Group of 5 power rankings, Week 2: Boise State, Memphis get statement wins

Can Boise State rise to the top spot in the Group of 5 power rankings for Week 2 after beating Florida State or can UCF hold them off?

Week one of college football is always a bizarre one as scheduling goes. Some teams, like Oregon and Auburn, play CFP-level opponents. Others pay for easy wins, and some unlucky programs pay a million dollars to get beat at home (couldn’t resist, sorry Volunteer fans).

The Group of 5 is no exception. Boise State played Florida State in Tallahassee, while Marshall dueled with VMI. The good news is we’ve done the hard work for you, and ranked these teams despite some of them playing schools you couldn’t find on a map.

No game for Hawaii this week, and no other Group of 5 team played well enough to take this spot from them. So by default, the Rainbow Warriors stay in the top ten.

The Bulldogs are the only 0-1 team on this list. They lost to USC in the Coliseum despite a gutsy performance, especially in the fourth quarter. The good news is power rankings aren’t based on a team’s record. There were enough bright spots for Fresno State to remain in the top ten. Jorge Reyna had an up and down night. He completed less than fifty percent of his passes and threw a pick, but he also averaged 6.4 yards per attempt, threw for just over 250 yards, and two touchdowns. The Fresno State defense also forced four turnovers. Despite this loss, I still believe the Bulldogs are a top ten Group of 5 team.

The Temple Owls simply looked fantastic on offense Saturday, putting up 56 points and 695 total yards. Now, it was against Bucknell, but that’s still a fantastic sign considering they likely held most of their offensive playbook back. Quarterback Anthony Russo threw for over 400 yards and 4 touchdowns, with receivers Jaden Blue and Brandon Mack combining for 230 yards receiving. The Owls will be looking to notch a Power 5 win next week when Maryland comes to Philly.

I was wrong on both the FIU Panthers and the Tulane Green Wave. I entered the season singing the Panthers’ praises when I should have paid much closer attention to their Week 1 opponent in New Orleans. The Tulane rushing offense overtook the Panthers like, well, a Green Wave, putting up 350 yards and four touchdowns on the ground. Quarterback Justin McMillan was sharp as well, throwing for 199 yards and two touchdowns. The defense was stout and allowed only 267 yards and forced two turnovers. Next week marks a huge test for Tulane as they travel to the plains to take on the Auburn Tigers.

The Thundering Herd easily dispatched VMI on Saturday. Isaiah Green threw for four touchdowns, and the offense put up 56 points against the overmatched Keydets. Marshall likely wanted to keep most of their wrinkles up their sleeve before they run through a tough stretch of Boise State, Ohio, and Cincinnati.

Like Marshall, Appalachian State just went out and took care of business this week. They destroyed East Tennessee State 42-7 in what was essentially a preseason game for them. The Mountaineers did the bulk of their work on the ground, with 277 rush yards and three rushing touchdowns. They likely kept most of their cards close to the vest with more difficult opponents on the horizon, including a surprising North Carolina team in Week 3.

Last week I said, “if [Cincinnati’s] line can hold up and the offense can marginally improve, the Bearcats could challenge UCF for the American Athletic Conference title.” The offense certainly put showed improvement against Chip Kelly’s UCLA Bruins, amassing over 400 yards in their season opener. Their defense held up their end of the bargain, allowing only 14 points to a DTR-quarterbacked offense that was very disappointing. Quarterback Desmond Ridder looked sharp, averaging nearly nine yards per attempt and tossing two touchdowns. Beating a Power 5 team like UCLA is a great confidence boost going into the Bearcats’ showdown with Ohio State next week.

The Memphis faithful may be angry about dropping a spot to Boise State, but they can take comfort in the fact that it was about as close as it gets. The Tigers managed to hold the Rebels to ten points, a huge improvement for their defense over last year when they allowed an average of 31.9 points per game. The offense only scored 15 points, but they ran for almost 200 yards on the ground. Brady White needs to improve if the Tigers are going to challenge UCF, he averaged only 4.1 yards per attempt against Ole Miss.

It was a tale of two halves for the Broncos on Saturday. After ending the first half down 31-19, Boise State shut out the Seminoles in the second half to complete the comeback victory in Tallahassee. The combination of Hank Bachmeier and Robert Mahone could be lethal this year for the Broncos’ Mountain West opponents. To complete a comeback in Doak Campbell Stadium with a true freshman at quarterback in week one is a great sign of things to come. Bachmeier didn’t simply rely on his teammates to make plays in clutch moments: he was 8-of-12 for 136 yards on third downs. The Broncos should be one of the most exciting teams to watch in the Group of 5 if they can build on their great second half against Marshall, who is ranked sixth in the Group of 5 power rankings.

You might ask, how does UCF retain their number one ranking when their peers are playing Power 5 opponents and they’re playing Florida A&M? Because unlike some teams (Tennessee) they took care of business. Brandon Wimbush and Dillon Gabriel combined for nearly 300 yards through the air with five touchdowns. Their defense shut out the Rattlers en route to a 62-0 victory. Overall, this was a successful opening week for UCF but we will learn much more about this team in the next three weeks as they play FAU, Stanford, and Pitt.