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2021 American Athletic Conference
football season
League NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
Sport Football
DurationSeptember 2, 2021 — December 31, 2021
Number of teams11
TV partner(s) ABC, ESPN, ESPN2, ESPNU, and CBS Sports Network
2022 NFL Draft
Top draft pick Sauce Gardner (Cincinnati)
Picked by New York Jets, 4th overall
Regular season
Season champions Cincinnati
  Runners-up Houston
The American Championship
Football seasons
←  2020
2022 →
2021 American Athletic Conference football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
No. 4 Cincinnati y$^   8 – 0     13 – 1  
No. 17 Houston y   8 – 0     12 – 2  
UCF   5 – 3     9 – 4  
East Carolina   5 – 3     7 – 5  
Tulsa   5 – 3     7 – 6  
SMU   4 – 4     8 – 4  
Memphis   3 – 5     6 – 6  
Navy   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Tulane   1 – 7     2 – 10  
South Florida   1 – 7     2 – 10  
Temple   1 – 7     3 – 9  
Championship: Cincinnati 35, Houston 20
  • ^ – College Football Playoff participant
  • $ – Conference champion
  • y – Championship game participant
Rankings from AP Poll

The 2021 American Athletic Conference football season was the 30th NCAA Division I FBS Football season of the American Athletic Conference (The American). The season was the ninth since the former Big East Conference dissolved and became the American Athletic Conference and the eighth season of the College Football Playoff in place. The American was considered a member of the Group of Five (G5) together with Conference USA (C–USA), the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference.

Previous season

Cincinnati secured their second consecutive championship game appearance and faced Tulsa in the 2020 AAC Championship game. [1]

Six teams participated in bowl games during the 2020 season; the league went 1–5.

Tulane lost to Nevada 38-27 in the 2020 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. [2] UCF lost to BYU in the Boca Raton Bowl 49-23. [3] Memphis defeated Florida Atlantic 25–10 in the Montgomery Bowl. [4] Houston lost to Hawaii 28-14 in the 2020 New Mexico Bowl. [5] No. 24 Tulsa lost to Mississippi State 28-26 in the 2020 Armed Forces Bowl in a game that ended with a benches clearing brawl. [6]

In the New Year's Six Game, No. 8 Cincinnati lost in an instant classic to No. 9 Georgia 24–21 in the Peach Bowl. [7]

Preseason

Recruiting classes

Rankings
Team ESPN [8] Rivals [9] 24/7 [10]
Cincinnati 39 45
East Carolina 100 97
Houston 85 84
Memphis 48 47
Navy 68 104
SMU 61 51
South Florida 56 64
Temple 117
Tulane 85 81
Tulsa 127
UCF 54 58

American Athletic Conference Media Days

The 2021 American Media day was held virtually August 3 and 4, 2021 [11]

• 2021 The American Virtual Football Media Days

Preseason media poll

The American Athletic Conference preseason media poll was released at the virtual media day held August 4, 2021. [12] Cincinnati, who finished the 2020 season ranked No. 8 nationally, was tabbed as the preseason favorite in the 2021 preseason media poll.

Media poll
Predicted finish Team Votes (1st place)
1 Cincinnati 262 (22)
2 UCF 241 (2)
3 SMU 188
4 Houston 181
5 Memphis 168
6 Tulsa 153
7 Tulane 132
т-8 East Carolina 85
т-8 Navy 85
10 Temple 46
11 South Florida 43

Preseason awards

Award Head Coach/Player School Position Link
Lott Trophy Coby Bryant Cincinnati CB [13]
Dodd Trophy Luke Fickell Cincinnati HC [14]
Maxwell Award Desmond Ridder Cincinnati QB [15]
Calvin Austin Memphis WR
Ulysses Bentley IV SMU RB
Reggie Roberson Jr. SMU WR
Dillon Gabriel UCF QB
Bednarik Award Sauce Gardner Cincinnati CB [16]
Myjai Sanders Cincinnati DE
Quindell Johnson Memphis S
Diego Fagot Navy LB
Davey O'Brien Award Desmond Ridder Cincinnati QB [17]
Dillon Gabriel UCF QB
Doak Walker Award Rahjai Harris East Carolina RB [18]
Mulbah Car Houston RB
Ulysses Bentley, IV SMU RB
Cameron Carroll Tulane RB
Shamari Brooks Tulsa RB
Fred Biletnikoff Award Calvin Austin Memphis WR [19]
Rashee Rice SMU WR
Reggie Roberson Jr. SMU WR
Keylon Stokes Tulsa WR
Jaylon Robinson UCF WR
John Mackey Award Josh Whyle Cincinnati TE [20]
Grant Calcaterra SMU TE
Rimington Trophy Kody Russey Houston OL [21]
C.J. Perez Temple OL
Sincere Haynesworth Tulane OL
Outland Trophy Dylan Parham Memphis G [22]
Jaylon Thomas SMU T
Corey Dublin Tulane G
Tyler Smith Tulsa T
Cole Schneider UCF DT
Bronko Nagurski Trophy Diego Fagot Navy LB [23]
Sauce Gardner Cincinnati CB
Myjai Sanders Cincinnati DE
Jaxon Player Tulsa DT
Lou Groza Award Blake Mazza SMU PK [24]
Paul Hornung Award Tyler Snead East Carolina WR [25]
Nathaniel Dell Houston WR
Danny Gray SMU WR
Jha'Quan Jackson Tulane WR
Keylon Stokes Tulsa WR
Wuerffel Trophy Holton Ahlers East Carolina QB [26]
Marcus Jones Houston DB
Preston Brady Memphis LS
Shaine Hailey SMU LB
Mitchell Brinkman South Florida CB
Re-Al Mitchell Temple QB
Nick Anderson Tulane LB
Chris Paul Tulsa OG
Walter Camp Award Desmond Ridder Cincinnati QB [27]
Dillon Gabriel UCF QB
Manning Award Desmond Ridder Cincinnati QB [28]
Michael Pratt Tulane QB
Dillon Gabriel UCF QB
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Clayton Tune Houston QB [29]
Sean Dykes Memphis TE
Ulysses Bentley IV SMU RB
Reggie Roberson, Jr. SMU RB
Deneric Prince Tulsa RB
Keylon Stokes Tulsa WR
Jaylon Robinson UCF WR
Ray Guy Award Jonn Young East Carolina P [30]
Laine Wilkins Houston P
Daniel Davies Navy P
Adam Barry Temple P
Ryan Wright Tulane P
Lachlan Wilson Tulsa P
Andrew Osteen UCF P
Polynesian College Football Player Of The Year Award Tama Tuitele Navy LB [31]
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Desmond Ridder Cincinnati QB [32]
Clayton Tune Houston QB
Dillon Gabriel UCF QB

Head coaches

Coaching changes

On January 27, 2021 Josh Heupel departed UCF to Tennessee. Gus Malzahn was hired to serve as the new head coach on February 15, 2021. [33]

Coaches

Note: All stats current through the completion of the 2021 regular season

Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school AAC record
Cincinnati Luke Fickell 5 53–21 (.716) 47–14 (.770) 29–9 (.763)
East Carolina Mike Houston 3 94–44 (.681) 14–19 (.424) 4–12 (.250)
Houston Dana Holgorsen 3 68–54 (.557) 7–13 (.350) 5–9 (.357)
Memphis Ryan Silverfield 2 8–4 (.667) 8–4 (.667) 5–3 (.625)
Navy Ken Niumatalolo 14 101–67 (.601) 101–67 (.601) 30–17 (.638)
SMU Sonny Dykes 4 63–59 (.516) 22–14 (.611) 14–9 (.609)
South Florida Jeff Scott 2 1–8 (.111) 1–8 (.111) 0–7 (.000)
Temple Rod Carey 3 61–41 (.598) 9–11 (.450) 6–9 (.400)
Tulane Willie Fritz 6 185–112 (.623) 31–43 (.419) 16–32 (.333)
Tulsa Philip Montgomery 7 37–46 (.446) 37–46 (.446) 24–29 (.453)
UCF Gus Malzahn 1 85–42 (.669) 8–4 (.667) 5–3 (.625)

Source: [34]

Rankings

See also: 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
Legend
    Improvement in ranking
  Drop in ranking
  Not ranked previous week
RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll
  Pre Wk
2		 Wk
3		 Wk
4		 Wk
5		 Wk
6		 Wk
7		 Wk
8		 Wk
9		 Wk
10		 Wk
11		 Wk
12		 Wk
13		 Wk
14		 Final
Cincinnati AP 7 8 8 7 5 3 2 2 2 2 3 4 3 4 4
C 10 8 9 8 6 4 3 2 2 3 3 4 4 4 4
CFP Not released 6 5 5 4 4 4
East Carolina AP
C
CFP Not released
Houston AP RV RV RV 20 17 17 19 16 21 17
C RV RV RV RV 19 17 17 16 16 21 17
CFP Not released 24 24 21 20
Memphis AP RV
C RV RV RV
CFP Not released
Navy AP
C
CFP Not released
SMU AP RV 24 23 21 19 23 RV RV
C RV RV RV RV RV 24 23 19 16 24 RV RV
CFP Not released
South Florida AP
C
CFP Not released
Temple AP
C
CFP Not released
Tulane AP
C RV RV RV
CFP Not released
Tulsa AP
C RV
CFP Not released
UCF AP RV RV RV
C RV RV RV RV
CFP Not released

Schedule

The regular season will begin on September 2, 2021 and will end on November 27, 2021. The season will conclude with the 2021 American Athletic Conference Championship Game on December 4.

At Media Day American Commissioner Mike Aresco said games will not be rescheduled this year because of COVID & if teams can’t play, they will have to forfeit [35]

Regular season

Index to colors and formatting
American member won
American member lost
American teams in bold

Week One

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 2 7:00 p.m. Boise State UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL ESPN W 36–31   43,928
September 2 7:30 p.m. East Carolina Appalachian State Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC ( Duke's Mayo Classic) ESPNU L 19–33   36,752
September 2 7:30 p.m. South Florida NC State Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC ACC Network L 0–45   52,633
September 2 7:30 p.m. No. 23 ( FCS)  UC Davis Tulsa H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPN+ L 17–19   15,085
September 4 Noon Temple Rutgers SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ BTN L 14–61   52,519
September 4 Noon No. 2  Oklahoma Tulane Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK [a] ABC L 35–40   42,206
September 4 3:30 p.m. Miami (OH) No. 8  Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ( Victory Bell) ESPN+ W 49–14   37,978
September 4 3:30 p.m. Marshall Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN L 7–49   30,131
September 4 7:00 p.m. Texas Tech Houston NRG Stadium • Houston, TX ( Texas Kickoff) ESPN L 21–38   43,478
September 4 7:00 p.m. No. 22 ( FCS)  Nicholls Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPN+ W 42–17   30,263
September 4 7:00 p.m. Abilene Christian SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX ESPN+ W 56–9   23,373
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week Two

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 11 Noon South Carolina East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPN2 L 17–20   40,816
September 11 Noon Tulsa Oklahoma State Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, OK FS1 L 23–28   52,127
September 11 1:00 p.m. No. 13  Florida South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ABC L 20–42   64,692
September 11 1:00 p.m. Morgan State Tulane Legion Field • Birmingham, AL [b] ESPN+ W 69–20   2,100
September 11 3:30 p.m. Murray State No. 7 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPN+ W 42–7   33,498
September 11 3:30 p.m. Air Force Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD ( Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) CBS L 3–23   36,997
September 11 3:30 p.m. Temple Akron InfoCision Stadium • Akron, OH ESPN+ W 45–24   14,474
September 11 6:30 p.m. Bethune-Cookman UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL ESPN+ W 63–14   38,443
September 11 6:30 p.m. Houston Rice Rice Stadium • Houston, TX ( rivalry) CBSSN W 44–7   26,253
September 11 7:00 p.m. Memphis Arkansas State Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR ( Paint Bucket Bowl) ESPN+ W 55–50   19,501
September 11 7:00 p.m. North Texas SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX ( Safeway Bowl) ESPN+ W 35–12   29,121
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week Three

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 17 7:30 p.m. UCF Louisville Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY ESPN L 35–42   39,022
September 18 Noon No. 8 Cincinnati Indiana Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN ESPN W 38–24   52,656
September 18 Noon Boston College Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPNU L 3–28   25,290
September 18 3:30 p.m. SMU Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA CBSSN W 39–37   15,326
September 18 3:30 p.m. Tulsa No. 9  Ohio State Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH FS1 L 20–41   76,540
September 18 4:00 p.m. Mississippi State Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPN2 W 31–29   43,461
September 18 6:00 p.m. East Carolina Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV ( rivalry) CBSSN Facebook W 42–38   24,833
September 18 7:00 p.m. Grambling State Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN+ W 45–0   22,998
September 18 7:00 p.m. Florida A&M South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPN+ W 38–17   29,475
September 18 8:00 p.m. Tulane No. 17  Ole Miss Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS ( rivalry) ESPN2 L 21–61   54,198
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
September 18 Navy

Week Four

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 25 Noon SMU TCU Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX ( rivalry) FS1 W 42–34   46,672
September 25 Noon Wagner Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPN+ W 41–7   20,179
September 25 3:30 p.m. UTSA Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPNU L 28–31   29,264
September 25 5:00 p.m. Arkansas State Tulsa H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPN+ W 41–34   14,881
September 25 6:00 p.m. Charleston Southern East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPN+ W 31–28   39,218
September 25 7:00 p.m. Navy Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPNU  HOU 28–20   25,054
September 25 8:00 p.m. UAB Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPN+ L 21–28   16,023
September 25 10:15 p.m. South Florida No. 15  BYU LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT ESPN2 L 27–35   60,217
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
September 25 UCF No. 8 Cincinnati

Week Five

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 1 7:30 p.m. Houston Tulsa H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ( rivalry) ESPN  HOU 45–10   15,890
October 2 Noon Memphis Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPNU  TEM 34–31   28,573
October 2 2:30 p.m. No. 7 Cincinnati No. 9  Notre Dame Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN NBC W 24–13   77,622
October 2 3:30 p.m. Tulane East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPN+  ECU 52–29   33,475
October 2 3:30 p.m. UCF Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN  NAVY 34–30   30,871
October 2 4:00 p.m. South Florida SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX ESPNU  SMU 41–17   23,355
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week Six

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 7 7:30 p.m. Houston Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPN  HOU 40–22   15,026
October 8 7:00 p.m. Temple No. 5 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPN  CIN 52–3   37,978
October 9 3:30 p.m. No. 24 SMU Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD ( Gansz Trophy) CBSSN  SMU 31–24   28,563
October 9 6:00 p.m. East Carolina UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL ESPN+  UCF 20–16   41,649
October 9 9:00 p.m. Memphis Tulsa H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPN2  TLSA 35–29   17,593
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
October 9 South Florida

Week Seven

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 14 7:30 p.m. Navy Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPN  MEM 35–17   30,042
October 16 Noon UCF No. 3 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ABC  CIN 56–21   37,978
October 16 Noon Tulsa South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPNU  TLSA 32–31   21,767
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
October 16 East Carolina Houston No. 23 SMU Temple Tulane

Week Eight

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 21 7:30 p.m. Tulane No. 21 SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX ESPN  SMU 55–26   22,843
October 22 7:00 p.m. Memphis UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL ESPN2  UCF 24–7   39,328
October 23 Noon No. 2 Cincinnati Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD ESPN2  CIN 27–20   32,004
October 23 7:00 p.m. Temple South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPN+  USF 34–14   25,430
October 23 9:20 p.m. East Carolina Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPNews α  HOU 31–24 OT  22,925
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
  • ^α This game was initially scheduled for ESPNU at 4PM ET, but moved to 9:20PM ET on ESPNews because of a rain delay.. [37]
Date Bye Week
October 23 Tulsa

Week Nine

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 28 7:30 p.m. South Florida East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPN  ECU 29–14   32,015
October 29 7:30 p.m. Navy Tulsa H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPN2  NAVY 20–17   16,279
October 30 Noon UCF Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPN+  UCF 49–7   19,595
October 30 Noon No. 2 Cincinnati Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPN2  CIN 31–12   17,012
October 30 7:00 p.m. No. 19 SMU Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN2  HOU 44–37   25,676
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
October 30 Memphis

Week Ten

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 6 Noon No. 23 SMU Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPNU  MEM 28–25   30,191
November 6 3:00 p.m. Temple East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ESPN+  ECU 45–3   32,817
November 6 3:30 p.m. Tulsa No. 2 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ( College GameDay) ESPN2  CIN 28–20   37,978
November 6 3:30 p.m. Navy No. 8 Notre Dame Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN ( rivalry) NBC L 6–34   77,096
November 6 4:00 p.m. Tulane UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL ESPNU  UCF 14–10   41,030
November 6 7:30 p.m. No. 20 Houston South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPNU  HOU 54–42   28,667
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week Eleven

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 12 6:00 p.m. No. 2 Cincinnati South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPN2  CIN 48–28   30,708
November 13 Noon UCF SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX ESPNU  SMU 55–28   23,175
November 13 Noon No. 17 Houston Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPN+  HOU 37–8   18,440
November 13 Noon East Carolina Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPN+  ECU 30–29 OT  28,431
November 13 4:00 p.m. Tulsa Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPNU  TLSA 20–13 OT  22,784
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
Date Bye Week
November 13 Navy

Week Twelve

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 19 9:00 p.m. Memphis No. 17 Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN2  HOU 31–13   28,712
November 20 Noon South Florida Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPN+  TULN 45–14   14,496
November 20 3:30 p.m. SMU No. 3 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ESPN  CIN 48–14   37,978
November 20 3:30 p.m. East Carolina Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN  ECU 38–35   28,001
November 20 4:00 p.m. UConn UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL ( Civil Conflict) ESPN+ W 49–17   37,454
November 20 4:00 p.m. Temple Tulsa H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK ESPN+  TLSA 44–10   16,731
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week Thirteen

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 26 3:30 p.m. No. 4 Cincinnati East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC ABC  CIN 35–13   38,014
November 26 3:30 p.m. South Florida UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL ( War on I-4) ESPN  UCF 17–13   41,157
November 27 Noon No. 19 Houston UConn Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT CBSSN W 45–17   12,685
November 27 Noon Navy Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA ESPNU  NAVY 38–14   16,708
November 27 4:00 p.m. Tulsa SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX ESPN2  TLSA 34–31   17,158
November 27 7:30 p.m. Tulane Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPNU  MEM 33–28   27,416
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week Fourteen (American Athletic Conference Championship)

Further information: 2021 American Athletic Conference Football Championship Game
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
December 4 4:00 p.m. No. 16 Houston No. 3 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH ABC  CIN 35–20   37,978
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week Fifteen

See also: Army–Navy Game
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
December 11 3:00 p.m. Navy Army Metlife Stadium • East Rutherford, NJ ( 122nd Army-Navy Game/Commander-in-Chief's Trophy) CBS W 17–13   82,282
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.
  1. ^ Originally scheduled to be played as a home game, the game against Oklahoma was moved to Norman, Oklahoma on August 30, 2021, due to safety concerns related to Hurricane Ida. Tulane will remain the designated home team despite Oklahoma hosting the game. [36]
  2. ^ Originally scheduled to be played as a home game, the game against Morgan State was moved to Birmingham, Alabama due continued storm repairs taking place in New Orleans following Hurricane Ida. Tulane remained the designated home team.

Postseason

Bowl games

See also: 2021–22 NCAA football bowl games

In 2021 the American will send teams to the Military Bowl, Fenway Bowl, and Hawaii Bowl annually. The American will have four selections from the following bowls: Frisco Bowl, Cure Bowl, Boca Raton Bowl, Gasparilla Bowl. Birmingham Bowl, First Responder Bowl and Myrtle Beach Bowl. [38] The American champion will go to a New Year's Six bowl if a team finishes higher than the champions of Group of Five conferences in the final College Football Playoff rankings. American teams are also eligible for the College Football Playoff if they're among the top four teams in the final CFP ranking. [39]

Cancelled bowls

The following bowl games tied in with the American Athletic Conference had their 2021 editions canceled :

  • ^A Memphis was originally slated to play in the Hawaii Bowl against Hawaii on December 24. Hawaii was forced to withdraw from the bowl game due to a shortage of available players, stemming from a combination of a COVID-19 outbreak within the team, players already out with injury, and players who transferred away from the school at the conclusion of the regular season. [40]
  • ^B East Carolina was originally slated to play in the Military Bowl against Boston College on December 27. On December 26 the game was cancelled after Boston College had over 40 players unavailable to play in the Military Bowl against East Carolina. In a statement, Boston College said it did not have enough players to field a team because of coronavirus issues, season-ending injuries, opt-outs and transfers. [41]
  • ^C SMU was originally slated to play in the Fenway Bowl against Virginia on December 29. Virginia was forced to withdraw game due to the number of COVID cases impacting its roster, preventing safe participation. As a result of this withdrawal, the game and associated activities will no longer take place [42]
Legend
  American win
  American loss
Bowl game [43] Date Site Television Time ( EST) American team Opponent Score Attendance
Myrtle Beach Bowl December 20, 2021 Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC ESPN 2:30 p.m. Tulsa Old Dominion W 30–17 6,557
Gasparilla Bowl December 23, 2021 Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL ESPN 7:00 p.m. UCF Florida W 29–17 63,669
Hawaii Bowl December 24, 2021 Clarence T. C. Ching Athletics Complex • Honolulu, HI ESPN 8:00 p.m. Memphis Hawaii Cancelled A
Military Bowl December 27, 2021 Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD ESPN 2:30 p.m. East Carolina Boston College Cancelled B
Birmingham Bowl December 28, 2021 Protective Stadium • Birmingham, AL ESPN 12:00 p.m. No. 20 Houston Auburn W 17–13 47,100
Fenway Bowl December 29, 2021 Fenway Park • Boston, MA ESPN 11:00 a.m. SMU Virginia Cancelled C
College Football Playoff
Cotton Bowl Classic December 31, 2021 AT&T Stadium • Arlington, Texas ESPN 3:30 p.m. No. 4 Cincinnati No. 1 Alabama L 6–27 76,313

Rankings from Final CFP rankings. All times Eastern Time Zone. American teams bolded.

Selection of teams

  • Bowl-eligible (7): Cincinnati, East Carolina, Houston, Memphis, SMU, UCF, Tulsa
  • Bowl-ineligible: (4): Navy, South Florida, Temple, Tulane

American vs other conferences

American vs Power Five matchups

The following games include American teams competing against Power Five conferences teams from the ACC, Big Ten, Big 12, BYU/ Notre Dame, Pac-12 and SEC). All rankings are from the AP Poll at the time of the game.

Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score
September 2 ACC South Florida NC State Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC L 0–45
September 4 Big 12 Texas Tech Houston NRG Stadium • Houston, TX L 21–38
September 4 Big Ten Temple Rutgers SHI Stadium • Piscataway, NJ L 14–61
September 4 Big 12 No. 2 Oklahoma Tulane Gaylord Family Oklahoma Memorial Stadium • Norman, OK L 35–40
September 11 SEC South Carolina East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC L 17–20
September 11 SEC No. 13 Florida South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL L 20–42
September 11 Big 12 Tulsa Oklahoma State Boone Pickens Stadium • Stillwater, OK L 23–28
September 17 ACC UCF Louisville Cardinal Stadium • Louisville, KY L 35–42
September 18 Big Ten No. 8 Cincinnati Indiana Memorial Stadium • Bloomington, IN W 38–24
September 18 SEC Mississippi State Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN W 31–29
September 18 ACC Boston College Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA L 3–28
September 18 SEC Tulane No. 17 Ole Miss Vaught–Hemingway Stadium • Oxford, MS L 21–61
September 18 Big Ten Tulsa No. 9 Ohio State Ohio Stadium • Columbus, OH L 20–41
September 25 Independent South Florida BYU LaVell Edwards Stadium • Provo, UT L 27–35
September 25 Big 12 SMU TCU Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, TX W 42–34
October 2 Independent No. 7 Cincinnati No. 9 Notre Dame Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN W 24–13
November 6 Independent Navy Notre Dame Notre Dame Stadium • Notre Dame, IN L 6–34

American vs Group of Five matchups

The following games include American teams competing against teams from C-USA, MAC, Mountain West or Sun Belt.

Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score
September 2 Sun Belt East Carolina Appalachian State Bank of America Stadium • Charlotte, NC L 19–33
September 4 Mountain West Boise State UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL W 36–31
September 4 MAC Miami (OH) No. 8 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium• Cincinnati, OH W 49–14
September 4 C-USA Marshall Navy Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD L 7–49
September 11 C-USA Houston Rice Rice Stadium • Houston, TX W 44–7
September 11 Sun Belt Memphis Arkansas State Centennial Bank Stadium • Jonesboro, AR W 55–50
September 11 Mountain West Air Force Navy Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD L 3–23
September 11 C-USA North Texas SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX W 35–12
September 11 MAC Temple Akron InfoCision Stadium • Akron, OH W 45–24
September 18 C-USA East Carolina Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV W 42–38
September 18 C-USA SMU Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA W 39–37
September 25 C-USA UTSA Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN L 28–31
September 25 C-USA UAB Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA L 21–28
September 25 Sun Belt Arkansas State Tulsa H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK W 41–34

American vs FBS independents matchups

The following games include American teams competing against FBS Independents, which includes Army, Liberty, New Mexico State, UConn or UMass.

Date Visitor Home Site Score
November 20 UConn UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL W 49–17
November 27 No. 19 Houston UConn Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT W 45–17
December 11 Army Navy MetLife Stadium • East Rutherford, NJ W 17–13

American vs FCS matchups

The Football Championship Subdivision comprises 13 conferences and two independent programs.

Date Visitor Home Site Score
September 2 UC Davis Tulsa H.A. Chapman Stadium • Tulsa, OK L 17–19
September 4 Abilene Christian SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, TX W 56–9
September 4 Nicholls Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN W 42–17
September 11 Murray State No. 7 Cincinnati Nippert Stadium • Cincinnati, OH W 42–7
September 11 Morgan State Tulane Legion Field • Birmingham, AL W 69–20
September 11 Bethune-Cookman UCF Bounce House • Orlando, FL W 63–14
September 18 Grambling State Houston TDECU Stadium • Houston, TX W 45–0
September 18 Florida A&M South Florida Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FL W 38–17
September 25 Charleston Southern East Carolina Dowdy–Ficklen Stadium • Greenville, NC W 31–28
September 25 Wagner Temple Lincoln Financial Field • Philadelphia, PA W 41–7

Records against other conferences

Awards and honors

Player of the week honors

Week Offensive Defensive Specialist
Player Team Position Player Team Position Player Team Position
WEEK 1 [44] Tanner Mordecai SMU QB Kalia Davis UCF DL Joe Doyle Memphis P
WEEK 2 [45] Calvin Austin Memphis WR William Kwenkeu Temple LB Mannie Nunnery Houston LB
WEEK 3 [46] Tanner Mordecai (2) SMU QB Deshawn Pace Cincinnati LB Calvin Austin Memphis WR
WEEK 4 [47] Davis Brin Tulsa QB Derek Parish Houston LB Marcus Jones Houston CB
WEEK 5 [48] Desmond Ridder Cincinnati QB Taylor Robinson Navy S Marcus Jones (2) Houston CB
WEEK 6 [49] Jerome Ford Cincinnati RB Tatum Bethune UCF LB Bryan Massey SMU S
WEEK 7 [50] Jerome Ford (2) Cincinnati RB Justin Wright Tulsa LB Brian Battie South Florida RB
WEEK 8 [51] Tanner Mordecai (3) SMU QB Donavan Mutin Houston LB Marcus Jones (3) Houston CB
WEEK 9 [52] Nathaniel Dell Houston WR Malik Fleming East Carolina CB Marcus Jones (4) Houston CB
WEEK 10 [53] Clayton Tune Houston QB Rodney Owens Memphis CB Brian Battie (2) South Florida RB
WEEK 11 [54] Tanner Mordecai (4) SMU QB Justin Wright (2) Tulsa LB Owen Daffer East Carolina K
WEEK 12 [55] Desmond Ridder (2) Cincinnati QB Marcus Jones Houston CB Owen Daffer (2) East Carolina K
WEEK 13 [56] Seth Henigan Memphis QB Sauce Gardner Cincinnati CB David Kemp Memphis K

American Athletic Individual Awards

The following individuals received postseason honors as chosen by the league's head coaches. [57]

Award Player School
Offensive Player of the Year Desmond Ridder Cincinnati
Defensive Player of the Year Sauce Gardner* Cincinnati
Special Teams Player of the Year Marcus Jones Houston
Rookie of the Year Alton McCaskill Houston
Coach of the Year Luke Fickell Cincinnati

All-Conference Teams

* Denotes Unanimous Selection

All Conference Honorable Mentions:

  • UCF: Tatum Bethune (LB), Cole Schneider (OG), Marcus Tatum (OT)
  • Cincinnati: Marcus Brown (DL), Deshawn Pace (LB), Josh Whyle (TE)
  • Houston: Laine Wilkins (P)
  • South Florida: Jaren Mangham (RB), Spenser Shrader (P)
  • SMU: Rashee Rice (WR)
  • Temple: C.J. Perez (C)
  • Tulane: Sincere Haynesworth (C), Dorian Williams (LB), Macon Clark (S)
  • Tulsa: Chris Paul (OG), Justin Wright (LB)

All-Americans

For the complete All-America selections, see 2021 College Football All-America Team.

The 2021 College Football All-America Team is composed of the following College Football All-American first teams chosen by the following selector organizations: Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Walter Camp Foundation (WCFF), Sporting News (TSN, from its historic name of The Sporting News), Sports Illustrated (SI), The Athletic (Athletic), USA Today (USAT) ESPN, CBS Sports (CBS), College Football News (CFN), Athlon Sports, Phil Steele, and Fox Sports (FOX).

Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. Players are chosen against other players playing at their position only. To be selected a consensus All-American, players must be chosen to the first team on at least half of the five official selectors as recognized by the NCAA. Second- and third-team honors are used to break ties. Players named first-team by all five selectors are deemed unanimous All-Americans. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine consensus and unanimous All-Americans. [58]

Position Player School Selector Unanimous Consensus
First Team All-Americans
CB Sauce Gardner Cincinnati (AFCA, AP, CBS, ESPN, FWAA, The Athletic, TSN, USAT) *
CB Coby Bryant Cincinnati (AFCA, WCFF)
DB Marcus Jones Houston (AP)
AP Marcus Jones Houston (CBS, ESPN, FWAA, The Athletic, TSN, USAT) *
KR Brian Battie South Florida (FWAA, WCFF) *
Position Player School Selector
Second Team All-Americans
CB Coby Bryant Cincinnati (AP, CBS, TSN, USAT)
CB Sauce Gardner Cincinnati (WCFF)
CB Ja'Quan McMillian East Carolina (AP, FWAA, TSN)
PR Marcus Jones Houston (AP, CBS, WCFF)
KR Brian Battie South Florida (CBS, TSN)

List of All American Teams

National award winners

See also: 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season § Awards and honors

Home Depot Coach of the Year Award
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati [59]

Eddie Robinson Coach of the Year
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati [60]

Bobby Dodd Coach of the Year
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati [61]

AFCA Coach of Year
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati [62]

Bear Bryant Award
Luke Fickell, Cincinnati [63]

Paul Hornung Award
Marcus Jones, Houston [64]

Jim Thorpe Award
Coby Bryant, Cincinnati [65]

Jet Award
Marcus Jones, Houston [66]

[67]

NFL Draft

The following list includes all AAC players who were drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Player Position School Draft
Round 		Round
Pick 		Overall
Pick 		Team
Sauce Gardner CB Cincinnati 1 4 4 New York Jets
Tyler Smith OT Tulsa 1 24 24 Dallas Cowboys
Logan Hall DT Houston 2 1 33 Tampa Bay Buccaneers
Alec Pierce WR Cincinnati 2 21 53 Indianapolis Colts
Bryan Cook S Cincinnati 2 30 62 Kansas City Chiefs
Desmond Ridder QB Cincinnati 3 10 74 Atlanta Falcons
Marcus Jones DB Houston 3 21 85 New England Patriots
Dylan Parham OG Memphis 3 26 90 Las Vegas Raiders
Myjai Sanders DE Cincinnati 3 36 100 Arizona Cardinals
Danny Gray WR SMU 3 41 105 San Francisco 49ers
Coby Bryant CB Cincinnati 4 4 109 Seattle Seahawks
Calvin Austin WR Memphis 4 33 138 Pittsburgh Steelers
Damarion Williams CB Houston 4 36 141 Baltimore Ravens
Jerome Ford RB Cincinnati 5 13 156 Cleveland Browns
Darrian Beavers LB Cincinnati 6 3 182 New York Giants
Grant Calcaterra TE SMU 6 20 198 Philadelphia Eagles
Curtis Brooks DT Cincinnati 6 38 216 Indianapolis Colts
Kalia Davis DT UCF 6 42 220 San Francisco 49ers
Chris Paul OG Tulsa 7 9 230 Washington Commanders

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