Rating the Rest of the 2014 AAC Non-Conference Schedules

Earlier I covered the best non-conference schedules in the AAC. Now let's take a look at the rest.

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USF

9/6 - Maryland (63)

9/13 - NC State (92)

9/27 - at Wisconsin (19)

USF had a rough 2013, but they're expected to take a step up this year. Maryland has been pummeled by injuries the past few years, but if they can stay healthy they are a much better team than their historical performance indicates. NC State isn't very good, so the Bulls could definitely pull out a win there. Wisconsin on the road is a tough one, staying competitive in that one would be great.

Degree of Difficulty: 6/10

Tulane

9/6 - Georgia Tech (34)

9/20 - at Duke (41)

9/27 - at Rutgers (91)

Tulane's first year in the AAC will be marked by the opening of a new on campus stadium for a football program which until last year didn't have very much going on in the way of positive noise. If the home crowd can give them a righteous boost for their home opener, they could steal that one against Georgia Tech. Duke won the ACC Coastal and gave Texas A&M everything they could handle in the Chick-fil-A Bowl, and they could be just as good this year under David Cutcliffe. With the backing of the hometown fans from NYC, Rutgers on the road should...

AAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

just kidding Rutgers sucks.

Degree of Difficulty: 6/10

Connecticut

8/29 - BYU (30)

9/13 - Boise State (45)

11/8 - Army (at Yankee Stadium) (100)

At first glance this does not look like an impressive non-con slate, where are the P5 teams? But both BYU and Boise State will represent respectable challenges for Head Coach Bob Diaco in his first year of a major reclamation project at UConn.  Army should be a win, but UConn fans thought the same thing last year going into the Towson game, and what happened there?

Hint: they lost

Degree of Difficulty: 5/10

Temple

8/30 - at Vanderbilt (50)

9/6 - Navy (58)

11/15 - at Penn State (61)

Temple isn't very good either, but at least they have a big name in Penn State on the schedule and can say that they're facing an opponent from the best conference in college football even if it is just Vanderbilt. The Owls are expected to be better than they were last year and neither of those P5 teams are invincible so who knows, anything can happen.

Degree of Difficulty: 5/10

Tulsa

9/6 - Oklahoma (20)

9/13 - at Florida Atlantic (73)

9/27 - Texas State (107)

10/4 - at Colorado State (66)

Tulsa is also a newcomer to the conference, and they were warmly greeted with a last place finish in the AAC preseason media poll. They will be playing host to college football royalty when Oklahoma comes into town in early September, the Sooners are coming off an impressive Sugar Bowl win against Alabama last year. Colorado State is a middle of the pack team in the Mountain West, they should provide a decent challenge for the Golden Hurricanes. If they don't beat Florida Atlantic or Texas State we may have to consider revoking their membership.

Degree of Difficulty: 5/10

Houston

8/29 - UTSA (67)

9/11 - at BYU (30)

9/20 - UNLV (96)

I was initially surprised to see UTSA rated so highly on last years F/+ rankings, but learned from my Underdog Dynasty colleagues that there is actually some legitimate excitement down there, and did you know Larry Coker is the Head Coach? Houston is expected to be competitive in The American this year, but beyond BYU they won't have an opportunity to earn any serious image-changing wins out of conference.

Degree of Difficulty: 4/10

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These guys need to step up their game if the AAC is to earn any respect from the polls in the future. We've seen the impact the perception of weakness had in the NCAA Basketball Tournament rankings. Hopefully down the road we see an improvement in scheduling strength.

Aman Kidwai is the manager of SB Nation's UConn Blog where you can find thoroughly biased commentary on the nation's best basketball program and an up-and-coming football program.