It’s been a crazy couple of weeks for the Group of Five the past couple of weeks. First off, I wanna say that I was on the road and sick last week, so that was why I didn’t have a list for you all. Second of all, with all of the crazy results this week, there isn’t going to be a tier list, only because I had so much trouble trying to slot teams into areas that didn’t seem to quite fit for them. So, for the final week without a firm top ten, I am going to reset the conferences before they firmly dive into conference play. This time, we’re going to try and dive into the conferences by the chances their champion makes the NY6. I also added games for this upcoming week that are worth noting for the conference. 

Sun Belt

The Sun Belt is the most interesting conference to me right now. App State, as you already know by now, beat Texas A&M and Troy in spectacular fashion. Between those results and the Louisiana loss to Rice, now appears to be head and shoulders above the rest of the Sun Belt. Coastal, who is still unbeaten, is the biggest challenger with Marshall looming in the Sun Belt East. The West is Louisiana’s to lose, but South Alabama appears to be thriving and making a move up the pecking order. I’m not sure if this year is the year for the Jaguars, but it’s something to look at this season.

Notable Week 4 Games: Coastal @ Ga State (Thurs), James Madison @ App State, Marshall @ Troy

The American

The American, unlike the past couple of seasons, seems wide open for the taking. Cincinnati has looked more human than ever under Luke Fickell. They survived Miami (OH) this weekend and already have a loss to Arkansas on their record. Houston has losses to two future Big 12 teams Texas Tech and Kansas. The lone unbeaten team is Tulane, who is coming off an upset win over Kansas State. It’s hard to figure out who would be the favorite other than Cincinnati and Houston. The second tier appears to be Tulane, UCF, and SMU with a potential East Carolina spoiler looming.

Notable Week 4 Games: TCU @ SMU, Rice @ Houston, Indiana @ Cincinnati, Southern Miss @ Tulane

Mountain West

The Mountain West, much like The American, also looks wide open. However, compared to the American, it feels like there are two top teams, one on the next level, and then everyone else. Fresno State, despite it’s two losses to USC and Oregon State, appears to be firmly in the pole position for the West Division. The Mountain Division comes down to a showdown with Boise State and Air Force. However, with Wyoming’s win over the Falcons, they will surely have something to say as well. The rest of the MWC is average to good. Someone will very clearly rise to the top of the heap, but it’s hard to see who it will be at this early juncture.

Notable Week 4 Games: Toledo @ San Diego St, Nevada @ Air Force

C-USA

Nothing has really changed for me in terms of the status quo for the C-USA. This is probably a two team race between UAB and UTSA. Western Kentucky is looming too, but I think they are going to need some help to get to the Championship Game. UAB and UTSA have both looked good even in defeat already this season. Western Kentucky looked good against Indiana, but could not close the door on the shakiest 3-0 team in the Power 5.

Notable Week 4 Games: Louisiana Tech @ South Alabama, Florida Atlantic @ Purdue

MAC

The MAC is almost assuredly not going to get close to the NY6, but their races should be interesting to track. Eastern Michigan has the big win for the conference on the season, essentially firing Herm Edwards in Tempe. They will have to battle advanced stats darling Toledo, Central Michigan and Northern Illinois for MAC West. The MAC East  appears to be once again a two horse race between Miami (OH) and Kent State. Unlike last season, this matchup happens on October 8th, so we’ll have better clarity then.

Notable Week 4 Games: Buffalo @ Eastern Michigan, Miami (OH) @ Northwestern