(08-12-2018 02:53 PM)Tigersmoke4 Wrote:  

(08-12-2018 09:11 AM)Chappy Wrote:  So, basically, the AAC is underrated in the preseason rankings every year.

Unfortunately, this is more than just a cosmetic thing that corrects itself over time. They hit the reset button on the AAC each year, diminishing things like UCF's undefeated season while propping up the old powers. Where you start matters, especially if you are trying to finish in the top 4. And before someone chimes in with how the playoff committee doesn't have preseason (or early season) rankings, there's no way the preseason polls and rankings don't affect them. They see those little numbers by the teams on the bottom line or scoreboards.

I couldn't agree more. The goal is to set a glass ceiling for the AAC from the start so that when the ESPN talking heads ignore us and try to claim that the Mwc is our equivalent they can turn to their own biased stats. As has been shown every year we start off underrated and end up proving our worth as not only the best "g5" but maybe even as a "p6" level league.I Don't think they don't realize this, but they're going to continue to reset us every year with the hope that we'll fall off before the quality of the AAC is indisputable. This is why it's so important for us to make NBC or CBS our primary channel in the next contract. They won't have any reason not to promote us as a power level conference whereas ESPN is going to do everything in their power to keep us right where we are and barely surviving

I think you may be right about this. The one concern with moving off ESPN is that there is a basal level of audience for each game. ESPN is tuned in way more than any other network, hence more eyeballs. If NBC took us and featured us in front or behind N. Dame games, then I think we'd get a pump in potential casual viewers.