College Football: Group of Five Week 6 power rankings

Navy stayed in the top five of the Group of Five Power Rankings with a comfortable-enough win on the road at Tulsa in Week 5. The Midshipmen racked up 421 rushing yards and four touchdowns to prevail 31-21 against the Golden Hurricane. As a result, Ken Niumatalolo‘s team moved to 4-0 and already have three wins in American Athletic Conference play.

The victorious effort was led by option quarterback Zach Abey, who completed three of his four passes for 90 yards but did most of his damage on the ground. Abey finished with 185 yards and three touchdowns on three dozen carries. Sophomore running back Malcolm Perry added another 104 rushing yards and a touchdown on just 10 carries. Chris High nearly joined Abey and Perry in triple digits, finishing with 89 rushing yards.

Tulsa quarterback Chad President did his best Abey impression in a vain attempt to keep the Golden Hurricane in the game. President threw for 115 yards and a touchdown on 12-of-18 passing, and added another 151 rushing yards and a touchdown on a dozen carries. But it wasn’t enough, as the rest of the Tulsa team was held to just 78 yards on 27 plays.

Navy missed out on a chance to host College GameDay for the first time in school history when the ESPN show chose TCU-West Virginia over the service academy showdown with Air Force. Even so, the game against the Falcons in the battle for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy will help set the tone for where the Midshipmen are headed in the Group of Five race.