Five Week 7 Group of Five games to watch for CFP race

Over a month into the 2025 college football regular season, contenders for the Group of Five's automatic College Football Playoff berth have begun to emerge.

With the favorite — Associated Press No. 23 Memphis Tigers (6-0, 2-0 in American) — on a bye, that gives other viable candidates the spotlight as they attempt to remain in the conversation.

Here are five mid-major games to monitor in the CFP picture for Week 7:

Louisiana Tech Bulldogs (4-1, 2-0 in CUSA) vs. Kennesaw State Owls (3-2, 1-0 in CUSA) • Thursday, 7 p.m. ET (ESPNU)

Conference USA might be the worst of the mid-major conferences (the MAC arguably has a stronger claim), but if enough chaos unfolds in front of it, Louisiana Tech could sneak into the playoff. Earlier this season, the Bulldogs held No. 11 LSU (4-1, 1-1 in SEC) to 23 points, and they rank No. 14 in FBS in scoring defense (13.6 points per game).

Louisiana gets Kennesaw State, which already surpassed last season's win total in its second year as an FBS member, on Thursday. Owls quarterback Amari Odom leads CUSA in completion percentage (71.6%), and he and the rest of the Owls will look to play spoiler at home and knock the conference's top playoff contender from the conversation. 

No. 24 South Florida Bulls (4-1, 1-0 in American) vs. North Texas Mean Green (5-0, 1-0 in American) • Friday, 7:30 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

While Memphis is the leader in the clubhouse for the Group of Five auto-bid, either South Florida or North Texas will fortify their case with a win Friday evening. The Bulls have two marquee wins to their name already, defeating Boise State at home in Week 1 and Florida on the road on Sep. 6. Meanwhile, the Mean Green rank No. 132 in FPI's strength of schedule metric, making Week 7 one of their few opportunities to prove they belong. With a win, North Texas could be in the clear for a spot in the conference title game. According to FPI, the program has the easiest remaining schedule in the American.

Air Force Falcons (1-4, 0-1 in Mountain West) vs. UNLV Rebels (5-0, 1-0 in Mountain West) • Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET (CBS Sports Network)

UNLV, in its first season under former Mississippi State and Florida head coach Dan Mullen, is the MWC's last hope to receive one of the five automatic CFP bids for the second consecutive year. Air Force has one of the country's worst defenses, allowing 37.8 points per game, giving the Rebels an excellent opportunity to reach 6-0 before a trip to Boise State.

Old Dominion Monarchs (4-1, 1-0 in Sun Belt) vs. Marshall Thundering Herd (2-3, 0-1 in Sun Belt) • Saturday, 3:30 p.m. ET, ESPN Plus

Old Dominion had one of the year's most surprising wins by a mid-major over a power conference opponent when it went to Blacksburg and rolled Virginia Tech, 45-26 on Sep. 13, prompting the ACC program to fire head coach Brent Pry. That result also has propelled the Monarchs into the CFP conversation. According to ESPN's Football Power Index, they have the second-best odds among Group of Five teams to make the playoff (19.8%), trailing Memphis, which sits at 39.7% while on its bye week.

The team is led by an explosive offense that's already produced 10 40-yard plays. Dual-threat quarterback Colton Joseph has accounted for 17 total touchdowns, including a Sun Belt-high 12 passing. Running back Trequan Jones, who previously played at Georgia Military College, leads the conference averaging 9.4 yards per carry, gaining 451 yards on 48 rush attempts.

Marshall, a 14.5-point home underdog, might not offer much resistance, but Old Dominion can't afford to look ahead with a pivotal conference game against James Madison (4-1, 2-0 in Sun Belt) looming next Saturday.

Navy Midshipmen (5-0, 3-0 in American) vs. Temple Owls (3-2, 1-0 in American) • Saturday, 4 p.m. ET (ESPN2)

Navy is once again off to a sizzling start. Midshipmen quarterback Blake Horvath has picked up where he left off last season, rushing for 485 yards and six touchdowns while also completing 71.9% of his pass attempts for 839 yards (13.1 yards per attempt). Per ESPN BET, Navy is a 9.5-point favorite against Temple, which has taken positive steps under first-year Temple head coach K.C. Keeler, hired from Sam Houston this offseason.

The Owls are already one win away from their first four-win season since 2019. and the offense is averaging nearly 10.6 points more per game than in 2024, going from 19.6 points to 30.2 points. Temple also won its last home game against Navy, making Saturday a potential trap game for the Midshipmen, who beat Air Force in a tough service academy showdown last weekend and have a bye in Week 8.