Here in 2020, the ACC, Big 12, SEC, Conference-USA, AAC, and Sun Belt are in Week seven while the Big Ten, Pac-12, Mountain West, and MAC have yet to start play. So what week is it? I don’t know, so for the purposes of future scheduling of these rankings, we’ll call this week 1. It’s been a solid start for Group of 5 teams currently in action, with five in this week’s AP Poll. None of those were teams from the Mountain West or the MAC, which have yet to play this season, and if any teams from those conferences play well, they could find themselves joining the ranked teams from the AAC, Sun Belt and CUSA. As mentioned in the final Group of 5 Rankings last year, which you can view here, while we’ll still be ranking 15 teams, we’ll only be highlighting the top five. Here are this week’s rankings.
#1: Cincinnati Bearcats
Desmond Ridder is averaging about 200 passing yards per game, the team has 534 rushing yards through its first three games, and the defense has come into shape against Army and USF after allowing 20 points to Austin Peay to open the season. Positive tests for coronavirus within the team postponed Cincy’s game against Tulsa this past weekend, but hopefully will not prevent the Bearcats from playing one of the largest regular-season games in AAC history when they travel to #16 SMU this Saturday. Cincinnati is all out of wiggle room on its schedule as the Tulsa matchup is now scheduled for December 5, a week before the AAC championship, and the Bearcats have no byes between now and then. Ridder had his completion percentage drop and interceptions rise between his freshman and sophomore seasons, and while the completion rate has rebounded a bit early in 2020, he has four interceptions including three in Cincy’s most recent game against USF. That kind of performance would likely be more costly against a more talented SMU team this weekend.
#2: BYU Cougars
BYU is in an interesting spot as an independent in 2020. The schedule was a last-minute scramble, and already includes road wins over Navy and Houston. A trip to Boise State will give the Cougars another chance for an impressive win, but unless BYU can get its game at Army that was canceled on September 19 due to COVID-19 issues, the only other team that raises eyebrows on this schedule is San Diego State, who the Cougars are set to host on December 12. Texas State, Western Kentucky and North Alabama stand only as potential pitfalls if BYU fails to blow them out like the scare it got from UTSA. But the point differential (218-70) that BYU has produced in getting to a 5-0 record thus far speaks for itself. Zach Wilson has completed more than 75% of his passes for over 300 yards per game with 18 total touchdowns thus far. The defense faced its first major challenge this past weekend at Houston and struggled, but stepped up late to help BYU earn a key win. Home games against Texas State and Western Kentucky should provide a way to get on track and boosted confidence before the Cougars’ trip to Boise State on November 6.
#3: Marshall Thundering Herd
Marshall has one of the best out of conference wins any Group of 5 team will get in 2020 as several won’t be playing any in its win over Appalachian State. The cancellation of the Thundering Herd’s game against Rice, who has still yet to play in 2020, is part of several CUSA cancellations that, along with Old Dominion choosing not to play football this fall, have it on a path towards being the first conference since the MAC in 2007 to not have all conference members play the same amount of games. Marshall has proven its win over App State was no fluke by notching three-score victories over Western Kentucky and Louisiana Tech to open up CUSA play. The Thundering Herd host Florida Atlantic this week after the Owls had its game against Southern Miss postponed by 18 FAU players testing positive for COVID-19. Brenden Knox has run for 455 yards and seven touchdowns through Marshall’s first four games this season. His rushing along with an opportunistic defense with nine takeaways thus far have led the Thundering Herd to a 4-0 record thus far and have Marshall as strong favorites in each game left ahead on its schedule.
#4: Coastal Carolina Chanticleers
Coastal Carolina received its first ever AP Poll ranking this week, slotting in at #25 after knocking off then-21st ranked Louisiana. The Chanticleers also opened the season with a road win over Kansas and are currently sitting with a 4-0 record. A home game against Georgia Southern and a trip to Georgia State are next up for Coastal Carolina, whose offensive balance led by dual-threat QB Grayson McCall has been its greatest strength. McCall has averaged 10.8 yards per attempt with an 11/1 touchdown/interception ratio while averaging more than four yards per carry and adding three touchdowns on the ground. Three different running backs (CJ Marable, Reese White and Shermari Jones) have at least 100 yards on the ground and at least one score along with McCall, providing the firepower Coastal has needed as its defense has yet to hold an opponent below 20 points. The defense has helped out by forcing seven turnovers compared to just three surrendered by the Chanticleers. Keeping up that positive turnover differential would be a huge step in keeping Coastal Carolina on a winning path.
#5: SMU Mustangs
The AP Poll has SMU ranked #16, third among non-power 5 teams, but I’m less impressed by SMU’s 5-0 record. A win over Memphis and a 30-point win on the road over North Texas are impressive, but one-score games against Texas State and Tulane have been much less so. Shane Buechele picked up right where he left off in 2019, completing more than two-thirds of his passes, averaging 9.7 yards per attempt, throwing for over 300 yards per game and posting a 12/2 touchdown/interception ratio. Ulysses Bentley has been hard to stop on the ground, picking up 506 yards and eight touchdowns in five games while averaging 6.8 yards per carry. The Mustangs outgained Tulane by nearly 200 yards, the teams had one turnover each, and the game still went to overtime. The defense has not been up to par with the offense. Memphis put up 501 yards of total offense against the Mustangs, who were fortunate to force four turnovers to help it sneak out with a 30-27 win. Winning a game against a top-10 team in Cincinnati this week would do a lot to erase doubts about whether luck or skill has gotten SMU to its 5-0 start. SMU will need Buechele and Bentley to produce another big game to get by the Bearcats.
#6: Liberty Flames
#7: Tulsa Golden Hurricane
#8: Memphis Tigers
#9: UAB Blazers
#10: Army Black Knights
#11: Boise State Broncos
#12: Appalachian State Mountaineers
#13: Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns
#14: Florida Atlantic Owls
#15: Houston Cougars
On the Bubble:
Central Michigan, Troy, Georgia Southern, Ball State, Air Force
The Mountain West kicks off this week, allowing Boise State, Air Force, and/or others to start moving in these rankings. MAC teams will be difficult to judge before the MAC season starts on November 4, and with no clear favorite in the conference it’s difficult to place any in our top 15 at the moment. Liberty picked up a huge win at Syracuse this week providing a lot of legitimacy to its early success. The Flames have three games left on its schedule against currently ranked teams (Virginia Tech, North Carolina State and Coastal Carolina), which will serve as either road blocks or incredible wins for the program that is still very new to the FBS level but won its first ever bowl game last season in just its second year of eligibility. The American still put the most teams in these rankings without UCF, who had been the star of the show the past three years, having success early this season.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN and College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
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