ARLINGTON, Texas — Memphis Tigers have been voted as the preseason favorite to win the American Athletic Conference for the first time in league history, the AAC announced Tuesday morning.

The Tigers received 23 first-place votes in a poll of 30 media members. The Memphis offseason has been filled with high expectations, so it’s not surprising to see the Tigers voted as the top team. 

UTSA had four first-place votes and finished second in the preseason rankings. Tulane, last year’s conference runner-up to current ACC member SMU, was voted third with two first-place votes. No. 5-ranked Army received one first-place vote. South Florida was voted to finish fourth.

AAC players focused on conference title before playoffs

Memphis is one of the most experienced teams in the conference and returns the most experienced quarterback in four-year starter Seth Henigan. The Tigers are coming off a 10-3 season that ended with an impressive 35-26 win over Iowa State in the AutoZone Liberty Bowl. They also have a defense that is expected to be improved under linebackers coach and new defensive coordinator Jordon Hankins.

The conference champion will have a strong chance of reaching the 12-team College Football Playoff (CFP) depending on how it compares to other Group of Five Conference champions. When talking about the CFP on Monday, linebacker Chandler Martin said the Tigers aren’t reading too much those projections, right now.

“It’s predictions. That’s what they are,” Martin said. “Nobody knows. Nobody knew who I was last year. Nobody knew who a bunch of guys were last year. They’re all predictions. So unless we go put in the work, none of it matters to me.”

Memphis finished fourth in the conference last season, which matched its preseason rankings. The Tigers will try to be just the fourth team in AAC history to win the league as the preseason favorite. Cincinnati in 2021 was the last team to accomplish that feat.

Winning the conference won’t be easy. The three teams picked to finish directly behind Memphis (No. 2 UTSA, No. 3 Tulane and No. 4 South Florida) will all play host to Memphis this season.

The Tigers went 3-11 on the road during the first three years under head coach Ryan Silverfield before posting a 5-1 record away from Simmons Bank Liberty Stadium last season. It was the first time in Silverfield’s tenure that Memphis posted a better winning percentage on the road than it had at home. 

The margin for error this year will be just as slim as it was for the Tigers last season.

Hot topics await new AAC commissioner at football Media Days

“We were in a lot of close games last year and a lot of those games could have went the other way,” Martin said. “We just want to make sure we’re the best version of ourselves going into every game, every practice (and) every rep. That’s our focus. We’ll let that stuff handle itself.”

AAC Football Preseason Poll

(first-place votes) and total points 

1. Memphis (23) 409
2. UTSA (4) 368
3. Tulane (2) 362
4. South Florida 339
5. Army (1) 236
6. Florida Atlantic 228
7. (tie) East Carolina 219
8. Rice 219
9. North Texas 216
10. UAB 192
11. Navy 150
12. Tulsa 95
13. Charlotte 77
14. Temple 40