Navy moved into the top 15 of the latest College Football Playoff rankings on Tuesday and a couple other teams made a re-appearance in the top 25. Let's break down the Group of 5's ongoing race to the coveted New Year's Six bowl bid:
Record: 9-1
Rank: No. 15
What they've done: The Midshipmen widened the gap between themselves and everyone else in the race. They continue to take care of business, routing Tulsa 44-21 on Saturday. With Memphis falling out of the top 25, that takes away Navy's one win over a ranked team (the Tigers were 13th and undefeated when Navy took them down) but their active five-game winning streak (all by double digits) helps.
Next big obstacle: Navy's biggest test to date is Friday when it goes to Houston. If the Midshipmen win, they host the American Athletic Conference championship game. If they don't, they're eliminated from the race because they'll be out of conference championship contention and the Group of 5 representative must be a conference champ.
Record: 9-1
Rank: No. 24
What they've done: The Rockets got a big dose of help Tuesday night. Not only did they make a return to the rankings for the first time since their Nov. 8 loss to Northern Illinois, they needed the Huskies to lose in order to have a chance at securing the MAC West Division championship and a spot in the MAC championship game. Well, Ohio helped out the Rockets by beating Northern Illinois 26-21 on Tuesday. Toledo's wins over two Power 5 teams (Arkansas and Iowa State) early this season are also a reason why they're still in this race.
Next big obstacle: Toledo must beat Western Michigan on Friday to keep its hopes alive. That win would pit them against Bowling Green in the MAC title game. A win there with a Navy loss and perhaps the Rockets could find themselves in the right spot at the right time.
Record: 9-2
Rank: No. 25
What they've done: The Owls bounced back into the rankings after a big 31-12 win over Memphis, which was No. 21 last week. It was a must-win for the Owls, who have South Florida breathing down their neck in the AAC East Division. Their current strength-of-schedule ranking (86th) is better than Navy's (92nd) and Toledo's (105th) to this point.
Next big obstacle: Temple must beat Connecticut on Saturday to secure a spot in the American championship game and would have to go to Navy or Houston the following week. The Owls can secure a spot in the AAC championship game even with a loss if South Florida falls to winless UCF, but a third loss would be damaging, even if they ended up winning the conference.
Record: 10-1
Rank: Unranked
What they've done: The Cougars' schedule strength (currently 121st) is coming back to bite them now after they suffered a 20-17 loss to a then-.500 UConn team. They do have two wins over Power 5 teams (Louisville and Vanderbilt) but the only win they had over a ranked team is now gone -- like Navy -- because it was against Memphis on Nov. 14 when the Tigers were 21st.
Next big obstacle: Friday's game vs. Navy is a must-win. Like the Midshipmen, a win for the Cougars means they host the AAC title game and keep their New Year's Six hopes alive. A win over Navy probably will launch Houston back into the top 25 also. A loss means the Cougars are out.
Keep an eye on...
Western Kentucky. The Hilltoppers are 9-2 and undefeated in Conference USA. If South Florida wins the American and Toledo fails to win the MAC, that could open the door for Western Kentucky if it beats a 9-2 Marshall team on Friday and then wins the C-USA championship game the following week. ... Could Bowling Green (9-3) be a possibility? If it faces and beats a ranked Toledo in the MAC championship game and -- again, South Florida wins the American -- it might make the Falcons a possibility. ... Speaking of South Florida (7-4) it needs a win this week and a Temple loss to get into the American title game, but a New Year's Six bid seems virtually impossible because it has four losses. Even if it happens to win the conference, it's unlikely for the Bulls to jump enough teams to wind up being the highest-ranked Group of 5 champion.