What a weekend at the Group of Five level! 'Any Given Saturday' was the mantra in many upsets over power-conference opponents in Week 5.
James Madison's 70-50 win over North Carolina was the story of the weekend. JMU led 53-21 at halftime and continued to physically and psychologically dominate the Tar Heels in the second half. QB Alonza Barnett III scored seven total touchdowns (five passing, two rushing) and broke a Sun Belt record in the process. This upset was so bad that it has unequivocally altered the course of the Tar Heels under Mack Brown.
Interestingly enough for Group of Five teams, they're learning even more about game magnitude in this new CFP format. We're learning a lot about teams and how they can either handle stress and/or success. Take Northern Illinois, which suffered a huge loss against Buffalo one game after upsetting Notre Dame. Memphis, off its big win over Florida State, lost to Navy.
Yes, the Midshipmen not only upset Memphis, they looked dominant in doing so and are now 3-0 on the season. If both Navy and Army finish undefeated, which means that both would have to upset Notre Dame in the process, it could make for a unique an interesting last two weeks of the season for both squads. In that scenario, Army and Navy would play in the AAC Championship Game the week before playing in the Army-Navy game, which would not count towards the CFP or to the AAC standings.
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 Rebels were off last weekend, giving them two weeks to prepare for a strong Fresno State squad. Overshadowing UNLV's first game in conference play is the sudden departure of starting quarterback Matt Sluka. (Last Week: 1) | |
| 2 |  |
| All the Flames can do is play who's on the schedule. As long as they continue to win, they will have no questions about their worthiness with regards to the CFP. What impressed me the most last weekend was how they stymied the run game of East Carolina. Good foundation for them moving forward. (LW: 4) | |
| 3 |  |
| This is not an overreaction to the beatdown they gave North Carolina, but rather an acknowledgement of what a win like that means for the Dukes in the CFP picture. What a statement by the Dukes and QB Alonza Barnett III, who scored a Sun Belt-record seven touchdowns against the Tar Heels. (LW: Not Ranked) | |
| 4 |  |
| The Broncos were idle last weekend and now take on an explosive offense in Washington State. The question once again this week will be whether the defense has joined the 2024 season? Boise will need a big time performance from that side of the ball in this game. (LW: 5) | |
| 5 |  |
| Listen to me now, believe me later on when I say this; Army should be undefeated by the time it plays Notre Dame on Nov. 23. The Black Knights of the Hudson look as good as they did in 2017 when they went 10-3. (LW: 10) | |
| 6 |  |
| The Bobcats had two weeks to think about dropping that game against Arizona State. It will be interesting to see how they come out against a pesky Sam Houston team. The race to the playoffs has definitely tightened up since we last saw the Bobcats, so I will be looking to see how clean of a game they play. (LW: 6) | |
| 7 |  |
| The Midshipmen are newcomers to these rankings, but we warned you last week they could beat Memphis. And that's exactly what they did with explosive playmaking ability in all aspects of their offense. Creating big plays in the passing game is what's new with this option attack, and it poses a threat moving forward. (LW: NR) | |
| 8 |  |
| Navy was a trap game for Memphis after the Florida State win, and it played out that way. What keeps the Tigers ranked here is how valiantly they stormed back in that game. This is still a good football team. (LW: 3) | |
| 9 |  |
| The Bulldogs had a chance to knock off Michigan in Week 1 but couldn't find a way to finish late in that game. They've won three straight since then and have a chance to make a statement on Saturday with a huge matchup vs. UNLV on deck. (LW: NR) | |
| 10 |  |
| The Spartans suffered a setback against Washington State, but my goodness they played extremely well in that game. Time just ran out on them. That effort is why they are still in my Top 10. (LW: 7) | |
No longer ranked: Northern Illinois, Louisiana, Toledo
