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Midseason Grades - Independent/Mid-Major Edition

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Here are grades for notable independent and mid-major teams at the midway point of the NCAA football season:

Notre Dame (7-0)

Summary: Although the Irish were good with Brandon Wimbush at quarterback, they still had flaws; inserting Ian Book into the lineup has turned them into a fully-fledged juggernaut.

It's evident that Book has the potential to be special. The junior is completing 75 percent of his passes, has chucked 11 touchdowns to three interceptions, and plays with confidence.

Key figure: Notre Dame’s defense is the star of the show; coordinator Clark Lea has built a system similar to Michigan's Don Brown. There is a variety of post-snap movement, bluff and trap coverages, and a glut of defensive alignments.

Brian Kelly’s side laid its first egg last week at home to Pitt, and have entered the survive-and-advance portion of their schedule. The final two games of their season - vs. Syracuse, at USC - will ultimately decide their fate. Based on talent alone, the Irish should run the table.

Grade: A

UCF (6-0 overall, 3-0 AAC)

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Summary: UCF's win streak now stands at 19. No matter the conference, opponent, or whatever else you want to throw at the Knights, 19 straight wins is ridiculous.

To make the feat more impressive, they went through a coaching transition in the middle of that. Not just the head coach, but every facet of the staff was changed after Scott Frost took everyone with him to Nebraska.

The Knights have been running through teams this season, beating FAU by 20 points, SMU by 28, Pitt by 29, UConn by 39, and South Carolina State by 38. Memphis offered the stiffest test of the campaign a week ago, pushing UCF to the final possession of the game.

It was a disappointing performance, but Josh Heupel’s team deserves credit for squeaking by on a weekend where contenders proved to be pretenders.

Key figure: Heupel's offense has added new wrinkles and is just as potent as they ever were under Frost. They rank in the top 25 in efficiency and explosiveness.

Quarterback McKenzie Milton and running back Adrian Killins Jr. remain the two stars, and both are gifted enough to play anywhere in the country.

The pair will need to lead the offense and be at their best down the stretch, as UCF hosts Temple and Cincinnati before traveling to South Florida. While the trio of games are toss-ups, the Knights should win their other two clashes - at East Carolina and home to Navy - fairly easily.

There is a real chance Heupel helps extend the school's win streak to 24. And if the playoff selection committee doesn’t take notice this time, what are we even doing?

Grade: A+

South Florida (6-0, 2-0 AAC)

Summary: UCF isn’t the only Florida team that’s still unbeaten - South Florida is also threatening to run the table.

The Bulls' resume may not be quite as impressive as their neighbors - they played one-score games against Tulsa, East Carolina, and Illinois - but South Florida is still undefeated, with plenty of opportunities to rack up impressive wins.

The final stretch will tell us everything about USF, who end the season with a monster doubleheader against Temple and UCF. The Bulls will also face Houston and Cincinnati on the road. Both teams have Power 5-caliber athletes all over the field. Houston has the best player in the country, and Cincinnati has a dominant defense - it’s the only AAC team to concede less than 100 points this season.

Key figure: USF leans on its spread-to-run ground game. Former Florida Gator running back Jordan Cronkrite has realized his immense potential, averaging over eight yards per carry on 94 rushes this season. Cronkrite has always had the build of a bowling ball and has started to pair that with balletic feet, with just enough wiggle to make defenders miss in the hole and at the second level.

Grade: A

UAB (5-1, 3-0 C-USA)

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Summary: UAB is 5-1 - it didn’t have a football program two years ago. In fact, the Blazers have the second-best record of any program in the state of Alabama, and they’re tops in the C-USA West.

The Blazers have winnable games left on their schedule, and I wouldn’t rule out UAB playing Texas A&M close during the SEC’s cupcake week.

What a stunning job Bill Clark has done.

Key figure: UAB’s success has come on the back of a ferocious pass-rush. The Blazers are first in the country in sack rate (16.9 percent) and lead the nation in pressures. Jamell Garcia-Williams, a physical freak at 6-foot-8 and 255 pounds, has led the way, racking up 8 TFLs, 5.5 sacks, and nine stuffs.

Grade: A+

Appalachian State (4-1, 2-0 Sun Belt)

Summary: The Mountaineers have been one of the best teams in the country this season. You might remember them running Penn State close in Week 1, a game they should have won. That was no aberration.

The basic numbers: they’ve outscored opponents 242-77. The advanced numbers: Appalachian State is 11th overall in S&P+, 21st in offensive S&P+, and 28th in defensive S&P+.

The Mountaineers are one of only eight schools that rank in the top 25 in scoring offense and scoring defense. Much of the production is due to the style of Scott Satterfield. His team runs the ball, milks the clock, and shortens the game. As long as they eliminate mistakes (not an easy ask), they will be in every contest.

Key figure: It’s important to remember what Satterfield was dealing with when he took the job. The school was moving from FCS to FBS, and it wasn’t a vintage Mountaineers team, the kind we saw routinely run through college football’s lesser division.

Satterfield, the team’s former offensive coordinator, went 4-8 in the school's last FCS season before making the leap up a level. Since then, he’s ripped off four straight winning seasons in the Sun Belt: 7-5, 11-2, 10-3, 9-4, and he's well on his way to a fifth.

They’re not just winning games this season - they're obliterating everyone in front of them. The Mountaineers' only loss came in overtime to Penn State, and the rest of their schedule is mostly elementary as they take on UL-Lafayette, Coastal Carolina, Texas State, and Georgia State. Troy and Georgia Southern could offer some resistance.

Get set for a 10-win season. The Mountaineers should be ranked in the top 20 when the selection committee’s initial rankings are due out, but there's a good chance they won't be.

Grade: A

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