Many arguments can be made when debating which Group of Five league is above the rest.
The AAC sent a team to the College Football Playoff just two years ago. The Sun Belt boasts a ton of competitiveness from top to bottom. The Mountain West has programs that have been among the best G5 teams in the country over the past decade, while the MAC and CUSA have teams that emerge as the No. 1 G5 team.
Our Week 3 G5 Top 25 also proves how much parity there is among conferences, but it provides a nice picture of which leagues set themselves apart following Week 2.
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With Tulane and SMU leading the way at the No. 1 and 2 spots, and Memphis and UTSA at 5 and 6, there are four AAC teams in the top 10 — the most of any league. The Mountain West (Fresno State and Boise State) and CUSA (Western Kentucky and Liberty) both have two squads in the top 10. The Sun Belt and MAC each have one team. It is somewhat surprising that CUSA has more teams up there than those two conferences.
Looking through the entire rankings, however, nine teams from the SB land in the top 25, which is the most for a conference.
College football betting odds currently have six teams priced at +1000 or lower to win the Sun Belt, the most of any G5 conference within that range. The AAC has the most teams priced at +700 or shorter (five) and no other league has three teams with odds at +425 or shorter except for the MW.
It’s interesting how the odds line up with our Week 3 rankings. There are four MW teams all within five spots of each other and those four AAC squads ranked in the top 6. The rankings of the Sun Belt teams are a great representation of the conference with seven teams taking consecutive spots from 12-19!
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So far in 2023 (I know it’s early), I think we can chalk up the Sun Belt as putting out the best teams in its league from top to bottom. With the addition of JMU and what looks like the ascension of South Alabama, Georgia Southern, and Texas State, the SB has secured its spot as the top G5 conference in the country.
The departure of the former AAC and G5 powerhouses to the Big 12 has also allowed the Fun Belt to take the top spot, but The American is still right there.
An uncharacteristic start to the season for Boise State has not helped the MW’s national image. The Broncos haven’t started 0-2 since 2005, but barely lost to UCF last week on a last-second field goal. It would have been great for the league if they had picked up a win considering Wyoming’s huge win over Texas Tech in Week 1. That would have put the MW at 2-0 vs. the Big 12.
San Diego State’s very average start hasn’t garnered much attention, but the Aztecs have a chance to stir some things up this week at No. 16-ranked Oregon State. Fresno State, of course, had the big win over Purdue in Week 1 and Air Force remains one of the most consistent programs in the FBS.
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Western Kentucky and Liberty should only get better as the season goes on, and it looks like Toledo might run the table in the MAC unless Ohio or another team can dethrone the reigning champs.
There’s a lot to consider when breaking all of this down, but the bottom line is the parity within the G5 landscape will only help the sport, and hopefully it remains throughout all of the realignment.