These are the teams some of the various projections have AAC teams playing, or that are otherwise realistic opponents from those conferences the AAC has tie-ins with. I've included the record and Massey Rankings as well.
I care less about the location of the bowl than the actual opponent. I doubt America is tuning in to see the battle of East directional Michigan and Carolina no matter where it's played. ECU needs a team people will pay attention to, not only the ECU fanbase but nationally. Winning would be nice but the winning season is already secure. Give me the upside now because beating an 8 win G5 isn't a prize, and losing would hurt far more. At least a P5 team comes with a floor that isn't as bad if you do lose, and comes with more acclaim if you win.
I think the best scenario is ECU gets a respectable but beatable P5 team like Duke with a solid record. Duke actually would make sense as an instate opponent. They are beatable, they have a good record at 8-4 but aren't as good as their record and P5 status probably. ECU hasn't played them lately. If ECU played Syracuse in Boston for example, I think they have more of a home crowd and are harder to beat. That's a factor too. It's probably unlikely ECU gets Duke because of the distance from the bowls that matchup could happen and how they draw. The bowls probably want a more regional team, but that's who I'm pulling for anyway.
I would be happy with any of the P5 teams outside of Florida. They are the biggest name, and most any other year I'd say that's the best one for ECU to play with the most upside. In this case, I think Florida provides the least upside and is the hardest to beat. At 6-6, most average fans would write them off as bad when the fact is they are probably the hardest team to beat by the computers. ECU has also played them a couple times in the last decade including in a Bowl Game.
I'm not interested in playing a CUSA team that will be in the AAC next season. That makes little sense. I don't want to play a crappy 6-6 App State with 2 wins vs FCS either as much as ECU plays them nowadays. The only fun in that would be to truck them, but the potential to lose that one far outweighs the risk.
One of the better record teams would be the plan B like South Alabama or CCU. They are likely overrated according to the computers. ECU has never played either as well. Beating a 9 or 10-win team would still help perception. I'm not interested in playing Marshall or USM. If it's not one of the P5's or a 10 win USA, teams give me Wyoming just for the randomness, a once-in-a-lifetime chance to play them.
My Rankings
#1 Duke
#2 Wake Forest
#3 Syracuse
#4 Louisville
#5 Kansas
Non-P5 South Alabama
