By Way of Comparison: The Rest of the G5 Field

Buffalo (3-0): SP+ rank (through Week 12): 63 | FEI rank (through Week 11): 60 | Sagarin rank: 72 | FPI rank: 55 | Strength-of-schedule rank (per Sagarin/Sports Reference): 137/122

BYU (9-0): SP+ rank (through Week 12): 8 | FEI rank (through Week 11): 5 | Sagarin rank: 16 | FPI rank: 14 | Strength-of-schedule rank (per Sagarin/Sports Reference): 112/97

Cincinnati (8-0): SP+ rank (through Week 12): 6 | FEI rank (through Week 11): 11 | Sagarin rank: 18 | FPI rank: 13 | Strength-of-schedule rank (per Sagarin/Sports Reference): 91/67

Coastal Carolina (8-0): SP+ rank (through Week 12): 36 | FEI rank (through Week 11): 37 | Sagarin rank: 57 | FPI rank: 37 | Strength-of-schedule rank (per Sagarin/Sports Reference): 111/103

Louisiana (7-1): SP+ rank (through Week 12): 32 | FEI rank (through Week 11): 47 | Sagarin rank: 58 | FPI rank: 51 | Strength-of-schedule rank (per Sagarin/Sports Reference): 87/64

Marshall (7-0): SP+ rank (through Week 12): 21 | FEI rank (through Week 11): 32 | Sagarin rank: 45 | FPI rank: 32 | Strength-of-schedule rank (per Sagarin/Sports Reference): 130/113

Tulsa (5-1): SP+ rank (through Week 12): 42 | FEI rank (through Week 11): 44 | Sagarin rank: 55 | FPI rank: 39 | Strength-of-schedule rank (per Sagarin/Sports Reference): 67/37

What are the big takeaways here?

Everyone is chasing BYU and Cincinnati, but any Mountain West team looking to play their way into the top 25 will need to catch a lot of breaks.

One thing that may help is that just about every team has a bland SOS ranking, though the Bearcats and AAC brethren Tulsa could benefit from a perceived conference edge out of the gate in that regard.

On the other hand, teams that have emphatically taken care of business will probably find a landing spot somewhere in the initial top 25 and that’s not something that Mountain West teams have done consistently. Nevada is undefeated, yes, but their last two wins have been one-score affairs. Whoever can put together a rout or two down the stretch will do themselves a big favor.

Marshall, meanwhile, is outscoring its opponents on average by a 37-10 margin and notched a non-conference win over Appalachian State back in September. Coastal Carolina has beaten its opponents 37-17 on the average and has two impressive wins of its own, App State and Louisiana, and they get Liberty at home in two weeks while also remaining on a collision course with the Ragin’ Cajuns in a Sun Belt championship rematch.

So what do I think the first top 25 will look like? Read on.