Who’s No. 1 in our 2022 preseason Group of Five football power rankings?

Fresno State gets the nod for my top-ranked Mountain West team to start the 2022 college football season.

Star quarterback Jake Haener returns after slinging the ball for 4,096 yards and 33 touchdowns in 2021. He’ll enjoy the services of returning receiver Jalen Cropper, who pulled in 11 touchdowns last season for Fresno State.

Head coach Jeff Tedford returns after a two-year health-related absence to coach the Bulldogs. All the pieces are in place for the Bulldogs to be an elite team. If they can upset No. 14 USC in Week 3, this team might leapfrog their way to the top of the Group of Five power rankings.

How will head coach Jeff Traylor and the UTSA Roadrunners follow up their magical 2021 season that saw them go from virtual nobodies to Group of Five darlings all within a matter of weeks?

Their 12-2 record enabled them to be ranked as high as No. 15 last season, before dropping their final regular season game against North Texas and losing the Frisco Bowl to San Diego State.

Traylor will enjoy an offense that returns dual-threat quarterback Frank Harris and gets a boost from Arkansas transfer running back Trelon Smith.

The Roadrunners will find out quickly what they’re made of as they have a difficult early schedule against Houston, Army, and Texas.

Year 1 of Gus Malzahn at Central Florida was a resounding success, where he was reunited with his former athletic director from Arkansas State, Terry Mohajir. The Knights went 9-4 and capped off the new era by winning the Gasparilla Bowl against the mighty Florida Gators.

Year 2 looks to be even better with Ole Miss transfer John Rhys Plumlee taking over for Mikey Keene at quarterback. Keene was impressive as a true freshman in 2021, but Plumlee has too many weapons and too much athleticism to deny him a starting opportunity.

Leaning on returning running back Isaiah Bowser will be a nice luxury for this offense. He’s a hard-nosed back that had a great year, despite nagging injuries. He balled out against the Gators in the bowl game, posting 155 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 35 carries.

UCF has a ton of talent on both sides of the ball, but tough contests versus Louisville and Cincinnati will shape the Knights’ season in 2022.

Houston is going to push Cincinnati hard for the top spot in my rankings each week as long as returning quarterback Clayton Tune stays healthy and continues his stellar play from 2021.

The Cougars have a little bit easier schedule than Cincinnati, my No. 1 team entering the 2022 season, but head coach Dana Holgorsen is not taking anything lightly.

His excellent offseason and terrific 12-win season helped the Cougars earn the No. 24 spot in the preseason AP Top 25.

Expect true freshman wide receiver Matthew Golden to be an immediate contributor on offense to help offset opposing teams focusing on one of Tune’s favorite 2021 targets, Nathaniel Dell.

If they can survive early tests against UTSA and Texas Tech, they may have a shot at going undefeated during the regular season. Watch out.

Luke Fickell looks to lead the Cincinnati Bearcats back to prominence after becoming the first ever Group of Five team to make it to the College Football Playoff in 2021. His year-over-year success caught the eye of numerous Power Five teams as they did their best to court him to be their respective team’s head coach.

Fickell passed on those opportunities and is now armed with a new long-term contract extension, a date to join the Big 12, and the No. 23 ranked team in the Preseason AP Top 25. Despite losing an incredible nine players to the 2022 NFL Draft (the third-most of any team in all of college football), the Bearcats have reloaded and will be a force in 2022.

Linebacker Deshawn Pace is a superstar in the making for the Bearcats. He’ll anchor a defense that will face tough bouts against Arkansas, Miami (OH), and UCF.