Welcome back to the 18Stripes G5 Top 10. Had a little bit of shakeup this week so let’s dive right into the Top Ten.

Also Considered: Liberty, Nevada, Northern Illinois, UTEP, Utah State

Week 8 Recap

Movers and Shakers

We have to start our recap with the game on Wednesday night. Fresh off a game where App State got steamrolled off the field by Louisiana and off the Top Ten, they find a way to knock off Coastal at home. The Mountaineers defense, after a rough first quarter, kept the Chants offense at bay. App State only allowed two explosive plays all evening, and held Coastal to 70 yards rushing. Half of their rushes went for less than 2 yards. App State had many opportunities to take this game away during the fourth quarter. A Daetrich Harrington fumble inside the Coastal five. App got another chance with less than 4 minutes left to go. Chase Brice and his Mountaineer offense marched down inside the Coastal 10. Chandler Staton drilled the game winning field goal, giving App State their first ranked win since their famous 2007 victory in the Big House. 

As for the list, I was talking to my best friend about this logic I would need to do. Louisiana would need to be ranked higher than Coastal due to their direct comparative result in App State. The loss puts App State in the driver’s seat for the Sun Belt East Division. That helps App State in terms of their re-entry back into the Top Ten. However, I think that the win over Coastal is not as good as the win over Oregon that Fresno State has currently. Hence, they fall behind the Bulldogs in the hierarchy of two loss teams.

The other movers and shakers should come to no surprise to those who read this piece last week. There were two major Mountain West games on Saturday night during Notre Dame-USC. The first was San Diego State making the trip to Colorado Springs to take on Air Force. The Aztecs were once again the best unit on the field, with their 13 first half points coming directly off of turnovers. They added a touchdown on the first drive of the second half, giving them the 20 points they needed in a 20-14 victory. The Falcons had a chance to make a comeback late in the game, but were forced to punt after a potential fourth down conversion was negated by a chop block. San Diego State remains in the three spot due to some questions about their viability against the better offenses in the league, but they remain undefeated.

The other matchup was taking place simultaneously in Fresno. The Bulldogs held off a late rally by Nevada to win 34-32. Carson Strong tried his best to bring Nevada back in the fourth quarter, but a two point conversion catch just missed being a completion with two seconds remaining. Both Strong and FSU QB Jake Haener both put up numbers, but Romeo Doubs put up a truly ridiculous statline. The senior WR caught 19 balls for 203 yards and a touchdown. Given the performance of Nevada, I didn’t dock them too much, despite them falling out of the Top Ten. Fresno State, as mentioned above, stays above App State in the middle of the list.

Top Teams Wraparound

As for the number 2 spot I went back and forth. I think UTSA would potentially lose to SMU on a neutral field, I think UTSA has some key metrics putting them ahead of SMU. UTSA has a better chance to win the C-USA with the rest of their schedule lining up well with UAB falling to Rice. SMU has two more important games left on their schedule (one being next week) to show they belong in the upper tier of the AAC. UTSA continued their roll with a 45-16 victory over Louisiana Tech and SMU beat up on Tulane, winning 55-26.

Arkansas State kept Louisiana on the ropes early in the week, but the Ragin Cajuns defense stepped up down the stretch, maintaining a 28-27 score to the finish. Louisiana had some bad tendencies pop up in terms of letting inferior teams hang around, which is concerning for their chances to win the Sun Belt, but if it is App State now, their worries should be put down slightly.

In the American, Cincinnati struggled with Navy, as you are bound to when facing a triple option team. The Bearcat offense stepped up in the second half to get a 27-20 win in Annapolis. Houston and East Carolina played a game five hours after it was scheduled to kick off due to lightning delays in Houston. The Cougars pulled it out over the Pirates 31-24 in OT. Finally, BYU creeps back into the Top Ten with their win against a game (and coach less) Washington State team, escaping 21-19.

Week 9 Preview

Headliners

Much like last week there is another key Mountain West matchup. This one will see the two winners of Saturday’s games facing off, Fresno State @ San Diego State. This matchup will show the two best units in the conference, the Fresno State offense vs the San Diego State defense. The Bulldog offense may be the best offense, outside of a bowl, that the Aztecs face all season. Haener and Jalen Cropper will have their toughest test in facing off against the stingy San Diego State secondary. This game will be on late Saturday night, and I highly recommend it if you can make it through.

Our second headliner comes from the American. Cincinnati seems to be firmly in the drivers seat for both making the title game, but also hosting it. The other spot has been up for grabs the rest of the season. UCF and Memphis lost their chances early on, and now it comes down to this matchup of two Texas schools. SMU hasn’t lost a game all season and Houston hasn’t lost a game since their opener against Texas Tech. While I’m guessing Notre Dame fans will be watching the Irish taking on North Carolina, this game should be a fun game to flip to for those interested.

Conference Highlights

Cincinnati @ Tulane (American): Tulane is not really a good football team and Cincinnati should make easy work of them on the road.

UTEP @ Florida Atlantic (C-USA): With UAB losing to Rice, UTEP is firmly in the drivers seat as the best remaining opponent for UTSA. UTEP can use this trip to Boca Raton as a barometer to where their program truly is going into that matchup.

N/A (MAC): There is only one MAC game this week, setting up weekday games the following week, which gets me excited for Fun Belt and MACtion in the coming weeks.

UNLV @ Nevada (Mountain West): UNLV has gotten close enough to getting their first win of the season, and this looks like a potential spoiler opportunity for the Rebels. I think Nevada should rebound, but it wouldn’t shock me if this is close late in the fourth.

UL-Monroe @ App State (Sun Belt): App State’s follow up to their upset win at home, the Mountaineers have to take on a frisky ULM squad that is flirting with bowl eligibility. If Chase Brice can continue to add diversity to the offense, this game shouldn’t be close.

Top Teams Roundup

Elsewhere in Group of 5 games, BYU takes a break from taking on Pac-12 schools to hosting Virginia in Provo. Louisiana follows up their Arkansas State game by taking on Texas State. Finally, Coastal looks to rebound and try to work their way back into the Sun Belt Championship Game by taking on Troy at home.

That’s all I have for you all today! Sound off below on any of the games from Saturday or the ones coming up this week!