College Football: Group of Five Week 6 power rankings

SMU continued its resurgence on Saturday in Connecticut, knocking off the Huskies 49-28 on the road to move to 4-1 on the season. The Mustangs had a hard time containing UConn quarterback Bryant Shirreffs, who threw for 408 yards and two touchdowns while completing 22 of his 28 passing attempts.

But the defense made their hosts one-dimensional, as the Huskies finished with negative rushing yardage on three dozen carries. Ben Hicks didn’t put up as many passing yards as his counterpart, but the SMU quarterback threw four touchdown passes to pace his team to its first AAC victory of the season.

The Mustangs ground game got a solid day from running backs Braeden West, Xavier Jones, and Ke’Mon Freeman. Each member of the loaded backfield had a rushing touchdown against UConn, and the team combined for 218 rushing yards to run away with victory. They offered a level of offensive balance that was lacking for Connecticut all day long.

SMU’s only loss so far this season came against a top-10 TCU team in the Battle for the Iron Skillet. That defeat won’t keep the Mustangs out of New Year’s Six contention in the Group of Five race as long as they keep winning in AAC play. SMU remains on the road this weekend for a major showdown with Houston in a game that could potentially decide the division race.