Around Group of 5, Week 7: Can Liberty Add to Win Streak?

© Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

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!

Conference USA

FIU (2-3, 1-0) at Liberty (4-0, 2-0), 7 p.m. EST, Oct. 8, Lynchburg, Va., CBSSN

Tuesday night football is back! The Liberty Flames, last season’s representative for the G-5 in a New Year’s Six Bowl, has increased its regular season undefeated streak to 16 games…Led by quarterback Kaiden Salter, head coach Jamey Chadwell’s Flames are averaging 456.8 yards per game and 33.5 points per game…The Liberty defense has been solid as well, only giving up 20.5 points and 315.2 yards per game…Head coach Mike MacIntyre's FIU Panthers are also led by a solid QB, Keyone Jenkins, who has completed 62.8 percent of his passes for 1,104 yards, 9 touchdowns and 4 interceptions…While the defense has been leaky, linebacker Travion Barnes has been the brightest of bright spots. Barnes has amassed 54 tackles, 32 solo, one sack and an interception that he took 85 yards for a touchdown.

© Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

AAC

Memphis (4-1, 0-1) at South Florida (2-3, 0-1) 3:30 p.m. EST, Oct. 12, Tampa, Fla, ESPN

Hurricane season is upon us. This game was scheduled for Friday at 7 p.m. but has been moved due to the anticipated arrival of Hurricane Milton…The hurricane may be the only thing that can slow head coach Ryan Silverfield’s Memphis Tigers…The Tigers are gaining 429.6 yards per game and scoring 33.2 points per game…Running back Mario Anderson, Jr. has 438 rushing yards and is tied for 12th nationally with 8 touchdowns.

The USF Bulls have beaten the teams they should and have been beaten badly by the teams they have lost to…Second-year head coach Alex Golesh has the offense trending in the right direction. The Bulls average 178.0 rushing yards per game. QB Byrum Brown leads the Bulls in passing yards with 836 and rushing yards with 269…The Bulls' defense has been a problem, surrendering 434.0 yards per game. Coming off the bye week, the Bulls' defense should be rested. But if they can’t stop the Memphis rushing attack, this will be a tough game for the USF.

MAC

Ohio (3-2, 1-0) at Central Michigan (3-2, 1-0) 4 p.m. EST, Oct. 12, Mt. Pleasant, Mich., ESPNU

Coming off a 10-3 season last year, head coach Tim Albin’s Ohio Bobcats were supposed to hit a slide in 2024. The turnover from last season’s roster is tremendous as they return only six starters total. But the Bobcats are holding their own…QB Parker Navarro has struggled so far but RB Anthony Tyus III has been a bright spot. The senior has rushed for 500 yards and scored 4 touchdowns. The defense has been decent, giving up only 339.8 yards per game…The Central Michigan Chippewas are solid on offense and decent on defense. Their two losses came at Illinois and at FIU…Head coach Jim McElwain’s squad is averaging 30.0 points per game and 429.6 yards per game…The run game averages 184.6 yards per game and utilizes multiple backs. The lion’s share is handled by BJ Harris and Marion Lukes…Central Michigan leads the series 27-6-2.

© Rick Osentoski-Imagn Images

Mountain West

Washington State (4-1) at Fresno State (3-2, 1-1) 7 p.m. EST, Oct. 12, Fresno, Calif., FS1

The Washington State Cougars have looked impressive, jumping out to a 4-1 record. Head coach Jake Dickert has the offense firing on all cylinders. The Cougars rank 10th in the FBS, gaining 495.4 yards per game and 13th in scoring with 41.8 points per game…Sophomore QB John Mateer has thrown for 1,429 yards with 13 TDs and 5 INTs. Mateer also leads the Cougars with 453 rushing yards and 5 TDs on the ground…The defense, on the other hand, needs some work, especially the pass defense. Wazzu gives up 292.4 passing yards per game, 127th in the FBS…The Fresno State Bulldogs are a pass-first team. Interim head coach Tim Skipper’s Bulldogs average 281.0 passing yards per game. QB Mikey Keane has thrown for 1,356 yards with 7 TDs but has also thrown 6 INTs...Keane’s top target is wide receiver Mac Dalena, who has 22 catches for 501 yards and 4 TDs…Fresno State’s defense has given up its share of yards and points so expect this game to be a shootout.

Sun Belt

Coastal Carolina (4-1, 1-0) at James Madison (4-1, 0-1) 7:30 p.m. EST, Oct. 10, Harrisonburg, Va., ESPN2

For the Coastal Carolina Chanticleers, there’s no more Jamey Chadwell and no more Grayson McCall. And so far this season, there’s no problem. Second-year head coach Tim Beck has kept the offensive machine rolling with sophomore QB Ethan Vasko. The 6-foot-3 dual-threat QB has thrown for 1,101 yards with 7 TDs and 2 INTs. He is also the second-leading rusher with 220 yards…The Chants' defense has been a problem, particularly in the run game, surrendering 195.6 rushing yards per game…For the James Madison Dukes, the game plan against Coastal will be simple: run the ball! The Dukes average 187.0 rushing yards per game, led by QB Alonza Barnett III and RB George Pettaway. The duo has combined for 594 rushing yards this season. Head coach Bob Chesney’s squad is reeling after a loss last week to ULM, so look for the Dukes to take that frustration out on the Chanticleers.

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: Liberty will again go undefeated in the regular season, but this time it will miss the playoffs. At some point, the Flames need to play and beat a solid Power Four opponent in the regular season to boost their resume. A nonconference schedule of Campbell, App State, East Carolina and UMass will keep the Flames out of the playoffs in 2024.