Around the Group of 5 Week 11: UNT to Test Undefeated Army

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In today’s college football, there are 134 Football Bowl Subdivision schools. Those schools are broken up into 10 conferences, nine if you don’t count the Pac 12/2 as a freestanding conference this season. There are currently four Power Conferences: the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the Big Ten Conference (B1G), the Big 12 Conference (Big 12) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). These conferences house the best groups of teams in college football.

But there are also excellent programs in the Group of 5 conferences. Those conferences, nicknamed the G-5, are the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA (CUSA), the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the Mountain West Conference (MWC) and the Sun Belt Conference (SBC).

Each week, I will go over the top game from each of the G-5 conferences. See below for games you may not have had much interest in but should!

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AAC

No. 25 Army (8-0, 6-0) at North Texas (5-3, 2-2), 3:30 p.m. EST, Nov. 9, Denton, Texas, ESPN2

Another week and another Army win. However, the win over Air Force was not like the others. The Black Knights lost star quarterback Bryson Daily before the start of last week’s Air Force game to an undisclosed illness/injury. Daily’s status is still unknown, but head coach Jeff Monken updated the media on Nov. 5. He said that Daily was making progress and hoped to have him back practicing by the end of the week. Without Daily, Army’s offense struggled, only accounting for 255 total yards, well below their average heading into the game… The Army defense stepped up to guide the team to victory, sacking Air Force quarterbacks six times… The North Texas Mean Green have the second-best passing offense in the country. Head coach Eric Morris’ arial attack averages 371.6 yards per game… QB Chandler Morris is fourth in the country with 2,873 yards and 26 TDs… Wideout DT Sheffield has 51 catches and 690 yards. He is tied for second in the nation with 10 receiving TDs… The North Texas defense has been scorched for 36.88 points per game, tied for 127th in the country. Where the North Texas defense will be tested this week is in the run game. The Mean Green gives up an average of 177.4 rushing yards per game. That is not a good formula going against the Black Knights… The Black Knights were ranked No. 25 in the first College Football Playoff rankings released Nov. 5… Army opened up as a 4-point favorite and that line has jumped to between 5.5 and 6.5 points on most betting sites.

Conference USA

Jacksonville State (5-3, 4-0) at Louisiana Tech (3-5, 2-3), 4:30 p.m. EST, Nov. 9, Ruston, La., CBSSN

Rich Rodriguez’s Jacksonville State Gamecocks are lighting up the scoreboard. The Gamecocks are 11th in the country averaging 38.6 points per game… Running back Tre Stewart has rushed for 914 yards and is sixth in the country with 15 TDs… QB Tyler Huff is second on the team with 784 rushing yards and 8 TDs… The Gamecocks’ defense has been leaky, giving up 28.25 points per game and 191.0 rushing yards per game… It’s been a rough season for Sonny Cumbie and the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs. The offense has struggled to move the ball and score points. The Bulldogs are ranked over 100 in the nation in both scoring offense and total offense… The passing game is one of the bright spots on offense. WR Tru Edwards leads the team with 46 catches for 566 yards and 4 TDs…

The defense, on the other hand, has been very good. Louisiana Tech gives up only 302.1 yards and 20.0 points per game. This will be a strength versus strength game as the Bulldogs are 28th in the nation in rush defense, giving up 112.0 yards per game… Jacksonville State opened as a 10-point favorite and for the most part that line has stayed the same.

MAC

Northern Illinois (4-4, 1-3) at Western Michigan (5-3, 4-0), 7:00 p.m. EST, Nov. 6, Kalamazoo, Mich., ESPN2

WOW, have the tides turned! Just one month ago, the Northern Illinois Huskies were on top of the world. The Huskies pulled off one of the biggest upsets in program history, getting a road win at Notre Dame. Northern Illinois has gone 2-4 since that win in Week 2… The offense has struggled to score, only averaging 23.4 points per game… RB Antario Brown has rushed for 516 yards and 4 TDs… Head coach Thomas Hammock’s Northern Illinois’ defense is fourth in the country in third-down defense with a rate of 25.7 percent… Four different Huskies have at least 4 sacks this season… In contrast to their Northern Illinois opponents, Lance Taylor’s Western Michigan Broncos have a very good offense. The Broncos average 34.0 points per game and 209.0 rushing yards per game. Both totals are in the top 30 in the country… RB Jaden Nixon leads the team with 752 rushing yards and 10 TDs… Eleven different Broncos have recorded a rushing attempt… The defense has been leaky, giving up 33.75 points per game and 430.6 yards per game… If Western Michigan can effectively run the ball, and convert on third downs, then it will be a long day for the Huskies… Western Michigan opened as a 1.5-point favorite, but many sportsbooks have flipped to Northern Illinois giving either 1.5 or 2 points.

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Mountain West

UNLV (6-2, 2-1) at Hawai’i (4-5, 2-2), 9:00 p.m. EST, Nov. 9, Honolulu, Hawai'i, CBSSN

UNLV opened as a 13-point road favorite and that spread has remained steady... The UNLV Rebels hold The Island Showdown Trophy, the trophy started in 2017 for the winner of UNLV and Hawai’i… Barry Odom’s Rebels were off last week after suffering their first conference loss to No. 12 Boise State… UNLV QB Hajj-Malik Williams is a very good dual-threat QB. Williams has completed 67.9 percent of his passes for 1,017 yards with 12 TDs and 3 INTs. Williams also leads the team with 495 rushing yards and 5 TDs… WR Ricky White III is far-and-away the team's receiving leader with 51 catches for 671 yards and 9 TDs… UNLV’s defense gives up 23.38 points per game and 384.5 yards per game… Timmy Chang’s Hawai’i Rainbow Warriors have struggled on offense… QB Brayden Schager has completed 59.6 percent of his passes for 2,185 yards with 16 TDs and 9 INTs. Schager also leads with 6 rushing TDs… Fifteen different Rainbow Warriors have caught a pass this season. Pofele Ashlock and Nick Cenacle have combined for 97 catches for 1,007 yards and 10 TDs… The Rainbow Warriors’ defense has been decent, giving up only 22.0 points per game. Defensive lineman Jackie Johnson III leads Hawai’i with 5 Sacks. Johnson and the Hawai’i defense will have their hands full trying to contain Williams.

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Sun Belt

Arkansas State (5-3, 3-1) at Louisiana (7-1, 4-0), 5:00 p.m. EST, Nov. 9, Lafayette, La., ESPN+

The Arkansas State Red Wolves have relied on the passing game to move the offense. The Red Wolves are getting 250.6 passing yards per game… WR Corey Rucker has 47 catches for 703 yards and 3 TDs. Rucker is 140 yards away from becoming the all-time leader in career receiving yards at Arkansas State… Head coach Butch Jones’ defense gives up a lot of yards and points. They rank over 100 in the FBS in all defensive statistical categories except for passing yards per game, where they rank 96th… The secondary does create turnovers, coming up with 11 INTs… Safety Trevian Thomas leads the team with 3 INTs and is third with 54 tackles… Probably the biggest surprise in the Sun Belt Conference this season is Michael Desormeaux’s Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns. Desormeaux’s squad has a potent offense that scores 32.8 points per game and gains 441.9 yards per game… QB Ben Wooldridge is 12th in the nation with a 69.0 completion percentage. Wooldridge likes to spread the wealth as 18 different Ragin’ Cajuns have caught a pass in 2024… Louisiana’s defense has been solid, only giving up 22.1 points per game and 327.3 yards per game… The Ragin’ Cajuns are solid in pass defense, which will bode well against the Arkansas State passing game… If the Red Wolves are going to win this game, then they will need to establish some kind of running game. If there is an Achilles’ Heel for Louisiana, it is their run defense… Louisiana opened as a 13-point favorite but that has jumped to 16.5 in most places and even 17 points on one sportsbook site.

Group of 5 Truth Serum

Truth serum is something stated that is not necessarily a popular take but is more truth than fiction. This week’s truth serum: If Bryson Daily is unavailable for Army against North Texas, then the Mean Green will pull the upset.