Week 9 O5 conference play

 AAC: Cincy @ UCF  Two teams that  are Big 12- bound face off this week . I thought Gus had UCF in gear until  an erratic ECU squad handled them easily last week. Cincy 's run game has carried them to some close wins.  Home team barely. UCF 24 Cincy 23

CUSA: Charlotte @ Rice   AAC probably thought Charlotte was the better choice at the time.  Rice 's leading receiver is CMC younger brother L. McCaffrey (43 REC, 555 YDS, 5 TD). Rice 27 Charlotte 21

MAC: Only two games  on its schedule. I'll take the home team in the Toledo @ EMU matchup in a battle with a lot of FGs.  E.Mich 15 Toledo 12

MWC:  I'll go with the Cowboys in Hawaii. Look for another big rushing game from Titus Swen.  Wyoming 28 Hawaii 16

SunBelt: USM hosts ULL in a battle of two teams playing well lately.  Perhaps Southern Miss QB Wilcke tosses another final minute TD this week.  USM 23 ULL 20

oct 28, 2022

USM got pick6 on D, and TD passed tossed by RB, Frak Gore Jr, in a 39-24 win over ULL. 1-0 so far on my picks.

Oct 30, 2022

Two for four yesterday and 3-2 for the weekend. I laid an egg with Rice who fell to Charlotte 56-23. Reynolds tossed 5 Td passes for the 9ers. EMU led Toledo until the fourth quarter and lost 27-24.

UCF jumped out to a 10-0 led but then Cincy woke up in the second quarter, but UCF hung on for a 25-21 win. DQ James rushed for 174 for Wyoming in a 27-20 win.

It's getting crowded at the top of the AAC.

Week 6 O5 conference play

 AAC: I'm keeping my eyes on UCF but missed out on picking that game in which they played a he!! of second half and rolled SMU 41-19. ECU nearly upset NC St, but lost to Navy, while Tulane beat Houston and Kansas St but lost to S.Miss. I'll go with Ahlers tossing 3 TD passes for ECU in a victory over Tulane. ECU 27 Tulane 24

CUSA: In a battle of productive QBs, I'll give Frank Harris(UTSA) the edge at home in the Alamodome over  Austin Reed(WKU) . UTSA 41 WKU 38

MAC: E.Michigan beat Arizona St but struggled to victory of UMass and W. Michigan has been dull. I want to call this one a tie, but EMU will pull out a 17-16 win.

MWC: The passing Rebs have been lighting up the scoreboard this season. I'll roll with Doug Brumfield leading UNLV to a 30 -27 win over San Jose St.

SunBelt:  The Stun Belt has lost some of its shock appeal, but James Madison, the new 1A kid in town,  won at Appy, so I think Centeio and the Dukes pull out a 23 -19 squeaker at Ark St this week.

Oct 8, 2022

I was wrong on the passing Rebs. SJST 40 UNLV 7. Cordeiro, the SJST QB, threw for two TDs and ran for two TDs. 

 Tune woke up late for Houston and they outscored Memphis. 26-12 in the 4th for a 33-32 W.

Oct 9, 2022

I finished 3-2.  I was wrong on ECU who couldn't figure out Tulane's D. UTSA won a shootout over WKU. I was correct on EMU and JMU but guessing they would be low scoring games was off by a mile.

Surprises. Appy lost to TX ST. NIU  keeps losing, yesterday it was 52-32 to Toledo.

Oct 11, 2022

James Madison jumped into the AP top 25.  They're at Georgia Southern this week. Dukes beware of road road life in the StunBelt.

Mum on royal transfer busts

D'eriq King, transferred from Houston (AAC) to Miami (ACC) in 2020 in hopes of a big NFL payday. I'm not sure how the Pats who signed King(QB) as a UFA, will use him. I'll use this blog to track other busts. 

Earlier blog: https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2019/09/friday-13th-football-mumme-and-more.html

May 4, 2022

On a lesser level Jack Coan, a starting QB at Wisky, transferred to Notre Dame, and was sIgned as a UFA by the Colts. 

Anthony Brown(QB) with Boston College and then Oregon had big stats but went undrafted. Ravens just signed him.  

May 15, 2022

Skyler Thomas, who was the starting safety at Wazzoo a few years ago and jumped in/out/in of the transfer portal when he thought the Pac 12 was headed for a Covid shutdown, landed at Liberty U for 2022. He went undrafted and was signed as a UDFA by the Chargers. He has a shot, but the move did not increase his value.

June 4, 2022

McKenzie Milton who played QB at UCF and Florida St gave up on his NFL aspirations due to lingering knee issues. He started an NIL company in February 2022 with former Miami U quarterback D'Eriq King to help athletes "land potential deals,". It has a heavy UCF-focus. 

June 30, 2022

Here's a hoops story that pre-dates NIL but shows some negatives from early recruiting, particularly for five-star guys.  Emoni Bates initially committed to playing in his home state of Michigan at the age of 16 by pledging to join Sparty  in June 2020 but decommitted. Next up Memphis where he averaged less than ten points a game last season. Now he's headed home to play at Eastern Michigan (MAC).

July 28, 2022

 I missed this news in May. Patriots cut QB D’Eriq King after trying him out at multiple positions. No other NFL teams have shown any interest.

Oct 7, 2022

Rumors the Raiders are looking at Jack Coan who is a FA, but how will they protect him.

Nov 14, 2022

Maybe this one is not a bust? Ex-top recruit Emoni Bates has 30 in his Eastern Michigan(MAC) debut but it wasn't enough. Mich 88 EMU 83. EMU helped him through some off court problems in September including gun charges. Perhaps, he'll mature and realize how protected he's been. Who knows?

Feb 26, 2023

D'eriq King was signed then released quickly by Carolina Panthers in Nov 2022. He's with the DC Defenders in the XFL. Prime example of how "working" the transfer portal doesn't always guarantee you a big payday in the NFL.

Emoni Bates is averaging 20 points a game for E. Michigan, a weak MAC team. He appears to have found a home, but I doubt if he gets drafted by the NBA. Perhaps, he lands in the G League.

Feb 4, 2024

D"Eric King is a QB coach for SMU. Emoni Bates is on a two-way contract, shuffling between the Cavs and its G League affiliate, the Charge.

O5 Bowl Games Dec 31

 Sun Bowl: Central Michigan 27 Wash St 24.  CMU has Lew Nichols, the leading rusher in the country, but its weak passing D that will be tested by Cougars QB Jayden de Laura.  This is the first meeting between the schools. If my guess is correct, the Pac 12 will go winless this bowl season.

Cotton Bowl: I'm rooting for Cincy big time, but the Crimson Tide D will probably give Ridder he!!

Bama 28  Cincy 20.

I have no idea why ESPN didn't re-slate the Sun Bowl in its Bowl Mania but did adjust the Gator Bowl. Maybe because the Sun Bowl is on CBS?

Jan 1, 2022

CMU 24  WSU 21. Nichols had a solid game, and the CMU D played a good first half. Delaura was benched in the second half and Gabels led WSU to some scores.

Cincy stayed in the game through three quarters, trailing 17-6, but had no answers for Young and Robinson.

Cincy OC Denbrock ,who worked with LSU coach Brian Kelly at Notre Dame (2010-16), will become the LSU OC.

Jan 4, 2022

USF extended most of their head coaches' contracts, including football coach Jeff Scott, men’s basketball coach Brian Gregory, and baseball coach Billy Mohl. Scott is 3-18 in two seasons. Gregory is 62-73 in five seasons. Not sure what all that is about.

Jan 6, 2021

Memphis(AAC) offensive coordinator Kevin Johns is the new OC at Duke. Just a few years ago Memphis was a school that would've been a candidate to go P5.

Jan 9, 2021

Charlie Batch, a former NFL qb, said his employer , GameAbove Capital, would pay Caleb Williams $1 million for one season with Eastern Michigan(MAC). 

Jan 12, 2022

Clayton Tune  and Alton McCaskill are staying at Houston. CBS sports' analysts are slotting Houston as the 2022 preseason favorite in the AAC over Cincinnati.  I'm sticking with the Bearcats as the favorite until I see otherwise. 

ULL(SunBelt ) is getting raided hard. Napier took a lot of coaches to UF and just poached RB, Montrell Johnson, from his old team

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.

Dec 23-26 O5 bowl games

BAD BOY MOWERS GASPARILLA BOWL- #herd  has a  decent D and Knox, a solid RB, but they won't keep pace with the Black Knights O. UCF(AAC) 38 Marshall (CUSA) 27
SOFI HAWAI'I BOWL- Zach Wilson will get back in gear and toss a few TD passes against Hawaii in a squeaker. BYU 27 Hawaii(MAC) 26
WALK-ON'S INDEPENDENCE BOWL Which Canes squad blows into Shrevport? The one that lost to FIU(CUSA) or the one who beat ACC opponents, UVA and Louisville? I suspect the Canes D will contain J'Mar Smith and beat Louisiana Tech (CUSA) 26 -17
QUICK LANE BOWL: I don't underrate the ACC as most of the national pundits do and like Pitt to roll over Eastern Michigan(MAC) 31-16. Kenny Pickett will toss two TD passes for the Panthers and the Pitt D will contain EMU QB, Mike Glass III.

dec 24

I got close on the Herd's point total and picked the game correctly. UCF 48 Marshall 25 . Knights controlled this game except for the 3rd quarter.

dec 25

BYU fought back from Hawaii's fast start to to only trail 31-24 at halftime and fell 38-34. Big game for  Cole McDonald HAW (28-46, 493 YDS, 4 TD) Incorrect pick on this one .

dec 27

I end up with a 2-2 split in this batch of picks
Canes get blanked by La Tech 14-0. The U has issues and J'Mar smith did enough for the Bulldogs on O. 
Pitt 34 EMU 31. Glass tossed for 311 yards with two touchdowns and ran for 83 yards and a TD for EMU, but he also threw punches at the end, too. Pickett completed 27 of 39 passes for 361 yards and 3 TDs, including the game winner to Taysin Mack with 47 seconds to go.

Jan 14, 2020

 Washington St  names Hawaii's Nick Rolovich head coach. Rolovich runs an Air Raid type offense similar to the one runby Mike Leach, the man he's replacing.
Feb 4: Here's a rare move: #ObiObialo , #herd Wr, transfers to Oklahoma.

feb 13, 2020

The first ever BYU football game in the state of Illinois will not come in DeKalb. NIU has scheduled it for SeatGeek Stadium, a soccer venue is in the Chicago suburb of Bridgeview.

feb 22, 2020

 Marshall's(CUSA) game vs. East Carolina(AAC), originally scheduled for Sept. 5 in Greenville, NC, has been moved to Aug. 29 at Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium(ECU home field) as a feature game in Week Zero. The game will honor the the 50th anniversary of the airplane crash on Nov. 14, 1970,when so many #herd players and coaches died on a return trip from playing ECU.

march 19

Marshall(CUSA) and UNLV(MWC) will be on Notre Dame's 2022 schedule.  Rare matchups

april 22, 2020

All the doom and gloom from Covid 19 and  the Independence Bowl  lands Radiance Technologies as its new title sponsor.

June 18, 2020

I'm pretty sure this is a first:  University of Kentucky moved its  2020 opener against Eastern Michigan(MAC) from Sept 5 to Sept 3 to avoid a conflict with the Kentucky Derby.

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.

MAC 2018 Football predictions

East
Ohio  averaged 39.1 points a game last season and has a potent rushing attack led by A.J. Ouellette
Akron needs an improved D to repeat in the East
Buffalo will rely on Jackson to Johnson aerial show
Miami (Ohio)- Solid D but questions linger about the offense
Bowling Green St Yep, Carl Pelini is out of the shadows and running the D
Kent State -Another long season


West Division
Northern Illinois QB Childers takes the Huskies to the head of the pack
Central Michigan will rely on a solid D until the young offense gets into gear.
Toledo: Woodside's replacement at QB ?
Eastern Michigan- A lot rides on who replaces Roback at QB.
Western Michigan - Will a healthy Wassink return to form at QB?
Ball State  QB Riley Neal  and RB  James Gilbert  are healthy and will need stellar seasons  to improve a squad that averaged 17.9 points a game

sept 2

Rough weekend for #MAC football.  Ohio barely escapes Howard U (DC). Kent St was headed to a big win over Illnois until they were outscored 28-7 in the second half in aq 31-24 defeat. #wmu showed some fight scoring 35 in the 2nd half of a 455-42 loss to Cuse.  #bowlinggreen got stomped by Oregon Ducks 58-24. #Ragland threw for the 357 yards and 3 TDs in Miami of Ohio  35-28 home loss to #Marshall. #CMU went scoreless in the 2nd half of their 35-20 loss to Kentucky, #NIU scored once in the 4th quarter in a 33 -7 loss to Iowa, Buffalo, Toledo,  and EMU beat 1AA schools. Akron game was cancelled.

sept 7

#CMU , who was so-so against UK in a loss last week hosts #kansas who lost to 1A Nichols St last week. Maybe the #MAC beats a B12 team this week.

sept 9

Kansas had an easy day against CMU,  but how about #EMU  eking out a tough win over Purdue of the B10. In defeat Ball St hung tough with Notre Dame and NIU played a decent game against Utah of the Pac12.
Against the AAC: Miami O was shutout by Cincy , but Buffalo beat Temple.
WMU and Bowling Green were trounced by respectively , Michigan (B10) and MD (ACC).
Akron and Kent St won against their 1AA opponents.

oct 6 , 2018

Toledo may struggle  against BG if Guadagni isn't healty enough to play QB. Ohio is tricky and may trounce Kent St. Akron over Miami O. NIU over  Ball St. EMU over WMU.

Oct 7,2018

Some rusty picks yesterday , particularly underestimating Miami O with Ragland leading them to a 41-17 win over Akron. Wassink and WMU edged EMU.

2017 MAC football snap hunches

East
Miami (Ohio) -Look for Ragland's band to rock the East
Bowling Green- Morgan to Miller aerial show
Ohio- Solich has another solid squad.
Akron- No zip on D
Buffalo- Still re-building
Kent St- Not much gold on the Flash.

WEST
Toledo- Hard to go against Woodside's Rockets soaring in the West
W. Michigan- PJ rowed to Minnesota and some stars plaing on Sunday.
E. Michigan- Is Roback's arm enough totake them bowling again?
C. Michigan- Who starts at QB? Morris or Poljan?
N. Illinois-Will late 2016 rebound carry over?
Ball St  freshman LB, Brandon Martin will be busy.
Must see #MAC games: Oct 7 #EMU @ #toledo , #bowlinggreen  @#miami(OH) . Miami (OH) last played  #notredame  in 1909 in 46-0 loss and will travel to South Bend for a Sept 30 match up.

Aug 12: I wonder if this scheduling  pre-dates PJ stint @ #westermmichigan  .
Sept. 2 at #USC
Sept. 9 at #MichiganState

Aug 18: I missed this surprising tidbit : #Toledo has not appeared a MAC title game since 2004.

MAC 2016/17 hoops preview

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

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

week 6 five O5 conference matchups.

AAC- Tulane 21 @ UCF 23 Coach Frost appears to have the UCF Black Knights competitive again.. Milton to Smith connection will help UCF get by the Green Wave who will get a solid rusihing game from Hilliard.
CUSA -I rarely pick La Tech but the home field will help them eke out a 24 -23 win over WKU who will  need  Higgins  to find Taylor often.
MAC- Time to give Eastern Michigan a slight nod, and they'll continue their surpise season with a 19 16 home win over Toledo. Porter to Kilby EMU connection will get two TDs, and their D will slow down Toledo'sKareem Hunt.
MWC- Boise St travels to Lobo-land to avenge a 2015 upset loss.. Maybe New Mexico finds some D, but Gipson's running won't be enough. Rypien will will toss for near 300 yards as Boise will outlast UNM 26 -24.
Sunbelt- Ark St finally gets to play a conference game  but even home field won't save them. Upshaw will lead a decent rushing Georgia Southern rushing attack to a 20-10 win.

Oct 6

Sunbelt pick wrong: Ark St 27 Georgia Southern 26
#kevinellison rushed for for 203 yards and 1 TD for GSU, but that wasn't enough as #arkansasst QB Hansen tossed a game winnning TD to Bayless with nine seconds to go.

Oct 7, 2016

CUSA pick correct. Battle of star wide receivers. #taywantalylor caught two TD for #WKU, but #carloshenderson caught three for #louisianatech . Holtz' crew survived at home: LA Tech 55 WKU 52

Oct 8, 2016

#boisest qb #brettRypien shredded the Lobos for 391 yards and five tds in a 49-21 win over #newmexico.. I was correcft but thought the Lobos had a little more fight in them.

Oct 9, 2016

 #toledo 35 emu 20 wrong on #easternmichigan who  hung in there  but #Toledo QB  #woodside threw four tds . I was 2-2 for the weekend.
Odds and ends: Props to #westernmichigan  who beat #NIU to go 2-0 in MAC play and 6-0 overall. Keeping my eyes on #jalenrhodes who rushed for 165 yards in the #utsa upset of of #usm. How about #navy holding off #houston  and #uconn beating #cincy in @AAC play

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.