Countdown to kickoff: American Athletic Conference writer points to Memphis and a hoped-for CFP streak

As the sport transitions from late-summer preparation to the first meaningful weekend rhythm, the American Athletic Conference is being framed as a league with something to prove in the College Football Playoff era. In a Yahoo Sports “Conference countdown” column published Aug. 31, the writer organizes 10 Football Bowl Subdivision conferences into a ranking and positions the American Athletic Conference near the middle of the list while emphasizing the conference’s desire to begin or extend a College Football Playoff streak.

The column’s key setup is straightforward: with conferences approaching their earliest marquee tests, the writer pairs the league-by-league ranking with a narrative look at what each conference’s top teams represent. In the entry for the American, the piece specifically mentions Memphis at No. 14 in the writer’s overall team ordering, treating the Tigers as the American’s most visible example within the writer’s broader evaluation framework.

In that same context, the title makes the playoff objective explicit. The column calls out the American Athletic Conference as the group “looking to start CFP streak,” which indicates that the author’s attention is not only on who is ready for Week 1, but also on whether the league can sustain a playoff-level baseline across seasons. While the column is opinion-based rather than a league announcement, it still captures how programs within the American may be judged in the coming months.

The writer’s broader countdown matters for another reason, too. The column notes that there are 10 conferences playing in the FBS, and it lays out the list “in reverse order.” That structure underscores that the comparison is not about a single matchup or a single headliner, but about how each league’s depth and ceiling are expected to translate when voters and selection committees form their postseason picture.

For the American, the immediate takeaway is that national attention is clustering around its programs as early as the opening weeks, especially where there is recognizable brand power and a path to high-impact results. Memphis, identified in the column’s team ranking, is positioned as the type of team that can carry that national visibility, which is central for any conference trying to convert ambition into playoff consideration.

Still, readers should treat the countdown as what it is: a media ranking and a narrative thesis. It does not, on its own, establish standings, playoff projections, or any confirmed outcomes. What will clarify the American’s “streak” aspirations is not a midseason list, but how the league performs in head-to-head games, nonconference tests, and early conference matchups that shape postseason credibility.

What to watch next is whether Memphis and the rest of the American can turn that preseason narrative into results that survive the calendar’s pressure points. If the early season produces evidence that the conference’s top tier is more than a one-team story, the “start CFP streak” framing from the column could become a talking point with real momentum rather than just a hopeful theme heading into kickoff.

Source and scouting attention in August often concentrates on who can raise the conference’s floor. In the American’s case, the column’s framing suggests an expectation that the league’s best programs can build continuity, and not merely flashes, as the sport moves toward the part of the year where postseason resumes are written.