Group of 5
Troy's Kimani Vidal is hoping to repeat his 1,000-yard rushing effort from last year (PHOTO CREDIT: Troy Athletics)

Group of 5: Week Four Top Matchups and FanBuzz Picks

Week 4 of each college football season usually signals the beginning of conference play, where Group of Five teams transition past their warm-up games and payout games and head to the ones that really count. There are still some out of conference matchups, but the payout games — where there are mismatches and a payment afterwards — are mostly wrapped up for the year.

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Let's take a good look at the G5's top games this weekend, with staff picks below:

THE TOP FIVE GAMES

NOTE: All game times are Eastern, with national TV indicated.

1. Western Kentucky at Troy, 12 PM, ESPNU —

2. Appalachian St. at Wyoming, 7 PM, CBSSN —

3. Memphis vs. Missouri, 7:30PM, ESPNU —

4. James Madison at Utah State, 8 PM, none —

5. Liberty at Florida International, 6:30 PM, ESPN+ —

THE NEXT FIVE

6 Georgia Southern at Ball State, 2 pm
7 Rice at USF, 4 pm
8 Southern Miss at Arkansas State, 7 p.m.
9 New Mexico State at Hawaii, 12 a.m.
10 23 UTSA at 11 Tennessee, 4 pm

NOTE: All games Saturday unless noted.

Group of 5

Wyoming QB Andrew Peasley is expecting big things in 2023 (PHOTO CREDIT: Troy Babbitt/Wyoming Athletics)

THE FANBUZZ STAFF PICKS

LAST WEEK'S WINNER: Anthony Nachreiner won the week with an 8-2 record in Week 3. Overall, Taylor Tilley is leading the season overall at 26-11.

THE COMPETITORS: BMAC - G5 Editor Brian McLaughlin (all conferences); Jamie Malloy (MAC); Julie Miller (AAC & C-USA); Jay Moffitt (AAC & C-USA); NACH - Anthony Nachreiner (Mtn. West); Jordan Ramos (MAC); Taylor Tilley (Sun Belt)

MATCHUP BMAC JAMIE JULIE JAY NACH JORDAN TAYLOR
WKU at Troy TROY TROY WKU WKU WKU WKU TROY
App St. at Wyoming WYO WYO APP WYO APP APP APP
Memphis vs. Missouri MIZZ MIZZ MEMP MEMP MIZZ MIZZ MIZZ
J. Madison at Utah St JMU JMU UTAH UTAH JMU JMU JMU
Liberty at FIU LIB LIB LIB LIB LIB LIB LIB
Ga South at Ball St GS GS BALL GS GS GS GS
Rice at USF USF USF RICE RICE USF RICE RICE
So Miss at Arkansas St SM AST SM SM SM SM SM
New Mex St at Hawaii HAW HAW NMST NMST NMST NMST HAW
UTSA at Tennessee TN TN UTSA TN TN TN TN
LAST WEEK 7-3 4-6 6-4 3-7 8-2 5-5 4-6
SEASON 25-12 19-18 23-14 23-14 24-13 19-18 26-11

(*) - Denotes conference matchup