As good as Army was in the AAC last season, it realistically didn’t have a chance of making the College Football Playoff.
One reason for that was the strength (or lack thereof) of the AAC schedule. While having more than just one or two good teams is important, having a tough nonconference schedule is key, too.
Steve Helwick of SBNation’s UnderdogDynasty.com broke down 10 nonconference games the AAC will play this season that will help the conference. There’s nearly a different game for each of the league’s teams mentioned, except for South Florida and Tulane, which have two games mentioned.
One of those other games involves ECU … but not the season opener against NC State. Instead, Helwick ranks ECU hosting BYU in Week 4 (Sept. 20) as the most important.
Helwick writes in part, “While the opener is essential for ECU, perhaps the Pirates’ biggest chance to make a statement is at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium in Week 4.”
Click here to read more about ECU-BYU and the other key games for the AAC in 2025.
Photo credit: ECU vs. BYU and the winning field goal in 2022 (Christopher Creveling-Imagn Images)
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