There were a lot of proverbial tune-up games vs. FCS opponents in Week 1 featuring teams from the Group of Five.There weren't any surprises in terms of upsets, but some close games were definitely eyebrow-raising.
One team from our Week 1 rankings, the Miami (OH) Redhawks, came within a touchdown from pulling off the upset over Northwestern. Brett Gabbert's late interception as the Redhawks were driving doomed them from finishing the job. That loss also doomed them from our Week 2 Power Rankings as well.
As one leaves, another takes their place. Fittingly enough, it's another team from the Mid-American Conference who stepped up to the plate with an impressive Week 1 performance.
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Group of Five Power Rankings
| 1 | |
| Getting a win over a Power Four team in Week 1 elevates the Rebels to the top spot. What really stood out to me from their dominating 27-7 victory over Houston was the defense. The Rebels were able to force two turnovers and held the Cougars to 2 of 15 on third downs. (Last week: 4) | |
| 2 | |
| Yes, the Green Wave did what they were supposed to do against Southeastern Louisiana, but the story coming from this game was the poise of QB Darian Mensah. He looked excellent. The redshirt freshman beat out former five-star recruit and Oregon transfer Ty Thompson for the job and went a smooth 10 of 12 passing for 205 yards and two touchdowns. Statement game next week against Kansas State. (LW: 3) | |
| 3 | |
| The Bobcats had to work a little harder against Lamar than expected, but they nonetheless won 34-27. RB Ismail Mahdi finished with 156 yards rushing and a score on 28 carries. Texas State's defense finished with seven sacks on the day. (LW: 1) | |
| 4 | |
| After a slow start against FCS foe Campbell, the Flames kicked it into high gear with star QB Kaidon Salter's 242 yards passing and two-touchdown night. Liberty committed 11 penalties for 127 yards, however. Obviously, some of that can be chalked up to it being Week 1, but that can't ever happen again if they expect to beat better teams. (LW: 2) | |
| 5 | |
| RB Ashton Jeanty went straight nuts vs. Georgia Southern with 247 yards rushing and six touchdowns, averaging a video game-like 13.4 yards per carry. That was flat-out impressive. Now, about that Broncos defense ... (LW: 5) | |
| 6 | |
| The Roadrunners didn't run effectively against Kennesaw State last weekend, totally only 76 yards on 34 attempts. The attempts were there, but the productivity wasn't. Thank goodness their passing attack is always locked and loaded. Maybe there was a bit of a lookahead to this week's game vs. Texas State. (LW: 6) | |
| 7 | |
| Getting a defensive shutout in this era of college football is rather impressive, no matter who you play. If this is the type of defensive effort we get from the Tigers all season, they'll fly up the rankings and past a ton of teams in the top 25 as well. (LW: 7) | |
| 8 | |
| Much was made about the Cajuns QB battle over the summer, but the talent and balance of this roster on both sides of the ball should have been the focal point. Louisiana is able to control both sides of the line of scrimmage. (LW: 9) | |
| 9 | |
| QB Joey Aguilar is one special player. I get that it was against East Tennessee State, but the way he attacked all levels of the field while protecting the football is some next-level stuff. We'll see if they can do the App State thing of taking down a major program against Clemson next weekend. (LW: 10) | |
| 10 | |
| One thing about a Thomas Hammock-coached Huskies team: they'll be efficient, disciplined and consistently good along both sides of the line of scrimmage. Getting five touchdown passes from QB Jalen Macon was great to see. If that type of passing balance can consistently complement a terrific run game led by Antario Brown, then this team can be special. Huge opportunity for them this week vs. Notre Dame. (LW: NR) | |
No longer ranked: Miami (OH)