2017 AMERICAN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE PRESEASON FOOTBALL MEDIA POLL
American Championship
	Team	Points
	USF	26
	Houston	2
	Memphis	1
	Navy	1
East Division
	Team	Points
1.	USF (30)	180
2.	UCF	126
3.	Temple	119
4.	Cincinnati	100
5.	East Carolina	63
6.	UConn	42
West Division
	Team	Points
1.	Memphis (22)	169
2.	Houston (6)	137
3.	Navy (1)	128
4.	Tulsa (1)	102
5.	SMU	64
6.	Tulane	30
first-place votes in parentheses

NEWPORT, R.I. –  The USF Bulls have been selected as the favorite to win the 2017 American Athletic Conference Championship and were the unanimous choice to win The American’s East Division title in the conference’s preseason media poll.
 
The Bulls received 26 of a possible 30 votes to win the league title, while the Bulls were listed first on all 30 ballots in the East Division.
 
Memphis was the media's choice in the West Division as the Tigers received 22 first-place votes and 169 points. Houston was projected as the conference champion on two ballots, while Memphis and Navy received one vote each as the projected conference champion.
 
USF, which finished the 2016 season ranked No. 19 nationally, returns 18 starters, including six all-conference players, from a team that went 11-2 and defeated South Carolina in the Birmingham Bowl last season. Head coach Charlie Strong, who served as Louisville’s head coach during the first season of American Athletic Conference football in 2013, returns to the conference as the Bulls’ fourth coach in school history. USF will be led by quarterback Quinton Flowers, the 2016 American Offensive Player of the Year who set a school record with 4,342 yards of total offense and accounted for 42 touchdowns last year.
 
UCF was picked second in the East Division after the Knights improved by six wins in Scott Frost’s first year as head coach. The Knights return 14 starters from last year, including linebacker Shaquem Griffin, who was the 2016 American Defensive Player of the Year. Griffin had a breakout year with a league-leading 11.5 sacks to go with 20 tackles for loss, seven pass breakups, an interception, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.
 
Temple was third in the East Division in the preseason poll with 119 points. The Owls have turned in back-to-back 10-win seasons and won the American Athletic Conference championship last season, but first-year head coach Geoff Collins, the former defensive coordinator at Florida and Mississippi State, will have to replace veteran starters at quarterback and running back on offense as well as a first-round draft pick from a defense that ranked third nationally in yards allowed last season.
 
Cincinnati was picked fourth in the East Division with 100 points. The Bearcats welcome new head coach Luke Fickell, the longtime Ohio State defensive coordinator and former Buckeye head coach, who has 11 returning starters from 2016, including quarterback Hayden Moore and two of the top three receivers from last year.
 
East Carolina was tabbed for fifth in the East Division as second-year coach Scottie Montgomery looks to get the Pirates back to bowl eligibility. The Pirates will have to replace wide receiver Zay Jones, who set the NCAA single-season and career receptions records in 2016, but East Carolina has its next four leading receivers from last season returning.
 
UConn was sixth in the preseason poll in the East Division. Head coach Randy Edsall returns to UConn, where he manned the sidelines for 12 years, won two conference titles, and led the Huskies to the Fiesta Bowl in the 2010 season.
 
Memphis was named as the favorite in the West Division as the Tigers claimed 22 of the 30 first-place votes for 169 points. The Tigers have 17 returning starters from last year, including quarterback Riley Ferguson, who led The American and set a school record with 32 touchdown passes in 2016. The Tigers also have a proven deep threat as wide receiver Anthony Miller finished 2016 with 95 catches for 1,434 yards and 14 touchdowns.
 
Houston received six first-place votes and was picked for second in the West Division with 137 points. Major Applewhite enters his first full season as the Cougars’ head coach after spending the last two seasons as Houston’s offensive coordinator, helping the team to 22 wins in the last two years. Houston returns All-America defensive tackle Ed Oliver, who set a conference record with 23.0 tackles for loss as a freshman and has been tabbed as the nation’s top defensive player by several national outlets in the preseason.
 
Navy was picked third in the West Division with 128 points, including one first-place vote. The Midshipmen have won or shared the West Division title in each of their first two seasons in The American and have gone 14-2 in conference regular-season games since 2015. Ken Niumatalolo’s team returns nine starters from last year, including linebacker D.J. Palmore, who had 107 tackles and 6.0 sacks last season.
 
Tulsa received one first-place vote and was tabbed for fourth in the West Division with 102 points. The Golden Hurricane reached double digits in wins for the fifth time in 10 seasons after last year’s 10-3 showing under third-year head coach Philip Montgomery. Tulsa returns three all-conference offensive linemen, which bodes well for 1,400-yard rusher D’Angelo Brewer.
 
SMU was fifth in the West Division projection with 64 points. The Mustangs improved by three wins from 2015 to 2016 as Chad Morris’ squad finished one win shy of bowl eligibility. SMU returns 16 starters from last year, including dynamic wide receiver Courtland Sutton, who had 1,246 receiving yards and 10 touchdowns on his way to first-team all-conference honors.
 
Tulane was projected sixth in the West, though hopes in New Orleans are considerably higher as the Green Wave returns 17 starters from last year. Head coach Willie Fritz, who enters his second year at Tulane, has seen his teams improve by an average of 2.3 wins from his first year to his second at each of his three previous head coaching stops.
 
The third American Athletic Conference Football Championship will be played Saturday, Dec. 2, at the home site of the division champion with the best conference record.