After an exciting weekend, there’s a lot to talk about. Let’s get into it.
Note: Submitted questions have been lightly edited for length and clarity.
Fresno State is the only G5 school ranked in the AP Top 25, coming in at No. 25. However, there seem to be some other teams who are close to that level. Memphis, Tulane, Liberty, and many teams from the Sun Belt East have looked really good. So, is Fresno State actually the best G5 team, and are they now the favorite for the Group of 5 New Year’s Six spot? — Cade L.
The New Year’s Six spot looks completely wide open this year, Cade, and that is a lot of fun, even with few G5 teams around the Top 25 right now. Honestly, at least one team from every conference has a chance for the bid, which is exciting after years of two or three teams controlling that from start to finish. (A reminder, if there is no G5 team in the final CFP rankings, the committee picks one from the five conference champions.)
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Fresno State is a fair pick for favorite right now, with two Power 5 wins. But the Bulldogs have to go to Wyoming next week and still host Boise State, though they miss Air Force. Also remember, there are no divisions in the Mountain West this year.
GO DEEPER
AP Top 25: Georgia No. 1, Ohio State up to No. 4
I would stick with Tulane as my favorite because I just think the Green Wave are really good, quarterback Michael Pratt is back after missing a few games, and the quality of the AAC is not nearly as high as it’s been in recent years. Tulane travels to Memphis on Oct. 13 for a huge game, but the Green Wave might be favored in all their remaining games.
Liberty is undefeated and travels to Western Kentucky on Oct. 24. The rest of the schedule is very winnable. Would an undefeated Liberty get leaped by a one-loss champion in another conference? That debate is on the table right now.
Ohio and Toledo could finish 11-1 and meet in the MAC Championship Game, as we discussed in this mailbag last week. Ohio has the Iowa State win to give itself a boost there. But we know the MAC can often beat itself up in conference play with so many similar teams.
And then there’s the Sun Belt, which so far has looked like the best and deepest Group of 5 conference. The concern would be the league’s top teams picking up too many losses in conference play, especially when one of those teams, 4-0 James Madison, is ineligible for the league championship and therefore the NY6 bid. Georgia State, Marshall, Troy, South Alabama, App State, Georgia Southern, Coastal Carolina and Texas State look like teams that could theoretically take the crown. But how beat up will they be when they get there? The AAC was always a deep league, but it had a team or two stand out from the rest and get the bid.
GO DEEPER
What we learned in CFB Week 4: Crowded CFP chase, Duke's big day, ND's big mistake
What in the world was JMU’s Curt Cignetti thinking when he put a cell phone in the face of the referee on Saturday night at Utah State attempting to overturn a runback replay? As much as I can appreciate the passion, how in the world did he not get thrown out of the game? I don’t recall ever seeing that in any college or pro game. Totally stunning moment. And clearly, the referee was livid over the attempt to embarrass them. — Jeffrey S.
Great question about one of the strangest and funniest moments from the weekend, Jeffrey. For those who missed it, JMU led Utah State 24-0 in the second quarter, before USU scored a touchdown on a fake field goal attempt. Replays showed the USU player might have stepped out of bounds on the run. JMU was furious and amid a discussion with referees, a staffer on the sideline showed a phone with a screenshot like you’d show your friends on the couch. Cignetti held it up and the referee immediately snatched it away.
JMU busted out a cell phone on the sideline to show the ref they are clueless haha
— NFL Draft Diamonds (@DraftDiamonds) September 24, 2023
So Cignetti basically pulled a Patrick Beverly, who brought a camera onto an NBA court to show up a referee in January. Beverly was given a technical foul and ejected for that. So why wasn’t Cignetti ejected?
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Electronic communication devices for coaching purposes are not allowed on college sidelines under Article 11, Prohibited Field Equipment: “Motion pictures, any type of film, facsimile machines, videotapes, photographs, writing-transmission machines and computers may not be used by coaches or for coaching purposes any time during the game or between periods.”
It’s why you don’t see coaches using tablets like they have in the NFL. Players and coaches usually leave their phones in the locker room. Credit to the game broadcasters for knowing that rule immediately. The rules also note that players are ejected for using illegal signal devices.
JMU wasn’t using electronic communication to cheat, so I imagine that situation is up to the referee’s discretion, and referees don’t want to eject head coaches. This isn’t basketball. For his part, Cignetti acknowledged Monday morning he was in the wrong.
“I had a great view of it and it appeared from my perspective on the line that the kicker had stepped out,” he said. “I was asking if it had been reviewed. Then it got reviewed and they were going to proceed, and I wanted to challenge. In the heat of the moment, somebody comes up and sticks a cellphone in my hand and says this shows it.
“You’re not allowed to have that kind of technology on the sideline. It shouldn’t have happened. I was just so immersed in the situation, I grabbed the phone. I shouldn’t have done that. The guy who gave me the phone feels awful about it.”
The Sun Belt on Monday issued a public reprimand to JMU for the incident but nothing more. JMU ultimately held on to win the game, so we can laugh about the whole thing now. But yeah, I’d never seen that before.
The AAC didn’t have any teams notch a signature nonconference win this season. Is this finally the year that you can’t assume the American champion is the front-runner for the G5 New Year’s Day slot? — Paul C.
That’s fair to say, Paul. Along the lines of the first question, it’s clear the AAC as a whole has taken a step back outside of Tulane at the top. And that’s totally fine and expected when you lose teams like UCF, Cincinnati and Houston. Some of the newcomers like UAB and UTSA have also been underwhelming to this point for various reasons.
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I still think a Tulane that runs the table in conference play would get the New Year’s Six spot, so it depends on who that AAC champion is, but the spot is more open than ever.
Will Nevada win a game ever again? — Adam R.
Adam, it has undoubtedly been a rough couple of years for the Wolf Pack. Jay Norvell brought consistent success to that program, with four consecutive seasons of at least seven wins, including a 7-2 record in 2020. But as the 2021 season ended, quarterback Carson Strong went to the NFL and Norvell left for conference-mate Colorado State, bringing a lot of Nevada talent with him.
Since then, the Wolf Pack have gone 2-14 under Ken Wilson. They won their first two games and have lost their last 14, including two losses to FCS opponents. That’s by far the longest active losing streak in FBS.
Nevada will play No. 25 Fresno State on Sept. 30. (Kirby Lee / USA Today)However, credit to that group for not giving up. Nevada was tied with Kansas midway through the fourth quarter two weeks ago and led Texas State 17-0 at halftime this week. The Wolf Pack lost both games in excruciating fashion, but that’s still a sign of progress from a program that had to completely rebuild when Norvell left and was blown out by FCS Idaho a few weeks ago.
Nevada is a program that has not and apparently will not invest at the level to be at the top of the Mountain West. It’s why Norvell left for a team within the same conference. But Nevada has a long history of being innovative and finding overlooked players. Wilson needs to get a win or two to help people feel good about things and start to build off that. But that first win to end a losing streak can be the hardest.
After taking down a good South Alabama team and sticking around with Notre Dame for a half, do you see this Central Michigan team making noise in the MAC? — Tyler J.
I came into this season with eyes fully focused on quarterback Bert Emanuel Jr. and his explosiveness in the run game after what he did in limited time last year. But it turns out Jase Bauer might be the answer at that position. Bauer replaced Emanuel against South Alabama after two three-and-outs to open the game, and he finished 19-for-30 passing for 225 yards and five total touchdowns, including four rushing touchdowns. The last rushing TD in the final minute won the game.
Against Notre Dame the week before, Bauer completed 10 of 20 passes for 137 yards with a rushing touchdown as CMU stuck around with the Irish until the fourth quarter. Outside of Ohio and Toledo at the top, the rest of the MAC feels wide open as usual. If Bauer can be the quarterback we’ve seen the last two weeks, the Chippewas might have something.
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Does Will Hall survive this year at Southern Miss? Very bad loss at Arkansas State and a poor game at home vs. Tulane. Any thoughts? — Joe B.
Yes, Will Hall will be back next year. He just won a bowl game last season, and everything had been trending upward to this point. The Arkansas State loss is bad, no doubt about it. It’s Butch Jones’ first Sun Belt win against someone that isn’t ULM. I know Southern Miss is a proud program with a long history, but coaches are allowed to have a bad start to a season. Plus Southern Miss has the No. 1 Sun Belt recruiting class for 2024, per 247Sports. Plenty of reason to be upset about this season, but no need to pull out the pitchforks yet.
What do you make of Utah State? I can’t figure them out. They outgained (but lost) to a ranked Iowa team. Blew out an FCS team that had played San Diego State close. Disappeared against Air Force. Then disappeared for a quarter against James Madison before storming back to tie and nearly win it. They are 1-3 but would be 4-0 if you dropped the first quarter of each game. They could be pretty good, they could also be terrible. What is your take? — Shane H.
It kind of sums up Blake Anderson’s tenure thus far, never playing out how you’d expect it to go. He won the Mountain West in his first season in a shocker, then slipped to 6-7 last year amid high expectations (and injuries) and now sits at 1-3 despite largely playing good football.
Utah State has been outscored 43-7 in the first quarter and outscored its opponents 106-48 in the other three quarters. The Aggies are 26th nationally in scoring and 118th in scoring defense, but 76th in yards per play allowed. If they could just not start so poorly, things could look a lot different. The good news is the rest of the schedule has plenty of winnable games. The rally against James Madison can be encouraging if you build off it.
Group of 5 top 10
1. Tulane (3-1)
2. Fresno State (4-0)
3. James Madison (4-0)
4. Wyoming (3-1)
5. Air Force (4-0)
6. Ohio (3-1)
7. Memphis (3-1)
8. Georgia State (4-0)
9. Marshall (3-0)
10. SMU (2-2)
Just missed: Troy, Coastal Carolina, Western Kentucky, Boise State, Liberty, Appalachian State, South Florida
Games of the Week
American: Boise State at Memphis (-3.5)
4 p.m. ET, ESPN2
Pick: Memphis
CUSA: Middle Tennessee at Western Kentucky (-5.5)
7:30 p.m. ET Thursday, CBSSN
Pick: WKU
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MAC: Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan (-7.5)
1:30 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Pick: CMU to win, EMU to cover
Mountain West: San Diego State at Air Force (-10.5)
8 p.m. ET, CBSSN
Pick: Air Force to win, SDSU to cover
Sun Belt: Troy at Georgia State (-1.5)
7 p.m. ET, ESPN+
Pick: Georgia State
(Top photo: Bruce Yeung / Getty Images)
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