Group of Five: 2017 college football Week 2 power rankings
By Zach Bigalke
Western Michigan showed that their 2016 success was predicated on far more than just head coach P.J. Fleck, quarterback Zach Terrell, and receiver Corey Davis. The defending MAC champions and the Group of Five participant in last year’s Cotton Bowl kept top-five USC on upset alert for most of their Saturday encounter.
On the road at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum, the Broncos managed to trade punches with the Trojans for most of the game. Western Michigan remained within four points of USC inside the final five minutes of the game. Two late touchdowns by the Trojans widened the final margin and obscured the real form of contest in California.
For the Broncos, almost its entire offensive focus was geared toward churning out hard yards on the ground. Western Michigan finished with 263 yards and two touchdowns as a team. LeVante Bellamy led the team with 102 yards on just nine carries, while veterans Jamauri Bogan and Jarvion Franklin saw the bulk of the carries.
Ultimately the Trojans simply had more firepower than Western Michigan in Week 1. But the Broncos acquitted themselves far better than most expected, and will enter their Week 2 showdown against Michigan State in East Lansing with confidence. While they missed the opportunity to take down both Rose Bowl conferences, a Big Ten statement win is still definitely on the table for a talented WMU team that is climbing up the Group of Five hierarchy in defeat.