College Football Outpost's G5 Top 10 Rankings (11/28/17): The Trojans Are Back

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It has been a wild roller coaster of a season for Troy. From defeating LSU to losing to South Alabama, there has rarely been a boring week for the Trojans. A few plays here and there and Troy could be sitting at 11-0 heading into a de facto Sun Belt title game. Instead, they are sitting at 9-2 and will at the very least share the Sun Belt with a win over Arkansas State.

Let's take a look at the weekly poll.

Others Receiving Votes: Houston 4, NIU 3, Ohio 3, Army 2, Arkansas State 2, Central Michigan 2. 

Voters This Week: @TheJayBir, @Sports4Heretics, @BenMoore247, @AStateFanRules, @LaTechReport, @NorthCoastBias, @cfoutpost, @HuskieUnleashed, @DPattersonTX.

College Football Outpost's G5 Top 10 Rankings (11/20/17): The AAC Is King

This week saw the top four continue to pull away from the rest of the top ten with virtually every voter ranking UCF, Memphis, Boise State, and USF in some combination of the top four. Fresno State is back in the top ten, giving the MWC three of the top ten to go along with three AAC programs. Only the Sun Belt is not in the top ten this week, but Troy is very close to giving the conference representation.

Others Receiving Votes: Troy 15, Ohio 15, Army 4, Navy 3, Houston 2. 

Voters This Week: @TheJayBir, @Sports4Heretics, @BenMoore247, @meangreennation, @LaTechReport, @NorthCoastBias, @cfoutpost, @HuskieUnleashed, @warriorboutit, @TheTowelRackWKU.

College Football Outpost's G5 Top 10 Rankings (11/13/17): Army Joins The Party

Due to some technical difficulties, the weekly G5 Top 10 is out a little later tonight than usual. We experienced a bit of upheaval throughout the top 10 with Army and Houston taking advantage in earning a spot. Overall, this was a closer than usual vote (other than the top four) with NIU and Houston only two votes ahead of Troy and North Texas.

Others Receiving Votes: North Texas 11, Troy 11, Fresno State 8, Wyoming 5, Florida International 4, Navy 1. 

Voters This Week: @TheJayBir, @Sports4Heretics, @AStateFanRules, @meangreennation, @LaTechReport, @NorthCoastBias, @cfoutpost, @HuskieUnleashed, @warriorboutit, @TheTowelRackWKU.

College Football Outpost's G5 Top 10 Rankings (11/6/17): The MAC Represents

One thing I never saw coming this week was a takeover from the MAC with three teams earning spots in the top 10. Ohio joins Toledo and NIU in the rankings, making the MAC tied for the most most represented with the AAC.

Others Receiving Votes: Houston 14, Fresno State 14, Troy 11, Army 8, Florida International 3, North Texas 3, SMU 2. 

Voters This Week: @TheJayBir, @Sports4Heretics, @AStateFanRules, @meangreennation, @LaTechReport, @NorthCoastBias, @cfoutpost, @HuskieUnleashed, @warriorboutit, @TheTowelRackWKU, @BenMoore247, @The_DailyDragon.

College Football Outpost's G5 Top 10 Rankings (10/30/17): #1 Goes Down!!!

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Apparently nothing can go according to schedule this season. South Florida looked to be in control after San Diego State failed to hold the top spot. That didn't last for long as the Bulls fell in devastating fashion to Houston on Saturday. 

The Bulls were not the only top 10 team to fall as Colorado State and Fresno State also fell, opening spots for Arkansas State and San Diego State to join the party. 

Others Receiving Votes: SMU 14, Ohio 7, Troy 6, Houston 6, Army 5, Colorado State 5, North Texas 4, Marshall 3, Florida International 3, Fresno State 2. 

Voters This Week: @TheJayBir, @Sports4Heretics, @AStateFanRules, @meangreennation, @LaTechReport, @NorthCoastBias, @cfoutpost, @HuskieUnleashed, @warriorboutit, @TheTowelRackWKU.

College Football Outpost's G5 Top 10 Rankings (10/23/17): Fresno State Joins The Party

It is amazing just what two weeks can do to a program. San Diego State went from undefeated and #1 in the poll to unranked with two straight losses. The most recent loss was a complete drubbing at the hands of Fresno State, our newest member of the rankings. Along with Fresno State hitting the top 10, we have a season-high 20 teams receiving votes in this week's poll. 

Others Receiving Votes: San Diego State 11, Troy 6, Arkansas State 6, SMU, 5, Appalachian State 4, Florida International 4, Florida Atlantic 3, Houston 2, Army 1, Ohio 3. 

Voters This Week: @TheJayBir, @Sports4Heretics, @AStateFanRules, @meangreennation, @LaTechReport, @NorthCoastBias, @BenMoore247, @cfoutpost, @HuskieUnleashed, @The_DailyDragon, @HerdNation.

College Football Outpost's G5 Top 10 Rankings (10/9/17): The Aztecs Hold Firm

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This week, we have three tiers forming in the top ten poll. First, SDSU, USF, and UCF have pulled away as the big three of the poll. UCF, in third, leads fourth-place Navy by 27 points which is a higher total than teams eight, nine, and ten.

Tier two includes teams four through seven with Navy, Troy, Houston, and Memphis all within 18 points of one another and 20+ points ahead of the next tier of the poll.

Finally, the bottom three teams of the top ten are a long way from moving up the poll. It is nice to see NIU actually get into the top ten, albeit only two voters chose the Huskies on the ballot. We are still looking for more voters, specifically from the north and west to get the MAC and MW represented more in the future. Contact me (@cfoutpost) on Twitter if you are interested. 

Let's get to this week's poll.

Others Receiving Votes: Marshall 10, Western Michigan 10, Boise State 6, Appalachian State 5, UTSA 3, SMU 1, Fresno State 1. 

Voters: @TheJayBir, @Sports4Heretics, @AStateFanRules, @meangreennation, @LaTechReport, @NorthCoastBias, @BenMoore247, @cfoutpost, @TheTowelRackWKU, @warriorboutit, @HerdNation. 

College Football Outpost's G5 Top 10 Rankings (9/18/17): Post Week Three

Well, that was a productive week for the G5. Two national wins over top 25 opponents from the G5 and one of the best and wildest games of the season between Tulsa and Toledo highlighted this week. As it is early in the season, the rankings are all over the place from week to week as teams attempt to prove their worth to the nation.

1. South Florida (3-0): Hey Coach Strong. The Bulls finally looked like that team everyone expected heading into the year. Quinton Flowers was dominant, the defense looked solid to good and they easily took care of an Illinois team that easily dispatched WKU last week. The Bulls are back. Up Next: Temple.
2. San Diego State (3-0): There is no team in the G5 that has a better set of back to back wins than the Aztecs. Sure, Arizona State isn’t that good, but going on the road and winning that game followed by a home win over Stanford is damn impressive. Up Next: At Air Force.
3. Memphis (2-0): Pump the brakes a bit on the hype train for the Tigers. Sure, they beat UCLA and have arguably the most impressive wide receiver in the G5 at this moment (sorry, Richie James), but an undefeated season is a long stroll into the future. Just win the games you should and the nation will be paying attention to that September 30 matchup with UCF. Up Next: Southern Illinois.
4. Toledo (3-0): It’s slightly unfair to the Rockets to drop them from second to fourth after winning. Alas, Memphis and San Diego State are also undefeated and deserve the early praise. Don’t worry about the Rockets as they seriously have a chance to go undefeated and make an NY6 Bowl if they can make a statement and beat Miami on the road. Up Next: Miami.
5. Boise State (2-1): It was clear in the 28-14 win over New Mexico that the Broncos need a good Brett Rypien to get through the next month. They have Virginia, BYU, San Diego State, and Wyoming with only one bye week. That is a make or break portion of the schedule. Up Next: Virginia.
6. Houston (2-0): In case anyone forgot about the third team in the AAC, Houston is again among the elite. It was nice of Applewhite and company to call the horses off of a terrible Rice team when they could have put up 60 or more. If they can get by Texas Tech, we could see a battle of the unbeaten when Memphis comes to town in late October. Up Next: Texas Tech.
7. UTSA (2-0): The Roadrunners just keep moving up the list. They are now #7 and the highest ranked team in Conference USA. Their remaining schedule is not that great, save Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech, but UTSA could actually start seeing votes for the top 25 with a few more wins. Up Next: At Texas State.
8. Arkansas State (1-1): I did it. I made the jump and put the Red Wolves over the Mountaineers. I like the way they are playing and think the schedule sets them up for at least nine regular season wins. It would be nice to see them pick up a 12^th game after missing out on a chance to face Miami. Up Next: SMU.  
9. Appalachian State (2-1): I am starting to worry about the Mountaineers after watching them slip by Texas State by a single yard. The running game has been disappointing and Taylor Lamb must pick up his play. Saturday’s matchup is not easy as they host a Wake Forest team that is 3-0 for the second straight year. Up Next: Wake Forest.
10. Louisiana Tech (2-1): I want to like this team, but I am wary. They looked good for a while versus Mississippi State and then fell apart. They played an uneven game and beat a disappointing WKU squad. They haven’t played at all up to their ability. This week will show us just how close the Bulldogs are to the elite of the G5. Up Next: At South Carolina.

Others considered: Navy, Central Florida, WKU, MTSU, Army, CMU, EMU, Ohio, NIU, Troy, Air Force, Colorado State.

College Football Outpost's G5 Top 10 Rankings (9/4/17)

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With a week of games in the books and nearly every G5 team stepping out on the playing field, we are starting to get an idea of just how off we were in our preseason predictions. Some teams have struggled, while others came out of the games on fire to start the 2017 season.

Let’s take a look at the CFO’s first regular season G5 top 10 rankings.

1. South Florida (2-0, 0-0 AAC): No one expected the Bulls to start the season quite like this. Yes, they have a perfect 2-0 record, but they have not looked good at all this season. As long as they keep winning, it will be hard to take them out of the top spot.
2. Western Kentucky (1-0, 0-0 CUSA): The Hilltoppers looked like a team with a new head coach and needing to replace several playmakers. They beat rival EKU and never really looked in trouble at any point, but they must improve if they are going to get by teams like Louisiana Tech and Vanderbilt this fall.
3. Toledo (1-0, 0-0 MAC): Playing on a Thursday night was a recipe for an ugly game. The Rockets obliged in the first half, leading only 13-7 at intermission. 21 points in the third quarter led to a blowout win, but they still have a lot of improvement to make as the season progresses.
4. Memphis (1-0, 0-0 AAC): Ugly weather, ugly play, ugly win. All that matters in the end is getting the W and Memphis relied upon an impressive run game to do so. With UCF and UCLA coming up in the next two weeks, it is time for the Tigers to turn the corner.
5. Boise State (1-0, 0-0 MWC): What was going on with the Broncos in their win over Troy? They looked poorly coached and the quarterback rotation was just erratic enough to keep either Rypien or Cozart get into a rhythm.
6. Houston (0-0, 0-0 AAC): Sometimes, the easiest way to move up the rankings is to not even play. Harvey kept the Cougars from starting their season versus UTSA. Up next is a trip to Tucson to face Rich Rod and the Arizona Wildcats.
7. Louisiana Tech (1-0, 0-0 CUSA): The Bulldogs, just like so many teams in the top 10, did just enough to get the W. It was ugly at times and the defense looks a bit suspect like last season, but the offensive talent is there to keep them in the top 10 at this point.
8. San Diego State (1-0, 0-0 MWC): The Aztecs won a sleeper in week one, but have back to back games versus Pac 12 opponents coming up. If they are able to get by Arizona State and Stanford, they will give USF a run for the top spot. That’s a big if.
9. Appalachian State (0-1, 0-0 Sun Belt): A disappointing effort from the Mountaineers with everyone watching. Many expected Georgia to struggle with the App. State run game, but only Lamb was able to give the SEC program fits at times.
10. Arkansas State (0-1, 0-0 Sun Belt): This is the time of the season when the Red Wolves usually look like trash. Instead of getting blown out as was expected, they came out and gave Nebraska everything they could handle in the loss.

Others teams on the cusp: Western Michigan, Navy, UCF, Old Dominion, Troy, Army, Air Force, Wyoming, Colorado State, Ohio.

G5 Top Ten Leading Tacklers: Post-Week Two

Marshall, Akron, and Tulsa lead the way with 12 individuals making 21+ tackles in the first two weeks of the season. Lang of Marshall and Vigil of Utah State are the only two to break the 25 tackle barrier. By conference: Conference USA 3, Mountain West 3, MAC 2, American 4, Sun Belt 0, and Independent 0.

G5 Season Leading Rushers: Post-Week Two

Two G5 rushers have broken the 300 yard mark with Ray Lawry actually breaking 400 yards for a FBS leading 438 yards in the first two weeks of the season. The Mountain West Conference and Conference USA lead the way with 3 players making the top 10 a piece, followed by the Sun Belt with 2, American with one, and Army with one. The MAC has none.

Post Week Two Top 10 G5 Passers

Seven G5 passers have broken the 600 yards mark with BGSU passer Matt Johnson putting up 915 yards in two games. The MAC and Conference USA lead the way with three a piece of the top ten followed by the American 2, and Sun Belt 2. No one from the MWC or independents are in the top 10.

Top 10 Returning Quarterbacks (passing yards)

With 10 of the top 52 passers from the 2014 season returning for the 2015 season, expect some gaudy passing numbers this fall. Seven were lost to graduation. 

Top 10 in receiving yards

With 10 of the top 54 leading receivers in the nation returning to school in the MAC, MWC, Sun Belt, CUSA and Independents, 2015 looks to have an aerial assault like no other. 

Top 10 returning rushers

With 10 of the top 28 rushers in 2014 returning to programs in the MWC, MAC, Sun Belt and Conference USA, this fall should be a special season in the running game. Expect these running backs to make names for themselves in the 2015 season.

Way too early top 10

A way too early look at the non-big five schools and the top 10 programs among them. This is all based on my thought and information gathering. May change after spring practice.

Non-AQ Top Ten 11/18/13

Non-AQ Top Ten 11/11/13

Non-AQ Top Ten 11/4/13

Non-AQ Top Ten 10/28/13