4 G5 Football Games You Should Watch In Week Six

It’s hard to believe we’re almost at the halfway mark of the regular season. Several teams have jumped out to solid starts and are making a push for bowl contention. Let’s take a look at four G5 contests which have interesting storylines and have a chance to play a major part in bowl implications.

Western Kentucky at Louisiana Tech

The folks in Ruston should expect a high-scoring affair between two clubs that have strong Air Raid principles in their offenses. Tyson Helton’s Western Kentucky team have been among the top scoring team’s in the nation ever since Helton made the switch to an Air Raid based offense in 2021, first being guided by New England Patriot Bailey Zappe and now C-USA’s top signal-caller in Austin Reed. The issue has been defensively for the Hilltoppers.

They’re allowing almost 30 points per contest and with the offense’s points per game, while still among the top-third in the nation but down from seasons’ past, have to help out their counterpart.

The Bulldogs are led by Sonny Cumbie, who has his own decorated history as an Air Raid signal-caller. It will be a game-time decision as to whether Boise State transfer Hank Bachmeier will start or if it will be backup Jack Turner.

South Florida at UAB

Fun fact – When South Florida’s football program played its first game at Houlihan’s Stadium on September 6, 1997 – they played on the same field that current UAB head coach Trent Dilfer began his first and only Pro Bowl campaign with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, six days prior.

Dilfer has a long history with Tampa, so it’s somewhat fitting that he’s in search of his first FBS victory as a collegiate head coach against the Bulls. Alex Golesh’s USF team have a chance to really be in the midst of bowl contention with a win in Birmingham, after a three-year stretch that was undoubtedly the darkest in program history. Meanwhile, Dilfer is looking to keep the Blazers relevant in the AAC picture, after being stalwarts of Conference USA since returning to football in 2017.

Tulsa at Florida Atlantic

It’s a matchup of old-school versus new-school in the American as longtime conference member Tulsa heads to Boca Raton to take on an Owls team who are looking to rebound after a tough six-point loss at Illinois. First-year FAU coach Tom Herman is on his second quarterback as former Texas starter Casey Thompson was lost of the season, forcing in former Central Michigan transfer Daniel Richardson.

The Owls still have several talented pieces from previous seasons’ teams who pushed for bowl berths and enter the game as narrow favorites over a Tulsa team that’s off to a 3-2 start and would love a fourth win to put them squarely in the bowl mix.

Arkansas State at Troy

Okay, let’s be honest. Despite the fact that both of these teams enter their Sun Belt Conference matchup at 3-2, they arrived at this point in vastly different ways. Arkansas State’s three wins come over Stony Brook, UMass and an upset of Southern Miss – while Troy has beaten Conference USA heavyweight Western Kentucky and a surprise SBC contender in Georgia State.

Former Tennessee and Cincinnati head coach Butch Jones arrived in Jonesboro following the Blake Anderson era and struggled to find wins with veteran starter James Blackman. Now, five games into year three, Jones appears to have found his man in true freshman Jaylen Raynor. The North Carolina native has accounted for over 800 total yards and 12 touchdowns with only one interception on the season. He’ll lead a double-digit underdog Red Wolves’ team into hostile territory, taking on Jon Sumrall’s Troy team that could easily be 4-1 and are led by longtime starter Gunnar Watson.