Week 13 in the O5

 AAC: How about UTSA (8-3 7-0AAC)  @ Tulane (10-1 7-0AAC).  Green Wave D will slow down Frank Harris. TUL 24 UTSA 17.

SMU is also 7-0 in conference play and has too much O for the improving Midshipmen D. SMU 27 Navy 13

CUSA: Two experienced head coaches: Kill's Kids win at home over  Rich Rod's Gamecocks. NMSU 24 Jax St 19

MAC: Little Miami owns the tiebreaker over Ohio and will face Toledo in the title game next week. Their rushing attack will do the job Saturday Miami(OH) 20 Ball St 13.

MWC: San José State (6-5 5-2 MWC) @ UNLV (9-2 6-1 MWC). Rebs will make sure they are in the title game. UNLV 28 SJST 23.  I'm just tossing a coin on their opponent next week.  Boise St /AFA, each 5-2,  play Friday.

Sunbelt: Troy is in the title game. CCU hosts JMU and needs a W to get to the title game. I don't see the Chants sealing the deal. JMU 31 CCU 24. McCloud, the JMU QB, will have a big game.

Nov 25, 2023

Good start for my picks: Tulane 29 UTSA 16. Green Wave D slowed down: F. Harris QB - UTSA 198YDS 1TD 2INT. 

I called this one a coin toss.  Boise 27 AFA 19. Boise gets into the MWC title game if UNLV beats SJST.  

Nov 26, 2023

SMU crushed Navy. Little Mami blocked a FG attempt to hold off Ball St 17-15.

JMU crushed CCU. McCloud threw 5 TD passes. Appy, not JMU(ineligible). plays Troy in SBC title game.

San Jose State beats UNLV 37-31; MWC ends in 3-way tie for first. Computer is sorting out which two teams land in the title game.

NMSU edged .JX St 20-17 and plays Liberty in the CUSA title game.

Nov 27, 2023

Boise State, San Jose State, and UNLV finished the season tied at 6-2 in the MWC standings. None of the three teams appeared in the College Football Playoff Rankings, SJST lost out in the second tiebreaker an average of computer rankings from Anderson & Hester, Colley Matrix and Massey and Wolfe, several of the computers used for the old BCS system. 

Boise St will play at UNLV.

Delaware is moving up to 1A and joining the CUSA.  Blue Hens are about 75 minutes away from me by car. Joe Flacco left Pitt for DE and made it to the NFL.

Week 12 in the O5

 AAC: UTSA is undefeated in conference play and hosts USF. A healthy Frank Harris at QB has been the key.  UTSA 31 USF 24

CUSA: Jax St make it to 6-1 in conference play with a win over La Tech. JAX 27 LT 20. Rich Rod has done a nice job.

MAC:  Toledo and Little Miami sits atop their respective divisions after the mid-week games. Only game left to pick: Ball St 23  Kent St 16

MWC: San Jose St is coming off a big upset of Fresno St and remains in the race for the title game. K Robinson rushed for 200 yards for the Spartans. in that game.  SJST 28 San Diego St 17

SunBelt: A lot of OOC action for the SBC. this week, but this conference game looks close to even. TX St 23 Ark St 20. I'm not quite sure how Ark St HC Butch Jones has the Red Wolves(5-5, 3-3 SBC)

Nov 18, 2023

UTSA 49 USF 21

PASS F. Harris QB - UTSA 411YDS 3TD ,RUSH 10CAR 112YDS 3TD

Nov 19, 2023

Correct:  Jax St 56 La Tech 17. Ball St 34 Kent 3, SJST 24 SDST 13

Really Wrong:  Ark St 77 TX St 31. Ja'Quez Cross rushed for 139 yards and three touchdowns and returned a kickoff 93 yards for TD for Arkansas State, who also got three touchdowns from its D.

Kill's Aggies win over Auburn tops O5 news yesterday.

Appy handed JMU its first loss.

UNLV sits alone atop the MWC at 6-1

Week 10 early MAC slate

 It's November so we have Tuesday and Wednesday games.

Buffalo(5-3 4-0 MAC) got off to a rough OOC start but has feasted in MAC play. and will get a narrow road win at Ohio(5-3 3-1 MAC). Cole Snyder is on a roll for the Bulls, and I'm not overlooking Rourke'

s season for the Bobcats. Buff 31 Ohio 30

• Ball State(4-4 2-2 MAC) gets back to winning at Kent State(3-5 2-2 MAC). Paddock tosses 2 tds for the 
• Cards in a win. Ball St 24 Kent 17

Central Michigan(2-6 1-3 MAC) at Northern Illinois(2-6 1-3 MAC). NIU 17 CMU 16. Whoever has the ball last wins

Western Michigan (3-5 2-2 MAC) at Bowling Green(4-4 3-1 MAC) Jaison Patterson, a big RB from Jacksonville, FLA has been getting into gear for BG. BG 27 WMU 19

Nov 2, 2022

Tuesday split: Wrong on Buffalo who lost to Ohio 45-24, but Ball St roared back from a 13-0 first quarter deficit to beat Kent St 27-20. Carson Steele rushed for 192 yards and a TD, and Paddock tossed 2 Tds for the Cards in the victory 

Nov 3, 2022

Wednesday split: Wrong on NIU who didn't score until the second half. WMU 35 NIU 22

Bowling Green won a low-scoring game. BG 13 WMU 9. The Falcons move into a 3-way tie for first in the East with Buffalo and Ohio

Ball St trails Toledo by a game in the West.

Nov 8, 2022

Week 11 and full slate of early games has me scrambling. I under-valued Ohio last week but not this week. Rourke will toss two TD passes for Ohio in a 28 -20 win over Miami(Ohio)

Nov 9

Rourke tossed 3 TD passes in Ohio's 37-21 win so I got that one. In other news, Toledo got a big 28-21 win over Ball St, despite Steele rushing for 198 yards and 3 TDs for the Cards.

Nov 11, 2022

Ohio has a one game lead over Buffalo and Bowling Green in the East,while Toledo has a two game lead over three teams.

O5 post -op on March 15

 I'm rooting big time for the Cowboys to rope the Hoosiers in during a Dance play in game today because the Big 10 doesn't deserve 9 tickets. Wyoming had an erratic finish to the season and as usual will rely heavily on Hunter Maldonado and Ike Graham.

NIT games:

 Interesting intrastate battle in Texas for teams who thought they'd be Dancing. TX ST(Sunbelt) faces NTX(CUSA). Mean Green of NTX looked lean in CUSAT so I'll roll with  the Bobcats to scratch out a win in Denton.

I'll hang with former with UMBC Head coach Odom, who may remind his Utah St Ags that he was the coach who took  down the 1 seed UVA Cavs in the Dance a few years ago. USU(MWC) 67 Oregon 65 as the Ducks descent continues.

List of HC openings in the O5: Ball St, ECU, Western Michigan, and Tulsa. I've heard rumors that Mike Anderson will leave St Johns for Tulsa but not sure at this point if anyone can get SJU back to its glory days of Chris Mullen and Walter Berry.

March 16, 2022

Maldonado had a solid night but it wasn't enough for the Cowboys. IU 76 WYO 68

In the NIT ,NTX beat TX St and Oregon beat Utah St.. Tonight  Toledo(MAC) faces Dayon(A10) and SMU(AAC) faces Nichols(Southland)

march 17, 2022

Toledo got crushed by Dayton  and SMU beat Nichols in NIT play.

I like UAB upsetting Houston, Boise St beating Memphis, and Colorado St beating Michigan in rd1 of the Dance.

March 22, 2022

O5 has Houston left in the Dance and no teams remaining in the NIT.

Tulsa(AAC) hires La Tech's HC Eric Konkol.  ECU (AAC) hired Mike Schwartz, ex Associate HC at Tennessee. In the MAC, Ball St and WMU are looking for  new head coaches.

I didn't see this coming.  SMU's Tim Jankovich retires. Well, we know the next coach won't be Larry Brown.

MARCH  26, 2022

UCLA assistant coach Michael Lewis is the new HC at Ball St (MAC). He played for Bobby Knight at Indiana and coached under Brad Stevens at Butler.

March 27, 2022

Houston lost a low scoring game to Nova 50-44 so no F4 for the Cougars

Allegations of major violations have been levied against the Memphis. They stem from the recruitment and short stint(3 games) of former top recruit James Wiseman. It looks bad but how tough has the NCAA enforcement been recently so Penny may not be dropped from coaching quickly.

March 28, 2022

SMU named Rob Lanier as HC after he took Georgia State(Sunbelt) to the Dance this season.

He was 53-30 in his three seasons at Georgia State. He took Siena(MAAC) to the Dance in 2002 and had been an assistant for Billy Donovan and Rick Barnes. I recall his Sienna team giving Loyola of Baltimore fits in his MAAC days. I'm still a bit surprised at the hire.

March 31, 2022

Talvin Hester, an ex asst at Texas Tech, is the new HC at La Tech

April. 6, 2022

Jonas Hayes, interim coach who led Xavier to its first NIT championship in 64 years, is the new Georgia State's HC.

I thought WMU(MAC)  forgot they had an opening. After 19 seasons as an assistant at Michigan State, Dwayne Stephens is the new W. Michigan HC.

April 12, 2022

Transfer portal gets nuttier: SMU Mustangs guard Kendric Davis, AAC Player of the Year, is in the portal. He played at TCU before joining SMU.

 Lofton is leaving La Tech.

April 14, 2022

Nate Oats looks toward his former conference, the MAC, and signs Former Ohio U point guard Mark Sears, who averaged nearly 20 points a game last season. Sears is from Muscle Shoals, ALA

June 2, 2022

O5 guys leaving 2022 NBA draft pool: Sasser returns to Houston U. DeAndre Williams will return to Memphis U.

June 16, 2022

While reading a list of International players and others who removed themselves from  early entry in the 2022 NBA draft , I found  Dhieu Deing, who played for UTSA(CUSA)  last season  . Wise move ! He's a 6'5 guard with this stat line from last season     PTS13.6 ,REB  5.3, AST1.5, FG% 34.5 .

June 24, 2022

AAC (2) Memphis — (2): Jalen Duren (13), Josh Minott (45) both to the Hornets

Mountain West (1) Colorado State — 1:David Roddy (23)  to the 76ers

MAC (1)        Toledo — 1:Ryan Rollins (44)--to the Hawks

Duren got traded to Knicks then Detroit. Rollins was traded to GSW.

O5 Bowl games Dec 23-25

 Next set of games features a lot of even matchups.

Thursday, Dec. 23 

Frisco Football Classic:  Miami (Ohio) 34 North Texas 27. I'll ride with M-OH QB Gabbert (2418 YDS, 24 TD, 6 INT)

Union Home Mortgage Gasparilla Bowl 

UCF 23 vs. Florida 21 Gus Malzahn gets a chance to beat an SEC team that's loss a lot of snap

Friday, Dec. 24

EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl 

Hawai'i 35 Memphis 31 Memphis got lucky against Miss St in September and stumbled like a drunk through the rest of the season. Rainbows win at home 

Saturday, Dec. 25

TaxAct Camellia Bowl

Georgia State 16 vs. Ball State 13 Panthers D has improved enough to beat the erratic Cards

Dec 24, 2021

Today's bowl was canceled. I went 2-0 yesterday.

M-O blanked NT in the second half for a 27-14 win. Sorenson, a 6' 190lb WR, had his usual solid game  (7 rec , 116 yards) for the victors and could be a nice  rd 4 or 5 selection the NFL draft. 

Stats this season: REC 69, YDS 1,290. TD 10 AVG 18.7.

UCF  29 FLA 17.  The Gators new HC needs to recruit a QB.  UCF ran a balanced attack.

Dec 26, 2021

D. Grainger (15-19, 203 YDS, 3 TD) (11 CAR, 122 YDS, 1 TD) did it all for Ga St in a 51-20 romp over Ball St. I picked the game right but am surprised at the Panthers O.

O5 Mixed Bag in week 6

 I'm focusing more on conference games this week but there remains some intriguing OOC games this week, too.

CUSA: UTSA (5-0, 1-0 CUSA) has impressive win over Illinois and Memphis and will squeak by Western Kentucky(1-3, 0-0 CUSA) led by B. Zappe (133-183, 1712 YDS, 16 TD, 2 INT). UTSA 36 WKU 32

CUSA: North Texas (1-3, 0-2 CUSA) has played poorly, but they 'll put a scare in Missouri(2-3, 0-2 SEC) who has stumbled in the past two weeks. Missouri 22 NT 19

MAC: Western Michigan (4-1, 1-0 MAC) has won four straight since losing to Michigan(B10) and will hold off Ball St(2-3, 0-1 MAC)    by a score of 24-22

AAC: East Carolina (3-2, 1-0 AAC) has surprised a few folks this season and QB Holton Ahlers 

(101-170, 1266 YDS, 7 TD) has been a major reason.  UCF(2-2, 0-1 AAC) has lost two in a row and Coach Gus will pull out some new tricks to get back on track at home . UCF 37 ECU 27

Oct 10, 2021

CUSA: Harris(6 TD passes) and Zappe(5 TD passes) put on a show as  expected. UTSA got by WKU 52-46. Austin Aune (16-26, 305 YDS, 4 TD) did his best for UNT, but their slow start hurt them in a 48-35 loss to Missouri. (2-0) for me

MAC: Wrong on WMU. Plitt threw four TD passes for Ball St in a 45-20 win over WMU.

AAC: Johnny Richardson (16 CAR, 104 YDS, 1 TD) had a solid day for UCF in a 20-16 win over ECU. Right on this one so 3-1 for the weekend.

O5 Side notes -Surprised that: Marshall needed OT to beat ODU. Boise St handled BYU.  Memphis lost again , this time to Tulsa.

O5 vs Independents in week 5

 Coan is probable  for ND but Ridder is ready for Cincy (AAC). Bearcats  tear out a close one 27-25.

Utah St(MWC), who  barely avoided being shutout by Boise St last week in a 27-3 loss, will lose 30-16 to BYU,  who has beaten three Pac 12 teams this season.

UAB(CUSA) has played well except for the trouncing by Georgia, but I don't think they 'll be able to contain  Malik Willis, the Liberty QB. LIB 31 UAB 24

Ball St (MAC) will have trouble containing Army's QB Christian Anderson, their leading rusher. Army 26 Ball St 17.

Toledo(MAC) will win 33 28 at UMass.

San Jose St(MWC) will host New Mexico St and win 22 -19

Oct 2

BYU's running game made a big difference in last night 's 34-20 win over Utah St. Plus they have 6'6 TE - #IsaacRex

Oct 3

Ball St 28 Army 16.The only wrong pick  was Army. Ball St jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and Army never made it back. 

LIB 36 UAB 12 here's Wallis stat line :  Yds-Pa287 TD-Pa1 Yds-Ru144 TD-Ru2

Cincy 24 ND 13 : Big day  for Ridder plus the Bearcats D was stellar

Toldeo 45 UMass  7 

SJST 37 NMST 31. Spartans won  w/o   the injured Starkel at QB.

O5/SEC showdowns and more

 I love rooting  for the O5 teams  against the P5 ,but my gut is screaming that Mississippi State quarterback Will Rogers , who passed  for 1,828 yards in five games, will  run Leach's offense better that Zach Smith runs the Tulsa O today. Miss St 24 Tulsa 22.

Same thing here as I'm taking JT and the Dawgs in a squeaker over Cincy. Bearcats will need to get its rushing attack in gear quickly to stay in this contest. UGA 28 Cincy 25.

A lot of deserved attention has been shown to the undefeated San Jose Spartans, but their O tends to sputter at times. I like the Ball St Cards who have been dealing some strong offensive Cards and Plitt will pass them to 30 23  victory.

So it's both Dawgs over AAC teams and those MAC cards.

Jan 1, 2021

2-0 yesterday, but never suspected that two Ints, one a  pick6, would be the key factors for a Leach -coached team. Miss St 28 Tulsa 26

Ball St had a pick 6 during its  to a 27-0 first quarter pouncing of San Jose St  and won 34-13

Jan 2, 2021

I thought Georgia was going down, but after the Dawgs D gave up a long rushing TD to Jerome Ford early in the third quarter, it held Cincy scoreless the rest of the game and scored a safety. The offense struggled in the red zone, and I'm still not sure why they turned down FG opportunities in the third quarter. Bearcats played a he!! of a game. UGA 24 Cincy 21

3-0 for this blog entry.

O5 championship week ending Dec 19

 AAC: Cincy(8-0, 6-0 AAC) hosts Tulsa(6-1, 6-0 AAC) and will need to shake off some rust from the month layoff to slow down Zach Smith's passing . I suspect the Bearcats will rely on a solid rushing attack more than Ridder's arm for a 23-21 victory.

CUSA: Marshall(7-1, 4-1 CUSA) hosts UAB(5-3, 3-1 CUSA). Rice  blanked  the #herd two weeks ago and the lost to UAB. Johnston, the UAB QB,  will toss two TD passes, in a 20-15 win . 

MAC:  Buffalo (5-0) led by Jared Patterson's 1625 rushing yards and 18 TDs faces Ball St  led by Plitt's 1674 passing YDS and  13 TDs at Ford Field in Detroit, MI. Last team with the ball wins. Buff 37 Ball St 36.

MWC: Boise St(5-1, 5-0 MWC) faces San Jose St (6-0) in Vegas. Most folks expect a Bachmeier/Starkel shootout but I'll go with  a huge rush game from Tyler Nevens giving SJST a 24 -20 victory of Boise St

SunBelt: The QBs, McCall of CCU(11-0, 8-0 SUN) and Lewis of ULL(9-1, 7-1 SUN), will  entertain us, but McCall will toss late TDs to keep his guys undefeated . CCU 31 ULL 27

dec 19

Sunbelt game was cancelled, and AAC and MWC games are today. I split on the other two. Wells, the #herd QB, matched Johnston's 2 TD passes for UAB with 2 TD passes, but Marshall's D couldn't stop Spencer Brown who rushed for 149 yards. UAB 22 Marshall 13

I didn't foresee Ball St knocking off Buffalo  38-28 and holding Patterson to 47 yards rushing. Blitt tossed three TD in for the Cards victory.

dec 20

Correct on both games yesterday: Cincy eked out a 27-24 win over Tulsa. SJST used some rugged D, and an aerial attack led by Starkel to defeat Boise St 34-20 for the MWC crown.

O5 we got Thursday football Dec 10

 FAU was held to three points by Georgia Southern last week and will likely get enough O back against USM in Hattiesburg, MS for a 13-10 CUSA win tonight.

Will Houston have lift off after a four -week "break"? They'll shake off the rust for 24-23 AAC win over a Memphis team with suspect D. 

I'll take Ball State in a 27-25 win  over WMU in a battle  two 4-1 teams in MAC play. Plitt outguns Eleby.

Fresno St  lost to San Jose St last week and New Mexico upset Wyoming. Haener will throw two TD passes  to lead  Fresno to a 23-16 MWC win over UNM.

Troy hosts the undefeated Chanticleers and will be gunning for the upset but McCall and crew will get the job done. CCU 27 Troy 19 in Sunbelt action.

Dec 11

Off to another rough week of picks. USM 45 FAU 31 USM QB Trey Lowe threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, and  his teammate Camron Harrell returned a kickoff 100 yards for a TD. Also Gore Jr rushed for 111 yards and a TD. Golden Eagles fans have to be wondering where has this been all season?

dec 13

Two more incorrect picks , Houston, and Fresno St, before I get tot the correct ones, Ball St and CCU.

Tune, the Houston QB, and White , the Memphis QB , were about even in stats so it came down to a FG from Riley Patterson as time ran out to give Memphis a 30-27 win.

The Lobos ground attack, powered by  Bobby Cole who ran for 138 yards and three of the team's six rushing TD, rolled over the Bulldogs. New Mexico 49 Fresno St 39

A crazy final minute of play ended with Ball St winning 30-27 over WMU and earning a right to play Buffalo in the MAC title game. Plitt and Eleby  were about even in the QB stats.

Jaivon Heiligh caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from McCall with 45 seconds left to keep Coastal Carolina undefeated. CCU 42 Troy 38

dec 13  more news

Arkansas St  hired Butch Jones as its next football coach to replace former HC Blake Anderson who stepped down to take the vacant Utah State job.

jan 5, 2021 news

 It happened.  Doc Holliday 's contract was not extended at Marshall. His record there is  85-54 (55-30 in league play) with a CUSA title in 2014 and three division championships. 

 

.

Turkey Night in the MWC, and then four O5 games

 I would've predicted the Colorado St/AFA game but it was canceled, so it's role the dice on two 0-4 MWC teams, New Mexico and Utah St.  Jaylen Warren will bust a long run for a TD for the home Aggies in a low scoring win over the Lobos. Utah St 19 UNM 13. The game will televised on FS1.

Friday afternoon AAC game features UCF  led buy Dillon Gabriel (205-332, 3017 YDS,) 26 TD facing USF. UCF will be stoked after the tough loss to Cincy last week. UCF 49 USF 23.

Tighten your Sunbelt for a big intrastate battle between GA Southern Eagles and GA St Panthers .I'm not sure if Werts will be ready to start at QB for the Eagles, but  Brown IV should be going for  the Panthers. GA St 20 GA SO 17

MTSU has improved a great deal since the start of the season but O'Hara and crew will not be able to get a tough FAU squad. FAU 30 MTSU 27. FYI: WKU plays Charlotte on Tuesday morning at 10:30am.

I'm intrigued by the battle of running back in the Ball St (Huntley)/Toledo(Koback) matchup . They'll each post 100 plus yards and a TD, but Ball St will get a late FG  for a 24-22 victory

Nov 27

I was correct on Utah St but way off on the amount of scoring.Andrew Peasley, the Utah St QB, passed for 239 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 118 yards another score  in the Aggies 41-27 win over the Lobos. 

Nov 28

Correct on UCF  O and it's win but wrong on its D which is more porous than I thought. UCF 58 USF 46

Nov 29

Brown IV had a huge day in the Panthers  30-24 win over GA Southern who got a big day
8 CAR, 143 YDS, 2 TD from Logan Wright.

Plitt, the Ball St QB, led his Cards to a 24-9 lead through three quarters  , but Toledo roared back with 15 points  in the 4th quarter before fumbling on a possible final winning drive. Ball St 27 Toledo 24.

I went 4-0. The CUSA matchup was canceled.

Special shout-outs to Coastal Carolina (9-0, 7-0 Sun Belt) who beat TX St 49-14 to remain undefeated, and Jaret Patterson who rushed for 409 yards and 8 TDs in Buffalo's win over Kent St.

 

 

 

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 9 Five pack- Other 5

AAC: Battle of QBs: Justin McMillan (TULN 92-160, 1229 YDS, 9 TD) visits Malcolm Perry (NAVY 124 CAR, 792 YDS, 14 TD). Both teams have been spanked by Memphis this season. Navy win 27-24.
CUSA:  Brenden Knox will rush for at least 125 yards and his Marshall Herd will hold off Ty Storey and the his WKU teammates 22-19
MAC: I'm going to go with Drew Pitt the Ball St Cards again this week. This time they'll hold off Nathan Rourke and the Ohio Bearcats 27-26.
MWC: Fresno St led by QB Josh Reyna is coming off a big offensive win over UNLV. Colorado St  needs this game to stay in contention in the Mountain Division . Marvin Kinsey Jr will get 100 yards, but that won't enough as his Rams will fall to the Bulldogs. 30-20.
Sunbelt: Kaleb Barker (143-223, 1670 YDS, 16 TDs)  leads the Troy Trojans into Atlanta for a shootout that Dan Ellington, the Georgia St QB, will win in a 27-26 squeaker.

Oct 25: 

 AAC: SMU gave up a 96 yard pass play TD with five minutes left but survived Houston 34-31 to remain undefeated. I didn't think the game would be that close.

Oct 27

McMillan led a he!! of a Tulsa comeback  but Navy scrambled into position for a late game winning field goal that made the final score 41-38.
Rohrwasser kicks 53-yard FG for the #herd to survive #wku 26-23. 
Nathan Rourke and the Ohio Bobcats put the brakes on Ball St three gave winning streak in a 34- 21 victory. 
Patrick O'Brien CSU (23-42, 322 YDS, 2 TD) handled Fresno St 41-31
 Tra Barnett GAST (34 CAR, 242 YDS, 2 TD) rolled the Trojans 52-33 
I was 3-2 for the week

Week 8 Five- pack -Other5

Temple travels to SMU in a key AAC matchup. Russo, the Temple QB , is having a solid season and will give SMU  a tough game, but look for SMU QB, Shane Buechele, to win the aerial show in 38-35 SMU win.
USM travel to LA Tech in a battle for the top spot in the CUSA West. J'Mar smith, LT's QB, and J. Abraham,USM QB, may each toss some TDs, but look for  Justin Henderson to  rush for over 100 and lead LA tech to a 31-27 home victory.
Toledo 's O vanished in a loss to Bowling Green last week so it's time to get Koback  another 100 yard+ game, but it could be tough  @Ball St. where their QB Drew Pitt is doing it on ground and by air. Ball St 23 Toledo 20
AFA head coach , Troy calhoun,  was whining about being in the MWC last week. Beware of Hawaii's air attack led by Cole McDonald. Hawaii 33-AFA 29
ULM  travels to App St in a battle of 2-0 Sunbelt teams. AppSt wins a low scoring game 19-17. Darrynton Evans will get back in gear for Mountaineers and rush for 100+

Oct 19

 I didn't pick this one : He!! of a game for Knox (220 yards, 2 TDs) in the #herd win over FAU last night .  Lane Kiffin's ain't doing so well.

 oct 20

Buechele tossed six TDS  for SMU in a 45-21 win over Temple.
Henderson rushed for 111 yards  and two TDS in La tech's 45-21 win over USM
Don't look now but Ball St is undefeated (3-0) in MAC play . Drew Pitt tossed for 206 yards and three TDs in in 52-14 win over Toledo.
Thomas by air and Evans by ground for App St who crushed ULM 52-7
And for my sole incorrect pick of the week: Hawaii was blown out by Air Force 56-21
#MikeSchmidt came off the bench and rushed for 120 yards and three TDs Also he completed 5 of 6 passes for 147 yards and one TD.

Playing O5 baseball catchup

 AAC- ECU (17-2) leaders on offense is Bryant Packard with .376 AVG and in pitching its Jake Agnos with 7 wins and 108  K's. I'm a bit surprised that USF and UCF are near the bottom of the conference.
CUSA: USM (19-6) and FAU(18-7) are in a fierce battle for first place. Bryan Bowen is batting .359 for USM and Mitchell Hartigan is batting .341 for FAU.
MAC: CMU  (17-5) is led by Garrett Navarra .371 avg and Zach Gilles 370 AVG.
MWC: Fresno St (16-7-1) Zach Ashford is batting .373 and Ryan Jensen has 8 wins and 74 K's.
SunBelt: Texas St (17-8) leads the West. Jaxon Williams is batting .335 and has five steals.
In the East every teams has a shot except for Georgia St.

May 12: 

 Fresno St hasn’t been to the postseason since 2012.

mAY 15

USM lost it's last two games while FAU split,  leaving both teams at 19-8 in the CUSA .

May 16

Ball St (17-5) has moved to within two games of CMU in the #MAC. #Aaaronsimpson is batting .339 with 14 SB

May 18

#herd beat Rice in ten innings  which should  get them in the top 8  and make them eligible for the CUSAT.

May 19

ECU is easily the favorite in the AACT , but keep your eyes on #JoeyWeimer (6hr, 26 rbi)  and the 2 seed Cincy Bearcats against  7 seed Memphis on May 21.

May 20

Sunbelt: Seeds 7-10 will play-in for the 7 and 8 seeds.  Texas St is the 1 seed and Georgia Southern is the 2 seed.

 May 23

  #CUSA rd1: Marshall first baseman Shane Hanon hit a two-RBI single in the with two out in the top of the 12th to provide the decisive runs in 6-4 win over La Tech.

may 25 

D1 O5 baseball bubble watch:  TXst (sunbelt)  , UCF and Houston (AAC) may get in  and USM (CUSA) may not.

MAY 27, 2019

Automatic Bids: AAC-Cincy, MAC- CMU, MWC- Fresno St, CUSA-USM, SunBetlt - Coastal Carolina.

May 28

At large from O5- FAU (CUSA). AAC: ECU, UConn
June 2: All O5 teams remain alive in the CWS. Fresno St got a big win over Stanford yesterday.
June 4:  ECU (AAC) is the sole O5 team to make the round of 16. The Pirates double-dipped Campbell to move on and face Louisville.

June 8

ECU was pounded 14-1 by Louisville and needs to beat Cards today or they're done 

June 9

 ECU lost 12-1 yesterday. Louisville swept ECU and scored its 26 runs off of 32 hits, none of them home runs.

April 17, 2021

So I got curious about some the players mentioned in this blog since 2020 was a terrible year for kids in the MLB minor league system.

LF #BryantPackard, who played for ECU, was assigned to West Michigan Whitecaps in the Detroit Tigers' system.

May 12, 2021

Nevada's #TylerBosetti ( 5-10, 170 pounds)  homered in his ninth consecutive game, breaking an NCAA Division I record of 8 consecutive games.  It was his 11th homer in 10 games.  

May 26, 2021

Four Memphis players hit home runs, highlighted by back-to-back-to-back dingers by Alec Trela, Austin Baskin, and Taylor Howell in a 11-1 AACT upset of 11th ranked ECU. This is the fourth straight time the AACT  1 seed  lost to the 8 seed in the quarterfinal round. 

May 31, 2021

Automatic bids for O5: Sun Belt South Alabama,  AAC South Florida, CUSA Old Dominion

MAC: Central Michigan,  MWC Nevada: regular season winners

At large bids will be announced later today.

June 8 2021

Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick is stepping down at the end of the month to become special assistant to university president Jerome Gilbert for one year and will focus on fundraising and planning for the university's baseball stadium project. Gilbert, who  is leaving in 2022,  appointed associate AD and chief of staff Jeff O'Malley as interim AD, effective July 1.

july 25, 2021

#SamBachman RHP, Miami (OH) of the MAC went 14th overall to the Angels in the recent MLB draft. His fastball has been clocked at 101MPH. Later in the draft they took Tulane's(AAC) Braden Olthoff.

March 28, 2022

I was looking around to see if any O5 teams were in the top 25 in baseball and only see TX ST (Sunbelt). 

Then I notice Maryland dropped to 18-5 on the season, after falling to Dallas Baptist(MVC) twice in three days. MD/DB regular season games are not a common occurrence. 

Also, Liberty who's on a path to the CUSA is in the top 25. 

April 9, 2022

Update on how one of these kids is doing. #TylerBosetti returned to Nevada(MWC) for his senior year and the infielder if  off to a solid start with 19 RBIs and 4 SB s. 

June 7, 2022

Sweet 16 in CWS 2022 has two O5 teams: ECU(AAC) and Southern Miss(CUSA). Sunbelt adds S.Miss next season.

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

MAC baseball April 3

 Akron has a club team so MAC baseball has eleven teams.
Four pitchers with four wins
Lauer and Kraus(Kent St). Sobieraski & Tuohy (Buffalo). Akin (W.Michigan) leads with 58Ks
Batters
Alex Call (Ball St) .408 AVG
Sedio & Russo (Miami O) 8 HR
Staton (Ball St) 29 RBI
Marquise Gill (E.Michigan) 23 SB- I doubt if anyone is going to catch this kid in steals.

East Division 
Kent State  3-2 18-8 
Buffalo  3-3 9-15 
Miami  2-2 11-13 
Ohio  2-3 11-15 
Bowling Green  0-4 9-17 

West Division 
Eastern Michigan  5-1 11-15 
Ball State  3-2 16-12 
Northern Illinois  2-2 6-19  
Toledo  2-2 5-21-1 
Western Michigan  1-1 8-16 
Central Michigan  1-2 5-23  

April 22 , 2016

Miami (Ohio) has moved into a TIE with Kent St in the East. Ball St and NIU are now 1-2 in the West. Caleb Stuyton  has been stellar for the Ball St Cardinals 7HR 54 RBI .389 AVG

April 30, 2016

A week later and Kent St  (13-3)  beat #2 Miami (Ohio) (9-4) yesterday and  are  looking for a sweep to take control of the East. Stuyton 8HR 58RBI .390 avg and Ball St (11-5) hold a one game lead on NIU. Ball St is at NIU in the final series of the regular season  May 19 &20.

May 11, 2016

Kent St(17-4) has a comortable lead over Miami Ohio(11-7)  in the East. Ball St (14-7) has a slim lead over NIU (12-9) in the West.

May 15

MACW co-leaders, NIU & Ball St,  face off @ NIU May 19-21, Can William Anderson, the big 6'8 freshman with a 5-3  record,  be the key for NIU?

May 22

Kent St and Ball St hung too the top spots in their divisions . RD1 pairings:
Game 1 - No. 3 Miami vs. No. 6 Central Michigan, 9:30 a.m. 
Game 2 - No. 2 Ball State vs. No. 7 Western Michigan, 1:00 p.m. 
Game 3 - No. 1 Kent State vs. No. 8 Eastern Michigan, 4:30 p.m. 
Game 4 - No. 4 Northern Illinois vs. No. 5 Toledo, 8:00 p.m.
Props to  these two guys

STAYTON, Caleb-BSU........  11HR 41 RBI  .383avg   

LAUER, Eric-KSU...........  9-2  0.76 era  

May 25 2016

I guess this is a somewhat neutral site. 

MAC T is being played  at All Pro Freight Stadium, a 5,000 seat stadium in Avon Ohio. 

Cleveland state played their for two years and the LakeErie Crushers

 of the frontier League have play there since 2009

May 29, 2016

 In there second matchup of the day #7 Western Michigan beat #7 Central Michigan, 4-0, to advance to today’s Mid-American Conference final against Kent St. . ...

No. 8 Eastern Michigan stunned  # 1 Kent State briefly, but the Golden Flashes recovered for a win their second game of the day.