College Football is almost a month in and every other week I will be bringing you the ten best teams from the group of 5 conferences which include the American, Sun Belt, MAC, Conference USA, and Mountain West. I will also be throwing in the FBS independent schools outside of Notre Dame into this list which includes BYU, Army, UMASS, Liberty, and New Mexico State. I will be alternating each week between this list and my list of the 5 worst Power 5 teams which you can see here. As always, I always am open to suggestions, feel free to tweet at me @ryanmcc09, or @nohuddlencaa with your list of your best teams or to trash me for how bad my list is.
Just missed the list:
Buffalo - MAC
Utah State - Mountain West
Memphis - AAC
10. Cincinnati - AAC
One of the more surprising teams on this list. Cincinnati is 4-0 following an opening week win at UCLA by 9. since then the Bearcats beat Miami (Oh) 21-0, Alabama A&M 63-7 and a good Ohio team 34-30. The Bearcats likely won't finish the year unbeaten but 9 or 10 wins isn't out of the question.
9. USF - AAC
The Bulls lost arguably their best player in program history this year in Quinton Flowers but seem to have not fallen off too much. USF has started 4-0 this year and looks good. The only thing keeping them from being higher on this list is the fact that they are beating teams but only by a small margine. The Bulls 3 wins against FBS schools are by an average of less than a touchdown. That being said wins are wins and they will have plenty of chances this year to move up with more key games.
8. Toledo - MAC
Toledo is a consistent power in the MAC, so much so they somehow got the Miami Hurricanes to play a game in Toledo. The Rockets lost that game but put up a good fight for the first three quarters. Toledo also had a nice win last week against a good Nevada team and has a chance to make a statement against Fresno State on the road this week. The Rockets are looking strong and will be one of the favorites to win the MAC.
7. Troy - Sun Belt
Troy got off to a disappointing start with a blowout loss to Boise State at home which is the reason they may not be higher, but this team is very good. A big win at Nebraska marks the second straight year they have beat a big time program on the road following their 24-21 win over LSU last year. Watch out for Troy, they could make some noise.
6. Appalachian State - Sun Belt
The only team keeping Troy from being the favorites in the Sun Belt is App State. A week 1 loss in OT at Penn State is about as good of a loss as you can have, since then they have outscored their opponents 117-16 in two games. The Mountaineers are dangerous and could finish the year ranked if they can run the table.
5. North Texas - C-USA
The Mean Green are a team to watch out for. Beating Arkansas on the road 44-17 caught the attention of the country and they may not lose a game this year if they can keep it up. They do have some tough match ups but should be favorites in each remaining game this season.
4. Houston - AAC
If anyone is going to beat UCF this year it's going to be Houston. The Cougars are led by in Ed Oliver, a player who will most likely be a top 5 pick in next years NFL draft. Houston had a nice win over Arizona but lost to Texas Tech in a blowout the following week. Houston doesn't play UCF in the regular season but could see them in the AAC Championship if things align.
3. Boise State - Mountain West
Boise opened with a very impressive win over Troy who is #6 on our list followed by a blowout win of UConn. Just when you thought that Boise could be getting back to their days under Chris Peterson they lost to Oklahoma State by 23 on the road. Boise is still a very good team but only has one other ranked team on their schedule to show that this year.
2. BYU - Independent
You could argue that Boise State could be here but BYU has impressive wins over Wisconsin and Arizona, both on the road and their lone loss was against a 3-0 Cal team. Watch out for BYU they have a trip to Washington this week and could be looking for their second big upset of the year.
1. UCF - AAC
Pretty easy one here, UCF is #13 in the nation and riding a 16 game win streak, Mckenzie Milton is one of the best players in the country. UCF should be favorite in every game this season and if they finish undefeated for the second straight year they will have a strong case to be the first group of five school to make the CFB Playoff.