The regular season is over (except for Army-Navy and a USC-Cal matchup that got delayed earlier in the year). It’s time to get ready for conference championship games and let the coaching carousel start spinning madly. With apologies for missing last week, we still updated the rankings but did not have a chance to post them before games started for the week, and once they had it felt wrong to post a ranking that may have no longer been reflective of where teams are at. Here are this week’s rankings with a preview of each Group of 5 conference championship game.
#1. Cincinnati Bearcats (Last week: 1)
Cincinnati locked up its second consecutive undefeated regular season with a 35-13 win over ECU Friday. Desmond Ridder finished off a fine season with 301 passing yards and two touchdowns in the win, though he also threw two interceptions. Alec Pierce was the lead receiver in the game, making eight catches for 136 yards and a touchdown. Arquan Bush and Ahmad Gardner provided a highlight early in the fourth quarter when Bush blocked an ECU field goal attempt and Gardner scooped it up and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown. The win made Cincinnati the home team for the American Athletic Conference Championship Game, where the Bearcats will face Houston. Saturday’s kickoff is set for 4 p.m. Eastern.
#2. BYU Cougars (2)
BYU had one last chance to make a statement and show that it belongs in a New Years Six bowl traveling to USC Saturday, and the Cougars struggled but ultimately came out on top. Jaren Hall had an up-and-down game, completing 20 of 32 passes for 276 yards and two touchdowns, but also throwing two interceptions. Tyler Allgeier ran the ball 21 times for 111 yards and two scores to help the offense move. The defense didn’t come up with any sacks or turnovers, but Max Tooley led the way with 13 tackles, 1.5 for loss and had a pass breakup. The win put BYU at 10-2 on the season, giving the Cougars 10 regular season wins for the second consecutive year after going 10 years without one from 2010-19. BYU will learn its bowl matchup when the final Playoff Rankings are released and bowls are announced Sunday.
#3. Houston Cougars (3)
Houston finished up one of the quitest 11-1 seasons ever with a win over UConn Saturday. After a season-opening loss to Texas Tech, Houston has rattled off 11 straight wins including going 8-0 in American conference play, though the Cougars have yet to face Cincinnati. Houston is tied with Louisiana, who also suffered a loss to a Big 12 team to open the year and hasn’t lost since, for the third-longest winning streak in the country behind Cincy and Georgia. Clayton Tune threw for 301 yards and four touchdowns in Houston’s dominant 45-17 win over UConn to finish the regular season, with Jake Herslow, Jeremy Singleton, and Nathaniel Dell all having big receiving performances for the Cougs in the season finale. All three receivers had at least five catches, with Herslow and Singleton going over 100 yards and scoring one touchdown each while Dell caught two touchdown passes in the win. Logan Hall provided a defensive spark in the game as he had 2.5 tackles for loss and a blocked field goal. Houston travels to Cincinnati looking for an AAC conference title and almost assuredly a New Years Six bowl bid Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern.
#4. Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns (5)
Louisiana snuck by rival UL Monroe 21-16 Saturday to finish the regular season 11-1 and undefeated in Sun Belt play. It was announced this week that head coach Billy Napier will be taking over the same role at Florida, but will coach the Ragin’ Cajuns at least through the Sun Belt Championship Game before he leaves. Louisiana struggled at times this season with winning convincingly over bad teams (one-score wins over losing teams Georgia Southern, Arkansas State, South Alabama, ULM), but was able to ride strong defensive play to many close wins and earned some blowouts when the offense got rolling. Levi Lewis capped off his season with 163 passing yards and a rushing touchdown in the win over ULM. Chauncey Manac and Andre Jones provided some key plays defensively, as Manac had two tackles for loss, one sack, a forced fumble and a QB hurry, and Jones had eight tackles, 0.5 sacks, two QB hurries and a fumble recovery. Louisiana will host Appalachian State, which it beat 41-13 in October, for the Sun Belt Championship. Kickoff on Saturday is set for 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
#5. San Diego State Aztecs (6)
Jordon Brookshire was benched in early October after he had a completion percentage below 50% through the Aztecs’ first four games. Lucas Johnson had taken over at quarterback and led SDSU to within one win of the Mountain West title game heading into the season finale against Boise State Friday. With Johnson at 9-20 passing and the Aztecs down 16-3 in the second quarter, in came Brookshire to immediately lead a touchdown drive to get SDSU back in the game. Brookshire would finish the game with 192 passing yards, 46 rushing yards and one score each passing and running. The Aztec defense tightened up, led by Jonah Tavai with three sacks and Patrick McMorris with two interceptions, and SDSU pulled away to a 27-16 win to secure its spot in the championship game. The Aztecs host Utah State Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern for the Mountain West Championship.
#6. Appalachian State Mountaineers (7)
#7. UTSA Roadrunners (4)
#8. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (8)
#9. Fresno State Bulldogs (9)
#10. Air Force Falcons (11)
#11. Utah State Aggies (13)
#12. Army Black Knights (On the Bubble)
#13. Nevada Wolfpack (15)
#14. Northern Illinois Huskies (12)
#15. Central Michigan Chippewas (OTB)
Dropped Out
SMU (10), Boise State (14)
On the Bubble
Western Kentucky, UCF, SMU, UAB
Championship Game Previews
American Athletic Conference
Houston at Cincinnati, Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern on ABC
FPI: Cincinnati 82.7% chance to win
Vegas: Cincinnati -10.5, O/U 53.5
Murphy’s Field Prediction: Cincinnati 28, Houston 20
Conference USA
Western Kentucky at UTSA, Friday at 7 p.m. Eastern on CBS Sports Network
FPI: UTSA 50.4% chance to win
Vegas: Western Kentucky -1.5, O/U 72.5
Murphy’s Field Prediction: UTSA 48, Western Kentucky 42
Mid-American Conference
Kent State vs Northern Illinois at Ford Field in Detroit, Saturday at noon Eastern on ESPN
FPI: Kent State 52.8% chance to win
Vegas: Kent State -2.5, O/U 73.5
Murphy’s Field Prediction: Kent State 38, Northern Illinois 37
Mountain West Conference
Utah State at San Diego State, Saturday at 3 p.m. Eastern on FOX
FPI: San Diego State 74.1% chance to win
Vegas: San Diego State -6, O/U 50
Murphy’s Field Prediction: Utah State 35, San Diego State 24
Sun Belt Conference
Appalachian State at Louisiana, Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern on ESPN
FPI: Appalachian State 59.3% chance to win
Vegas: Appalachiam State -3, O/U 53
Murphy’s Field Prediction: Louisiana 31, Appalachian State 27
Murphy's Field 
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