Who’s The Next Group of Five Contender?
2023 kicks off a huge season of change at the Group of Five level.
The age of the BCS Buster are long gone, but they set the stage for the future of college football.
Teams like Boise State, Utah, and TCU led the charge in getting the “little guys” noticed at the big-time level. Now, there is nothing to bust. The Group of Five has an automatic bid into the New Year’s Six bowl games. They’ve even managed to parlay that into a College Football Playoff appearance thanks to undefeated Cincinnati in 2021.
Things get even better for the Group of Five in 2024 when one program is guaranteed a spot in the brand new 12-team College Football Playoff. Will that team be disrespected at the highest level and always get the 12 seed just because they’re not Power Five? Or will they get whatever seed they truly earn? That remains to be seen.
Here’s some even better news for the G5: the race is about to be as wide open as wide open gets.
Why is that? With the exception of Boise State, most perennial G5 powers are now in the Power Five, and you know Boise’s time is coming. TCU and Utah have long been with the Power Five. Former Playoff team Cincinnati has joined the Big 12, as has fellow former-AAC members Houston, who defeated Penn State in the 2015 Peach Bowl, as well as UCF, who has appeared in both the 2018 Peach and 2014 & 2019 Fiesta Bowls.
In fact, since the College Football Playoff’s New Year’s Six system was introduced with Group of Five participation guaranteed in 2014, Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF have combined for four of ten New Year’s Six appearances.
BYU, whose status between the Power Five and Group of Five varied depending on who you asked, is off to the Big 12 as well. San Diego State, a consistent Mountain West contender that hasn’t made it to January 1 yet, sent the Mountain West their notice that they intend to leave in the future, presumably to the Pac-12. You’d have to think the Pac-12 isn’t going to just add one team. Boise State and SMU seem like the two most likely candidates.
That’s a lot of change. But in college football, change is opportunity.
Who will grab that brass ring that hasn’t already reached those heights? Maybe not in 2023, but over the next few years, these five teams are the ones to watch. Plus, one outside-the-box team, and you’ll understand why I say that.