I found this from a thread on the main AAC board - it looks to be pretty detailed.





Best chance at the Playoff

The team circling Dec. 6 on the calendar

The honor goes to Cincinnati, which has three assets in its corner in the push for an access bowl. The first is the non-conference slate: Cincinnati takes on Miami and BYU in October, providing the Bearcats with two chances outside of league play at impressing the selection committee.

The Bearcats also avoid Navy, perhaps the top team in the West, even if this could be viewed as a negative; a win against the Midshipmen would only help the team's postseason case. But missing out on a Navy matchup removes one potential hurdle to 10-plus wins, and also saves the Bearcats' defense from the wear of tear of taking on Niumatalolo's option offense.

Finally — and this most of all, obviously — is Cincinnati's overall talent level. The Bearcats have the league's best passing quarterback, as noted above, and the American's most explosive attack overall. The offensive skill talent likewise tops the conference. There are concerns on defense, a unit that ranked 98th nationally in yards allowed per play last fall, but an influx of young talent offsets any concerns over replacing seven starters.

But let's say this: Cincinnati's not going undefeated. There are losses on this schedule, whether inside of league action or out, even if the Bearcats should be at least somewhat disappointed with anything less than nine wins. Why does this matter? Because Boise State is out there to the west, and it's virtually impossible to imagine a scenario where the Broncos aren't fighting for 11 or 12 wins come the beginning of December.


http://www.usatoday.com/longform/sports/...WpqoTe7Dwg

I can't say I disagree with much in that article. 9 wins should be a minimum w/o major injuries.

A bowl win would also be nice.

further reason I would like to see five or six MWC teams added to the best of the AAC....UC/Boise for the conference crown and access bowl bid in December would at least bring back a feeling of big time we had in the Big East, on some level anyway.

Too bad that Boise series is another 4 seasons. It would be nice to settle that part of it on the field.