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FootballBasketball

2026 college football conference outlook, updated Oct 28, 2026.

American Athletic Football 2026 Predictions

Backdoor Cover’s model projects North Texas to win the American Athletic in 2026, at 65% to take the league.

No projected playoff team from this conference yet.

Projected title game

The two most likely participants

North Texas

91% to reach the title game

65% to win the American

vs

UTSA

46% to reach the title game

14% to win the American

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Projected conference standings & title odds

Ordered by projected conference record. Beside Win conference, a green ▲ means the chance has gone up since my preseason projection and a red ▼ means it has gone down, in percentage points. Make playoff is the share of my simulated seasons in which the team makes the 12-team field.

Scroll the table sideways for every column.

#TeamProj. recordConf. recordTitle game appearanceWin conferenceMake playoff
19-37-191%
65%up 65 points since the preseason
17%
29-36-246%
14%up 7 points since the preseason
19%
38-46-326%
9%up 5 points since the preseason
<1%
48-45-327%
9%down 2 points since the preseason
<1%
58-44-48%
2%down 17 points since the preseason
<1%
66-64-41%
<1%
0%
76-64-41%
<1%down 28 points since the preseason
0%
87-54-4<1%
0%
0%
95-74-50%
0%down 21 points since the preseason
0%
106-63-51%
<1%
<1%
115-73-5<1%
<1%down 7 points since the preseason
0%
124-83-5<1%
<1%
0%
132-102-60%
0%
0%
142-101-70%
0%
0%

How the model is doing. 232–205–7 against the spread (53.1%), 156–131 on totals (54.4%) and 317–127 straight up (71.4%) on every game this season, graded at DraftKings’ closing line.

Backdoor Cover Picks

Most weeks I bet a handful of the games I project. Those bets are Backdoor Cover Picks, and each one comes with a recommended unit size.

My track record is on the Track Record page.

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