Group of 5 power rankings, Week 8: UCF, USF avoid upsets

MEMPHIS, TN - OCTOBER 13: Joey Connors #91 of the Central Florida Knights celebrates at the end of the game against the Memphis Tigers on October 13, 2018 at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium in Memphis, Tennessee. Central Florida defeated Memphis 31-30. (Photo by Joe Murphy/Getty Images) /

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HOUSTON, TX – OCTOBER 04: David Anenih #12 of the Houston Cougars celebrates with teammates after a tackle in the fourth quarter at TDECU Stadium on October 4, 2018 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Tim Warner/Getty Images) /

8. Houston Cougars (American Athletic Conference) 5-1

Houston didn’t have much trouble disposing of East Carolina last week. The Cougars led 42-6 in the 4th quarter before ECU put up a pair of late touchdowns to make it a more respectable 42-20. Stud defensive lineman Ed Oliver had his first two sacks of the season, one of which caused a fumble that linebacker Emeke Egbule returned five yards for one of the Cougar’s touchdowns. The Houston defense forced a total of four Pirate turnovers on the day. Houston is the cream of the crop in the AAC West. If they continue to take care of business, they’ll have a showdown in the AAC conference championship game with one of the three undefeated teams in the East.

Up next: Saturday at Navy.

7. San Diego State Aztecs (Mountain West Conference) 6-1

Like they have nearly every week this season, San Diego State got the job done last Saturday. Like nearly every week this season, it wasn’t pretty. A close 21-17 win over Air Force caused the Aztecs to slip one spot in the rankings. Quarterback Ryan Agnew completed only nine of his 25 pass attempts and the SDSU running game struggled to 84 yards on 34 carries. The team trailed 17-14 in the 4th quarter before Parker Houston caught a 29-yard touchdown pass from Agnew with 6:10 left in the game.

Up next: Saturday vs. San Jose State.