Welcome back to the 18Stripes G5 Top 10. This week had a ton of shake up, yet the top of the list remains unchanged. Let’s dive into the rest of the list.
Also Considered: San Diego State, Army, UAB, Marshall, San Jose State
Week 3 Recap
Movers and Shakers
We have to start with the game almost no one probably watched in real time. Fresno State won in the Rose Bowl over UCLA 40-37. The entire fourth quarter seemed to be touchdown drives for both teams. Fresno State showed their close game against Oregon was not a fluke throughout the game. The Bulldogs led 23-10 at the half.
However, UCLA’s offense heated up and they held the lead twice in the late stages of the fourth quarter. That’s where Jake Haener took over. Despite being visibly in pain, he led the Bulldogs down the field twice with less than 3 minutes to go. Haener’s final go ahead TD went to Jalen Cropper, which finished a 14 reception 141 yard game for the WR. Fresno State looks to be the favorite of the Mountain West now based on their games thus far. They do have a tough division with SJSU, SDSU, and Nevada. The Bulldogs, however, look like Pat Hill led teams and should compete for the conference.
In other games this weekend, Memphis used a questionable punt return as the difference in knocking off Mississippi State. I think Memphis, since they avoid Cincinnati in the regular season, could be the second team in the AAC Championship if UCF struggles without Gabriel. They do get the Knights in the end of October, so we should know more then.
Toledo just flat out laid an egg at home against a bad Colorado State team. I think Toledo can turn this around, but if they wanna sniff the heights they were at earlier this season, they need to probably run the table in conference.
Finally, referees got in the way of a scoreless second half in Boise, as the Broncos fell to Oklahoma State 21-20. A potential game winning fumble return was called off because of a quick whistle. The Broncos should be in good spot to return to the MWC Championship Game, but their chances of winning and taking a NY6 bowl seem to have gone down drastically with their results early this season.
Top Teams Wraparound
In the first step towards a potential playoff spot, Cincinnati pulled away from Indiana 38-24. This game looked like it was going to be an easy win for Indiana, but multiple shifts gave the Bearcats the edge. The Cincinnati offense hasn’t played to its potential yet for four quarters, so it’ll be interesting to see what they add for their upcoming trip to South Bend.
Coastal Carolina was held tough by Buffalo in New York, ultimately winning 28-25. The Chants defense has been weirdly suspect in stretches this season. Buffalo is almost certainly the best team they have played thus far, but the Chants need to travel to Boone in a month, and they need the best version of their defense to prove themselves there.
Louisiana will almost certainly be returning to the Sun Belt Championship Game. However, I could see them slipping up after watching their game Friday over Ohio. Much like the Chants, the Ragin Cajuns seem to have defensive troubles all season long. They let Ohio in the game for three quarters before pulling away.
SMU had one of the best finishes of the weekend, using a last second Hail Mary to knock off Louisiana Tech in Ruston. The Mustangs appear to be firing on all cylinders. I have questions whether they can break through the upper echelon of the conference, but I think they could very easily be a chaos agent in the American over the course of the season.
BYU continued their winning ways, holding off Arizona State late Saturday night. As I mentioned last week, the Cougars have a good shot to win their next handful of games. The lone exception to that game is when they host Boise State. The status quo remains the same for BYU; they need to continue to win games and hope for losses for the Group of 5 teams ranked above them. It’s not unrealistic, but their NY6 destiny does not lay in their hands.
East Carolina knocked off Marshall on the road. In a game that made everyone rush over to Facebook Live, the Pirates scored the final 21 points to get the upset. ECU feels like they are still a couple of years away from contending in the AAC, but their performances over this early part of the season show some promise. I think Marshall is still one of the better C-USA teams and will have a chance to prove themselves among the other Group of 5 teams as they go into Boone Thursday night to take on App State.
San Diego State continued to roll over Pac-12 teams as they brought out the Aztec Special in 3OT to knock off Utah at home. Western Michigan also knocked off a Power 5 team over the weekend, winning a shootout in Pitt. I think both of these teams are potential dark horses to win their divisions and potentially win their conferences. I am keeping an eye on both going forward.
Week 4 Preview
With conference play beginning to kick off over the course of the next couple of weeks, I’m going to change up the format of the previews going forward. I will continue to do two headliners at the top. After that, I am going to highlight a game per conference that can help raise the team or conference profile.
Headliners
If I had to guess between the two games here on the headliners, I would have guessed one would feature two top ten teams. However, I would not have guessed the game was UTSA going to Memphis would have been the game. The Roadrunners can put themselves firmly on the national map with a win over a really good Memphis team. The Tigers are fresh off of a big win in the Liberty Bowl, and may be in for a letdown spot before conference play. I think Memphis eventually wins, but it will probably be closer than people think.
The other game is the previously mentioned Thursday showdown in Boone. App State has one of their biggest games of the season as they look to avenge their loss last season in Huntington. It was the worst offensive performance of the Mountaineers last season and I think they should rebound nicely in the first full home game for App State this season.
Conference Highlights
SMU @ TCU (American): I mentioned that I am unsure of where SMU will land this season in the American’s general hierarchy. While not a conference game, I think this rivalry game will be a true test for them. First of all, it’s for a skillet, which will never not be awesome. Second, the gap between TCU and SMU isn’t as grand as it has been in past years. I think SMU has a very good chance of winning.
UAB @ Tulane (C-USA): UAB has a knack of being a pretty good team, but very little aspirations to go beyond that. Now, I don’t think that’s the fault of Bill Clark and the players. I wonder where this game falls in that spectrum. Tulane has had a roller coaster season, from almost beating Oklahoma to getting spanked in the rain by Ole Miss. It’s hard to figure out either of these teams and this should be the perfect way to differentiate to the two teams
Toledo @ Ball State (MAC): I’ve been thinking for most of the pre-season and early part of this season that this could be a de facto Division Championship. However, both teams have struggled with some teams and enter 1-2 with other teams looming. Toledo appeared to be the team to come out of the MAC as recently as last week, but I have doubts. Ball State’s loss to Penn State doesn’t look as bad as they continue to rise, but their loss to Wyoming raises some eyebrows. Nonetheless, this will put one of these top two teams in the drivers’ seat as they take on the directional Michigan schools.
San Jose State @ Western Michigan (MWC): San Jose State has a weird schedule. After a slugfest in Hawaii ended around 1am Pacific, they have to travel back, practice, then fly to the East Coast against WMU. The Broncos could use this victory over the defending MWC Champions to catapult them into another season of contention in the MAC.
Louisiana @ Georgia Southern (Sun Belt): While not on the level of going into Austin, Louisiana has an interesting first test in conference. Georgia Southern isn’t as good as they could be with running the triple option, but it is different enough for the UL defense to be kept on their toes. If the Ragin Cajuns can put together four quarters of dominant play, I will have some more belief in their ability to win the Sun Belt.
Top Teams Roundup
Liberty plays one of the best teams they’ve placed thus far this season. Granted that isn’t saying much considering; Syracuse is the team Liberty is facing and they aren’t all that good. This is a game where Malik Willis looks good against a P5 team to boost his draft status and Liberty rolls. San Diego State, after a tough non-conference slate, finally gets a FCS opponent when Towson comes into town. BYU and Fresno State follow up their big wins this past weekend with some of the worst teams in college football. BYU hosts USF and Fresno State hosts the now Tate Martell-led (sort of) UNLV.
PJ.
Stop.
hahaha! I have to pull people in with the titles! Also until this game was over I had no idea what I was gonna title this but Fresno gave me a perfect opportunity to cash in on this title. No regrets
I’m a dad, and I approve these bad dad joke titles.
Also how can you not appreciate “Swinging from the Chanticleer”? That’s not just Power 5, not just NY6, that’s playoff caliber post-titling.
I got home from work Saturday at midnight my time, and thought I would check PAC12 after dark. So glad I did, that was an amazing end of the game, and Haener is my new hero. That hit he took was vicious, and he could barely get up, then he threw a TD next play and limped off field. A pro player wouldve gone directly to the tent and sat out the rest of the game. I hope he didnt seriously injure himself, but this is why i watch college football even when i dont have a horse in that game.
Yeah Heaney was amazing. Good thing he wasn’t playing for Purdue or we’d have been in the soup.