Well, this was an interesting week for “Group of Five” football teams. A handful of teams put out lame duck performances, and have seen the consequences in this week’s Underdogs Poll.
2014 Underdogs Poll, week 3: It’s BYU, then it’s everyone else
The Cougars are sprinting away with the No. 1 spot after beating down Texas in Week 2.
Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports
| RANK | TEAM | POINTS | PREVIOUS |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | BYU (15) | 277 | 1 |
| 2 | Marshall (2) | 234 | 2 |
| 3 | Cincinnati | 171 | 3 |
| 4 | UCF | 170 | 4 |
| 5 | NIU (1) | 167 | 7 |
| 6 | Boise State | 157 | 10 |
| 7 | ECU | 136 | 5 |
| 8 | Navy | 130 | 12 |
| 9 | UTSA (1) | 111 | 22 |
| 10 | Nevada | 93 | 8 |
| 11 | CMU | 56 | NR |
| 12 | Louisiana-Monroe | 47 | 14 |
| 13 | Utah State | 39 | 16 |
| 14 | SDSU | 34 | 23 |
| 15 | Colorado State | 31 | 11 |
| Dropped Out: Louisiana-Lafayette, WKU, Toledo, Temple | Others Receiving Votes: Houston (26), Memphis (25), Temple (23), Georgia Southern (21), Louisiana Tech (20), WKU (19), UTEP (18), Ball State (16), Wyoming (13), BGSU (12), South Alabama (11), UAB (10), Louisiana-Lafayette (9), Fresno State (9), New Mexico State (9), Army (8), North Texas (7), Toledo (6), Air Force (6), Midd. Tennessee (5), Texas State (5), Tulsa (4), Kent State (1) | |||
The BYU Cougars put on for their No. 1 ranking, thoroughly whooping Texas in a 41-7 road beatdown. Quarterback Taysom Hill was fantastic, once again, and honestly should be getting some consideration for the Heisman at this point. Yes, it's still early, but he ran over, around, and through Texas on Saturday.
Marshall’s still winning, but the confidence in the Herd has waned, as seen by their slipping first place votes. Then we’ve got the curious case of Cincinnati, a team that has yet to play (or name a starting quarterback), but is still considered one of the top four. We’ll get to see if the ranking is legit when the Bearcats open their season at home this Friday against Toledo. Speaking of Toledo, the Rockets fell hard out of the poll this week after getting curb stomped by Missouri at home.
Overall, it was a rocky week for the Underdogs. ECU, UL-Lafayette, UTSA, WKU, Colorado State, SDSU, and Temple all lost. Boise State shot way back up the polls after beating No. 15 Colorado State, and Navy has shown its a team to be reckoned with this fall.
And who knew beating Purdue was actually worth something? Welcome to the poll, CMU.
Voters from SB Nation sites Bull Run, Down The Drive, Hustle Belt, Miner Rush, Mountain West Connection, The UConn Blog, Underdog Dynasty, Vanquish The Foe, and Voodoo Five.
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