In 2025, the American Conference was far and away the most deserving Group of Six conference in FBS to receive the allotted auto-bid to the CFP. Following some hiccups along the way for the league contenders, the conference ultimately got its reward in the form of a rematch between its champion (Tulane) and an SEC team that had obliterated the Green Wave earlier in the season.
What happened there isn’t important anymore. What is truly important is what’s next.
Unsurprisingly, the league took a hit in the coaching department following the successful campaign from several of its teams. Tulane’s Jon Sumrall stayed with the team during the Playoff game, but had already accepted the Florida job for the upcoming season. Fellow league title game participant Eric Morris left North Texas for Oklahoma State and took the quarterback he had cultivated in Denton with him. A similar story ensued for South Florida, which lost head coach Alex Golesh and its quarterback to Auburn. Former Memphis head man Ryan Silverfield did his best to mask it, but ultimately the rumors about him heading to Arkansas as early as last November did, in fact, contain truth.
The American has become a poaching ground for P4 programs looking for their next big hire. It makes sense, too. The conference is good enough and has enough financial backing collectively to compete relatively well with the P4, but is enough of a step below that it makes building something for the long term difficult to justify for successful coaches with ADs from bigger schools blowing up their phones.
The amount of leadership turnover provides a real challenge for the conference in general this season. Most seasons, the G6 auto-bid should come from this conference. In 2026, some questions will need to be answered before people believe that.
Embed from Getty ImagesTeams I Like
UTSA
The Roadrunners have had lofty expectations coming into every year they have been a part of the American Conference since moving from Conference USA three seasons ago. Unfortunately for head coach Jeff Traylor, the program doesn’t have anything to show for it, narrowly missing out on the conference title game in 2023 then significantly underperforming compared with preseason goals the past two seasons. With six returnees to the offense and a conference landscape that finds some of the top NIL collectives trying to recover from big personnel losses, this could finally be the year that UTSA delivers what fans and media alike believe has been possible for years.
Injuries to the offensive line and quarterback Owen McCown throughout last season really hurt the squad, but with better luck in the health department the Roadrunners should be one of the most potent attacks in the league. The defense has a lot of experienced transfers coming in and should be fine again in 2026. But what appears to be UTSA’s biggest advantage is the schedule, which sees both South Florida and Navy coming to San Antonio, where the Roadrunners are 33-6 at home under Coach Traylor. Take care of business as they have in the past and split the toughest of conference road tests (Tulane / Florida Atlantic) and the Roadrunners should be in great shape to finally have a shot at their first American title.
Navy
The Midshipmen have again found a rhythm in the American Conference the past couple of years, following several seasons of struggle. The back-to-back seasons of at least 10 victories had never been accomplished in program history prior to last year. Five times Navy has narrowly missed out on an outright conference title since joining the league in 2015, but with the uncertainty surrounding many of the collective’s strongest programs it feels like 2026 is a great opportunity for the Midshipmen to finally capture the crown. While the team does have to replace most of its skill position players on offense, the offensive line remains nearly intact from last season, which is huge for a squad running the option.
The Midshipmen will deal with an unusual schedule that sees the team travel for four of its first six contests, but then plays at home or a neutral venue in all but one game (versus presumed cellar dweller Charlotte) the second half of the year. While some teams may struggle with the mental fortitude required to handle such an arrangement, I feel that Navy is as capable as any in the country to weather the storm. If it splits those road games the first half of the season, the Midshipmen should be right in the thick of yet another conference title race come November.
Embed from Getty ImagesNot High On
South Florida
In 2025 the Bulls looked at multiple points like the best G6 squad in the country, twice climbing within the top 20 in the polls but suffering field goal losses on the road to American contenders Memphis and Navy to ultimately miss out on the Playoff and conference title game entirely. Alex Golesh took the momentum and parlayed it into a job in the SEC, took quarterback Byrum Brown with him and left the new regime with a lot of questions to answer on a defense that sees the majority of production from last season depart. New head coach Brian Hartline deserved a head coaching job after serving a key role within the Ohio State coaching staff the past nine seasons and South Florida has one of the top NIL collectives in the American, but it will be tough to maintain last year’s standards.
There was going to be almost no chance to bring in a like for like replacement for Byrum Brown, so instead Coach Hartline will look to employ a different offensive philosophy at South Florida this season. Additionally, the defense needs to be almost entirely rebuilt, though this may end up being an easier task. New defensive coordinator Josh Aldridge did an excellent job cleaning up a tough situation last season at East Carolina and already understands many of the offenses in this league. If the defense comes together quickly, the Bulls may give themselves a chance to be a competitor for the league title. But the schedule is quite tough, and it feels like a little too much turbulence in one offseason to experience such a smooth landing.
Memphis
The Tigers are in a very similar position to South Florida, having lost their head coach to the SEC, maintain an advantage over many teams in the conference thanks to funding and are coming off of a somewhat disappointing 2025 where at one time a Playoff berth was within reach. Unlike the Bulls, Memphis decided to go after a head coach who has been through this rodeo before. Charles Huff comes from Southern Miss, having spent one year there following a similar one year stint at Marshall. In both cases, Huff has brought a number of players with him to his new location and will be attempting to find success that way again, with plenty of talent on the Memphis roster this season stemming from last year’s Golden Eagles team.
While this approach generally worked for Huff last season, the jump from Marshall to Southern Miss wasn’t as big. In the American, having the talent doesn’t automatically translate to wins, as there is more of it to go around than in the Sun Belt. Memphis had already taken a step back offensively last season and it will be difficult not to fall down the conference rankings in those categories again in 2026. The schedule is rough, with five road games which the Tigers could enter as underdogs. We’ll get a good sense of how well Huff’s latest transition is going early, as Memphis travels to take on two G6 Playoff contenders (UNLV / Boise State) in the first three weeks of the season.
Embed from Getty ImagesPlayers To Watch
Braxton Woodson, Navy quarterback
It is never easy to replace a record-breaking quarterback, but Braxton Woodson’s transition to full-time starter at Navy should come without any major hiccups. The senior has already spent three seasons within the program and got plenty of experience, including three starts of his own. During that time, Woodson proved his capability as a passer, and while he’s not as adept at that as his predecessor Blake Horvath, should be just fine doing what is asked of him within this Midshipmen offense.
What Woodson does have more of than Horvath is speed. He’ll be difficult for opposing defenses to contain because of it and gets to run behind a very experienced offensive line that will clear the way for him to get to the second level of the defense quickly. Prior to Horvath’s back-to-back seasons of at least 1,000 yards rushing, there hadn’t been a player to achieve that since 2019. Woodson is poised to keep the streak going for a third season and can lead Navy to something that no Midshipmen quarterback has done before – lead the team to its first conference title.
Easton Messer, Florida Atlantic wide receiver
The 5’9” slot receiver led the American Conference in receptions last season, finishing with an astounding 32 more catches than the next closest. He’s the most reliable receiver in a crowded room at Florida Atlantic, which will again see a number of guys put up impressive numbers in 2026. Messer has had a leg up since arriving in Boca Raton, thanks to the relationship that he has with Owls quarterback Caden Veltkamp. The two played alongside each other for a couple of seasons at Western Kentucky before transferring to Florida Atlantic, and it has long been known that the pairing would be a successful one.
I like Florida Atlantic’s chances to make a splash in the American this season thanks to the number of returning players and relatively favorable schedule. If that happens, Messer can become a household name. Even if it doesn’t, this guy should again be one of the league’s top receivers and has first-team All-Conference written all over him.
Quinton Jackson, Rice running back
Jackson is not your typical lead running back, for a number of reasons. Undersized at 5’7”, 160 pounds (generously given about 15 pounds and a couple inches on the team site), Jackson punches above his weight class, combining explosiveness with power befitting a larger runner. His willingness to do whatever it takes has made him indispensable to Rice; Jackson is utilized in the passing game, serves as kick returner and has even lined up at quarterback for sets.
The senior embraced the switch to an option based attack last season and in the second year of the offense figures to again be a key contributor to it, which is expected to be more potent with pieces being brought in to support it. He was seventh in the conference in all-purpose yards in 2025 and if Rice has more offensive success last season, could climb that ladder further this season.
Elijah Green, Tulsa cornerback
Tulsa has been down for awhile now but made strides last season and a lot of that was thanks to a defense that stepped up in a major way. The Golden Hurricane went from an FBS-worst 316 YPG allowed through the air in 2024 to just 214 allowed last season (fourth in the American). The star of that defensive secondary is Elijah Green, who finished tied for third in the country with five interceptions, a mark that led the American last season.
A Bednarik and Thorpe Award watch list member heading into this season, Green’s candidacy will be tested early when Tulsa takes on Oklahoma State in the season opener. The Cowboys are expected to be a high flying offense with Drew Mestemaker at the helm, so it will be interesting to see how often Green’s side of the field is thrown to.
Caden Veltkamp, Florida Atlantic quarterback
Although Veltkamp was at the top of the leaderboard nationally for some individual passing statistics in 2025, not all of them were good. The now senior led the country with 515 passing attempts and managed to throw for over 3,600 yards and 24 touchdowns, but also led the nation with 17 interceptions last season. Some of that may have been due to a non-throwing shoulder injury that he had fixed in the offseason, and it would be surprising if he didn’t cut down on that number in 2026.
Veltkamp’s resurgence may be catalyzed by the Owls’ head coach, who has a ton of confidence in his quarterback and a track record to suggest he can pull the best out of him. Zach Kittley is the youngest head coach in the FBS and had previously served as offensive coordinator for some potent attacks (Houston Baptist, Western Kentucky and most recently, Texas Tech) before taking over at Florida Atlantic last season. He understands what he had in Veltkamp and I expect that the senior will be one of the most dangerous quarterbacks in the league this season, which could translate into the Owls being a surprise contender in the American.
Embed from Getty ImagesGames to Watch (Conference)
Navy at Florida Atlantic (September 12)
The Midshipmen were handed a doozy of a conference opener and will need to find a way to slow down what should be one of the American’s most potent aerial attacks. The Owls didn’t require a lot of time of possession last season and thus what is typically Navy’s biggest advantage may be neutralized in this one.
Navy at UTSA (October 17)
Arguably the two best teams in the conference square off in San Antonio at the midpoint of the regular season. The two schools have never faced each other, and neither have won an American conference title. To do so, one figures a victory in this game would be incredibly valuable.
East Carolina at Memphis (October 22)
This is the second of a four-game stretch in which the Pirates either play on a weekday or against a team coming off of a bye week. At this point, we should have a good sense as to how well East Carolina has replaced its offensive contributors and whether Memphis can hang in the American with its rebuilt roster.
UTSA at Tulane (October 24)
The Roadrunners are the only team located outside of Oxford, Mississippi to have beaten Tulane this season, and it surprisingly wasn’t close. Last year’s performance was an offensive onslaught resembling what we thought UTSA was capable of producing all season. Expectations are similar for Jeff Traylor’s squad, but Tulane will be motivated not to get embarrassed again.
UTSA at Florida Atlantic (November 5)
Potentially a battle between the conference’s top two quarterbacks. UTSA does have to travel to Boca Raton for this one, but has the benefit of an extra week’s rest to prepare for this Thursday night affair.
Embed from Getty ImagesGames to Watch (Non-Conference)
Tulane at Duke (September 5)
This one could not-so-affectionately be dubbed the We Miss Darian Mensah Bowl. Both schools have been led by Mensah (Tulane in 2024, Duke last season) and both ended up in their conference title game the season he was in charge.
Florida Atlantic at Florida (September 5)
Jon Sumrall (former Tulane coach) knows Florida Atlantic well, but this game is intriguing as it’s not entirely clear where Florida is going to find its offense. If the Owls are as potent as I think they could be offensively, Florida Atlantic could make it two years in a row that Florida drops a game at home to an in-state “rival” from the American.
Air Force at Army (November 7)
All three service academies figure to be solid this season, adding to what is already a great rivalry series. While Air Force might be in better position to make a run to the Playoff in 2026, it’s games like these out of league that define the season for these two programs.
Army vs. Navy [game in East Rutherford, NJ] (December 12)
There’s a reason that this game has been protected on the schedule to be able to stand alone. Few, if any, games embody the pageantry and tradition of college football like the Army Navy game, which will be celebrating its 127th edition this season.
Embed from Getty ImagesAw, Shuck It (3 Bets to Place)
*odds via DraftKings at time of publication. Around The Corn is not responsible for lost bets!
UTSA Wins American Conference Championship Game (+475)
The Roadrunners are one of the usual suspects in the American that don’t have to deal with the loss of their head coach or quarterback from last season. UTSA’s biggest hurdle to overcome may be mental, as it has been a favorite before but has yet to win this conference.
East Carolina Reaches American Conference Championship Game (+240)
The job that Blake Harrell has done in one and a half seasons at East Carolina isn’t celebrated enough. Qualifying for a conference title game, something that has never been done at the program as part of the American, changes that. It also probably puts him on the shortlist of coaches in the conference due to take a bigger job.
South Florida Under 7.5 Wins (+144)
The schedule is tough and the Bulls lose a lot coming into this season, providing first-year head coach Brian Hartline with quite the challenge. South Florida will probably need to find a way to win some difficult road games to avoid this one from hitting.
Embed from Getty ImagesPredictions
- Tulane (9-3, [7-1])
- UTSA (10-2, [7-1])
- East Carolina (9-3, [6-2])
- Navy (8-4, [6-2])
- Memphis (7-5, [5-3])
- Tulsa (7-5, [5-3])
- Florida Atlantic (8-4, [5-3])
- Army (7-5, [4-4])
- South Florida (7-5, [3-5])
- Temple (5-7, [3-5])
- North Texas (4-8, [3-5])
- UAB (3-9, [1-7])
- Rice (2-10, [1-7])
- Charlotte (1-11, [0-8])
Conference Title Game
UTSA at Tulane
Champion: UTSA
