First and foremost, UMass has now won more than one game for the first time since 2018 and has a chance to match its record that season (4-8). Great stuff from Don Brown and the Minutemen.

In other news, Jacksonville State won its seventh game as an FBS member, Georgia Southern won an in-state battle over its brethren State, SMU dropped 52 on Tulsa in the first half, and Fresno State won a battle of Mountain West title contenders over UNLV. 

The Group of Five’s darling team in James Madison had one of its closer calls of the season, narrowly hanging on to beat Old Dominion 30-27. Staying in the Sun Belt, Troy may have emerged as the second-best team in the league after taking down Texas State in dominant fashion.

Liberty passed yet another Conference USA test against Western Kentucky on the road behind a dominant rushing performance. Four ball-carriers went for over 50 yards, the Flames as a whole rushed for 323, and they pulled away from Big Red and the Hilltoppers in a 42-29 win.

Tulane also won an offensive battle against JT Daniels and Rice, keeping its New Year’s Six hopes alive. In the MAC, Miami (OH) went on the road without quarterback Brett Gabbert and stunned Ohio by a score of 30-16, which may be the key win the RedHawks need to qualify for the MAC title game.

Senika McKie drops the game tying touchdown and UNLV loses the game, super tough for the poor kid. pic.twitter.com/CfW2jhuLMW

— 😀 (@AR15Number1Fan) October 29, 2023

In updating the outlook for each of the Group of Five conference title races, we begin in the American. Tulane sits as the favorite, but SMU and UTSA are also perched at 4-0 in the league, and Memphis and FAU are within striking distance at 3-1. The Green Wave will still have to play in Boca Raton and at home against the Roadrunners.

Liberty has taken a stranglehold on the C-USA after reeling off wins over Jacksonville State and Western Kentucky, but the Flames will have to beat someone for a second time in the conference championship game. The winner of a season-ending contest between JSU and New Mexico State may be Liberty’s opponent in that game.

In the realm of MACtion, Miami (OH) merely needs to hold off Buffalo when the RedHawks host the Bulls in two weeks and they should get their rematch with a Toledo team that handed them their only conference defeat.

The race for who will play Air Force in the Mountain West title game remains a logjam, as Fresno State, UNLV and Boise State all sit at 3-1. BSU’s date with Fresno State on Saturday will carry major implications, as will the Falcons’ final two games against UNLV (home) and the Broncos (road).

And, in the ever-entertaining Sun Belt, Georgia Southern has a leg up in the East with head-to-head wins over both Georgia State and Coastal Carolina. A victory over ODU in three weeks’ time may be all it takes to qualify for the conference championship. Troy has taken control of the West following the win over Texas State, but the Trojans can not afford to drop a game to either South Alabama or Louisiana down the stretch. In the end, James Madison is the best team in this league and should raise a banner regardless.

Just when you thought you weren’t getting enough Sun Belt content…most of this article is dedicated to it. Three of the four matchups feature Sun Belt programs. 

The Georgia schools will take on two of the conference’s best and will each look to make major moves in the conference standings, while Troy and South Alabama will play in a pivotal in-state clash.

In the Mountain West, we will also get to witness a rematch of the 2022 Mountain West title game between Boise State and Fresno State. The Broncos are sitting pretty at 3-1 in conference play and have the potential to mount a late-season rally.

Also, be sure to check out our weekly piece highlighting the top players at the Group of Five level in the season-long race for the Colt Brennan Award.

South Alabama (4-4, 2-2) at Troy (6-2, 3-1)

Thursday, 7:30 PM ET | ESPN2

MyBookie Odds: Troy -6

Last Matchup: Troy 10-6 in 2022

NY6 Impact: Low

Stars To Watch: Carter Bradley (QB, USA), Kimani Vidal (RB, Troy)

What’s On The Line: The Western division of the Sun Belt continues to be a battle ground, as Troy took down Texas State last week to take control while Louisiana upset South Alabama to create a logjam in the middle.

USA entered the year as one of the conference favorites, and following a 33-7 road win over Oklahoma State in Week 3, it looked the part. But with only two wins against inferior opponents in conference play, the Jaguars need to pick up some signature wins. Down the stretch, they will have plenty of opportunities.

This has been a well-balanced, albeit not spectacular, team thus far. The USA defense has been serviceable this season, allowing just 21.1 points per game, but it has been streaky. In the Jaguars’ four wins, no team scored more than 17. In their four losses, no team scored less than 30. Senior quarterback Carter Bradley (2,156 yards, 13 touchdowns), junior wide receiver Caullin Lacy (957 yards, six touchdowns) and sophomore wide receiver Jamaal Pritchett (168 yards, two touchdowns against Louisiana) are a dynamic trio in the passing attack, and they will likely need to make a handful of big plays this weekend. The Jaguars offense failed this team last week, however, as it turned the ball over five times.

Troy made a statement in its 31-13 win over Texas State, holding the normally potent Bobcats offense to just 13 points and forcing four turnovers. The Trojans fell to Kansas State and Sun Belt powerhouse James Madison early in the season, but they have rebounded to rip off five straight wins. Similar to last year, Troy’s defense (17th in the nation in allowing 16.9 points per game) and running game (165.9 yards per game) lead the way. Junior running back Kimani Vidal deserves more national recognition, as he is so close to the 1,000-yard mark, and senior quarterback Gunnar Watson is playing the best football of his career following a 392-yard, four-touchdown performance against Texas State.

Troy is the more balanced and trustworthy team in this matchup. Unless South Alabama’s defense steps up in a major way, the Trojans should win this one handily.

Score Prediction: Troy 27, South Alabama 13

James Madison (8-0, 5-0) at Georgia State (6-2, 3-2)

3:30 PM ET | ESPN2

MyBookie Odds: JMU -5.5

Last Matchup: JMU 42-40 in 2022

NY6 Impact: Moderate

Stars To Watch: Jordan McCloud (QB, JMU), Darren Grainger (QB, GSU)

What’s On The Line: The Dukes continue to reign supreme. They’ve already passed road tests against Troy and Marshall, but their closest call came in a 30-27 home win over Old Dominion last week. The Monarchs attempted to rally late to pull off a stunner, but Jordan McCloud and the JMU offense proved to be too much to keep pace with.

McCloud is playing at an all-conference level with his ability to beat teams with his arm and legs, and his move from South Florida to Arizona to JMU has to be one of the more unheralded transfer portal success stories of recent years. McCloud is surrounded by talent on offense, and the James Madison defense has exceeded expectations behind a disruptive front seven that is spearheaded by senior edge rusher Jalen Green, who leads the nation with 15.5 sacks. The Dukes, of course, can not qualify for the conference championship or a bowl game, but a win in this game would all but wrap up another East division crown for JMU.

Darren Grainger and Georgia State stand in the way of JMU’s unbeaten dream season, but they will be in search of a bounce-back performance in doing so. The Panthers struggled against Georgia Southern in Statesboro, as Grainger threw a pair of uncharacteristic interceptions and the GSU defense was lit up for 334 yards through the air. Prior to the disappointing 44-27 result against Southern, the Panthers offense had been dynamic thanks to the dual-threat services of Grainger and top-tier skill position talent like running back Marcus Carroll and receiver Robert Lewis. Even in the aforementioned defeat, Carroll rushed for 208 yards and two touchdowns. Two games back of JMU, Shawn Elliott’s bunch have a backdoor chance of sliding into the Sun Belt title game for the first time in program history if they can take down the team that has looked unbeatable throughout the season.

I dared to pick against James Madison when it played Marshall. I will not make the same mistake again.

Score Prediction: James Madison 31, Georgia State 21

Georgia Southern (6-2, 3-1) at Texas State (5-3, 2-2)

7:00 PM ET | ESPN+

MyBookie Odds: GSU -2.5

Last Matchup: GSU 38-30 in 2021

NY6 Impact: Low

Stars To Watch: Marques Watson-Trent (LB, GSU), TJ Finley (QB, Texas State)

What’s On The Line: This cross-divisional matchup carries plenty of weight for both sides.

For Georgia Southern, the Eagles are looking to somehow keep pace with James Madison in the East standings. They lost the head-to-head matchup with the Dukes in Week 6, but the Eagles picked up an ever-important win over Georgia State last week. Davis Brin has had about as up-and-down of a season as one can have, but we saw the great version of him last Thursday night against the Panthers. Brin threw for 334 yards and three touchdowns, and the Southern defense forced a normally efficient Georgia State offense into three turnovers. The result was a key conference win for the Eagles, and as long as Brin remains hot, Georgia Southern should as well. Fresh off a solid showing last week, the Eagles defense will certainly be tested against a tricky Texas State squad.

Those Bobcats have been one of the surprise stories of the 2023 college football season, as GJ Kinne has taken this team to new heights and is in search of the program’s first bowl appearance in just his first season at the helm. The issue is that, outside of the opening win over Baylor, the Bobcats have yet to beat a truly quality opponent. Following the humbling loss to Troy, TJ Finley, and Co. need to find their offensive rhythm again and take better care of the ball. Getting sophomore running back Ismail Mahdi (854 yards on the year, 128 against Troy) going on the ground would do wonders to keep the ball out of Brin’s hands.

In the end, Texas State is at home, has too much firepower and should play a cleaner game this week. I don’t know what I’m going to get from Georgia Southern on a week-to-week basis, so I’ll trust the Bobcats to get it done.

Score Prediction: Texas State 34, Georgia Southern 27

Boise State (4-4, 3-1) at Fresno State (7-1, 3-1)

10:00 PM ET | CBS Sports Network

MyBookie Odds: Fresno State -3

Last Matchup: Fresno State 28-16 in 2022 MW title game

NY6 Impact: Moderate

Stars To Watch: Ashton Jeanty (RB, BSU), Mikey Keene (QB, FSU)

What’s On The Line: The more things change, the more they stay the same.

Even with the likes of Air Force, UNLV and Wyoming making moves in the Mountain West standings this year, the race for the MW title will still heavily involve these two teams. After all, they met twice last season, once in the regular season (a 40-20 BSU win) and once for the MW Championship Game (a 28-16 Fresno State win). In the 10 conference championship games that this league has featured, at least one of these two teams has appeared in seven of them.

Boise State has rallied from some early season struggles to find itself right in the thick of things in the conference. It has not always been pretty, but a two-quarterback system between the athletic Taylon Green and a fairly accurate Maddux Madsen has worked well in recent weeks. That duo will be counted upon to step up in a big way this weekend, as star tailback Ashton Jeanty went down with a lower body injury against Wyoming and is questionable for this weekend’s game. Veteran George Holani, who returned to rush for 75 yards following a six-game absence due to injury, will be counted on to shoulder a heavy workload. Ideally, the Broncos want to lean on their running game and a stout defense that just suffocated Wyoming in their 32-7 win in Week 9.

Fresno State presents a stark contrast in style. The Bulldogs want to utilize an up-tempo offensive scheme and benefit from an opportunistic defense to outscore opponents. Jeff Tedford’s bunch successfully remained afloat while quarterback Mikey Keene was out with an injury for much of the past month, only falling in a narrow defeat to Wyoming 24-19. Keene returned to throw for 256 yards and four touchdowns in an incredibly important 31-24 win over UNLV last week, and it all seemed to happen during a 24-point explosion in the third quarter. This offense can get hot at the drop of a hat, and four forced turnovers from the Bulldogs defense paid dividends as well.

There is a lot of history and animosity between these two sides. Thus, this is sure to be a hard-fought, close game to the end. I’ll take the home team with the better quarterback situation to win it in the clutch.

Score Prediction: Fresno State 31, Boise State 24

And now, nine weeks into the season, we update the New Year’s Six power rankings, with Air Force jumping James Madison into the second spot:

1. Tulane
2. Air Force
3. James Madison
4. Liberty
5. Fresno State
6. Troy
7. Toledo
8. Miami (OH)
9. Georgia Southern
10. Louisiana