Around the Group of 5: Week 9

The biggest takeaway for the Group of 5 in Week 9 was a lack of representation in the CFP rankings.

Only one-loss Tulane at No. 24 and unbeaten Air Force at No. 25 received ranking spots from the committee, and there are multiple two-loss teams with bad losses ahead of them (Oklahoma State lost 33-7 to South Alabama and are ranked ahead of Tulane, who beat that same South Alabama team).

Unbeaten James Madison is finishing their transition period from an FCS to FBS team, and therefore are ineligible for any postseason games, including the Sun Belt Conference Championship. As a result, they will not appear in the CFP rankings. An outdated, unfair rule that needs to be changed, but that’s for another article.

In a week filled with shootouts all across college football, Memphis and North Texas may have provided the most thrilling one.

The numbers in this game are outrageous. 1,191 combined yards, five combined fourth-quarter touchdowns, a 24-point comeback, and a game-winning 36-yard touchdown pass with 12 seconds left.

North Texas quarterback Chandler Rogers threw for 411 yards and five touchdowns as he helped the Mean Green overcome a 31-7 deficit.

His third touchdown pass of the fourth quarter went to wide receiver Ja’Mori Maclin to give North Texas a 42-38 lead with 47 seconds remaining in the game.

Memphis got the ball back on their own 25 and needed a miracle.

They got it.

Quarterback Seth Henigan was perfect in the crunch-time drive, going 5-5 and completing a 36-yard go-ahead touchdown pass to wide receiver Joseph Scates to give Memphis a lead that they would not relinquish.

They stopped North Texas’ last-second desperation lateral play to hold on in a game that had both defensive coordinators growing gray hairs throughout.

Memphis running back Blake Watson ripped off 64 and 65-yard touchdown runs in just the first quarter for the Tigers, who still remain in the AAC conference race with a 3-1 conference record.

One of the teams ahead of Memphis is SMU, who remained perfect in conference play and apparently forgot basketball season has not begun yet after embarrassing Tulsa for a 69-10 final score.

SMU quarterback Preston Stone completed 15 passes for 371 yards, a whopping 18.6 yards per completion, and tacked on three touchdown passes.

The Mustangs will take on Rice next week, a team that gave No. 24 Tulane some trouble in Week 9.

Rice is led by quarterback JT Daniels and wide receiver Luke McCaffrey, names that might be familiar to college football fans.

Daniels, the former five-star USC recruit who struggled with injuries and Stetson Bennett, is on his fourth stop in his college football career, while McCaffrey is the brother of NFL star and former Stanford running back Christian McCaffrey.

The duo hooked up for five completions, 79 yards, and a 35-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter to cut Tulane’s lead to two with 8:10 remaining in the fourth quarter.

Unfortunately for Daniels and Rice, the next time they would touch the ball is with four seconds remaining in the game.

Led by quarterback Michael Pratt and running back Makhi Hughes, Tulane underwent a 16-play drive that took eight minutes off the clock.

The drive stalled at Rice’s 14-yard line, but there were only four seconds remaining in the game, and Rice’s desperation play did not amount to anything as Tulane celebrated a 30-28 victory.

James Madison survived a scare against Old Dominion, winning 30-27 and remaining undefeated thanks to 142 yards and two touchdowns on nine catches from wide receiver Reggie Brown.

Unbeaten Liberty once again played their Week 9 game on a Tuesday as they defeated Western Kentucky 42-29.

The Flames overcame 365 passing yards and four touchdowns from Western Kentucky quarterback Austin Reed thanks to three passing touchdowns from their own quarterback Kaidon Salter.

Alex Perez is a second-year majoring in broadcast journalism. To contact him, please email app5877@psu.edu.