Group of Five Power Rankings, Week 8: Undefeated UTSA continues to surprise

Several teams in our Group of Five power rankings lost in Week 7, reshaping the entire G5 landscape going into Week 8 of college football.

A ton of exciting games among Group of Five teams means there is a lot of movement in this week’s power rankings. The Mountain West conference leads this week’s rankings with four teams appearing in the Top 20.

We have a couple of new teams making their first appearances of the season in our power rankings and that’s Ball State and Northern Illinois from the Mid-American Conference.

Wyoming (16), UCF (17), and Boise State (18) all dropped out of the Group of Five Power Rankings this week.

This week, an impressive 10 teams in our power rankings are ranked or have received votes in the AP Top 25 and/or USA Today Coaches Poll.

Let’s take a look at who’s rising and falling in our Group of Five Power Rankings this week.

AP Top-25 Ranking: N/A
USA Today Coaches Poll Ranking: N/A

Week 7 Status: Won 38-31 @ Eastern Michigan

The Ball State Cardinals got off to a 1-3 start to the season, but have since found their groove. During their three-game winning streak, Ball State earned a quality win over Army and defeated two strong conference opponents in Western Michigan and Eastern Michigan. Senior Justin Hall is an absolute weapon and a big reason Ball State is enjoying a resurgence mid-way through the season. He’s the team’s leading receiver and third-leading rusher. He’s recorded 474 receiving yards and 3 touchdowns, plus 137 yards on the ground with 3 touchdowns.

AP Top-25 Ranking: N/A
USA Today Coaches Poll Ranking: N/A

Week 7 Status: Won 64-31 vs Kent State

Western Michigan played their best game of the season, putting up a season-high 64 points. That’s the most points the Broncos have put up since their seven-overtime thriller against Buffalo on Oct. 7, 2017, when they put up 71 points. It’s kind of wild that Western Michigan nearly eclipsed that number using regulation time only. The Broncos bounced back nicely after losing to Ball State two weeks ago.

AP Top-25 Ranking: N/A
USA Today Coaches Poll Ranking: N/A

Week 7 Status: Won 34-26 vs Bowling Green

Northern Illinois is the best team in the Mid-American Conference so far this season, using a four-game winning streak to propel them to the top. A win over Power Five foe Georgia Tech to start the 2021 season was followed by a tough loss to a good Wyoming team and a blowout to ranked Michigan. Since then, they’ve been on a roll. The team has accumulated more than 1,600 rushing yards this season, led by Harrison Waylee with 574 yards. The team has an astonishing five players with 200 or more total rushing yards this season.

AP Top-25 Ranking: N/A
USA Today Coaches Poll Ranking: N/A

Week 7 Status: Lost 13-41 @ Louisiana

Appalachian State had no room for another loss if they wished to push Coastal Carolina for Sun Belt Conference supremacy. They lost to Miami in Week 2 by just two points and got blown out in Week 7 by the Ragin’ Cajuns. The Mountaineers still have a flicker of hope — if they can upset Coastal Carolina this week. Even then they’ll need help from another team to give Coastal Carolina another loss later in the season. Appalachian State gets knocked down considerably this week since they were blown out.

AP Top-25 Ranking: N/A
USA Today Coaches Poll Ranking: N/A

Week 7 Status: Lost 14-20 @ Wisconsin

Army got off to a 4-0 start to the 2021 college football season, but have since come back down to Earth with two straight losses. One to Ball State (by 12 points) and last week to Wisconsin (by 6). Army hasn’t looked terrible in their two losses, but will face another tough test this week when they host No. 16 Wake Forest at home.