Welcome back to the Group of Six top 10 rankings, where I rank the teams currently vying for the one Group of Six automatic bid to the College Football Playoff. Last week, I didn’t make a ranking, so to compensate, every team in this week’s ranking will get a review of what they’ve done over the last two weeks.
Also, any new Group of Six team that is appearing on the list for the first time will get a full review of what they’ve done up to this point.
Sound good? Then let’s get started!
Honorable Mentions:
- Air Force (4-1)
- North Texas (4-2)
- Fresno State (4-2)
- Louisiana (4-2)
- Ohio (4-2)
- Florida Atlantic (4-1)
- Troy (3-2)
- Georgia State (4-1)
- Louisiana Tech (3-2)
No. 10 Liberty Flames (5-1; LW: Unranked)
Current Results:
- L 20-13 @ James Madison (6-0)
- W 24-23 vs. Gardner-Webb (FCS)
- W 51-15 vs. Ball State (1-5)
- W 34-17 @ Coastal Carolina (2-4)
- W 30-14 @ Delaware (2-3)
- W 35-3 vs. Sam Houston (1-4)
Yes, I probably should have put Air Force here instead of Liberty, but a team that’s currently 10th on this list isn’t going to make the playoffs anyways, so who really cares? Liberty is 5-1, but it suffers from a condition known as C-USA-itis.
Basically, there’s usually one team from the C-USA every year that has a good-looking record, but that record is against the bottom of the conference, all of whom also happen to reside in the C-USA (see also: 2023 Liberty). Since I’m feeling charitable, though, I’ll let their best representative get a spot on my hallowed top ten list.
The best thing going for Liberty is that its one loss came by seven points against the only undefeated Group of Six team left. The main problem with that is that James Madison University is literally the only hard game on its entire schedule, and now it has zero other chances to prove itself the rest of the year. I kid you not, Liberty’s toughest opponent left on the schedule might legitimately be Florida International, which is so incredibly sad that I could probably cry if I cared enough to actually sit down and watch that game in Week 9.
Junior quarterback and Wake Forest transfer Deshawn Purdie has played extremely efficiently up to this point (still hasn’t thrown an interception this season), and Junior running back Kam Davis has contributed 524 yards on the season (though 64% of those yards came from two games). The Flames’ biggest weapon so far has been their defense, which hasn’t allowed more than 17 points in any game since the opener.
I wouldn’t be too surprised if this team finished 11-1 or 10-2, but there is absolutely zero chance they make the college football playoffs.
No. 9 UNLV Rebels (4-2; LW: Unranked)
Current Results:
- L 27-21 vs. Memphis (5-1)
- W 21-6 @ Hawaii (1-5)
- L 44-6 @ North Texas (4-2)
- W 38-10 @ Akron (1-5)
- W 39-31 vs. California (3-3)
- W 13-7 vs. North Dakota State (5-1)
If you told me after Week 2 of the season that UNLV would crack my top 10 list, I would have called you crazy. Good thing people don’t listen to me anyways, because the Rebels are getting back in the groove.
After getting embarrassed 44-6 at North Texas, dropping to 1-2 on the season, people were starting to question whether Dan Mullen should be on the hot seat and why Jackson Arnold is still allowed to start games in 2026. I can confidently say that at least one of those questions has been answered.
Dan Mullen has seemingly gotten the ship sailing again, as UNLV just won its third straight game, which included two extremely impressive victories. In Week 5, the Rebels took out a power conference opponent in California in a 39-31 victory, and followed it up with arguably an even more impressive 13-7 victory against the formerly undefeated North Dakota State Bison.
The main problem I see with this team is that the quarterback is inconsistent. In other words, you legitimately have no idea what senior quarterback Jackson Arnold will look like until he steps onto the field. For example, in the victory over Cal, Arnold was 11-for-22 for 172 yards and three touchdowns, and he also picked up 110 yards rushing and two touchdowns in what was easily his best performance of the season. Then, the very next week against North Dakota State, he went 8-for-16 for 77 yards and an interception, and the only touchdown the Rebels scored came on a pick-six.
I still think this team is getting better with each passing week, and Arnold has another chance to prove himself this week when the Rebels face a 4-1 Air Force team that just missed out on the top ten.
No. 8 Western Michigan Broncos (5-1; LW: Unranked)
Current Results:
- W 12-7 @ Michigan (2-3)
- W 49-14 vs. Monmouth (FCS)
- W 28-21 @ Rice (1-5)
- L 32-7 vs. Boise State (5-1)
- W 20-17 @ Buffalo (3-3)
- W 38-7 vs. Kent State (2-4)
After their nationally recognized win at Michigan in Week 1 (deal with it), the Broncos faded back into the background as just another MAC school, especially after getting dogwalked on its home field against Boise State. Two weeks ago, the Broncos needed a stop at the 1-yard line to beat Buffalo, which really made people question how good this team actually is. Last week, WMU played up to its potential again in a 38-7 win over Kent State, which at least showed it’s still the team to beat in the MAC.
The main reason many of the games are close is the offense. We’re six games into the season, and junior quarterback Broc Lowry still hasn’t thrown for 1,000 yards. They do have four different running backs with over 100 yards rushing on the season, led by sophomore back Aveion Chenault with 292, but being 110th in total yards isn’t going to help you pull away from teams.
My guess is that the Broncos will drop a random game during conference play, and that’ll be the end of any playoff hopes. Watch out for the game at Toledo in Week 8.
No. 7 UTSA Roadrunners (5-1; LW: No. 5)
Current Results:
- W 45-16 vs. UTRGV (FCS)
- W 31-26 @ Texas State (2-3)
- L 30-6 @ Texas (4-1)
- W 59-45 vs. Colorado State (2-3)
- W 16-14 @ Rice (1-5)
- W 31-24 vs. South Florida (4-2)
Since we last discussed the Roadrunners, they extended their win streak to three games. However, the wins weren’t as impressive as I would have liked. First, in a 16-14 win against a 1-5 Rice squad, senior quarterback Owen McCown struggled, finishing with 148 yards, an interception and a lost fumble in the third quarter that nearly cost them points.
Then on Thursday night, UTSA needed a drive at the end of the game – plus some added motivation from Brian Hartline’s comments about the crowd size – to get by a South Florida team that’s much worse than its record shows. McCown did look better in this one, completing 71% of his passes for 209 yards, but the real savior was junior running back A’Marion Peterson, who finished with 92 yards and three touchdowns.
A true playoff contender shouldn’t be struggling this much against lower-level competition, but the Roadrunners still have only one loss. Navy comes to town this week, and it’s one of the weakest-looking Navy teams in years, so UTSA should be able to improve to 6-1 and stay on this list for another week.
No. 6 North Dakota State Bison (5-1; LW: No. 3)
Current Results:
- W 33-7 vs. Jacksonville State (4-2)
- W 38-0 vs. Fordham (FCS)
- W 38-32 @ Air Force (4-1)
- W 31-10 @ Sacramento State (1-5)
- W 28-0 vs. Wyoming (3-3)
- L 13-7 @ UNLV (4-2)
If you remember from last time, I did say my main concern with North Dakota State was the tendency of the offense to stall for long periods. We saw it two weeks ago when the Bison went up 20-0 on Wyoming at the start of the third quarter and pretty much coasted on that for the rest of the game.
The problem is, of course, that you won’t be facing Wyoming every week. In the first real test since the Air Force game, the entire offensive attack imploded against UNLV. On the second drive of the game, senior quarterback Nathan Hayes threw a pick-six to UNLV Sophomore defensive end Andre Porter, which was the start of an absolute nightmare game for the signal-caller.
Hayes completed 55% of his passes for 124 yards, one touchdown and three interceptions. The third one easily stung the most, as the Bison drove into UNLV territory with 1:34 left on the clock before Hayes threw a meatball sub to end the game.
NDSU is still a very talented team, and it has a get-right game against Nevada next week before the big one at New Mexico.
No. 5 Memphis Tigers (5-1; LW: No. 6)
Current Results:
- W 27-21 @ UNLV (4-2)
- W 42-24 vs. Arkansas State (2-4)
- L 38-20 @ Boise State (5-1)
- W 45-21 vs. UT Martin (FCS)
- W 59-8 @ Charlotte (0-6)
- W 38-13 vs. UAB (3-3)
I predicted that Memphis would continue to improve under Charles Huff, and in the two games since then, this seems to be holding true. Now I’m not going to try to convince you that beating up an 0-6 Charlotte team is impressive, but it was the best game of the season for junior quarterback Marcus Stokes (20-25, 318 yards, 5 TDs).
Against UAB, sophomore running back Jaylin Carter once again popped off for 132 yards and two touchdowns. He leads an offense that’s currently seventh in both yards rushing per game (247) and total yards per game. I don’t have much else to say for this one. It’s just a good team that continues to roll on.
No. 4 James Madison Dukes (6-0; LW: No. 2)
Current Results:
- W 20-13 vs. Liberty (5-1)
- W 87-3 vs. Wagner (FCS)
- W 26-13 @ San Diego State (2-4)
- W 46-20 @ Old Dominion (2-4)
- W 45-17 vs. Marshall (3-3)
- W 27-24 @ Georgia Southern (2-4)
It seems weird to me to drop the only undefeated Group of Six team two spots in the rankings, but that’s because of the play of the three teams ahead of them. The Dukes took easy care of a Marshall team that’s currently on a three-game losing streak with the most notable role coming from fifth-year senior running back George Pettaway, who finished with 206 yards rushing and two touchdowns.
Last week against Georgia Southern, the Dukes got their toughest run since Week 1 when they had to fend off a pesky Eagles team that barely gave them any room to breathe throughout the game. JMU was ahead most of the game, but still needed Eagles senior kicker Blake Ford to come up short on a 52-yard field goal attempt to escape with the three-point victory.
This game reminded me that James Madison is in a weird spot among college football teams. The Dukes are good enough to beat any team in their own conference year in and year out, but they aren’t good enough to compete with higher-level teams, especially if they have to play multiple of them in consecutive weeks.
The school announced on Monday that it will move to the American Athletic Conference no later than 2028, and the move makes sense as it will allow the school to earn more revenue to reinvest in the program. For now, the Dukes remain in a sort of purgatory, largely due to the conference they compete in.
No. 3 Oregon State Beavers (4-2; LW: Unranked)
Current Results:
- L @ Houston 33-20 (5-1)
- L 35-24 vs. Texas Tech (5-0)
- W 52-17 vs. Montana (FCS)
- W 33-7 @ UTEP (1-5)
- W 56-26 @ Colorado State (2-3)
- W 66-14 vs. San Diego State (2-4)
Besides the obvious feeling of how weird it is to refer to Oregon State as a Group of Six team, I don’t think anyone expected the Beavers to be this lethal this season. For a quick refresher, a year ago, Oregon State finished 2-10 with arguably an easier schedule than it has this year. The Beavers were so bad that they got blown out by a 4-8 Tulsa squad one week after losing at home to a Sam Houston team that finished 2-10.
Then they hired JaMarcus Shepard – who had spent the last four seasons as Kalen DeBoer’s assistant head coach – and everything instantly turned around. He took an offense that averaged 226 yards passing per game and improved it to 391 yards per game, which is currently leading the nation. He took a team that averaged 18 points per game and improved it to 42, which is currently tied for 10th in FBS. He took a team that had an all-around terrible defense last season and made it slightly less terrible (still improved).
Leading the way for this high-powered offense is sophomore transfer quarterback Braden Atkinson. I don’t know how nobody else picked up on this guy, but he is electric. He’s thrown for over 400 yards three times already this season, and he just had back-to-back games with five passing touchdowns.
Despite the offensive improvement, the Beavers still weren’t talked about much, but that was mostly because they started out 0-2, with both losses hard-fought battles against two Big 12 teams currently in the top 25. The one thing a 0-2 start did was help keep the Beavers under the radar, and people didn’t even seem to notice the four-game winning streak until they saw the final of the San Diego State game on Saturday.
This offense is absolute cinema to watch every week, and I really advise anyone reading this to look up its highlights on the season. Their Week 11 game at Boise State might have replaced New Mexico vs. North Dakota State as the biggest Group of Six game of the season, and you better be there to watch it when it happens!
No. 2 New Mexico Lobos (4-1; LW: No. 4)
Current Results:
- W 38-7 vs. Central Michigan (3-3)
- W 70-7 vs. Mercyhurst (FCS)
- L 14-6 @ Oklahoma (3-2)
- W 42-18 @ New Mexico State (2-4)
- W 61-7 @ UTEP (1-5)
New Mexico is the only team on this list that’s played only one game since the last ranking, as it had a bye this past week. Still, I felt the need to move the Lobos up on the list after they took care of a lesser opponent in UTEP.
The main concern is still redshirt freshman quarterback Toa Fa’avae, who was thrown into the fire after Jack Layne was ruled out for the season in August. Fa’avae had his best game of the season against the Miners, completing 15-of-19 passes for 249 yards and three touchdowns to only one interception, and he looked somewhat more comfortable in the pocket. Of course, this is UTEP, so don’t take this too seriously, but it’s still a step in the right direction.
New Mexico plays a 1-5 Hawaii team this week, and it shouldn’t underestimate them. We’ve seen a lot of peculiar games play out in the past when teams have to travel to play in their current Temu-version of Aloha Stadium, so the Lobos have to be careful.
No. 1 Boise State Broncos (5-1; LW: No. 1)
Current Results:
- L 34-27 @ Oregon (3-2)
- W 38-20 vs. Memphis (5-1)
- W 38-24 vs. South Dakota (FCS)
- W 32-7 @ Western Michigan (5-1)
- W 37-18 vs. Utah State (2-4)
- W 38-31 @ Fresno State (4-2)
The Broncos pretty easily surpassed Utah State in Week 5, which I wasn’t really worried about to begin with. I was most interested in their most recent matchup against Fresno State, since it was a good first test in conference play against a rival.
This match was back and forth the entire time with the Bulldogs keeping the pressure on the Broncos. However, Boise State did manage to answer every time Fresno cut the lead to one score. The defense is still concerning, as it feels like the unit is on an every-other-week basis for how it performs and it certainly didn’t do them any favors against the Bulldogs.
Regardless, the Broncos still won the Milk Can Trophy, and random trophies like those are what make college football so great to begin with. As a result, the Broncos maintain the top spot for now.