Fewer Independents in NCAA sports

 I thought Army/BC series had more games. Army won the first nine games from 1917-1959. I'm trying to figure out why the series froze after the 1919 game and didn't return until 1959. BC leads Army 25-13 in the series. They have not played since 2013. I'll go with Castellanos and the Eagles winning 22-20 at Army. 

Oct 8, 2023

T. Castellanos QB - BC 31CAR 142YDS 4TD saved the day BC 24 Army 21

UConn beat Rice(AAC) despite the younger McCaffrey having 100yards receiving and 2 TDs .

Notre Dame lost to Louisville (ACC), and UMass got whacked by Toledo(MAC).

Oct 14, 2023

Troy is a tough SunBelt team and will escape with a narrow road victory of Army.

USC may lack a defense, but Notre Dame can't outscore the Trojans.

The Minutemen of UMass will be down by 24 at Penn St in the first 15 minutes.

Oct 15, 2023

Troy shutout Army 19-0, and UMass got blanked 63-0 by Penn St.

Wow was I wrong on Notre Dame who rolled USC 48-20. I guess all the Caleb Williams QB hype can slow down. His stats: 199YDS 1TD 3INT.

Oct 21, 2023

UConn /USF will be close, and it would be a tie in the old days. USF has regressed since hanging tough with Bama in a loss.

Army visits LSU and hopes it's not a 60-10 loss.

In hoops Chicago St, the last 1A independent, opens at Bowling Green on Nov 6.

Oct 22, 2023

USF survived 24-21, and I got darn close on that Army score. LSU 62 Army 0.

Oct 27, 2023

New England flavor in Independents. UMass is the right tonic for Army coming off the blowout loss to LSU. Army 21. UMass 16

Mora JR's Huskies are going in reverse after showing some promise last season. BC 27 UConn 20

Notre Dame should handle Pittsburg but won't cover the line of 20.5. ND 31 Pitt 20

Oct 29, 2023

Two out of three ain't bad. Wrong on Army and its anemic O.

UConn stayed in the game but lost to BC. Neither team looked good. 

Notre Dame crushed Pitt 58-7.

Nov 3, 2023

Notre Dame by 6 over Clemson.  Does Dabo have any tricks left?

UConn won't stay with Tennessee past the first quarter.

Army /AirForce. Army gets strafed by the Boys in the sky.

UMass plays Merrimack and should win over a lower division opponent. I'm looking for Jack Kerouac's(RIP) hunch. He mentioned the mighty Merrimack River in his early notes and novels about Lowell.

Nov 5, 2023

Dabo has some tricks left: Clemson 31 ND 23. I changed my mind just before kickoff and took Clemson in a Yahoo pickem but was wrong in this blog.

My other incorrect pick was AFA. Army brought them back to earth Army 23- AFA-3 

Tenn 49 UConn 3

UMass 31Merrimack 21

Nov 7, 2023

Rough start for Chicago St Cougars hoops: Bowling Green(MAC) 70  Chicago State 41.

Wesley Cardet Jr.posted 12 points and four assists for the Cougars.

Nov 16, 2023

Who knows what to make of an Army team that lost to UMass but beat Air Force? Coastal Carolina(SBC) 24 Army 17.

UMass can't handle Liberty O. Liberty(CUSA) 34 UMass 13

Notre Dame 38 Wake Forest(ACC) 27

UConn 30 Sacred Heart 10.  

Hoops: Cardet scored 23 for Chicago St in a win over S. Indiana. Cougar are 1-3 . Losses to Bowling Green, Mercer, and CS- Northridge.

Nov 19, 2023

Wow, Army beat CCU 28-21. Incorrect on that, right on the rest.

Nov 24, 2023

Minutemen up 38-36-2 in the series with UConn. I thought Mora Jr would have made more progress at UConn. UMass 31 UConn 30

 Fighting Irish remember being upset last year by Stanford. ND 35 Stanford 23. Perhaps NND listens to Rockne audio during pre-game.  Rockne started a plan of ending every season with a game in CA to aid West Coast recruiting efforts.

Nov 26, 2023

ND crushed Stanford yesterday. UConn beat UMass: C. Edwards

RB - CONN 19 CAR 102YDS  2TD

A. Simpson WR - MASS 6REC 107YDS

In Hoops: Chicago St (2-6) beat Morgan State 84-83 on Nov 22. Jahsean Corbett cored 18 points for Chicago State in a 84-83 win over Morgan State in the third-place game of the Mayan Division of the Cancun Challenge.

Dec 9, 2023

Since Army upset Air Force they've been on a roll. I'm taking them to beat Navy 20-19 today at Gillette Stadium and win the Commander-in-Chief Trophy. Tysun Riley rushed for 112 yards in the win over CCU. Look for more of the same from him today. If Navy, who lost to AFA earlier this season, wins then it's a three-way tie.

Navy leads the all-time series 62-54-7

Dec 10 2023

Army 17 Navy 11. Army LB Kalib Fortner scored on a fourth-quarter strip sack and then helped keep Navy QB Tai Lavatai out of the end zone with 3 seconds left.

Belichick spoke to the Midshipmen on Friday night and pulled on a Roger Staubach-era Navy helmet for a TV pregame show to predict the winner.

Dec 12, 2023

Chicago St. hoops beat Stetson and lost to St Thomas. Now a win over Northwestern tonight would be wild. 

They play at UTEP in January at the Don Haskins Center, El Paso.

Dec 23, 2023

Well, Chicago St upset NW(Big10) on Dec 12, then beat UTRGV(WAC) and Bethune (MEAC), but Wisky was too much for them last night. WIS (Big10) 80 CHIC St 53. Badgers held Wesley Cardet Jr to 10 points.

Jan 1, 2024

Chicago St hoops lost to California Baptist(WAC) 74-62 and then to DePaul(BigEast) 70-58 last week.

Notre Dame cruised past Oregon St 40-8 in the Sun Bowl.

Jan 11, 2024

Cougars showing some plus signs. Still think they should apply to join the Summit Conference.

 Jan 2: loss to Kansas State 62-55

Jan 3: loss to Oklahoma State 72-53

Jan 7: loss to UTEP 74 69

Jan 10: win over FDU(NEC) 75-74 w/o Wesley Cardet. A Neal led Chicago St with 14 points.

Feb 10, 2024

J Corbett(21pts, 11reb) was not enough for Chicago St in a 65-60 loss to Duquesne(A10) on Jan31. Today's opponent: S.Carolina St(MEAC).Time to join the Summit or OVC.

Feb 26, 2024

MAC board voted to add UMass as an all-sports member beginning in 2025-26, Well, I've been saying it for about 7 years in various blogs.

UMass was in the MAC as a football-only member from 2012-15. They remained in the A10 for other sports.

UMass Ice hockey plays in the Hockey East Association, separate from any A-10 to MAC move. 

March 23, 2024

I thought the CIT had faded into oblivion after Marshall won it in 2019 Sorry gang,  but it's the CBI occurring. Chicago St got invited to the CBI and faces UC -San Diego (Big West) today. Will Cardet leads the Cougars with 18.1 PPG

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

 C ST 75 Northwestern 73

March 24, 2024

Will Cardet (30pts, 4ast) for the Cougars in a 77-75 win over UCSD and plays the winner of Fairfield(MAAC)/Ark LR(OVC).

march 25, 2024.  : W Cardet scored 25 for Chicago St but they they lost to Fairfield 77-74

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Previous blog:

https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2022/11/countdown-to-less-independents-nearly.html

O5 bowl games Dec 27-28

Quick Lane Bowl 

Western Michigan 20 vs. Nevada 17.  I'll go with the WMU running backs, Sean Tyler and La'Darius Jefferson slow the game down which will limit Nevada's QB Carson Strong's opportunities.

Military Bowl presented by Peraton 

 East Carolina 30 vs Boston College(ACC) 28 ECU is a hot team, and the BC Eagles have not been soaring. ECU QB Ahlers will be tossing a lot of passes

Tuesday, Dec. 28

TicketSmarter Birmingham Bowl 

Houston 28 vs. Auburn 27 This is the first matchup of the best of AAC against SEC teams from the state of Alabama this bowl season.  Clayton Tune will out-duel Finley or whoever is playing QB for Auburn

SERVPRO First Responder Bowl 

 Louisville 31 vs Air Force 27   Cards don't see much triple option in ACC play but Malik Cunningham will make some explosive plays for the Cardinals in a nailbiter.

Dec 28, 2021

I was correct on WMU but wrong on a low scoring game. Eleby threw two TD passes and the Tyler /Kincaide backfield rushed for over 250 yards in a 52-24 rout over Nevada.

Military bowl was canceled.-*

Dec 29, 2021

Houston got a late TD and hung on to beat Auburn. SEC is having a bad start (0-4) so far. Two losses to O5, one to Ind, one to P5.

 Air Force had a balanced attacked, and Louisville's speed didn't help  them play defense.

 AFA 31 LOU 28.

Military Bowl was canceled

O5 clashes with the Independents on Sept 26, then TXST game

 Army brings a strong a rushing attack to Cincy(AAC), but the Bearcats have a decent rushing attack led by by Gerrid Doaks and will pull out a 26-25 squeaker.

Troy carries the Sunbelt flag to Provo to face BYU in what looks like a battle of two solid QB .Gunnar Watson may tosses more  passes than Zach Wilson in this matchup, but the BYU rushing game will push Wilson and the BYU squad to a 30-27 win.

Liberty's D looked shaky in the second half in its win last week over WKY , and FIU (CUSA) hasn't played a game. Willis , the ex-Auburn QB, will do just enough to get Liberty a home W. LIB 30 FIU 19.

Then there's a matchup you'd never consider . TX St(Sunbelt)  visits BC(ACC) in Chestnut Hill, MA. The Vitt to Haydel connection will give BC he!!, but the home teams pulls it out in the end. BC 34 TXSt 29

Sept 27

I was 4-0 but I thought Troy would have given BYU a tougher game. Wilson threw for 392 yards and 2 TDs, and was more of the gunner than Gunnar Watson who threw for 162 yards for Troy. FIU ran the opening kickoff back for  TD and Norton rushed for 148 yards and two TD for FIU, but their D couldn't stop Willis, Mack, and Stubbs who led Liberty to the win.Army/Cincy was a defensive game until late in the 2nd quarter when Ridder got Cincy in gear and led them to a 24-10 win.

BC rallied  from 14-points down  to tame the Texas State Bearcats 24-21

 

 

Friday the 13th Football, Mumme and more

Yesterday morning I scanned the sports TV schedule and focused on the two games involving ACC teams , UNC/Wake Forest and BC/Kansas(B12). It's been five years since the Terps divorce from the ACC went into effect for the 2014/15 marriage with the Big 10, and I still forget from time to time.
Jamie Newman led the Deacons to a 21-0 halftime lead, and they hung on for a 24-18 win over UNC that oddly doesn't count in the ACC standings. They're in different ACC divisions and haven't met since 2015, and many wonder why this long time rivalry hasn't been made a part of the ACC schedule .
Kansas stunned BC 48-24 for its first road win over a Power 5 school in nearly 11 years. Carter Stanley tossed three TD passes for the Jayhawks.
In a game matching Hal Mumme coaching disciples, Leach and Holgorsen, Washington St (pac12) survived 31 -24 over Houston (AAC). #AnthonyGordon threw for 440 yards and three touchdowns for his third straight 400-yard game for WSU. BTW, Hal Mumme was on the sidelines and was interviewed during the TV broadcast.

Sept 15

Big Saturday for the Big 12: TCU over Purdue(B10). KST over Miss St(SEC). WV over NCST(ACC) .
UCF (AAC) rolled Stanford (PAC 12)

Oct 4

It's been a rough time for Mumme's disciples, Holgorsen and Leach, since their Friday the 13 matchup. Holgorsen's star QB King took a healthy redshirt, and Leach called his players sloppy and soft after a 67-65 loss to UCLA.

Jan 14, 2020

 King graduated in Dec and entered the transfer portal yesterday. Leach is now in charge at Miss St

Jan 21

West Virginia RB #MartellPettaway opts for grad transfer to #MTSU (CUSA) In 2019 he rushed 19 times for 72 yards and two touchdowns. When he played for Holgorsen in 2018, he rushed for 623 yards, six touchdowns. 
King leaves Houston for Miami U

jan 22

Hawai'i hires Todd Graham ,ex-ARIZ St  HC (2011-17 ), to be HC.  He started his coaching career on Rich Rodriguez's staff at West Virginia as linebackers coach in 2001

april 5

Times have changed  #mikeleach, Miss St football coach tweeted about a woman knitting her husband a hanging rope during the quarantine got slapped by the PC internet cops. In 1992 #jackiesherill, then the Mississippi St coach, allowed a bull to be castrated in front of his team  and got less flack. 

april 19, 2020

  I saw this headline : Miami's D'Eriq King is poised to have a Joe Burrow-like impact for the Miami Hurricanes in 2020 and laughed. He!!, If the Canes average two TDs a game on O, that would be an improvement.

MAY 10, 2020

I was looking around at transfer news and saw Tyler Carr, TE from Texas Tech,  was headed to Hawaii and his OC would be GJ Kinne who was a low level asst on the Eagles(NFL) staff last season. When I read more of Kinne's bio , I learned that he was once put into protective custody when his father , who was also his high school football coach was shot in the chest by the disgruntled parent of one of the team's players at Canton HS in Mesquite,TX.

June 4, 2020

RIP Johnny Majors who had 185-137-10 lifetime record at three stops : Iowa St, Pitt, and Tenn. He ended his career in 2007 as Asst AD at Pitt. He led Iowa St (Big Eight) to its first   bowl game, the Sun Bowl in 1971, in which they were crushed by LSU 33-15.

Jackie Sherill replaced Majors at Pitt in 1977.

June 5, 2020

Marinos's statistics dipped during his senior year, which saw Pitt transition from head coach Jackie Sherrill to new coach Foge Fazio. Sherill took the Texas A&M job in 1982.

June 29, 2020

 I found this while reading an article on Rolovich , who left Hawaii(MWC) for Wazzoo. Hawaii's athletic budget of 46M is smaller than East Carolina (AAC), UMass(Independent) and James Madison (1AA)

June 24, 2021

Mumme just took a job in a developmental football league called “The Spring League” . Don't know WTH that is!!!!!!

March 1, 2022

Art Briles, who lasted four days at Grambling after Hue Jackson hired him.   S. Miss considered hiring Briles as an asst in 2019. Shawn Oakman, one of the Baylor players involved in that mess, was eventually exonerated. One a side issue, I noticed Mumme is a Tarleton St grad, and wonder if he chats with Gillepsie, their hoops HC.

May 3, 2022

D'eriq King jumped from the Houston Cougars to the Miami Canes in 2020 looking for an eventual big NFL  payday. Pats signed him as a UFA.

Dec 12, 2022

Mike Leach, the Miss St HC, is in the hospital and reports are that he's been fighting pneumonia for months. Zach Arnett, the Dawgs DC, is running the team heading into the bowl matchup against Illinois