Around the Group of 5 Week 12: AAC Title Ramifications

In today’s college football, there are 134 Football Bowl Subdivision universities. Those schools are broken up into 10 conferences, nine if the Pac 12/2 is not counted as a free-standing conference this season. There are currently four Power Conferences: the Atlantic Coast Conference (ACC), the Big Ten Conference (B1G), the Big 12 Conference (Big 12) and the Southeastern Conference (SEC). These conferences house the best groups of teams in college football.

But there are also excellent programs in the Group of 5 conferences. Those conferences, nicknamed the G-5, are the American Athletic Conference (AAC), Conference USA (C-USA), the Mid-American Conference (MAC), the Mountain West Conference (MWC) and the Sun Belt Conference (SBC).

Each week, I will go over the top game from each of the G-5 conferences. See below for games you may not have had much interest in but should!

AAC

No. 25 Tulane (8-2, 6-0) at Navy (7-2, 5-1) noon EST, Nov. 16, Annapolis, Md. on ESPN2

Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall has led the Green Wave to a 16-game conference win streak. The team is fourth in the FBS in scoring offense with 41 points per game. Redshirt sophomore running back Makhi Hughes has rushed for 1,209 yards and 13 touchdowns. Furthermore, the team is first in the FBS in non-offensive TDs, defensive  TDs, pick-6’s and kickoffs returned for TDs. Thus, the Green Wave can score points in multiple ways.

Leading the way for the Midshipmen, quarterback Blake Horvath has 2,024 total yards and 24 TDs this season. Navy has the nation’s longest streak of home wins when leading after 3 quarters—72 in a row.

This game features major AAC championship game implications. The Midshipmen need the win to pull even with Tulane in the conference standings and to preserve their chances of securing a spot in the conference championship game. If Tulane wins, both Tulane and No. 24 Army (9-0, 7-0) clinch spots in the championship game.

Conference USA

Louisiana Tech (3-6, 2-4) at Western Kentucky (7-2, 5-0), noon EST, Nov. 16, Bowling Green, Ky. on CBSSN

The WKU Hilltoppers are favored by 13.5 points in this contest with Louisiana Tech. The Bulldogs are ranked No. 118 in the power rankings of the 134 FBS teams, and with six losses already, their chances of becoming bowl-eligible are slim. However, La. Tech QB Evan Bullock has put up admirable numbers, completing 66.3 percent of his passes for 1,452 yards and 12 TDs, with only 2 interceptions.

One of only two C-USA teams with no losses in conference, the Hilltoppers average 30.3 points per game. The strength of their potent offense is their passing attack, led by QB Caden Veltkamp, who has completed 70 percent of his passes for 1,950 yards and 19 TDs. Wide receiver Kisean Johnson has 645 receiving yards and 5 TDs.

MAC

Eastern Michigan (5-4, 2-3) at Ohio (6-3, 4-1), 7:00 p.m. EST, Nov. 13, Athens, Ohio on ESPN2

The Ohio Bobcats are in a four-way tie atop the Mid-American Conference and are undefeated at home. They are favored by 10.5 points over the Eagles. 

Ohio's stout defense is spearheaded by defensive ends Marcel Walker-Burgess and Bradley Weaver. While Walker-Burgess has 40 tackles, including 4 sacks and 4 tackles for loss, along with an interception, Weaver has 19 tackles, 6 TFLs and 5.5 sacks. A key to this game will be whether the Eastern Michigan offensive line can protect QB Cole Snyder from Walker-Burgess and Weaver. The Eagles have struggled in this area, allowing 25 sacks already in 2024.

Mountain West

No. 13 Boise State (8-1, 5-0) at San José State (6-3, 3-2), 7:00 p.m. EST, Nov. 16, San José, Calif. on CBSSN

Boise State looks to win its eighth consecutive game and continue on the path to a spot in the College Football Playoff. The Spartans are undefeated at home this season and coming off a victory over the Oregon State Beavers (4-5, 0-0 Pac-12 Conference) on Nov. 9.

According to the College Football Network, Boise State has a 55.34 percent chance of making the 12-team CFP field. In order to accomplish that goal, the Broncos will likely need to win all of their remaining regular season matchups, including the clash with SJSU.

The headliner for Boise State all season is standout junior running back Ashton Jeanty, one of the leading contenders for the Heisman Trophy. With 1,734 yards and 23 TDs on the ground, Jeanty is the nation's leading rusher. He is chasing the longstanding records for single-season rushing yards (2,628) and TDs (37) set by Barry Sanders 36 years ago.

Redshirt senior wide receiver Nick Nash leads the SJSU passing game with 86 receptions for 1,156 yards and 13 TDs and was named an AP midseason first-team All-American.

Sun Belt

Coastal Carolina (5-4, 2-3) at Marshall (6-3, 4-1), 1:00 p.m. EST, Nov 16, Huntington, W. Va. on ESPN +

The Thundering Herd is tied atop the SBC with Georgia Southern (6-3, 4-1) and is favored over the Chanticleers by 8 points.

Coastal Carolina has deployed a balanced offense this season, scoring 18 TDs on the ground and 14 through the air. While the Chanticleers average 31.7 points per game, they surrender an average of 31.4 PPG. The Thundering Herd defense has been significantly stronger than Coastal Carolina's, relinquishing an average of only 23.3 PPG. Standout DE Mike Green supplies much of the thunder for the Herd. He has already racked up 13 sacks and 17.5 tackles for loss and was just named a Bednarik Award semifinalist. For the Chanticleers to upset Marshall, they will need to contain Green.

Group of 5 Truth Serum

Truth serum is something stated that is not necessarily a popular take but is more truth than fiction. This week’s truth serum: Army and Navy could play twice this season—in the AAC championship game and the annual Army-Navy game, but not if Tulane knocks off Navy in Week 12.