The Group of Five schools have several byes this week but also some very compelling match-ups There are several intriguing match-ups this Saturday with three Top 25 Sagrain head-to-head games. I will offer my predictions on all the Sagrain Top 25 teams match-ups this week.
The game of this week happened on Friday with UCF falling at Cincinnati. But there are still several teams still in the running to be the best G5 team this year.
Things to keep in mind are the New Year’s Day Bowl bid for these teams. With UCF losing last night, this opens things up a bit with Boise State and Appalachian State seem like the logical choices. However, SMU or Memphis also could be in the mix from the AAC as could be the team that just beat UCF in Cincinnati.
Here are my picks of the Top 25 below:
1. UCF (4-2) lost at Cincinnati (Friday)
2. Boise State (4-0) at UNLV — The Broncos now have the inside track for the New Year’s Six Bowl game and will take an easy win this week over the Rebels. Boise State 41 UNLV 17
3. Cincinnati (4-1) win vs. UCF (Friday)
4. Utah State (3-1) vs. Louisiana State–The Aggies have been strong all season and QB Jordon Love gets to show his efforts in SEC country. But it won’t be quite enough to take down the Tigers but will be closer than the experts think. LSU 31 USU 20
5. Memphis (4-0) at Louisiana-Monroe–The Tigers travel to ULM out of the Sun Belt. The Tigers will be challenged early but will roll late. Memphis 38 ULM 27
6. Appalachian State (4-0) BYE
7. SMU (5-0) vs. Tulsa–The Mustangs are playing their best ball since the early 1980s and will get a test from the Golden Hurricane but will prevail in the end. SMU 36 Tulsa 21
8. Tulane (3-1) at Army–The Green Wave turnaround has been great under Coach Willie Fritz. Now a road game in upstate New York will truly be a test with the Army triple option. The Black Knights will be ready and will take this game down to the wire and get a last minute win. Army 31 Tulane 30
9. Houston (2-3) BYE
10. San Diego State (3-1) at Colorado State–The Aztecs travel to Fort Collins and will win a very tight, low scoring game. SDSU 21 CSU 17
11. Fresno State (2-2) BYE
12. Air Force (3-1) at Navy–The Commander-in-Chief’s Trophy begins in Annapolis this week. The key will be which defense can stop the opposing team’s option attack. The Falcons have more talent here and will lead to the road win. Air Force 27 Navy 24
13. Toledo (3-1) vs. Western Michigan–Thes Rockets host the Broncos and the home field will be the difference in these two evenly matched squads but will be a game not decided until the late stages. Toledo 45 WMU 42
14. Wyoming (4-1) BYE
15. Louisiana (4-1) BYE
16. Hawai’i (4-1) BYE
17. Navy (2-1) vs. Tulane — SEE ABOVE
18. BYU (2-3) BYE
19. Western Michigan (3-2) at Toledo — SEE ABOVE
20. Army West Point (3-1) vs. Tulane — SEE ABOVE
21. Florida Atlantic (3-2) BYE
22. Temple (3-1) win vs. East Carolina (Thursday)
23. Arkansas State (3-2) at Georgia State –After the Tennessee upset win the Panthers have come back to earth. They will be grounded further with the Red Wolves coming to town. ASU 44 GSU 30
24. Tulsa (2-2) at SMU — SEE ABOVE
25. Southern Miss (3-2) BYE
Originally from LaMoure, North Dakota, Kent is a 1996 graduate of North Dakota State University. His prior writing experience is over 15 years having previously worked with D2football.com, I-AA.org, and College Sporting News before coming to College Sports Journal in 2016. His main focus is college football is the Missouri Valley Football Conference within the Division I FCS. And in 2017, he began also to look at the FBS Group of Five conferences of the American Athletic, Conference USA, Mid-American, Mountain West, and Sun Belt.
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