Just three full weeks into the college football season and we’ve already learned so much about the Group of 6 ranks. Between the six leagues, there are exactly six undefeated teams remaining: South Florida and Tulsa from the American, UMass from the MAC, North Dakota State from the Mountain West and Appalachian State and James Madison from the Sun Belt. Pristine records matter, of course, but so does the level of competition a team faces and the manner in which they handle their biggest obstacles.
And this year, a G6 team doesn’t necessarily need to win its league in order to make the College Football Playoff. The highest-ranked team from those leagues will make it through, regardless of its conference champion status, though no one walking the high-wire that is a G6 team shooting for a playoff spot wants to run the risk of losing their conference title.
Every Thursday, we’ll update where the 10 best Group of 6 teams stand as the CFP race heats up. But first: The team that didn’t make the cut after breaking into the rankings following Week 2.
Team that dropped out
North Texas Mean Green (1–2), American; Last week: No. 9
Last week: Lost to Texas State, 49–35
This week: vs. Houston Christian
What a whirlwind Neal Brown’s first season at North Texas has been thus far. The Mean Green were thumped, as expected, by Indiana, absolutely demolished a UNLV team that has been disappointing after entering the season as an expected CFP contender and then were beaten by two touchdowns by the Bobcats. North Texas may well be ahead of schedule after seeing its roster depleted after losing coach Eric Morris in the offseason, but the dominant showing against the Rebels looks more like a one-week blip as well.
10. Oregon State Beavers (1–2), Pac-12; LW: Unranked
Last week: Beat Montana, 52–17
This week: at UTEP
The lone team on our list with a losing record, Oregon State has faced one of the nation’s most daunting early season schedules. The Beavers opened the season with back-to-back games against Big 12 contenders, giving Texas Tech and Houston—the Nos. 11 and 25 teams in this week’s AP poll—real tests. Their competition scaled down this week, but not as much as it may look on paper; Week 3 foe Montana is ranked No. 4 in the FCS and is regularly one of the rugged Big Sky’s top teams. Oregon State treated the Grizz the way a good FBS team does, winning by a wide margin, with quarterback Braden Atkinson throwing for 333 yards and five touchdowns. Atkinson has been prolific through three games, with 1,120 passing yards, eight touchdowns and just one interception. The early returns for first-year coach JaMarcus Shephard: pretty good.
9. South Florida Bulls (3–0), American; LW: No. 8
Last week: Beat Delaware State, 59–17
This week: at Bowling Green
USF’s opener—a 19–9 win over Florida International—was a bit underwhelming, but the Bulls followed it up with a dramatic road win against what should be a solid Army team and blew out DeSean Jackson’s plucky Hornets. Former Mississippi State and LSU quarterback Michael Van Buren Jr. is getting dialed in, throwing for 539 yards and three touchdowns over the last two weeks after a mediocre first outing.
8. UMass Minutemen (3–0), MAC; LW: No. 7
Last week: Beat Stonehill, 36–14
This week: at Sacramento State
For the first time since 2007, UMass is 3–0. It is a six-point favorite for its first MAC game of the season—on the road against its new league mates, the Hornets, in one of the goofiest intraconference games in FBS. The hype could collapse at any time, but so far the Minutemen are one of the great stories of the entire college football season, and their success doesn’t look like a fluke, with Pop Watson giving Joe Harasymiak a dynamic weapon under center.
7. New Mexico Lobos (2–1), Mountain West; LW: No. 6
Last week: Lost to Oklahoma, 14–6
Next week: at New Mexico State
Just how good is Oklahoma? That question will loom large for New Mexico all season. The Lobos defense was stout, as expected, holding the Sooners to just 299 total yards and an impressive 1.9 yards per carry (32 rushes, 61 yards). Of course, Oklahoma’s offense may be broken, with just 24 points in the last two weeks. Jason Eck’s team will be rooting hard for an Oklahoma turnaround against Georgia on Saturday (though they’ll be on the field at the same time, playing their rivalry game against the Aggies).
6. Memphis Tigers (3–1), American; LW: No. 5
Last week: Beat UT Martin, 45–21
This week: Bye (at Charlotte, Oct. 3)
Memphis rebounded from its lopsided loss at Boise State with a relatively comfortable win against the FCS Skyhawks. The Tigers’ concerns are still very evident—namely, a defense that has surrendered at least 21 points in every game, and ranks 98th in SP+ through three weeks (offsetting the nation’s No. 27 offense by the same metric). Memphis still has a great chance to win the American, though November games at USF and Navy won’t be easy. The bigger issue: Jumping the Broncos will be very difficult with that head-to-head loss.
5. Western Michigan Broncos (2–1), MAC; LW: No. 3
Last week: Beat Rice, 28–21
Next week: vs. Boise State
Western Michigan never really pulled away from the Owls, expected to be one of the American Conference’s worst teams. It’s hard to take exception to winning any road game, but the plodding offense the Broncos used to control the clock in their near-upset of Michigan appears to be the team’s default mode, for better or worse. Quarterback Broc Lowry hasn’t made backbreaking mistakes, and is completing over 70% of his throws, but there’s little explosiveness in the passing game, as he averages just 6.8 yards per throw. Western Michigan runs the ball about two-thirds of the time, and takes plenty of time in doing so, averaging the third most time per play (32.7 seconds) in all of FBS; only Army and UMass move slower. If the Broncos run the table, including a win against Boise State on Saturday, it probably won’t matter, but they won’t score many style points playing that way. With a selection committee deciding their playoff fate, that does matter.
4. James Madison Dukes (3–0), Sun Belt; LW: No. 10
Last week: Beat San Diego State, 26–13
This week: at Old Dominion
A sluggish Week 1 win over Liberty raised questions about whether the Billy Napier era in Harrisonburg, Va., would be as fruitful as that of his predecessors Bob Chesney and Curt Cignetti. It is far too early to make that determination, but the past two weeks have looked far more like what James Madison fans are accustomed to than a game in which they failed to put up 300 yards against the Flames. After dropping 87 points on Wagner, the Dukes went out West and scored a quality road win against the Aztecs, who despite their 1–2 record are expected to be a solid Pac-12 squad. It’s early, but they look like the class of the Sun Belt once again.
3. North Dakota State Bison (4–0), Mountain West; LW: No. 4
Last week: Beat Sacramento State, 31–10
This week: Bye (vs. Wyoming, Oct. 3)
FCS playoffs one year, College Football Playoff the next? That is very much in play for North Dakota State, which is 4–0, and has shown little issue with the adjustment up to the FBS despite doing so without any real transition time. This roster was built under the assumption that the team would still be playing at a lower level this season, but the Bison have dominated three of their four games so far. There are a few tricky games left as Mountain West play gets under way, but circle NDSU’s Oct. 24 trip to New Mexico. It may be one of the biggest Group of 6 games of the entire season.
2. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (3–0), American; LW: No. 2
Last week: Beat East Texas A&M, 42–0
This week: at Arkansas
Tulsa has a real chance to pick up a second win over a Power 4 program this weekend when it travels to face the Razorbacks. We still don’t know exactly what to make of its first pelt, Oklahoma State, but a win over Arkansas would probably look better on paper. The Razorbacks being a touchdown favorite feels very aggressive given what we’ve seen from these two teams so far this season, just ask the Hogs fans in open revolt three games into their new coach’s tenure. Still, for any Group of 6 squad, a win against the SEC is a win against the SEC and it would give the Golden Hurricane a pretty untouchable first-month résumé.
1. Boise State Broncos (2–1), Pac-12; LW: No. 1
Last week: Beat South Dakota, 38–24
This week: at Western Michigan
It played out late on Saturday, as most fans were still basking in the epic Ole Miss–LSU finish, so it flew under the radar, but Boise State showed some real cracks against the Coyotes. The Broncos totally shut down their rushing attack and South Dakota was just 12-of-28 passing, but they hit on a number of explosive plays, with six passes of at least 15 yards. The good: This running game continues to be dynamic, with Dylan Riley going for 198 yards and two touchdowns, while Sire Gaines rolled for 102 and a score. Riley now has 404 yards in his last two games, while both backs have run for at least 90 yards in each of those outings.
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