Finally, it’s here. Week 13. Rivalry week. The last week for teams to earn a spot in their conference championship game. One last week for wild upsets and for teams to try to earn bowl eligibility. Last week saw some teams with resume boosting wins, while others saw their hopes for the season pushed further out of their reach. For last week’s rankings, click here.
#1. UCF (Last Week: 1)
UCF made a statement as well as clinching the AAC East with their 38-13 win over Cincinnati this week. For a team that’s only criticism is lacking good wins, beating a ranked team by 25 is about as impressive a showing as they’ll be able to give. It’s also worth noting that they beat Pitt 45-14 in late September, in a game that was at least as dominant as that final score looks, as Pitt got out to a 3-4 start but is now the ACC Coastal division champs and ranked #24 in this week’s AP Poll. It will be interesting to see what the playoff committee thinks of them as Ohio State, just one spot ahead of the Knights, nearly lost to Maryland this week.
#2. Utah State (2)
They say football is a game of inches. Never was that truer than when it appeared Colorado State upset the Aggies with a last second hail mary, until the referees called illegal touching as the receiver stepped just barely out of bounds running down the field before making the catch in the end zone. Their high-powered offense had just their second game being held under 40 points since their season-opening loss to Michigan State. Their defense made just enough plays to escape with the win, but their offense will need to be more in form if they want to come away with a win over Boise State and punch their ticket to the Mountain West Championship Game this week.
#3. Boise State (5)
Boise State gets another bump up following a dominant road win at New Mexico. The win puts their win streak up to 6 games, and the 31-point margin of victory is their largest since beating UConn 62-7 in September. The Broncos got wideout Sean Modster going early and often, and he finished the day with 9 catches for 129 yards and 3 touchdowns. Alexander Mattison ran the ball 20 times for 145 yards and a touchdown, and linebacker Desmond Williams had a fumble forced and recovered for a touchdown highlighting a defensive performance that featured 3 takeaways while giving up a single touchdown to the Lobos.
#4. Cincinnati (3)
Cincinnati only drops one spot to #4 after losing to UCF Saturday because it’s still been a wonderful season for the Bearcats. A win over ECU this week will give them 10 wins on the season for the first time since they did 5 times in 6 years from 2007-2012 while in the Big East, the only times they’ve done so in school history. They’re going to finish third in their division in a small conference, while 4 of the 5 years they had 10 wins before they finished at least tied for winning a major conference. College football is a weird place to be. A 4-0 out of conference record and losses to only the two teams ahead of them in their division makes for a nice season.
#5. UAB (4)
UAB comes off a loss at Texas A&M where no one gave them much of a chance to win anyway. They played pretty well overall, considering they had a fumble returned for a touchdown, 2 missed field goals and an interception all in the first have and only lost by 21 in a game that Texas A&M was favored by 17 in. They’ve already clinched a spot in what will be their first ever conference championship game, tied the school record for wins in a season set when they were in the FCS, and will try to win their first ever bowl game in their third attempt this December. They play at Middle Tennessee for a chance to get to double digit wins for the first time in school history in their season finale this week.
#6. Fresno State (6)
The win over San Diego state this week wins Fresno State the Mountain West West division for the 4th time in 6 years of the Mountain West having divisions, after having not won an outright conference title since winning the Big West in 1989. For history’s sake, they may be rooting for Utah State in their game at Boise State this week, as Fresno States previous 3 times playing in the Mountain West Championship Game have resulted in a win over Utah State (2013) and 2 losses to Boise State (2014, 2017). The Bulldogs allowed 2 1-play scoring drives, both being 70+ yard passes to Fred Trevillion, to San Diego State in the first half to go to the locker room trailing 14-10. However, the Aztecs only managed to run 10 plays in Fresno State territory in the game, with the two drives that got their resulting in a turnover on downs and a missed field goal. Fresno State was 0-2 in games decided by less than 18 points this season coming into this game, so they finally proved that they could win a close game.
#7. Army (8)
Army keeps slowly moving up despite not playing impressively simply because teams ahead of them are losing. They beat previously undefeated (in the FCS) Colgate 28-14 this week, as the teams combined for just 88 yards passing. 3 different players rushed for more than that in the game. I’m only 93% sure this game was actually played in the 21st century. Army’s defense did a great job keeping the Raiders off the board until they recovered a fumble and returned it for a touchdown, keeping the game close late in the third, but Army scored touchdowns on both of their last two drives to put the game away. They won’t play again until they square off with Navy on December 8th in Philadelphia.
#8. Appalachian State (10)
The Mountaineers weren’t going to get caught napping against Georgia State knowing they needed a win to keep their hopes alive to win the Sun Belt. Their 45 points scored was their most in 6 games going back to September, when they beat South Alabama 52-7. The offensive resurgence was good to see for a team that had relied much more heavily on their defense in Sun Belt play in advance of their showdown with Troy that will decide the Sun Belt East this week. The winner of that game will compete in the first ever Sun Belt Championship game. Appalachian State will also attempt to win 4 bowl games in their first 4 years being eligible in FBS play, with their 3 in the first 3 years already being a record.
#9. Troy (9)
The Trojans were nearly caught by the trap game against Texas State, knowing that it didn’t matter toward their hopes of winning the Sun Belt. They failed to get in the end zone and still managed to win the game, 12-7. The win gave Troy their 13th consecutive Sun Belt win, dating back to last season, but they’re heavy underdogs going into Boone, North Carolina against App State in the season finale. With a win, Troy will have their third season, both consecutively and total in school history, of 10 or more wins. For a team that hadn’t allowed fewer than 16 points to an FBS school this season before Saturday, it seems safe to say their offense will need a much better showing for them to have a chance to beat App State next week.
#10. Houston (11)
Houston finds themselves back in the lead in the AAC West but far from out of panic mode after quarterback D’Eriq King went down in their win over Tulane and will miss the remainder of the season. They’re going to go into Memphis as underdogs needing a win to get into the AAC championship game. So the win saved the end of their season from being a total flop after losing their last two, but unless they manage to come away with the win over Memphis their fans will still be left disappointed and wondering what could have been. It’s also unclear if Ed Oliver will play another snap for the Cougars, as he has missed now 4 consecutive games with a knee injury and had a bad incident on the sidelines with head coach Major Applewhite this past game.
#11. Buffalo (7)
Buffalo went into their game against Ohio this week as an underdog, but to get by 35 was just embarrassing. Before the game against the Bobcats, the Bulls were undefeated in MACtion and had only had one game be within one score, when they beat Eastern Michigan 35-28 to open conference play. Still, a win this week over Bowling Green will secure their second bid to a MAC Championship Game. One more win will also represent the Bulls’ first ever season with 10 wins. Their only season before this year with 9 wins came in 1986, when they were playing division 3 football. They’re heavy favorites to beat Bowling Green, and if they do we can comfortably call this the best season in school history.
#12. Temple (On the Bubble)
The Owls have come a long way since a season opening loss at home against Villanova. They had an upset win at Maryland just two weeks later, but up until 4 weeks ago this Temple team was still pretty unassuming. At that time, they were 4-3 with all the toughest games in their American conference action still ahead of them. Then they won 3 of their next four, beating Cincinnati, Houston and USF with a loss to UCF mixed in. It’s hard to believe the amount of success Temple has had since getting kicked out of the Big East essentially due to a lack of success following the 2004 season, as they never finished with a record better than 3-4 in Big East play. Since then, they’ve played in 3 conference championship games (MAC in 2009, AAC in 2015, 2016, won 2016) and finished with 9 or more wins 4 times in the past 10 years, with a chance to make that 5 this year with a win over UConn plus a bowl win. They’re going to finish second in the AAC East, which may be about as good as the worst division or two in the power 5 conferences.
#13. Memphis (OTB)
Memphis is looking to get to the American Conference Championship Game for the second straight year as they take on Houston this week, with the winner taking the West division. They also won a share of the conference title in 2014, the last year before they started the championship game. The Tigers have finished with no fewer than 8 wins for the last 4 years, and one more win, in either their game against Houston or a bowl game, will get them there again this year. After taking UCF to double overtime in the AAC championship last year, Memphis gave the Knights another scare when they lost by a single point after leading by 13 at halftime back on October 13th. That loss put the Tigers at 1-3 in conference, but they’ve won their past 3 games giving them a chance at getting to the championship game with one more win.
#14. Florida International (15)
Florida International edged out Charlotte this week to stay in control of their own fate in the CUSA East, needing a win this week over Marshall to secure their spot in the championship game. The good news: they’re at home against Marshall. The bad news: they’ve actually played better on the road this year. The Golden Panthers are 4-1 on the road this season, with the one loss being at Miami, while they’re 4-2 at home, with losses against Indiana and rival Florida Atlantic. They did beat Middle Tennessee State at home, however, which is their best win of the year. James Morgan continued his record-breaking year for the program, throwing for 268 yards and 2 touchdowns, while running back Napoleon Maxwell ran for 102 and 2 TD’s on the ground. The defense struggled, but did force two turnovers including a fumble return for a touchdown by Sage Lewis.
#15. Marshall (OTB)
A former powerhouse in the MAC, where they won 5 championships in 6 years from 1997-2002 and losing the championship game to Toledo in 2001, Marshall then failed to win more than 7 games from 2004 through 2012 after switching to the Conference USA. In 2013-15, they won 10 games all 3 years and a CUSA championship in 2014, and they’re looking to get back to the championship game, though they need not just a win at Florida International but also for Middle Tennessee State to lose in order to get there. They were absolutely dominant this week against UTSA, as QB Isaiah Green threw for a career-high 387 yards and 2 touchdowns, while the defense put up a school record -26 rushing yards allowed and forced 2 turnovers in the shutout.
Dropped Out:
Northern Illinois (12), San Diego State (13), Louisiana Tech (14)
Bubble Teams:
Middle Tennessee, Ohio, North Texas, Georgia Southern
Group of 5 Conference Championship Watch
American Athletic Conference
Conference USA
Mid-American Conference
Mountain West Conference
Sun Belt Conference
Middle Tennessee remains trapped in on the bubble purgatory, while #12 and #14 end up out of the rankings for the second week in a row. We’ll see if Boise State can make it so that #3 isn’t cursed, as we’ve had 2 weeks in a row of #3 losing to another ranked team. Championship races are almost solved, as UCF, UAB, Northern Illinois and Fresno State all have their divisions locked up while 3 other divisions hang on one game between their top two teams (AAC West, Mountain West Mountain, Sun Belt East). Next week we’ll preview each group of 5 conference championship game rather than have a championship watch, and then it will be on to bowl season. Until next time,
CM
Stats and info courtesy of espn and sports-reference.com
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