The Group of 5 became the Group of 6 over the summer, as the Pac-12 brand re-emerged two seasons after the once-proud conference of champions was pilfered by the Big Ten and Big 12. Oregon State and Washington State, the two institutions left holding the bag by that massive round of conference realignment, recruited a sizable chunk of the Mountain West to join their banner (along with Texas State from the Sun Belt to round out the conference).
The Mountain West answered by poaching Northern Illinois from the MAC, UTEP from Conference USA and, in their biggest coup, pulled North Dakota State up from the FCS. Now, the top teams from those western leagues will battle with the American, Conference USA, MAC and Sun Belt.
Last year, the then-G5 took advantage of a wacky situation in the ACC to score two invites to the 12-team College Football Playoff, with the American’s Tulane and Sun Belt’s James Madison scoring the final two seeds. Of course, as has been the case every year since the CFP grew to 12 teams, the powers that be have tweaked the format again, now guaranteeing bids to the Power 4 champions as well as the highest-ranked G6 team by the selection committee, regardless of conference champion status. Notre Dame will also earn a bid if it finishes top 12 after they were left on the outside looking in a year ago.
If the Big Ten and SEC, which control the playoff, have their way, the G6’s say in determining a national championship could be in danger. As Sports Illustrated’s Pat Forde wrote Wednesday, “it seems inevitable that the greedy power conferences eventually take away the one bid allotted to a team from the Group of 6 leagues,” even as the Big Ten seeks to push the CFP all the way to 24 teams. Hopefully that doesn’t come to pass. While we all enjoy watching the Ohio States and Alabamas and Notre Dames of the world, the sport wouldn’t be the same without its plucky underdogs. Just look at Week 1’s biggest moments and best games: Boise State nearly upsetting Oregon at Autzen Stadium, UMass scoring the biggest win of what has looked like an ill-advised FBS tenure at Rutgers and Western Michigan’s defensive dominance against Michigan being taken away in the literal last second.
Until that comes to pass, we should appreciate and celebrate the Group of 6 as an important part of the tapestry of college football. For each week of the season, we will power rank the 10 top G6 programs with an eye on which will claim that valuable automatic bid.
10. San Diego State Aztecs (1–0)
Last week: Beat Portland State, 53–20
This week: at UCLA
San Diego State’s first week was very similar to Navy’s, discussed below: a comfortable win over an overmatched FCS opponent, from which it’s hard to glean much. The Aztecs only outgained the Vikings 394 yards to 375, and coach Sean Lewis bemoaned some operational lapses that his team experienced. They have a huge opportunity to pick off a promising Bruins squad this week, which would send them vaulting up these rankings.
9. Navy Midshipmen (1–0)
Last week: Beat Towson, 45–12
This week: at Florida Atlantic
Navy entered the 2026 season with a fair amount of playoff buzz as a favorite out of the American. Service academies, which many figured would suffer as institutions barred from participating in NIL in an NIL-heavy world, have turned that notion on its head. The Midshipmen have excellent player retention, with single-digit transfer portal losses. A comfortable win over the FCS Tigers won’t jump off the page, but Navy got back to its roots in the game, throwing for just 21 yards while running for 506 (led by quarterback Braxton Woodson’s 200 yards and three touchdowns). The schedule provides some opportunities for impressive wins, with games against other G6 programs making noise in early September such as Tulsa and Memphis, as well as the annual rivalry game against Notre Dame.
8. UMass Minutemen (1–0)
Last week: Beat Rutgers, 37–21
This week: vs. Sacred Heart
Massachusetts laid claim to one of the worst college football teams in recent memory last season, finishing with the worst scoring offense and scoring defense in FBS and finishing 0–12. It’s hard to call the Minutemen’s decade-plus in FBS as anything but an abject failure; they’re 27–134, with seven seasons of one or fewer wins since moving up in 2012. And yet, if there was ever a sign that things could be moving in the right direction, it came last Thursday, when UMass beat the Big Ten’s Scarlet Knights up and down the field. This wasn’t the type of fluky win that bottom tier G6 or FCS squads pull on Power 4 opponents every year; the Minutemen clearly looked like the better team, outgaining Rutgers 397 yards to 346 and outrushing them 200–27.
If anything, the fact that the Scarlet Knights were forced to play from behind made the final score look less stark than the actual play on the field, as they scored 14 fourth quarter points. And this was a Rutgers squad that many expected to be a solid bowl team, with wide receiver KJ Duff floated as a future first-round pick. Instead, UMass now looks like a fair bet to reach its first bowl game, though they can only count one win from their two FCS opponents towards the six necessary. That is followed up by a very favorable MAC schedule. If quarterback Pop Watson looks as dynamic in-conference as he did in Piscataway last week, this is legitimately a team to watch.
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7. Tulsa Golden Hurricane (1–0)
Last week: Beat Oklahoma State, 24–10
This week: at Sam Houston
The 2025 Tulsa squad took its lumps, as is expected in the first year of a new coach’s tenure at a struggling small-conference program, but they hung their hat on a stunning Sept. 19 upset of Oklahoma State in Stillwater, 19–12. That victory effectively ended the highly successful tenure of Mike Gundy with the Cowboys. The program brought in rising star Eric Morris from North Texas, who imported virtually an entire new roster, headlined by his star Mean Green quarterback Drew Mestemaker. The new-look Pokes opened their season in Tulsa against Tre Lamb’s Golden Hurricane and … got beat even worse.
Tulsa was picked to finish ninth in the American, but Lamb’s team looks strong after dispatching an Oklahoma State team that was expected by many—including this writer—to be one of the most improved teams in the country. We’ll see how it plays out for both programs, but with little data to go on, the Golden Hurricane are going to get plenty of early credit for dominating a Big 12 foe.
6. UNLV (1–1)
Last week: Beat Hawai’i, 21–6
Next week: at North Texas
The Rebels dropped their season opener in Week Zero to Memphis, a duel of G6 playoff hopefuls, but rebounded to pick up a road win at the Rainbow Warriors. The trip out to the islands is never easy, and UNLV handled it well, limiting what should be a fairly explosive Hawai’i offense to 294 yards. The Rebels have gotten up and down play from former Auburn and Oklahoma quarterback Jackson Arnold, but it is the running game, led by Jai'Den Thomas, that is powering the offense. They’ll need help to reach the CFP after the loss to the Tigers, but this is still a very talented team that should factor into the Mountain West race.
5. New Mexico (1–0)
Last week: Beat Central Michigan, 38–7
Next week: vs. Mercyhurst
The Lobos were dealt a severe blow before their season even started, as starting quarterback Jack Layne was ruled out for the year due to injury. That loss may very well weigh on New Mexico as they make their way through their most hotly anticipated season in a long time. You wouldn’t know it based on Week 1, however.
Seven Lobos combined to rush for 205 yards and three touchdowns. Layne’s backups, junior Oregon transfer Luke Moga and sophomore Toa Fa'avae, weren’t asked to do a ton, combining for 159 yards with Moga throwing one touchdown. The defense allowed for that fairly conservative offensive approach, as they held the Chippewas to just 149 total yards, 19 of which came through the air. That will play.
4. North Dakota State (2–0)
Last week: Beat Fordham, 38–0
Next week: at Air Force
The Bison have passed the early tests of their first FBS campaign, blowing out Jacksonville State—one of the best teams in Conference USA over the last few years—before shutting out FCS foe Fordham last week. Nathan Hayes has been rock solid under center to begin his first year as a starter, while the North Dakota State defense has been largely impenetrable so far, allowing just 305 yards in two games. The Bison get their first road test as an FBS club on Saturday, heading down to Air Force, where they’ll contend with the Falcons’ option rushing attack. With October road games against UNLV and New Mexico, NDSU has a chance to take control of the Mountain West at midseason.
3. Western Michigan (0–1)
Last week: Lost at Michigan, 13–12
Next week: vs. Monmouth
Without diving too far into the Bail Mary, a topic well covered across the college football media over the last few days, it does appear that the Broncos will be given a fair bump from the controversial one-point loss to the Wolverines. The team vaulted up into the de facto No. 32 spot in the “others receiving votes” category of the AP Top 25, while Michigan fell out completely. Add in that Western Michigan is a defending conference champion that returned much of its lineup from a year ago, and this team already had some solid benefit of the doubt. Keep winning—including a massive G6 showdown with Boise State in late September—and WMU may still control its own destiny.
2. Memphis (2–0)
Last week: Beat Arkansas State, 42–24
Next week: at Boise State
The Tigers may have the best early résumé in the Group of 6 among the teams expected to be in the mix at the end of the season, with a Week Zero win at fellow CFP hopeful UNLV before beating the Red Wolves in Week 1. They can take a true stranglehold on the race in Week 2, as they travel to face off against Boise State. If Memphis can pull off a second massive road win, they’ll be in phenomenal shape, with games against Army and Navy being the toughest of their American conference slate. The Week 2 slate is very strong overall, with games like Ohio State at Texas and Oklahoma at Michigan. Add the Tigers at the Broncos at 6 p.m. ET to your must-watch schedule.
1. Boise State (0–1)
Last week: Lost at Oregon, 34–27
Next week: vs. Memphis
For the second time in three years, the Broncos went to Autzen Stadium and went toe-to-toe with an elite Ducks squad. In 2024, Boise State had Ashton Jeanty leading the way in the backfield, and he nearly led the team to an upset of the eventual Big Ten champions. While the Broncos have some impressive playmakers this season, they don’t have a singular game-breaking presence like Jeanty. This time around, it came down to some big plays by veteran quarterback Maddux Madsen, an opportunistic recovery on special teams and a defense that held Oregon’s uber-talented offense in check for the first half. Ultimately, Dante Moore & Co. came out on top, taking the lead on a touchdown pass to Dakorien Moore midway through the fourth quarter. The box score and postgame win expectancy numbers absolutely favor the Ducks. But anyone who watched this game saw just how close of a matchup it was.
The ’24 Boise State squad would ultimately make a run to the College Football Playoff. This year’s Broncos have some major hurdles, like the upcoming nonconference games against Memphis and Western Michigan, but if they can run through the Pac-12, the close call at Oregon may put them over the top.
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