O5 next 4 bowl picks

 Minnesota(Big 10) 18 Bowling Green(MAC)  13.  Dragan Kesich, the Big Ten Kicker of the Year, hits 6 FGs for the Gophers 

Maybe the other McCaffrey gets a win this week? Rice (AAC)24 TX S(SBC)t 20. 

RICE: L. McCaffrey(68 REC, 963 YDS, 12 TD)

Rebels' yell fades. Kansas(Big 12) 30 UNLV(MWC) 17

Special teams, perhaps a kickoff return for a TD for Virginia Tech, males the difference. VT(ACC) 27 Tulane(AAC) 23

Dec 27, 2023

Two out three ain't bad. Wrong on Rice. Bowling Green gave Minnesota a battle, and UNLV scored  plenty against Kansas. 

Dec 28, 2023

Well, I got VT correct which give 3 of 4. Coach Pry has had a nice end of the season beating UVA than Tulane, who have ended the season poorly.  Plenty of rain in Annapolis, MD yesterday. K. Drones QB - VT (20CAR 176YDS 1TD)

I'll add today's O5 game and take SMU(AAC) to beat BC(ACC) at Fenway Park. SMU 24 BC 20

Dec 29, 2023

Wrong on SMU

Yes, the AAC(2-3) has been underwhelming in the Bowl Games, and the 2 victors are UTSA and USF. I thought SMU was getting in gear yesterday with 14 points in the 2Q then they stalled out. BC 23 SMU 14

Week 6 in the O5

 MWC: Hard to resist making a guess on Fresno St at Wyoming. Kenne, the Fresno QB, has nearly 1500 passing yards but Cowboys will slow him down and Waylee will rush for over 100 yards. WYO 25 FRES 24.

AAC: Long road trip for NTX to Navy, but they'll squeak out a win. NTX 17 Navy 16. I'm not sold on the new Navy HC Newberry.

MAC: Both teams have upset P5 teams. I'll roll with Gabbert and the Redhawks. Miami O 27 BG 22

CUSA: Sam Houston will remain winless after its visit to Liberty.  LIB 30 SHSU 13.  Liberty's win will move it to 3-0, the same record as surprising Jax St.

SunBelt: Marshall is 5-0 and looking strong, but NC St(ACC) held Louisville to 13 points last week. NCST  15 MU 13.

Oct 6, 2023

I thought SHSU was going to get its first W, but the Flames D stiffened. LIB 21 SHSU 16. Nice game for Q. Cooley RB - LIB 17CAR 106YDS 1TD

Tulane AD Troy Dannen is headed to UW.

Oct 8 2023

4 of 5:  Navy was my incorrect pick. Surprised that Miami O shutout Bowling Green, and how high scoring the NC State 49 /Herd 42 game was.

AAC action that surprised me by the score: UTSA 49 Temple 34.  UAB 56 USF 35
Week6 surprises: MiamiO 5-1 and SDST Aztecs(2-4) 

Week 4 reality check O5 teams

 UNLV(MWC) is coming off a big win over Vandy while UTEP(CUSA) has stumbled this season. UNLV 24 UTEP 19.

USF played a decent game in a loss to Bama, and Rice has a win over Houston this season. USF in a nailbiter by a score of 22-20 in this AAC matchup. Look for B Brown, the USF QB, to have a solid game.

Ohio returns to MAC play after stunning Iowa St and visits Bowling Green. BobcatsD helps them survive 13-12 at BG.

South Bama(SBC) is coming off a blowout W over OK St. CMU(MAC) has lost to Notre Dame and Sparty. L Webb rushes for over 100 yards and the Jags win 27 -20 over C. Michigan.

Sept 22, 2023

M. Carroll RB - GAST 29 CAR 150YDS 1TD in a win over Coastal Carolina. I would've had that pick wrong.

Sept 24, 2023

Correct on UNLV, USF, and Ohio, but wrong on USA who lost to CMU. Quite a day for two USF players:

B. Brown QB - USF Passing:435YDS 2TD, Rushing 14CAR 82YDS 1TD

N. Simmons WR - USF 8REC 272YDS 1TD 

How about Wyoming's win over Appy, and the #herd win over VTech(ACC)

It turns out WYO/APP game was the second half of a 2015/2021home /home series. The 2021 game was re-scheduled, probably due to the covid crisis.

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?

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.

Week 7 O5 conference play

 AAC: Navy is averaging 237 yards on the ground this season and scored 52 against Tulsa last week, but may not score enough to stay with high-scoring, low-winning SMU.  SMU 40 Navy 38.

CUSA: It's the battle of the Owls. Rice is having a decent season while FAU 's only win is against a 1AA team. Rice 27 FAU 24

MAC: I'll go with BGSU (M. McDonald 106-190, 1218 YDS, 14 TD, 2 INT) over Miami(Ohio) in a nailbiter. Bowling Green 24 Miami O 23

MWC: Nevada hasn't won since beating TX St in week 1, and Hawaii gave San Diego St a good game before losing by 2 points. HAW 20 Nev 19

SunBelt: JMU and CCU are getting all the ink, but South Bama's only loss is to UCLA by a point. USA 34 ULM 23

Oct 15, 2022

I picked the AAC game right and got damn close on the final score: SMU 40 Navy 34. Mordecai to Goffney remains a solid connection for the Mustangs.

Oct 16, 2022

4-1 on my picks.

Wrong: on Rice who lost to FAU 17-14.

 Right: on Bowling Green who beat M-O 17-13. Hawaii got a great game from Parson who rushed for 136 yards and 3TDs in a 31-16 win over Nevada. SBama kicked it in to gear in the second half for a 45-38 win over ULM. Carter Bradley(USA) tossed for 420 yards and 3TDs.

Stunbelt theme this season has been if you're undefeated, you're in trouble. Georgia Southern handed JMU its first loss and ODU did the same thing to CCU.

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 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)

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 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. 

MAC is back and more week ending Nov 7

Toledo will rely on, RBs Bryant Koback and Shakif Seymour, in their Wednesday MAC opener against Bowling Green. TOL34 BG 23 

I'll ride Starkel's hot start  passing for near 700 yards for San Jose St. in a battle of two teams undefeated in MWC play. SJST 31 SDST 23 

Is Tulsa, 3-0 in AAC play  a team on the rise or will Navy bring them to their senses? Zach Smith, Tulsa's QB will continue their ascent. TULSA 30 NAVY 20

Charlotte needs a game against MTSU to recover from the pounding by Duke last weekend. Niners will need to give its QB, Chris Reynolds, more ground support. Ohara, the opposing QB, has put up some big passing numbers. CHAR 33 MTSU 31

In a Sunbelt battle of 4-2 teams, Troy and Georgia Southern, I feel like flipping a coin. I'll go with Jacob Free's  aerial show over the Wirts/Kennedy III ground attack. Troy 34 GA Southern 26

Nov 5

Toledo  got solid games from their running backs and four TD passes from QB Eli Peters in a 38-3 victory.

Nov 7

Starkel was injured on SJST's first possession , but Nick Nash came in and threw two TD passes and rushed for one TD in 28-17 victory of San Diego St.

Nov 8

AAC and CUSA matchups were canceled. My first incorrect pick of the weekend was Troy who scored it's only TD on D.  Gerald Green rushed for 109 yards and TD for Georgia Southern. GASO 20 Troy 13.

Other notes Cincy  rolled Houston and remains in the mix for a Final four slot. Gary Anderson was fired  by Utah St(MWC) after an 0-3 start.

 

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 13 O5 picks- division time

MACW has two idle teams  tied at 5-2( WMU and CMU)  so I'll roll with a MAC East game .  Miami O owns H2H tiebreakers with the rest of the East including Ohio who will  get back on the winning track against Bowling Green tonight 27-19 behind  another solid all-around game game from their QB  O'Rourke.
AAC: I'm not sold on Temple's two QB, Russo and Centeio, system and don't think they have enough O to stay with Cincy who lock up the East with a win.   Cincy 34 Temple 22
CUSA: Chris Reynolds, Charlotte's QB, has been putting up big numbers, but the herd D will find a way to keep them in the game and get Marshall to a narrow 24-23 road win and keep them on pace with FAU in the East.
MWC: Utah St moves in to tie with Boise for the Mountain with a win.  Home field and Jordan Love's arm will be the keys in a 44-43 shootout win over Boise St.
Sunbelt: Ark St trails ULL by a game in the Wesr , and Georgia Southern trails App St by a game in the East. Hatcher's a hot QB and he'll the Red Wolves to a 30-29 over  another solid QB- led team  GSU Eagles who will get big numbers from Werts.

Nov 20

 Wow,  Ohio 66 BG 24. O’Shaan Allison rushed for 175 yards which included touchdown runs of 54, 7 and 53 yards, Nathan Rourke accounted for four TDs, three passing, one rushing.
Nov 24
Saturday split leaves me 3-2 for the week
Well, Reynolds was the man and the #herd went limp in the second half . Char 24 MU 10
Less than I expected, and a blocked extra-point attempt turned into Cincinnati's decisive points in 15-13 win over TU.
I was way off Boise.  Holani (16 CAR, 178 YDS, 2 TD) led the way in the BSU 56-21 blowout of USU.
 Ark St 38 Ga SO 33- Huge Game from Hatcher

Layne Hatcher ARST 19-24, 354 YDS, 4 TD
Shai Werts GASO 18 CAR, 151 YDS, 1 TD

• Hey how about Butch Davis' Panthers beating Miami FL. FIU (CUSA) 30 The u 24

Week 12 O5 five pack

AAC: Two teams,Tulane and Temple, with identical records(3-2, 6-3) will battle in Philly on Saturday. Justin McMillan, Tulane's exciting QB, will lead the Green Wave to a 28-27 victory. Temple is hoping Russo, their QB gets into gear.
CUSA: Marshall, a winner of four straight games, host La Tech  who is 5-0 in conference play. Maybe the #herd will practice ball control and Knox gets 100 plus rushing yards. I'm rolling the dice on the herd D doing slowing down J"Mar Smith the La Tech QB. MU 22 LaTech 20
MAC: Jaylon Bester will rush for 90 yards and a TD for Miami O in a 24-18 win over Bowling Green.
MWC: San Diego St  tumbled out of the gate but they now sit  atop  the MWC West. Aztecs will recover from the tough loss to Nevada and will eke out a 20-19 win over Fresno, a struggling team. SDSU may need a pick six to get the win.
Sunbelt: Texas St  has been a bit of a surprise this year, and  Tyler Vitt , who tossed for 373 yards and three touchdowns last week against USA, will lead them to a 27-25 a win over Troy to even their conference record at 3-3.

nov 14

I was close on Bester's stat line. 9 carries , 85 yards , 2TDS.  Gabbert tossed three TDS in Miami O's 44-3 rout of Bowling Green . Red Hawks are a game and a half up on Buffalo in the MAC East.

nov15

 LA Tech Rumors are true: Starting quarterback J'Mar Smith, wide receiver Adrian Hardy and outside linebacker James Jackson have been suspended for the Marshall game due to an athletic department policy violation. Smith and Hardy will also sit out the UAB game. What a complete meltdown by Buffalo (AAC) last night- blew a 27-10 lead in three minutes, then lost 30-27 on a game ending FG .

Nov 16

  #herd were in trouble when they decided against a FG attempt on fourth down in the second quarter and ran some goofy play in an odd formation that failed, but they roared back behind Green and Knox for the 31-10 win over La Tech. SDST didn't need much O  in it's 17-7 win over Fresno St and took a 1.5 game lead over Hawaii in the MWC West..

Nov 18

I won my first three picks  but lost on Tulane  and TXST to finish the weekend. Temple D-Line made life tough for McMillan plus the Green Wave play calling was sketchy on a 29-21 loss to Temple.
  Kaleb Barke (30-43, 363 YDS, 6 TD) led Troy to a 63-27 win over TXST

Week 6 heavy AAC and one MAC

OOC matchups are still filling the schedule,  but  there are some intriguing conference matchups so I'll detour to the AAC this weekend.
UCF travels to Cincy in an AAC East matchup. Knights nip the Bearcats at Nippert 24-23 behind a strong rushing attack led by McCrae and Killins. Ridder, the Cincy QB, will keep this a close game.
Evans and Johnson  will keep the Warhawks(Sunbelt) in the game for a half but Memphis behind the passing of Brady White will get the road win. Memphis 30 ULM 20.
Navy 's QB, Malcom Perry, is having a solid season, and he'll do enough for the Midshipmen to to prevail over the visiting AFA Falcons (MWC). Remsberg and Birdow are a nice one-two punch in the AFA rushing attack and will keep this game close.
In MAC play I look for NIU to recover from a tough OOC schedule and beat Ball St 26  to 19. May Bowers, the NIU QB, will out-perform his QB opponent , Drew Plitt.

oct 5

 I was close on the score but wrong on the winner. UCF QB Dillon Gabriel threw three INTs and the last one a Pick 6 by Ahmad Gardner cost them the game . CU 27 UCF 24

oct 6

I nailed the rest of the AAC games . Perry rushed for 111 yards and 2 td in the Navy 34-25 win over AFA. Kenneth Gainwell's last name fit (14 CAR ,209 yards, 2 TDs)for Memphis in it's 52-33 win over ULM.
I was close on the score but wrong on the victor in MAC game.  Caleb Huntley (35 CAR, 157 yards, 2TD) had a solid game for Ball St in a 27-20 win over NIU.

MAC 2018/19 Hoops Hunches

EAST
Buffalo Bulls: C.J. Massinburg, Nick Perkins & Jeremy Harris are back from last year's team that upset Zona  during March MaDNESS.
Kent State Golden Flashes: Jaylin Walker continues to impress.
Akron Zips: Utomi has been scoring well
Ohio Bobcats: Keep your eyes onJason Carter!
Bowling Green Falcons:  Wiggins & Turner show
Miami (OH) RedHawks: Dalonte Brown may be the guy.

WEST
Eastern Michigan returns four starters, including its top three scorers in Minnie, Thompson, and Paul Jackson, from last season's  squad that finished the year 22-13 overall and 11-7(MAC)
Toledo Rockets : Willie Jackson has been solid  in the first month.
Ball State Cardinals Tayler Persons will keep the Cards from the bottom of the West deck.
Central Michigan Chippewas: Larry Austin Jr  19 ppg this season.
Northern Illinois Huskies: Eugene German  23.4 PPG
Western Michigan Broncos: Seth Duga 18.9ppg  10.6 rbg

dec 19, 2018

How about #buffalo beating  regional foe Syracuse (ACC) 71-59. #massingburg led the Bulls with  25points, 8 rebounds  and  five assists. Big win for the #MAC.
dec 22: #marquette outscored #buffalo 64-47 on its way to 102-85  win. First loss for Buffalo who will probably tumble from its # 14 ranking.

jan 5

I checked in on some Friday night MAC action last night and was impressed at how #BallSt pulled away from Toledo early in the second half and never looked back . Teague scored 20 points with and grabbed 12 rebounds for the Cards.
Montell McRae scored a career-high 18 points in Buffalo's win over EMU.

jan 9

#buffalo scored 65 points in the second half on the way to a 110-80 win over #toledo . 

jan 15, 2019

Yes, Buffalo looks dominant, but Bowling Green and NIU are also 3-0 in conference play. BG 's first chance to play Buffalo is Feb 1 and then they 'll meet in  regular season final game (3/8)  in what could be key games to decide the East. NIU (West) faces Buffalo on Jan 22.

Jan 16, 2019

 Shawn Roundtree hit five 3-pointers and scored 21 points  for CMU as they gave NIU its first conference loss. Turner and Plowden scored about half of Bowling Green's points in a 79-78 win over Ball St that keeps them in a MAC East tie with Buffalo , who got a battle from WMU but prevailed 88-79.

jan 19, 2019

#emu crept close to Buffalo last night, but the Bulls led by  #cjmassingburg (31 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST) pulled away for 77-65 win. Toldeo blew out Ohio 75-52 

jan 20, 2019

I cursed NIU- they lost again this time to Kent St., but Bowling Green(13-5, 5-0 MAC) won their ninth straight game. Miami O beat Akron and Ball St beat CMU

Jan 23

And just like that NIU (4-2 MAC) recovers and upsets Buffalo (5-1 MAC) 77-75. Meanwhile  Bowling Green (14-5, 6-0 MAC)beat EMU to remain undefeated in MAC play and one game up on Buffalo in the East. NIU is one game up on on Toledo and CMU in the West.

Jan 26

#kentst  (15-5, 4-3), who was hosting its first ranked opponent since 1989, gave #Buffalo

(18-2, 6-1) a scare, but Massinburg and the Bulls got it together, particularly on D, to pull out a 88-79 win. Bowling Green (14-5, 6-0) needs to win at Miami O to stay ahead of Buffalo in the East.

feb 2

#bowlinggreen  recovered from it's  loss to Miami O last week to upset #buffalo 92-88 last night. Frye scored 25 points for BG while Massingburg led Buffalo with 26 points
feb 6: Bowling Green beat WMU, and Kent St  edged Miami O
MAC East:

feb 9 Loren Cristian Jackson had 18 points as #Akron  topped KentState 72-53 . MAC East Bowling Green 8 -1                         Buffalo 7-2           Kent St. 6-4                        Akron    6 -4         . Miami (Ohio)     4 -6         Ohio      3 -6  feb 10 Toledo knocked off Bowling Green while Buffalo beat CMU  . Miami O crushed ohio Bowling Green 8 -2                         Buffalo 8-2           Kent St. 6-4                        Akron    6 -4         . Miami (Ohio)     5 -6         Ohio      3 -7 feb 13 Buffalo and Bowling Green won to remain tied for 1st in the East. Massinburg scored 21 for Buffalo in its win over Akron, and Frye scored 23 for BG in its win over  CMU . WMU  beat NIU for its first MAC win this season , and EMU beat Ohio. feb 16 Perkins 26 PTS, 10 REB, 1 BLK doesn't have the best shot selection but he hit a key trey late as Buffalo(10-2) survived Toledo (8-4 East)  88-82 . Bowling Green plays NIU today. feb 20 Buffalo destroyed ohio 114-62  and Bowling Green survived akron  keeping both teams tied at 11-2 in the East.  #ShawnRoundtree had 20 points as Central Michigan(7-6) beat Kent State 84-74 to move within a game of Toledo(8-5) ,who fell to EMU, in the West. feb 23 Bowling Green(11-3-MAC) played poorly and still took the game to OT at Ohio (4-10)  before losing, while Buffalo(12-2) cruised over Kent St(8-6) to take a one game lead in the East. Nick Perkins put up some nice numbers for Buffalo :27 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST.  feb 27 Buffalo(13-2) got a battle from akron but  won 77-64 to take a two game lead in the East  over  fading Bowling Green (11-4)who lost to Miami O . Marreon Jackson scored 19 points  for  Toledo(10-5) in an 80-72 win over Ball St.  that keeps them one game up in the West on CMU(9-6) , a winner over EMU.  March 2 #bowlinggreen (12-4) found a way to win again with a 77-72 win over Kent St which keeps them two game behind Buffalo(14-2) who beat Miami O. Both teams will get rd1 byes in the MACT in Cleveland . Toledo (10-5) and  CMU (10-6 ) are the  strongest candidates for the other two byes. MAC season has 18 games. March 6 A solid game from Jeremy Harris(20 PTS, 6 REB, 4 AST)helped Buffalo(15-2) eke out a win over Ohio while Bowling Green(12-5) got trounced by Akron. Toledo(12-5) beat WMU to lock up the West. The final bye slot is p for grabs between Kent St (10-7) and CMU & WMU each 9-8. march 16 Bowling Green stumbled through February but hung on to beat  NIU 71-67 and move on to face Buffalo, who struggled to to beat CMU last night, in the MACT final. March 19 Buffalo hasn't looked dominant  in MAC play in the last few weeks and I have some doubts they'll get by the winner of the ASU/St john's play in game. BTW, Bobby Hurley, the ASU coach and former Buffalo coach, recruited some of those Buffalo players. March 28 And #Buffalo loses another head coach. Oats accepted the job at Alabama  April 7 #Ohio has some lofty expectations : Saul Phillips is out at Ohio after five seasons. He came to the Bobcats after taking North Dakota State into the Round of 32 in 2014  The Bobcats had back-to-back 20-win seasons in Phillips’ second and third season, reaching the CBI in 2016. His replacement ,Jeff Boals, was the head coach Stony Brook and a former team captain of Ohio's 1994 NCAA tournament squad.

Sunbelt on MAC 2017-18 hoops.

It's a two for one deal as I get my  the O5 hoop predictions wrapped up before Xmas:
SunBelt
UT-Arlington- I gravitate  to UTA every season. Hervey/Neal tandem leads the Mavs
Troy- Varnada  & Person lead a solid squad
Ga. Southern- C'mon a guy named Tookie leads the Eagles to third
Georgia St.- Simonds, an excellent PG , needs a scorer to assist.
Texas St.- King , Prijovic -who knows
UL Lafayette- Washing/Miller tandem anchor a strong frontcourt
S. Alabama-  Sikes may propel the Jags
Coast. Car.- Coach Cliff Ellis is still around and will rely heavily on  Guard Jaylen Shaw.
App. St.- Shabazz is averaging 22 PPG
UL-Monroe- Maybe Muinnings  raises his  15 PPG  to 20
Arkansas St.- Will Devin Simms step up?
Little Rock- Doesn't return a astarter

Mid-American
East
Bowling Green- Turner, Frye, and Caldwell have the Falcons off to a nice start.
Akron- Utomi 24 PPG  keeps the Zips in contention
Buffalo- Massinburg and Perkins are decent scorers.
Kent St.- Walker needs to flash more points than 18 PPG
Miami (Ohio) relies heavily on Adaway for points and assists.
Ohio- Balanced but mediocre scoring

West
Toledo- Fletcher and the Rockets soar
E. Michigan- ThompsonIV 16.4 PPG, 12.3 RBG is the key
W. Michigan- Wilder is the main dude 19 PPG
N. Illinois- German has  skills , will Bradley and Thorpe improve
Ball St.- No big time scorer.

C. Michigan Not enough scoring Chips

Jan 3: #ULL off to a 2-0 Sunbelt Conference start with wins over UALR & ARST.They had an early OOC win over #Iowa
Jan5-Tuned into the televised Akron/Toledo game last night and was underwhelmed by the shooting. Jaelan Sanford scored 22 points for Toledo in its win over Akron.
Jan 16 Sunbelt report
ULL 5-0 Bartley IV and Grant have been averaging about 16 PPG and face Texas State 5-1 led by #kevinhervey 20.4 PPG , 8;6 rbg on Jan 18
Georgia Southern 5-1.It remains  Tookie time for the Eagles.
Jan 17 MAC-time: #buffalo and #toledo are getting in gear.  Toledo(4-1 MAC) pounded Ohio 91-57 Fletcher had 18 points and Navigato and Sanford added 16 apiece as Toledo. Nick Perkins (26 PTS, 6 REB, 1 STL) led Buffalo (6-0 MAC) to a 91-57 blowout of NIU.
Jan 24: Bull run continues . Buffalo stays undefeated in MAC play with a 83-69 win  over EMU. 

Nike Sibande (22 PTS, 6 REB, 2 AST) lead Miami (OH) (11-9, 4-3 MAC) over CMU. Akron showed signs of life with a win over Ohio. #Niu seesaw season went up with blowout win over BGST. Kent St needed OT to beat Ball St. Toledo (6-1 MAC)  led by Sanford & Fletcher  edged WMU.

Jan 26: Marquetti scored 21 in the ULL (8-0) win over South Bama, TXSt (6-2) remains in the hunt with Nottingham's free throw with four seconds to goin a 62-61 win over Ga Southern. Simonds scored 29 points in Georgia St.(6-2)  81-75 win over UTA. TXST visits Ga St in a big matchupof second place teams Saturday Jan27.
Jan 31: How about Kent St roaring back to give Buffalo it's first loss in the MAC? Danny Pippen 
KENT - F (21 PTS, 13 REB, 1 STL). #kentst (6-3) is two games behind Buffalo (8-1) in the East.
Feb 3 : Massinburg scored 26, Buffalo Bulls corralle Western Michigan 92-86. #kentst visits bowling green  and tries to not lose ground to Buffalo in the MAC East race.
Feb 8  Sunbelt catch-up.  Surprised that #uta has slipped and TXST is hanging in there. The Georgia schools are hanging in there. what happened to #troy. good job undefeated #ULL
Louisiana 10-0
Georgia St. 9-2
Ga. Southern 7-4
Texas St.         7-5

UT-Arlington 6-6
Feb 9:  Session and  Simonds scored 22 points apiece as Georgia State gave ULL it's first conference loss. ULM knocked off Ga Southern with a late trey. #troy woke up and beat ark st. South Bama beat Ark LR
feb 14 MAC update: #buffalo #toledo keep winning but there's only one Dance ticket available
feb 17 MAC update:  #CJMassinburg had 24 points, 12 rebounds and five assists for #Buffalo who clinched MAC East with 95-82 win over Bowling Green
feb 28 #CJMaSSINBURG hit five treys for #buffalo in a win over Akron and are looking strong heading toward the MACT. Another strong contender is Toledo who got a triple double from Fletcher in last night's win over #NIU. Both teams are locks for two of the top four seeds which get  byes to the semi-finals. Kent St (9-8)  got a big win over Miami O(8-9)  in the race for final two bye slots. wmu(9-8) beat emu(10-7). Ball St (10-7) lost to CMU
Sunbelt update-Back from my nap. #ULL (26-4, 16-1) keeps rolling along with solid efforts from Frank Bartley IV  (18 points) and Bryce Washington (15 points) in last night's win over #arkst. ULM 48 ARK-LR 44. Game was 19-18 at the half.. Maybe the Georgia schools , GST or GSouthern can steal the Dance ticket  by winning the Sunbelt T, but  I don't see it.
March 3 MAC update- Massinburg & Perkins lead Buffalo to another 100 point night and an easy win . #Minnie scored 25 as #emu edged Toledo and moved closer to a rd1 bye.
March 6 #MAC update: Coach #Groce , who took Ohio dancing a few rounds a few years ago before some rough seasons at Illinois, got his Zips to upset WMU in rd1. Utomi had 26 for victorious Akron. Miami O beat Ohio. CMU beat BGST. Zabo helped Kent St avoid being upset by NIU.
March 8 in Cleveland: Buff/CMU. KentSt/Ball St . Miami O/Toledo. Akron /EMU
March  10 update: #ULL has had a great season but they 'll need to beat UTA in the tourney semi final to get a Dance ticket. Frank Bartley scored 23 points in the ULL win over TXST, and Erick Neal scored 37 point in the UTA beatdown of App St. Battle of Ga (GST G Southern in  the other semi-final.  In the MAC no surprise as Jeremy Harris scored 22 points and CJ Massinburg scored 14 in Buffalo's win overKent State 78-61. #toledo needed Marreon Jackson's  26 points and the go-ahead 3-pointer with nine seconds remaining to edge #emu 
March 11_ Buffalo punched it's dance ticket. Wilson and Neal led UTA to an upset over ULL while #IsaiahWilliams  came off the bench to score 21 for Georgia St in it's victory over Ga Southern who got 25 points from Tookie Wilson, one of my favorite hoop names.
March 12- Props to Ga St but I don't see them getting by Cincy. #buffalo faces a rejuvenated #arizona squad.  One and dones