College Football: Group of Five Week 7 power rankings

Navy leapfrogs over dormant Troy this week after moving to 5-0 on the season in a service academy showdown against Air Force. The two military schools met in Annapolis and played one of the most dramatic finishes possible. After giving up a go-ahead score inside the final two minutes, the Midshipmen came back and scored with 15 seconds remaining to prevail 48-45 at home.

Ken Niumatalolo‘s defense conceded over 600 yards to the Falcon in the shootout. But quarterback Zach Abey threw two touchdown passes in addition to rushing for 214 yards and two scores, and the Midshipmen averaged 8.3 yards per carry on the ground as a team. For the day, Navy ran for 471 yards and four scores as they survived the tense contest.

Navy now has a lead in the battle for the Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy, which they could lock up with a win over Army on the second weekend of December. They also sit a game ahead of Houston in the AAC West standings, with three conference wins already on the resume.

The schedule stiffens up immensely over the next two months, as Navy faces Memphis and UCF before its bye week. Once November starts, the Midshipmen square off against Temple in a rematch of last year’s AAC title game before taking on Notre Dame and Houston on the road. If they can get through the back half of the schedule undefeated, the Midshipmen will have a strong case to earn the Group of Five bid into a New Year’s Six bowl.