Week 8 in O5 conferences.

 WKU played well in 31-14 win over SHSU. Hunter Watson, SHSU QB, was hurt early in the game.

UTEP finally got a W with a win over FIU. CUSA is done for this week. Now to my picks.

AAC: Morris(NTX) has better stats  than Henigan(MEM) except in INTs.  NTX loses 28-24 @ Memphis.

MAC: Are the Buffalo Bulls back? I'm not sold. That 47-3 loss to UConn was bad.  WMU 30 BUFF 21

MWC: Both teams are hard to gauge. I'll go with S. Red rushing for over 100 yards for Nevada in a 31-30 win over Fresno. St.

SBC: Time to pay some attention to ULL, who beat Wake Forest and its only loss is to Tulane. Cajuns prevail at CCU 24-14.

Week 7 in O5 conferences

 CUSA: Veltkamp will toss 2TDs passes for WKU in a 28 to 20 win over UTEP. Hilltoppers need to keep pace with Liberty and Jax St who won this week. 

AAC: Coach Dilfer  needs a rapid improvement in his D. UAB will get a little better and stay close at Army. Army 24 UAB 19

MAC: Ohio loses a 17-16 nail-biter at CMU. 

MWC:  Both teams have  not impressed anyone this season. Cowboys win at home. WYO 20 SDSU 17.

SBC: Can the Herd contain French, the GASO QB?  Is Braxton, the Herd QB,  the answer . GASO 31 MU 27 in Statesboro, GA.

Oct 11, 2024

Veltkamp tossed 3TD passes for WKU in the 44-17 blowout. Jolly rushed for 119 yards for UTEP.

Oct 13, 2024

Army  rolled over UAB. Dilfer's program is not improving

MAC game was a nail biter, but I picked the wrong winner. CMU second  half comeback fell short  Ohio 27 CMU 25.

MWC: another close one that I predicted the wrong winner .Aztecs nipped the Cowboys 27-24

SBC: Dexter Williams came off the bench and sparked GASO to a 21-0 fourth quarter in a 24-23 win over the Herd. Two QB system backfired for MU. Earle's safety was costly. Braxton played well

3-2 this week.

Oct 14, 2024

They tossed an SBC game into the early week mix. Two struggling teams, Troy @ South Bama

Oct 16, 2024

Lopez , the USA QB, produced enough  O for South Bama(2-1 SBC) in a 25-9 win over Troy(0-3 SBC). MTSU beat  Kenn St 14-5 and NMSU survived La Tech 33-30 in CUSA action.

Week 6 in the O5 conferences

 MAC: We're heading into more conference games and I'm circling back to Bowling Green and their solid TE, Harold Fannin(37rec, 537 yards, 4 TDs). Falcons have struggled since giving Penn St a scare. BG 24 AKR 17

CUSA: Sam Houston St got spanked by UCF but have handled their other four opponents, UTEP hasn't won a game. SHSU 27 UTEP 20

AAC: Charlotte edged Rice last week , which may be just what Coach Biff needs to prevent another bad season. 9ers slow down Garcia, the ECU QB. CHAR 24 ECU 21

SBC:  ODU got it first win last week and CCU got spanked by UVA. CCU improves its weak rushing attack and  edges ODU 17-16.

MWC: Cooper rushes for 100 yards for the Aztecs to get a much needed win.  SDSU 23 Hawaii 17

Oct 4, 2024

D. McKinney,RB - SHSU 14CAR 138YDS 2TD in a 41-20 win over UTEP. First pick correct.  SHSU is 5-1.

Oct 5, 2024

No shortage of points for O5 teams last night .  UNLV scored 41 in OT loss to Cuse. Huff, the JVS QB, rushed for 176 yards and 3 TDS in a 63- 24 win over KENN

Oct 6, 2024

Wow Marshall scored over 50 in a win over Appy.  Braxton tossed 3 TD passes and rushed for two TDs for the Herd. 

ULM upset JMU, who failed ona 2PT conversion attempt to tie the game with four minutes left.

Now to the rest of my picks: went 5-0 for the weekend.

 CCU beat ODU. Charlotte pounded ECU. SDSU beat Hawaii.  Another big game for Fanin (9 rec, 135 yards) in  BG's 27-20 win over Akron.

Oct 8, 2024

Just noticed the CUSA is playing games on Tues &  Wednesday. Used to be just the MAC doing that. FIU/Liberty tonight.  NMSU/Jax St tomorrow night.

And Liberty got a scare from FIU . Cooley rushed for 174 yards for the Flames who won 31-24 OT

Week 5 nailbiters in the O5

 Temple's win last week over USU was its first  W this season. Army is undefeated. This will be an AAC nail-biter. Daily, the Army QB, kicks it into gear late. Army 19 Temple 13

Sunbelt intrastate battle: GASO looks to recover from an OL Miss' pounding. GAST beat Vandy last week. J. French tosses a late TD pass for an Eagles' win . GASO 20 GAST 17.

Herd gets a boost from its home crowd and its D saves the day against WMU. MRSH(SBC) 16 WMU(MAC) 13

Booth teams are struggling. Dampier tosses two TD passes for the Lobos in an intrastate match up against NMSU.   UNM(MWC) 27 NMSU(CUSA) 24

Sept 27, 2024

Right on Army, wrong on it being close. B. Daily, Army QB, 24 CAR 152YDS 3TD in a 42-14 win over Temple

Sept 28, 2024

App State's home football game scheduled for today, Sept. 28, against Liberty is canceled due to severe impacts to App State, the town of Boone and surrounding areas caused by Hurricane Helene.

It will not be rescheduled.

Sept 29, 2024

Correct on GASO, the Herd, and UNM

Rogers rushed for 122 yards for the Lobos 50-40 win over the Aggies.

Turned rushed for 124 yards for the Herd.

I didn't pick these games:

Fannin, the BG TE's ,stats in a surprising loss to ODU. Yds-Rc 188 TD-Rc 2

ULL stuns Wake Forest. 41-38

Sacramento business community is making a big push for a new stadium as part of an effort to get Sacramento St in the Pac12. Can that region support this?

Week 4 O5 close matchups

 Both teams have struggled , particularly running the ball. Tulsa(AAC) 24  ULL 17 . K. Francis will have a decent game passing for the Hurricane.

The No D special: Rich Rod finally finds a way to win this season . Jax St(CUSA) 42 USM 41(SBC)

The Limited O special : Colorado St(MWC) 16 UTEP(CUSA) 13. Perhaps J Marshall scores a rushing TD for the Rams.

Ball St is coming off a 62-0 loss to Miami(FLA). Is a MAC match up against CMU, the Cure? Nah, Labas throws 2 TD passes  for the Chippewas. CMU 23 Ball St 16 

Sept 21, 2024

Coach Ken has done a great job,  but I didn't foresee  his Spartans giving Wazoo a hell of a scare  before losing 54-52. Too bad Chip Kelly's late move  didn't give UCLA a chance to promote Coach Ken

Sept 22 2024

Right on  Tulsa, Jax St,  & Colorado St, and CMU

Hughes rushed for 166 yards and a TD for Tulsa. Tulsa 41 ULL 33

Jax St got plenty of O and found some D in a 44-7 rout of USM.

Morrow rushed for 156 yards and 2TDs  for Colorado St. in a 27-17 win over  

Labas threw a  TD with 16 seconds left on the clock to lead CMU to a 37-34 win.

Tough loss for NIU getting upset by Buffalo

Herd  were leading the Buckeyes  7-0 after one quarter, but then it ugly for them. Ohio St 49 MU 14.  A Turner, the Herd's leading rusher, gained 32 yards.

James Madison  70-50 win over UNC   was a nice shot at the Power boys but also showed the Dukes haven't missed a beat so far  by hiring Chesney, from Holy Cross, to replace Cignetti.

Sept 25, 2024

Chatter about Sacramento St, a 1AA team in the Big Sky, leaping to the  MWC or PAC12.

Sluka, , the UNLV starting QB, leaves the team to save his red-shirt season, because the Rebels did not  "honor" a promise.. $$$$$$

Miami (Ohio) started the season with high hopes  and played NW tough before losing 13-6. Then lost to Cincy and ND. I suspect Gabbert goes off on UMass this week.

Week 3 MWC /CUSA matchups

 Keene to Dalena gets Fresno a W. Fresno St 24 NMSU 20

Sam Houston has home field edge and pulls out a 17-13 win over Hawaii

I'm riding with the Spartans and Coach Ken at home. SJSU 27 Kennesaw St 16

Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State, and Fresno State are the four football targets of the re-formed Pac 12. Hope they stay west  of the Mississippi river in their pursuit of two more teams.

Will California consider coming back to the Pac12 or are they tied too much by $$$ to the ACC.

Aztecs  will give Cal a fight but fall 27 -17

Sept 15, 2024

4-0 on Fresno, SJSU,Cal, and SHSU, but none of the games were as close as I predicted. Definitely did not foresee Fresno shutting out NMSU 48-0. Keene threw two TD passes, and Sherrod rushed for 113 yards on 15 carries for the Bulldogs. Coach Ken's Spartans keep winning.

BTW, CSU contained Neon's Buffs for a little over a quarter and lost 28-9.

Toledo 42 Miss St 17. -Wow

Sept 16, 2024

O5 Wrap up: Cheers to Memphis who beat the Noles.  Butch Jones' Ark St squad kept it respectable at Ann Arbor. Helluva battle:Appy nipping ECU.

NIU and UNLV are getting some respect. How about Toledo? Kyirin Heath, the Southern Miss TE, is having a solid season.

Week 2 :some O5 close matchups

 Cooper of SDSU  and Griffin of Wazoo each had big rushing games in week 1.  Wazoo 24 SDSU 23

ODU is coming off a tough loss to South Carolina, and ECU cruised by Norfolk St ODU 27 ECU 20

Only second match up between these teams. CMU 20  FIU 17

I like how FAU played Sparty tough in a 16-10 loss. FAU 19 Army 17

Another one that intrigues me. Will Coach Ken Niumatalolo's experience coaching against the academy teams help him today. I say yes. SJSU 17 AFA 16

Sept 8 2024

My error SDSU lost to Oregon St., Wazoo played and beat Texas Tech.

Right on SJSU  and FIU

Wrong on ODU and FAU

MAC was a mixed bag yesterday but props to Bowling Green for giving Penn St a great battle before falling. Harold Fannin, the BG TE (Yds-Rc 137,TD-Rc 1), has NFL skills.

Then to NIU for edging Notre Dame 16-13

Sept 9, 2024

O5 surprises. ECU(AAC) at 2-0. Jake Garcia, decent so far. Ark St(SBC) at 2-0. Is Butch Jones back?

Sept 10, 2024

It's been a fun week at work ribbing the PennSt fans to beware of Kent St (MAC) next week. Flashes won't beat the Vols this week.