Group of 5 power rankings: Air Force, Temple move up with big wins

UCf is the clear top team in the Group of 5 but Air Force and Temple had big wins to move into the top five of our Group of 5 power rankings entering Week 4.

After Week 3, the Group of 5 power rankings welcomes the SMU Mustangs and Air Force Falcons. There were several important Power 5 vs Group of 5 matchups in Week 3, and some teams took advantage of these contests to shine, while others didn’t take advantage of the moment.

10. Cincinnati Bearcats

• 2-1
• Last rank: 4

There’s absolutely no shame in losing to Ohio State in the Horseshoe. There’s a little shame in losing by 42 and getting shut out. Head coach Luke Fickell surely wanted to give his alma mater at least a good game in his return to Columbus. That hope was shut down by halftime when the Bearcats were down 28-0.  In addition to this beatdown, Cincinnati’s win against UCLA is getting less impressive each week. The good news: they have a chance to bounce back in their next game in a Group of 5 showdown with Marshall.

9. Tulane Green Wave

• 2-1
• Last rank: 6

After a dismal offensive performance against Auburn, Tulane bounced back in a big way against Missouri State. The Green Wave came away with a dominant 58-6 victory against an overmatched Bears team. This bounce-back was expected, however, and Tulane’s next big test comes this Thursday on national television against Houston. This game will serve as a much better barometer for where Tulane stacks up against their Group of 5 competition.

8. Marshall Thundering Herd

• 2-1
• Last Rank: 6

After a gut-wrenching loss to Boise State, the Thundering Herd bounced back nicely with a win over a tough Ohio team. Isaiah Green looked reasonably sharp, throwing for over 200 yards and 2 touchdowns. Brenden Knox added over 130 yards on the ground and another score. However, Marshall let Nathan Rourke pick them apart all night while failing to register a sack. A matchup with Cincinnati in two weeks looms large, and with both teams coming off a bye they should be evenly matched.

7. SMU Mustangs

• 3-0
• Last rank: NR

Welcome to the top 10, SMU! The Mustangs have gotten here by beating up on weaker in-state teams North Texas and Texas State, winning these last two games by a combined 50 points. The Mustangs are led by former Texas starter Shane Buechele, who has shined outside of Austin. Next week SMU has a much tougher in-state matchup with TCU.

6. Appalachian State Mountaineers

• 2-0
• Last rank: 5

Appalachian State has coasted through the first three weeks of their schedule, winning games against Charlotte and East Tennessee State. Next week they get their first real test against the surprising North Carolina Tar Heels. Though they are still unbeaten, the Mountaineers have fallen down the rankings due to their lack of quality wins.

5. Air Force Falcons

• 2-0
• Last rank: NR

The Falcons took down Colorado last week in an overtime thriller. Air Force dominated the Buffalo on the ground, rushing for 289 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Quarterback Donald Hammond was not used often but was effective as two of his twelve passing attempts ended up in the end zone. After a solid victory over a good Power 5 team, the Falcons will have another tough game against Mountain West Favorite Boise State.

4. Temple Owls

• 2-0
• Last rank: 8

Temple has always been known as a solid defensive program, and this year it appears to be no different. They held an explosive Maryland offense to seventeen points en route to a 20-17 win. The Owls’ defense stood up in the fourth quarter with two goal-line stands to seal the victory. Anthony Russo was a bright spot for Temple as well, throwing for three touchdowns in the win. The next three weeks of the Owls’ schedule is pretty soft, with games against Buffalo, Georgia Tech, and East Carolina. If they can come out on top in all of those, a showdown with Memphis looms.

3. Memphis Tigers

• 3-0
• Last rank: 3

After a good win over Ole Miss to start the season, the Tigers have come out and taken care of business against Southern and South Alabama. Unsurprisingly the offense has taken off and put up a combined 97 points against two weaker opponents. They play an always tough Navy team this week, and the option could provide a true test for this defense.

2. Boise State Broncos

• 3-0
• Last rank: 2

The Broncos easily beat Portland State last week after gutsy wins against Florida State and Marshall. It looks like Boise State has their quarterback of the future in Hank Bachmeier, and next week he’ll face off against Air Force in a matchup with huge Mountain West implications.

1 UCF Knights

• 3-0
• Last rank: 1

There’s no sugar coating this for Stanford fans: UCF completely dominated this weekend. Dillon Gabriel had an outstanding game, throwing for 350 yards and four touchdowns. In addition, the offense added nearly two hundred yards on the ground. UCF is far and away the most complete team in the Group of 5, the question is can anyone trip them up?