Non P6 hoops 2024 part 2

 Horizon: Robert Morris continues a slow climb out of basement. Hastings 31 pts , 15 reb led RMU to a 102 Detroit 99 (OT)win.

OAK 70  YSU 67, IUPUI 85 PFW 79

SunBelt: ULL 86 TXST 68, USM 69  ARST 66,  APP 76 GAST 68

Appy and Marshall are keeping pace with Troy.

MWC: San Diego St beat Nevada to keep pace with Utah St

 Jan 19, 2024

ODU gets its first SBC win, rolling over Marshall. Allete scored 27 for the Monarchs. Budding regional rivalry.

WCC: O'Neil scored 23 for Santa Clara in a win over Pacific. Zags won, too but both trail San Fran, a winner last night over LMU. 

Jan 21, 2024

MWC: Boise edges the Aztecs  67-66 . BSU, SDST , and UNM are nipping at USU's heels.

Summit: Fidler's PPG continues to decrease for Omaha. I guess more teams are focusing on him. UMKC 74 Omaha 72. UMKC made a wise regional move out of the WAC in 2020. HC Billy Donlon, who was 19-12 in the 2021-22 season, left UMKC to become the Associate HC at Clemson. Current HC Marvin Menzies has struggled since replacing Donlon. Menzies resume.

2007–2016 New Mexico State

2016–2019 UNLV

2019–2020 Grand Canyon (assoc. HC)

2022–present Kansas City

Jan 22, 2024

AAC: . UTSA forces FAU into OT but falls 112-103. Davis scored 34 for the victors and Ivy Curry scored 38 for UTSA.

Tulane(3-3 AAC) gets a big 81-79 win over Memphis to stay relevant.

USF gets by Wichita St 82-78.

Jan 24, 2024

MWC: Boise St beat Fresno while Aztecs handled Wyoming. 

Zips keep cruising in the MAC with a 67-58 win over Ohio. Freeman (19pts, 14 reb) for the winners.

Jan 25, 2024

Herd got 22 from Killen in a win over GA St, but Troy and JMU also won. Appy, the top dog in the SBC, plays GA Southern tonight.

Jan 26, 2024

 Ike scored 22 in a big win for the Zags over San Fran. Saint Mary's beat Pacific to remain atop the WCC. 

Appy beat GA Southern to remain atop the SBC.

Goodrick (14pts, 12reb) for Cal Baptist in a win over UTRGV which moves them into a three- way tie with SFA and Tarleton for second in the WAC. SFA lost to Grand Canyon, the conference leader. Tarleton lost to SUU.

Jan 28, 2024

Catching up with the MVC. Conwell scored 22 points for Indiana St in a 95-86 OT win over Bradley. Three ISU losses: Bama, Sparty, and Drake, which trails them by a game in the conference.

SBC: Appy, Troy, and the Herd won. CUSA: LA Tech and Sam Houston are tied for first. LT beat NMST and SHSU beat UTEP yesterday.

Jan 29, 2024

AAC: Lendeborg(23/16/4) for UAB over Memphis. FAU edged UNT and is tied with CHAR for1st. Wichita St over SMU. ECU needed OT to beat Temple.

Jan 31, 2024

Akron and Toledo won last night to remain tied for 1st in the MAC

Zags crush LMU in the WCC.

Dayton, SBON, LOYCH, won in the A10. Holmes(25/12/4) for the Flyers who trail Richmond by a half game.

Feb 1, 2024

UNCG beat VMI and sits a game behind Samford in the Southern Conference. They've been on a bumpy ride since upsetting Arkansas in December.

M. Rice scored 35 points for Boise St in a win over UNM to keep things tight in the MWC. Both teams trail Utah St.

Richmond beat Fordham and sits atop the A10 with an 8-0 record.

St Marys(17-6,8-0) beat Santa Clara and is a game ahead of the Zags in the WCC.

Feb 2, 2024

Appy(1st) and Troy(2nd) keep winning. JMU scores105 in a rout of CCU. Herd lose at home to cellar dweller ODU.

Feb 3, 2024

Akron(MAC) keeps rolling with a 77-70 win over Toledo. Holmes(34pts, 7reb) leads Dayton(A10) to a 76-71 win over the Bonnies. Sure looks like Nevada(MWC) is getting into gear with a 90-60 win over SJST.

Feb 4, 2024

San Diego St and FAU, half of the last season's F4, are playing like they want to be there again.

  LeDee(16pts,8reb) for San Diego St(7-3) in a big win over USU(8-2), who is tied for with Boise St for the MWC top spot.

Davis scored 24 points for FAU in 102-70 blowout of Tulsa in AAC action. They share first place in the AAC with Charlotte and USF.

Feb 5, 2024

Langley scored 30 for UNCG in a narrow 89-87win over Furman and trails Samford by a game in the Southern Conference.  

UNCG is an older section of Greensboro that intrigued me when I lived in that town briefly in 2005.

Feb 6, 2024

J Johnson scored 24 for New Orleans in a blowout of Houston Christian in a Southland Conference matchup of two teams not doing well.

McNesse St (20-3, 9-1) is in first place.

Feb 7, 2024

MWC: Utah St and Boise St lost.  Aztecs and Lobos won. All four are tied (7-3) for first.

A10: Santos scored 21 for Dayton in a 94-79 win over St Joseph. I heard some gambling geeks predicting an upset of Dayton yesterday afternoon, and I laughed at the TV screen.

AAC: USF edges Charlotte and takes a half game lead on FAU.

Feb 8, 2024

WCC BEWARE: Zags take the top spot with a 96-74 win over Portland, also San Diego beat LMU.

CUSA: McHenry(20pts, 3 ast) for WKU in a big win over LaTech

MVC: Avila (27pts,8reb) for Indiana St in a blowout win over VALP.

Feb 9, 2024

Wow, the AAC gets more interesting. Lendeborg(17pts, 21reb) for UAB in an OT win over FAU.

In the WAC, Cal Baptist edged UTA to stay in the race with Tarleton and Grand Canyon.

Feb 10, 2024

A10: VCU 49 DAY 47. Dayton falls out of first place.

MWC: NEV 70 SDSU 66.CSU won and these three teams are not in first place.

Feb 11, 2024

 G Ike scored 23 in a big win for the Zags over Kentucky(SEC). Zags are 2.5 games behind St Mary's and a half game behind San Fran in the WCC.

CUSA: Liberty beat La Tech and WKU beat JVST. WKU sits a half game behind LA Tech and Sam Houston, who are tied for first at 6-3.

SBC/MAC -Solid wins for JMU over Akron and Appy over Toledo. Only two MAC wins, CMU over ODU & BUFF over GASO.

Feb 12, 2024

MVC:  C: Jones scored 24 for UIC in a win N.Iowa.

AAC: Getting mighty crowded in AAC. USF remains in first.  FAU, SMU, UAB, Memphis, and Charlotte won.

Feb 13, 2024

T. Tejada scored 17 points for Towson in an 80-55 win over Elon in CAA play. TU(8-4) is a game behind UNCW and Charleston.

Feb 14, 2024

UNM holds off NEV 83-82.  SDSU cruises past CSU 71-55. Both winners trail Utah St in the MWC.

Kinzinger scored 31 points for ILL St in an upset of Indiana St, who now holds only a game lead on Drake in the MVC.

Non P6 hoops 1

O5 Bowl Games on Dec 16

 Myrtle Beach Bowl: Georgia Southern(SBC) vs. Ohio(MAC)

I'm going roll with the Bobcats. GS hasn't won since October. Ohio 20 GS 17

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Jacksonville State(CUSA) vs. ULL(SBC)

Malik Jackson will rush for 100 yards for Jax in a 27-23 win.

Avocados From Mexico Cure Bowl Miami (Ohio) vs. Appalachian State

MAC vs SBC. Aguilar returns to form and tosses two TD passes for Appy in a 24 16 win.

Isleta New Mexico Bowl

New Mexico State(CUSA) vs. Fresno State(MWC)

Pavia will return to for NMST in a 30-27 win.

LA Bowl

UCLA(Pac12) vs. Boise State(MWC)

Boise is on a nice high, but UCLA will have enough pride to avoid the upset and stop Jeanty who has rushed for 1263 yards this season. Bruins 24  Broncos 20

Dec 17, 2023

Sole incorrect pick yesterday was NMSU. 

Ohio came out and stayed in control. Rickey Hunt RB - OHIO 17CAR 115YDS 4TD. Plus a receiving TD. Bobcats didn't appear to miss all those portal departures.

R. Wiggins RB - JVST 27CAR 126YDS 1TD in a 34-31 OT win over ULL. ULL D scored 3TDs in the loss.

R. Amos RB - M-OH 33CAR 180YDS 1TD and his team lost to Appy 13-9

Keene threw 3 TD passes for Fresno in a blowout of NMSU.

G. Holani RB - BOISE 17CAR 138YDS 2TD in a loss to UCLA

Dec 17 evening: Going with SBC tomorrow afternoon. ODU 24 Wku 17 is my hunch.

Dec 18 evening: Turn on the TV after work and ODU is up 28-14, then its 35-14. I turn off TV. WKU wins 38-35. There goes my hot streak.

O5 pigskin title games 2023

 CUSA: A close one that will come down to the running game. Liberty will win at home. LIB 24 NMSU 21

NMSU: D. Pavia (153 CAR, 806 YDS, 5 TD)

LIB: Q. Cooley (202 CAR, 1251 YDS, 13 TD)

AAC: Tulane's D will do enough to slow down SMU's big O. TUL 27 SMU 24

MAC:  Little Miami doesn't have an answer for D Finn, Toledo's QB.  Toledo 34 Miami(OH) 27

MWC: I'll stick with the Rebels. R. White WR - UNLV (75REC 1300 YDS 7TD). UNLV 35 Boise 31

Sunbelt: Both teams have on a roll. Both QBs, Aguilar(APP) and Watson(Troy), each threw for over 3K yards for this season. APP 38 Troy 35

Dec 2, 2023

LIB: 49 NMSU 35: Pavia , Ags QB, left the game banged up in the 3Q. 

Liberty QB K. Salter Passing: 319YDS 2TD.  Rushing 12CAR 165YDS 1TD. Undefeated Flames have a shot at a New Year's day bowl if Tulane loses today.

Dec 3, 2023

I was correct on the first game but wrong on the other four games. SMU, Miami(oh), Boise St, and Troy won.

Little Miami did a great job of containing Finn.

How about these fellas:

K. Vidal RB - TROY U- 26CAR 233YDS 5TD

A. JeantyRB - BOISE ST -21CAR 153YDS 1TD

Dec 4, 2023

Fritz leaves Tulane for Houston(Big12)

Boist St elevates Danielson from interim HC to HC. He did  helluva job replacing Avalos mid -season.

Go Flames ! Liberty plays Oregon in the Fiesta Bowl on Jan 1

Dec 6: Former Vandy coach Derek Mason will be new coach at MTSU. He was most recently the DC at Oklahoma State in 2022.

New Mexico hires Bronco Mendenhall to be HC: He was an Asst there a long time ago. Solid hire

Feb 27, 2024

Former Boise State coach Dirk Koetter will be BSU's new offensive coordinator, 

He was HC previously w/Tampa Bay Bucs & Arizona State

Week 10 in the O5

 AAC: While it lasts, an AAC matchup between two former SWC teams. SMU 30 Rice 20. SMU QB

P. Stone (2138 YDS, 19 TD, 5 INT) is having a great season.

CUSA: La Tech will give Liberty a scare in Lynchburg, VA, but not prevail. LIB 24 LaTech 23

MWC: I 'll go with Fresno QB Mikey Keene in a home game. FRES 31 Boise St 27

SunBelt: Both teams have struggled. J. Aguilar QB - APP (2173YDS 20TD 6INT) will do enough at home for win over Marshall.  Appy 21 Marshall 16. It will be televised on NFLN.

I didn't pick the game: Gunnar Watson threw 3 TD passes to Chris Lewis for Troy in a 28-10 win over South Bama. Troy is 4-1 in the SBC

Nov 5, 2023

Rice gave SMU a good game. SMU 36 Rice 31

Q. Cooley RB - LIB (23CAR 179YDS 2TD) in a 56-30 win over LaTech, but wasn't as close as I guessed.

Fresno moves to 4-1 in the MWC with a 37-30 win over the Blueturfers

Rough times for the Herd. Appy 31 Marshall 9.

correct on all 4 picks.

Some wild AAC scores: Tulane could only manage 13 points in a win over ECU. Memphis 59 USF 50. Tigers won but their D is bad.

Week 2 O5 matchups along the Atlantic.

 Miami (Ohio) visits Amherst, MA and wins a close one over UMass 20-19. Rough game for the Redhawks' Gabbert last week, but he'll return to form this week. I hope UMass returns to the MAC soon.

I've enjoyed this Marshall(SunBelt)/ECU(AAC) matchup over the years. Ali has a big game for the Herd and Garcia is not Ahlers yet for ECU. MU 27 ECU 19

FAU(AAC) hosts Ohio(MAC). Larry McCammon has a big game rushing for the Owls in a 24-20 win.

In a SunBelt matchup, ULL visits ODU in Norfolk, VA. Both are coming off tough matchups which they lost. ODU lost to VTech and ULL lost to Houston. Home cooking in a low scoring game. ODU 17 ULL14

Sept 10, 2023

G. Larvadain WR - M-OH 8REC 273YDS 3TD in a 41-28 win over UMass

The Herd took their time getting into gear and scored 21 points in the 4Q for 31-13 win over ECU.

FAU fell 17-10 to visiting OHIO. My only incorrect pick.

K. Wicks carried the ball 17 times for 103 yards for ODU in a 38-31 win over ULL.

Toss up on biggest upset yesterday. Rice (AAC) beat Houston (Big12) or James Madison(SunBelt) roaring back to beat Virginia(ACC).

Sept 12, 2023

App St (Sunbelt) took UNC to OT before falling. No games scheduled in the future for this intrastate match. UNC is up 3-1 in the series. Appy won in 2019.

Wyoming (MWC) plays TX this week. Got me thinking that's where Fred Akers was HC before he took the TX HC job. He was also Purdue HC after he left TX.

O5 - Week 11

 Well, MAC was early this week so here's 4 picks..

AAC: Gus has the UCF(7-2 4-1 AAC) looking sharp. Plumlee will toss two TD passes at Tulane (8-1 5-0 AAC). UCF-24 Tul 20

CUSA: FAU (4-5 3-2 C-USA) at FIU((4-5 2-3 C-USA) in an intrastate battle. Nkosi Perry is having a decent year at QB and had a good game in last week's big win against UAB. FAU 21 FIU 20

MWC: San José State (6-2 4-1 MWC) visits Snapdragon to take on San Diego State (5-4 3-2 MWC). I'll ride with Cordeiro, who has tossed for 2,224 yards and 11 TDs for the Spartans. SJST 28 SDST 23

SunBelt: App St visits Marshall and the erratic teams have identical (5-4 2-3Sun Belt) records. Laborn carries the rushing load for #herd at home. MU 17 APP St 16

Nov 13, 2022

Pratt threw more TD passes than Plumlee but that wasn't enough for Tulane. UCF 38 TUL 31

Nkosi Perry accounted for 4 TDs and FAU rolled FIU 52-7. 

Wrong on SJST. Cordeiro did plenty, but Jalen Mayden threw three touchdown passes and Jordan Byrd returned a kickoff 95 yards for a TD for San Diego State. SDST 43 SJST 27

Marshall U blocked a punt for TD and Fancher tossed two TDs in a 28-21 win over App St

3-1 for the weekend

Nov 16, 2022

Virginia canceled its game against Coastal Carolina this coming weekend after 3 football players  were killed earlier this week in an on campus shooting.

And some Baltimore -related news. Charlotte has hired Michigan associate head coach Biff Poggi as its next HC 

Poggi was a longtime successful high school coach in Baltimore ,Maryland with  Gilman School and  then powerhouse, St. Frances Academy, before joining Jim Harbaugh's staff at Michigan. He  sent  Blake Corum and other St Frances stars to Michigan.

Top dogs in the 05 -week 10

 Ok, I covered the MAC so now I'll focus on conference leaders in the other four conferences.

AAC: Tulane may get a battle at Tulsa for a while, but Spears will rush for over 100 yards and keep the Green Wave undefeated in conference play. Tulane 34 Tulsa 24

CUSA: No team has slowed down UTSA(4-0 in CUSA) QB Frank Harris for long. UTSA 30 UAB 27

MWC:  Boise St  (5-0-MWC) plays an OOC game against BYU, who is desperate to beat someone. Taylon Green has been solid since becoming the starting QB. and I'd love to call this one a tie if they were still allowed.  BYU 26 Boise St 24 at the buzzer.

SunBelt: Coastal Carolina and Troy are each 4-1 and lead their respective divisions. Troy Trojans will march into ULL and come out with a 17-14 win with the help of a pick6.

CCU hosts App St and survives a scare 24-21. McCall looks solid again for the Chanticleers.

Nov 4, 2022

 Lot more points scored than I guessed in last night's CCU  35-28 win over Appy. McCall threw 2 TD passes and no picks.

Nov 5, 2022

5-0 for the weekend

Spears was a beast again for Tulane in a 27-13 win over Tulsa.

UTSA needed double OT to defeat UAB 44-38. Harris had another great game for the victors.

Hall to Nicau connection saved the day for BYU in a 35-28 win over Boise ST. 

Troy outscored ULL 16-0 in the 4Q for a 23-17 win.

Week 3 O5: Hot or not

 I can't ignore three hot SunBelt schools, App St, Marshall, and Georgia Southern, this week. I think the trio may come out of the gate slow but get in gear by the second quarter of their respective games.

App St will get a big game out of running back C Peoples in a 30-19 home conference win over Troy.

Marshall will ride freshman phenom K. Laborn to a 31-16 win at Bowling Green(MAC).

Georgia Southern will have to slow down C Brown to pull out a close road win. GS 24 UAB(CUSA) 22

Air Force has relied on a strong running attack to get off to a 2-0 start but face a tough conference road game at Wyoming. Peasley will throw 3 TDS for the Cowboys and hand AFA a 27-24 loss.

I covered the AAC in a blog on ACC history and SMU losing a close one to MD(Big10)

Sept 17, 2022

Peasley only tossed one TD pass, but the Cowboys slowed down AFA in a 17-14 win.

Sept 18, 2022

The "Stun" belt had a few holes poked in it this weekend, on OOC play with Marshall falling in OT to BG and Georgia Southern getting handled by UAB which made me 2-2 in my picks. Laborn's fumble out of the end zone for a touchback was a killer for Marshall.

In other OOC play USA was held scoreless in the fourth quarter in a one-point loss to UCLA, Ark St fell to Memphis, ODU fell to UVA, SMU lost to MD, and ULL lost to Rice.

O5 vs Independents in week 2

UCF(AAC) is favored against Louisville(ACC) who lost to Cuse so I'm shifting gears looking for close games or upsets.

UTSA(CUSA) 27 @Army 23.  Roadrunners have a long road trip, but they but they took Houston to 3OT before losing last week.  

Toledo(MAC) 26 UMass 17. Minutemen won shatter any records at the Glass Bowl, but they'll hang around.

UTEP(CUSA) 20 New Mexico St 19. in a border war at the Sun Bowl. Tyrin Smith will get 100 receiving yards for the Miners.

Liberty 19 UAB(CUSA) 17. Coach Freeze will pull out a home field W.

I tip my hat to Marshall(SunBelt), but they won't last long against an angry Notre Dame squad.

Sept 10, 2022

Cards blank UCF 13-0 in the second half for a 20 -14 W. UCF has got some work to do before entering Big 12 play next season.

Sept 12, 2022

Four for four and darn close on the final score differences except for Toledo who clobbered UMass 55-10.

UTSA 41- Army 38 OT; LIB 21 UAB 14;  UTEP 20 NMST 13

Stat lines that impressed: McBride (UAB) 20  carries, 177 yards, 1TD

Frank Harris (UTSA) threw for 359 yards and 3 TDs

Shout out to my buddy from Ashland, WV:  Khalan Laborn rushed for 163 yards and a TD in a 26-21 #herd win over Notre Dame. Also, Georgia Southern, another Sunbelt team, knocked off Nebraska and Appy upset TAMU. 

Oct 27, 2022

Seven weeks later: 

StunBelt teams are beating each other up.

Liberty is having another decent season and just crushed BYU, who will look to recover with a home game against ECU(AAC). Cougars, watch out for Ahlers', the Pirates gritty QB.

Oct 29, 2022

 I thought the Cougars would find enough O to get by ECU so-so D. Ahlers rushed for two TDs for ECU in a 27-24 win over BYU.

BTW, Ahlers reminds me a little of Bobby Douglas, a former Kansas QB who played for the Chicago Bears in the 1970s

 

O5 upset chances vs P5 in weekend 1

 Ain't no way Leach let's Memphis(AAC) hang around too long. It's time for him to prove he was a good hire for Miss St(SEC). Dawgs return 16 starters. Miss St 30 Memphis 22.

Miami-Ohio(MAC) will give UK (SEC) a tough first half, but Levis will get the Wildcats in gear in the second half. UK  37 M-O 19

Kent St flashes some O but will fall on the road at UW(Pac12)  UW 23 Kent 20

Chase Brice  will get Appy(SunBelt) an upset win in week 1 at UNC(ACC). APP 26 UNC 25

And UCLA will get by Bowling Green behind veteran QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson. UCLA 30 BG 20 BTW, Bowling Green will be the first team from the MAC to play in the Rose Bowl, and it's also their first-ever matchup. 

Sept , 2 2022

I didn't guess on this game but OK St allowed 22 points in the 4Q to make the final look decent for C.Mich (MAC). I 'm sure the Cowboys subs were in . OKST 58- CMU 44

Sept 4, wrap up

Leach had his dawgs ready. Miss St 49 MEM 23

I got damn close on this score UK 37 M-O 13

Flashes batteries faded except for Cephas ( 6 rec, 105 yards) UW 45 Kent St 20

Off in so many ways on this one:  After App missed a 2 point conversion with 31 seconds to go, I watched another game. Both teams scored again- wow. UNC 63 App 61

Bowling Green hung with UCLA for a half. UCLA 45 BG 20.  

 Noteworthy: Houston needed a big second half comeback to be UTSA. Ohio roared back to beat FAU. Is Willie Taggert sweating? James Madison rolled MTSU(CUSA)

Rising SunBelt 2022 football hunches

 Time to see what a wild off-season looks like on the field

In the West, ULL is a favorite with many but replacing QB Levi Lewis may not be as easy the Cajuns hope. Perhaps they take a nap w/o Napier? Troy has the talent towin the West

I'm keep my eyes on Butch Jones who recruited well for Ark St, and Terry Bowden should get more out of ULM this season.

It's difficult to not pick App St, but a healthy McCall will keep CCU in the East race all season. #herd could do some stomping if they get the QB situation resolved.

Earlier off-season blog https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2022/01/sunbelt-2023-or-2022-expansion.html

August 17, 2022

 I forgot about this: Texas St HC Spavital made headlines in 2021 when he went with an all-transfer portal approach in recruiting. Bobcats went from two to four wins and haven't had a winning season since 2014.

Aug 23, 2022

Two MAC/Sun Belt Conference games will be televised by the NFL Network in 2022.

Eastern Michigan Eagles of the MAC will travel to take on the ULL Ragin’ Cajuns of the Sun Belt on Saturday, Sept. 10. Series history is 1-1.

Sept. 17, the Bowling Green Falcons of the MAC will host the Marshall Thundering Herd of the Sun Belt. BG has won 21 of 29 games again the #herd

O5 Title games 2021

CUSA: I'm taking the hot team WKU led by Zappe who has tossed 52 TD passes. WKU 37 UTSA 31

MAC:  Kent St has a stellar rushing attack led by Marquez Cooper.  Kent St 26 NIU 19

MWC: Tough one to call, but I'll go with Bonner tossing a few TD passes against a solid Aztecs D for the win. Utah St 27 SDST 22

SunBelt: App St has climbed out of a rough September and finished nicely. ULL lost Coach Napier to FLA. App 23 ULL 22

AAC: Cincy keeps the heat on the CFP voters and squeaks by a solid Houston team. 26-24. Bearcats rushing attack led by Ford will carry the day.

Dec 3, 2021

Wrong on pick 1. UTSA couldn't slow down Zappe who threw for 577 yards and 4 tds, so they outscored WKU 49-41 with a big day from SINCERE MCCORMICK (36 carries for 204 yards and 3 TDs).

Dec 4, 2021

I split on yesterday's games. Correct on Cincy and Utah St. and wrong on App St and Kent St.

Utah St and Bonner pierced the Aztecs D in a 46-13 blowout win.

 Cincy rode the Ford(18 carries, 187 yds, 2 TDs) to a 35-20 victory.

Appy couldn't stop Lewis in the first half and never got its own O into gear. ULL 24 App 16. BTW, Napier coached for ULL yesterday.

NIU blanked Kent St in the first half and won 41-23.

BTW, remember Joe Moorhead who Miss St fired as its HC in 2019 and Oregon made its OC in 2020? He's the new HC at Akron.

O5 conference play in week 9

 AAC:  Cincy deserve all the press it can get , however SMU(7-0, 3-0 ) /Houston(6-1, 4-0)  matchup this week should be a good one. I don't think Houston's D can slow down SMU's QB T. Mordecai(187-263, 2320 YDS, 29 TD, 7 INT)  SMU 34 Hou 29

CUSA: UTEP's only loss is to Boise St and FAU looked like a new team in a blowout W over Charlotte last week. I'll take Taggart's kids at home . FAU 26 UTEP 22

MAC: Only one MAC game slated and it's in Buffalo this week. Bowling Green has disintegrated since beating Minnesota last month and Buffalo has been doing ok. Buffalo 17 BG 16

MWC: Fresno St QB Haener will toss a few TD passes and help the Bulldogs give San Diego St its first loss. Fres 24 SDST 19

Sunbelt: Is App St back after beating CCU? Can Bowden keep ULM on a roll after wins against Liberty and South Bama? I'll roll Charles Rodgers throwing two TD passes in a ULM win. ULM 23 App St 20

Oct 31

I was wrong on SMU who couldn't contain Tune(HOU), and Buffalo  who couldn't stop Matt MacDonald(BG).

I was correct on  FAU who held back a late UTEP rally, Fresno who handed SDST its first loss, and Appy who rolled ULM .

Nov 3, 2021

Ex USC coach Clay Helton was hired to helm Georgia Southern(Sunbelt) .  Undefeated Cincy(AAC) got F'D in the polls for no valid reasons. 

O5 Conference play in week 8

 A late start this week spared me from picking Coastal Carolina, who was upset 30-27 in SunBelt play   last night by App St.. Appy made some corrections after being crushed by ULL last week.

Sunbelt: So, I'll roll with ULL  to remain undefeated in conference play with a 34 -20 win over Ark St.

MAC:  Jay Ducker won't repeat  go for 210 yards like he did last week for NIU but he'll get over a 100 to keep NIU undefeated in MAC play. NIU 26 CMU 23

MWC: The undefeated SDST Aztecs are coming off a shaky win over SJST and should slow down Air Force RB Brad Roberts enough for a 20-16 win.

CUSA: C. Reynolds,  who has passed for 1314 YDS and 15 TD, will lead Charlotte a 34 29 win over FAU.

AAC: The "Tuned" up Cougars will handle the  Pirates this week.  HOU 37 ECU 31 Clayton Tune will toss a few TD passes for Houston.

Oct 22, 2021

Off to a rocky start 1-1. Charlotte was outplayed by FAU who was too fast for them everywhere  in a 38-9 win. I was right on ULL but it took a he!! of a rushing performance from these two Cajuns: C. Smith 24 carries 238yards 2 TDs . M. Johnson 17 carries 150 yards 2 TDs. ULL 28 Ark St 27

Oct 24, 2021

I finished 4-1. NIU get a last minute FG to get by CMU  39-38. Houston need a defensive TO to survive ECU 31-24 in OT. SDST held off AFA 20-14.

Sunbelt vs P5 in week 2

 The SunBelt has a chance to wound the ACC and Big 12 this weekend. 

Canes QB King wasn't so royal against Bama, while UNC read the press clipping and didn't notice VTech came to play. Kansas barely got by South Dakota(1AA).

Coastal Carolina  won at Kansas. last season and they 'll win at home this Friday. CCU is on a mission and QB McCall  understands that.  CCU 24 KU 19.

APP St' D dominated ECU(AAC) last week, and they'll throw a scare into Miami who needs this one badly. This will be a nailbiter and Appy has a knack for biting the big dog, but Diaz has the talent to survive this one 22-20.

UNC will get back in gear against Georgia St who got trounced 43-10 by Army last week.  Howell threw three picks in the loss to VT so the Tar Heels will need to get the running game moving. UNC 34 GA St 9

Sept 11, 2021

McCall: 17-21 245 yards 2 TDs for CCU in a 49-22 romp over Kansas. Will the AAC be sniffing around the Chanticleers?

Sept 12, 2021

Jalen Virgil had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown for App St, but Canes D stopped a final APP St drive to hang on to a 25-23 win.

Georgia St lost 59-17 to UNC.

In other Sunbelt OOC play South Bama came back to beat Bowling Green (MAC) and Texas St beat FIU(CUSA) OT. Ark St scored 50 in a loss to Memphis(AAC), Troy fell to Liberty(I), Georgia Southern got rolled by FAU(CUSA), and ULL beat Nichols(1AA).

Heading toward O5 conference tourney time in 2021

 Central Michigan( 7-15, 3-12 MAC) got 26 points from Caleb Huffman scored  and  then Meikkel Murray made a go-ahead put-back with 2.3 seconds left  for the 81-79 upset of Toledo(19-7, 14-4 MAC)

Buffalo(13-7, 11-5 MAC) edged Akron(14-7, 12-6 MAC) 80-78

It's looking like Memphis may be the team who could upend Houston and Wichita St in the AAC tourney. Memphis (15-6, 11-3 AAC ) defeated South Florida(8-11, 4-9 AAC) 73-52 for its sixth straight winand they'll face Houston on Sunday in the final regular season game.

March 4

Trey Wade scored a career-high 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting for Wichita State in a 78-70 AAC win over Tulane 78-70. That's 6 straight Ws for the Shockers.

In the MWC SDST got by UNLV in a so-so performance, while Colorado St  defeated  UNM and is the hottest MWC team heading into the conference tournament.

March 5

UTEP(12-11, 8-8 CUSA) accepted a call to play a game at # 13 Kansas(B12) and built an early 15 point lead before crumbling in the final 12  minutes of the game in a 67-62 loss. Bryson Williams led the Miners with 23 points and 13 rebounds. 

FAU crushed MTSU 80-50.

March 9

Michael Almonacy scored a career-high 32 points with six 3-pointers for App St in its 80-73 upset of Georgia State  to win the Sun Belt Conference championship and return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000. The Mountaineers were in the Southern Conference and coached by Buzz Petersen during the 1999/2000 season.

March 12, 2021

MWCT: Nevada popped Boise St bubble hopes and SDST barely survived Wyoming .

MACT:  Top seeds move forward: Akron, Buffalo, Ohio, and Toldeo

AACT-  Tulane got by Tulsa, and I bet their HC, Ron Hunter, thinks he can pull off one of those miracles  that his GA St squads pulled off in the SunBeltT for years.

mARCH  14, 2021

Cincy edged Wichita St  and if they beat Houston in  AACT, a bubble team possibly SMU will feel the pain. 

Jason Preston scored 22 points for Ohio in a 84-69 victory  over Buffalo, which was trying for a record third straight MAC title.

North Texas beat WKU 61-57 in overtime on Saturday night to win the CUSAT title game and earned its first Dance ticket since winning the Sun Belt tournament in 2010.

San Diego State beat Utah St 68-57 victory  to win the MWC title and secure the league's Dance ticket.

march 15,2021

Belmont, Furman,  and two CUSA teams, Marshall and UAB, are listed as replacement teams for the NIT.

March 18 2021

 NIT: Hollingsworth (21 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST)led Western Kentucky(CUSA) to a 67-63 win over St Marys while Toledo(MAC) lost to Richmond

March 21, 2021

NIT: La Tech does the CUSA right with a win over OL Miss. Buffalo (MAC) lost to Colorado St (MWC) and Memphis (AAC) beat Dayton.

March 23

NIT down to 8 teams.  Four matchups on 3/25 including  two CUSA teams LAtech vs WKU.  Thde only game w/o an O5 team is Richmond(A10) /Miss St(SEC). Colorado St(MWC) faces NC St(ACC) and Memphis(AAC) plays BoiseSt (MWC).

I was bit surprised to see the CBIT is going on in Florida and Coastal Carolina(SunBelt) plays Stetson today.

March 25,2021

Darryl Polk Jr. had 19 points and five steals for  Pepperdine in an 84-61 romp over Coastal Carolina in the CBI final.. Pepperdine finished fourth in the WCC, which Gonzaga ruled.

March 26, 2021

NIT down to four teams: In a battle of CUSA teams Kalob Ledoux scored 20 points, making 6 of 7 3-pointers for Louisiana Tech in a 72-65 win over Western Kentucky 72-65  and will play Mississippi State, a winner over Richmond, on Saturday in Texas.

Colorado ST (MWC) got by NC St and will play Memphis(AAC), a winner over Boise St(MWC).

March 28, 2021

The NIT final is set, and it will be Memphis(AAC) vs Mississippi State(SEC) on Sunday for the title. Memphis rolled Colorado State(MWC) 90-67 and  Mississippi State rolled  Louisiana Tech(CUSA) 84-62.   Ben Howland has a decent stint at Miss St since 2015(116–81 )(.589)

La Tech will face CSU in a matchup for third place.

March 29 , 2021

It wasn't a blowout but Memphis  was in control most of the game in a 77-64 win over Miss St  for the NIT title. Boogie Ellis MEM - G (23 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST)

La Tech  defeated  Col St 76-74 for 3rd place  on a buzzer beater by Kenneth Lofton Jr. LT - F(27 PTS, 13 REB, 3 AST)

April 1, 2021

Coaching news, no foolin: MAC:Akron Zips extend head coach John Groce through 2026 season. He's had more success in the MAC with Ohio and Akron, then the seesaw years at Illinois(Big 10). Ariz St assistant Rashon Burno is on his way to NIU

MWC news: New Mexico hired Richard Pittino quickly after Minnesota fired him, but I don't see it as a good fit. UNLV promoted Kevin Kruger, Lon's son, to HC.

April 7, 2021

This happens from time to time. UTEP(CUSA) head coach Rodney Terry is stepping down and will join Beard's staff at TX. He was a Texas assistant under former head coach Rick Barnes from 2002–11.

April 8, 2021

San Jose State(MWC) replaced Jean Prioleau with  Tim Miles who had some success  at Nebraska(2012-19), a hard gig.

In the MAC Central Michigan fired Keno Davis and Eastern Michigan fired Rob Murphy .

April 13, 2021

E. Michigan(MAC) hired Stan Heath as its new men's basketball coach.

He's an an EMU alum and has previously the coach at Kent State, leading that program to the Elite Eight in 2002. He also guided Arkansas to the NCAA tournament in 2006 and 2007. And did the same at USF in 2012 when they were in the Big East.

April 15, 2021

For years I saw a concrete slab with the Marshall Thundering Herd logo on it standing  in the side yard of a house I'd walk by every two weeks, then a few months ago it was gone. Today, it was back up but in the front yard.  It looks something like this but with more color  and a bull. 

Slim conference options in the O5 Dec 4-5

 All the schedule shuffles makes it difficult to find games that matter inside conferences but here I go.

Tulsa(5-0 AAC) trails Cincy, who they faces next week,  by a half a game in the AAC . They may have to rely on back QB Brin Collins to eke out a win at  Navy team and remain undefeated. Tulsa 25 Navy 22

Marshall(7-0, 4-0 CUSA)  the so-so Rice Owls and should take care business with Knox rushing for over 100 yards. #herd 30 Rice 17

Western Michigan (4-0 MAC) should handle EMU and keep pace with Buffalo(5-0 MAC) . The E & E , Eleby and Eskridge, show will lead the way to 29 -22 WMU win.

Nevada suffered its first MAC loss to Hawaii last week while Fresno St has been on a roll. Jalen Cropper is a hot receiver for Fresno so I'll gamble he gets two TDs in a win Fresno St 36 Nevada 33

The national media is high on ULL, but I suspect App St isn't too happy after a tough loss  to CCU. Zac Thomas roars back and throws two TD passes for APPY in a 31-30 win over ULL in Sunbelt action.

Dec 5

ULL 's snapper  tried to give Appy the game, but the Cajuns hung for a 24-21 win and gave me  an incorrect pick.  Mountaineers' Chandler Staton missed a 30-yard FG with 2 seconds left that would've sent the game to OT.

Dec 6

 I was certainly wrong on Marshall who got blanked 20-0 by Rice yesterday. The Owls D was stellar with five INTs, one of which was a pick6.

And lets keep rolling on my poor day yesterday. Eleby threw 4 TD passes for WMU, but EMU got three TD passes from P. Hutchinson and  a great rushing performance from Daruis Boone (148 yards, 1TD) in a 53-43 win yesterday.

Carson Strong threw 5 TD passes for Nevada in a 37-26 over Fresno and its D kept.Jalen Cropper out of the end zone.

My sole correct pick was Tulsa who got a key 3rd quarter 66-yard touchdown pass from Zach Smith to Josh Johnson to earn a 19-6 victory.

dec 7 2020

An addendum due to a Sunday night CUSA game . #wku (5-6) has improved a great deal while Charlotte (2-4) has had a bouncy pandemic ride. Pagrome and Gaej Walker had solid games in the Hilltoppers' victory. wku 37 CHAR 19.

 Nice 20-3 win for G Southern over an FAU team that usually scores a lot of points.

aug 7 2024

RIP  Coach Kragthorpe(59) died from Parkinsons. He went to three bowl games in four years with Tulsa when they were in the CUSA

Ge also was the HC at Louisville and an assistant with the Buffalo Bills.

Midweek pigskin in week ending Nov 21

 A battle of two (2-0) MAC, WMU and CMU, teams kicks off tomorrow tonight at Central Michigan. WMU will need  more than the fake spike TD that saved them against Toledo last week. Richards to Dixon passing game will take  the home team to a narrow victory. CMU 20 WMU 18.

I'm taking field goals as the winner in the FIU/WKU game in the CUSA.  The tossed coin landed on FIU 12 WKU 9

Tulsa reached the top 25 and I don't see Tulane slowing down Zach Smith, who has tossed 10 TD passes, in this AAC matchup. Tulsa 27 Tulane 22

It's hard to resist to the MWC matchup of San Jose St (4-0) and Fresno St (3-1). I'll take the Starkel to Gaither connection to keep SJST undefeated. SJST 31 Fresno St 26

 Coastal Carolina (7-0, 5-0 Sun Belt) hosts AppSt(6-1, 4-0 Sun Belt) and the home team Chanticleers will ride McCall's passing to 34-19 victory over AppSt..

Nov 18, 2020

Props to #JerotPatterson  for this stat line 31 carries for 301yards, 4 TDs in his Buffalo Bulls  42-17 win over Bowling Green. 

Nov19

Wrong about the QBs and the game . It was Eleby, WMU QB, who stole the show by tossing 5 TD passes in a 52-44 win over CMU.

Nov 20

I got damn close on the final score  and was correct on Tulsa, who needed OT to put away Tulane 30-24. Davis Brin, the Tulsa  QB , had  solid night: 18-28, 266 YDS, 2 TD 

Nov 22

 I was wrong on WKU who  outscored  FIU 28-8 in the second half  for a 38-28 victory 

CCU got a hell of a battle from App ST in scrapping out a 34-23 win. McCall is a gamer and Isaiah Likely ( 3 REC, 118 yards, 1 TD) shows a lot of promise and may keep the Chants undefeated this season.

SJST /Fresno ST was cancelled. 2-2 this weekend

Tuesday football and five O5 picks week ending Nov 14

 I'll take Mayer's passing to lead Miami O to a 31-27 win over Buffalo, who will get a 100 yard rushing game from J. Patterson tonight's MAC matchup.

Tulsa (3-1, 3-0 American) hosts SMU(7-1, 4-1 American) and I don't think the host team can slow down these Mustangs Buechele, Bentley IV, and Rees Rice. SMU 34 Tulsa 26

Sincere McCormick will get back on track and rushed for over 100 yards in UTSA 22-19 win over UTEP in a battle of two erratic CUSA  teams.

#carsonstrong (96-131, 1181 YDS, 9 TD) will keep Nevada undefeated in a MWC win over New Mexico.

App St((5-1, 3-0 Sun Belt) needs to keep pace with undefeated Coastal Carolina so I look for their D to have a big day in 20-9 win over Georgia St

Nov 11

Pass me the dunce cap on the Miami(OH) pick. Buffalo 42 M(O)10. Vantrease, the Bulls QB, threw for 353 yards and 4TDs.

Nov 15

Another wrong pick with SMU. Tulsa outscored SMU 21-0 in the second half to earn a 28-24 AAC win. Tulsa's QB, Zach Smith, threw for 325 yards and three touchdowns . Then I got the last three picks, UTSA, Nevada, and App St correct.

Brendan Brady picked up the rushing slack for McCormick who sat for personal reasons  and Harris threw three TD passed  for UTSA in a 52-21 win over UTEP  Carson Strong threw for 336 yards and 3tds for Nevada in a 27-21 win over UNM. The APP St didenough in a 17-13 win over Georgia St.

On a side Marshall rolled  MTSU 42-14 and is looking like the best team in the CUSA,

MWC is back and more O5 picks for week ending Oct 24

 Can App St shed the rust  and beat Arkansas St on a Thursday night? Yes, I'll take Zac Thomas, the App St QB, over the Bonner/Hatcher platoon  of Ark St. APP 26 Ark St 20.

Wyoming behind its QB Sean Chambers pulls out a 20-17 road victory at Nevada. 

Cincy travels to SMU in a battle of two top 25 teams. Cincy has enough D to rope in the Mustangs O and win 24-23.

Taggart's Owls won't  slow down the Wells/Knox show in Huntingdon, WVA. Marshall 30 Fau 20 

Oct 23

The rust flew off APP St in a 45-17 victory of Ark St. App St QB, Zac Thomas, tossed four TD passes and ran for one. 

Oct 24

I didn't pick this game but needed to mention that #ChrisSmith ran a kickoff back 100 yards for a ULL(Sunbelt) TD in a 24-20 win over UAB(CUSA).

Oct 25

Heck of  battle in Nevada with  Charlie Strong tossing for 420 yards nd 4 TDs including the game winner in OT. NEV 37 WYO 34. BTW, Chambers, the Wyoming QB, went down early with a bad fibula injury.

SMU's D was weak, as expected , and could not contain Cincy QB, Desmond Ridder who tossed one TD pass and ran for 3TDs while gaining 179 yards on eight carries. Cincy 42 SMU 13.

#herd got it done again. Wells tossed two TD passes and Knox rushed for 101 yards in 20-9 win over FAU.

3-1 this weekend. I was wrong on Wyoming.