Group of Five Power Rankings, Week 10: Several favorites stumble

Boise State managed to fend off an upset-hungry BYU team on Saturday, as the defense came up with a goal-line stand in the waning seconds to prevail over the Cougars in a 21-16 victory. The Broncos ran out to an early lead in the first quarter, before allowing BYU to chip away at that advantage throughout the rest of the contest.

In the win, Brett Rypien threw for 215 yards with a touchdown and an interception on 23-of-35 passing. It was an underwhelming performance, as the quarterback struggled to push the ball downfield consistently. The BYU secondary definitely had the advantage for much of the evening, and the Cougars defense also held running back Alexander Mattison to 89 yards on 25 carries. (Mattison, though, did rack up a pair of rushing touchdowns.)

With games against both Fresno State and Utah State over the next three weeks, Boise State has the chance to vault back up into the Mountain West title picture. Given their lingering presence as the biggest 21st-century brand name among Group of Five programs, the Broncos have received the benefit of the doubt from the committee before and could yet again in 2018.