Welcome back, college football fans, as we explore the 11th most difficult conference, aka the easiest FBS conference in 2024. We’ve gone through all of the FCS and as we shift I should define just in case we have a new football fan out there. FCS (Football Championship Series) is what would be called “mid-majors” in basketball. The FCS teams cannot qualify for a bowl game (with the HBCU Celebration Bowl being the only exception) but the top 24 (ish) make the playoffs. The FBS (Football Bowl Series) has a smaller (used to be 0, then 2, then 4, now 12 this year) playoff, but non-playoff teams can qualify for the non-playoff bowl games. The FBS is made up of 2 subdivisions: the Core 4 (ACC, Big 12, Big Ten, SEC, and Notre Dame) which is a 68-team group generally considered the most difficult conferences, and the Group of 5 (American, Conference USA, non-Notre Dame Independents, MAC, Mountain West, the Pac-12 [which has been demoted to Group of 5 since it now only has 2 members who are playing a Group of 5-type schedule] and the Sun Belt) which is a 66-team group.
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Before the 2023 season, the 14-team American Athletic Conference (AAC), was talked about as a 6th Power 5 (what the Core 4 was called when the Pac 12 was a major) conference. Teams like Memphis, Tulane, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF got a lot of press. But conference realignment (dropping CIN, HOU, UCF and gaining 6 teams from the mid-to-low-performing Conference USA) created a disappointing 2023 season. The loss of SMU to the ACC over the offseason weakened them just a little more. Adding Army got them back to 14 but Army and SMU are not the same, at least for now. Interestingly, Army and Navy are now in the AAC, but won’t play each other as conference foes. The agreement is that the annual Army/Navy game will be played the week after Championship week as a non-conference rivalry game with no implications to the AAC standings. Of course, this year, in addition to the FCS playoffs, the new 12-team FBS playoffs will also start that week.
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In the 11th place AAC, only Memphis has a schedule in the top 90. A full 9 teams are in the easiest 25 schedules in the FBS and last-in-the-FBS FAU has a score of just 4.61, a mere 0.01 more difficult than Murray St (4.60/135). The fall from greatness is nearly complete for the AAC. In the table below, (F) indicates a game against an FCS opponent, (G) indicates a non-conference Group of 5 game, (G/F) indicates a game against a team that promoted over the offseason from FCS to FBS, (4) indicates playing a Core 4 game, (N) indicates a neutral site game, and (*) indicates that weird non-conference, but in the same conference, but traditional Army-Navy game. I’m happy to present to you, the least-challenged FBS conference, the American:
| Team | 2023 Record (Rank) | 2024 PS SOS (Rank) | Home Games | Away/Neutral Games | Opp 2023 Rec |
| Memphis Tigers (1) | 10-3 (60) | 7.45 (66) | (36-50/.419) N Alabama (F), Troy (G), Middle Tennessee (G), North Texas, Charlotte, Rice, UAB | (45-32/.682) Florida St (4), Navy, South Florida, UTSA, Tulane | 81-71 (.533) |
| Temple Owls (2) | 3-9 (129) | 6.78 (92) | (33-41/.440) Coastal Carolina (G), Utah St (G), Army, Tulsa, FAU, North Texas | (40-36/.526) Oklahoma (4), UCONN (G), Navy, East Carolina, Tulane, UTSA | 73-77 (.487) |
| North Texas Mean Green (3) | 5-7 (118) | 6.73 (94) | (35-39/.473) Steph F Austin (F), Wyoming (G), Tulsa, Tulane, Army, East Carolina | (40-36/.526) Texas Tech (4), South Alabama (G), FAU, Memphis, UTSA, Temple | 75-75 (.500) |
| Charlotte 49ers (4) | 3-9 (132) | 6.70 (96) | (42-34/.553) Gardner Webb (F), James Madison (G), East Carolina, Tulane, South Florida, UAB | (36-39/.480) North Carolina (4), Indiana (4), Rice, Navy, Memphis, FAU | 78-73 (.517) |
| South Florida Bulls (5) | 7-6 (102) | 6.66 (100) | (33-40/.452) Bethune (F), Miami FL (4), Memphis, UAB, Navy, Tulsa | (39-38/.506) Alabama (4), Southern Miss (G), Tulane, FAU, Charlotte, Rice | 72-78 (.480) |
| Navy Midshipmen (6) | 5-7 (120) | 6.41 (110) | (31-31/.500) Bucknell (F), Temple, Memphis, Charlotte, Tulane | (45-44/.506) Notre Dame (4N), Air Force (G), Army (*N), UAB, Rice, South Florida, East Carolina | 76-75 (.503) |
| Tulane Green Wave (7) | 11-3 (38) | 6.37 (111) | (38-37/.507) Kennesaw St (G/F), Southeastern (F), South Florida, Rice, Temple, Memphis | (33-41/.440) Oklahoma (4), Louisiana (G), UAB, North Texas, Charlotte, Navy | 71-78 (.477) |
| East Carolina Pirates (8) | 2-10 (105) | 6.14 (116) | (33-41/.440) Norfolk St (F), Arkansas St (G), UTSA, Temple, FAU, Navy | (37-38/.493) Old Dominion (G), Liberty (G), Charlotte, Army, Tulsa, North Texas | 70-79 (.470) |
| Rice Owls (9) | 6-7 (108) | 6.11 (120) | (30-43/.411) Texas Southern (F), Sam Houston (G), Charlotte, UTSA, Navy, South Florida | (38-37/.507) Houston (4), UCONN (G), Army, Tulane, Memphis, UAB | 68-80 (.459) |
| UTSA Roadrunners (10) | 9-4 (77) | 6.05 (121) | (30-38/.441) Houston Christian (F), Kansas St (4), FAU, Memphis, North Texas, Temple | (38-40/.487) Texas (4), Texas St (G), East Carolina, Rice, Tulsa, Army | 68-78 (.466) |
| UAB Blazers (11) | 4-8 (106) | 5.72 (127) | (36-38/.486) Alcorn St (F), UCONN (G), Navy, Tulane, Tulsa, Rice | (32-42/.432) Arkansas (4), ULM (G), Army, South Florida, Memphis, Charlotte | 68-80 (.459) |
| Tulsa Golden Hurricanes (12) | 4-8 (107) | 5.30 (131) | (31-38/.449) Northwestern St (F), Oklahoma St (4), Army, UTSA, East Carolina, FAU | (28-46/.378) Arkansas St (G), LA Tech (G), North Texas, Temple, UAB, South Florida | 59-84 (.413) |
| Army Black Knights (13) | 6-6 (101) | 5.22 (132) | (32-42/.432) Lehigh (F), Air Force (G), Rice, UAB, East Carolina, UTSA | (31-42/.425) Notre Dame (4N), Navy (*N), FAU, Temple, Tulsa, North Texas | 63-83 (.432) |
| FAU Owls (14) | 4-8 (127) | 4.61 (134) | (29-43/.403) Wagner (F), FIU (G). Army, North Texas, South Florida, Charlotte | (25-48/.342) Michigan St (4), UCONN, UTSA, East Carolina, Temple, Tulsa | 54-91 (.372) |
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And that’s a wrap for this episode. Tune in later this weekend for the 10th most challenged conference. Thank you as always for reading and especially for sharing with others, G.
