Group of Five Power Rankings: Houston leads on Championship Week

Nov 27, 2015; Houston, TX, USA; Houston Cougars head coach Tom Herman holds up the AAC West Division Champion Trophy after the Cougars defeated the Navy Midshipmen 52-31 at TDECU Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-USA TODAY Sports

The Group of Five power rankings sees Houston reclaim the top spot after beating Navy.

A number of top teams lost last week, which means the rankings are shaken up a bit entering the last week of the season.

The biggest win among the Group of Five teams last week was Tom Herman leading the Houston Cougars to a blowout win against the Navy Midshipmen to win the division and get to the AAC Championship Game against the Temple Owls.

Temple beat South Florida to set up the showdown between and can spoil the New Year’s Six bowl as reports of head coach Matt Rhule could be in the running for the Missouri job. Could this serve as a distraction for his team on the heels of Houston agreeing ‘in principle’ to a new deal to keep Herman?

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And to think the preseason favorite to take this bowl bid would have been Boise State, but they have been a disappointment with a 5-3 conference record in the Mountain West and a 8-4 overall record. The Broncos should be back next year but the American Athletic Conference is the best conference in the Group of Five.

Navy blossomed behind record-breaking quarterback Keenan Reynolds and was the top contender last week before falling at Houston on Saturday. Now Houston retakes the top spot, but will they remain number one here going into bowl season?

One big surprise team that has risen through the ranks is New Mexico, which is one of the teams that just missed the cut for the top 10. Bob Davie’s New Mexico team defeated Boise State as the visiting team and then won against division champ Air Force last weekend.

This year is the first since 2007 that New Mexico has been bowl eligible with a 7-5 record.

Missed the cut: Georgia Southern, Boise State, Marshall, New Mexico, NIU, Air Force

Next: Begin Power Rankings