Week four of college football kicked off with a thriller between Appalachian State and Marshall that may have very well been the Group of 5 Game of the Week, especially with Boise State-Utah State and Western Michigan-San José State turning into blowouts. That left UTSA and Memphis to fight with App State-Marshall for that title, and the Roadrunners and Tigers turned in a thrilling performance of their own. Bowling Green and SMU provided Group of 5 over Power 5 wins, while Liberty and Western Kentucky fell just short in their bids to do so as well. Here is how those results changed last week’s rankings into what we have now:
#1. Cincinnati Bearcats (Last week: 1)
Cincinnati had a bye week, but it’s hard for any Group of 5 team to challenge Cincinnati right now pending a huge game this weekend for the Bearcats at Notre Dame. Win that one and Cincy can really start thinking about a potential College Football Playoff berth should they be able to run the table in the American conference. Lose it, and the Bearcats will have some competition for the top spot among the Group of 5 in BYU and Coastal Carolina. Notre Dame did its job in making sure as many eyes as possible will be on the contest with a 41-13 beatdown of Wisconsin in Chicago over the weekend. That made Notre Dame-Cincinnati a top-10 matchup according to the AP Poll (UC 7, ND 9), the coaches poll (UC 8, ND 7) and the Student Media Poll (UC 7, ND 8). Saturday’s 2:30 p.m. game in South Bend will be Cincinnati’s last out of conference game this season before heading into AAC play.
#2. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (3)
It’s hard to really put together an impressive performance when playing a team as bad as UMass, but Coastal did its best with a 53-3 win. Grayson McCall threw just 14 passes before sitting in the second half with a 36-0 lead at the break, but he completed 10 of them for 162 yards and two touchdowns, while also having a score on the ground. Braydon Bennett and Reese White both had over 60 yards and a touchdown on less than 10 carries as the Chants ran for 312 yards as a team. The defense completely shut down any thought of a running game for the Minutemen, which picked up just 28 yards on 24 carries. Coastal now heads into Sun Belt play with what should be another easy game against bottom-feeder UL-Monroe Saturday at 2:30 p.m.
#3. BYU Cougars (2)
BYU took a 21-0 lead on USF after the first quarter, then let the Bulls back into the game but holding on for a 35-28 win. Baylor Romney was extremely efficient, going 20-25 for 305 yards and three touchdowns. Tyler Allgeier ran for 86 yards and a pair of scores while Gunner Romney and Puka Nacua both had over 100 yards receiving. Timmy McClain was efficient at driving USF down the field, throwing 17-24 for 186 yards while Jaren Mangham finished off a pair of Bulls drives in the end zone. BYU would be well served to get back to the defensive performance that allowed no more than 17 points in three games against Pac-12 foes to start the year than the disappointing effort from Saturday in surrendering 27 to a USF team that was blown out in its first two contests against FBS opponents. BYU heads to Utah State Friday at 9 p.m. with a chance to secure the Beehive Boot for the first time since 2009. Utah currently holds the boot after winning the rights to it in 2016, the last time the Utes, Aggies and Cougars played each other in the same season.
#4. Fresno State Bulldogs (4)
Fresno State was supposed to have an easy game Friday night against UNLV, who had lost to an FCS school and not come within three scores of an FBS team so far this year. The Rebels came out motivated, however, grabbing a 14-0 lead in the first quarter and proving to be a challenge for Fresno. The Bulldogs recovered and responded, eventually working their way back for a 38-30 victory. Jake Haener was 30-42 through the air for 378 yards and five touchdowns, though he also had an interception. Jalen Cropper was a magnet in the end zone, pulling in four of his 10 receptions for touchdowns while picking up 108 yards. The Bulldogs struggled to run the football, gaining just 83 yards on the ground, but Haener and the receiving corps made sure that the offense still went down the field and scored plenty of points. Fresno State travels to Hawai’i Saturday at 11 p.m. for its second Mountain West contest.
#5. SMU Mustangs (10)
In the 100th meeting for the Iron Skillet, the Mustangs showed how hard their offense is to stop by putting up 42 points in spite of turning the ball over three times. Tanner Mordecai had an up-and-down game, completing 17 of his 28 passes for 245 yards and four touchdowns, but also putting the ball in the hands of the Horned Frogs three times via interception. Ulysses Bentley IV and Tre Siggins ran all over the TCU defense, with Bentley IV picking up 153 yards and a touchdown while Siggins added 110 yards of his own on the ground. A 350-170 difference in rushing yards in favor of SMU was the biggest difference in the contest, which ended in a 42-34 win for the Mustangs. SMU now heads into AAC play hosting USF Saturday at 4 p.m.
#6. San Diego State Aztecs (6)
#7. UTSA Roadrunners (8)
#8. Western Michigan (12)
#9. UCF Knights (9)
#10. Liberty Flames (5)
#11. Utah State Aggies (7)
#12. Nevada Wolfpack (13)
#13. Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (14)
#14. Appalachian State Mountaineers (15)
#15. Memphis Tigers (11)
Dropped out
None
On the Bubble
Army, Houston, UAB, Wyoming, Boise State
Murphy's Field 