Around the Group of Five: Week 7
The Group of Five continues to be a roller coaster ride to the end of the season, with the New Year’s Six bid still up for grabs. It seems like anyone’s race, with this week potentially being a week to separate teams from the rest of the pack.
The Sun Belt has been an interesting conference to watch, with two undefeated teams in the conference going into Saturday, but upsets were present in one of the most competitive conferences in college football. James Madison and Coastal Carolina both entered the week undefeated, but both fell victim to upsets.
James Madison entered last week ranked in the top-25, but were unable to escape Statesboro, GA, as the Dukes fell to Georgia Southern 45-38. The Dukes were the feel-good story in the conference, as it was their debut season in the FBS, but the inability to stop the pass caught up to them this week.
Georgia Southern quarterback Kyle Vantrease threw for 578 yards and four touchdowns, including a game-winner with 1:10 left in the fourth quarter. James Madison will look to bounce back next week when they host a tough Marshall squad.
The Chanticleers were manhandled by Old Dominion from start-to-finish, as the Monarchs won on the road 49-21. The Monarchs gashed Coastal Carolina on the ground, rushing for 324 yards and four rushing touchdowns.
As the Chanticleers drop their first game of the season, Old Dominion remains undefeated in conference play. The Monarchs return home this week to host Georgia Southern, with their service dog in training Hudson returning to the sidelines to support the squad.
Shifting throughout the rest of the conferences, the American has positioned themselves in a strong way to get themselves a bid in the New Year’s Six. The American is the only conference in the group with a ranked team, and they have two of them.
The conference has been dominated by Cincinnati over the last few years, and they are sitting at the top of the standings currently, and ranked No. 21 in the AP Poll.The Bearcats only loss of the season came on the road in week one against Arkansas, and since then the Bearcats have just found ways to win.
The Bearcats are rested and at 5-1 coming off of a bye, with a trip to Dallas to take on SMU on Saturday.
The surprise of the American has to be Tulane, who is ranked No. 25 in the latest AP Poll. The Green Wave are led by star quarterback Michael Pratt, who has been strong in the first half of the season.
Pratt is completing over 67% of his passes, and has a remarkable passer rating of 165.1. If Pratt continues to play at this high level, do not be surprised if the Green Wave are right in the thick of the American race at the end of the year.
The race to the New Year’s Six will continue to heat up as the season goes on, and fans should just be ready to ride the wave to the end of this journey.
Adam Sheetz is a third-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, email ads360@psu.edu.
