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Mike's top 10 Group of Five college football teams for 2025. His best teams from the American, CUSA, MAC, WAC, and Sun Belt entering 2025.
Top 10 G5 Schools
Why should the so-called “power schools” have all the fun? We finally get a chance to see how one of these teams fare against elite competition. It still isn’t enough, but it’s a start.
Who are the best bets to take that automatic spot? We will shine the spotlight on those smaller schools this year at RotoBaller so you can keep track of who gets to crash the College Football Playoff party. We’ll start off with the 10 Group of 5 teams that look strongest heading into the 2025 college football season.
10. Ohio
There is a lot to like about this Ohio team that made the MAC Championship last year. Parker Navarro is back for another year. Sieh Bangura is back after two dismal seasons at Minnesota. Bangura was the class of the MAC as a freshman in 2022. He returns to where the magic happened.
The Bobcats are inexperienced at WR, but LB Michael Molnar and CB Tank Pearson anchor one of the best defenses in the MAC. There is some really good football being played by smaller schools in the middle of the country. It wouldn’t hurt to check out some of it before MACtion takes over Tuesdays and Wednesdays.
9. Colorado State
True junior Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi is entering his third year as a starter already. RB Justin Marshall was outstanding as a backup last season. Tay Lanier comes in from Northern Arizona to try to ease the loss of the best WR in school history (Tory Horton). The defense looks better with five transfers coming into the starting lineup. This is going to be a fun offense to watch!
8. UNLV
I knocked the Rebels down a peg or three after an uninspired showing against Idaho State on Saturday. It appears that UNLV is going to use Anthony Colandrea as the main quarterback and Alex Orji as a special package player, as Michigan did to open the 2024 season. We’ll see how long that lasts. The main bright spot was Jaiden Thomas. He might be the best Group of 5 running back this year.
7. James Madison
Bob Chesney picked up where Curt Cignetti left off in Harrisonburg. Former UNLV shakedown artist (QB Matt Sluka) is the starting QB this year. If he sticks around after four games this time around, he could have a good year. The running game for the Dukes will power the offense again behind George Pettaway and Ayo Adeyi. The team loaded up on transfer receivers, the most notable being Isaiah Alston from Iowa State. Eight of the top nine receivers are new to the team this year.
6. Toledo
The Rockets added former Arizona State and Ohio State RB Chip Trayanum to be the featured back this year. The four-headed monster approach in the backfield wasn’t always successful. We saw Trayanum carry a load for Arizona State before Cam Skattebo got there. The addition of Trayvon Rudolph from Northern Illinois will help offset the loss of Jerjuan Newton. Toledo has to be the favorite in the MAC at this point.
5. Navy
Blake Horvath is back under center for the Middies this year. That alone is enough to land them on the Group of 5 list. Brandon Chatman, Eli Heidenreich, and Alex Tecza, all triple-option connoisseurs, return as well. We know who Navy is. They are tough, disciplined, and will run you over.
4. Boise State
Considering the AP poll and Coaches Poll ranked Boise at their token Go5 addition, I know I’m lower on Boise. Ashton Jeanty was a special player, and the offense ran through him. Just look at how well he did in the NFL preseason. Jeanty wasn’t just a product of a Group of 5 schedule. He topped 100 rushing yards against Oregon last year.
Losing a player like that on a team like Boise is really tough. Maddux Madsen is still going to be good. I expect a good season from Boise, but the Broncos may lose a couple of games this year. Last year, I didn’t think they would until the playoff after the Oregon game.
3. South Florida
Byrum Brown wasn’t nearly as successful in his sophomore campaign last year. Some of that had to do with injuries. Some of it had to do with the players around him. Brown looks healthy coming into the season. The Bulls brought in Cartevious Newton from Iowa State and Sam Franklin from Tennessee-Martin to supercharge the backfield.
The Bulls have elite facilities, a large city, and more NIL money than most schools of their size. It will all come together at some point. There’s a reason that Byrum Brown didn’t leave. He believes in what Alex Golesh is building in Tampa.
2. UTSA
I thought this team would drop off after Frank Harris graduated. They did, but not at quarterback. A below-average run game and injuries at WR hurt the Roadrunners last year. Former UCLA legacy Owen McCown was superb in this offense last year.
With a healthy WR room this year, the Roadrunners have the best WR room among Group of 5 teams. Willie McCoy III led the team in receiving last year. Devin McCuin and David Amador II played well when healthy. The team just needs to get some kind of steady production out of the RB room to make a run this year.
1. Memphis
Memphis snagged Brendon Lewis and his favorite target (Cortez Braham Jr.) from Nevada, and Middle Tennessee RB Frank Peasant will start this year. I’m a believer in what Lewis showed on a bad Nevada team last year. Let’s see what he and Braham can do with a defense. Also joining the Nevada battery are former Cincinnati and Louisville receiver Jadon Thompson and former Georgia and Purdue receiver CJ Smith. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that this offense could be better than last year once the pieces start getting used to each other.
