Knights: Arkansas State, Ball State, Buffalo, Central Michigan, Coastal Carolina, Colorado State, East Carolina, Eastern Michigan, Florida Atlantic, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Hawaii, Kent State, Liberty, Louisiana Tech, Miami (Ohio), Middle Tennessee, Nevada, North Texas, Ohio, Temple, Toledo, Troy, Tulane, Tulsa, USF, UTSA, Utah State, Western Kentucky, Western Michigan, Wyoming
This is the largest group. Teams in this bunch have had some level of success, but not consistently high success for extended periods of time. UTSA and Coastal Carolina were the most difficult to put in this group. They’re in the programs’ golden years and are among the best G5 programs right now, but we’ll need more than the past two years of success to move their brands up — something that’s very likely if their coaches stick around. FAU won two Conference USA titles under Lane Kiffin but has been average outside of that. Temple and WKU have had success, but neither has cracked the Top 25 since at least 2016. Nine of 12 MAC schools are in this group because the league is so even across the board.
This is the largest group. Teams in this bunch have had some level of success, but not consistently high success for extended periods of time. UTSA and Coastal Carolina were the most difficult to put in this group. They’re in the programs’ golden years and are among the best G5 programs right now, but we’ll need more than the past two years of success to move their brands up — something that’s very likely if their coaches stick around. FAU won two Conference USA titles under Lane Kiffin but has been average outside of that. Temple and WKU have had success, but neither has cracked the Top 25 since at least 2016. Nine of 12 MAC schools are in this group because the league is so even across the board.
