O5 Bowl Games Saturday Dec 23

Arkansas State Red Wolves(SBC) vs Northern Illinois Huskies(MAC) Can you say erratic.? Ark St 28 NIU 27

Troy(SBC) vs Duke (ACC) Both teams head coaches have moved on. I'll take Troy in a 24-23 upset.

 Georgia St(SBC) vs Utah St(MWC). Georgis St hasn't won since October and that won't change. Utah St 23 GAST 16

James Madison(SBC) vs Air Force(MWC) McCloud, the JMU QB, will play despite entering the transfer portal. .JMU 30 AFA 22

South Alabama(SBC) vs Eastern Michigan(MAC). EMU doesn't have enough O. South Bama 20 EMU 13

Coastal Carolina(SBC) vs San Jose State(MWC). Ok, I'll ride with Cordero and the hot SJST Spartans

Dec 24, 2023 

1-5 yesterday.  South Bama pummeled EMU 59-10J. Pritchett WR - USA 8REC 127YDS 2TD

Now for my incorrect picks: Duke stymied Troy's O. NIU kicker scored a TD. 

F. Brock RB - GAST 24CAR 276YDS 1TD

E. Michel FB - AFA 35CAR 203YDS 2TD

Vasko tossed 3 TD passes for CCU.

Feb 15, 2024

Georgia State postponed the rest of its spring practices and its spring game on March 7. Panthers started spring practice on Tuesday Feb 13,  two days before coach Shawn Elliott stepped down to become an assistant at South Carolina. Flip side of the NIL portal!

Feb 24. 2024

Dell McGee  is the new G ST HC 

Auburn (2013) Analyst

Georgia Southern (2014) RB coach

Georgia Southern (2015)

Assistant HC & RB coach

Georgia Southern (2015)

Interim head coach

Georgia (2016–2018)

Assistant HC & running backs coach

Georgia (2019–2023)

Run game coordinator & RB coach

Georgia State (2024)Head coach

Week 8 in the O5

  I can't resist a military matchup. AFA (MWC) will remain undefeated when they visit a slowly improving Navy(AAC) this Saturday. E Michel will rush for 100 for AFA. AFA 27 Navy 19

MWC: Rebels stay hot at home. Maiava has a solid game at QB. UNLV 30 CSU 20

MAC: Two teams that are 3-0 in MAC play. I'll roll with Gabbert slightly over Finn in an aerial show. Miami O  24 Toledo 21.

Sunbelt- Plenty of tough matchups this weekend. GA St looks hot.  Marcus Carroll will rush for nearly 100 yards.  GA St 23 ULL 20

Oct 22, 2023

E. Michel 22 ATTs, 69 YDs didn't reach 100 yards, but AFA handled Navy 17-6.

UNLV needed 6 FGs to outlast CSU 25-23

Gabbert was injured during the game. Toledo 21- MO 17. My only incorrect pick.

Carroll rushed for 110 yards. GA ST 20 ULL 17. 

Other results: Tulane got a big AAC win at home over NTX. Pratt tossed 3TD passes. San Diego St lost to Nevada 6-0. in MWC action.

Oct 24, 2023

It's Tuesday in the CUSA, and I'll go with "Do it all" Pavia leading New Mex St to a close win at Ruston, LA. NM ST 23 La Tech 21. Coach Kill has the Aggies in gear.

Well Pavia was so-so, but his team won NM st 27- LA Tech 24. Bachmier, who leftt Boise, was the Bulldogs QB.

In other CUSA action, Liberty(8-0) beat WKU 42-29.

Week 5 in the O5

 CUSA: Battle of QBs: Reed (WKU) outduels Vattiato(MTSU) in a close one. WKU 34 MTSU 31

I'll take Henigan at home to lead Memphis(AAC) to a 27-24 win over Boise St(MWC).

MACaction: CMU is coming off a big win over South Bama but will struggle to eke out a 16-13 win over EMU.

SunBelt: Coach Elliot has GA St off to a 4-1 start. M.Carroll will rush for over 100 in a win 30-20 win over Troy.

Sept 29, 2023

 I was correct on WKU who won 31-10. Reed threw for 297 yards and 2 TDs.

Jax St beat SHS and are 2-0 in CUSA action.

Oct 1, 2023

I was correct on Memphis and CMU and wrong big time on GA St who lost 28-7. Henigan, the Memphis QB, led them to a comeback win.

Some interesting stats: Marshall won over ODU despite allowing K. Calloway11CAR 236YDS 3TD.

T. Stewart.,RB - BGSU(MAC), 26CAR 138YDS 1TD in 38-21 upset of GTech(ACC)

In the MWC, UNLV rush for 307 yards in a win over Hawaii and is 4-1 for the season. 

Week 5 OOC with a dash of military style

 Navy(AAC) travels to Colorado to face Air Force(MWC). Navy beat ECU last week for its first win, but I don't they have enough offense to keep up with the AFA ground force led by Brad Roberts. AFA 31 Navy 23

Army(1-2) hosts Georgia St(0-4) this week in a series that started in 2019 and is tied at 1-1. Both teams have scored a lot of point this season but this one will be low scoring. Army 17 GA St(SunBelt) 16

MTSU, who is coming off a big win over Miami(FLA), hosts UTSA in a CUSA matchup that will likely feature an aerial show MTSU C. Cunningham (85-120, 1000 YDS, 7 TD, 3 INT) /UTSA F. Harris (104-154, 1310 YDS, 10 TD, 2 INT). MTSU 34 UTSA 31

I'm sure both Ohio and Kent St  are glad that P5 part of their schedules is in the rear-view mirror. I'll roll with K. Rourke (102-147, 1195 YDS, 9 TD, 2 INT) to lead the Bobcats to victory in a MAC matchup. Ohio 30 Kent St 20

Oct, 2, 2022

1-3 this week

Military defenses played better than I expected in the AFA 13 Navy 10 game. However, Army 's D couldn't stop T. Gregg (16 car, 124 yds, 1TD) GA ST 31 Army 14.

Harris threw for 414 yards and two TDs for UTSA in a 45-30 win over MTSU

Cooper rushed for 240 yards and Cephas caught 13 passes for 246 yards for Kent St in a 31-24 win over Ohio.

CUSA notes: Reed threw for 406 yards and 3 TDs but it wasn't enough to get WKU to a win over Troy. Troy 34 WKU 27.  How about some Rice news. Rice 28 UAB 24. The Owls stats weren't big, but Ari Broussard ran for two touchdowns, and Treshawn Chamberlain scored on a fumble return.

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.

Rest of O5 play in week 12

 AAC: It's sure looks like it will be a Cincy/Houston AAC final, so I'll take a look at Navy who's been playing better in conference during November. Perhaps Navy FB Carlinas Acie will have an 80 yard game against ECU this week like he did in the Tulsa win . It will still won't be enough. Ahlers will toss two TD passes for ECU in a 27-22 win over Navy.

CUSA: Frank Harris UTSA ( 190-284, 2306 YDS, 20 TD and Sincere McCormick UTSA

(230 CAR, 1150 YDS, 11 TD) will be too much for UAB  and win 31-23 to lock up the CUSAW

MWC: L. Bonner(193-315, 2749 YDS, 25 TD, 10 INT)  will lead Utah St  to a hard fought 26 22 win over pesky Wyoming and move closer to winning the MWCM.

SunBelt: Most of the conference is playing OOC games, so I'll go with Grainger leading Georgia St to a 20 17 win over Ark St.

nov 21, 2021

AAC: My totals were off, but I but my assessment was on target in in ECU's 38-35 win over Navy. Ahlers and Acie had big stats for their respective squads.

CUSA: UTSA outscored UAB 17-7 in the second half  for a 34-31 win. Another solid game for Harris, but the UTSA'D had difficulty stopping McBride who  rushed for 144 yards and a TD.

MWC: I blew this pick big time.  Titus Sven finished with 15 carries for 169 yards for Wyoming in a 44-17 win over Utah St.

Sunbelt: Ga St, RB Jamyest Williams rushed got 125 yards and 2 TDs in a 28-20 win over Ark St.

I was correct on 3 out of 4 this week.

Quick note on football in the Carolinas: CCU struggled a bit while beating Texas St, and Charlotte collapsed in a loss to Marshall.

Cincy's big win over SMU and Oregon's loss to Utah keeps the pressure on the CFP.

Sunbelt vs P5 in week 2

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

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

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

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

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

Sept 11, 2021

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

Sept 12, 2021

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

Georgia St lost 59-17 to UNC.

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

Bowl picks O5 rapid fire

Quick , before there 's a covid cancellation. Dec 23 rd games Ga Southern  27. La Tech 23 because Werts will gets 75 yards rushing from the QB slot for GA So. Memphis 39 FAU 26 because White will throw for over 400 yards for Memphis.  I'll get to more picks later this week..

Dec 24: 2-0 yesterday: Both winning QBs  were stellar.  Werts(GASO) ran for 3 tds and passed for one , and White(Memphis) tossed three TD passes.

Picks for Xmas Eve  and Xmas day Houston 30 Hawaii  26, Cougars slow down Hawaii QB Cordeiro (1947 YDS, 11 TD) enough to get the win.  Marshall has limped into December and won't slow down Jared Patterson. Buffalo 26 Marshall 20

Dec 26: I was wrong on Houston: their QB Tune threw three costly picks,  their D didn't slow down Cordeiro who threw 3 TD passes, and their special teams allowed the Rainbows  to run a kick back for a TD . HAW 28 Hou 14. I was correct on Buffalo , but it was Marks not Paterson who ran all over the Herd in a 17-10 win. Paterson had not recovered from being injured during the Ball St game.

Note on coaching changes Harsin leave Boise St for Auburn after under-performing against SJST in the MWC final, and amid rumors of a  conference move to the AAC. It's a bit messy in Blueturf-land.

ULM  hires Terry Bowden. After a brief moment in the sun with Auburn in the mid 1990, he was mediocre with Akron (MAC) from 2012-2018. I guess they're buying the family name.

Now, to today's games.

 ULL will  keep the Roadrunners in check. ULL 31 UTSA 14. WKU won't have an answer for CORNELIOUS BROWN IV, who has 7 rushing TDs and has thrown for 2046 yards and 14 TDs. GA St 30 WKU 19

Dec 27: ULL struggled to contain Frank Harris, the  UTSA QB, in the second half, but behind the strong running of  Elijah  Mitchell(19 CAR, 127 YDS, 1 TD) they held on for a 31-24 win over UTSA.

Cornelious Brown IV GAST (16-30, 232 YDS, 3 TD) was great in a 39-21win over WKU.

5-1 in this slate of games.

Dec 30:Big time props to Coastal Carolina's Jamey Chadwell , the 2020 AP Coach of the Year. Nice award for the Sunbelt.

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.

 

 

 

Tuesday football and five O5 picks week ending Nov 14

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

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

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

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

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

Nov 11

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

Nov 15

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

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

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

Four O5 picks for the Halloween weekend

 AAC-  It's not the marquee matchup, but Tulsa is a team worth watching. After a tough 16-7 loss to OK St , they've had impressive wins over UCF and USF and will stay hot with a 34  -22 win over ECU behind Zach Smith's passing.

CUSA- Don't look now but UTSA(4-3, 2-1 C-USA) has been playing decent with Sincere McCormick(155 CAR, 867 YDS, 7 TD). FAU(1-1, 1-1 C-USA) has been erratic. UTSA 27 FAU 17.

MWC- Boise St  will get enough passing from Bachmeier to survive the Air Force rushing attack  and win 30-29

Sunbelt- Undefeated Coastal Carolina  will stay that way with a 24-22 win over Georgia St. regardless of  McCall being able to start at QB.

Oct 30

I didn't select this game but Kennedy III rushed for two TDs for Georgia Southern in the 4th quarter in a 24-17 win over South Bama.

Oct 31

Tulsa scored 34  and won , as I predicted, TUL 34 ECU 30. Ahlers , the ECU QB, put up betters stats than Zane Smith of Tulsa, but a late rushing TD by Wilkerson gave  Tulsa the W.

Nov 1

FAU's D held UTSA to three points so  I was got that one wrong.  Sears, not Bachmeir, led BSU to a 49-30 win over AFA. Coastal Carolina 51 GSU 0. WTH happened. Mccall passed for 4 TDs and 280 yards, Georgia St passed for 30 yards. 

CUSA Note: Rice 30 USM 6. Southern Miss is on its third HC this season. #ScottyWalden , the interim HC , left for the job at Austin Peay few days ago

What's left of O5 bowl games

SERVPRO FIRST RESPONDER BOWL:  WKU(CUSA) has a knack  for pulling games out thanks to a solid D. WMU (MAC) has plenty of O Jon Wassink WMU (222-371, 2904 YDS, 19 TD), LeVante Bellamy WMU (248 CAR, 1412 YDS, 23 TD) . I'll roll with the Hilltoppers D.
WKU 19 WMU 17
AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL: #23 Navy(AAC) will get rushing TDs, but Kansas State QB Skylar Thompson will get in gear for a KSU 30-28 win
NOVA HOME LOANS ARIZONA BOWL: Wyoming(MWC) takes advantage Georgia State's (Sunbelt) weak D in a 26 -13 win . Valladay rushes for a 100+ for the Cowboys.
TICKETSMARTER BIRMINGHAM BOWL: Boston College vs #21 Cincinnati(AAC). I love Cincy in this onewith Michael Warren rushing for 125+ in  a 33-20 win.
FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL: Ohio(MAC) Nevada(MWC) Rourke by ground and air leads the Bobcats to a 27-23 win.
LOCKHEED MARTIN ARMED FORCES BOWL: Southern Mississippi(CUSA) Tulane(AAC)  He!! of a regional matchup being played in Fort Worth, TX. McMillan lifts the Green Wave to a 31 -29 win over USM
LENDINGTREE BOWL: ULL(Sunbelt) Miami (OH)(MAC) The Redhawks flying pattern is erratic so I'm banking on the the Cajuns QB, Levi Lewis to lead ULL to a 37 -20 win.
dec 30- Correct on WKU but just barely. The Hilltoppers  were given the final play after a five-yard defensive substitution penalty by WMU and made a FG with no time on the clock. Before that they made a FG with 1:36 on the clock. WKU 23 WMU 20
Jan 1- I was wrong on Navy who got a last second FG to beat KSt 20-17. Valladay did better than I guessed with 204 yards rushing and 2 TDS against GaSt. Freshman QB Levi Williams was a bit wild but was involved in four TDS. Props to Ellington , the Ga St QB, who accounted for 236 yards and two touchdowns despite playing with a torn right ACL. WYO 38 GA St 17

jan 3

I'm not sure why BC was there. Cincy dominated the entire game in a 38-6 win. 

jan 4

 They dumped fries on Ohio Coach Solich after the Potato Bowl win over Nevada and he ate one. LOL

jan 4 afternoon

On a roll lately as the bowl season winds down. Green Wave started slow but crested by the 3rd quarter.  J. McMillan(13-18, 215 YDS, 3 TD)had a great game for Tulane in the 31-13 win over USM

Jan 7

I went 6-1 in this bunch of games . Levi Lewis, ULL QB, tossed for 246 yards and 2TDs in a 27-17 win over Miami O.
Final O5 conference bowl standings. AAC(4-3) cusa(3-5), mac(3-4) MWC(4-3) SUNBELT(3-2)

March 30

 Not much news but I saw this: Georgia State lands Noel Ruiz, a grad transfer and FCS All-American kicker from NC A&T .

May 29, 2020

   Wyoming (MWC) will square off Sept.  25, 2021, at UConn. And this came about because of the Georgia/Clemson game announced earlier this year.  While I try to figure out why, I noticed that UConn has scheduled some big $$ future games, UNC, Michigan, and Ohio St, in its Independent future.

June 20, 2020

For you southern boys: Duke’s Mayo replaces Belk as a Bowl sponsor of the annual game in Charlotte which features an ACC team versus a team from either the Big Ten or SEC. Kentucky(SEC) beat Virginia Tech(ACC) 37-30 in the Belk Bowl on 12/31/19.

July 6, 2020

Here's the final payout for the MWC schools allowing Clemson & UGA to play in the "Kickoff" game. Clemson will pay Wyoming $1.1 million, and Georgia will cut San Jose State a $1.8 million check

Sunbelt Hoops hunches 2019/20

1) Georgia Southern Eagles: Can Trevior Lamar replace #TookieBrown ? Isaiah Crawley is a solid scorer and rebounder
2) South Alabama Josh Ajayi, who averaged 16.4 points per game last season, and fellow double-digit scorer Trhae Mitchell are key players, but look out for Andre Fox who scored 24 points  against Chattanooga last week.
3) Texas State Bobcats:  Nijai Pearson remains a player to watch player to watch for the Bobcats who finished secind in conference play last season.
4) Appalachian State Mountaineers- Justin Forrest returns  but they 'll miss Shabazz.
5) Georgia State Panthers: Coach Hunter runs Tulane now so it might be a year  of adjustment for Coach Lanier who will rely heavily on Kane Williams. Ga St gave Duke a tough game but lost 64-53 last week.
6) UT Arlington Mavericks- Davis and Narcis are solid forwards, but the Mavs will need more.
7) Coastal Carolina Chanticleers: Frater and Jones  return.
8) Troy Trojans: KJ Simon scored a career-high 21 points in a narrow loss to UAB- they'll need more of that.
9) Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns lost Jakeenan Grant (SBC DoY) and Stroman , the SBC assists leader
10) Arkansas State Red Wolves will rely on a few transfers to replace Ty Cockfield
11) UL Monroe Warhawks: Ertel and JD Williams return.
12) Little Rock Trojans- Good luck to Coach Darrell Walker in filling the void of Rayjon Tucker turning pro.

dec 24

I thought the Sunbelt Georgia schools were going to upset bigger conference teams but it didn't occur . I. Smith(25 PTS, 6 REB, 1assist) kept Ga Southern in the game, but Edwards (23 PTS, 3 REB, 4 assists) came through for the Dawgs . GA(SEC) 73 GAS 64.
Georgia St got a big night from K. Williams (22 PTS, 3 REB, 2 assists) but F. Hunt(18 PTS, 7 REB, 2 assists) and the Mustangs took control late. SMU(AAC) 85 GA St 76

jan 3,2020

Keeping a promise to a buddy and reporting good news for South Bama. Josh Ajayi ( SALA - F
13 PTS, 12 REB, 1 AST) in a 60-57 win over ULL.
The Georgia school each remained undefeated in Sunbelt play. Ga St beat App St, and GA Southern beat CCU.

jan 12

 South Bama D: USA 52 Ark LR 43. The second place Jags are one GB of the Georgia schools and ArkLR. #NijalPearson scored 22 points to power Texas State past App St 82-57. GA St beat ULM. CCU beat UTA. GA Southern beat ULL. Ark St beat Troy

Jan 18

Georgia schools and Ark LR sit atop the Sunbelt standings with 6-2 records.   Justin Roberts scored 20 points  in Georgia State's 72-63 victory over  South Bama, who faces Georgia Southern,  a winner over Troy, Thursday night. Ark LR beat CCU and faces App St today.

jan 25

South Bama Jags are 5-5 in SunBelt action. They beat GA Southern last saturday then lost to Ark St Thursday night. Josh Ajayi has solid stats 15.8 PPG 8.1 RBG. ARK LR (8-2) is in first in the SunBelt.

Feb 3

 Trhae Mitchell scored 22 points on 8-of-11 shooting for South Alabama(6-7) in a 79-69 win Georgia Southern(7-5) on Saturday. Ark LR (11-2) is in first place.

Feb 8

Sunbelt placed a Friday night game on the schedule and South Bama(7-7) moved to .500 in conference play with a 70-66 win over Troy(5-9).  Josh Ajayi scored 20 points the Jags.

feb 14

 Fox and Mitchell each scored 20 for  S Alabama(8-7) in its 78-75 win over UL-Lafayette 78-75. Jags are tied with App St, who lost to GaSt(10-5) and 4GB of Ark LR(12-3) who lost to TXST(9-6)

feb 21

 Josh Ajayi scored 19 points and South Alabama(10-7) shot 70% from the floor in a 78-70 win over AppSt. TXST(11-6) beat Georgia Southern(10-7). Ark LR(12-4) is in first place.

feb 29

Isaiah Crawley scored 18 points and grabbed eight rebounds for GA Southern(12-7) in a 79-70 win over GA St., but still trail TX St(13-6) a narrow winner over over UTA last night. TX St finishes the season against South Bama(11-7) on March 3. If ArkLR(14-4) wins today against ULL, they lock up first place.

March 4

How about South Bama(13-7)  beating TX St(13-7) to finish in a tie for second ,and Georgia St beating  first place ArkLR(15-5)..  ULL scored 69 points in a second half  comeback win over CCU.

March 31

Georgia Southern hires Brian Burg , former asst at Texas Tech

April 11

  Sunbelt Conference shifts 2021-25 men's and women's basketball championships from NOLA to Pensacola, Fla. It is the first time the conference will play the men’s championship in FLA . The women’s championship was held at the USF Dome in Tampa, Fla in 1988.

May 15

 It's official I can call the SunBelt, the SBC. They released a new logo today.

July 13, 2020

Ole Miss (SEC) and Georgia State (Sunbelt) announce a football/basketball weekend in Oxford, MS for 2026 season. Men's hoops on Nov 20, 2026 and pigskin on Nov 21.

Week 11- Late on MAC the n the rest of the O5

Two Tuesday night games with Toledo edging Kent St and WMU edging Ball St leaves me with one game to guess on. I'll go with O'Rourke and the Bobcats at home 28-27 tonight over Miami (Ohio) in a battle for 1st in MAC East.
AAC: ECU is a team on the rise and gave Cincy a scare last week, but will fall by 8   at SMU. Buechele will toss 3 td passes.
CUSA: It's always tough traveling to west Texas for road games , but Charlotte, led by Lemay's solid running will edge UTEP 24 -22.
MWC: Aerial fireworks with Hawaii coming out on top  51-44. McDonald (HAW) and Love (SJSU) will combine for 1K in passing yards..
Sunbelt:  Georgia St needs this one badly to stay in the race in the East but I don't think they'll contain ULM QB Caleb Evans. ULM 37 Ga State 30.

Nov 7

Close score but I picked the wrong team . ORourke had a so-so game for Ohio and #SamSloman hit a 53-yard field goal with 3:48 to play to give Miami O  a 24-21 win and the lead in the MAC East.

Nov 9

 I didn't pick this game: I watched the final 25 minutes of the Tulsa 37-34 upset of UCF. UCF crumbled. Twelve men on the field penalty with a chance to get the ball back in the final minute.

Nov 10

Too bad I didn't put $$$$ on my other 4 picks.
SMU survived a 59-51 shootout with ECU and the same for Hawaii holding off SJSU. Evans (ULM) was too much for Georgia St, and  Chris Reynolds (24-35, 354 YDS, 2 TD ) led Charlotte  back on the road at UTEP  28-21. Charlotte (5-5) is closing in on a bowl bid.
Special mention for #wku (CUSA) rocking Arkansas (SEC) and App St beating South Carolina (SEC)

April 12, 2020

This kid must be be great. #BrandonCouncil, an OL grad transfer from Akron(MAC) commits to Auburn over Baylor and  Missouri. LSU and USC were also interested.

April 15

 Other 5(Group of Five) asks the NCAA to waive the minimum football attendance requirements and the requirement for a minimum of 16 varsity athletic teams.

May 5, 2020

 Ohio(MAC) quarterback Nathan Rourke was selected with the by the BC Lions with the 15th pick of the CFL draft. Rourke was born in Victoria, British Columbia.

May 14, 2020

 East Carolina gets second SEC transfer in less than a week. Arkansas RB Chase Hayden. On May 7 it was Alabama cornerback Nigel Knott.

May 17, 2020

   Dan Ellington,  the GA St starting QB for the past two years, is now on its coaching staff. That was quick!

Aug 13, 2023

Back from Canada: Nathan Rourke(OhioU) got some playing time and scores last night for the Jags in a pre-season win over Dallas.

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

Dropping a dime on Independents Week 5

  #Byu Cougars and #utah Utes have agreed to take a two-year "Holy War" break in 2022 and 2023, allowing Utah an opportunity to schedule a home-and-home series with an SEC opponent.
This weekend an erratic BYU squad visits Toledo(MAC), who got a monster game from Bryant Koback (228 yards rushing) last weekend . Toledo 29 BYU 28
Notre Dame  will recover from a tough loss to UGA and defeat the visiting UVA Cavs 30-20. Cavs were not impressive in a 28-17 win over ODU (CUSA)
UMass hosts Akron(MAC) in a battle of bad defenses. Perhaps an aerial show AKR 36 Umass 35
Liberty will contain Tuioti, the Lobos QB, and pull out a close one at home. LIB 20 UNM 19
New Mexico St scored  55 last week at UNM and lost. Fresno  St (MWC)has played power 5 schools, USC and Minnesota, tough in losing efforts Fre 34 UNM 22

Sept 27:

Tying into this blog: UCF(AAC) football schedules future non-conference games with Boise State (MWC ) and  BYU(Independent)

Sept 29

 Koback was ok (88yds, 1TD) and Toledo got a late pick which led to rushing TD from Seymour to beat BYU 28-21
T. Jones Jr rushed for 131 yards and 3 TDs in Notre Dame's 35-20 win over UVA
I was wrong  on the outcome but close on the score Umass 37 Akron 29. It wasn't much off an aerial show. Z. Gibson (Akron)173 YDs, TD M Curtis Umass 173YDS 2TDs ,INt
Not too far off: Liberty 17 UNM 10 . S. Calvert threw form306 yards and 3TDs for the vistors.
J Cropper rushed for 118 yards and a TD on eight carries  for Fresno St in their 30-17 win over NMST.

oct 17, 2019

 Army will survive a visit to Atlanta this week (8) and edge Georgia St in the battle of rushing QBs. Hopkins (Army) , Ellington (Ga St)

oct 21

It was Ellington's arm with three TD passes, and then a final stand by the Panthers D that held off Army for a 28-21 win .

Early 2019 Sunbelt football season predictions

East Division
1. Appalachian State-  Zac Thomas(QB)
2. Troy- BJ Smith (RB)
3. Georgia Southern- Monquavion Brinson (DB)
4. Georgia State- Brandon Wright (P)
5. Coastal Carolina- Malcom Williams (WR)
West Division
1. ULL- Ja’Marcus Bradley (WR)
2. ULM –  Caleb Evans (QB)
3. Arkansas State-  Kirk Merritt (WR)
4. South Alabama- Tyree Turner (DB)
5. Texas State- Bryan London II (LB)

 Ark St and ULM  will  make ULL work for the West title. In the East App St is easy to like, but Troy U always finds a way. I'll stick with my predictions and add some notes  as the 2019 season nears.
Aug 16- This is goofy from ULL coach Billy Napier: Every scholarship member of the football program will now be required to make a donation of at least $50 to the Ragin' Cajun Athletic Fund (RCAF)
Sept 1:  Not big stats but a W: Ellington finished with 139 yards passing, 61 yards rushing and three total touchdowns for Georgia St in its huge upset of the Vols. ULL and  South Bama played decent in losing efforts to , respectively, Miss St and Nebraska. CCU's D cracked in the second half in a loss to E.Michigan (MAC)

Sunbelt 2018/19 Hoops Hunches

1) Georgia Southern Eagles: My favorite named player , #TookieBrown , will keep the Eagles near the top
2) Georgia State Panthers: D’Marcus Simonds is the main man.
3) Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns hung with Kansas and beat Tulane early this season
4) Appalachian State Mountaineers- Justin Forrest 19.2ppg and crew have weathered a tough OOC schedule.
5) Troy Trojans: Varnado has been solid.
6) UL Monroe Warhawks: Travis Munnings has been decent but will need some help.
7) Coastal Carolina Chanticleers: Cuthbertson 20.4 PPG
8) South Alabama Jaguars needs O.
9) Texas State Bobcats:  Nijai Pearson is the player to watch.
10) Arkansas State Red Wolves: Rough  out of conference start except for Ty Cockfield 21.1ppg
11) UT Arlington Mavericks- Rebuilding
12) Little Rock Trojans- Good luck to Coach Darrell Walker, a former NBA player, in finding some O.

jan 8, 2019

 Texas St held of Georgia Southern 73-70 to open league play and hung tight in a 73-69 loss to conference leader Georgia St.

jan13, 2019

 Tre Nottingham and Nijal Pearson scored 16 points apiece and #TXST (14-3, 3-1 Sun Belt) defeated #appst. It may be time to get join the Bobcats' pack.  GST, UTA, ARLR, Troy, and ULL also won yesterday.

jan 18, 2019

Texas St (15-3 4-1), my pre-season  sunbelt -9th team , blew by ARLR LAST NIGHT as Tre Nottingham scored 24 points and Nijal Pearson added 19 . Other winners: UTA, GAST, and Georgia Southern

jan 23, 2019

Texas State (5-1) Nijal Pearson had 29 points and 11 rebounds and TXST went on 30-0 run to beat Ark St 77-64 on Jan 19. Varnado's 3-pointer  with 1.7 seconds on the clock gave Troy the victory over  Georgia State (5-1)
feb 1, 2019
 Zac Cuthbertson had 29 points and Devante Jones scored 25 in Coastal Carolina.'s win over ULM.
Tyrell Johnson scored 20 points in 16 minutes for App St in its 104-77 romp over ULL.

Feb 3

It's getting crowded at the top of the Sunbelt heap. 

Georgia State  (7-2) D'Marcus Simonds scored 29 points in a win over Georgia Southern

Texas State (6-3) #BrianWarren scored  30 points in a 83-77 OT win over UT Arlington(6-3)

 Coastal Carolina (6-3) #ZacCuthbertson scored 24 points in a win over ULL

Feb 9
Good Friday night for the Louisiana schools: ULM beat Georgia Southern and ULL beat Georgia St

Feb 10

Texas St remains tied for first with UTA for first- he!! of a season. NPearson scored 17 points  for TXST in the win over CCU remaining tied with UTA  beat appst.
Feb 16
Both Georgia schools got big Friday night Sunbelt wins:  Malik Benlevi scored  26 points as Georgia St defeated South Alabama 90-81,and Tookie Brown and Isaiah Crawley scored 16 points apiece as GA Southern rolled over South Bama to a 76-51. TXSt 9-3, GA St 9-4, UTA 8-4, GS 8-5

feb 22

TX St fell to ULM(7-6)  which allowed Georgia St , a winner over AppSt (4-9) ,to move into a tie for first with them at 10-4. Tookie Brown had 17 for  Georgia Southern(9-5) in its win over CCU (6-7). UTA(8-6) lost to ULL (7-6)

feb 24

Brian Warren scored  33 points for TXST(11-4) in its OT win over ULM and took sole possession of first place when  Ga St(10-5) lost to Coastal Carolina. Ga Southern (10-5) get 28 points for Tookie Brown in its win over AppSt.

Mar 2

TXST(12-4) hasn't folded  and beat Troy to stay one game ahead of Ga St (10-5), a winner over Ark St thursday night  in the Sunbelt race. UTA(10-6) beat South Bama. GA Southern (11-5) was idle.

March 9

Two intrastate games , GA St/Georgia Southern and UTA/TXSt , will determine the regular season Sunbelt winner. UTA is 11-6, the other three teams are 12-5. TXSt had a bad loss to South Bama last week buthas had a he!! of a surprising season.

 March 10

 Kane Williams scored a career-high 23 points helping Ga Southern beat Ga St to clinch the Sunbelt title because TXST lost to UTA

march 13

Nice second half from South Bama in a rd1 win over Ark St  ULM knocked off App St. Troy and Ark LR didn't qualify, and the top four teams get double byes.

March 15

 South Bama is shaking up the Sunbelt T. Rodrick Sikes made one of two free throws with four seconds left to give USA a 70-69 win over ULL. Michael Ertel had 20 points as Louisiana-Monroe crushed Coastal Carolina 80-50.

March 16

TXST halted South Bama's Cinderella move with 79-67 win while Georgia Southern beat ULM. TXST plays GA St and GA Southern faces UTA today.

March 17

Malik Benlevi tallied 15 points and 10 rebounds to lead Georgia State to a 59-46 win over Texas St who scored only fifteen points in the first half. Brian Warren scored 21 points as Texas-Arlington beat Georgia Southern 67-58 and prevented all Georgia SunbeltT final.

March 26,2019

 I thought he was Georgia St lifer: Coach  Ron Hunter, fresh off a dance loss to Houston on Friday in, took the #Tulane (AAC) opening.

April 1, 2019

#chrisbeard , the Texas Tech HC , is big news these days. It wasn't long ago he had Arkansas -Little Rock fans ecstatic when they beat Purdue in rd1 of the 2016 Dance then fell to Iowa St in rd2

april 7

  #PhilCunningham took #troy to the dance in 2017 and now he's out. Wow!  They hired  Scott Cross, who some success at UTA through the 2017-18 season.
App State hired  Dustin Kerns , who led Presbyterian (Big South) to  solid 20-16 season and a CTI  invitation after a weak 11- 21  record in 2017-18. It's not the greatest resume.

april 15

 Georgia State hired Tennessee assistant Rob Lanier, a longtime assistant for Rick Barnes at Texas and Tennessee, as it's new HC. He was the HC at Sienna (MAAC) from 2001-05.