4 G5 Football Games You Should Watch in Week 5

Entering week four, there are several G5 contests which have interesting storylines – here’s four that we’re keeping our eyes on at G5FootballDaily.

South Alabama at James Madison

The Sun Belt conference was put on notice by James Madison last season in the team’s eight-win 2022 campaign. Due to NCAA rules, the Dukes aren’t eligible for postseason play for two seasons – despite the team being SBC East Division co-champions last year.

This season, JMU has picked up where they left off last season, starting 4-0 for the second consecutive year under head coach Curt Cignetti. They welcome Kane Wommack’s South Alabama team who are coming off a 10-win season last year and despite the 2-2 start, are legit contenders in the Sun Belt. Saturday’s contest in Harrisonburg should be one of the top Group of Five contests of the week.

Middle Tennessee State at Western Kentucky

For several seasons, Rick Stockstill’s Middle Tennessee team struggled mightily to find success in the run game from the running backs. During last season’s eight-win campaign, MTSU had a running back (Frank Peasant) rush for north of 600 yards for the first time since 2018.

However, during the Blue Raiders’ 1-3 start, Peasant has rushed for only 88 yards and Northern Illinois transfer Jaiden Credle tops the team with 188 yards on the ground. Stockstill’s club will look to jumpstart their run game against their rival’s in Western Kentucky, who are in need of a win after dropping last week’s contest to Troy.

Tyson Helton’s offense is still one of the tops among the Group of Five ranks, but the defense is still a work in progress after allowing 349 passing yards to Troy’s Gunnar Watson.

East Carolina at Rice

It’s a matchup of a longtime AAC member in East Carolina heading to a conference newcomer in Rice. Mike Houston’s club are off to a 1-3 start in their efforts to replace star quarterback Holton Ahlers and running back Keaton Mitchell. They’ll face a Mike Bloomgren’s Owls, who have looked better offensively under the guidance of quarterback JT Daniels.

The well-traveled Daniels has thrown for 1,237 yards with 11 touchdowns and only three interceptions, but was banged up during the team’s loss to South Florida last Saturday in Tampa. Bloomgren’s team are in search of their first winning season 2014 and a home loss to a struggling Pirates team would make the task even harder as they enter the heart of their conference schedule.

Old Dominion at Marshall

Ricky Rahne’s Old Dominion team are in a bit of a transition after losing running back Blake Watson in the transfer portal and moving on from last year’s starting quarterback in Hayden Wolff. The Monarchs are off to a 2-2 start with junior quarterback Grant Shields and junior running back Keshawn Wicks leading the way.

They’ll head to Huntington to take on a Marshall club that’s off to another great start – but for the sake of Thundering Herd fans – hope to be able to finish strong and not have yet another campaign that feels like it lost steam down the stretch. Charles Huff’s team are led by the return of running back Rasheen Ali, who missed most of last season dealing with a personal off-field situation. The former 1,400-yard rusher is off to a good start, rushing for 396 yards and seven touchdowns.