This season is rather unique for Group of Five teams. With a legit shot to participate in the postseason championship festivities, it is more important to “get up” for each and every game. Normally, we’d see a Group of Five team play its best game vs. a Power Four program, and in some cases pull off the upset, only to come back down to Earth the following week against a team they were heavily favored to defeat. We’ve seen a couple of those instances this year (Northern Illinois and Toledo).
The old saying goes ‘it’s a marathon, not a sprint’. And that rings extremely true this season for teams in the Group of Five. From here on out, you’ll read “can this team handle success?” a lot.
In a weird twist of ironic fate, this is what Power Four life is like each and every weekend. And now the Group of Five are getting a taste of what big-time college football is really like.
Welcome to the party — and the chaos — guys!
Group of Five rankings remain important. Though these conferences get a significantly lower financial guarantee from the new 12-team CFP, they are on a more equitable field when it comes to the competition: The four highest ranked conference champions get byes, and the five highest ranked champs get auto-bids, but nothing is to say that the supposed “Power Four” are guaranteed those four byes or four of those five spots; if a Group of Five team were to outrank, hypothetically, the Big 12 champion, it would get a bye and home game. And with those spots comes financial windfalls based on success in the tournament.
Group of Five Power Rankings
No longer ranked: San Jose State
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