College Football: Group of Five Week 7 power rankings

After losing to UCF on the road last week, Memphis continued its swing away from the friendly confines of the Liberty Bowl in Week 6. The trip to Connecticut proved much more fruitful than the visit to Orlando, as the Tigers took down UConn in a dominant 70-31 rout. Now 4-1 on the season, Memphis returns to the Group of Five Power Rankings this week after falling out with the defeat to the Knights a week ago.

Riley Ferguson had a mind-blowing day throwing the ball, finishing 34-of-48 for 431 yards and seven passing touchdowns. Ferguson didn’t even play a full game, as he exited the game after three ridiculously prolific quarters of play. His understudy, David Moore, came in and went 5-of-7 for 49 yards and another passing touchdown.

But the Memphis offense wasn’t exclusively an aerial attack. Doroland Dorceus racked up 22 carries for 122 yards and two touchdowns, leading a team effort on the ground that yielded an additional 231 yards. The Tigers finished with over 700 yards of offense while holding UConn to “just” 477 yards when they had the ball.

The next two weeks will determine whether Memphis is a pretender or a contender in the AAC West. Undefeated and newly-ranked Navy comes to the Liberty Bowl next Saturday, and if the Tigers take down the Midshipmen they follow it up with a visit to Houston. Win both, and they will be right back in the hunt for a New Year’s Six berth.