Fansided

Group of 5 Conference Power Rankings, Week 3: San Diego State on the rise

By Nicholas Ian Allen

TEMPE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 09: Running back Rashaad Penny (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 09: Running back Rashaad Penny (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 6
Next

The San Diego State Aztecs are on the rise in our Week 3 Group of 5 conference power rankings after an upset win at Arizona State.

Because of the way the system has been designed, it would be nearly impossible for a Group of 5 conference team to make it to the College Football Playoff. Any G5 team hoping to break into the discussion would not only need to finish undefeated, it would need chaos to reign among the power conferences. Playing a brutal non-conference schedule in order to impress the committee enough to earn a spot in the top four of the final rankings would also help, but of course, too tough a schedule would result in a loss, which would kill any chance of making it to the dance.

BYU had the right idea when scheduling LSU, Utah and Wisconsin, but unfortunately the Cougars have stumbled out of the gate offensively in 2017 and enter Saturday’s matchup with the Badgers 1-2.

Boise State attempted to walk a fine line between a tough schedule and a winnable schedule, but squandered a three-touchdown lead in the fourth quarter last week against No. 20 Washington State to seal its playoff fate in Week 2.

The schedule makers did no favors for South Florida, the only Group of 5 team featured in either the AP Top 25 or the Coaches Poll. Illinois, who is 2-0 this year but finished 3-9 last season, is the toughest non-conference opponent on the schedule. USF probably won’t face a ranked team all season, so even a blowout victory over the Illini and an undefeated march through the AAC wouldn’t impress the committee. Also, the Bulls have looked very rusty in their 2-0 start under new head coach Charlie Strong,

However, San Diego State is still alive. Rashaad Penny ran all over Arizona State in an upset win over the Sun Devils last week, and the Aztecs host No. 19 Stanford Saturday. It certainly would have been better for San Diego State’s résumé had the Cardinal beat USC a week ago, but Stanford is still a quality opponent likely to challenge for the Pac-12 title.

A thousand things would need to go right for San Diego State to make the playoff. The Aztecs would need to finish 13-0 with impressive wins over Stanford, Boise State and in the Mountain West title game, and SDSU would also likely need multiple (perhaps all) Power Five league champions to finish with two or more losses.

But first things first. At the very least, after beating Arizona State, the Aztecs are on the rise in our Week 3 Group of 5 conference power rankings.

G5 Conferences Power Rankings

American Athletic Conference Power Rankings

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

Conference USA Power Rankings

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

FBS Independents Power Rankings

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

Mid-American Conference Power Rankings

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

Mountain West Conference Power Rankings

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

Sun Belt Conference Power Rankings

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