Around the Group of Five: Week 11

Story posted November 16, 2022 in CommRadio, Sports by Adam Sheetz

The Group of Five hosted one of the top matchups in the nation when UCF and Tulane squared off in New Orleans, and it lived up to the hype.

The Knights knocked off the Green Wave 38-31, and moved into the driver’s seat for first place in the American.

With the win over Tulane and a huge win over Cincinnati early in the year, the Knights are in perfect position to represent the Group of Five in the New Year’s Six.

The Knights received great play from quarterback John Rhys Plumlee, who accounted for 308 yards and three touchdowns. Plumlee was most impressive on the ground, rushing for 176 yards on a 9.8 yards per carry.

The UCF defense was also sensational, forcing two turnovers from the explosive Green Wave offense. The Knights moved up to No. 20 in the College Football Playoff rankings, and control their own destiny to the New Year’s Six this year.

Even with the loss however, Tulane is still in great position as well. The Green Wave sit at No. 21 in the latest CFP rankings, and still control their own destiny in the American race.

Tulane sits at 8-2 on the season, with a huge race to match up at the end of the season against Cincinnati. The Green Wave can still find themselves in the American title game on Championship weekend, and with a revenge win over UCF could be back in New Year’s Six
consideration.

The game between the Green Wave and the Bearcats game will most likely set up who will take on UCF in the American Championship. All three teams sit at 5-1 in conference play, and with UCF holding the tiebreaker over both teams, expect the finish to the American race to be electric.

Meanwhile in the Sun Belt, Coastal Carolina is perfectly set to represent the East division in the Sun Belt title game. The Chanticleers are 9-1 on the season, and are looking ahead to their huge matchup with James Madison on November 26.

The Chanticleers will not play this week after Virginia canceled the game against Coastal Carolina due to the shooting on the Virgina campus that killed three Cavaliers players. The Chanticleers will look to shift their focus to the Dukes in their regular season finale.

Even with some of the conference’s being out of the New Year’s Six race, there still are plenty of teams looking to lock up a conference title in 2022.

In Conference-USA, the Roadrunners of UTSA sit at 8-2 on the season and a perfect 6-0 in conference play. The Roadrunners have been led by senior quarterback Frank Harris, who has been on a tear this season.

Harris has thrown for an impressive 3,039 yards and 22 touchdowns, and has been the catalyst for the Roadrunners attack in 2022.

With the regular season winding down, the Group of Five continues to surge on with great play and huge games as Championship weekend looms.

Adam Sheetz is a junior majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ads360@psu.edu.

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Adam Sheetz

Junior / Broadcast Journalism

Adam Sheetz is a third year student from Reedsville, Pennsylvania majoring in broadcast journalism. He has been a broadcaster for WCHX 105.5 FM in Mifflin County covering high school sports. He has also been a member of CommRadio since his first semester at Penn State, being involved in both the Arts and Sports departments. Adam has extensive experience in a play-by-play setting within CommRadio, covering football, basketball, baseball, softball, soccer and volleyball for the station. He has done written content for CommRadio ranging from Penn State football articles all the way to discussing Disney Channel movies. To contact Adam, email .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address) or .(JavaScript must be enabled to view this email address).