College football is a wild and crazy game, yes? I mean, who thought Louisville would rout Florida State or North Dakota State would beat yet another FBS school — Iowa was ranked No. 13 after all.
But enough about the major headlines, let’s take a look at the Group of 5 teams that made an impact this weekend.
Is Western Michigan for real?
Ok, let’s not get too crazy here, but the Broncos did beat another Big Ten team in Illinois on Saturday, moving to 3-0 on the young season. WMU also topped Northwestern in Week 1 as well. So where does this leave the Broncos? Probably in a really good spot to win the MAC. Next week the Broncos take on Georgia Southern before (the MAC game of the year?) playing heading north to play Central Michigan (also 3-0).
Speaking of Central Michigan
The Chippewas took out UNLV on Saturday, and will next play at Virginia. Can we expect two 4-0 MAC teams to battle for the MAC on October 1. It’s looking more and more like that could be the case as CMU hosts WMU for the right to move to 5-0.
South Florida wins again
The Bulls took the long trip north to play at Syracuse, which had stated to show signs of not being awful (trying to stay positive here). The Bulls were in a dogfight early, but eventually blew the doors off the Carrier Dome, routing the Orange, 45-20. USF is now 3-0, but oh no, it has to play Florida State next week. I’m gonna bet FSU is gonna be ready to prove something.
San Diego State stock still rising
The Aztecs too to the road and beat Northern Illinois, but what will help the most in the polls took place late Saturday night back in California. No. 11 Texas lost to Cal, a team San Diego State topped a week ago. Outside of Houston, the Aztecs (3-0) look like the best Group of 5 football team at this point in the young season.
And then there were some losers …
No love for Boise State
Despite the Broncos (2-0) winning their first two games since 2011, they are getting very little love in the national polls. Boise State had the week off, after beating Washington State last week and are still sitting outside of the Top 25 — by about 4-5 spots. The Broncos get a shot at another Pac-12 team this week as they travel to Oregon State, a nationally televised game on FS1.
Appalachian State falls flat
The Mountaineers hosted No. 25 Miami on Saturday, likely their biggest home game ever (minus many FCS playoff games, of course) as an FBS team. But the game was a major mismatch as the Hurricanes rolled to a 45-10 win. Too bad as Appy State looked great on the road at Tennessee in Week 1. A missed opportunity? Absolutely.
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