Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 4

On By Kent Schmidt
Courtesy of Vladimir Cherry

Down goes UCF. The Knights lost for the first time in the regular season in 26 games Saturday with its one point loss at the ACC’s Pittsburgh. This opens the Group of Five up for another team to break UCF’s two year run on the New Year’s Six bowl bid.

Another AAC team in Temple (fresh off a home upset of the Big 10’s Maryland) lost as well (at Buffalo) to be off the list of undefeated teams.

But not to dwell on the negatives, three G5 teams defeated their P5 opponents this week. The biggest suprise had to be San Jose State, which has been one of the lowest G5 performers for over a decade and was fresh off a home loss in its last game to Tulsa, went to Arkansas and defeated their SEC opponent.

The two other G5 over P5 wins were also suprises but both teams are still the ranks of being undefeated teams. Appalachian State won its first P5 contest as a FBS member (the last being in 2007 was the most memoriable as an FCS member over Michigan) in its defeat of in-state ACC member North Carolina. SMU defeated Dallas-Fort Worth rival and Top 25 AP ranked in Big 12’s TCU for its first 4-0 start since 1984 and first Iron Skillet trophy win since 2011 over the Horned Frogs.

With Appalachian State and SMU winning, that leaves six remaining undefeated Group of Five teams left after four weeks of play. Boise State, Memphis, Navy, and UAB are the other unblemished squads. To note, there are 17 Power Five teams that remain without a loss.

The top G5 verus G5 game this week involved Utah State defeating San Diego State in the Mountain West opener for both. Utah State is just a late missed last minute opening week scoring drive away versus Wake Forest from also being undefeated. The Aggies got up early on the Aztecs and held on to claim the road victory in the Mountain West opener for both.

Boise State also won its Mountain West opener against now former undefeated Air Force Friday as another top contest and UAB blew out South Alabama to both stay undefeated. Memphis and Navy were off this week as the two other undefeated G5 teams.

Wyoming dropped its road contest to Tulsa to be stripped away from the undefeated group.

Here are my Top 5 games of the week, along with a few other bonus games this week. See the full recaps in the link of the scores and also video highlighs of this week’s top games.

1. SMU 41 TCU 38 (Fort Worth, Tex.)

2. San Jose State 31 Arkansas 24 (Fayetteville, Ark.)

3. Appalachian State 41 North Carolina 38 (Chapel Hill, N.C.)

4. Pittsburgh 35 UCF 34 (Pittsburgh, Pa.)

5. Utah State 23 San Diego State 17 (San Diego, Calif.)

BONUS G5 vs. G5 GAMES

Tulane 38 Houston 31 (New Orleans, La.)

Boise State 30 Air Force 19 (Boise, Idaho)

Tulsa 24 Wyoming 21 (Tulsa, Okla.)

New Mexico 55 New Mexico State 52 Albuquerque, N.M.)

Texas State 37 Georgia State 34 (3OT) (San Marco, Tex.)

https://twitter.com/i/status/1175601196926742529

Toledo 41 Colorado State 35 (Fort Collins, Colo.)

Buffalo 38 Temple 22 (Buffalo, N.Y.)

AVOIDING THE FCS UPSET

Eastern Michigan 34 Central Connecticut State 29 (Ypsilanti, Mich.)

https://twitter.com/i/status/1175602064426029056

Fresno State 34 Sacramento State 20 (Fresno, Calif.)

 

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