Fansided

Group of 5 power rankings: Boise State drops, BYU rises after upsetting Wisconsin

By Daniel Stave

MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 15: Isaiah Kaufusi #53 of the BYU Cougars celebrates with teammates after the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. BYU won 24-21. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images)
MADISON, WI - SEPTEMBER 15: Isaiah Kaufusi #53 of the BYU Cougars celebrates with teammates after the game against the Wisconsin Badgers at Camp Randall Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Madison, Wisconsin. BYU won 24-21. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
1 of 5
Next
STILLWATER, OK – SEPTEMBER 15: Quarterback Brett Rypien #4 of the Boise State Broncos looks to throw against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Boone Pickens Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cowboys defeated the Broncos 44-21. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images)
STILLWATER, OK – SEPTEMBER 15: Quarterback Brett Rypien #4 of the Boise State Broncos looks to throw against the Oklahoma State Cowboys at Boone Pickens Stadium on September 15, 2018 in Stillwater, Oklahoma. The Cowboys defeated the Broncos 44-21. (Photo by Brett Deering/Getty Images) /

This week’s Group of 5 power rankings sees Boise State drop after losing to Oklahoma State and BYU is a fast riser after upsetting Wisconsin.

Three weeks in, the field is muddied for the top teams in the Group of 5. Some teams are still undefeated, but their competition has been weak. Some have played a more difficult schedule, and have an impressive win or two, but also have a loss.

How do you weigh a 34-14 win over Elon versus a 21-18 loss to Cal?

Making these rankings includes all kinds of decisions like that. There are 14 teams I strongly considered for the top 10 spots. The toughest omission was Cincinnati. The Bearcats were ranked 6th last week, and won 63-7 in Week 3, yet fell out of the rankings.

Their biggest win was a nine-point win over UCLA in Week 1 win. That seemed decent after Weeks 1 and 2, but UCLA lost to Fresno St. by 24 in Week 3 and have yet to win a game this season. Fresno St. is one of the teams that moved ahead of Cincinnati this week.

To find out who kept their spot and who moved up, let’s get to the power rankings.

Group of 5 power rankings entering Week 4

Group of Five power rankings
PHILADELPHIA, PA – SEPTEMBER 30: Head coach Major Applewhite of the Houston Cougars points against the Temple Owls at Lincoln Financial Field on September 30, 2017 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. (Photo by Mitchell Leff/Getty Images) /

10. Houston Cougars (American Athletic Conference) 2-1

Houston got into a shootout in Week 3, and their offense couldn’t keep up with the firepower of Texas Tech. They fell to the Red Raiders 63-49. The defense gave up 605 yards passing to Texas Tech quarterback Alan Bowman and more than 700 yards of offense total in the game.

D’Eriq King had another productive game for Houston, keeping the Cougars in it for as long as possible. King finished with 431 passing yards, 47 rushing yards, and six total touchdowns.

Marquez Stevenson led Houston in receiving with nine catches for 177 yards and two scores. But he was outdone by Antoine Wesley, who had 13 catches for 261 yards and three touchdowns for Texas Tech.

Up next: Saturday versus Texas Southern.

9. Appalachian State Mountaineers (Sun Belt) 1-1

The Mountaineers were scheduled to host Southern Mississippi Saturday, but the game was postponed due to Hurricane Florence. It is not known if the game will be rescheduled later in the season. Appalachian State has one more non-conference game before finishing the season with eight Sun Belt conference games.

Up next: Saturday versus Gardner-Webb

Home/College Football