26 Bowl games, the fewest since 2001, were played to cap the 2020 college football season that was in jeopardy of being canceled altogether when four conferences announced a postponement of fall sports in August. Only three bowl games had a Group of 5 team matched up with a Power 5 team, and all three went to the big conference team. Not a great look for the Group of 5, though those games were decided by a combined eight points. In a weird year with some teams playing 11 games in a relatively normal schedule, others playing just six conference games, and everything imaginable in between, here is where that left our top 15 teams from the Group of 5:
#1. Cincinnati Bearcats (last week: 1)
Cincinnati came up just short in the Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl against Georgia, losing on a last-second field goal by the Bulldogs, followed by a safety on a desperation play at the last second to make the final score 24-21 Georgia. Desmond Ridder did a good job throwing the football, completing 24 of 37 passes for 206 yards and two touchdowns, but he was sacked eight times and lost a fumble early in the fourth quarter that helped Georgia get back into the game after the Bearcats had a 21-10 lead after three quarters. A missed field goal by Cole Smith in the second quarter came back to haunt Cincy later in the game. Smith had made seven of nine field goal attempts on the year entering the game, but the miss that lowered his field goal percentage on the season to 70% proved to be disastrous. The Bearcats were outgained by nearly 150 yards but had forced two turnovers in the red zone to stifle some Georgia drives. The Bearcats still had a fantastic season, ending the year 9-1 with its first American conference title and ended the year #8 in the AP Poll, tied for the best in school history with the 2009 Bearcats team that Brian Kelly led to an undefeated season before leaving for Notre Dame, with Cincy losing the Sugar Bowl following his departure.
#2. BYU Cougars (3)
BYU earned a dominant win over UCF in the RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl, knocking around the Knights to the tune of a 49-23 win. Zach Wilson finished his hard to believe season that has him as a likely first round pick in the 2021 NFL draft by completing 26 of 34 passes for 425 yards and three touchdowns. Tyler Algeier had his fourth consecutive 100-yard rushing game to wrap up 2020 with 173 yards and a score on 19 carries. The defense held a high-powered UCF offense to 23 points in spite of not getting any sacks or turnovers in large part because of how the Cougars frustrated Dillon Gabriel all game. Gabriel completed just 21 of 45 passes for 217 yards, less than five yards per attempt. BYU finished the year at 11-1 and ranked #11 by the final AP Poll, its highest ranking since 1996. Even with the loss of Wilson next year, the Cougars could still have a great team behind the running ability of Algeier if the defense can once again play at the level it did in 2020.
#3. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (2)
Coastal finished the year by taking its first loss in the FBC Mortgage Cure Bowl against Liberty, another team that enjoyed its first great season as a young FBS program. It was a phenomenal finish to the game as the Chanticleers forced a fumble on a Liberty second and goal play with less than a minute remaining and the score tied, allowing them to run out the clock and force overtime. Liberty would hit a field goal on its drive, and the Flames defense held up to force Coastal to attempt a field goal, which was blocked by Elijah James. For Coastal, Grayson McCall threw for 318 yards and ran for 96, scoring four touchdowns on the game, but it was not enough for Coastal to win its first-ever bowl game. It was still a huge year for the Chants program, going 11-1 and finishing the year ranked #14 in just its fourth year in the FBS. With McCall just finishing his freshman season and head coach Jamey Chadwell signed to a long-term extension, the future is bright in Conway.
#4. Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (4)
Louisiana earned a 31-24 win over UTSA in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl to finish the year at 10-1 as Sun Belt co-champions and with its first-ever ranking in a final AP Poll at #15. Louisiana ran all over the Roadrunners, picking up 265 yards on the ground led by 127 yards and a touchdown by Elijah Mitchell. Mitchell also led the team in receiving yards with 45. Trey Ragas was also a major factor on the ground for the Ragin’ Cajuns, running for 98 yards and a score on 14 carries. The defense forced two turnovers, one taking points off the board for UTSA as the Roadrunners had the ball inside the 30 before Percy Butler came up with an interception. The other produced points for Louisiana as the Ragin’ Cajuns forced a fumble in the third quarter to take over at the UTSA 3, leading to a touchdown that made it a 24-7 game in favor of Louisiana and they were able to hold of the Roadrunners’ comeback attempt. The NCAA’s decision to allow all athletes an extra year of eligibility following 2020 could help Louisiana if one or more of Ragas, Mitchell and quarterback Levi Lewis decide to return to campus for a fifth year in 2021.
#5. Liberty Flames (7)
Liberty finished the year at 10-1 after its bowl victory over Coastal Carolina with the one loss coming by a 1-point defeat to North Carolina State, an ACC team that won eight games. The Flames also beat two ACC teams in Virginia Tech and Syracuse. Cap it off with a win over a ranked opponent in a bowl game to finish the year ranked #17 in just your third year as an FBS team and you’ve got yourself an independent team on the rise that may soon challenge BYU for the second-best independent team at this rate. Head coach Hugh Freeze will likely have a chance to get back into the SEC or another major conference team soon, and Liberty will have to make the right call in who to bring in next to keep building a program that can be successful as an independent, but having at least one more year with Malik Willis, who led the team with 2,260 pass yards, 944 rush yards and 34 total touchdowns is a great place to start. Willis came up big one last time in 2020 in the Cure Bowl, throwing for 220 yards and running for 137 yards and four touchdowns. Joshua Mack joined Willis in running for 100+ yards in the game, though it was his last-minute fumble that allowed Coastal to force overtime and could have cost the Flames the game. Mack was already a fifth-year senior, so he may choose not to return in 2021.
#6. Ball State Cardinals (8)
Bowl result: 34-13 win over San Jose State
#7. Buffalo Bulls (9)
Bowl result: 17-10 win over Marshall
#8. San Jose State Spartans (5)
Bowl result: 13-34 loss to Ball State
#9. Boise State Broncos (10)
Bowl result: None
#10. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (6)
Bowl result: 26-28 loss to Mississippi State
#11. UAB Blazers (12)
Bowl result: Canceled vs South Carolina
#12. Appalachian State Mountaineers (15)
Bowl result: 56-28 win over North Texas
#13. UCF Knights (11)
Bowl result: 23-49 loss to BYU
#14. Memphis Tigers (On the Bubble)
Bowl result: 25-10 win over Florida Atlantic
#15. Army Black Knights (13)
Bowl result: 21-24 loss to West Virginia
Dropped Out:
Marshall (14)
Stats and info from ESPN and College Football at Sports-Reference.com.
Murphy's Field 
Leave a comment