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Group of 5 power rankings, Week 1: USF, Colorado State impress early

By Nicholas Ian Allen

FT. COLLINS, CO - AUGUST 26: Colorado State Rams running back Izzy Matthews (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images)
FT. COLLINS, CO - AUGUST 26: Colorado State Rams running back Izzy Matthews (Photo by Andy Cross/The Denver Post via Getty Images) /
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USF and Colorado State began the 2017 college football season on a high note, earning the top two spots in our Week 1 G5 Power Rankings.

Finally!

The 2017 college football season kicked off Saturday with five games featuring FBS opponents. Each matchup featured at least one Group of Five program, and three of the best G5 teams in the country – South Florida, Colorado State and BYU – opened their respective seasons with wins.

Ranked No. 19 in the preseason AP Poll, USF has the inside track to earn the New Year’s Six bowl birth given to the G5 team ranked highest by the College Football Playoff committee. The Bulls stumbled early, and fell behind 16-0 to an unheralded San Jose State squad, but exploded for 28 points in the second quarter to take control of the game before halftime.

Colorado State, a dark horse contender in the Mountain West, made the biggest statement of the weekend (No. 14 Stanford’s 62-7 demolition of Rice in Australia aside) with a 58-27 victory over Pac-12 opponent Oregon State. The Rams looked terrific on offense, picking up where they left off after scoring 46 points or more in each of their last four games in 2016.

BYU was far less impressive, and beat Portland State just 20-6, but the Cougars were solid defensively and still have the talent to make a splash this season. Expect BYU to put together a much better performance against LSU in New Orleans this week.

Hawaii also picked up a big Week 0 victory after quarterback Dru Brown’s touchdown pass to Metuisela ‘Unga in the final minute gave the Rainbow Warriors a 38-35 victory over UMass on the road. A bowl team last season, Hawaii should be a dangerous Mountain West opponent in 2017 – but the Warriors have some work to do to make it into the Top 10 of our weekly G5 Conference Power Rankings.

G5 Conferences Power Rankings

American Athletic Conference Power Rankings

  1. South Florida Bulls, 1-0 (0-0)
  2. Houston Cougars, 0-0 (0-0)
  3. Memphis Tigers, 0-0 (0-0)
  4. Navy Midshipmen, 0-0 (0-0)
  5. Temple Owls, 0-0 (0-0)
  6. Tulsa Golden Hurricane, 0-0 (0-0)
  7. SMU Mustangs, 0-0 (0-0)
  8. UCF Knights, 0-0 (0-0)
  9. Cincinnati Bearcats, 0-0 (0-0)
  10. Tulane Green Wave, 0-0 (0-0)
  11. East Carolina Pirates, 0-0 (0-0)
  12. Connecticut Huskies, 0-0 (0-0)

Conference USA Power Rankings

  1. Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, 0-0 (0-0)
  2. Louisiana Tech Bulldogs, 0-0 (0-0)
  3. Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders, 0-0 (0-0)
  4. UTSA Roadrunners, 0-0 (0-0)
  5. Old Dominion Monarchs, 0-0 (0-0)
  6. Marshall Thundering Herd, 0-0 (0-0)
  7. Southern Miss Golden Eagles, 0-0 (0-0)
  8. FAU Owls, 0-0 (0-0)
  9. Rice Owls, 0-1 (0-0)
  10. North Texas Mean Green, 0-0 (0-0)
  11. FIU Golden Panthers, 0-0 (0-0)
  12. UTEP Miners, 0-0 (0-0)
  13. UAB Blazers, 0-0 (0-0)

G5 FBS Independents Power Rankings

  1. BYU Cougars, 1-0
  2. Army West Point Black Knights, 0-0
  3. UMass Minutemen, 0-1

Mid-American Conference Power Rankings

  1. Toledo Rockets, 0-0 (0-0)
  2. Ohio Bobcats, 0-0 (0-0)
  3. Northern Illinois Huskies, 0-0 (0-0)
  4. Western Michigan Broncos, 0-0 (0-0)
  5. Miami (Ohio) Redhawks, 0-0 (0-0)
  6. Central Michigan Chippewas, 0-0 (0-0)
  7. Eastern Michigan Eagles, 0-0 (0-0)
  8. Akron Zips, 0-0 (0-0)
  9. Bowling Green Falcons, 0-0 (0-0)
  10. Ball State Cardinals, 0-0 (0-0)
  11. Buffalo Bulls, 0-0 (0-0)
  12. Kent State Golden Flashes, 0-0 (0-0)

Mountain West Conference Power Rankings

  1. Colorado State Rams, 1-0 (0-0)
  2. Boise State Broncos, 0-0 (0-0)
  3. San Diego State Aztecs, 0-0 (0-0)
  4. Wyoming Cowboys, 0-0 (0-0)
  5. New Mexico Lobos, 0-0 (0-0)
  6. Utah State Aggies, 0-0 (0-0)
  7. Air Force Falcons, 0-0 (0-0)
  8. Hawaii Rainbow Warriors, 1-0 (0-0)
  9. Nevada Wolf Pack, 0-0 (0-0)
  10. UNLV Runnin’ Rebels, 0-0 (0-0)
  11. Fresno State Bulldogs, 0-0 (0-0)
  12. San Jose State Spartans, 0-1 (0-0)

Sun Belt Conference Power Rankings

  1. Appalachian State Mountaineers, 0-0 (0-0)
  2. Troy Trojans, 0-0 (0-0)
  3. Arkansas State Red Wolves, 0-0 (0-0)
  4. Idaho Vandals, 0-0 (0-0)
  5. Louisiana’s Ragin’ Cajuns, 0-0 (0-0)
  6. South Alabama Jaguars, 0-0 (0-0)
  7. Georgia Southern Eagles, 0-0 (0-0)
  8. Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, 0-0 (0-0)
  9. New Mexico State Aggies, 0-0 (0-0)
  10. ULM Warhawks, 0-0 (0-0)
  11. Georgia State Panthers, 0-0 (0-0)
  12. Texas State Bobcats, 0-0 (0-0)
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