Five to Watch: Group of Five
Five Group of Five teams that will be full of intrigue in 2023
With only two more days until kickoff on Week Zero, it’s time to turn our attention to the little guys. The Power Five was already covered here, so you know how this works. I’ll break down the teams I’m most excited to see in 2023 from each conference. You’ll tell me I’m wrong, these teams are all horrible, and we’ll go about our lives. But at the end of the day, you’ll still tune in to see these teams.
So, if you’re looking for a smaller school to root for because you don’t like the conglomeration at the top, want to seem like a college football hipster that hates the big brands, or just want to figure out some fun teams to watch, this is the list for you.
UAB
Oh, you thought we were done with Colorado and Coach Prime? How about his staunchest rival in the media, Trent Dilfer. That’s right, Dilfer is in charge of the Blazers, and operates the exact opposite way as Sanders. Instead of portaling, Dilfer is trying to build a culture of staying. You might say it’s old fashioned, but we’ll see how it shakes out for the Blazers.
Either way, UAB is a program at a crossroads. They’re heading to a new conference in the American after a few years in Conference USA. This is also a program that was cut and then reinstated in 2016.
Since that traumatic winter, the Blazers have done fairly well. Following their missed 2016 season, UAB has made a bowl game every season. They’ve won four of them, including their last two since the COVID-19 pandemic canceled their Gasparilla Bowl bid.
Heading into 2023, the Blazers are ready to retool their roster. Dilfer, who has Elite 11 experience, is expected to help take the offense to the next level. But, they’ll be without DeWayne McBride, who ran for 1,713 yards and 19 touchdowns last season en route to being selected in the seventh round by the Minnesota Vikings in April’s NFL Draft. They’re also without last season’s quarterback Dylan Hopkins, who transferred out to New Mexico.
In rebuilding his offense, Dilfer landed his starting quarterback in the portal from Ole Miss, redshirt freshman Trace Campbell. The three-star transfer was attempting to convert to tight end in Oxford, but decided his right place was under center.
I don’t know about you, but any time I hear about a high school quarterback converting to a tight end in college, then transferring to a school that will let him play quarterback under a former NFL quarterback head coach, I get interested. This has so much potential for chaos that I can’t help but tune in.
Another interesting storyline I’m sure will be followed: the comparison between Dilfer and Deion. Yes, the pair are going about things very differently, but they’re going to get compared. It helps that they’re polar opposites that make for easy comparison, ignoring the whole Power Five vs. Group of Five thing.
Toledo
The MAC is a conference that is always ebbing and flowing. But there is one constant at the top of the regular season: Toledo. In fact, the Rockets look so good this year, they snuck into my Preseason Top 25 for College Football Dawgs.
Toledo legitimately looks like the best Group of Five team in the nation, alongside Tulane, heading into the 2023 season. It’s up to Head Coach Jason Candle to keep this team on track.
The Rockets boast perhaps one of the most slept on quarterbacks in the nation in Dequan Finn. He could certainly start at the Power Five level, but Finn is instead staying in the Glass City. Finn battled injuries in 2022, but still performed at a high level, completing just under 60 percent of his passes for 2,260 yards, 23 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. He also added 631 yards and 9 scores on the ground.
There’s plenty of room for Finn to improve on those numbers, especially if he stays healthy in 2023. The talent is certainly there for him to lead the Rockets on the next MAC Cinderella run.
Toledo also factors in a stout defense, headlined by another sleeper player nationally, cornerback Quinyon Mitchell. The junior cornerback is coming off his best season where he snagged five interceptions and 19 pass defenses. Opposing offenses should steer clear of the ball-hawking corner.
While the Rockets did lose front-seven guys like Dyontae Johnson and Desjuan Johnson (no relation) to the NFL, they still have a very stout group. Linebacker Dallas Gant and defensive tackle Judge Culpepper will headline the group, but edge rushing linebacker Nate Givhan should also give opposing offenses trouble.
To make a long story short, the only thing stopping the Rockets from reaching their Top 25 potential would be health. Well, that and a healthy dose of MACtion.
San Diego State
I don’t know how long they’re going to be a G5 team, but that’s part of the intrigue, right?
Either way, Brady Hoke (remember him?) has a squad that’s hungry and ready to prove they should have earned that PAC-12 invite. The Aztecs are a defense-first team that limited opponents to 20.2 points per game in 2022, tied for 19th best in the nation. If they can even sniff that mark in 2023, this will be a dangerous team.
Luckily for Aztec fans, that strong defense returns seven starters from a year ago. Both interception leaders, cornerbacks Dallas Branch and Dezjhon Moore are back. They do have to replenish their front seven, though, after losing sack leader Jonah Tovai to the NFL and tackle leader Michael Shawcroft. If recent history is any judge, the Aztecs will do that just fine.
It’s the offense that has me worried, though. San Diego State wasn’t particularly good in 2022 on the offensive side of the ball, as evidenced by their 7-6 season and bowl loss to Middle Tennessee State. Senior quarterback Jalen Mayden does return after starting the final eight games, and hopefully takes a step forward.
Coinciding with the move to Mayden was staffing changes on the offensive side, with Jeff Horton taking over offensive coordinator duties and Ryan Lindley joining the staff as quarterbacks coach. When that change was made, the Aztecs jumped from 116th in the nation in scoring offense to 86th for the rest of the season. While that’s not a big jump, and the numbers moved from 19 PPG to 23 PPG, it’s still something.
Horton, Lindley and Mayden have now had a full offseason together. Now the offense has, hopefully, grown together more and meshed better. I’m excited to see how the San Diego State offense looks in 2023.
This is a team that could get some PAC-12 related revenge, with both Oregon State and UCLA on their schedule. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Aztecs down either one of those schools.
Also, SDSU plays at home this weekend against Ohio, so that’s a plus.
Liberty
Full disclosure: the CUSA spot would either be filled by Jacksonville State or Sam Houston State if we didn’t look at them back in July.
Hugh Freeze is a hugely controversial coach that somehow played right into the religious Liberty. While that schtick didn’t work the best at Ole Miss, it worked wonders on the Flames and made them a dynamic team, and led to quarterback Malik Willis being selected in the NFL Draft two years ago.
Now, Freeze is gone and Liberty turned a different route: down to the high-flying mullet-wearing vacation spot of Conway, South Carolina to Coastal Carolina and hired Jamey Chadwell.
Chadwell is a bit of a departure from Freeze but comes as a highly-regarded coach following his award-laden 2020, where he earned multiple Coach of the Year awards while leading the Chanticleers to an 11-0 regular season. He’s had success at every level, from DII up to the FBS with Coastal.
With Chadwell comes a unique, fast-paced spread option scheme. While Freeze certainly used similar concepts with Liberty, the Flames will go all-in on the spread option.
The Flames have a strong senior class gearing up for their last ride, and should make quick work of their new conference home, the CUSA. They also have no P5 schools on this season’s docket, so don’t be surprised if Chadwell’s Flames are heading into the bowl season with double-digit wins.
Coastal Carolina
Let’s keep riding the coaching carousel back to Chadwell’s last stop at Coastal Carolina. While Liberty is gaining from hiring an offensive guru, Coastal is losing one.
The Chants do gain an experienced coach who assembled one of the Sun Belt’s best staffs in Tim Beck. Beck, who has tons of Power Five experience, is regarded as a staunch recruiting, and has his eyes set on building the Group of Five’s premier program. We saw that on display when Beck recruited most of Chadwell’s recruits to stay in Conway with the Chanticleers, including one of the G5’s best quarterbacks, Grayson McCall.
Coastal did lose some top-level talent in the portal through guard Willie Lampkin (North Carolina) and edge rusher Josaiah Stewart (Michigan), but Beck and his team did a great job retooling with tons of P5 transfers. Those transfers, coupled with a strong returning class, should make Coastal a major factor in the Sun Belt championship race.
What I’m most interested in seeing, though, is how the Chanticleers adjust to life without Chadwell. As we discussed with Liberty, Chadwell ran a unique form of the spread option that we don’t see too much anymore. New head coach Tim Beck does not share that scheme. Instead, Beck prefers a simple, quick passing and run heavy scheme. That should play into the Chanticleers’ strengths, but there still should be an adjustment period.
Make no mistake, Beck is a good coach. He’s spent over a decade leading some of the nation’s top offenses under offensive masterminds like Urban Meyer, Tom Herman and Dave Doeren. His wealth of experience doesn’t make me think he’s going to force his scheme onto Coastal without regard for his players’ strengths.
Regardless, I think the Chanticleers are a team worth watching, and playing in the Fun Belt will surely bring some sweet, juicy chaos to your viewing experience.