I was filling out my rankings for the Student Media Poll this week and realized I have nine (9) Group of 5 teams in my current top 25. That’s partly because I took every zero- or one-loss G5 team in my rankings and 7-2 Fresno State over any three-loss Power 5 team and several with two losses. I had eight Group of 5 teams between 16 and 24, meaning margins are razor-thin right now between teams 2-9 in my rankings here and will be continuing to shuffle in the coming weeks. Midweek MACtion starts this week, and with that brings football every day of the week throughout November. It’s a great time to be a football fan. With all of that said, after last week’s huge matchups between SMU and Houston, San Diego State and Fresno State, here are the top teams in the Group of 5 right now:
#1. Cincinnati Bearcats (Last week: 1)
One week removed from a difficult challenge at Navy, the Bearcats once again struggled with an inferior opponent Saturday in New Orleans. Cincy only led Tulane 14-12 at halftime as the Mean Green were right in the game before the Bearcats pulled away in the second half to a 31-12 victory. A 3-0 turnover differential in the second half in favor of Cincinnati was the main difference after both sides had one turnover in the first half. Desmond Ridder had a solid performance, throwing 17-27 for 227 yards, three touchdowns and one interception while adding 47 rushing yards on 13 carries. Josh Whyle had four catches for 65 yards and two touchdowns to lead the receiving effort. The Cincy defense struggled with Tulane’s running game, allowing 187 rushing yards in the contest, but the Green Wave had no success passing, completing just nine of 18 passes for 93 yards with two interceptions. Cincinnati heads back home for a matchup with Tulsa Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
#2. BYU Cougars (6)
Welcome back to No. 2, BYU. It was a hard to believe offensive showing in Provo Saturday as the Cougars knocked off a previously 6-2 Virginia squad 66-49. Jaren Hall and Tyler Allgeier both played out of their mind against the Cavaliers, with Allgeier running for 266 yards and five touchdowns while Hall threw for 349 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 42 yards and an additional score. In a game in which stops were hard to come by, three turnovers forced by the BYU defense including a pair in the second half as the Cougars pulled away were key factors in the victory. Payton Wilgar led the defensive effort with 11 tackles and an interception. BYU has a light few weeks ahead with a home contest against Idaho State, a bye week and a road trip to Georgia Southern before ending the season at USC. The Cougs’ matchup against Idaho State is set for 3 p.m. Eastern Saturday.
#3. UTSA Roadrunners (5)
UTSA used its bye week to try to ensure head coach Jeff Traylor stays in San Antonio for the long haul, signing him to a decade-long contract worth $28 million. The Roadrunners also made his payout $7.5 million until the end of the 2022 season, making it more difficult for a school like Texas Tech to buy him away from UTSA. The Roadrunners’ upcoming matchup against UTEP lost some of its luster when the Miners lost to Florida Atlantic last week, but the winner will still be in the driver’s seat in the CUSA West. UTSA is one of many schools already set to leave Conference-USA while UTEP is stuck as one of just three schools not at least rumored to be heading elsewhere, along with Louisiana Tech and FIU. The Roadrunners and Miners square off at 10:15 Eastern Saturday in El Paso.
#4. Coastal Carolina (4)
Coastal Carolina had a difficult time with Troy Thursday night but ultimately earned a seven-point win over the Trojans to keep hope alive for a Sun Belt Championship Game berth, though the Chanticleers still need to win out and hope for a loss by Appalachian State. Coastal scored 21 unanswered points from late in the first quarter to midway through the second to take a 21-7 lead and was able to answer every time Troy scored to trim the deficit back to seven. Grayson McCall threw for 294 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, adding 59 yards and a score on the ground. Shermari Jones led a rushing attack that put up over 200 yards against the Trojans with 95 yards and two touchdowns on 14 carries. CCU looks to keep pushing through the Sun Belt with a trip to Georgia Southern Saturday at 6 p.m. Eastern.
#5. Houston Cougars (8)
Houston and Fresno State had an unknowing battle of biggest Group of 5 win last week, and I think I had Fresno State overranked based on its schedule (trips to Oregon and UCLA) rather than its results (loss to Oregan, narrow win over UNLV, loss to Hawai’i) and that’s why Fresno State actually moved down in spite of having a great win over San Diego State. It was a past me issue, not a present Fresno issue. Back to Houston. The Cougars earned a statement victory over SMU to stay undefeated in American conference play with a 44-37 win Saturday. The game had gone back-and-forth with everything from a blocked PAT to keep the game tied in the second quarter to an SMU second half-opening kickoff return for a touchdown to take the lead after a Houston field goal as the first half expired had given the Cougars the advantage. After Houston had grabbed a 37-34 lead with over 13 minutes left in the final quarter, both offenses went quiet for a few series, and the game looked to be headed to overtime after a game-tying field goal by the Mustangs with just 30 seconds left. Marcus Jones had other ideas, returning the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a game-winning touchdown as SMU was unable to answer in the final 17 seconds. Clayton Tune threw for 412 yards and four touchdowns to make up for a running game that only gained 77 yards for the Cougars. Houston looks to continue building momentum towards an appearance in the AAC Championship game with a trip to USF Saturday at 7:30 p.m. Eastern.
#6. San Diego State (2)
#7. SMU Mustangs (3)
#8. Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (9)
#9. Fresno State Bulldogs (7)
#10. Nevada Wolfpack (10)
#11. Utah State Aggies (11)
#12. Appalachian State Mountaineers (13)
#13. Northern Illinois Huskies (14)
#14. Air Force Falcons (15)
#15. Liberty Flames (On the Bubble)
Dropped Out
UTEP (12)
On the Bubble
Florida Atlantic, UTEP, UCF, Marshall
Murphy's Field 