Group of Five: 2017 college football Week 2 power rankings

There is really only one thing keeping Memphis firm at No. 3 in the Group of Five Power Rankings ahead of Western Kentucky and Toledo. That is the fact that the Tigers’ first win of the year came against a fellow Group of Five school instead of an FCS opponent. Mike Norvell’s team prevailed over Louisiana-Monroe in front of just 10,000 fans on a Thursday night opener in the Liberty Bowl, but it was a win over a Sun Belt school.

What was most disconcerting about the Memphis performance was the abject inability to get any consistent passing game going at home. Riley Ferguson finished 10-of-25 for 97 yards and an interception. The Warhawks held Memphis to less than one-third of its season average as a top-15 passing attack in 2016. It was a rare dud of a performance for the veteran quarterback.

At least the running game was running smoothly for the Tigers. Darrell Henderson led the team with 169 yards and two touchdowns on 12 carries. Right behind him was Patrick Taylor Jr. with 131 yards and a score on 15 rushes. And though Ferguson had no passing touchdowns, he did rush for the fourth Memphis touchdown.

All in all, the Tigers are still a work in progress. Two late touchdowns made the score closer than it really was for most of the game, and Memphis remains the favorite in the AAC West at this point. They take on UCF in Orlando next weekend in a duel of rising AAC programs, then welcome comeback kings UCLA to the Liberty Bowl on September 16.