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Group of 5 rankings: Could Utah State steal UCF’s New Year’s Six bowl?

By Daniel Stave

PROVO, UT - OCTOBER 05: Utah State Aggies quarterback Jordan Love (10) during a college football game between the Utah State Aggies and the BYU Cougars on October 5, 2018, at Lavell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Boyd Ivey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
PROVO, UT - OCTOBER 05: Utah State Aggies quarterback Jordan Love (10) during a college football game between the Utah State Aggies and the BYU Cougars on October 5, 2018, at Lavell Edwards Stadium in Provo, Utah. (Photo by Boyd Ivey/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /
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WEST POINT, NY – NOVEMBER 10: Kelvin Hopkins Jr. #8 of the Army Black Knights in the huddle before a play during a game against the Lafayette Leopards at Michie Stadium on November 10, 2018 in West Point, New York. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images)
WEST POINT, NY – NOVEMBER 10: Kelvin Hopkins Jr. #8 of the Army Black Knights in the huddle before a play during a game against the Lafayette Leopards at Michie Stadium on November 10, 2018 in West Point, New York. (Photo by Dustin Satloff/Getty Images) /

UCF hosts Cincinnati with College GameDay in attendance and if the Knights lose, Utah State will be the biggest beneficiary among the Group of 5 teams.

The rankings saw a bit of chaos this week. Four of the top ten from last week’s rankings were upset in Week 11, opening some spots for a few old familiar faces.

Two of the teams that lost were Houston and South Florida. I joked last week about something being in the water when the two met in Houston two weeks ago. I only thought I was joking, as now both teams have lost both of their games since that meeting, and now both fall out of the rankings.

The other trend in this week’s rankings is diversity. Five weeks ago, eight of the ten teams in the rankings were from two conferences, the American Athletic Conference and the Mountain West Conference. This week, all five conferences and one independent team are represented.

Let’s see this week’s top 10.

10. Army Knights (Independent) 8-2

Fitting after the weekend of Veteran’s Day, Army moves back into the top ten. The Knights have only lost once since their season-opener, and that was in overtime at Oklahoma. However, a few closer-than-they-should-have-been wins led to them getting passed in the rankings by some teams that looked more impressive.

As the season has moved along, those teams have suffered disappointing losses and dropped out, while the Army football team has persisted. They won 31-13 over Lafayette in Week 11, rushing for 313 yards as a team. Darnell Woolfolk led the balanced rushing attack with 69 yards and two scores on 12 rushes. The team has only one game left before the annual Army-Navy game on Dec. 8.

Up next: Saturday vs. Colgate.

9. Troy Trojans (Sun Belt Conference) 8-2

The Trojans jump back in the top ten with a 35-21 Week 11 win over spiraling Georgia Southern. It was the third straight win for Troy, all by double digits, since they were upset by Liberty in Week 7.

Quarterback Sawyer Smith seems to have found his footing after taking over for the injured Kaleb Barker. The Liberty loss was Smith’s first start after Barker suffered a season-ending knee injury against Georgia State the week before. In the last three games, Smith has completed 73% of his passes, averaging 254 yards per game with five touchdowns and only one interception.

The win moves the Trojans to 6-0 in the Sun Belt Conference, one game ahead of Appalachian State for the lead in the East division. The division will likely be decided when the two meet November 24.

Up next: Saturday vs. Texas State.

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