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Group of 5 power rankings – Week 4: San Diego State rises to the top

By Nathaniel Reeves

SAN DIEGO, CA - SEPTEMBER 16: San Diego State Aztecs fans rush the field after the San Diego State Aztecs defeated the Stanford Cardinal 20-17 in a game at Qualcomm Stadium on September 16, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - SEPTEMBER 16: San Diego State Aztecs fans rush the field after the San Diego State Aztecs defeated the Stanford Cardinal 20-17 in a game at Qualcomm Stadium on September 16, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Sean M. Haffey/Getty Images) /
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It was a big weekend for the Group of 5, leading to some changes in the week four power rankings.

Coming into the season, the South Florida Bulls appeared to be in a class of their own as the favorite to earn the Group of 5’s bid to the New Year’s Six. That’s no longer the case, as a number of upsets around the nation led to a shakeup in the G5 power rankings.

Saturday’s biggest result from the G5 ranks was the San Diego State Aztecs taking down the Stanford Cardinal for their second straight win over a Pac-12 team. Behind an always-stingy defense and stud running back in Rashaad Penny, the Aztecs are right behind South Florida in the AP Poll and now own the best resume in the G5.

San Diego State didn’t pull off the only upset over the Pac-12 last weekend, as the Memphis Tigers stunned the UCLA Bruins in a 48-45 shootout. Quarterback Riley Ferguson looks like a potential star and outplayed future first round pick, Josh Rosen, to establish the Tigers as a definite AAC contender.

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South Florida played its best game of the year in a 47-23 win over the Illinois Fighting Illini for whatever that’s worth after a pair of shaky performances against poor teams to open the year. Charlie Strong’s team still has the highest AP ranking of any G5 squad and is talented enough to run the table, but now has a couple of clear-cut challengers for the New Year’s Six.

Elsewhere, the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs gained an early advantage in the Conference USA race with a road win over Western Kentucky, while Northern Illinois scored a stunning upset at Nebraska. The biggest G5 disappointment of the week was once again the BYU Cougars, who dropped out of the power rankings with another lifeless offensive performance in a 40-6 loss to the Wisconsin Badgers for their third straight loss.

Here’s how the top 10 Group of Five teams in college football shake out heading into week four of the regular season.

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