Teams from the American Atheletic Conference have tabbed themselves as a “Power 6” conference in 2017. Realistically they have a valid argument in that regard. Unfortunately, the College Football Playoff Committee doesn’t recognize them as such, and their self-proclaimed designation is nothing more than an unofficial label. This shapes up to be an intriguing year for the AAC, and let’s look at why.

 AAC Futures Odds

The following college football odds to win the American Athletic Conference are courtesy of Bookmaker.

• South Florida    (-130)
• Houston            (+575)
• Memphis           (+575)
• Tulsa                 (+900)
• Navy                (+1300)
• Temple             (+2200)
• Central Florida (+2500)
• SMU                 (+2800)
• Cincinnati         (+3300)
• Tulane              (+6600)
• East Carolina (+12,000)
• Connecticut    (+15,000)

East Division Predictions and Analysis

1) South Florida: Willie Taggart departed to take the head coaching gig at Oregon. Nevertheless, the school made a great hire by bringing in former Louisville and Texas head coach Charlie Strong. He’ll inherit an experienced and talented team that will be the prohibitive favorite to win it all. Barring injuries to several key personnel, the Bulls should be a mortal lock for an appearance in the AAC Championship Game in December. They have an extremely weak non-conference schedule, and running the table is certainly a real possibility.

2) Cincinnati: If you want a live longshot, the Bearcats might be worth a small wager. Cincinnati suffered their first losing year since 2010 last season, and finished a very disappointing 4-8. That put an end to former head coach Tommy Tuberville’s uninspiring 4-year tenure at Cincinnati in which his teams went 29-22, and were 0-3 in bowl games. Former Ohio State assistant and interim head coach Luke Fickell takes over. The Bearcats game at South Florida on 10/28 will go a long way in telling us how big a sleeper these Bearcats truly are

3) Central Florida: It will be year 2 for head coach Scott Frost in Orlando, and his team made a significant jump a year ago. This was a UCF program that went a futile 0-12 just 2 seasons ago, but rebounded to go 6-7 last year, and even qualified for a bowl game. The Knights return 8 offensive starters, and if their defense can at least hold serve, they’ll go bowling once again.

4) Temple: The defending AAC champions will be hard pressed to come close to duplicating their accomplishments from last season. Former head coach Matt Ruhle departed to take the Baylor job, and former Florida and Mississippi State defensive coordinator Geoff Collins takes over. The Owls will only have 4 returning starters on defense, and have also lost 4-year starting quarterback Philip Walker. Collins will have his hands full considering Temple will face Notre Dame, South Florida, Cincinnati, and Tulsa all on the road.

5) East Carolina: The Pirates will attempt to avoid its 3^rd losing season in a row, and it will be far from an easy task. After starting 2016 by winning its first 2 games, they lost 9 of their last 10 contests. The good news is they return 7 defensive starters. The bad news, this was a stop unit which allowed 37 points or more on 7 separate occasions a season ago. They’ll play consecutive September games against West Virginia, Virginia Tech, and South Florida. Those 3 opponents should all be Top 25 teams in preseason polls. It’s shaping up to be another long season in Greenville, North Carolina,

6) Connecticut: After an unsuccessful stint at Maryland, Randy Edsall will begin his 2^nd head coaching tour for Connecticut. He’ll try to revive an offense that scored 16 points or less in 7 of 12 games last year. This is a Huskies football program which hasn’t finished with a winning record since 2010, and ironically that was the final season of Edsall’s first go around. That 2010 team won the Big East Conference title, and played in the Orange Bowl where they lost to Oklahoma. It’s going to take a year or two for Edsall to make Connecticut football relevant once again.

West Division Predictions and Analysis

Unlike like an East Division in which South Florida is a clear-cut favorite, the West appears to be a wide-open race. The AAC will see 5 new head coaches in 2017, but just 1 of those changes occurred in the West Division, and that takes place at Houston. Major Applewhite takes over for a departed Tom Herman who left for the higher profile Texas Longhorns job. There’s unquestionably more head coaching stability and parity in the West.

1) Houston: Tom Herman certainly didn’t leave the cupboard bare for Major Applewhite. Houston enters 2017 with 17 returning starters from a team that finished 9-4 in 2016. The Cougars do lose star quarterback Greg Ward who engineered wins over Louisville and Oklahoma the past 2 seasons, and in addition to leading Houston to a conference championship in 2015. Fortunately, Texas A&M transfer Kyle Allen is slated to be under center for the Cougars, and he has 14 career starts under his belt. Allen doesn’t possess the mobility of Ward, but he’s a far more talented passer. The defense will be led by preseason all American tackle Ed Oliver.

2) Memphis: I love the job that first year head coach Mike Norvell did at Memphis last season. The Tigers finished 8-5, and did so while fielding a fragile defensive unit which allowed 42 points or more 6 times. Memphis returns 17 starters including senior quarterback Riley Ferguson who threw for 3698 yards while tossing for 32 touchdowns. The biggest deterrent for Memphis will be attempting to navigate through a very tough schedule. Besides challenging conference road games at UCF, Houston, and Tulsa, they’ll also host UCLA on 9/16.

3) Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane are coming off a stellar 10-3 season. All 3 of their defeats came at the hands of nationally ranked teams. Philip Montgomery is set to begin his 3^rd year as head coach at Tulsa, and he’s done nothing short of a miraculous job since taking over. Tulsa went a combined 5-19 during the prior 2 seasons before Montgomery arrived, and they’ll now be seeking their 3^rd consecutive bowl game during this upcoming campaign. They’ll play top West Division contenders which include Navy, Memphis, and Houston all at home. I wouldn’t be shocked at all to see Tulsa in the AAC Championship game come December.

4) Navy: It’s difficult for me to bet against Navy, let alone predict them to finish 4^th in their own division. The Midshipmen have been the model of consistency under the guidance of 10^th year head coach Ken Niumatalolo and his predecessor Paul Johnson (Georgia Tech). Since joining the AAC in 2015, Navy has gone a superb 14-2 in conference play, and made it to last season’s title game where they were defeated by Temple. The Middies will be hard pressed to be as efficient offensively with just 4 starters returning. A lot will depend on projected signal caller Zach Abbey who really struggled during spring practices.

5) SMU: If for anything else, SMU should be an extremely entertaining team to watch. They return 9 offensive starters from a unit that scored 27 points or more during 6 of its last 7 games a year ago. The biggest concern will be defensively. The Mustangs allowed 31 points or more in 9 of 12 games in 2017. On the bright side, SMU improved from 2-10 in 2015 to 5-7 last season under the tutelage of head coach Chad Morris.

6) Tulane: Many questioned Willie Fritz’s decision when he accepted the Tulane head coaching job at Tulane, and especially after such a successful run at Georgia Southern. After all, Tulane was one of the most losing FBS programs over the past decade or so. Many viewed this as a lateral move at best for Taggart. On a positive note for Tulane backers, during his previous 3 head coaching stops, Will Fritz’s teams all showed significant improvement during his 2^nd year on the job. Furthermore, the Green Wave will be an experienced team that can very well contend for at least a bowl berth.

 Championship Game Prediction

One of my early college football picks is forecasting Houston and South Florida to meet in the AAC Championship Game. South Florida’s Quinton Flowers unique playmaking ability which allows him to beat you with both his legs and arm, will ultimately be the deciding difference.

Prediction: South Florida 34 Houston 31

Ross Benjamin is a top sports analyst and one of the sports industry's most respected handicappers. Follow him on Twitter: @RossBenjamin1