Examining the contenders in the American Athletic Conference

The American Conference has widely been viewed as the strongest Group of Six conference. They are the only Group of Six conference that sent a team to the four-team playoff.

In the second year of the expanded playoffs, the American is expected to take that spot designated for the fifth-highest-rated conference champion.

The American is loaded with contenders, and any of the top five teams could conceivably win it and make the playoffs. Here is the outlook for each of them halfway through the season.

Navy (3-0 conference record, 5-0 overall)

Navy entered the season predicted to finish second in the preseason poll and remain undefeated in conference play. The Midshipmen offense is averaging 33.8 points per game and 474 yards per game on offense, both of which rank among the top 30 in the country.

Quarterback Blake Horvath had added a new passing element to the offense, already throwing for 839 yards and six touchdowns. Eli Heidenrich has been Horvath’s favorite target, hauling in 20 catches for 413 yards and four touchdowns.

The defense is more towards the middle of the road, ranking around 60th in most defensive metrics. When they have to face stronger competition like Notre Dame, South Florida and a road game vs Memphis, they will need that group to step up.

No. 23 Memphis (2-0 conference record, 6-0 overall)

Memphis is currently ranked in the AP Top 25 and owns a win over an SEC team in Arkansas. They have been dominant on both sides of the ball, scoring at least 28 points in all six of their games so far. The defense has been suffocating, holding four of their six opponents to less than 20 points.

The offense is led by three seniors: quarterback Brendon Lewis, who spent time at both Colorado and Nevada, running back Sutton Smith and wide receiver Cortez Braham Jr. Lewis has accounted for 15 touchdowns already, and provides Memphis with a veteran signal caller to guide them through the tougher parts of their schedule.

Smith is averaging 6.5 yards per carry and already has six rushing touchdowns. Braham has five of the eight receiving touchdowns so far this year.

The defense has been elite, registering 11 sacks, nine interceptions and a fumble recovery. DeMarco Ward has been the star, recording two pick-sixes already.

Their schedule is pretty friendly, as their games against No. 24 South Florida, Tulane and Navy are all at home. The Tigers will be favored in all three games and even if they lose one, will likely still find themselves in the conference championship game.

North Texas (1-0 conference record, 5-0 overall)

A team that not many people expected to be competitive, the Mean Green have one of the most electric offenses in the country, averaging 44.8 points per game.

Redshirt freshman quarterback Drew Mestemaker has lit it up, passing for 1,247 yards, 11 touchdowns and zero interceptions through the first five games, including a four-touchdown performance against Washington State.

North Texas also puts the mean in Mean Green with their rushing attack. As a team, they average five yards per carry and 180 rushing yards per game.

Their two lead running backs, Makenzie McGill II and Caleb Hawkins, have combined for 625 yards and 11 touchdowns already this season.

The Mean Green had a pretty easy nonconference schedule and their slate in the American is fairly manageable. They face No. 24 South Florida and Navy, both of those games are at home, and their third toughest game might be a Temple team that also has to travel to Denton, Texas.

No. 24 South Florida (1-0 conference record, 4-1 overall)

South Florida has the most impressive resume in the conference, having scored wins over previously No. 25 Boise State at home and No. 13 Florida on the road. Not only did they beat those teams, but they held them to seven and 16 points, respectively. Their defense is only allowing 22.4 points per game on the season.

After dealing with injuries last year, quarterback Byrum Brown has returned to form as one of the best dual-threat quarterbacks in the nation. The senior has passed for 1,194 yards and 10 touchdowns while adding another 282 yards and three scores of the ground, leading the team in both categories.

The Bulls have the most difficult schedule so far, with road games against North Texas, No. 23 Memphis and Navy. They have shown an ability to win on the road when they did it against Florida, so they will need to be able to conjure up that winning formula a few more times.

Tulane (1-0 conference record, 4-1 overall)

Tulane entered this season as the preseason favorite, especially after the late offseason addition of former BYU quarterback Jake Retzlaff.

The Green Wave opened the season with wins over Power 4 opponents in Northwestern and Duke, but lost 45-10 to No. 13 Ole Miss. The Green Wave believes that their tough nonconference schedule will help them as conference play begins.

While bringing in Retzlaff helped stabilize a questionable quarterback situation, it also added a massive element to a running game that lost star running back Makhi Hughes to the transfer portal this past offseason. Retzlaff leads the team in rushing attempts with 58, rushing yards with 368 and rushing touchdowns with seven.

The Green Wave have a pretty easy conference schedule with their only challenging game coming at No. 23 Memphis in November. If Tulane can steal that one, they could find themselves in the conference title game for the fourth straight season.

Nate Johns is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email jzn5275@psu.edu.