Group of Five power rankings: AAC battle brewing between UCF, Cincinnati for New Year’s Six bid

The ACC is once again the class of the Group of Five where UCF and Cincinnati have their sights set on earning the New Year’s Six bowl bid as the highest-ranked G5 team.

This week in the Group of Five is proof of how volatile and unpredictable this season has been and will be. In week 3, the Group of 4 had five games postponed and Charlotte’s game vs. North Carolina was canceled.

At least for this season, expect this to be our new normal.

Despite the postponed games, there was some fun football this weekend. The Troy Trojans romped over the Middle Tennessee State Blue Raiders. Break out the Road Runners. Texas-San Antonio is 2-0 this season after defeating Stephen F. Austin. The American Athletic Conference made sure everyone knows they are the class of the Group of Five.

Staying in the Lone Star State, the UTEP Miners have equaled their win total from the last three seasons after their second win of the season. Playoff hopeful Appalachian State was upended by Marshall 17-7. There were shake-ups to be sure in the power rankings.

The battle for the New Year’s Six bowl bid as the highest-ranked Group of Five team is already heating up in the AAC with UCF and Cincinnati looking strong

5. Louisiana-Lafayette (2-0)

The theme this week for the Ragin’ Cajuns was “survive and advance.” Louisiana might have believed their press clippings a bit too much after their win against Iowa State. “I think human nature, when everybody’s patting you on the back, maybe you relax a little bit,” Napier said. These are the types of games; however, that can propel a team. They were able to survive to live another day. Levi Lewis had a big day with 279 passing yards and two touchdowns, and running back Elijah Mitchell averaged 10.2 yards per rush with two touchdowns. Survive and advance, and learn your lesson.

4. SMU (2-0)

The Mustangs were running against North Texas. If Cincinnati wants to run the way they did against Austin Peay, this is how SMU intends to throw. Mustangs’ quarterback Shane Buechele threw for 344 yards and four touchdowns. The Mustangs are more than just a throw it around the yard type of Air Raid. Southern Methodist also had 51 rushes. SMU ran a total of 84 plays. The Mustangs want to live up to their mascot and go fast, really fast.

3. Coastal Carolina (2-0)

Break out the Chanticleers. They are undefeated after their 43-21 home victory against FCS Campbell Fighting Camels this weekend. Head coach Jamey Chadwell has to like what he’s seeing from his squad so far this season. They’ve been able to run the football with lots of success in their first two weeks. The Chanticleers ran all over the Jayhawks to the tune of 185 yards. This week against Campbell, Coastal Carolina ran for 189 yards. The Chanticleers might not be good enough to win the Sun Belt, but the teams at the top better are careful.

2. Cincinnati (1-0)

One thing we’ve learned this season is if you need to warm up before you play a big game, hope that Austin Peay is on your schedule. Last week they made Pitt’s offense look like Oklahoma, and this week Cincinnati’s offense looked unstoppable. The Bearcats did what they wanted to do on offense, run the football –a lot. The Bearcats had 41 rushes for 276 yards and five touchdowns. Six Bearcats had at least five rushes in this game. If Cincinnati can run like this in the AAC, they are to be tough to stop.

1. UCF (1-0)

In the movie Bull Durham, Nuke Laloosh tells veteran catcher Crash Davis that he wants to announce his presence with authority. The Central Florida Knights announced their presence with authority after their 49-21 victory against the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets. Watching a Knights’ football game is a test of ones’ attention. They are so fast that if you blink, you miss it. It seemed as if it went from 28-21 to 49-21 in the blink of an eye. Dillon Gabriel threw for 417 yards, and the Knights ran for 243 yards. Their “fast break” offense ran 92 plays. This week, the Knights and the AAC announced their presence with authority.

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