Category: MAC

There was a bit of a shake-up in the rankings this week as San Diego State was clobbered at home by Boise State, a team that looked like it may be headed for a losing season. With the SDSU loss, that opens a big-time opportunity for teams in the American Athletic Conference as South Florida and Central Florida both remain undefeated.

Here is this week’s rankings:

1. UCF (5-0) — Sure they are ranked lower than USF, but schedule thus far is slightly better. Golden Knights take on Navy this weekend.
2. USF (6-0) — A road trip to Tulane doesn’t seem like much of a challenge.
3. Boise State (4-2) — A tough schedule so far (ranked No. 54) and a win over No. 19 San Diego State was huge.
4. San Diego State (6-1) — There is still a lot to play for this year for the Aztecs as they may have the last laugh in the Mountain West title game against Boise.
5. Memphis (5-1) — The Tigers are legit, or are they. We’ll find out Thursday night against Houston.
6. Toledo (5-1) — The Rockets are flying under the radar for now.
7. Navy (5-1) — The AAC is deep, but that may be a problem for many of these teams.
8. Colorado State (5-2) — The Rams nearly lost at home to a not-so-good Nevada team. Their defense may be the downfall.
9. Houston (4-2) — Thursday night against Memphis will be a big one for the Cougars as well.
10. Western Michigan (4-3) — The Broncos will play cross-state rival Eastern Michigan this weekend. The winner will be the third best team in the state.
11. SMU (4-2) — A win this weekend at Cincinnati gets them closer to a bowl game.

The Mid-American Conference has always been able to hold its own with the big boys of college football, and on Saturday it showed that strength again. Of course the MAC is awesome and we love the late-night MACtion, but regardless of how awful Nebraska is right now, a win in Lincoln is just down right super. That’s what Northern Illinois was able to do — walk into a hostile Big Ten stadium and walk away with a win.

So which Group of 5 team has the biggest win of Week 3? There is plenty to choose from, let’s take a look.

1. Northern Illinois (2-1) – NIU gets the top spot this week because it went into a Big Ten stadium and came away with a win. This is not an easy task, despite how poor a team Nebraska might be.
2. San Diego State (3-0) – A win at home against Stanford is a great program win for Rocky Long and Co. The Aztecs are legit and will get to prove that in the coming week as, you guessed it, Northern Illinois comes to SoCal.
3. Memphis (2-0) – The Tigers had a shoot-out with UCLA at the Liberty Bowl, ending with a 48-45 win over the Bruins. Memphis has a easy game this week against Southern Illinois.
4. Ohio (2-1) – The Bobcats took care of Kansas at home. Any time you get a Big XII team on your own turf, it’s special, even if it is a team that is as bad as Kansas.
5. South Florida (3-0) – The Bulls beat the snot out of Illinois, perhaps the worst Power 5 team in the nation.