For the power five conferences a conference championship could be a step towards claiming a spot in the College Football Playoff. The other conferences don’t get the same opportunity although there has been a lot of talk over the past couple of years about what it would take for a team from a non-power conference to make it in. The American Athletic Conference and Houston in particular could be a dark horse contender for a spot in this year’s College Football Playoff but that would likely mean they run the table including impressive victories against their top opponents. For now, the Cougars will focus on winning each individual game while staking their claim to the AAC title. Here is a look at the best bet to win each of the non-power conferences.
AAC: Houston Cougars
The combination of head coach Tom Herman and dual-threat quarterback Greg Ward Jr. has the potential to do some serious damage this season as they look to build on their performance a year ago after boasting the nation’s No. 10 scoring offense. The defense also finished with a top-20 mark and if it can hold its own this year they will have a good shot to win the AAC and potentially sweep their regular season schedule. Navy and Temple are good teams but each has its holes while Memphis could regress after losing quarterback Paxton Lynch. Consistency will be the key for Houston this season and it would be surprise if they didn’t win the AAC championship this season. It will be a fairly big surprise if the Cougars don’t deliver on the hype this season and – at the very least – win the AAC.
Conference USA: Western Kentucky Hilltoppers
The Conference USA will not provide a dark horse contender for this year’s College Football Playoff but they should deliver some entertaining teams to watch based on the explosive offenses that Western Kentucky, Bowling Green, East Carolina and Marshall bring to the table. The Hilltoppers should be a strong choice to win a conference championship as they look to defend their title with a new quarterback under center. Southern Miss will be a good choice to challenge Western Kentucky for C-USA supremacy but ultimately the Hilltoppers will get the job done.
MAC: Western Michigan Broncos
Bowling Green lost its head coach Dino Babers and it will be interesting to see how they fare with Ohio and Akron looking to take them down in the East division. Bowling Green has made coaching changes look seamless before, but this one definitely looks like it will involve a transition period. On the other side in the West division, Western Michigan will look to end Northern Illinois’ run at the top and finally finish first. The schedule sets up perfectly for the Broncos if they take care of business in the West division before they would get their opportunity to take down the winner of the East in the MAC Championship game.
Mountain West: Boise State Broncos
Five teams from the Mountain West finished 5-3 or better in conference play last season with Air Force earning the championship with a 6-2 clip. We expect a similar outcome this year although it will be Boise State’s turn to return to the top. The Broncos’ attack should be much more dangerous than it was a year ago and ultimately it will overpower the Aztecs when they meet San Diego State in the Mountain West championship game.
Sun Belt: Appalachian State Mountaineers
Appalachian State, Arkansas State and Georgia Southern appear primed to lead the Sun Belt conference this season and it would be a major surprise if any other team claimed top spot. The Mountaineers appear to have the edge amongst those three teams thanks in big part to quarterback Taylor Lamb and running backs Marcus Cox and Jalin Moore, who will lead a dangerous offense. Chad Voytik’s transfer to Arkansas State should give them the missing piece they needed but ultimately it will be Appalachian State that comes out on top to win the Sun Belt championship.
