American Conference enters the season with Navy an early favorite amid revamped CFP hopes

The American Conference turned heads during the 2025 season. A conference-record nine teams reached the postseason, including Tulane, which clinched a spot in the 12-team College Football Playoff as the No. 11 seed.

The conference produced three teams with at least 11 wins, and five teams earned an AP Top 25 ranking throughout the season.

Even after a strong year, the conference has no representatives in this year's preseason poll. That might have something to do with key losses, especially on the coaching side.

Coaching turnover hits the American

Five programs enter the season with new head coaches. Four hired replacements after their previous coaches left for Power Four opportunities.

Neal Brown takes over for Eric Morris, the former North Texas coach hired by Oklahoma State. Tulane promoted Will Hall after Jon Sumrall departed for Florida. UAB elevated Alex Mortenson from interim head coach after the 2025 season.

Former Ohio State offensive coordinator Brian Hartline takes over at USF after Alex Golesh left for Auburn after a three-year stint. Former Memphis coach Ryan Silverfield also departed for the SEC, accepting a job with Arkansas. Memphis hired former Southern Miss coach Charles Huff.

North Texas will look quite different

Reigning American Conference coach of the year Morris didn't hold back this go-around in the transfer portal. Morris brought 18 players with him from last year's North Texas roster to Oklahoma State, including quarterback Drew Mestemaker, running back Caleb Hawkins and receiver Wyatt Young.

Morris helped North Texas to a 12-2 overall record, capping off the season with a 49-47 New Mexico Bowl win against San Diego State.

With a locker room full of fresh faces, North Texas enters the season with the fourth-worst odds (+3000) to win the conference.

Plenty of opportunity, including a new CFP path

This season offers what could be a significant change for the American Conference in the College Football Playoff race. The highest-ranked Group of Six team is now guaranteed a playoff berth, even if that team doesn’t win its conference championship, after last season's messy situation with Duke out of the ACC.

Whether the change hurts or helps the American may still be up for debate.

The schedule allows room for teams to make a national statement, with six nonconference games against teams that finished in the final AP Top 25 poll last season. With no American team ranked in the preseason poll, stacking quality wins is crucial when trying to build a case for the College Football Playoff committee.

A Pac-12-sized obstacle in the way

The reconstructed Pac-12 is back as a Group of Six contender, with Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, Texas State and Utah State joining Washington State and Oregon State in the conference in July.

The Pac-12 has some strong resume-building opportunities with matchups against 20 bowl-eligible teams from last season — six of which played in their conference championships and three that made the 12-team CFP. A few marquee wins could help those team break into the rankings and hurt the American Conference's CFP chances.

Oddsmakers like Navy

Navy enters the season as one of the clearest favorites to win the league (+375 odds). UTSA has the second-best odds (+475) followed by Tulane (+600).

Navy's schedule offers plenty of chances to prove those expectations right. The Midshipmen face UTSA and North Texas in consecutive weeks before facing preseason No. 4 Notre Dame on Halloween. Navy has the benefit of a returning head coach in a conference with heavy turnover. The roster returns 46 letter-winners and 12 starters from an 11-win season in 2025.

Reigning conference champion Tulane enter the season with uncertainty as 20 players entered the portal following Sumrall's departure. The Green Wave have made an effort to reload, securing incoming talent from LSU, Ohio State and Florida State.

___

Sign up for Top 25 poll alerts here, visit the Top 25 here and see AP’s full college football coverage here