Non-P6 hoops-it's that time of year.

 Procrastination on doing a blog ends with Davidson(A10) knocking off my Terps(B10). Troy(SBC) took Oregon St to OT before falling 81-80, while Marshall (SBC) falls to Radford(Big South). Bryan Antoine converted a four-point play with 1.5 seconds left for Radford in the win over # herd.

Monmouth(CAA) beat WVU(B12)

Interesting action in the MAC/SBC: Coach Groce's Zips beat USM. Akron 72 USM 54

And for my Mewe buddy Arkrazor:  Cal Baptist(WAC) 80 Jackson St(SWAC) 66. Daniels Jr scored 25 for the winners.

This was a good one in the MAC/SBC challenge: Ball St 73 ODU 68 

 C. Jenkins G - ODU 20PTS 6REB

J. Anderson G - BALL 29PTS 9REB

UAB(AAC) beat my Terps.

Nov 21, 2023

Checking back in: UNLV(MWC) gave Florida St(ACC) a scare before losing 83-75. D Thomas Jr of the Rebels is a fun player to watch.

St Josephs(A10)  took Kentucky(SEC) to OT but fell 96-88.

SMU(AAC) beat West Virginia(B12) 70-58 .  Mustangs need to use this season to get ready for ACC hoops next season.

Nov 25, 2023

FAU(AAC) beat TAMU(SEC) yesterday and is off to a 4-1 start coming off last season's Final Four appearance. The loss was to Bryant of the American East conference.

Marshall(SBC) is off to a bumpy 2-4 start including getting pasted by Kentucky(SEC) 118-82 yesterday

Nov 30, 2023

Bowlsby, former Big 12 Commish, will be the interim AD at Northern Iowa replacing David Harris, who left to become the athletic director at Tulane.

Northern Iowa(MVC) is 2-5 this season but they beat Stanford.

Tulane is 5-1. Its only loss was to Bradley(MVC).

How about St Joseph's(A10) beating Nova(Big East). Erik Reynolds II scored 24 points in a road win. 

Dec 5, 2023

Catching up: UNCW(CAA) coach Takayo Siddle steered his team to an 80-73 upset of No. 12 Kentucky(SEC) on Saturday. In 2007 he scored eight points for Gardner Webb in an upset of UK in Rupp Arena.

Appy(SBC) beat Auburn(SEC)

T. Joseph(27PTS 6REB 3STL) for Southern(SWAC) in an upset of Miss St(SEC)

SEC stumbled against non -power 6.

Dec 7, 2023

Big home win for Towson U(CAA).  C. May G 27 PTS, 7 REB in 81-71 win over UMass(A10). Tigers keeps getting better after starting the season losing to Wake Forest, North Texas, and S Dakota St. Towson U is just north of Baltimore City.

UIC(MVC) 55 Jax St(CUSA) 49 Illinois-Chicago is having a decent OOC start. JaxSt could have a bumpy ride in CUSA hoops.

Dec 13, 2023

Sam Houston St(CUSA) edged ULM(SBC) 63-62. Great football debut in 1A, and now their hoops are doing ok. The last time SHS went to the Dance was in 2010 as the Southland champ.

Cal Baptist(WAC)lost 76-55 at Oregon 

Dec 14, 2023

Headed toward conference play. FAU(AAC) has kept in stride after its F4 appearance in the spring. Loss to Illinois. Wins over VTech and TAMU. Now if they beat Zona Dec 23.....

GW(A10) intrigues me at 9-2, the losses were to South Carolina and UIC. They haven't been good in a while so maybe the record is a false positive. James Bishop IV leads the team with 16.9 PPG.

Dec 16, 2023

Zags got more work to do. UConn 76 Gonz 63. In other WCC OOC play San Diego Toreros beat Portland St(Big Sky). SD beat Ariz St (Pac12) a few days ago.

O5 week 12

 AAC: I'm taking ECU at home against Houston, a future B12 member, in a battle of productive QBs, Ahlers(ECU)/Tune (HOU). Houston gave up 77 points to SMU two weeks ago, while ECU is 2-1 against future Big 12 teams, after beating BYU and UCF, and losing 27-25 to Cincy.   ECU 34 HOU 31

CUSA: Frank Harris, the UTSA QB, will remain in high gear @ Rice, in an intrastate matchup and keep the Roadrunners undefeated in CUSA play. UTSA 40 Rice 27

MAC: I couldn't get to all the early MAC games so this is the one I have to pick. Snow is coming to the Buffalo area this weekend, but will only keep the final score lower. BUFF 16 Akron 6.

MWC: Boise State(7-3 6-0 Mountain West) @ Wyoming(7-3 5-1 Mountain West). Cowboys kick 5 FGs and survive. WYO 22 BSU 20

SunBelt: If the NFLN can travel to Hattiesburg, MS to televise a game, so can I. Carter Bradley will toss 3 td passes to keep South Bama on pace with Troy u in the West. USA 27 USM 20

Nov 18

I didn't pick this game, but Tulane crushed SMU 59- 24 last night. 

Nov 20, 2022

MAC game canceled, and I split on the other four.

Correct: UTSA jumped out to a big lead early and never looked back in a 41-7 win. USA withstood a mild late threat from USM, and holy sh^t I guessed the correct final score.

Wrong:  ECU got crushed 42-3 by Houston. The E stands for erratic. Wyoming went up 10-0. but Boise worked its way back slowly and won 20-17.

Nov 21, 2022

If Ohio wins this weekend, than they take the East. Will the MAC re-schedule the Buffalo /Akron game if Ohio loses? 

Nov 22, 2022

I might as well make my MAC week 13 pick here since a few MAC games are being played tonight. Bowling Green rolls into Athens, Ohio tonight. I'll ride with Rourke, Ohio's QB. Ohio 27 BG 17

Nov 23

Ohio started N Harris at Qb because Rourke was still dinged up from last week and didn't miss a beat Ohio 38 BG 14. Ohio clinches the East and will likely face Toledo from the West next week in Detroit for the MAC title. EMU has a chance of tying depending on Friday's outcomes. 

Nov 27, 2022

Toledo meets Ohio in the MAC title game, while Akron travels to Buffalo to make up the snow game.  Who knows with the MAC?

O5 hoops: who's rising from the middle of the pack on Feb 5

 About five weeks until Dance tickets are issued, and I'm focusing on teams looking to shake things up.

MWC: Utah St(14-9, 5-5) has won four straight conference games, and their head coach Odom was the UMBC HC who upset UVA at the Dance a few years ago. Justin Bean leads the Ags in points, rebounds, and steals.

CUSA: Yes, first place NTX is the hottest team with seven straight wins, but UTEP(13-8, 6-3) with five straight wins is climbing. Boum is averaging nearly 20 ppg.

SunBelt: No long streaks in conference play, but I'll roll the dice on TX St(14-6, 5-3). Asberry 14 ppg leads a balanced scoring Bobcats' squad.

MAC: If anyone can catch Ohio, it's Akron(14-6, 7-3) HC Cooper, who once coached at Ohio. Ali Ali leads the team with 13.8 ppg.

AAC: Houston and SMU look like locks now so I'll roll the dice on those hooting Owls  of Temple(12-7, 5-3). Damiam Dunn leads the team with a 15.9 PPG.

Feb 6, 2022

Did I curse anybody? Nope! Isiah Small had 15 points and nine rebounds for Texas State in a 69-64 win over Coastal Carolina 69-64.

Temple beat Tulsa, UTEP edged Rice, Utah St rolled UNLV.

Akron plays Miami (OH) today.

Feb 7, 2022

Ali Ali(AKR - F 21 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST) had his usual night for the Zips in a 71-59 win over MO.

BTW Houston pounded Cincy 80-58 in AAC play.

Feb 10, 2022

Houston started the game on fire and was up by 15 in the second half but couldn't stop SMU's rally and lost 85-83. Kendric Davis scored 22 points to lead SMU. In other AAC news Memphis beat Tulane and Cincy beat USF. 

San Diego St got a much needed MWC win over SJST

Feb 11, 2022

South Bama crush Ark-LR 77-46. Mason Harrell had 20 points as Texas State topped ULL 82-73 and inched closer to App St, the top team in the SunBelt.

Feb 13, 2022

AAC tightened up with Memphis beating Houston, SMU beating ECU, Temple losing to Tulane and Cincy falling to Tulsa.

TX St beat ULM to  take over first in the SunBelt from App St who lost to GA St.

                      

 How about those Cowboys of Wyoming(21-3, 10-1 Mountain West) who romped over SJST 74-52. Graham Ike had 25 points and 18 rebounds in the victory.

Feb 14, 2022

CUSA Sunday; ODU 81 UAB 72- Bad loss for the Blazers

MTSU 78 CHAR 63   Big game for Josh Jefferson (30 pts) for the Blue Raiders

Goran Miladinovic had 17 points and 11 rebounds for the Herd in a road win. MU 88 UTEP 79

Feb 16, 2022

Akron lost in OT to WMU. 

The Wyoming Cowboys were gunned down by New Mexico. Did Pittino Jr figure something out?

Memphis keeps rolling, this time they beat Cincy. Tulane beat USF to stay relevant in the AAC.

How about this MAC score? 

Feb 17, 2022

Temple kept its small AAC hopes alive with a win over SMU , which also pushed the Mustangs back a game behind Houston.

Boise flew by Air Force, and Bryce Hamilton (
17 PTS 7 REB 4 AST ) led UNLV over Fresno St in MWC action.  Rebs are in the middle of the pack and may be a team to watch in the MWCT.

Feb 18

I scanned the Tv for some CUSA action and watched parts of WKU 77-67 won over Charlotte and noticed ALY KHALIFA Charlotte 49ers a 6'11" center from Egypt moves well for a big man. Elsewhere, Marshall beat ODU but remains in the East basement. MTSU(9-3) beat FIU and is two games up on FAU in the East.

NTX (12-1) edged FAU(8-5) to remain two games ahead in the West of UAB(10-3), who crushed Rice.

Feb 20, 2022

Khalifa scored for CHA in 99-84 win over the Herd. Tylor Perry made a 3-pointer with two seconds remaining to lift North Texas to a 58-57 win over UAB in a matchup of top dogs.

Feb 21, 2022

Mustangs are charging hard to catch Houston in the AAC. Marcus Weathers(20 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST) led SMU to an impressive 73-57 win over Memphis, while Houston barely survived 2 OTs in a win over Wichita St. Temple beat Cincy and those Owls are hanging around to steal a Dance ticket.

Feb 23, 2022

Checking in with the MAC: Buffalo edged Miami O last night and have not lost this month.

In the MWC Boise St(13-2) edged SDST and has a slim lead over WYO(11-2) in the standings.

Feb 24, 2022

TX St edged South Bama 55-52 and remains ahead of second place App St, who beat Ark-LR last night in Sunbelt action.

Wyoming lost to Colorado St 61-55 in MWC action.

Feb 26, 2022

TX St Bobcats(12-3) keep winning in the Sunbelt. Ga St(9-5) beat ULL and may be the team with the best shot to slow down TX St in the SBCT. Other winners last night were App ST, USA, CCU, and Georgia Southern

Ali Ali scored 22 points for Akron in a 91-83 defeat of Ohio(14-4) who fell out of first place in the MAC. Toledo (14-3) plays Miami O today.

Feb 27, 2022

Toledo(14-3) beat M(O) and faces Buffalo(13-4), a winner over NIU yesterday, in Tuesday MAC action.

NTX, MTSU , and UAB, the top three CUSA teams, won, however UAB struggled to get by UTEP in a 69-66 win.

Boise State(14-2) and Wyoming(12-3) each won yesterday to keep things tight in the MWC entering the final week of regular season play.

Feb 28, 2022

There wasn't much Sunday O5 action except for the AAC. Houston handled SMU. Neither team looked sharp. Memphis held Wichita St to 17 points in the first half in an 81-57 win. Temple beat Tulane both of those teams a faint pulse for making the Dance.

Mackin Tuesday in week 11

 Ok, I didn't guess on a MAC game last week and haven't reviewed any of its Tuesday and Wednesday games in weeks.

Miami(Ohio) needs this game to stay with a game of Kent St in the East. The focus will have to be on D after suffering a 35-33 defeat to Ohio in the Battle of the Bricks last week. RedHawks will keep McDuffie under 100 yards rushing.  M(O) 19 Buff 17.

Was Ohio's win last week  the spark they needed? It won't be enough this week against Ben Bryant's passing .He's thrown for 2190 YDS and 13 TDs.  EMU 30 Ohio 20

Akron fired its HC Arth . Look for WMU's rushing attack led by Tyler to have a big game . WMU 26 Akron 13.

Nov 10, 2021

Well 2 out of 3. I was wrong on EMU . Ohio jumped out to an early lead and got a 34-26 win.

Akron gave WMU a late scare with a huge second half but the Broncos rallied late. Sean Tyler WMU(16 CAR, 147 YDS, 1 TD) had another huge game.

Brett Gabbert M-OH(21-28, 351 YDS, 4 TD ) was the dude in 45-18 win over Buffalo.  I 'll be back tomorrow with a blog on the rest of the O5.

Nov 11, 2021

Wednesday night  review :   Rocky Lombardi and NIU  edged Ball  St 30-29 on a last second FG and moved to 5-1 in the MAC to stay one game ahead of  CMU in the MACW.                                      Rocky Lombardi NIU 23-38, 264 YDS, 1 TD

Jay Ducker NIU         24 CAR, 155 YDS, 1 TD                                                                               Toledo blew out Bowling Green and CMU beat Kent State.

Nov 16, 2021

Miami (Ohio) has a chance to win the MAC East in a crazy season which includes narrow conference losses to EMU and Ohio. I'll stay on the Gabbert train and take M(O) to beat Bowling Green  33-30 tonight in week 12. BTW, BG beat Minnesota(B10) while Miami (Ohio)lost to the Gophers in September.

Nov 17, 2021

 I was close on the MO total and am surprised the Falcons could only score one TD . MO 34 BG 7. This kid,  Jack Sorenson, M-OH(4 REC, 111 YDS, 1 TD) has had a lot of big games in 2022).

Nov 18, 2021

NIU needed OT to escape with a W over Buffalo.

O5 OOC play in week 4

N. Starkel (63-123, 937 YDS, 6 TD, 4 INT) takes his San Jose St(MWC)  team  to play Western Michigan(MWC) led by K. Eleby (58-93, 702 YDS, 5 TD). In a battle of productive QBs WMU , who upset Pitt last Saturday , will survive 31-30.

In a battle of two former SWC teams , SMU(AAC) will give TCU(Big12) a tough matchup but fall 28-24. 

Tanner Mordecai SMU(81-111, 1023 YDS, 16 TD)has been productive and one of his TD passes was a final second Hail Mary TD pass in a win over La Tech last Saturday.

Tulane(AAC) has scored some points in losses to Oklahoma and Ol Miss while UAB(CUSA) scored one TD in a loss to Georgia, but the Blazers will keep this a low scoring game and prevail 19-16.

Just heard: Tennessee paid an additional $100,000 to not play Army in 2022.  Army  was supposed to get $1.4 million for the game but was paid a $500,000 buyout to cancel the agreement. Akron(MAC) will replace them and be paid $1 million.  Army hasn't filled the schedule slot yet. Vols' folks claim Fulmer got the ball rolling on this. It's a chicken-sh^t move.

Sept 26, 2021

One for three for this weekend. UAB 28 Tulane 21 Starting qbs, Hopkins (UAB) , Pratt (TUL) each threw three TDs

Another game with 3 TDs QBs: Mordecai lead SMU over TCU and Dugan by a score of 42-34. Also, Bentley rushed for 153 yards and TD for the Mustangs in the Dallas area "bowl"

Starkel and the Spartans laid an egg in a 23-3 loss to WMU

In a day filled with upsets and near upsets, how about  Bowling Green(MAC) defeating Minnesota(b10) 14-10

Groundhog Day to the AAC and the O5 hoops

 Houston, we have a meltdown. East Carolina (8-6, 2-6 AAC). #JaydenGardner had 21 points and 15 rebounds for ECU in an 82-73 upset of fifth-ranked Houston  (15-2, 10-2 AAC). Wichita St(6-2), Memphis(7-3), and SMU(6-4) won their conference games  to stay close to the Cougars.

Here's my pre-Groudhog Day blog https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2020/12/o5-football-conferences-hoops-teams-as.html 

feb 6, 2021

Checking in the CUSA: #herd were outscored 54-30 in the 2nd half of a 82-81 loss to ODU. MTSU upset Charlotte and UAB(8-1) keeps trolling with a win over UTEP, but La Tech(8-3) stayed on the Blazers' heels with a win over  North Texas(5-2)

Feb 7 

Nice bounce back the #herd with a strong first half. MU 87 ODU 67. NTX beat La Tech and UAB rolled UTEP.

Feb 9 2021

ECU  crashed quickly after upsetting Houston a few days ago with losses to Memphis and SMU in AAC play.

Moving to the  MWC: Jordan Schakel scored 23 points for the SDST Aztecs in an easy 85-54 win over SJST and UNLV edged AFA.  Aztecs are staying in the MWC hunt. 

feb 11, 2021

Wichita State(12-4, 8-2 AAC) barely survived UCF(5-10, 3-9 AAC) 62-61 last night. Alterique Gilbert scored 17 points including Wichita State's last five points. Houston cruised by USF

Kalu Ezikpe( 22 PTS, 4 REB, 3 STL) led ODU((10-5, 6-3 C-USA) to a 78-76 win over Charlotte and moved the Monarchs to within a half games of WKU in the CUSA East.

Feb 12, 2021

Michael Flowers posted 18 points and seven rebounds for South Alabama in a 73-70 win over Troy . GA St beat Ga Southern. TX St over UTA. ULM over ULL. #sunbelt

feb 17, 2021

#akron appears to be  the rising star in the MAC.  Bryan Trimble Jr. scored 22 points for Akron(13-4, 11-3 MAC) in an81-76 win over NIU. Toledo(17-6, 12-3 MAC) beat Miami O, and Kent State

(13-5, 10-4 MAC) beat WMU.

feb 19. 2021

The Shockers (13-4, 9-2) defeated  Houston (17-3, 11-3) 68-63 and moved into first place in the AAC standings. Tyson Etienne and Alterique Gilbert each scored 16 points for the victors.

feb 21

South Bama beat App St by two points  in each of the back to back games and sits atop at the Sunbelt East at 10-5.

San Diego St(17-4,11-3). swept Fresno St in back to back games and is ranked in the top 25. Boise St(18-4, 14-3) is unranked but  has a better MWC conference and also overall record. Boise will try to rectify  that when they visit SDSU for back to back games.

feb 22, 2021

Houston (18-3, 12-3 American) took out its anger on Cincinnati(7-8, 5-5 American). Quentin Grimes had 20 points and eight rebounds for HU in the 90-52 win.

DeVante’ Jones scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Coastal Carolina(7-5) in a 65-55 win over Georgia Southern and stay tied in the loss column with South Bama(10-5), but it will have to be resolved in a Conference tournament due to all the unbalanced schedules.

feb 24, 2021

MAC tightens up: Ben Roderick and Ben Vander Plas scored 17 points apiece for Ohio in a  90-73 win . Buffalo crushed NIU. 

feb 27,2021

I watched  the first half of the Marshall /NTX game and am not surprised the Herd lost 77-65. They played matador D and, made a ton of turnover s on O. NTX is 9-2 in CUSA play, but La Tech(11-4) and UAB(11-4) won their respective games to stay in the hunt in West .  ODU(9-4) is right there with WKU(8-5) in the West after  Kalu Ezikpe recorded 14 points and 13 rebounds in a 67-61 win over MTSU.

March 1

A flew blowouts yesterday. HOU 98 USF 52 in AAC action. WKU 91 FIU 58 in the CUSA. Utah St 87 Nev 66 in the MWC.

Memphis(14-6, 10-3 AAC) beat Cincy yesterday for its fifth win in a row.

March 2

Guess who's making a late run in the MWC.  David Roddy posted  22 points and 12 rebounds for Colorado State(16-4, 13-3 mwc) Air Force 74-44 win over AFA. CSU is tied with SDSU for first place.

MACkin into 2020 hoops

Coach Groce rode his success with Ohio to a B10 job at Illinois which didn't go well ,and now it appears he has #Akron on the rise. #XeriusWilliams scored 23 to lead Akron(13-3, 3-0) past Ball St(9-7,2-1). 75-60 just when I thought the Cards were playing well. Akron's OOC losses were close ones to Louisville, West Virginia, and by 13 to Liberty. Kent St(12-3,2-0) and Central Michigan(9-6,2-0) are the other MAC teams undefeated  in conference play. 
Buffalo(10-6, 1-2 )  beat Miami (OH)(7-9, 0-3 ) 83-78 for its first MAC win this season.

Jayvon Graves BUFF (25 PTS, 3 REB, 3 AST) . Dalonte Brown M-OH (18 PTS, 7 REB, 1 AST)

jan 19

 Marreon Jackson hit seven 3-pointers and scored a career-high 36 points for Toledo in a 99-89 win over Akron(4-1), which is the Zips first MAC loss. Bowling Green(4-1) nipped NIU 66-64 to  move into a tie with Akron atop the MAC East
  Ball State(4-1) used balanced scoring in its defeat of Miami (Ohio) 71-62 to remain atop the MACW.

Jan 25

 #DannyPippen had 20 points for Kent State(4-3) in a 70-66 win over Buffalo(4-3) which ended their three game losing streak . Akron and Bowling Green  sit atop the East with 5-1 records while Ball St(4-1) leads the West.

Jan 29

  Gabe Grant's blocked a shot with ten seconds to go  to preserve  Buffalo(5-3) 77-74 win over Akron(6-2). Troy Simons scored 21 points in Kent St(6-3) win over Toledo. Troy Diggs scored 25 point for Bowling Green (7-1) in a win over Ball St  to take sole possession of first in the East.

Feb 1

  Justin Turner scored 23 points and Dylan Frye added 17  for Bowling Green(8-1) in a 78-77 win over Buffalo(5-4) while Kent St(6-3) edged Akron(6-3). CMU(4-2) and NIU(5-3) are tied for the first in the West.

Feb 6

 Dallas Morgan scored  29 points for  Central Michigan(6-2) in a 92-82 win over Bowling Green(8-2), the East leader,  and moved into a tie for first in the West with NIU(7-3), a winner over Toledo. Ball St (6-3)is a half game back in the West.

Feb 8

Buffalo's win over CMU(6-3) gave NIU(8-3) the chance to gain ground in the West and they did with a narrow 57-54 win over Kent St.  Eugene German NIU - G (27 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST)

feb 12

Akron(8-3) got a big win over Bowling Green(9-3)  in the East battle while Ball St(7-4) gained ground in the West its win over NIU(8-4) . Loren Cristian Jackson scored 28 points for Akron.

feb 15

 Loren Cristian Jackson scored 31 points for his third 30-plus for Akron(19-6, 9-3 MAC)in a 80-67  win over CMU(13-11, 6-5 MAC) . Buffalo(16-9, 7-5 MAC) who defeated Toledo last night. Akron is tied with Bowling Green for first in the East while Buffalo is 2GB. CMU fell  further behind  NIU(8-4) and Ball St (7-4) in the West.

feb 22

Buffalo (7-5) got a big win over Kent St in a wild OT game last night to stay within striking distance of East leaders Akron , and Ball St  who are tied at 10-3.

feb 29

 Loren Cristian Jackson scored 35 points for Akron(12-4) in an 85-73 win over Buffalo which mioves them into a tie for first with Bowling Green in the East.

march 7

Akron hung on against feisty Kent St while Buffalo beat Bowling Green,  which enabled the Zips to win the East and also nab the the 1 slot in the MACT. Ball St trounced NIU to tie for first in the West and get the three seed. BG is the 2 and NIU is the four. Top 4 earned round 1 byes.

Week 11- Late on MAC the n the rest of the O5

Two Tuesday night games with Toledo edging Kent St and WMU edging Ball St leaves me with one game to guess on. I'll go with O'Rourke and the Bobcats at home 28-27 tonight over Miami (Ohio) in a battle for 1st in MAC East.
AAC: ECU is a team on the rise and gave Cincy a scare last week, but will fall by 8   at SMU. Buechele will toss 3 td passes.
CUSA: It's always tough traveling to west Texas for road games , but Charlotte, led by Lemay's solid running will edge UTEP 24 -22.
MWC: Aerial fireworks with Hawaii coming out on top  51-44. McDonald (HAW) and Love (SJSU) will combine for 1K in passing yards..
Sunbelt:  Georgia St needs this one badly to stay in the race in the East but I don't think they'll contain ULM QB Caleb Evans. ULM 37 Ga State 30.

Nov 7

Close score but I picked the wrong team . ORourke had a so-so game for Ohio and #SamSloman hit a 53-yard field goal with 3:48 to play to give Miami O  a 24-21 win and the lead in the MAC East.

Nov 9

 I didn't pick this game: I watched the final 25 minutes of the Tulsa 37-34 upset of UCF. UCF crumbled. Twelve men on the field penalty with a chance to get the ball back in the final minute.

Nov 10

Too bad I didn't put $$$$ on my other 4 picks.
SMU survived a 59-51 shootout with ECU and the same for Hawaii holding off SJSU. Evans (ULM) was too much for Georgia St, and  Chris Reynolds (24-35, 354 YDS, 2 TD ) led Charlotte  back on the road at UTEP  28-21. Charlotte (5-5) is closing in on a bowl bid.
Special mention for #wku (CUSA) rocking Arkansas (SEC) and App St beating South Carolina (SEC)

April 12, 2020

This kid must be be great. #BrandonCouncil, an OL grad transfer from Akron(MAC) commits to Auburn over Baylor and  Missouri. LSU and USC were also interested.

April 15

 Other 5(Group of Five) asks the NCAA to waive the minimum football attendance requirements and the requirement for a minimum of 16 varsity athletic teams.

May 5, 2020

 Ohio(MAC) quarterback Nathan Rourke was selected with the by the BC Lions with the 15th pick of the CFL draft. Rourke was born in Victoria, British Columbia.

May 14, 2020

 East Carolina gets second SEC transfer in less than a week. Arkansas RB Chase Hayden. On May 7 it was Alabama cornerback Nigel Knott.

May 17, 2020

   Dan Ellington,  the GA St starting QB for the past two years, is now on its coaching staff. That was quick!

Aug 13, 2023

Back from Canada: Nathan Rourke(OhioU) got some playing time and scores last night for the Jags in a pre-season win over Dallas.

Dropping a dime on Independents Week 5

  #Byu Cougars and #utah Utes have agreed to take a two-year "Holy War" break in 2022 and 2023, allowing Utah an opportunity to schedule a home-and-home series with an SEC opponent.
This weekend an erratic BYU squad visits Toledo(MAC), who got a monster game from Bryant Koback (228 yards rushing) last weekend . Toledo 29 BYU 28
Notre Dame  will recover from a tough loss to UGA and defeat the visiting UVA Cavs 30-20. Cavs were not impressive in a 28-17 win over ODU (CUSA)
UMass hosts Akron(MAC) in a battle of bad defenses. Perhaps an aerial show AKR 36 Umass 35
Liberty will contain Tuioti, the Lobos QB, and pull out a close one at home. LIB 20 UNM 19
New Mexico St scored  55 last week at UNM and lost. Fresno  St (MWC)has played power 5 schools, USC and Minnesota, tough in losing efforts Fre 34 UNM 22

Sept 27:

Tying into this blog: UCF(AAC) football schedules future non-conference games with Boise State (MWC ) and  BYU(Independent)

Sept 29

 Koback was ok (88yds, 1TD) and Toledo got a late pick which led to rushing TD from Seymour to beat BYU 28-21
T. Jones Jr rushed for 131 yards and 3 TDs in Notre Dame's 35-20 win over UVA
I was wrong  on the outcome but close on the score Umass 37 Akron 29. It wasn't much off an aerial show. Z. Gibson (Akron)173 YDs, TD M Curtis Umass 173YDS 2TDs ,INt
Not too far off: Liberty 17 UNM 10 . S. Calvert threw form306 yards and 3TDs for the vistors.
J Cropper rushed for 118 yards and a TD on eight carries  for Fresno St in their 30-17 win over NMST.

oct 17, 2019

 Army will survive a visit to Atlanta this week (8) and edge Georgia St in the battle of rushing QBs. Hopkins (Army) , Ellington (Ga St)

oct 21

It was Ellington's arm with three TD passes, and then a final stand by the Panthers D that held off Army for a 28-21 win .

Week 2 Three OOC Other5 matchups

Tulsa (AAC), particularly Shamari Brooks, was throttled by Sparty last week, and this week's Spartans, San Jose St(MWC), looks like the cure, but it may be tough. Tulsa ekes out a 16 - 13 road win
Ark St (SunBelt) @ UNLV(MWC): Bonner had a solid passing game in the Red Wolves' loss to SMU. Charles William rushed for 142 yards in the Rebels win over S.Utah (1aa). UNLV survives  24 -22 at home
UAB(CUSA) @ Akron(MAC): A TD kickoff return saved UAB from an embarrasing loss to Alabama St last week while Akron was demolished at Illinois. Tyler Johnston tossed two TD passes in 19 -16 UAB road.
Feel free to comment and/or mention an OOC matchup between non-power five 1A conferences  that intrigues you
Sept 7:  In a game I didn't mention #herd  jumped to a 7-0 lead but fell to Boise St(MWC) 14-7. Only 56 yards passing for Marshall (CUSA)
Sept 8: Tulsa 34 SJSU 16  Brooks woke up and rushed for 140 yards and a TD in the Tulsa win.
Bonner had a sold game passing and Ark St D had a pick six in the 43-17 win over the Rebels who got a great ground game from Charles Williams , 168 yards , 1 TD.
UAB survived the aerial show 31-20 over Akron.
Two of three for the weekend
 

K. Nelson Akron

25/44

359

2

0

Johnston III UAB

15/24

319

4

1

O5 or non-Power 5 edged the B10

#akron (MAC) scored three DST TDs in a 39-34 win over NW. #alvindavis had two pick 6.
#temple (AAC) dominated my Terps from the jump in a 35-14 win
Blake Barrett threw for for 411 yards and 2 TDs  in #USF (AAC) comeback win over Illinos 25-19  and probably wasn't an upset
#troy (Sunbelt)  24-19 win over Nebraska may have Coach Frost thinking he should've stayed at UCF.
However, these three MAC teams, Miami of Ohio, Ball St, & Kent St, were rolled, respectively, by Minnesota, Indiana, and Penn St.

Props to Cincy update on O5

Kyle Washington scored a career-high 27 points, and Gary Clark had his fifth double-double of the season on Saturday as No. 14 Cincinnati  beat UConn 82-68 and went to 10-0 in the AAC. SMU 10-1 trails by a half game.
CUSA: A hot UTEP squad gave #mtsu it's first #CUSA loss last night. Second place   La. Tech edges the crumbling #herd  94-90 behind McCree's 30 points .
MAC: #ohio gave #akron it's first conference loss behind a 38 point efffort from #Jaaronsimmons
MWC: #Boisest edged Utah St to stay one game ahead of Colorado ST
SunBelt:  Three way tie for first remains  with three 8-2 teams. #arkst survived #appst.  georgia southern beat ULM and georgia st  hit some late free throws in a close win over ULL

Feb 7

Three way Sunbelt tie for first remains.
Hollowell and Benlevi hit enough treys in the Ga St win over ULM.
#mikehughes hit three clutch baskets as Georgia Southern beat ULL.
#devinsimms (18pts, 9 rebs) helped Ark St defeat Coastal Carolina.

Feb 9

Cincy wasn't great last night but beat USF to go to 11-0 in the AAC

Feb 10

#MTSUgot back to winning  using treys to beat #ODU. La Tech survived #utep to remain two GB in the CUSA race.
#smu  beat Temple 66-50  so the stage is set for the AAC showdown with Cincy on Sunday.#Ojeleye (SMU) scored a career-high 30 points and grabbed 10 rebounds.

Feb 11

#Utomi was 5-5 from the three point line in #akron s victory of #emu which keeps the Zips four games ahead of #Ohio who eked out a win over Ball St.

Feb 13

AAC; #SMU gave #Cincy its first conference loss. #Memphis loss to #temple means they have to win the AACt to go dancing.
CUSA: #jacoreywilliams keptthe #MTSU train rolling in an easy win over #charlotte.
MAC: C. Michigan, Ball St.,N. Illinois, Toledo all 6-6  in he "who wants the West
MWC: #sandiegost is waking up but  has to win the MWCT. #boisest has a one game lead on Colorado St
SunBelt: UTA nipping at heels of the three teams tied for first

Feb 14

Top three lose in SunBelt last night allowing UTA to take the top spot. #TXST and #CoastalCarolina are lurking.

Georgia State(16-9) 29 35 64
Coastal Carolina(13-13) 25 40 65

Georgia Southern(16-10) 33 45 78
Appalachian State(8-16) 41 42 83

Arkansas State(18-8) 27 31 58
Texas State-San Marcos(15-9) 25 37 62

Feb 15

Akron seems safe in the East ,but the MAC West is wide open #weber was 7 for 11 from treyland in the #ballst win over #niu. MACT winner is likely getting the only dance ticket.
Ball St. 7-6
C. Michigan 6-7
N. Illinois 6-7
Toledo 6-7
W. Michigan 6-7
E. Michigan 5-8

feb 18

 #DeonEdwin scored 21 points to help #KentState snap #Akron 's (top of the MAC East) 30-game home winning streak with a 70-67 win last night. #akron is still in good shape for a first round bye, then a home game for the MACT.

feb 19

#uta stays atop the #Sunbelt thanks to Erick Neal's 35-footer with two seconds left  and #Kevin Hervey 's 17 points and 10 rebounds.
#smu rallkied against Houston to stay a half of a game upon #cincy in the #AAC
#Nevada #BoiseSt #ColoradoSt tied for first in the #MWC. BOISE - Paris Austin (Pts: 27, Reb: 6, Ast: 6) is putting up solid numbers.
#herd took too too long to wake up yesterday and lost to first place #mtsu led by JaCoreyWilliams again. #ErikMcCree had his 12th double-double of the season and led #latech to a win over FIU which keeps them 2gb of MTSU in the #cusa race 

feb 21

#georgiasouthern has lost five it's last eight SuNbelt games- just call them UVA-lite. Last night
#uta handled them and kept it's first place lead over #arkst. Watch out out for #coastalcarolina as a cinderella in the SunBelt tournament.

feb 22

#clavell scored 24  for #coloradost in their win over  #newmexico, which gives them a half game lead over #boisest and #nevada in the #MWC
MAC: #BALLST has a one game lead over #wmu in the West. And #ohio is within two games of #akron in the East

feb 23

Marcus Marshall and Cameron Oliver had big efforts as Nevada beat Boise State 85-77 to take sole possession of first in MWC..

feb 24

AAC : #cincy could be #4 seed at the Dance
CUSA : #utep got by #fau to stay
#LAtech won it;s seventh straight as Boykins came up big in a win over #northtexas
#herd continue to stumble falling to #odu
Middle Tennessee 14-1 Louisiana Tech 13-3
only Louisiana Tech has a shot at #mtsu- 18 conference games Old Dominion 10-5 UTEP 10-5

feb 25

Yes, I know the MAC is likely getting one Dance ticket, but #akron gOt a big win last night over #Buffalo last night and clinched a share of the #MAC title. As I stated earlier, byes and seedings have value in the MACT.

Cincy, MTSU, Tookie, and more

AAC- #Cincy (17-2, 7-0) played solid D in it's won over #tulane which kept them one game ahead of #smu and #tulsa
CUSA: #MTSU rolled #fau to reman undefeated in CUSA  play whle #marshall  with solid performances from Elmore and Brownng beat #wku to stay in the race. #fiu won it's first conference game this season.
MAC: #ohio hung against #niu behind Simmons 23 points to not fall further behind akron. Rest of the league  pursued parity.
MWC:  #boise moved back into a tie for first with #nevada with a win over #sjsu and Nevada's loss to #fresno. Watch out out the surging #newmexicolobos, who defeated #wyoming with #elijahbrown scoring 33.
SunBelt: #tookieBrown leads Georgia Southern (13-6, 6-0) past Appalachian State, 92-88 and remains  two games ahead of four other schools . #coastalcarolina #georgiasouthern -key SunBelt Jan 23 matchup Can CCU stop Tookie?

Jan 24,2017

#tookiebrown (23 points) and Ga Southern remain undefeated in SunBelt play . GAS 91 CCU 80

Jan 25

MAC: Akron stretched it's lead to three games over Ohio on the East with a 90-80 win over #wmu. West is wide open
MWC: What's wrong with #sdst who lost to AFA? How about those Lobos who arehanging right behind Boise and Nevada in the conference race. New Mexico beats Utah State 74-61 for 4th straight win Elijah Brown scored 24 points.
AAC: #dunleavy may want to go back to broadcasting. #tulane lost to Whouston and fell to 1-7 in conference play.

Jan 26

Race tightens in the MWC: D. J. Fenner scored 21 points and Marcus Marshall added another 18 as #Nevada beat Boise State 76-57 and sits alone atop the MWC.
#Wyoming weathers UNLV comeback, hangs on to win 66-65
Clavell has 23 with 11 boardsfor Colorado St in awin over San Jose St
Nevada 6-2
New Mexico 6-3
Fresno State 5-3
Boise State 5-3
Colorado State 5-3

Wyoming 4-4

Jan 27

Louisiana Tech played the final six minutes with four players and outscored #UAB 20-16 over the final six minutes but lost 79-70. In CUSA games w/o brawls. #mtsu beat #usm and is 8-0 in conference play.
Another great name, #PancakeThomas, scored 25 points in #wku win over UTEP.
Middle Tennessee 8-0
Louisiana Tech 6-2
UAB 6-2

Marshall 6-2

Jan 28

SunBelt: #tookiebrown scored 23 but South Bama handed his Georgia Southern squad its first SunBelt loss. #uta , georgia st, and ark st won to move one game closer to GAS. #texasst edged #ccu and moved into third place
CUSA: #mtsu beat La tech to maintain a two game conference lead. #herd got spanked at home
by #utep
AAC: #tulsa made a late run to beat #ucf and remain 2GB of Cincy
MWC: Oliver led Nevada past New Mexico 82-65 to remain one game ahead of Boise St and
Colorado St who won their games.
MAC: #akron needed late free throws from #isaihwashington to hold off Buffalo and remain the sole
undefeated team in MAC play.

Jan 31

Three undefeated teams  #cincy, #mtsu, #akron , in conference play. Who will hand them a first conferece loss?
#Cincy survives at #Tulsa tomorrow but could lose at #SMU on Feb 12
#akron has a tough one at #emu on Feb 10
#mtsu  has a tough one at a rapidly improving #wku squad

Feb 1

#akron struggled against #NIU but remains undefeated in MAC play as Antino Jackson and Isaiah Johnson combined to score 31 of their 43 points in the second half . #ohio lost to #wmu and fell another game behind akron in the East.

Feb 2

Props to Cincy who's 9-0 in AAC play.#caupain was stellar in the final minute win over Tulsa. #smu beat #ecu to remain one game behind Cincy.

Feb 3

#mtsu goes to 10-0 in CUSA play with another solid game from #JaCoreyWilliams  17 points, 11 rebounds in the 69-59 win over #utsa

MAC 2016/17 hoops preview

East Division
1. Akron: Isaiah Johnson, Sr. anchors a veteran squad
2. Buffalo: Blake Hamilton, Sr. is a potential star but will need a lot of help from Conner & Perkins
3. Ohio: Campbell and Simmons Jr  are the keys. If they excel, the Bobcats could steal the East
4. Kent State – Jimmy Hall has a solid game but not sure if there's enough brights Flashes to follow his lead
5. Bowling Green – Falcons may rise above expectations but I don't enough scorers in the lineup
6. Miami – Weather' twins are decent  but  the Redhawks will struggle.

West Division
1. Eastern Michigan: Thompson and Lee show will keep on tthe Eagles atop the West.
2. Central Michigan : Marcus Keene's scoring will keep the Chippewas in contention.
3. Toledo-Williams & Taylor Jr need to be supermen all season.
4. Western Michigan: Rough start but they hung tough against Villanova.
5. NIU  lost to Elon, another downer.
6. Ball State struggled to beat Coppin St , from my areaso I'm  not impressed

Week 7 O5 conference matchups

Five more hunches:
AAC: UConn's win over Cincy will give  them "mo" but  #USF QB Q #flowers will lead the Bulls to a 27-17 home win
CUSA: #MTSU (Stocksill to James)  will eke out a home win over #WKU (White to Taylor). Who knows maybe one of these squads finds some  D. MTSU 34 WKU 33
MAC : #zachterrell, will lead #WMU, to a big win on the road at Akron which keep them in line for #accessbowl. 29-28.  Woodson will keep it close for the Zips.
MWC: After a brutal non-conference start, Hawaii is now 2-0 in conference and   hosts #unlv. Diocemy Saint Juste will rush the  Warriors to a 27-17 victory over the visitng #Rebels.
SunBelt: Manning (GAS) /Silvers(Troy) shootout  or does Chunn (Troy) run wild at home? Troy 20 #georgiast 17


Cancellations: 
AAC news: The impending crest of the #TarRiver is expected to impact Greenvilleand has caused the cancellation of the ECU/NAVY. #Nov19. #navy @ #ecu makeup day
SunBelt news: #southalabama except 1.5 million to cancel it's Nov 19 game at LSU, which leaves them with an 11 game schedule for now. BTW, USA has upset #mississippist and #sandiegost this season.

October 15 #MWC news
#Pumphrey for the Heisman. He  run for 220 yards and two Tds in #sandiegost win over Fresno St last night.  1111 yards and 11 tds this season

Oct 17 review

AAC: #usf 42 #uconn 27. Coach Taggart continues to dismiss his naysayers. I was spot on about Flowers(16 CAR, 157 YDS, 3 TD)  herding  the #usf  Bulls to victory. #Shireffs threw for 306 yards and two TD for UConn.
CUSA: I was correct on a one point victory but picked the wrong team #mtsu. Brent Stockstill  MTSU(42-54, 434 YDS, 3 TD) had a great game, but #wku rushing game led by Anthony Wales  
(27 CAR, 158 YDS, 3 TD) won out 44-43 thanks to a blocked PAT in OT
MAC: #wmu 41 #akron 0 I was correct on #wmu but  didn't foresee Akron's lack of zip. #JarvionFranklin  WMU (33 CAR, 281 YDS, 1 TD)
MWC: #UNLV had a solid final five minutes with Lexington Thomas scoring on a 34-yard TD run and Pantels kicking the go-ahead field goal . #unlv 41  #hawaii 38. Hawaii QB #drubrown was solid in a losing effort. My one incorrect pick this week.
SunBelt: Manning to Boyd GAS connection was great but  Silvers, the Troy QB,  tossed two fourth quarter TDS for a Troy 31  GAS  21 victory.

MAC football 2016

East
1) Akron looks better. The addition of transfers of Natson and Ball on offense should keep the Zips in contention.
2) Bowling Green:  Darrion Landry, a JUCO transfer, will be an asset as Knapke tries to replace Matt Johnson at QB
3) Ohio- Maybe Wyndham does enough to keep the Bobcats in the middle of the pack.
4) Miami (Ohio)- Maybe Bahl makes a huge leap at QB
5) Kent St- Flashes are young and not looking golden .
6) Buffalo will miss Licata

WEST
1) W. Michigan: Terrell to Davis connection will help Fleck's  Broncos eke out the division title
2) Northern Illinois is solid in three phases of the game, particulary with lurry in the secondary.
3) Toledo has Kareem Hunt running  behind a talented OL.
4) Ball St.- Jury is out on QB Riley Neal
5) C. Michigan: Cooper Rush is an improving QB but is that enough.
6) E. Michigan:  Maybe  a win or two but not ready to escape the cellar

Other 5 roundups/letdowns

SunBelt: (1)Arkansas-Little Rock Trojans have had plenty of rest and  start their battle for the SunBelt Dance ticket against (4)ULL. They beat ULL twice this season and will focus on stopping the long distance Cajun shoooter, Shawn Long.  (2) ULM/(3)UTA is the other semi-final . UTA is one of the most  perplexing squads . Drew Charles treys saved them last night but Kevin Hervey has been their anchor. Roberson and Deng are the ULM anchors.

MWC- I'm going with (2) Bulldogs behind Marvelle Harris to beat top seed SD St n the final. Both teams are dancing.

MAC- Buffalo is another perplexing team and they 've had a nice run, but Isaiah Johnson and Akron will secure the MAC ticket.

CUSA: It's March and ODU is chasing a dance ticket- same old story. Trey Freeman scored 42 yesterday in the win over WKU, but MTSU, a winner over Herd yesterday, will slow him down and get the CUSA ticket.

AAC= crazy tournament. Tulane was about to fire their head coach before they upset Houston to face Memphis on one side of the bracket. Temple, who should be in  the Dance, faces  another March bloomer UConn today. I wouldn't hazard a guess as to what other AAC squads go Dancing.

For new readers Other 5= AAC, CUSA,MAC, MWC,  and SunBelt

March13 review
SunBelt- Ark LR/ULM for the ticket today/ ULL scored 25 but that was enough again st Little Rock.
MWC- Fresno punched its ticket and I still think SD St gets an at large.
MAC-  Massinburg was solid in Buffalo's win. I can't see Akron getting and at large.
CUSA:MTSU held Freeman under 20 points and got the W.
AAC: UConn /Memphis in the final- the bubble grows.

March 17: Tulsa (AAC) made a run but Michigan held them off in the play -in game. Tulsa (20-12) got 23 points from Shaquille Harrison, There were five ties and 12 lead changes in the  second half. 

July 13, 2016
Dropping  an off-season note: SMU must've had enough of Larry Brown when he pushed for a contract extension. Tim Jankovich, who  has been in head coach in waiting at SMU since 2012 and had a 104-64  record as HC at Illinois St, takes over. SMU was 9-0 under Jankovich  during Brown's suspension last season. Jankovich promises more treys and hopesto take advantage of SMU being the only 1A hoops team in the Dallas area.
Brown (2012-16)guided the Mustangs to their first dance ticket since 1993 in 2015, but that feels lile steep price.