This season is rather unique for Group of Five teams. With a legit shot to participate in the postseason championship festivities, it is more important to "get up" for each and every game. Normally, we'd see a Group of Five team play its best game vs. a Power Four program, and in some cases pull off the upset, only to come back down to Earth the following week against a team they were heavily favored to defeat. We've seen a couple of those instances this year (Northern Illinois and Toledo).
The old saying goes 'it's a marathon, not a sprint'. And that rings extremely true this season for teams in the Group of Five. From here on out, you'll read "can this team handle success?" a lot.
In a weird twist of ironic fate, this is what Power Four life is like each and every weekend. And now the Group of Five are getting a taste of what big-time college football is really like.
Welcome to the party -- and the chaos -- guys!
Group of Five rankings remain important. Though these conferences get a significantly lower financial guarantee from the new 12-team CFP, they are on a more equitable field when it comes to the competition: The four highest ranked conference champions get byes, and the five highest ranked champs get auto-bids, but nothing is to say that the supposed "Power Four" are guaranteed those four byes or four of those five spots; if a Group of Five team were to outrank, hypothetically, the Big 12 champion, it would get a bye and home game. And with those spots comes financial windfalls based on success in the tournament.
| 1 | |
| The Broncos keep winning because they continue to dance with the person they brought to the party. RB Ashton Jeanty is on an absurd pace, and the watch is officially on for Barry Sanders' single-season NCAA record. (Last Week: 3) | |
| 2 | |
| Defensively, the Black Knights are fundamentally sound and disciplined. Offensively, QB Bryson Daily has proved to be a true dual-threat and legit problem for opposing teams. What they're doing this year is nothing short of remarkable. (LW: 5) | |
| 3 | |
| Their takedown of Air Force should tell you how good this team is. No one knows how to defend the option better than an option team, and the MIdshipmen dismantled the Falcons 34-7. (LW: 6) | |
| 4 | |
| We last saw the Flames was two weeks ago. I feel like the national landscape has forgotten about how good Liberty and star QB Kaidon Salters really is. (LW: 4) | |
| 5 | |
| Tough loss for the Rebels, but they definitely showed a lot of fight against Syracuse. It'll be interesting to see if they'll let last week's loss carry over into this week. The defense looked surprisingly bad against the Orange. (LW: 1) | |
| 6 | |
| The Tigers have a huge game this week against South Florida, which has enough on both sides of the ball to be a fly in the ointment for Memphis. (LW: 7) | |
| 7 | |
| I thought the 16.5-point line vs. ULM was a little too big, but I didn't foresee the Dukes struggling to find answers against the Warhawks defense. Also, it doesn't help that JMU shot itself in the foot all night long. (LW: 2) | |
| 8 | |
| For the first time in 11 tries, the Ragin' Cajuns finally were able to get over the Southern Miss hump. I considered this a sign that this team is focused and for real. Can they handle success as they welcome in Appalachian State? (LW: 8) | |
| 9 | |
| It took a minute, but ultimately the Bearkats pulled away from UTEP. These are the types of tests you want to see Group of Five teams pass. Can you get up for the games where you're supposed to win. (LW: 10) | |
| 10 | |
| The Green Wave are back in the mix, winners of three straight games after close losses vs. Kansas State and Oklahoma. Tulane won't face another real test until Navy on Nov. 16. The Green Wave have a chance to run up seven straight wins by the time they meet up with the Midshipmen. (LW: NR) | |
No longer ranked: San Jose State