There’s been a shakeup throughout this week’s Group of Five Power Poll, although only one new team is featured. Still, AAC teams round out the top three while a couple of squads made convincing leaps.
Here’s this week’s G5 Power Poll courtesy of Bennett Conlin and Robert Munoz:
1. Tulane, last week: 2
Despite a bye week, the Green Wave moved up in this week’s Associated Press Top 25 poll, coming in at No. 19. Saturday features a date with Tulsa before a huge matchup with our other ranked Group of Five team in Central Florida. Tulane still sits atop the best G5 conference in the country at 4-0 in AAC play.
2. UCF, last week: 8
The Knights never seemed fazed in last week’s victory over our previous No. 1-ranked team in this poll, defeating Cincinnati and earning a spot in the AP Top 25 at No. 25. Mikey Keene guided UCF on a late game-winning drive that was capped by RJ Harvey’s second touchdown run of the day:
Keene was a clean 4 for 4 on that drive, passing for 57 yards. The Knights head to Memphis this weekend for another key AAC matchup.
3. Cincinnati, last week: 1
It’s been eight weeks since Cincy hasn’t been the top team in this poll. The Bearcats suffered their second loss of the season at UCF and their shot at an AAC title might have gone down the drain, just as their dreams of a New Year’s Six Bowl did. At least they still have last year’s CFP appearance to hang their hats on.
4. Troy, last week: 3
The Trojans have dropped a spot from last week’s poll, but it’s no knock on them. Troy was on a bye last week following its big Week 8 win over South Alabama. Arguably one of the most consistent teams on this list, the Trojans visit Louisiana-Lafayette as 5.5-point favorites based on the college football betting odds via BetMGM.
5. ECU, last week: 7
Maybe the Pirates should have been invited to replace Texas or Oklahoma in the Big 12. For the second consecutive week, ECU knocked off a future Big 12 squad, proving the win over UCF two weeks ago wasn’t a fluke by backing it up with a win over BYU. Even though the Cougars are on a four-game losing streak, it was a huge win for the Pirates as bowl season creeps closer.
6. UTSA, last week: 4
The top team in the C-USA, the Roadrunners have picked up a pair of close, quality wins over Western Kentucky and North Texas. The win over UNT looks even better after the Mean Green’s thrashing over WKU last week. UTSA has its biggest challenge of the remainder of the season this week at UAB, but it had a bye week to prepare.
7. Boise State, last week: 5
At least the Broncos didn’t have to travel to play in a non-competitive matchup against Colorado State in a 49-10 shellacking last week. Boise is the favorite to win the Mountain West and has a ton of momentum heading into this week’s contest against another struggling squad in BYU.
8. Coastal Carolina, last week: 10
The Chanticleers were road underdogs last week against Marshall but came away with a two-possession win. Coastal looks to be back on track after its disappointing loss to Old Dominion on Oct. 15 and hosts App State for a Thursday night Sun Belt showdown.
9. South Alabama, last week: 6
After suffering its second loss of the season to Troy two weeks ago, the Jaguars bounced back in a rout of Arkansas State last week. South Alabama’s two losses aren’t much to be ashamed about — the other being a one-point loss to UCLA — as it continues to prove to be a respectable squad.
10. App State, last week: unranked
A new team makes an appearance this week in App State, who could move its way up the list with a win over Coastal Carolina this week in what is our top G5 game to watch this week.
Dropped out: Buffalo
