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Group of Five: Week 8 Access Bowl Power Rankings

By Zach Bigalke

Oct 20, 2016; Boise, ID, USA; Boise State Broncos wide receiver Cedrick Wilson (1) catches a touchdown pass Brigham Young Cougars defensive back Micah Hannemann (7) tries to defend during first half action at Albertsons Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 20, 2016; Boise, ID, USA; Boise State Broncos wide receiver Cedrick Wilson (1) catches a touchdown pass Brigham Young Cougars defensive back Micah Hannemann (7) tries to defend during first half action at Albertsons Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brian Losness-USA TODAY Sports /
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Oct 22, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; SMU Mustangs defensive back Horace Richardson (9) breaks up the pass to Houston Cougars wide receiver Steven Dunbar (88) during the second quarter at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports
Oct 22, 2016; Dallas, TX, USA; SMU Mustangs defensive back Horace Richardson (9) breaks up the pass to Houston Cougars wide receiver Steven Dunbar (88) during the second quarter at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Ray Carlin-USA TODAY Sports /

Houston plummeted from #11 all the way out of the AP Top 25 this week after losing by three touchdowns at SMU. The Mustang defense sacked Greg Ward Jr. seven times on Saturday as the quarterback was rendered immobile. The Cougars completely failed to get their running game going as Duke Catalon finished with just 54 yards. SMU played a disciplined game, scoring the first three touchdowns and showing poise late in the first half to take a 28-7 lead into halftime. Little did they know they wouldn’t even need that many points to pull off the upset.

As a result Houston likely fell completely out of the Group of Five race. The Cougars would need Navy to lose three times in its final four conference games to even have a chance at the division title. Tom Herman’s team would also need Tulsa to lose once more. Running the table from here isn’t inconceivable, but Houston will almost certainly be the underdog when Louisville comes to town on November 17 and is by no means guaranteed to take down Memphis at the Liberty Bowl in the regular-season finale.

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