If you’re not convinced AAC football is on par with the Power-5 conferences, you’re either not paying attention or you’ve been brainwashed. They’ve proven as much since the conference debuted in 2013 — a season when two current Power-5 programs were a part of the conference — but this year they’re really driving home the point.

Seven different AAC football teams received votes in the most recent Amway Coaches Poll, the same amount as three Power-5 conferences — Big 10, Pac-12, SEC — and more than the remaining two Power-5 leagues — ACC, Big 12. No conference had more than seven teams receive votes, so yeah, AAC football was tied for the lead.

If that’s not enough to sway you, consider this: the four other conferences that (with the AAC) make up the Group of 5, had four votes total. Three came from the Mountain West, which has their own case for something better than the G5, and one from Appalachian State, a team that regularly dominates the Sun Belt Conference and also deserves better.

Four teams with votes out of 48 possible teams, good for about 8 percent. More than 50 percent of the AAC received votes in Week 7 or 58.3 percent of the conference for those keeping track.

Of the seven teams to get votes from the coaches panel, two received enough love to make it into their Top 25 — SMU, Memphis. The Cincinnati Bearcats missed out by one spot but they were included in the most important poll — the AP Top 25 — at No. 25. Only five AAC football programs received votes in the AP Top 25 but it was still one more than both the ACC and Big 12, who had four teams apiece get votes.

Week 7 Coaches Poll: AAC Teams with Votes

#20 Memphis (318)

#22 SMU (246)

#26 Cincinnati (74)

#30 Tulane (36)

#34 UCF (11)

#36 Navy (8)

#41 Temple (1)

Week 7 Coaches Poll: AAC Teams with Votes

#21 SMU (285)

#23 Memphis (189)

#25 Cincinnati (118)

#30 Tulane (25)

#34 UCF (9)

Complete list of Week 7 College Football Rankings can be found here.