Group of Five Power Rankings, Week 4: I-4 rivals lead New Year’s Six race
By Zach Bigalke
The Group of Five hierarchy was turned upside down in a wild weekend. Upsets galore were engineered both by and against New Year’s Six hopefuls in Week 3.
It was a wild weekend for teams outside of the Power Five. Some made life miserable for opponents from bigger conferences, as seven different Group of Five squads knocked off their Power Five opponents this weekend. San Diego State became the first mid-major program of the season to defeat a ranked opponent, as they took down No. 23 Arizona State at home on Saturday night in #Pac12AfterDark action.
The other six statement wins all came away from home. North Texas obliterated Arkansas in Fayetteville, more than doubling up the score in a 44-17 defeat. South Florida followed up its defeat of Georgia Tech by surviving against Illinois, knocking off the Illini in a close 25-19 battle in a neutral-site contest at Soldier Field in Chicago.
Up the Lake Michigan coastline in Evanston, Northwestern fell 39-34 to Akron. Nevada survived a comeback bid by Oregon State to win 37-35 in Corvallis. Troy knocked off a Power Five opponent for the second straight year with a 24-19 takedown of Nebraska, while Fresno State toppled UCLA 38-14 on Saturday night in the Rose Bowl.
Of course, that meant 17 Group of Five teams lost. (Three games — No. 18 UCF at North Carolina, East Carolina at No. 13 Virginia Tech, and Marshall at South Carolina — were canceled due to Hurricane Florence.) Among the biggest upsets sustained by Group of Five teams were No. 17 Boise State’s loss at No. 24 Oklahoma State in a Top 25 showdown, Houston’s stumble in Lubbock in a 63-49 shootout loss at Texas Tech, and San Jose State’s 35-22 loss at No. 20 Oregon.
The slew of great results coupled with the big upsets at the top of the Group of Five pecking order means there will be a new order of operations in this week’s power rankings. Keep reading to see the top 10 teams in the race for the Group of Five’s automatic bid into a New Year’s Six bowl and the upset threats in Week 4 contests.