Group of 6 Power Rankings: North Dakota State’s Offense Gets Lost in the Desert

A college football season is a war of attrition. Even the greatest teams will inevitably have to overcome a shaky performance or two during their seasons—fans of the old Big East remember that even 2001 Miami had to survive tough games at Boston College and Virginia Tech.

Survive and advance has long been the mantra in college sports—both in single-elimination events like the NCAA basketball tournaments and, until recently, college football, where a single loss could end a team’s national championship aspirations. The ever-expanding College Football Playoff has largely done away with that reality … except for the Group of 6. Boise State can survive a loss to a fully healthy Oregon, but it doesn’t have much room to negotiate beyond that. Undefeated James Madison, without a single Power 4 opponent on the schedule, probably can’t afford a single loss.

On Saturday, both the Broncos and Dukes were up against it in their games at Fresno State and Georgia Southern, while North Dakota State—which had rolled through the start of its FBS debut season—learned the lessons of the midseason grind all too well. Where does that leave this week’s G6 power rankings? Scroll through and find out.

Dropped out of the Top 10

Toledo Rockets (4–2), MAC; Last week: No. 9

Last week: Lost to Buffalo, 23–8
Next week: at Eastern Michigan

The MAC is as unpredictable as ever this season. Previously undefeated UMass has now dropped two straight games, Western Michigan lost the momentum from its near-win at Michigan (though back-to-back wins has the Broncos in good shape atop the standings, and mainstay Toledo just suffered a stunning blowout loss to the Bulls to drop it from the rankings. The Rockets have a prime chance to bounce back and hand Eastern Michigan its first conference loss next week, but the gray turf in Ypsilanti, Mich., can be a tough place for road teams to play.

Top 10 rankings after Week 6

10. North Texas Mean Green (4–2), American; LW: Unranked

Last week: Beat Charlotte, 50–10
Next week: Bye (at Navy Oct. 24)

North Texas makes its debut in the rankings, winning its third consecutive game with a blowout of American basement-dweller Charlotte. The Mean Green’s loss at Indiana was expected and they’d likely welcome a rematch against Texas State after losing on the road back on Sept. 19, but they also boast a dominant win over UNLV and a road victory at Tulsa. Even after the large-scale departures from last year’s roster with Eric Morris taking the Oklahoma State job, UNT has a dynamic passing attack once again, with Tayven Jackson tossing for 1,868 yards, 15 touchdowns and four interceptions, while West Virginia transfer Jahiem White has rumbled for 687 yards and nine scores on the ground. The defense is a real problem, but this is a team built to win a bunch of shootouts.

9. Fresno State Bulldogs (4–2), Pac-12; LW: No. 7

Last week: Lost to Boise State, 38–31
This week: at San Diego State

Fresno State may have a tough time winning the Pac-12 with the loss to Boise State, but no team has played the Broncos tougher, other than Oregon to start the season. Quarterback Jayden Mandal had one of his more effective performances of the year, with three total touchdowns, while Ezekiel Avit hauled in six passes for 96 yards and two scores. Fresno State’s schedule lines up nicely; after Saturday’s game against struggling San Diego State, the Bulldogs have a bye week before facing Oregon State and the lethal Beavers offense, giving Matt Entz’s staff plenty of time to prepare for the matchup. That may go a long way toward determining whether the Bulldogs get another shot at Boise State in the conference title game.

8. UTSA Roadrunners (5–1), American; LW: No. 10

Last week: Beat South Florida, 31–24
This week: vs. Navy

UTSA’s home field advantage at the Alamodome is one of the more underrated in all of college football, with a 36–5 home record under coach Jeff Traylor. South Florida coach Brian Hartline chose to stir that hornet’s nest ahead of their Week 6 game in San Antonio, implying that he’s heard that the program pipes in noise, and his Bulls summarily took one on the chin, getting outscored 21–7 in the second half. The Roadrunners boast an impressively balanced offense; quarterback Owen McCown isn’t asked to do much, but keeps the chains moving with a solid completion percentage of 68.7%, while the running game features three players with at least 200 yards, led by Will Henderson III (484, three touchdowns) and A’Marion Peterson (286, seven touchdowns). As a team, UTSA is rushing for a very solid 5.4 yards per attempt.

7. UNLV Rebels (4–2), Mountain West; LW: No. 8

Last week: Beat North Dakota State, 13–7
This week: at Air Force

It remains difficult to know what we’ll get from UNLV on a week-to-week basis. Last week, the Rebels scored 39 points on a flawed-but-talented Cal team. This week, they put up just 255 yards of offense and failed to find the end zone … and still beat North Dakota State. Dan Mullen’s offense is ugly, with Jackson Arnold struggling to take meaningful steps forward as a passer after failed stints at Auburn and Oklahoma, but he isn’t making as many back-breaking mistakes (Saturday’s interception was his first of the season) and he’s complementing Jai’Den Thomas nicely in the run game. With the win, the Rebels are amazingly just one of two teams, along with New Mexico, without a loss in conference play so far, making the Nov. 14 trip to Albuquerque very important.

6. Memphis Tigers (5–1), American; LW: No. 6

Last week: Beat UAB, 38–13
This week: vs. Tulane (Friday)

They haven’t faced a particularly difficult schedule in the weeks since their loss at Boise State, but Tigers continue to roll, blowing out an improved UAB team for their third consecutive win by at least 24 points. This week’s trip to Tulane should be a step up in competition, though the Green Wave have fallen back to earth after Jon Sumrall’s departure for Florida. Charles Huff’s team has a chance to really rack up wins down the stretch in the American, with no UTSA, North Texas or FAU on the docket.

5. North Dakota State Bison (5–1), Mountain West; LW: No. 3

Last week: Lost at UNLV, 13–7
This week: vs. Nevada

The dream of an undefeated FBS debut season is dead. NDSU traveled to the desert, where it found not sand, but mud, which an often ugly-but-effective Rebels team dragged them right into, limiting the Bison to 300 yards of offense. NDSU was just 4 of 12 on third down and 0 for 2 on fourth, and Nathan Hayes had his worst game of the season, throwing for just 124 yards with one touchdown and three costly interceptions. The first was returned for a touchdown in the first quarter, the second came on the very next drive and the last came with 1:23 left in the fourth quarter, sealing the game. I’m keeping the Bison ahead of the Rebels—they’ve been the more consistent team and lost on the road by a single score—but they’ve clearly dipped down into the second tier of G6 contenders.

4. New Mexico Lobos (4–1), Mountain West; LW: No. 4

Last week: Bye
Next week: at Hawai‘i

New Mexico holds steady after its bye week, ahead of the long trip out to face the Rainbow Warriors next Saturday. Hawai‘i has been a disappointment this season, but that trip can be a stumbling block for good teams. The Lobos haven’t shown that they are at risk of sleepwalking through a game yet, though, with an average margin of victory of 32.8.

3. Oregon State Beavers (4–2), Pac-12; LW: No. 5

Last week: Beat San Diego State, 66–14
This week: vs. Washington State

Oregon State’s offense continues to be an unstoppable force, and it vaults the Beavers up to No. 3 in our rankings this week. The Beavers are the clear biggest threat to Boise State in the Pac-12 (they play in Boise on Nov. 14) and are starting to make real waves across the country. There are few, if any, better quarterback-receiver duos in the country than Braden Atkinson (2,257 yards, 21 touchdowns, two interceptions) and Jesse Legree (38 receptions, FBS-leading 932 yards, 12 touchdowns). This isn’t a one-sided team, either. Oregon State’s defense is allowing just 22 points and 326 yards per game—numbers that plummet to 16 points and 268 yards in their last four games after opening the season against Big 12 powers Houston and Texas Tech.

2. James Madison Dukes (6–0), Sun Belt; LW: No. 2

Last week: Beat Georgia Southern, 27–24
This week: vs. Georgia State

Week 6 wasn’t easy on many of the Group of 6’s best teams. That was even the case for the very dominant-looking JMU, which got a late push by 2–4 Georgia Southern on the road and held on for a three-point win. The Dukes were outgained 465–438, their first time on the wrong end of total yardage since Week 1’s slugfest win over Liberty, and their worst defensive effort of the year in both points and yardage. The James Madison defense surrendered 444 yards in last week’s win over Marshall, so this may be a burgeoning cause for concern entering this weekend’s game against 4–1 Georgia State, one of the most improved G6 teams in the country this season.

1. Boise State Broncos (5–1), Pac-12; LW: No. 1

Last week: Beat Fresno State, 38–31
This week: Bye (at Washington State, Oct. 24)

Boise State beat then-Mountain West rival Fresno State, 40–20, at home on Oct. 8, 2022. The Bulldogs would get their revenge on the Broncos in that year’s conference title game, also played in Boise, fewer than two months later, 28–16. Boise State hadn’t won this game since, until Saturday’s 38–31 road victory against one of its chief threats in the Pac-12.

Spencer Danielson’s defense struggled, but the equation remained the same for the offense: dominance in the run game and a safe, effective performance by Maddux Madsen. Superstar running back Dylan Riley did what he does, rolling for 150 yards and a score, adding a team-high 64 receiving yards and a touchdown through the air, while his 1A in the backfield Sire Gaines returned from injury to put up 120 yards and a touchdown of his own. With both backs healthy, this is a tough offense to stop, though the defense is susceptible, as Fresno State proved.

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