The Mountain West has returned, giving us a chance to start gushing over how good Boise State looked in its season-opening win over Utah State. Cincinnati and SMU played what will likely be the biggest Group of 5 game this year, leaving us with a clear impression of how the top of the AAC looks. BYU, Marshall, Coastal Carolina and Liberty kept rolling along as additional undefeated Group of 5 teams and Louisiana and UAB provided a great out-of-conference Group of 5 game for us this week. Here’s how those matchups and more turned last week’s rankings into the top 15 for this week.
#1: Cincinnati Bearcats (Last Week: 1)
Cincinnati went on the road to play arguably the second-best team in the AAC in SMU and the first half was the close, competitive game that we expected, with the Bearcats holding a 14-10 lead at the break. Desmond Ridder and the Bearcats’ running game got going in the second half, though, as Ridder put together touchdown runs of 32 and 91 yards. Gerrid Doaks added a 35-yard touchdown run late in the fourth quarter, and Cincy pulled away to a 42-13 win as those two combined for 284 rushing yards. Ridder added 126 yards and a touchdown through the air, while the Cincinnati defense kept Shane Buechelle in check better than any team had so far in 2020. The Bearcats will face more challenges, namely this week when Memphis comes to town or Cincy’s three straight road games to finish the year against UCF, Temple and Tulsa, but this week was likely the biggest test for Cincinnati, and it passed with flying colors.
#2: BYU Cougars (2)
BYU did what it needed to do against Texas State to look like a team that deserves a spot in a New Year’s Six bowl game. Favored by 30 going in, the Cougars wound up with a 38-point victory over the Bobcats as Zach Wilson completed 19 of 25 passes for 287 yards and four touchdowns and BYU added 227 rushing yards without any single player responsible for more than 80. BYU’s 25 completions on the game were spread between 14 different receivers, which feels like some sort of record. The defense came away with two interceptions including Isaiah Kaufusi’s pick-six in the third quarter. BYU gets a tune-up match against Western Kentucky this week after the Hilltoppers just struggled to beat Chattanooga before traveling to Boise State for a game against the Broncos that should be its toughest test this season. If the Cougars survive that, BYU should be well on its way to a New Year’s Six bowl and possible outside consideration for the College Football Playoff.
#3. Marshall Thundering Herd (3)
Marshall continued to use the strength of its defense to win games as the Thundering Herd held Florida Atlantic to 234 yards of total offense and nine points. Marshall’s offense had struggles of its own, only scoring 20 points in a game that it was favored by 19 going into with two interceptions thrown by Grant Wells. Brandon Drayton came away with an interception for Marshall, and the Thundering Herd were assisted by 11 penalties by FAU for 126 yards. If the defense is able to continue to play at this level, Marshall has a great chance at finishing the regular season undefeated and winning its first Conference-USA title since 2014, when it went 13-1 and finished the season ranked #23. The Thundering Herd have yet to allow more than 17 points and have surrendered less than 10 in three of its five games played.
#4. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (4)
Much like Marshall, the Chanticleers won this Saturday off the backs of an incredible defensive performance. Georgia Southern managed just two touchdowns, one on a punt return and the other after Coastal handed the Eagles offense a short field on an interception. The Chanticleers defense then allowed just five first downs in the second half before forcing a turnover on downs and an interception on Georgia Southern’s last two possessions to seal the 28-14 win. Fred Payton threw for 252 yards and three touchdowns, though a pair of interceptions soured his performance. Fortunately for Coastal, the turnovers evened out and outgaining the Eagles by 164 yards was plenty enough to win the game. Coastal Carolina travels to Georgia State next week to take on a Panthers team that has seen three of its four games played so far decided by one possession.
#5. Boise State Broncos (11)
I didn’t want to put any team that hadn’t played yet too high up simply based on reputation, but Boise State reminded us all of why it is the class of the Mountain West and one of the top small conference tams as it has been for about 20 years. The Broncos went into its first game as 17-point favorites and dismantled Utah State, who went 6-2 in conference last year. Hank Bachmeier was 20-28 passing for 268 yards and three touchdowns in the season opener and George Holani got to 100 yards rushing with a touchdown, picking up a receiving touchdown as well. The defense was lights out, holding Utah State under 100 passing yards as the Aggies had 27 passing attempts. Tyric LeBeauf added an interception on the last play of the game, and the defense caused problems in the running game as well, allowing less than three yards per attempt and forcing two fumbles, though Utah State recovered them both. The win starts Boise State’s path to the Mountain West title game, which will feature the top two teams from the conference with divisions being scrapped for this year.
#6. Liberty Flames (6)
#7. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (7)
#8. SMU Mustangs (5)
#9. Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (13)
#10. Memphis Tigers (8)
#11. Army Black Knights (10)
#12. Appalachian State Mountaineers (12)
#13. Houston Cougars (15)
#14. UAB Blazers (9)
#15. San Diego State Aztecs (NR)
On the Bubble:
Central Michigan, UCF, Ball State, Hawai’i
Cincinnati will be involved in the biggest Group of 5 game for the second week in a row as it hosts Memphis following the Bearcats’ big win over SMU. Houston and UCF have a big matchup elsewhere in the American while many of the other top teams have games that should result in blowouts but could become pitfall games if teams are looking past their current matchup to future weeks. We still have one more week to wait before the MAC kicks off its season and the entirety of the FBS is underway. Until then, we will make do with what we’ve got and keep analyzing where teams stand in the Group of 5 landscape.
Stats and info courtesy of ESPN and College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
Murphy's Field 