Around the Group of 5 Week 9: G-5 Playoff Spots on the Line

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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!

AAC

No. 12 Notre Dame (6-1) vs No. 24 Navy (6-0, 4-0), noon EST, Oct. 26, East Rutherford, NJ, ABC

The perception of the Notre Dame Fighting Irish this season started out well, took a nosedive, but is now trending in the right direction… Marcus Freeman's Irish opened with a win against Texas A&M but followed that up with a loss at home to Northern Illinois. Since then, the Irish have reeled off five straight wins, with the home game against Louisville being the only win that was close… Quarterback Riley Leonard has had a less-than-stellar season, statistically. Leonard has completed 66.7 percent of his passes for 1,182 yards, 6 TDs and 3 INTs. Leonard is second on the team in rushing with 456 yards and leads with 10 TDs... The Navy Midshipmen and head coach Brian Newberry are undefeated, largely due to the play of QB Blake Horvath. The junior has thrown for 888 yards with 10 TDs and 1 INT. He also leads the Midshipmen in rushing yards with 621 and 10 TDs… Navy’s offense is fourth in the FBS in both points per game with 44.8 and rushing yards per game with 274.8… The key for Navy to win this game is to shut down the Irish offense. If the Midshipmen can create turnovers, the nature of their offense will control the clock and limit the amount of possessions Notre Dame will have.

Conference USA

Liberty (5-0, 3-0) at Kennesaw State (0-6, 0-2), 7:00 p.m., Oct. 23, Kennesaw, Ga., CBSSN

OK, so you may be wondering why a game with a team that is 0-6 is a “feature” game. Well, that’s because there are only four games involving Conference USA teams and it’s better to go with the premier team in the conference... Amazing stat for this game: Second-year head coach Jamey Chadwell has yet to lose a regular season game as coach of the Liberty Flames… QB Kaidon Salter is having another solid season, throwing for 1,074 yards with 7 TDs and 1 INT… RB Quinton Cooley leads the Flames in rushing with 545 yards and 6 TDs… Liberty’s defense has played well, giving up only 21.2 points per game and 321.0 yards per game… The transition from FCS to FBS has been a rough one for Kennesaw State… The offense has been dominated, only gaining 1,368 total yards and scoring only 5 touchdowns… Head coach Brian Bohannon has been the only coach the program has ever known. This is the 10th season the program has been in existence… The Owls’ defense gives up 405.3 yards per game and 32.33 points per game… Liberty needs to watch out for LB Garland Benyard who leads the team in sacks with three.

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MAC

Buffalo (4-3, 2-1) at Ohio (4-3, 2-1), noon EST, Oct. 26, Athens, Ohio, CBSSN

First-year head coach Pete Lembo’s Buffalo Bulls lost a heartbreaker to Western Michigan 48-41 on Oct. 19. The Bulls’ offense exploded for 551 total yards in the game… QB CJ Ogbonna has been somewhat inconsistent in the passing game, completing only 54.9 percent of his passes for 1,060 yards and 7 TDs. However, he has been very protective of the football, only turning it over once in 2024…

The Buffalo run game has been a run by committee as three players have all rushed the ball at least 55 times… The Bulls’ defense has been torched at times this season, giving up 391.0 yards per game… Senior LB Shaun Dolac has had a tremendous season clocking 98 tackles, 3 sacks, 2 passes broken up, and 2 INTs. His 98 tackles are tops in the country… The Ohio Bobcats are a typical Tim Albin team, run heavy and try to control the clock. The Bobcats average 191.1 rushing yards per game… QB Parker Navarro has been inconsistent in the pass game but has made up for it in the run game. Navarro is second on the team with 434 rushing yards and 4 TDs… The leading rusher is Northwestern transfer Anthony Tyus III, who has 610 yards and 5 TDs… The Bobcat defense is a bit leaky, giving up 24.3 points per game and 331.3 yards per game. Ohio will need to shut down the Buffalo run game if they want to send the Bulls home with an L.

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Mountain West

No. 17 Boise State (5-1, 2-0) at UNLV (6-1, 2-0), 10:30 p.m. EST, Oct. 25, Las Vegas, Nev., CBSSN

Second-year head coach Spencer Danielson has the Boise State Broncos ranked No. 17 in the AP Poll. The Broncos are heavily talked about as the probable Group of 5 representatives in the 12-team College Football Playoff… You can’t talk about Boise State without talking about Ashton Jeanty, most people’s Heisman Trophy frontrunner. The junior leads the nation with 1,248 rushing yards and is second with 17 rushing TDs… QB Maddux Madsen has had a solid year so far, throwing for 1,273 yards with 12 TDs and only 2 INTs… The Boise State offense is fourth in the country with a 54.4 percent third-down conversion rate… Boise State’s defense is tight against the run but gets beat against the pass. However, the Broncos are tops in the country with 29 sacks… DL Ahmed Hassanein is tied for eighth nationally with 6.5 sacks… The UNLV Rebels are fifth in the country in both scoring offense, 43.6 points per game, and rushing offense, 2,51.4 yards per game… An incredible 15 different Rebels have attempted a run. QB Hajj-Malik Williams leads the way with 390 yards and 4 TDs…The RB duo of Jai’Den Thomas and Kylin James have combined for 681 yards and 6 TDs… The Rebels defense has been a bend-but-don’t-break defense this year. They give up a lot of yards but have been able to get off the field when needed to get the ball back to the offense… LB Jackson Woodard has been incredible this season! The senior leads UNLV with 63 tackles and has 3 sacks, 8 passes broken up, 4 INTS and 1 fumble recovery.

Sun Belt

UL Monroe (5-1, 3-0) at South Alabama (3-4, 2-1), 5:00 p.m. EST, Oct. 26, Mobile, Ala., ESPN+

The ULM Warhawks are looking to become bowl-eligible for the first time in six years. First-year head coach Bryant Vincent has the Warhawks off to their best start since moving up to the FBS ranks in 1994... QB Aidan Armenta has started the last three games, all wins by ULM, and has thrown for 481 yards with 4 TDs and 2 INTs… The Warhawks’ run game is led by true freshman RB Ahmad Hardy, who has rushed for 500 yards and 6 TDs… The ULM defense, aside from the Texas game, has been stingy. Overall, they give up 343.1 yards per game and are led by DB Wydett Williams, Jr., who has 47 tackles, 1 sack, 2 passes broken up, 3 INTs and 1 fumble recovery. EDGE Billy Pullen leads with 4 sacks… South Alabama is also breaking in a new head coach, Major Applewhite… The offense has been solid, scoring 34.9 points per game and gaining 445.7 yards per game… QB Gio Lopez has been efficient, completing 64.9 percent of his passes for 1,466 yards with 13 TDs and 1 INT. Lopez also has rushed for 325 yards and 3 TDs… Lopez’s favorite target has been WR Jamaal Pritchett, who has 39 catches for 574 yards and 6 TDs… The South Alabama defense has been good against the run but leaky against the pass. In that regard, you take the good with the bad. The Jaguars have 9 INTs on the season. LB Blayne Myrick leads with 51 tackles while safety Jaden Voisin leads with 3 INTs.

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: Notre Dame-Navy will get more publicity, but Boise State at UNLV will be the best Group of 5 game of the weekend. And the winner of that game will represent the G-5 in the CFP.