Marshall, App State rule Week 3 Group of 5 college football rankings

Coastal Carolina drops in rankings after struggle vs Gardner Webb in Week 2

At No. 10, I have the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers. In Week 1, they had to go all the way down to the 3:01 mark in the fourth quarter before making it a two-possession game over Army. The Chants won in Week 2, but it was by just four points against an FCS team in Gardner-Webb. They were even trailing in the fourth quarter until QB Grayson McCall threw the go-ahead touchdown pass with 6:25 left in the game. Coastal Carolina has not convinced me they are a top-tier Sun Belt team just yet, which is why I’ve moved them back a few notches from last week’s No. 6 spot.

Sitting firm at No. 9, I have the SMU Mustangs. QB Tanner Mordecai is picking up right where he left off from last season in being an elite touchdown passer. He’s already got 7 TD passes through two games, despite having a new head coach at the helm. We’ll have a better idea of how good this team is after they take on Maryland from the Big Ten in Week 3.

Dropping down to No. 8, you’ll find the UCF Knights. I bought all the stock in UCF before the season started and expected big things from this Gus Malzahn-led team. They needed to reaffirm my convictions they are an elite Group of 5 team with a convincing win over Louisville— they did not.

This is a team that has a ton of offensive weapons: QB John Rhys Plumlee, RB Isaiah Bowser, RB Johnny Richardson, and WR Ryan O’Keefe. These four players combined for 208 rushing yards and 2 TDs vs the Cardinals, yet they continued to throw the ball. Plumlee finished 16/34 for 131 yards, 0 TDs, and 1 INT.

By the way, who had 0 total passing touchdowns in the UL-UCF game on their college football bingo card?

At No. 7, the UTSA Roadrunners drop a couple of spots at the expense of a few other teams who had spectacular Week 2 wins. The Roadrunners lost by two points in triple overtime in Week 1 and won by three in overtime in Week 2. UTSA was spectacular in close games last season, going 5-0 in games decided by 7 points or fewer. This year they’re 1-1. Have teams figured out how to hang with 2021’s Group of 5 college football darlings?

Coming in at No. 6 is Fresno State. The Bulldogs gave up 14 points in the final two minutes of the ball game, allowing jack-of-all-trades Beaver Jack Colletto to punch in a two-yard touchdown as time expired to defeat Fresno State for the first time since 2002. Things only get tougher for the Bulldogs here as they travel to face No. 7 USC in Week 3.