RANKING THE G5 IN FOOTBALL 2014 SEASON

1. AAC: It's hard to argue against the AAC taking the top spot in the G5 race. With a Fiesta Bowl win by UCF and a National Championship by UCONN, The AAC seems to be firmly in
first place for the moment. The AAC has had, however, its fair share of difficult moments. Aresco held the league together with duct tape and super glue in the summer of 2013. Aresco, who is also the chief cheerleader for the American, recently acknowledged in the Orlando
Sun-Sentinel, that it is going to be hard to compete
against the P5. It's a challenge  he said the American is up to. For now, however,  he and the American are enjoying the view from the top.

2.  Mountain West: The Mountain West is a good sports league. The problem with good however, is that good rarely gets attention from the  media or the sports world like being great or  being very bad does. The MWC is in a strange place this year. For the first time in a long time, its premiere team, Boise State, is without its excellent football coach, Chris Peterson. Couple this with a lackluster  basketball season, and the Mountain West is due for a bit of Spring cleaning.

3. This might come as a surprise to some people, but not to those who follow the Belt closely.  The Sun Belt has earned its number 3 rating because of strong football and strong football schools that have been added since realignment. App State and Ga Southern were excellent  picks for the Sunbelt.  The Sunbelt has more pure football schools in its conference than the MAC and CUSA do. What the Sun Belt is missing however, is competitive basketball. Sun Belt basketball should be sued for gross negligence. If I were Commissioner  Karl Benson, I would hold an emergency meeting with the conference AD's to discuss the dismal state of Sun Belt basketball. On the other hand, football schools like Ark State, ULL and the new additions of the Sunbelt should keep this league competitive for many years to come.

4. Many might think that the MAC should be higher than number 4. The problem for the MAC however, is that its top teams, including NIU, have faired horribly when playing competition from the other G5 Sports leagues. There of course, some very solid teams in the MAC, OHIO, Toledo, Bowling Green, and Ball State, are some of them. When these schools however, play in Bowl Games, they often show a real lack of depth and talent to compete with the top schools from other G5. I like the MAC. I think they do more with less better than any conference in the G5. Until however, they prove that they can be more competitive agains other G5 schools in games that matter, they will remain number 4 on my list.

5. Where do I begin. This once proud Mid Major has fallen on hard times lately. Its best schools, Tulsa, Houston, UCF and ECU have all been carried  away by the fancy talk of Mike Aresco and the

AAC. Only Southern Miss , traditionally( until recently of course) one of the best programs in Conf USA is left. There still are a few solid teams in CUSA, Marshall being the top of the list right now. But in terms of realignment , Commissioner Britton Banowsky, gambled on large markets instead of teams with a proven record of winning in football. So far this strategy has not paid off for Conf USA. Schools like North Texas, MTSU and LA Tech, as well as ODU, and UNC-Charlotte will have to prove themselves worthy of carrying on the the  Conf USA legacy of being a good competitive league.  Until that happens, Conf USA is in the midst of one serious identity crisis. Here is the good news for Conf USA: The sports league has tremendous upside and  potential. If the new teams can gel with each other and form a strong bond of competition, Conf USA can and should move quickly up the scale and be near the top again.