2020 American Athletic Conference football season

Sports season
2020 American Athletic Conference
football season
LeagueNCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
SportFootball
DurationSeptember 2020
through January 2021
Number of teams11
TV partner(s)ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and CBS Sports Network
2021 NFL Draft
Top draft pickZaven Collins (Tulsa)
Picked byArizona Cardinals, 16th overall
Regular season
Season championsCincinnati
  Runners-upTulsa
The American Championship
Football seasons
← 2019
2021 →
2020 American Athletic Conference football standings
  • v
  • t
  • e
 Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 8 Cincinnati y$   6 – 0     9 – 1  
Tulsa y   6 – 0     6 – 3  
Memphis   5 – 3     8 – 3  
UCF   5 – 3     6 – 4  
SMU   4 – 3     7 – 3  
Houston   3 – 3     3 – 5  
Navy   3 – 4     3 – 7  
Tulane   3 – 5     6 – 6  
East Carolina   3 – 5     3 – 6  
Temple   1 – 6     1 – 6  
South Florida   0 – 7     1 – 8  
Championship: Cincinnati 27, Tulsa 24
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll.

The 2020 American Athletic Conference football season is the 29th NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision season of the American Athletic Conference (The American). The season is the eighth since the former Big East Conference dissolved and became the American Athletic Conference and the seventh season of the College Football Playoff in place. The American is 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.

Previous season

Memphis secured their third consecutive West division title and faced East champion Cincinnati in the 2019 AAC Championship game.[1]

Seven teams participated in bowl games during the 2019 season; the league went 4–3.

SMU lost to Florida Atlantic 28–52 in the 2019 Boca Raton Bowl.[2] UCF defeated Marshall in the Gasparilla Bowl 48–25.[3] Temple lost to North Carolina 13–55 in the Military Bowl.[4] No. 23 Navy defeated Kansas State 20–17 in the 2019 Liberty Bowl.[5] No. 21 Cincinnati defeated Boston College 38–6 in the 2020 Birmingham Bowl after a ninety-minute rain delay.[6] In the latest addition of the Battle for the Bell, Tulane defeated Southern Miss 30–13 in the Armed Forces Bowl.[7]

In the New Year's Six Game, No. 17 Memphis lost to No. 10 Penn State 39–53 in the Cotton Bowl Classic.[8]

Preseason

Departure of UConn

The Huskies' Big East entrance date was confirmed for July 1, 2020 after UConn and The American reached a buyout agreement. At the time this agreement was announced, UConn also announced that its football team would become an FBS independent once it joined the Big East.[9] The American has no immediate plan to add another team to rebalance division, so divisions have been eliminated from the conference for the time being.

Recruiting classes

Rankings
Team ESPN[10] Rivals[11] 24/7[12]
Cincinnati 49 39 40
East Carolina 73 65 74
Houston 71 79 72
Memphis 70 65
Navy 83 127
SMU 68 70
South Florida 109
Temple 77 100
Tulane 67 64 69
Tulsa 84 115
UCF 66 58 75

American Athletic Conference Media Days

The 2020 American Athletic Conference Media Day was originally scheduled for July 12–14 in Newport, Rhode Island. On May 4, 2020 The American Announced due to the COVID-19 Pandemic media day was canceled.[13]

Preseason media poll

The preseason Poll was released September 1[14]

Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 UCF 204 (10)
2 Cincinnati 201 (7)
3 Memphis 192 (2)
4 SMU 146
5 Navy 125 (1)
6 Tulane 118
7 Houston 114
8 Temple 88
9 Tulsa 49
10 East Carolina 42
11 South Florida 41

Head coaches

Coaching changes

At the end of his third season ended in a 4–8 record, South Florida fired Charlie Strong. On December 9, 2019, Jeff Scott, offensive coordinator for Clemson, was hired as the new head coach.[15]

On December 8, 2019 after Norvell's departure to Florida State, Silverfield served as the interim head coach before being promoted to head coach on December 13, 2019.[16]

Coaches

Note: All stats current through the completion of the 2020 season

Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school AAC record
Cincinnati Luke Fickell 4 41–21 (.661) 35–14 (.714) 21–9 (.700)
East Carolina Mike Houston 2 87–39 (.690) 7–14 (.333) 4–12 (.250)
Houston Dana Holgorsen 2 68–54 (.557) 7–13 (.350) 5–9 (.357)
Memphis Ryan Silverfield 1 8–4 (.667) 8–4 (.667) 5–3 (.625)
Navy Ken Niumatalolo 13 101–67 (.601) 101–67 (.601) 30–17 (.638)
SMU Sonny Dykes 3 63–59 (.516) 22–14 (.611) 14–9 (.609)
South Florida Jeff Scott 1 1–8 (.111) 1–8 (.111) 0–7 (.000)
Temple Rod Carey 2 61–41 (.598) 9–11 (.450) 6–9 (.400)
Tulane Willie Fritz 5 183–102 (.642) 29–33 (.468) 15–25 (.375)
Tulsa Philip Montgomery 6 31–40 (.437) 31–40 (.437) 19–26 (.422)
UCF Josh Heupel 3 28–8 (.778) 28–8 (.778) 19–5 (.792)

Source:[17]

Rankings

  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		 Wk
16		 Final
Cincinnati AP 20 13 14 15 11 8 9 7 6 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 8
C 22 14 16 15 11 10 10 7 6 7 7 7 7 7 6 6 8
CFP Not released 7 7 8 9 8
East Carolina AP
C
CFP Not released
Houston AP RV RV
C RV RV
CFP Not released
Memphis AP RV 16 17 25 RV RV RV RV RV RV
C RV 15 20 24 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released
Navy AP RV
C RV
CFP Not released
SMU AP RV RV RV RV 18 17 16 22 18 19 RV RV RV
C RV RV RV RV 21 18 16 23 18 19 RV RV RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released
South Florida AP RV
C RV
CFP Not released
Temple AP
C
CFP Not released
Tulane AP
C RV RV
CFP Not released
Tulsa AP RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 24 22 18 20 22 RV
C RV RV RV RV RV RV RV 25 22 19 20 25 RV
CFP Not released 25 24 24 23 24
UCF AP 21 14 13 11 RV RV RV RV RV RV RV
C 21 13 15 12 25 RV RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released
Legend
    Improvement in ranking
  Drop in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
  No change in ranking from previous week
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol

Schedule

The regular season will begin on September 5, 2020 and will end on November 28, 2020. The season will conclude with the 2020 American Athletic Conference Championship Game on December 19.[18]

Regular season

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

Week One

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 5 4:30 p.m. SMU Texas State Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX ESPN W 31–24   7,500
September 5 8:00 p.m. Arkansas State Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN (Paint Bucket Bowl) ESPN W 37–24   4,537
September 7 8:00 p.m. BYU Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD ESPN L 55–3   0
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
September 5 Cincinnati East Carolina Houston South Florida Temple Tulane Tulsa UCF

Week Two

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 12 7:00 p.m. The Citadel South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPNU W 27–6   0
September 12 7:30 p.m. Tulane South Alabama Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL ESPN2 W 27–24   6,000
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
September 12 Cincinnati East Carolina Houston Memphis Navy SMU Temple Tulsa UCF

Week Three

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 19 12:00 p.m. Navy Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ABC  NAVY 27–24   0
September 19 12:00 p.m. Austin Peay No. 13 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPN+ W 55–20   0
September 19 12:00 p.m. Tulsa No. 11 Oklahoma State Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, OK ESPN L 16–7   14,668
September 19 2:30 p.m. South Florida No. 7 Notre Dame Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IN USA L 52–0   10,085
September 19 3:30 p.m. No. 14 UCF Georgia Tech Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, GA ABC W 49–21   11,000
September 19 6:00 p.m. SMU North Texas Apogee Stadium • Denton, TX (Safeway Bowl) CBSSN W 65–35   8,464
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
September 19 East Carolina Houston Memphis Temple

Week Four

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 26 12:00 p.m. No. 13 UCF East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ABC  UCF 51–28   305
September 26 3:30 p.m. No. 22 Army No. 14 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPN W 24–10   0
September 26 7:00 p.m. Tulane Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS (Battle for the Bell) Stadium W 66–24   0
September 26 7:00 p.m. Stephen F. Austin SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX ESPN+ W 50–7   7,898
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
September 26 Houston Memphis Navy South Florida Temple Tulsa

Week Five

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 3 12:00 p.m. East Carolina Georgia State Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA ESPNU L 29–49   3,823
October 3 3:30 p.m. South Florida No. 15 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPN+  CIN 28–7   0
October 3 3:30 p.m. No. 25 Memphis SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX ESPN2  SMU 30–27   7,898
October 3 6:00 p.m. Navy Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO (Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) CBSSN L 7–40   5,000
October 3 7:30 p.m. Tulsa No. 11 UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL ESPN2  TLSA 34–26   8,874
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
October 3 Houston Temple Tulane

Week Six

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 8 7:30 p.m. Tulane Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN  HOU 49–31   8,164
October 10 6:00 p.m. Temple Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN  NAVY 31–29   4,400
October 10 7:00 p.m. East Carolina South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPN+  ECU 44–24   6,799
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
October 10 Cincinnati Memphis SMU Tulsa UCF

Week Seven

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 16 6:00 p.m. No. 17 SMU Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPN2  SMU 37–34 OT  0
October 16 9:30 p.m. No. 14 BYU Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN2 L 43–26   10,092
October 17 12:00 p.m. Navy East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPN2  NAVY 27–23   3,500
October 17 12:00 p.m. USF Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPN+  TEM 29–27   782
October 17 3:30 p.m. UCF Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ABC  MEM 50–49   10,554
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
October 17 Cincinnati Tulsa

Week Eight

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 23 7:30 p.m. Tulsa South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPN  TLSA 42–13   5,142
October 24 12:00 p.m. Temple Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPN+  MEM 41–29   10,321
October 24 2:00 p.m. Tulane UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL ESPN2  UCF 51–34   9,148
October 24 3:30 p.m. Houston Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN  HOU 37–21   3,600
October 24 9:00 p.m. No. 9 Cincinnati No. 16 SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX ESPN2  CIN 42–13   7,898
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
October 24 East Carolina

Week Nine

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 30 9:00 p.m. East Carolina Tulsa H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPN2  TLSA 34–30   0
October 31 12:00 p.m. Memphis No. 7 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH (rivalry) ESPN  CIN 49–10   0
October 31 12:00 p.m. Temple Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPN+  TULN 38–3   1,200
October 31 2:00 p.m. UCF Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN+  UCF 44–21   8,630
October 31 7:30 p.m. Navy No. 22 SMU Gerald R. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX (Gansz Trophy) ESPN2  SMU 51–37   7,898
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
October 31 South Florida

Week Ten

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 7 12:00 p.m. No. 18 SMU Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPN+  SMU 47–23   2,577
November 7 12:00 p.m. South Florida Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPN+  MEM 34–33   10,300
November 7 12:00 p.m. Tulane East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPN+  TULN 38–21   3,500
November 7 3:30 p.m. Houston No. 6 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ABC  CIN 38–10   0
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
November 7 Navy Tulsa UCF

Week Eleven

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 13 7:30 p.m. East Carolina No. 7 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPN2  CIN 55–17   0
November 14 12:00 p.m. Army Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPN2 W 38–12   1,200
November 14 3:30 p.m. South Florida Houston TDECU Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPN2  HOU 56–21   8,266
November 14 7:00 p.m. No. 19 SMU Tulsa H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPN2  TLSA 28–24   3,900
November 14 7:30 p.m. Temple UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL ESPNU  UCF 38–13   8,768
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
November 14 Memphis Navy

Week Twelve

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 19 7:30 p.m. Tulane No. 25 Tulsa H. A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPN  TLSA 30–24 2OT   
November 21 12:00 p.m. East Carolina Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPN+  ECU 28–3    
November 21 12:00 p.m. Stephen F. Austin Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPN+ W 56–14   9,684
November 21 3:30 p.m. No. 7 Cincinnati UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL ESPN  CIN 36–33   10,668
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
November 21 Houston Navy SMU South Florida

Week Thirteen

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 27 3:30 p.m. UCF South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL (War on I-4) ESPN  UCF 58–46   8,801
November 28 12:00 p.m. SMU East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPN+  ECU 52–38   3,500
November 28 7:00 p.m. Memphis Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBS Sports Network  MEM 10–7   0
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
November 28 Cincinnati Houston Temple Tulane Tulsa

Week Fourteen

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
December 5 12:00 p.m. Memphis Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPN+  TULN 35–21   2,400
December 5 3:30 p.m. No. 24 Tulsa Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD ESPN2  TLSA 19–6    
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
December 5 Cincinnati East Carolina Houston SMU South Florida Temple UCF

Week Fifteen

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
December 12 3:00 p.m. Navy Army Michie Stadium • West Point, NY (121st Army-Navy Game/Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) CBS L 0–15   12,722
December 12 3:30 p.m. Houston Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPN2  MEM 27–30   9,475
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
December 12 Cincinnati Tulsa

Championship game

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
December 19 8:00 p.m. No. 23 Tulsa No. 9 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ABC  CIN 27–24   5,831
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Postseason

For the 2020–2025 bowl cycle, The American will annually send teams to the Military Bowl, Fenway Bowl, and a third annual spot alternating between the Armed Forces Bowl and Hawaii Bowl annually. The American will have annually four appearances in the following bowls: Birmingham Bowl, Gasparilla Bowl, Boca Raton Bowl, Frisco Bowl, Cure Bowl, First Responder Bowl, Myrtle Beach Bowl and New Mexico Bowl. 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.[19]

Bowl games

Cancelled bowls

The following annual bowl games tied in with the American Athletic Conference had their 2020 editions canceled :

  • Frisco Bowl scheduled for December 19 between SMU and UTSA was canceled due to COVID-19 complications within the SMU program. As a result, UTSA accepted a bid to the First Responder Bowl.[20]
  • Military Bowl[21] and Birmingham Bowl[22] were canceled due to a lack of available teams to play.
Legend
  American win
  American loss
Bowl game Date Site Television Time (EST) AAC team Opponent Score
Famous Idaho Potato Bowl December 22 Albertsons Stadium, Boise, ID ESPN 3:30 p.m. Tulane Nevada 27–38
Boca Raton Bowl December 22 FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, FL ESPN 7:00 p.m. UCF BYU 23–49
Montgomery Bowl December 23 Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL ESPN 7:00 p.m. Memphis Florida Atlantic 25–10
New Mexico Bowl December 24 Toyota Stadium, Frisco, TX ESPN 3:30 p.m. Houston Hawaii 14–28
Armed Forces Bowl December 31 Amon G. Carter Stadium, Ft. Worth, TX ESPN 12:00 p.m. No. 24 Tulsa Mississippi State 26–28
New Year's Six bowl game
Peach Bowl Jan. 1, 2021 Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta, Georgia ESPN 12:30 p.m. No. 8 Cincinnati No. 9 Georgia 21–24

Rankings are from CFP rankings.[23] All times Eastern Time Zone. American teams shown in bold.

[24]

American vs other conferences

American vs Power 5 matchups

The following games include American teams competing against Power Five conferences teams from the (ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, Pac-12, Notre Dame, BYU and SEC). Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, most power five games for the American have been canceled, All of the Power Five conferences initially announced that they would go on with their season as scheduled, but with cuts to non-conference games in order to overcome logistical concerns and reduce travel. The Big Ten, Pac-12, and SEC were all limiting play to in-conference opponents only.[25][26] The ACC and Big 12 are allowing one non-conference game each.[27] The Big Ten and Pac 12 have postponed fall sports due to COVID-19 concerns.[28]

Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score
September 7 Independent BYU Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD 55–3
September 19 Big 12 Tulsa Oklahoma State Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, OK 16–7
September 19 ACC UCF Georgia Tech Bobby Dodd Stadium • Atlanta, GA 49–21
September 19 ACC South Florida Notre Dame Notre Dame Stadium • South Bend, IN 52–0
October 16 Independent BYU Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX 46–23

American vs Group of Five matchups

The following games include American teams competing against teams from C-USA, MAC, Mountain West or Sun Belt. On August 8, the MAC announced the postponement of all fall sports for the 2020 season, including football.[29] On August 10, the Mountain West followed the MAC as the second Group of Five conference to postpone fall sports indefinitely.[30] On August 10, Rice announced it was the delaying the start of it season until September 26.[31]

Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score
September 5 Sun Belt SMU Texas State Bobcat Stadium • San Marcos, TX 31–24
September 5 Sun Belt Arkansas State Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN 37–24
September 12 Sun Belt Tulane South Alabama Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL 27–24
September 19 C-USA SMU North Texas Apogee Stadium • Denton, TX 65–35
September 26 C-USA Tulane Southern Miss M.M Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS 66–24
October 3 Sun Belt East Carolina Georgia State Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA 29–49
October 3 MWC Navy Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO 7–40

American vs FBS independents matchups

The following games include American teams competing against FBS Independents which include Army, Liberty, New Mexico State, UConn and UMass. UConn, announced that they would opt out of the 2020 season.[32][33] UMass announced that they would opt of playing fall football and hopes to construct a season in spring 2021.[34] New Mexico State announced that they would opt out of playing fall football and try to play in spring 2021.[35]

Date Visitor Home Site Score
September 26 Army Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH 24–10
November 14 Army Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA 38–12
December 12 Navy Army Michie Stadium • West Point, NY 0–15

American vs FCS matchups

The Football Championship Subdivision comprises 13 conferences and two independent programs. All conferences and teams have postponed their fall conference schedules,[36] The Big South, (James Madison, Elon, Villanova from the CAA), Missouri Valley Football Conference, Ohio Valley Conference, SoCon, and Southland Conference[37] are allowing the option of playing out-of-conference games only

Date Visitor Home Site Score
September 12 The Citadel South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL 27–6
September 19 Austin Peay Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH 55–20
September 19 Stephen F. Austin SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX 50–7
November 21 Stephen F. Austin Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN 56–14

Records against other conferences

Regular Season

Power 5 Conferences Record
ACC 1–1
Big Ten —
Big 12 0–1
Pac-12 —
SEC —
Power 5 Total 1–2
Other FBS Conferences Record
BYU 0–2
C–USA 2–0
Independents (Excludes BYU & Notre Dame) 2–1
MAC —
Mountain West 0–1
Sun Belt 3–1
Other FBS Total 7–5
FCS Opponents Record
Football Championship Subdivision 4–0
Total Non-Conference Record 12–7


Post Season

Power Conferences 5 Record
ACC —
Big Ten —
Big 12 —
Pac-12 —
SEC 0–2
Power 5 Total 0–2
Other FBS Conferences Record
BYU 0–1
C–USA 1–0
Independents (Excluding BYU & Notre Dame) —
MAC —
Mountain West 0–2
Sun Belt —
Other FBS Total 1–3
Total Bowl Record 1–5

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

Week Offensive Defensive Specialist
Player Team Position Player Team Position Player Team Position
WEEK 1 &
WEEK 2 (Sept. 12)[38] 		Brady White Memphis QB Cameron Sample Tulane DE Chris Naggar SMU K
WEEK 3 (Sept. 19)[39] Dillon Gabriel UCF QB Diego Fagot Navy LB Bijan Nichols
Chris Naggar (2) 		Navy
SMU 		K
K
WEEK 4 (Sept. 26)[40] Dillon Gabriel (2) UCF QB Jarell White Cincinnati LB Daniel Obarski UCF K
WEEK 5 (Oct. 3)[41] Shane Buechele SMU QB Zaven Collins Tulsa LB Chris Naggar (3)
Lachlan Wilson 		SMU
Tulsa 		K
P
WEEK 6 (Oct. 10)[42] Marquez Stevenson Houston WR Terrell Adams Navy LB Jake Verity East Carolina K
WEEK 7 (Oct. 17)[43] Dillon Gabriel (3)
Brady White (2) 		UCF
Memphis 		QB
QB 		Arnold Ebiketie Temple DE Chris Naggar (4) SMU K
WEEK 8 (Oct. 24)[44] Desmond Ridder Cincinnati QB Zaven Collins (2) Tulsa LB Dalton Witherspoon Houston K
WEEK 9 (Oct. 31)[45] Desmond Ridder (2) Cincinnati QB Myjai Sanders Cincinnati DE Daniel Obarski (2) UCF K
WEEK 10 (Nov. 7)[46] Brady White (3) Memphis QB Patrick Johnson Tulane DE Spencer Shrader South Florida K
WEEK 11 (Nov. 14)[47] Desmond Ridder (3) Cincinnati QB Jarell White (2)
Zaven Collins (3) 		Cincinnati
Tulsa 		LB
LB 		Marcus Jones Houston PR
WEEK 12 (Nov. 21)[48] Desmond Ridder (4)
Davis Brin 		Cincinnati
Tulsa 		QB
QB 		Zaven Collins (4) Tulsa LB Tyler Snead East Carolina KR
WEEK 13 (Nov. 28)[49] Holton Ahlers East Carolina QB Quindell Johnson Memphis S Riley Patterson Memphis K
WEEK 14 (Dec. 5)[50] Michael Pratt Tulane QB Jaxon Player Tulsa DT Zack Long Tulsa K

American Athletic Individual Awards

The following individuals received postseason honors as chosen by the league's head coaches.[51]

Award Player School
Offensive Player of the Year Desmond Ridder, QB Cincinnati
Defensive Player of the Year Zaven Collins, LB Tulsa
Special Teams Player of the Year Chris Naggar, K SMU
Rookies of the Year Rahjai Harris
Ulysses Bentley IV 		East Carolina
SMU
Coach of the Year Luke Fickell Cincinnati

All-Conference Teams

Position Player Team
First Team Offense
WR Jaylon Robinson UCF
WR Marlon Williams UCF
WR Calvin Austin Memphis
OT James Hudson Cincinnati
OT Tyler Smith Tulsa
OG Cole Schneider UCF
OG Peter Nestrowitz Navy
C Matthew Lee UCF
TE Kylen Granson SMU
QB Desmond Ridder Cincinnati
RB Gerrid Doaks Cincinnati
RB Rahjai Harris East Carolina
RB Ulysses Bentley IV SMU
First Team Defense
DL Myjai Sanders Cincinnati
DL O’Bryan Goodson Memphis
DL Cameron Sample Tulane
DL Jaxon Player Tulsa
LB Jarell White Cincinnati
LB Grant Stuard Houston
LB Patrick Johnson Tulane
LB Zaven Collins * Tulsa
CB Sauce Gardner Cincinnati
CB Coby Bryant Cincinnati
S Richie Grant * UCF
S James Wiggins Cincinnati
First Team Special Teams
K Chris Naggar SMU
P Ryan Wright Tulane
RS Marcus Jones Houston
Position Player Team
Second Team Offense
WR Michael Young Jr. Cincinnati
WR Tyler Snead East Carolina
WR Keylon Stokes Tulsa
OT Jaylon Thomas SMU
OT Chris Paul Tulsa
OG Hayden Howerton SMU
OG Corey Dublin Tulane
C Sincere Haynesworth Tulane
TE Josh Whyle Cincinnati
QB Dillon Gabriel UCF
RB Otis Anderson Jr. UCF
RB Stephon Huderson Tulane
Second Team Defense
DL Marcus Brown Cincinnati
DL Elijah Ponder Cincinnati
DL Payton Turner Houston
DL Arnold Ebiketie Temple
LB Darrian Beavers Cincinnati
LB Diego Fagot Navy
LB Antonio Grier South Florida
LB Dorian Williams Tulane
LB Justin Wright Tulsa
CB Aaron Robinson UCF
CB Ja’Quan McMillian East Carolina
S Quindell Johnson Memphis
S Cristian Williams Tulsa
Second Team Special Teams
K Zack Long Tulsa
P James Smith Cincinnati
RS Tre Tucker Cincinnati
RS Tyler Snead East Carolina

* Denotes Unanimous Selection

All Conference Honorable Mentions:

  • UCF: Lokahi Pauole (OG)
  • Cincinnati: Darrick Forrest (S), Darius Harper (OT)
  • ECU: Xavier Smith (LB)
  • Houston: Braylon Jones (OG), Damarion Williams (CB)
  • Memphis: Sean Dykes (TE), Morris Joseph (DL)
  • SMU: Richard McBryde (LB)
  • Temple: Jadan Blue (WR)
  • Tulane: Joey Claybrook (OT)
  • Tulsa: Dante Bivens (OG), Dylan Couch (OG), Allie Green IV (CB), Kendarin Ray (S), Gerard Wheeler (C)

All-Americans

The 2020 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), The Sporting News (TSN), Sports Illustrated (SI), USA Today (USAT) ESPN, CBS Sports (CBS), FOX Sports (FOX) College Football News (CFN), Bleacher Report (BR), Scout.com, Phil Steele (PS), SB Nation (SB), Athlon Sports, Pro Football Focus (PFF), The Athletic, and Yahoo! Sports (Yahoo!).

Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams in the sports of Division I-FBS football and Division I men's basketball using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. The system consists of three points for a first-team honor, two points for second-team honor, and one point for third-team honor. Honorable mention and fourth team or lower recognitions are not accorded any points. Football consensus teams are compiled by position and the player accumulating the most points at each position is named first team consensus all-American. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine Consensus and Unanimous All-Americans. Any player named to the First Team by all five of the NCAA-recognized selectors is deemed a Unanimous All-American.[52][53]

Position Player School Selector Unanimous Consensus
First Team All-Americans
LB Zaven Collins Tulsa AFCA, AP, ESPN, FWAA, TSN, WCFF *
DB Sauce Gardner Cincinnati AFCA, AP, FWAA, TSN, WCFF
KR Marcus Jones Houston AFCA, AP, FWAA, TSN, WCFF
Position Player School Selector Unanimous Consensus
Second Team All-Americans
LB Zaven Collins Tulsa PS
DB Sauce Gardner Cincinnati PS, USAT
DB James Wiggins Houston Athletic

*CBS Sports All-America Team
*ESPN All-America Team
*The Athletic All-America Team
*USA Today All-America Team
*AP All-America Team
*The Sporting News All-America Team
*Football Writers' Association of America All-America Team
*American Football Coaches Association All-America Team
*2020 Walter Camp Football Foundation All-America Team
*Phil Steele All-America Team

National award winners

Lombardi Award (top player):
Zaven Collins, Tulsa

Campbell Trophy ("academic Heisman")
Brady White, Memphis

Bronko Nagurski Trophy (Best Defensive Player)
Zaven Collins, Tulsa

Chuck Bednarik Award (defensive player)
Zaven Collins, Tulsa [54]

NFL Draft

The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Player Position School Draft
Round 		Round
Pick 		Overall
Pick 		Team
Zaven Collins LB Tulsa 1 16 16 Arizona Cardinals
Payton Turner DE Houston 1 28 28 New Orleans Saints
Richie Grant S UCF 2 8 40 Atlanta Falcons
Aaron Robinson CB UCF 3 7 71 New York Giants
Brandon Stephens CB SMU 3 40 104 Baltimore Ravens
James Hudson OT Cincinnati 4 5 110 Cleveland Browns
Cameron Sample DE Tulane 4 6 111 Cincinnati Bengals
Kylen Granson TE SMU 4 22 127 Indianapolis Colts
D'Ante Smith OT East Carolina 4 34 139 Cincinnati Bengals
Jacob Harris WR UCF 4 36 141 Los Angeles Rams
Kenneth Gainwell RB Memphis 5 6 150 Philadelphia Eagles
Darrick Forrest S Cincinnati 5 19 163 Washington Football Team
Marquez Stevenson WR Houston 6 19 203 Buffalo Bills
Tay Gowan CB UCF 6 39 223 Arizona Cardinals
Patrick Johnson DE Tulane 7 6 234 Philadelphia Eagles
Tre Nixon WR UCF 7 14 242 New England Patriots
James Wiggins S Cincinnati 7 15 243 Arizona Cardinals
Gerrid Doaks RB Cincinnati 7 16 244 Miami Dolphins
Grant Stuard LB Houston 7 31 259 Tampa Bay Buccaneers

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2020 NCAA Division I FBS football season
Conference seasons
Inter-conference
All-Americans