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Group of 5 power rankings, Week 12: Top five holds steady

By Nathaniel Reeves

SAN DIEGO, CA - OCTOBER 14: Brett Rypien #4 of the Boise State Broncos throws the ball against the San Diego State Aztecs in the first half at SDCCU Stadium on October 14, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images)
SAN DIEGO, CA - OCTOBER 14: Brett Rypien #4 of the Boise State Broncos throws the ball against the San Diego State Aztecs in the first half at SDCCU Stadium on October 14, 2017 in San Diego, California. (Photo by Kent Horner/Getty Images) /
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TAMPA, FL – SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Charlie Strong of the South Florida Bulls looks on from the sidelines during the second quarter of an NCAA football game against the Temple Owls on September 21, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images)
TAMPA, FL – SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Charlie Strong of the South Florida Bulls looks on from the sidelines during the second quarter of an NCAA football game against the Temple Owls on September 21, 2017 at Raymond James Stadium in Tampa, Florida. (Photo by Brian Blanco/Getty Images) /
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South Florida Bulls

Last week: BYE
Last rank: 4

South Florida has somewhat fallen out of the New Year’s Six picture since suffering its first loss of the year on Oct. 28. but quietly still has a chance to make a major bowl game.

With a huge matchup against UCF looming on rivalry weekend, South Florida rested up during a week 11 bye. The 8-1 Bulls are lurking at No. 23 in the AP Poll and will likely make the New Year’s Six if they manage to win out, which would include beating mighty UCF and capturing the AAC title over Memphis.

After taking care of business, albeit sometimes in shaky fashion, against a weak schedule over the first seven weeks of the season, South Florida dropped a 28-24 contest against Houston on Oct. 28. While South Florida bounced back with a 27-20 win at Connecticut the following week to improve to 8-1, a lack of quality wins keeps Charlie Strong’s team outside of the top three for now.

We still haven’t seen the Bulls play to their full potential on offense outside of a select few games, although a season-high 516-yard performance from quarterback Quinton Flowers is a promising sign. Surprisingly, South Florida has a shot at an 11-win season thanks to a defense that is allowing 19.9 points per game, a huge improvement in the first year of the Strong era.

The War on I4 showdown in Orlando on Nov. 24 will be the G5 game of the year, but South Florida needs to avoid looking past Tulsa on Thursday at Raymond James Stadium.

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