Tag: FBS Independents

CSJ 2022 Game Preview: UTSA at Army West Point

UTSA at Army West PointWhen: Saturday, September 10, 12:00 PM EDTWhere: Michie Stadium, West Point, N.Y.TV/Streaming: CBS Sports Network / CBS Sports Network Two teams that lost in Week 1 will try to get their first win in this game. Army lost on the road to Coastal Carolina 38-28, while UTSA lost at home to Houston 37-35 in three […]

CSJ 2022 Game Preview: Nevada at New Mexico State

Nevada at New Mexico StateWhen: Saturday, August 27, 10:00 PM EDTWhere: Aggie Memorial Stadium, Las Cruces, N.M.TV/Streaming: ESPN2 / Watch ESPN This last G5 vs. G5 game of Week 0 will match two new coaches for both Nevada and New Mexico State. Both teams will likely look much different than the teams from 2021. Jerry Kill takes over the […]

CSJ 2022 Game Preview: UConn at Utah State

Connecticut at Utah StateWhen: Saturday, August 27, 4:00 PM EDTWhere: Maverik Stadium, Logan, UtahTV/Streaming: FS1 / WATCH FOX SPORTS LIVE UConn and Utah State will actually be the first G5 vs. G5 game of the year in Week 0. Utah State and Connecticut have met once before in 2001 and Utah State won that game 38-31 at Connecticut. UConn […]

2022 Division I Group of Five Independents Preview

CSJ’S PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH 1. BYU 2. Army West Point 3. Liberty 4. Connecticut 5. New Mexico State 6. Massachusetts 2021 Bowl Games Independents Record: 2-1 Army Forces Bowl: Army 24 Louisville 22 Independence Bowl: UAB 31 BYU 28 LendingTree Bowl: Liberty 56 Eastern Michigan 20 The G5 Independents last year had three of the six […]

2022 College Sports Journal Group of Five Super Seventy Preseason All-American Team

Seventy student-athletes in the NCAA Division I Football’s Group of Five FBS Conferences have been named to the 2022 College Sports Journal Group of Five All-America Team.

GAME PREVIEW: UTEP at New Mexico State

TV/STREAMING: BALLY SPORTS AZ/KVIA-ABC 7 (EL PASO)/FLOSPORTS The last game of Week 0 is one with the longest rivalries in the southwest. UTEP travels to New Mexico State in the Battle of I-10. These two schools first started playing each other in 1914 and have had a few seasons missed over the years including the […]

2021 College Sports Journal Group of Five Super Seventy Preseason All-American Team

Seventy student-athletes in the NCAA Division I Football’s Group of Five FBS Conferences have been named to the 2021 College Sports Journal G5 All-America Team.  As a reminder, the Group of Five FBS conferences include the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA (C-USA), Mid-American Conference (MAC), Mountain West Conference (MWC), and the Sun Belt Conference […]

College Sports Journal 2021 Group of Five Preseason Rankings

Rather than do a Top 25 this year, I thought I would rank all 65 schools that make up the Group of Five FBS leagues as we head into what we all hope is a more normal 2021college football season without the COVID-19 cancelations or postponements like the 2020 season had. As a reminder, the […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin Group of Five Top 25–FINAL 2020

Below are the Final 2020 Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings after all postseason games have been completed in Division I play. These rankings include all FBS Bowl games and the College Football Playoff. BYU takes over the top spot in the final rankings following its impressive Boca […]

CSJ 2020 RoofClaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Preview: BYU vs. UCF

BYU vs. UCFWhen: Tuesday, December 22nd, 7:00 PM ESTWhere: FAU Stadium, Boca Raton, Fla.TV/Streaming: ESPN, WatchESPN UCF accepted this bowl bid almost two weeks ago but when its opponent of BYU was announced around a week later, this game just moved up the ladder in terms of significance for this bowl season. In the last regular season […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Dec. 19

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Dec. 19th, 2020–the last regular season rankings. Cincinnati stays at the top spot after capturing the AAC title against Tulsa to stay undefeated. Former #1 BYU stays at the #2 spot and was off this […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Dec. 12

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Dec. 12th, 2020. Cincinnati stays at the top spot despite missing its game this week against Tulsa due to COVID-19 reasons. Former #1 BYU stays at the #2 spot with its regular season finale win […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 15

In what was to be the last regular season weekend, there was a lot on the line in all conference races to determine the participants in the five Group of Five conference title games.  It was also a week in a normal, non-COVID-19 season that would have ended with the Army-Navy game.  While that game […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Dec. 6

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Dec. 6th, 2020. Cincinnati moves into the top spot. While Cincinnati had a bye this week, former #1 BYU lost at Coastal Carolina this week to allow the Bearcats to move into the top position […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 14

In a game that happened basically overnight, it turned out to be one that many are calling an instant classic.  The game was BYU at Coastal Carolina—a match-up of two 9-0 teams coming into the game made possible due to the Chanticleers cancelation with its game with Liberty due to COVID-19 reasons amongst the Flames […]

GAME PREVIEW: BYU at Coastal Carolina

BYU at Coastal CarolinaWhen: Friday, Dec. 5th, 5:30 PM ESTWhere: Brooks Stadium, Conway, S.C.TV/Streaming: ESPNU/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Wow, how things can change in the course of just a few days. I was set to write up a preview for Liberty visiting Coastal Carolina but that game was canceled due to COVID-19 concerns with the Liberty program. Within hours […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Nov. 28

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 28th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot and Cincinnati stays at the second spot. Both teams did not have a game this week. The other undefeated G5 teams (that have played at least […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 13

This was the week that the first College Football Playoff rankings came out and to say the least, I was surprised with the rankings. Below were the Committee’s rankings from this past Tuesday. I was not too surprised with the teams selected, although I thought Liberty should have been in the Top 25 given its […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Nov. 21

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 21st, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot after is blowout win over FCS North Alabama. Cincinnati stays at the second spot after its big road win at UCF. The other undefeated G5 teams […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 12

One is down but did not go down with out a fight. That one team is Liberty, who looked as if it would again pull off another ACC road win at North Carolina State.  After Liberty QB Malik Willis had an off game in throwing three interceptions, including what lead to the game winning touchdown […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Nov. 14

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 14th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot despite being idle this week. Cincinnati stays at the second spot after its big home win against East Carolina. The other undefeated G5 teams (that have […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 11

The undefeated teams just stay that way in the Group of Five this week. Cincinnati, Liberty, and Marshall all picked up easy victories this week. BYU and Coastal Carolina were off this week. BYU had a scheduled off week, while Coastal Carolina’s game with Troy was postponed due to a COVID-19 outbreak within the Troy […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Nov. 7

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 7th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot following its win at Boise State this week. Boise State drops to fifth following the loss after being second last week. Cincinnati moves up a spot […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 10

The Group of Five undefeated teams just stay undefeated. The five schools (that have played four games or more) coming into this week stayed that way with all picking up rather easy wins this week. The group includes BYU, Cincinnati, Liberty, Coastal Carolina, and Marshall. BYU played in arguably the top match-up of the weekend […]

GAME PREVIEW: BYU at Boise State

BYU at Boise StateWhen: Friday, Nov. 6th, 9:45 PM ESTWhere: Albertson Stadium, Boise, IdahoTV/Streaming: FS1/Fox Sports App (subscription req’d) A couple of weeks ago, we saw two American Athletic Conference foes ranked in both the AP and Coaches Top 25 poll and we now get to see one out West with Boise State hosting BYU. Boise State is […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Oct. 31

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Oct. 31st, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot following its win at home over Western Kentucky this week. Boise State moves up to the second spot following its road victory over Air Force. Cincinnati […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 9

Cincinnati has made two statements in a row. Last week, the Bearcats blew out SMU on the road and followed that up with another blowout against last year’s Group of Five’s best Memphis. The Bearcats got a little revenge from losing to the Tigers twice last year, including the AAC title game. This time, Cincinnati won 49-10.

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Oct. 24

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Oct. 24th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot following its win at home over Texas State this week. Cincinnati moves up to the second spot with its impressive road win at SMU. All G5 […]

College Sports Journal FBS Group of Five National Players of the Week-Oct. 18

Six players including Brady White from Memphis, Zach Wilson from BYU, Johathan Adams, Jr. from Arkansas State, Jason Bean from North Texas, Arnold Ebiketie from Temple, and Massimo Biscardi from Coastal Carolina have been selected as the College Sports Journal All-Stars for the week ending Oct. 18, 2020 from the NCAA Division I FBS Group […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Oct. 17

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Oct. 17th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot following its win at Houston this week. All G5 schools with the exception Old Dominion, New Mexico State, and Connecticut are eligible for this poll. Those […]

Highlights: CSJ FBS Group of Five Top Five Games and Recap of Week 7

Wow, what a game in Memphis even if both American Athletic Conference teams were coming off of losses coming into this game. This is not the first time these two teams have thrilled us. In 2017, the American Athletic Conference was settled with a wild 62-55 UCF win in double overtime, after Memphis had erased […]

FRIDAY NIGHT GAMES PREVIEWS OCT. 16TH: SMU at Tulane, BYU at Houston

With two big games within the Group of Five ranks this Friday, I thought I would put together a quick preview together for each of these with my picks. The two games involve three American Athletic Conference teams of SMU, Tulane, and Houston, along with independent BYU. Both SMU and BYU are currently ranked both […]

College Sports Journal FBS Group of Five National Players of the Week-Oct. 11

Five players including Marquez Stevenson from Houston, Aaron McAllister from Charlotte, Gunnar Watson from Troy, Tavante Beckett from Marshall, and Demario Douglas from Liberty have been selected as the College Sports Journal All-Stars for the week ending Oct. 11, 2020 from the NCAA Division I FBS Group of Five schools. Marquez Stevenson, Houston, WR, Sr., […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Oct. 10

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Oct. 10th, 2020. BYU stays at the top spot following its win over UTSA this week. All G5 schools with the exception Old Dominion, New Mexico State, and Connecticut are eligible for this poll. CSJ […]

College Sports Journal FBS Group of Five National Players of the Week-Oct. 4

Five players including Shane Buechele from SMU, Zach Wilson from BYU, Grayson McCall from Coastal Carolina, Zaven Collins from Tulsa, and Chris Naggar from SMU have been selected as the College Sports Journal All-Stars for the week ending Oct. 4, 2020 from the NCAA Division I FBS Group of Five schools. Shane Buechele, SMU, QB, […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Oct. 3

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Oct. 3, 2020. BYU takes over the top spot after defeating Louisiana Tech Friday, while former top ranked UCF fell to Tulsa. All G5 schools with the exception Old Dominion, New Mexico State, and Connecticut […]

GAME PREVIEW: Louisiana Tech at BYU

Louisiana Tech at BYUWhen: Friday, Oct. 2nd, 9:00 PM EDTWhere: LaVell Edwards Stadium, Provo, Utah TV/Streaming: ESPN2/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Louisiana Tech and BYU meet for the first time this Friday in a match-up of two undefeated 2-0 teams. The two schools do share a history with a common historical head coach in Gary Crowton. He was at Louisiana […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Sept. 26

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Sept. 26, 2020. UCF remains in the top spot after its big win in its first AAC conference game at East Carolina with BYU holding the second spot with its big win over Troy. With […]

GAME PREVIEW: Army at Cincinnati

Army at CincinnatiWhen: Saturday, Sept. 26th, 3:30 PM EDTWhere: Nippert Stadium, Cincinnati, OHTV/Streaming: ESPN/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) Army and Cincinnati used to be Conference USA rivals but the two schools have not met on the grid iron since 2004. And this year’s game is even more enticing as the two schools come to this match both ranked in the […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Sept. 19

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Sept. 19, 2020. Despite UCF remains in the top spot after its big win over the ACC’s Georgia Tech to start its season. As a reminder, this G5 poll will only be showing the schools […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Sept. 12

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Sept. 12, 2020. Despite UCF and BYU not playing this week, UCF overtakes BYU for the top spot in this week’s poll. As a reminder, this G5 poll will only be showing the schools playing […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25 – Sept. 7

Here are the Top 25 FBS Group of Five (G5) rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the week ending Nov. 30th, 2019. BYU with its impressive win at Navy this past Labor Day takes over the top spot from UCF, which was off during Week 1 of the season. This also is the first […]

GAME PREVIEW: BYU at Navy

BYU at NavyWhen: Monday, Sept. 7th 8:00 PM EDTWhere: Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MDTV/Streaming: ESPN/WatchESPN (subscription req’d) The Labor Day tradition of a a night game goes on this year, although this was not the game that most thought would be played. Georgia versus Virginia was the original game to be played on this Labor Day […]

GAME PREVIEW: Middle Tennessee State at Army

Middle Tennessee State at ArmyWhen: Saturday, Sept. 5th 1:30 PM EDTWhere: Michie Stadium, West Point, N.Y.TV/Streaming: CBS Sports Network/Watch CBS Sports Network The Blue Raiders and Black Knights have never met in football before this meeting and this game was quickly thrown together after both team’s schedules were thrown off-course due to concerns from the coronavirus. The […]

College Sports Journal Sagarin FBS G5 Top 25–Preseason 2020

Below are the Top 25 Group of Five (G5) preseason rankings based on the Sagarin rankings for the 2020 season. CSJ will show weekly rankings from the Sagarin rankings throughout the season and will have a final ranking after the national championship game in January. Keep in mind that all 65 G5 schools were considered […]