Group of 5 Top 4
For the most part, it was a good week for top Group of 5 teams. As with every team, there is still a lot to work on and improve upon, but most fan bases are just excited to have football back. Not a ton of movement in the Top 4, but there is plenty of potential in the next few weeks.
USF stays at the top simply because they haven't lost, but man have they tried. Two slow starts have everyone confused, and Quinton Flowers isn't getting the help he needs. If Charlie Strong wants to keep his team at the top, he needs to find a way to get his team going quicker. Struggling against San Jose State and Stony Brook doesn't spell good things for the future.
Usually a loss would move a team down or even out of the rankings, but not when you lose to a Power 5 team in a close game. Colorado State struggled to score against Colorado on Saturday, but this is still a good team. They will have to continue to win, but a 14 point loss isn't a dealbreaker. Oregon State's defense feels awful after watching the Rams score just three points against the Buffaloes when the Beavers defense surrendered 58.
Toledo used a new formula: Pass down the field and punch it in the endzone with a run. Logan Woodside threw for 314 yards against Elon, but did not record a touchdown pass. While it's not a cause for concern, it was interesting to see. Toledo now turns its attention to Nevada, who gave Northwestern a major scare in Week 1.
Well, Boise State is back.....err...still here. I was hesitant about the Broncos because of the turnover they experienced (and still am), but they pulled out a solid win over Troy. Their defense stifled the Trojans offense, and that was a big reason they came away with the 24-13 win. They will need an even better performance against another lethal passing game this week. Luke Falk and Washington State await, and the Cougars are much better at moving the ball than Troy.
Memphis struggled to put away UL-Monroe last week, but that had mostly to do with the weather. The defense is a concern, and will need to be much better this week against a UCF team that just put up 61 points. San Diego State rode the Rashaad Penny train all the way to an easy victory over UC-Davis. Penny is the heir to Donnel Pumphrey's throne at running back, and started with 196 yard-two touchdown performance. Houston's game was canceled so they were dropped from the rankings, and will start their season with Arizona.
