A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | CH | I | J | K | L | M | N | O | P | Q | R | S | T | U | V | W | X | Y | Z | 0 | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9
| 2014 American Athletic Conference football season | |
|---|---|
 | |
| League | NCAA Division I FBS (Football Bowl Subdivision) |
| Sport | Football |
| Duration | August 28, 2014 through January 2015 |
| Number of teams | 11 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN |
| 2015 NFL Draft | |
| Top draft pick | Breshad Perriman (UCF) |
| Picked by | Baltimore Ravens, 26th overall |
| Regular season | |
| League champions | UCF, Cincinnati, Memphis |
| Conf | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 25 Memphis + | 7 | – | 1 | 10 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Cincinnati + | 7 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UCF + | 7 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Carolina | 5 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Houston | 5 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Temple | 4 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Florida | 3 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulane | 2 | – | 6 | 3 | – | 9 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Tulsa | 2 | – | 6 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UConn | 1 | – | 7 | 2 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| SMU | 1 | – | 7 | 1 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
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The 2014 American Athletic Conference football season was the 24th NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision football season of the American Athletic Conference (The American). The season was the second since the breakup of the former Big East Conference, which lasted in its original form from its creation in 1979 until 2013.
The 2014 season was the first with the new College Football Playoff in place. From 1998 to 2013, FBS postseason football was governed by the Bowl Championship Series. With the move to the new format, The American is no longer an Automatic Qualifying conference (AQ), and is considered a member of the "Group of Five" (G5) with Conference USA, the Mid-American Conference, Mountain West Conference, and the Sun Belt Conference. Whereas under the previous system the champion of The American was guaranteed an automatic berth to a BCS bowl game, now only the highest-ranked member of the "Group of Five" is guaranteed to receive a bid to one of the six major bowls.[1]
The American consisted of 11 members: Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, South Florida, Temple, Tulane, Tulsa, UCF, and UConn. The regular season and conference play began on August 28, when Temple visited Vanderbilt, and Tulane visited Tulsa.[2]
Previous season
The UCF Knights were the 2013 American Champions, finishing 8–0 in conference and 12–1 overall. The Knights earned the conference's final BCS automatic bid before college football moved to a playoff system. UCF upset No. 6 Baylor 52–42 in the 2014 Fiesta Bowl, and finished the year ranked in the Top–10.
In other bowl games, Cincinnati lost to North Carolina 39–17 in the Belk Bowl. In their final years as members of The American, Louisville defeated Miami 36–9 in the Russell Athletic Bowl, and Rutgers lost to Notre Dame 29–16 in the Pinstripe Bowl.
Preseason
Coaching changes
- Bob Diaco was hired to replace Paul Pasqualoni (and interim coach T. J. Weist) at Connecticut.
- George O'Leary signed a contract extension with UCF.
- September 8 – SMU Head Coach June Jones resigned Citing personal issues, Defensive Coordinator Tom Mason was interim head coach at SMU[3]
- December 1 – Tulsa fired Head Coach Bill Blankenship
Preseason Poll
The 2013 American Athletic Conference Preseason Poll was announced at the 2014 American Athletic Conference Media Day in Newport, Rhode Island on July 29, 2014.[4]
- Cincinnati (17)
- UCF (7)
- Houston (6)
- East Carolina
- SMU
- USF
- Memphis
- Temple
- UConn
- Tulane
- Tulsa
- (first place votes)
Head coaches
- Tommy Tuberville, Cincinnati
- Bob Diaco, Connecticut
- Ruffin McNeill, East Carolina
- Tony Levine, Houston
- Justin Fuente, Memphis
- June Jones, SMU
- Willie Taggart, South Florida
- Matt Rhule, Temple
- Curtis Johnson, Tulane
- Bill Blankenship, Tulsa
- George O'Leary, UCF
Rankings
| Increase in ranking | ||
| Decrease in ranking | ||
| Not ranked previous week | ||
| Selected for College Football Playoff | ||
(Italics)
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Number of first place votes | |
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Tied with team above or below also with this symbol |