Group of 5 Recap: Week 10

A shocking upset knocked out one of the three remaining unbeaten Group of 5 teams, while the final winless FBS team avoided that dubious distinction by knocking off a future FBS team.

In other words, it was a wild week for the Group of 5.

Air Force went into their matchup against Army undefeated, ranked No. 25 in the CFP rankings and in a great position to secure the New Year’s Six bowl spot. Army was a 2-6 team whose season had not lived up to their expectations.

All that was out the window by the time the first quarter ended.

After Army scored a touchdown on their first drive, Air Force’s first three possessions ended in a 4th-and-1 stop, a Zach Larrier fumble and an Emmanuel Michel fumble.

Army took advantage of the short fields its defense continuously provided and jumped out to a 20-0 lead just 17 minutes into the game.

The stunned Falcons never seemed to recover and turned the ball over four more times throughout that game for a total of six turnovers.

Army held Air Force’s No. 1 ranked rushing offense to just 155 yards in a season where the Falcons averaged 300 yards on the ground.

Both teams tacked on a field goal in the second quarter before a scoreless second half resulted in a shocking 23-3 upset for Army, who have a chance to capture the Commander-In-Chief’s trophy if they beat Navy on Dec. 9.

Air Force saw its undefeated season come to a screeching halt, along with their hopes of a NY6 bowl bid.

Sam Houston was the antithesis of Air Force, as they opened their first season as an FBS team 0-8. They took on Kennesaw State in what ended up being a thrilling game.

Running back Jonathan Murphy ran in a 57-yard touchdown in the second quarter for Kennesaw State as they took a 21-7 lead into halftime.

Sam Houston’s offense was mainly held in check until a long 13-play touchdown drive in the third quarter cut the lead down to seven.

If that was a long drive, the Bearkats ensuing offensive possession was a marathon.

Kennesaw State went three-and-out, which began a 16-play drive that took over nine minutes off the clock.

Sam Houston began their possession with 13:13 remaining in the fourth quarter. After quarterback Keegan Shoemaker found wide receiver Jay Rockwell for a two-yard touchdown, there was just 3:49 remaining in the game.

Bearkats defensive back Da’Marcus Crosby, who had 10 tackles in the game, came up with an interception on the Owls’ next possession, giving Sam Houston the ball near midfield with a chance to score for their first win of the season.

They did not pass that opportunity up.

They drove into field goal range, where kicker Colby Sessums nailed a 35-yard walk-off field goal to give Sam Houston their first win ever as an FBS program.

Kennesaw State is an FCS school, but they are making the move to the FBS next year, so it has to count for something for the Bearkats, right?

Regardless, Sam Houston will have their chance to win their first game against an FBS program next week as they take on Louisiana Tech.

No. 24 Tulane entered Week 10 as the highest-ranked Group of 5 team and ended it as the only ranked GO5 team after Air Force’s loss, making them the clear-cut favorites for the NY6 bid.

However, Tulane played with fire and nearly had a different narrative surrounding their season.

Taking on a 1-7 East Carolina team with one of the worst offenses in the nation, the Green Wave were punched in the throat early and shockingly were behind 10-0 after the first quarter.

From then, Tulane’s defense tightened up and kept ECU scoreless for the remainder of the game. Their offense did just enough, mustering 13 points to squeak by 13-10.

While Tulane did enough to win and moved up to No. 23 in the latest CFP ranking, struggling against a now 1-8 ECU team will not impress the committee.

After Arkansas State opened the season with a 73-0 loss to Oklahoma and followed that with a 37-3 loss to Memphis, it seemed Butch Jones’ Red Wolves were a severely overmatched football team this season.

However, they have rebounded nicely and proceeded to win five of their next seven. After defeating a good Louisiana team 37-17, Jones has Arkansas State one win away from bowl eligibility.

That’s not something many fans expected after the photo of Jones getting emotional on the sideline during the 73-0 massacre went viral.

The Red Wolves will travel to take on South Alabama as they search for one more win to qualify for a bowl game.

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