Group of 5 power rankings, Week 5: Can anyone hang with UCF?
By Daniel Stave
8. Houston Cougars (AAC) 3-1
The Cougars bounced back from giving up 63 points in a loss to Texas Tech in Week 3 with a 70-point outburst in a win over Texas Southern. Houston had 671 yards of offense and 36 first downs in the game.
D’Eriq King had three touchdown passes and a touchdown run in the first half, before giving way to backup Clayton Tune for the second half. The two quarterbacks combined for 386 yards passing and five touchdowns.
Kelan Walker and Chandler Smith both got it done on the ground for Houston, combining for 185 yards and three scores on 20 carries.
The Cougars had 14 different receivers catch passes in the blowout win.
Up next: October 4 vs. Tulsa.
7. Troy Trojans (Sun Belt Conference) 3-1
A week after upsetting Nebraska in Lincoln, Troy opened conference play with a 35-27 win over Louisiana-Monroe in Week 4. The Trojans scored four times in the second quarter to open up a 35-7 halftime lead. Kaleb Barker threw for 273 yards and two touchdowns and ran for two other scores to power Troy.
ULM mounted a comeback effort in the second half behind Caleb Evans who led Monroe with 290 yards passing and 101 yards rushing, bringing them back within one score. The Warhawks were driving for a chance to tie the game before Marcus Jones intercepted Evans in the end zone with only 39 seconds left to clinch the Troy victory.
Up next: Saturday vs. Coastal Carolina.