4 G5 Football Games You Should Watch In Week 4

Author:
G5 Football Daily Staff
Publish date:
Sep 21, 2023 5:24 AM EDT

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

Georgia State at Coastal Carolina

During Georgia State’s almost decade-and-a-half of existence, it’s felt like a football program that’s just waiting on a breakout season to capitalize on its downtown Atlanta stadium and fertile recruiting territory. Well, in Shawn Elliott’s seventh season at the helm, the Panthers are off to a 3-0 start with a chance to face a Coastal Carolina in Conway, who has been one of the Sun Belt’s heavyweights for years. Simply put, this may be the biggest game in the 14-year history of Georgia State’s program.

Liberty at Florida International

Okay, forgive me for inserting the Panthers in this column in back-to-back weeks. However, Saturday’s contest between FIU and Liberty is one of the most crucial among the Group of Five ranks, because the winner of this contest is squarely in the driver’s seat in Conference USA – with a CUSA preseason favorite in Western Kentucky facing the prospect of falling to 2-2 (more on that in a second). Here’s a link to last week’s column for some background on the rebuild job that FIU head coach Mike MacIntyre inherited. As to this year’s club, true freshman Keyone Jenkins and a stout defense have headed the resurgence. For the Flames, while they have been an excellent program over the last half decade, there were certainly questions as to how Jamey Chadwell would fare in his first season in Lynchburg. Well, he’s turned quarterback Kaidon Salter into one of the nation’s most efficient signal-callers and his team is undefeated.

UNLV at UTEP

The UNLV program has been one that’s been hard to assess over the last several seasons. After the experiment of hiring Las Vegas prep coaching legend Tony Sanchez didn’t work, they turned to former Oregon offensive coordinator Marcus Arroyo. Following an increase in wins in his last two seasons, culminating in a 5-7 2022 season (the program’s most wins in five years) – they subsequently showed Arroyo the door in a surprising move. Now, former Missouri HC Barry Odom is at the helm and has the Rebels off to a 2-1 start. They head to El Paso to take on a struggling UTEP team that is looking to jumpstart their offense and can’t afford another loss.

Western Kentucky at Troy

Our final game to watch takes us deep in the heart of Sun Belt country as Troy welcomes Western Kentucky for a return matchup of last year’s contest. This contest is a classic case of a stout defense versus a high-powered offense as Jon Sumrall’s team are looking to defend last year’s SBC crown. The Trojans are again led by sixth-year quarterback Gunnar Watson and a defensive-minded attitude. After falling to James Madison 16-14 last week, Troy needs a win to avoid a 1-3 start. Meanwhile, Tyson Helton’s club will look to rebound after a decisive loss against a Power Five opponent in Ohio State. While not a conference game, the Hilltoppers will need to keep pace with Liberty or FIU in Conference USA.