Arlington, Texas | ESPN | 3:30 p.m. | No. 4 Cincinnati | No. 1 Alabama | L 6–27 | 76,313 |
The following games include American teams competing against Power Five conferences teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, BYU/Notre Dame, Pac-12 and SEC). All rankings are from the AP Poll at the time of the game.
| Date | Conference | Visitor | Home | Site | Score | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2 | ACC | South Florida | NC State | Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC | L 0–45 | |
| September 4 | Big 12 | Texas Tech | Houston | NRG Stadium • Houston, TX | L 21–38 | |
| September 4 | Big Ten | Temple | Rutgers | SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ | L 14–61 | |
| September 4 | Big 12 | No. 2 Oklahoma | Tulane | Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK | L 35–40 | |
| September 11 | SEC | South Carolina | East Carolina | Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC | L 17–20 | |
| September 11 | SEC | No. 13 Florida | South Florida | Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL | L 20–42 | |
| September 11 | Big 12 | Tulsa | Oklahoma State | Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, OK | L 23–28 | |
| September 17 | ACC | UCF | Louisville | Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY | L 35–42 | |
| September 18 | Big Ten | No. 8 Cincinnati | Indiana | Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN | W 38–24 | |
| September 18 | SEC | Mississippi State | Memphis | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN | W 31–29 | |
| September 18 | ACC | Boston College | Temple | Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA | L 3–28 | |
| September 18 | SEC | Tulane | No. 17 Ole Miss | Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS | L 21–61 | |
| September 18 | Big Ten | Tulsa | No. 9 Ohio State | Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH | L 20–41 | |
| September 25 | Independent | South Florida | BYU | LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT | L 27–35 | |
| September 25 | Big 12 | SMU | TCU | Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX | W 42–34 | |
| October 2 | Independent | No. 7 Cincinnati | No. 9 Notre Dame | Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN | W 24–13 | |
| November 6 | Independent | Navy | Notre Dame | Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN | L 6–34 |
The following games include American teams competing against teams from C-USA, MAC, Mountain West or Sun Belt.
| Date | Conference | Visitor | Home | Site | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2 | Sun Belt | East Carolina | Appalachian State | Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC | L 19–33 |
| September 4 | Mountain West | Boise State | UCF | Bounce House • Orlando, FL | W 36–31 |
| September 4 | MAC | Miami (OH) | No. 8 Cincinnati | Nippert Stadium• Cincinnati, OH | W 49–14 |
| September 4 | C-USA | Marshall | Navy | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD | L 7–49 |
| September 11 | C-USA | Houston | Rice | Rice Stadium • Houston, TX | W 44–7 |
| September 11 | Sun Belt | Memphis | Arkansas State | Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR | W 55–50 |
| September 11 | Mountain West | Air Force | Navy | Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD | L 3–23 |
| September 11 | C-USA | North Texas | SMU | Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX | W 35–12 |
| September 11 | MAC | Temple | Akron | InfoCision Stadium • Akron, OH | W 45–24 |
| September 18 | C-USA | East Carolina | Marshall | Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV | W 42–38 |
| September 18 | C-USA | SMU | Louisiana Tech | Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA | W 39–37 |
| September 25 | C-USA | UTSA | Memphis | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN | L 28–31 |
| September 25 | C-USA | UAB | Tulane | Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA | L 21–28 |
| September 25 | Sun Belt | Arkansas State | Tulsa | H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK | W 41–34 |
The following games include American teams competing against FBS Independents, which includes Army, Liberty, New Mexico State, UConn or UMass.
| Date | Visitor | Home | Site | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| November 20 | UConn | UCF | Bounce House • Orlando, FL | W 49–17 |
| November 27 | No. 19 Houston | UConn | Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT | W 45–17 |
| December 11 | Army | Navy | MetLife Stadium • East Rutherford, NJ | W 17–13 |
The Football Championship Subdivision comprises 13 conferences and two independent programs.
| Date | Visitor | Home | Site | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 2 | UC Davis | Tulsa | H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK | L 17–19 |
| September 4 | Abilene Christian | SMU | Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX | W 56–9 |
| September 4 | Nicholls | Memphis | Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN | W 42–17 |
| September 11 | Murray State | No. 7 Cincinnati | Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH | W 42–7 |
| September 11 | Morgan State | Tulane | Legion Field • Birmingham, AL | W 69–20 |
| September 11 | Bethune-Cookman | UCF | Bounce House • Orlando, FL | W 63–14 |
| September 18 | Grambling State | Houston | TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX | W 45–0 |
| September 18 | Florida A&M | South Florida | Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL | W 38–17 |
| September 25 | Charleston Southern | East Carolina | Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC | W 31–28 |
| September 25 | Wagner | Temple | Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA | W 41–7 |
Regular Season
| Power 5 Conferences | Record | |
|---|---|---|
| ACC | 0–3 | |
| Big Ten | 1–2 | |
| Big 12 | 1–3 | |
| BYU/Notre Dame | 1–2 | |
| Pac-12 | 0–0 | |
| SEC | 2–4 | |
| Power 5 Total | 5–11 | |
| Other FBS Conferences | Record | |
| C–USA | 3–1 | |
| Independents (Excluding BYU & Notre Dame) | 8–0 | |
| MAC | 1–2 | |
| Sun Belt | 2–0 | |
| Other FBS Total | 14–3 | |
| FCS Opponents | Record | |
| Football Championship Subdivision | 9–1 | |
| Total Non-Conference Record | 28–15 | |
Post Season
| Power Conferences 5 | Record | |
|---|---|---|
| ACC | 0–0 | |
| Big Ten | 0–0 | |
| Big 12 | 0–0 | |
| BYU/Notre Dame | 0–0 | |
| Pac-12 | 0–0 | |
| SEC | 2–1 | |
| Power 5 Total | 2–1 | |
| Other FBS Conferences | Record | |
| C–USA | 1–0 | |
| Independents (Excluding BYU & Notre Dame) | 0–0 | |
| MAC | 0–0 | |
| Mountain West | 0–0 | |
| Sun Belt | 0–0 | |
| Other FBS Total | 1–0 | |
| Total Bowl Record | 3–1 | |
| Week | Offensive | Defensive | Specialist | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player | Team | Position | Player | Team | Position | Player | Team | Position | |||||
| WEEK 1[43] | Tanner Mordecai | SMU | QB | Kalia Davis | UCF | DL | Joe Doyle | Memphis | P | ||||
| WEEK 2[44] | Calvin Austin | Memphis | WR | William Kwenkeu | Temple | LB | Mannie Nunnery | Houston | LB | ||||
| WEEK 3[45] | Tanner Mordecai (2) | SMU | QB | Deshawn Pace | Cincinnati | LB | Calvin Austin | Memphis | WR | ||||
| WEEK 4[46] | Davis Brin | Tulsa | QB | Derek Parish | Houston | LB | Marcus Jones | Houston | CB | ||||
| WEEK 5[47] | Desmond Ridder | Cincinnati | QB | Taylor Robinson | Navy | S | Marcus Jones (2) | Houston | CB | ||||
| WEEK 6[48] | Jerome Ford | Cincinnati | RB | Tatum Bethune | UCF | LB | Bryan Massey | SMU | S | ||||
| WEEK 7[49] | Jerome Ford (2) | Cincinnati | RB | Justin Wright | Tulsa | LB | Brian Battie | South Florida | RB | ||||
| WEEK 8[50] | Tanner Mordecai (3) | SMU | QB | Donavan Mutin | Houston | LB | Marcus Jones (3) | Houston | CB | ||||
| WEEK 9[51] | Nathaniel Dell | Houston | WR | Malik Fleming | East Carolina | CB | Marcus Jones (4) | Houston | CB | ||||
| WEEK 10[52] | Clayton Tune | Houston | QB | Rodney Owens | Memphis | CB | Brian Battie (2) | South Florida | RB | ||||
| WEEK 11[53] | Tanner Mordecai (4) | SMU | QB | Justin Wright (2) | Tulsa | LB | Owen Daffer | East Carolina | K | ||||
| WEEK 12[54] | Desmond Ridder (2) | Cincinnati | QB | Marcus Jones | Houston | CB | Owen Daffer (2) | East Carolina | K | ||||
| WEEK 13[55] | Seth Henigan | Memphis | QB | Sauce Gardner | Cincinnati | CB | David Kemp | Memphis | K | ||||
The following individuals received postseason honors as chosen by the league's head coaches.[56]
| Offensive Player of the Year | Desmond Ridder | Cincinnati |
| Defensive Player of the Year | Sauce Gardner | Cincinnati |
| Special Teams Player of the Year | Marcus Jones | Houston |
| Rookie of the Year | Alton McCaskill | Houston |
| Coach of the Year | Luke Fickell | Cincinnati |
| Position | Player | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| First Team Offense | |||
| WR | Nathaniel Dell | style= | Houston |
| WR | Calvin Austin * | style= | Memphis |
| WR | Danny Gray | style= | SMU |
| OT | Dylan O’Quinn | style= | Cincinnati |
| OT | Patrick Paul | style= | Houston |
| OG | Lorenz Metz | style= | Cincinnati |
| OG | Dylan Parham | style= | Memphis |
| C | Jake Renfro | style= | Cincinnati |
| TE | Sean Dykes | style= | Memphis |
| QB | Desmond Ridder | style= | Cincinnati |
| RB | Jerome Ford | style= | Cincinnati |
| RB | Keaton Mitchell | style= | East Carolina |
| First Team Defense | |||
| DL | Big Kat Bryant | style= | UCF |
| DL | Curtis Brooks | style= | Cincinnati |
| DL | Myjai Sanders * | style= | Cincinnati |
| DL | David Anenih | style= | Houston |
| DL | Logan Hall | style= | Houston |
| LB | Darrian Beavers | style= | Cincinnati |
| LB | Joel Dublanko | style= | Cincinnati |
| LB | JJ Russell | style= | Memphis |
| LB | Diego Fagot | style= | Navy |
| CB | Sauce Gardner * | style= | Cincinnati |
| CB | Coby Bryant | style= | Cincinnati |
| S | Bryan Cook | style= | Cincinnati |
| S | Gervarrius Owens | style= | Houston |
| First Team Special Teams | |||
| K | Owen Daffer | style= | East Carolina |
| P | Ryan Wright | style= | Tulane |
| RS | Marcus Jones | style= | Houston |
| Position | Player | Team | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Second Team Offense | |||
| WR | Ryan O’Keefe | style= | UCF |
| WR | Alec Pierce | style= | Cincinnati |
| WR | Tyler Snead | style= | East Carolina |
| OT | Alan Ali | style= | SMU |
| OT | Tyler Smith | style= | Tulsa |
| OT | Lokahi Pauole | style= | UCF |
| OG | Demetris Harris | style= | South Florida |
| OG | Hayden Howerton | style= | SMU |
| C | Kody Russey | style= | Houston |
| TE | Grant Calcaterra | style= | SMU |
| QB | Tanner Mordecai | style= | SMU |
| RB | Alton McCaskill | style= | Houston |
| RB | Ulysses Bentley IV | style= | SMU |
| Second Team Defense | |||
| DL | John Tate IV | style= | Memphis |
| DL | Derek Parish | style= | Houston |
| DL | Elijah Chatman | style= | SMU |
| DL | Jaxon Player | style= | Tulsa |
| LB | Bruce Bivens | style= | East Carolina |
| LB | Donavan Mutin | style= | Houston |
| LB | Antonio Grier | style= | South Florida |
| LB | Delano Robinson | style= | SMU |
| CB | Ja'Quan McMillian | style= | East Carolina |
| CB | Marcus Jones | style= | Houston |
| S | Divaad Wilson | style= | UCF |
| S | Quindell Johnson | style= | Memphis |
| Second Team Special Teams | |||
| K | Bijan Nichols | style= | Navy |
| P | Jonn Young | style= | East Carolina |
| RS | Bryan Massey | style= | SMU |
All Conference Honorable Mentions:
The 2021 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following College Football All-American first teams chosen by the following selector organizations: Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Walter Camp Foundation (WCFF), Sporting News (TSN, from its historic name of The Sporting News), Sports Illustrated (SI), The Athletic (Athletic), USA Today (USAT) ESPN, CBS Sports (CBS), College Football News (CFN), Athlon Sports, Phil Steele, and Fox Sports (FOX).
Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. Players are chosen against other players playing at their position only. To be selected a consensus All-American, players must be chosen to the first team on at least half of the five official selectors as recognized by the NCAA. Second- and third-team honors are used to break ties. Players named first-team by all five selectors are deemed unanimous All-Americans. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine consensus and unanimous All-Americans.[57]
| Position | Player | School | Selector | Unanimous | Consensus | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| First Team All-Americans | |||||||
| CB | Sauce Gardner | style= | Cincinnati | (AFCA, AP, CBS, ESPN, FWAA, The Athletic, TSN, USAT) | |||
| CB | Coby Bryant | style= | Cincinnati | (AFCA, WCFF) | |||
| DB | Marcus Jones | style= | Houston | (AP) | |||
| AP | Marcus Jones | style= | Houston | (CBS, ESPN, FWAA, The Athletic, TSN, USAT) | |||
| KR | Brian Battie | style= | South Florida | (FWAA, WCFF) | |||
| Position | Player | School | Selector | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Second Team All-Americans | |||||
| CB | Coby Bryant | style= | Cincinnati | (AP, CBS, TSN, USAT) | |
| CB | Sauce Gardner | style= | Cincinnati | (WCFF) | |
| CB | Ja'Quan McMillian | style= | East Carolina | (AP, FWAA, TSN) | |
| PR | Marcus Jones | style= | Houston | (AP, CBS, WCFF) | |
| KR | Brian Battie | style= | South Florida | (CBS, TSN) | |
Home Depot Coach of the Year Award
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati[58]
Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati[59]
Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati[60]
AFCA Coach of Year
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati[61]
Bear Bryant Award
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati[62]
Paul Hornung Award
Marcus Jones, Houston[63]
Jim Thorpe Award
Coby Bryant, Cincinnati[64]
Jet Award
Marcus Jones, Houston[65]
The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2022 NFL draft.