Where is UCF in College Football America AAC Rankings?
The UCF Knights are picked to win the American Athletic Conference in the 2022 College Football America Yearbook Preseason AAC Rankings.
The AAC rankings are based off the College Football America Yearbook’s overall Top 131 rankings, which ranks every team in FBS entering the season.
Fresh off a nine-win season that included a 29-17 Gasparilla Bowl victory over Florida, UCF is picked to finish ahead of defending conference champion Cincinnati and runner-up Houston.
The Bearcats earned the first College Football Playoff berth by a Group of 5 team last season, but suffered its lone loss in the semifinals to Alabama, 27-6.
Meanwhile, the Cougars lost just two games in 2021. Houston lost the opener to Texas Tech, 38-21, and to Cincinnati, 45-17, in the conference championship game.
UCF won six of its final seven games to bounce back from a shaky start last year in Head Coach Gus Malzahn's first season in Orlando.
The Knights, who return seven starters on offense and eight on defense, get Cincinnati at home at the Bounce House. UCF does not play Houston in the regular season. UCF is looking for its first conference championship since winning the AAC in 2017 and 2018.
The remaining AAC teams in the preseason Top 131, in order, include: East Carolina (No. 71), SMU (No. 80), Memphis (No. 82), Tulsa (No. 94), Tulane (No. 95), Navy (No. 100), Temple (No. 107) and USF (No. 111).
The College Football America 2022 Yearbook features Houston quarterback Clayton Tune on the cover.
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Matthew Postins is an award-winning sports journalist writes for CowboyMaven. He also writes for Inside the Rangers, CowboyMaven,DallasBasketball.com, Longhorn Country, All Aggies, Inside The Texans, Washington Football, covers the Big 12 for HeartlandCollegeSports.com and is the Editor of the College Football America Yearbook.