Two remain unbeaten as Oregon State makes the season's biggest climb

Boise State holds the No. 1 spot in the Diehard G6 Top 25 at 4-1 after beating Utah State 37-18 in the Pac-12 opener. The Broncos head to Fresno State this Saturday in a matchup of 4-1 Pac-12 teams. Behind Boise, two teams remain unbeaten: No. 2 James Madison (5-0), which rolled Marshall 45-17, and No. 3 North Dakota State (5-0), which shut out Wyoming 28-0 in the Bison's first Mountain West home game at the Fargodome.

Oregon State made the biggest jump of the season, climbing 14 spots from No. 24 to No. 10 after Braden Atkinson went 31-of-34 for 427 yards and five TDs in a 56-26 win at Colorado State. That loss dropped Colorado State out of the rankings. Navy also drops after losing 14-9 to Air Force and falling to 1-3. Two teams return to the rankings: No. 17 North Texas, which beat Tulsa 45-44 in overtime, and No. 24 South Alabama, which beat UL Monroe 52-35. The biggest drops belonged to Army (14 to 25 after losing at Louisiana Tech), UMass (10 to 20 after a 38-14 loss to Eastern Michigan) and USF (4 to 12 after Temple's 17-13 upset).

Games to watch this week:

• No. 3 NDSU at No. 18 UNLV — Saturday, 6 PM CT, CW (NDSU -3)
• No. 1 Boise State at No. 8 Fresno State — Saturday, 9:30 PM CT, CW (BOIS -6.5)
• No. 12 USF at No. 6 UTSA — Thursday, 6:30 PM CT, ESPN (UTSA -7)
• No. 19 Tulane at No. 25 Army — Saturday, 11 AM CT, CBSSN (ARMY -3)

Here is the Diehard G6 Top 25:

1. Boise State (4-1, Pac-12) — Spencer Danielson, Year 3 (prev: 1)

Beat Utah State 37-18 in the Pac-12 opener. Maddux Madsen went 17-of-21 for 244 yards and two TDs. Dylan Riley rushed for 93 yards and two TDs on 18 carries. Boise State outgained Utah State 429-345. The Broncos have won three straight.

This week: at Fresno State (No. 8), Saturday (9:30 PM CT, CW) — BOIS -6.5

2. James Madison (5-0, Sun Belt) — Billy Napier, Year 1 (prev: 2)

Won 45-17 vs Marshall. George Pettaway rushed for a career-high 206 yards and two TDs on 14 carries. Camden Coleman threw for 263 yards and three TDs on 21-of-32 passing. JMU totaled 573 yards — 310 on the ground — in front of 25,034 on Family Weekend at Bridgeforth Stadium.

This week: at Georgia Southern, Saturday (6:30 PM CT, ESPNU) — JMU -7.5

3. North Dakota State (5-0, MW) — Tim Polasek, Year 3 (prev: 3)

Shut out Wyoming 28-0 in NDSU's first Mountain West home game at the Fargodome. Nathan Hayes passed for 187 yards and rushed for two TDs (8 and 14 yards). The Bison defense held Wyoming to eight first downs and 162 total yards. Homecoming crowd of 18,586. NDSU is 5-0 in its first FBS season.

This week: at UNLV (No. 18), Saturday (6 PM CT, CW) — NDSU -3

4. New Mexico (4-1, MW) — Jason Eck, Year 2 (prev: 5, +1)

Routed UTEP 61-7 in the Mountain West opener. Toa Fa'avae went 15-of-19 for 249 yards and three TDs. Cameron Mathews had 108 yards on six carries (18.0 avg) and a TD. UTEP committed five turnovers. UNM's 10th straight home win ties the second-longest home winning streak in school history. Attendance: 28,256.

This week: Bye

5. Memphis (4-1, American) — Charles Huff, Year 1 (prev: 6, +1)

Beat Charlotte 59-8 in the AAC opener. Marcus Stokes threw a career-high five TDs on 20-of-25 passing for 318 yards. Jermane Hayes had a 93-yard TD reception among his six catches for 123 yards. Memphis totaled 674 yards on 89 plays. Thirteen different Tigers caught a pass.

This week: vs UAB, Saturday (6 PM CT, ESPN2) — MEM -14

6. UTSA (4-1, American) — Jeff Traylor, Year 7 (prev: 7, +1)

Survived Rice 16-14. Michael Petro kicked field goals of 32 and 53 yards. Will Henderson III rushed for 90 yards on 18 carries with a TD. UTSA forced two Rice turnovers. Rice's Jacurri Brown rushed for 96 yards and two TDs but could not complete a fourth-quarter comeback.

This week: vs USF (No. 12), Thursday (6:30 PM CT, ESPN) — UTSA -7

7. FAU (4-1, American) — Zach Kittley, Year 2 (prev: 9, +2)

Beat Texas Southern 66-10. Leonard Farrow returned two kickoffs for TDs, including a 98-yarder on the opening kick. Caden Veltkamp went 13-of-16 for 247 yards and four TDs. Kelby Valsin caught three TD passes for 126 yards. FAU set a program record for most points in a half. Attendance: 23,736.

This week: Bye

8. Fresno State (4-1, Pac-12) — Matt Entz, Year 2 (prev: 11, +3)

Won 26-6 at Washington State in the Pac-12 opener. Jayden Mandal went 24-of-33 for 245 yards. Manaki Watanabe kicked four field goals (27, 22, 33 and 33 yards). WSU managed a season-low 30 rushing yards and converted 3-of-14 third downs. Fresno State has won four straight.

This week: vs Boise State (No. 1), Saturday (9:30 PM CT, CW) — BOIS -6.5

9. Toledo (4-1, MAC) — Mike Jacobs, Year 1 (prev: 13, +4)

Beat Ball State 39-24. CJ Miller rushed for 196 yards and two TDs on 20 carries. Toledo ran for 352 yards as a team on 51 attempts. The Rockets outgained Ball State 553-370.

This week: vs Buffalo, Saturday (2:30 PM CT, ESPN+) — TOL -20.5

10. Oregon State (3-2, Pac-12) — JaMarcus Shephard, Year 1 (prev: 24, +14)

Won 56-26 at Colorado State in the Pac-12 opener for the week's biggest jump, climbing 14 spots. Braden Atkinson went 31-of-34 (91.2% completion) for 427 yards and five TDs. Jesse Legree caught three of those TDs for 156 yards. Oregon State totaled 650 yards. A program-record crowd of 41,000 packed Canvas Stadium for Colorado State's Homecoming.

This week: vs San Diego State, Saturday (5 PM CT, USA Network) — ORST -14.5

11. Western Michigan (3-2, MAC) — Lance Taylor, Year 4 (prev: 8, -3)

Beat Buffalo 20-17. WMU took a 20-17 lead with 1:19 remaining. Buffalo drove to the WMU 2-yard line with 11 seconds left but could not score. Broc Lowry went 19-of-24 for 212 yards. Neither team committed a turnover.

This week: vs Kent State, Saturday (2:30 PM CT, ESPN+) — WMU -13.5

12. USF (4-1, American) — Brian Hartline, Year 1 (prev: 4, -8)

Lost to Temple 17-13 for the Bulls' first loss. Ajani Sheppard's 34-yard rushing TD on third down with 3:08 left — capping a 96-yard Temple drive — was the game-winner. Michael Van Buren Jr. went 17-of-32 for 205 yards with no TDs for USF. Attendance: 36,349 at Raymond James Stadium.

This week: at UTSA (No. 6), Thursday (6:30 PM CT, ESPN) — UTSA -7

13. Louisiana (4-1, Sun Belt) — Michael Desormeaux, Year 5 (prev: 12, -1)

Beat Arkansas State 23-20 on a 37-yard Tony Sterner field goal as time expired. Louisiana scored on three of four second-half possessions. Lunch Winfield went 18-of-21 for 189 yards. JJ Garner rushed for 78 yards and a TD on seven carries. Louisiana had a 26-16 first-down advantage. Attendance: 21,211.

This week: at Louisiana Tech, Saturday (6:30 PM CT, ESPN+) — LT -3

14. Georgia State (4-1, Sun Belt) — Dell McGee, Year 3 (prev: 17, +3)

Won 42-10 vs Old Dominion on Homecoming. Cameran Brown threw a school-record six TD passes on 14-of-20 passing for 284 yards. Georgia State scored 42 unanswered after ODU scored first. Old Dominion managed 146 total yards and used three quarterbacks.

This week: Bye

15. Liberty (4-1, CUSA) — Jamey Chadwell, Year 4 (prev: 15)

Won 30-14 at Delaware to open CUSA play. Kam Davis rushed for 147 yards and two TDs on 17 carries. Liberty ran for a season-high 282 yards. The Flames led 23-0 before Delaware scored 14 in the fourth quarter. Attendance: 19,182 at Delaware Stadium — a sellout and the largest home crowd in Newark since Oct. 13, 2018.

This week: vs Sam Houston, Thursday (6 PM CT, ESPNU) — LIB -13.5

16. App State (3-1, Sun Belt) — Dowell Loggains, Year 2 (prev: 18, +2)

Had a bye. Moves up two spots as teams ahead dropped. The Mountaineers are 3-1 with their only loss at NC State.

This week: vs Old Dominion, Saturday (noon CT, ESPN+) — APP -9.5

17. North Texas (3-2, American) — Neal Brown, Year 2 (prev: NR, NEW)

Beat Tulsa 45-44 in overtime on Thursday night to re-enter the Diehard G6 Top 25. Tayven Jackson went 24-of-39 for 332 yards and four TDs. Jahiem White rushed 32 times for 219 yards, including an 84-yard run. North Texas outgained Tulsa 559-352. Jackson scored a 1-yard rushing TD in OT, then UNT stopped Tulsa's two-point conversion attempt for the win.

This week: vs Charlotte, Saturday (2:30 PM CT, ESPN+) — UNT -28.5

18. UNLV (3-2, MW) — Dan Mullen, Year 2 (prev: 19, +1)

Beat Cal 39-31 for the third G6-over-P4 win this season. Jackson Arnold accounted for five TDs (three passing, two rushing) and 282 total yards (172 passing, 110 rushing). UNLV led 24-7 at halftime before Cal rallied to take a 25-24 fourth-quarter lead. Arnold answered. Attendance: 30,632 at Allegiant Stadium.

This week: vs NDSU (No. 3), Saturday (6 PM CT, CW) — NDSU -3

19. Tulane (2-2, American) — Will Hall, Year 1 (prev: 21, +2)

Had a bye. Moves up two spots as teams above dropped. Tulane's two losses are both on the road — at Duke and at Kansas State. Both wins have come at home.

This week: at Army (No. 25), Saturday (11 AM CT, CBSSN) — ARMY -3

20. UMass (4-1, MAC) — Joe Harasymiak, Year 2 (prev: 10, -10)

Lost to Eastern Michigan 38-14 for the Minutemen's first defeat after a 4-0 start. UMass had a sellout crowd at McGuirk Alumni Stadium — the first since 2014 — for Family Weekend. Pop Watson III went 20-of-27 for 210 yards with one TD and one INT. EMU outgained UMass 411-316.

This week: vs Miami (OH), Saturday (1 PM CT, ESPN+) — M-OH -2.5

21. Tulsa (3-2, American) — Tre Lamb, Year 2 (prev: 16, -5)

Lost to North Texas 45-44 in overtime on Thursday. Baylor Hayes went 25-of-43 for 211 yards and three TDs and added two rushing TDs. North Texas outgained Tulsa 559-352. Tulsa had a chance to win on a two-point conversion in OT, but Oran Singleton was stopped short of the goal line.

This week: at Navy, Saturday (2:30 PM CT, CBSSN) — NAVY -2.5

22. Troy (2-2, Sun Belt) — Gerad Parker, Year 3 (prev: 20, -2)

Had a bye. Drops two spots as new entries push the bottom half down.

This week: vs Southern Miss, Tuesday (7 PM CT, ESPN2) — TROY -10

23. Jax State (3-2, CUSA) — Charles Kelly, Year 2 (prev: 22, -1)

Had a bye. The Gamecocks are 3-2 and have won two straight.

This week: at Kennesaw State, Wednesday (6 PM CT, CBSSN) — JXST -3

24. South Alabama (3-2, Sun Belt) — Major Applewhite, Year 4 (prev: NR, NEW)

Beat UL Monroe 52-35 on Homecoming to re-enter the Diehard G6 Top 25. Jared Hollins went 14-of-19 (73.7%) for 321 yards and three TDs. Anthony Eager had 168 receiving yards and two TDs on four catches (42.0 yds per catch). South Alabama never trailed and led 31-14 at halftime. The Jaguars totaled 570 yards.

This week: at Arkansas State, Thursday (6:30 PM CT, ESPN2) — ARST -1.5

25. Army (2-2, American) — Jeff Monken, Year 13 (prev: 14, -11)

Lost at Louisiana Tech 31-29 for the week's biggest drop. Samari Howard rushed for 158 yards on 12 carries, but Army committed one turnover. Cale Hellums went 12-of-24 for 151 yards with one TD and one INT. Louisiana Tech's Dylone Brooks had 200 all-purpose yards (119 rushing, 81 receiving). Attendance: 18,326.

This week: vs Tulane (No. 19), Saturday (11 AM CT, CBSSN) — ARMY -3