Only a few Group of Five teams have a shot at a New Year’s Six berth. The focus narrows on those contenders in the Week 13 Group of Five power rankings.
With Thanksgiving weekend on the horizon, we have a solid picture of where the Group of Five conferences stand. And at this point, only four teams really have a legitimate shot at playing in a New Year’s Six bowl game this year.
A four-way tie atop the Sun Belt standings neutralizes any of the threats, including a Troy team that took down LSU earlier this year. In Conference USA, Florida Atlantic and North Texas each have three losses as they prepare for their championship showdown. And with 7-5 Akron earning one spot in the MAC title game, neither Toledo nor Northern Illinois would get much of a boost by winning the conference crown.
That leaves a trio of American Athletic Conference hopefuls and the one team that could still usurp their shot at a major bowl. This week, the Group of Five power rankings scale down to take into account this reality. In the national picture, only four teams still matter in terms of the access point into the New Year’s Six.
Three are currently ranked by the College Football Playoff selection committee. The fourth is featured in both the Coaches and AP Top 25 polls and would slide into the CFP rankings with an upset this weekend. One is a clear frontrunner, and the others are trying to play catch-up. So let’s dive in deeper and take a closer look at each contender in the Group of Five power rankings ahead of Week 13 play.