The first College Football Playoff rankings came out this week, and while those have typically undervalued Group of 5 teams, we only value the Group of 5. It was a quiet week, with seven of our 15 ranked teams from a week ago on byes, but UCF and Cincinnati played a thriller to make up for it. With just four weeks left in the regular season, here are the top 15 Group of 5 teams this week.
#1. Tulane Green Wave (Last Week: 2)
Tulane sat idle and watched Cincinnati fall to vault them to the top spot among Group of 5 teams in every major poll. With a win over Houston already under their belt, the Green Wave can win any three of their last four games and secure a spot in the American Conference Championship Game. After giving up no more than 27 points and holding opponents to no more than 10 four times in their first six games, Tulane’s defense has had some struggles in the last two games, surrendering 31 and 28 points to South Florida and Memphis, respectively. The offense has responded with big performances, and Michael Pratt’s 1933 total yards this season with 17 total touchdowns to just three interceptions build confidence that Tulane can hang with anyone. With games at home against UCF and at Cincinnati left on the schedule, though, it’s still a tough road ahead. Next week, the Green Wave travel to Tulsa for a noon Eastern game on Saturday.
#2. Liberty Flames (3)
Liberty also moved up while not playing this week as the Flames get ready for a big matchup at Arkansas next week. It hasn’t all been pretty for Liberty this year, as the team has struggled to replace third-round draft pick Malik Willis at quarterback. Johnathan Bennett and Kaidon Salter have split time thus far, with both quarterbacks completing less than 60% of their passes with just one more touchdown than interception (8-7 for Bennett, 6-5 for Salter). Dae Dae Hunter has allowed the offense to continue to produce even with the passing struggles, averaging 6.8 yards per carry on the year. Hunter has totaled 821 yards and eight touchdowns on the ground this season, and the Flames defense has allowed just 21.5 points per game while performing in consistent fashion, giving up 30+ points just once, in Liberty’s only loss against Wake Forest. The matchup at the Razorbacks will kick off Saturday at 4 p.m. Eastern.
#3. UCF Knights (6)
UCF refused to allow turnovers or an injury to starting quarterback John Rhys Plumlee to stop them from completing a 25-21 victory over Cincinnati Saturday. A pair of fumbles by the Knights in the third quarter allowed Cincy to take a 13-12 lead, and with a backup quarterback leading the way UCF looked to be in big trouble. But Mikey Keene completed five passes for first downs on back-to-back touchdown drives as the lead changed hands three times in the fourth quarter with the Knights hanging on at the end. RJ Harvey ran for 84 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winner, to lead a UCF rushing attack that totaled 258 yards against a Bearcat defense that came into the game allowing just 120 yards per game on the ground. UCF now controls its own destiny to get to the AAC Championship Game and, seemingly, a New Years Six bowl bid. Next week, the Knights travel to Memphis on Saturday at 3:30 p.m. Eastern.
#4. Cincinnati Bearcats (1)
Cincinnati got beat handily by UCF on the ground game, allowing 223 more yards than they gained in Saturday’s 25-21 loss. Ben Bryant threw for 298 yards, but lacked efficiency in completing 25 of 45 pass attempts in the loss, and without a productive running game it wasn’t enough. The defense seemed to be in control after John Rhys Plumlee went down for the Knights, as UCF’s offense didn’t score in the second or third quarter, but the unit eventually wore down and allowed two late touchdowns as UCF handed Cincy its first AAC loss since back-to-back defeats against Memphis in the final regular season game and the conference championship in 2019. The Bearcats look to bounce back with a home matchup against Navy next week. Saturday’s contest will kick off at 4 p.m. Eastern.
#5. Boise State Broncos (5)
Boise State cruised to a 49-10 win over Colorado State Saturday in a game that was never in doubt. The Broncos tripled the Rams in total offense at 514 yards to 170. Freshman quarterback Taylen Green had the best game of his young career, going 24-30 for 305 yards and two touchdowns in the win. George Holani added 108 yards and three scores on the ground, and the defense came up with five sacks including two by Divine Obichere. About the only thing that went wrong for Boise State in the game was Jonah Dalmas missing his only field goal attempt, moving him back to just below 90% on field goal attempts in his career (47-53, 88.7%). The Broncos now sit at 5-0 in Mountain West play and still have 2-6 Utah State and 2-7 Nevada left on the schedule. Before they get there, Boise State will take on a struggling BYU team that’s lost four games in a row next week. Saturday’s game kicks off at 7 p.m. Eastern at Albertsons Stadium.
#6. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers (4)
#7. Troy Trojans (7)
#8. South Alabama Jaguars (8)
#9. ECU Pirates (11)
#10. James Madison Dukes (9)
#11. UTSA Roadrunners (10)
#12. San José State Spartans (12)
#13. Air Force Falcons (13)
#14. Buffalo Bulls (15)
#15. Toledo Rockets (On the Bubble)
Dropped Out
Western Kentucky (14)
On the Bubble
Wyoming, Appalachian State, Georgia Southern, Southern Miss, Houston
Murphy's Field 
Leave a comment