The AAC still holds onto the title as the best conference outside the Power Four. With Ashton Jeanty in Las Vegas and Barry Odom not in Las Vegas, odds are the top-ranked Group of Five team will be from the AAC. Schools like Memphis and Tulane will try and remain among the best Group of Five squads, while scuffling programs like Charlotte and Temple have new coaches looking to turn things around. There is a lot of intrigue and considerable talent in the AAC. Here's a closer look.
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AAC All-Conference Fantasy Teams
First Team
QB: Blake Horvath, Navy 
(8)
RB: Greg Desrosiers, Memphis 
(20)
RB: Eli Heidenreich, Navy (35)
WR: Easton Messer, Florida Atlantic 
(4)
WR: David Amador, UTSA 
(10)
TE: Houston Thomas, UTSA (13)
Second Team
QB: Owen McCown, UTSA (13)
RB: Robert Henry, UTSA (46)
RB: Sutton Smith, Memphis (49)
WR: Yannick Smith, East Carolina 
(26)
WR: Devin McCuin, UTSA (27)
TE: Jerry Cross, Memphis (26)
Third Team
QB: Caden Veltkamp, Florida Atlantic (15)
RB: Jamauri McClure, Tulane 
(63)
RB: Jay Ducker, Temple 
(86)
WR: Miles Coleman, North Texas 
(30)
WR: Anthony Smith, East Carolina (42)
TE: Patrick Overmyer, UTSA (50)
Mountain West Fantasy Sleepers
QB: Byrum Brown, South Florida 
You miss a significant amount of time, and suddenly you find yourself a fantasy college football sleeper. For all intents and purposes, Brown only played in five games in 2024. In three games, he ran for over 70 yards, including tallying 108 yards against Alabama. Then, he injured his foot, and Brown faded into the background. As such, let's look back to 2023, Alex Golesh's first season with the Bulls. That year, Brown stepped in as the starter and threw for 3,292 yards and 29 touchdowns against 11 interceptions. Not only that, but he ran for 809 yards and 11 touchdowns as well. Assuming Brown's foot is fully healed and his ability to run is back to 100 percent, he could end up the best quarterback in the AAC.
QB: Brendon Lewis, Memphis
Lewis is a seasoned college quarterback at this point. He first saw the field for Colorado in 2020. Lewis spent the last two seasons starting for Nevada, with 2024 being a mixed bag. He only threw for 16 touchdowns against 11 picks, but he also ran for 775 yards and eight scores while only losing a single fumble. This was enough for Memphis to believe Lewis is the guy to replace Seth Henigan under center. Lewis' game is different, as Henigan didn't run much, but if he can produce to a similar level in a different way, it will be the best season of Lewis' career.
RB: Noah Short, Army 
Both Kanye Udoh and quarterback Bryson Daily ran for over 1,100 yards and had double-digit touchdowns last season. Neither is back for 2025. Now, Short isn't going to get the touches of Daily's replacement under center, but he's the top returning back, and he could step into Udoh's role (and production). In 2024, he ran the ball 75 times for 569 yards and two touchdowns, while adding three more scores through the air. Of course, Daily and Udoh were taking most of the rushing scores, and that won't be happening this year. Short should have more, well, short-yardage opportunities around the goal line.
RB: Rod Gainey, Charlotte 
Things are going to be better for Charlotte in 2025. The Biff Poggi experiment has concluded, and Charlotte has opted for an actual, proper head coach this time. In fact, the 49ers were able to poach Tim Albin from Ohio, a school he led to three 10-win seasons in a row. Obviously, there has been roster turnover, but Gainey decided to stick around. He barely played during his true freshman campaign, but he's now set to be, perhaps, the number-one back for Charlotte. Gainey wanted to play for Albin, and Albin wanted Gainey to play for him. That's encouraging for a sleeper.
WR: Colin Chase, Temple
Finally, at age 65, K.C. Keeler got a chance to run a mid-tier college football program. He coached at Delaware for years, winning a I-AA title. Then, he moved to Sam Houston State, where he won an FCS title. Keeler led the Bearkats as they moved from the FCS to the FBS, and last year piloted the team to a 9-3 record. The guy is a winner, and now he'll try to revamp the Owls. Yes, it's year one, but things should be better. Keeler brought Chase up from St. Thomas (MN). Last year, Chase had 28 catches for 559 yards and six touchdowns over his last six games. Yes, there are a lot of unknowns here, but sleepers don't tend to stare you right in the face.
WR: Simeon Evans, North Texas
Speaking of Sam Houston, when Evans lost his head coach, he decided to transfer to North Texas. Evans emerged with 51 catches for 559 yards and six touchdowns in an offense less pass-happy than what the Mean Green run. Even though Chandler Morris is gone, replaced with Drew Mestemaker under center, this is still a team that is going to air the ball out. Also, a team offering up the opportunity to grab targets. The top-three receivers for North Texas in 2024 are all gone. If Evans adapts well, he could be the top guy in a high-power passing offense.
AAC Position Battles of Interest
Florida Atlantic Wide Receivers
Zach Kittley's offense was so good it made people pay attention to Houston Baptist. That included Western Kentucky head coach, Tyson Helton, who ported the entire HBU offense over, Kittley included. Bailey Zappe proceeded to set the FBS record for passing yards and passing touchdowns in a season. Kittley then went to Texas Tech, and he's now Florida Atlantic's head coach. There is a very good chance the passing numbers the Owls put up are among the best in the FBS, at least in terms of sheer tonnage. Easton Messer should be the top guy, given that he transferred in from WKU, so he knows the offense. The Owls have also added transfers like JR Wilson from Virginia and Asaad Waseem from Colorado.
Tulane Quarterbacks
A proper quarterback battle needs to be included in this section! And this is with TJ Finley already coming and going due to a suspension. Darian Mensah is gone, as is his backup Ty Thompson. In their place, we have three transfers duking it out. Kadin Semonza was a starter last season, and he threw for 2,904 yards with 25 touchdowns against 10 picks. However, he did that for Ball State down in the MAC. Brendan Sullivan has started some during the last three seasons, but for Northwestern and Iowa, i.e., not quarterback factories. He has shown running ability that Semonza lacks, though. Then, there's Donovan Leary. He comes from the best program, Illinois, but has played the least.
Rice Running Backs
Scott Abell brought success to Davidson, which earned him a chance to remake Rice in his image. Oh, and the Owls are going to look different. Abell runs a spread triple-option offense, a variation on the kind of offense that Army and Navy run. Suddenly, being a running back for Rice means something much different. Quinton Jackson, Carson Morgan, Aaron Turner, or maybe somebody else is going to emerge as the lead back in a triple-option offense. Somebody could rack up some yardage in the new offensive scheme, though we aren't certain who that's going to be.
