Group of Five: Week 7 Access Bowl Power Rankings

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Oct 15, 2016; Tampa, FL, USA; South Florida Bulls running back Marlon Mack (5) leaps over his own man on the way to the end zone to score as Connecticut Huskies linebacker Matthew Walsh (36) and Connecticut Huskies linebacker Cameron Stapleton (10) during the second half of a football game at Raymond James Stadium USF won 48-27. Mandatory Credit: Reinhold Matay-USA TODAY Sports /

Unlike all of the convoluted scenarios that could still play out in the AAC West, South Florida has a relatively clear path to winning the East and playing in the conference championship. The Bulls easily beat Connecticut in Week 7, holding the Huskies to 72 rushing yards and 4-of-14 in third-down conversions. The defense bailed out the Bulls, on a day when USF lost the time-of-possession battle, coughed up two fumbles, and saw Quinton Flowers throw two picks. But Flowers also threw for 213 yards and two scores while adding 157 yards and three touchdowns on the ground. Marion Mack also rushed for over 100 yards on the day, as the Bulls now rank eighth nationally in rushing yards per game.

South Florida has just two division games left. The first comes next week when they face Temple in Philadelphia. The second comes in the regular-season finale on Thanksgiving weekend when the Bulls are at home to face UCF. In between those two games, they have tricky tests against Navy and at Memphis along with a road game at SMU. The dominant statement win over Syracuse looks better after the Orangemen knocked off Virginia Tech last weekend. Their only loss was to Florida State, hardly a death knell for a Group of Five team with New Year’s Six aspirations. If they manage to win out and claim the AAC title, the Bulls will be right in the thick of the CFP committee’s deliberations.

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