Starting today The Saturday Edge will begin a weekly series of Conference Conversations with College Football experts from around the country. We kick off our pre-season conversations with the American Athletic Conference.

Joining us today is American Athletic Football aficionado Pete Sonski. You can follow Pete on Twitter @29sonski.

[box] Question # 1 – Las Vegas has installed Louisville as the favorite to win the American this year (-175). What other team(s) could realistically surprise the oddsmakers and challenge them for the conference title? Why?[/box]

Louisville is not only the elite team in the American, it also has a favorable conference schedule, facing two of the three best league opponents at home: Rutgers (9-4; 5-2 in 2012 Big East) and UCF (10-4; 7-1 in 2012 C-USA). The Scarlet Knights tied Louisville (as well as Cincinnati and Syracuse) for the best conference record last year, but have lost three straight to the Cardinals including 20-17 to end the 2012 regular season in Piscataway. UCF won the C-USA East last year and had a 3-2 overall road record, but the matchups on paper favor Louisville.

The team to watch is Cincinnati. The Bearcats host Louisville in the regular season finale – the Keg of Nails game. UC had a 24-14 third-quarter lead against the Cardinals last year before falling 34-31 in overtime. Cincinnati has depth, a veteran quarterback and does not face UCF on its schedule. If both teams are in contention for the inaugural conference title Dec. 5, don’t be surprised if the Bearcats’ new head coach, Tommy Tuberville, pulls off one of his signature upsets against Charlie Strong and company.

[box] Question # 2 – Name a few unknown players that could become stars this season.[/box]

There are several transfers that could have impact seasons in the American: Louisville tight end Gerald Christian (from Florida), linebackers Jeff Luc of Cincinnati (from Florida State) and Graham Stewart of UConn (from Florida), as well as USF defensive end Aaron Lynch and UCF offensive tackle Jordan Prestwood (both from Notre Dame). Also, watch Rutgers defensive tackle Darius Hamilton and Temple linebacker Tyler Matakevich (both sophomores).

[box] Question # 3 – Which team do you believe will show the greatest improvement over last season? Which team is overrated (not nearly as good as they are being made out to be)?[/box]

Memphis was 4-8 (4-4 in C-USA) last year under first-year head coach Justin Fuente. The Tigers are a young team with a senior quarterback, Jacob Karam, and return 16 starters. They could log some unexpected wins if opponents underestimate them.

Houston was a team of promise but the unexpected departure this spring of senior all-purpose back Charles Sims may hamper the Cougars significantly.

Ironically, USF could fit in either category. The Bulls are stocked with talent but have perennially underachieved. They made a splash hiring Willie Taggart in the offseason. Question is: how quickly can he change the locker room culture?

I would like to thank Pete for his participation and excellent answers to our American Athletic Conference questions. You can follow Pete on Twitter @29sonski. And don’t forget to leave us your comments below. Thanks – Pez.

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