Week 12 in the O5

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

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

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

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

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

Nov 18, 2023

UTSA 49 USF 21

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

Nov 19, 2023

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

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

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

Appy handed JMU its first loss.

UNLV sits alone atop the MWC at 6-1

Week 10 in the O5

 AAC: While it lasts, an AAC matchup between two former SWC teams. SMU 30 Rice 20. SMU QB

P. Stone (2138 YDS, 19 TD, 5 INT) is having a great season.

CUSA: La Tech will give Liberty a scare in Lynchburg, VA, but not prevail. LIB 24 LaTech 23

MWC: I 'll go with Fresno QB Mikey Keene in a home game. FRES 31 Boise St 27

SunBelt: Both teams have struggled. J. Aguilar QB - APP (2173YDS 20TD 6INT) will do enough at home for win over Marshall.  Appy 21 Marshall 16. It will be televised on NFLN.

I didn't pick the game: Gunnar Watson threw 3 TD passes to Chris Lewis for Troy in a 28-10 win over South Bama. Troy is 4-1 in the SBC

Nov 5, 2023

Rice gave SMU a good game. SMU 36 Rice 31

Q. Cooley RB - LIB (23CAR 179YDS 2TD) in a 56-30 win over LaTech, but wasn't as close as I guessed.

Fresno moves to 4-1 in the MWC with a 37-30 win over the Blueturfers

Rough times for the Herd. Appy 31 Marshall 9.

correct on all 4 picks.

Some wild AAC scores: Tulane could only manage 13 points in a win over ECU. Memphis 59 USF 50. Tigers won but their D is bad.

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.

O5 regular season winds down

 Cincy visits a decent ECU squad and will not cover the 14 point spread but will remain undefeated. The Bearcats D held Mordecai(SMU) in check last week and will slow down Ahlers. CIN 30 ECU 20. Next week Cincy will face Houston, whose only loss this season was to Texas Tech(B12), in the AAC title game.

Zappe (WKU) has tossed 48 TD passes, and Ali has scored 20 rushing TDs for Marshall. I don't think the Herd D will be able to contain Zappe. WKU 31 MAR 23 in a game that decided who plays UTSA in the CUSA title game next week.

I'll take the Gabbert to Sorenson connection to lead Miami (O) to a 27 -25 win over Kent St and a ticket to Detroit to face NIU in the MAC title game.

Air Force, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State have a shot to play in the MWC title game next Saturday. SDST wins and they're in. The Aztecs D will take charge in a 19-16 win over Boise St .

ULL Ragin' Cajuns will play App St in Sun Belt championship game next Saturday. Coastal Carolina's mid-season stumble kept them out of next week's game, but look for McCall to toss a few TD passes in a 31-10 win over South Bama this Friday.

Nov 27, 2021

Cincy took its time getting in gear while ECU played some fired up D early. Cincy 35 ECU 13.

SDST O played the first half against Boise St like they were hungover but found enough caffeine in the second half for a 27-16 win. They better bring more against Utah St in the MWC title game.

Nov 27, 2021  evening

Wells injury was obviously a factor, but that was brutal second half for Marshall who got zapped 53-21 by WKU.   Miami O lost to Kent St in OT 48-47 in a wild one. Gabbert and Sorenson were great for M(O), but Cooper and Williams rushed for close to  to 300 yards for Kent St. McCall and CCU needed OT to beat South Bama 27-21. 4-1 on my picks. 

BTW what happened to UTSA who got clobbered by NTX

Nov 29, 2021

Jax State to hire Rich Rodriguez, ULM OC, as head football coach ahead of 2023 FBS move to the CUSA

Fresno has a HC opening with the departure of Kalen DeBoer to UW(PAC12). Most of his resume is 1aa and NAIA then this:

2017–2018 Fresno State (OC/QB) 2019 Indiana (OC/QB) 2020–2021 Fresno State (HC)

Dec 1, 2021

La Tech hired Texas Tech's interim HC Sonny Cumbie as its next football coach, but Cumbie will coach TT in the bowl game.

O5 conference play in week 7

Sunbelt:  If I had completed this blog earlier in the week, I would 've picked App St to beat ULL and been wrong.    Texas St Bobcats(2-3, 1-0 Sunbelt) 23  Troy Trojans(3-3, 1-1 Sunbelt) 20.Troy has played  better in OOC games but I'm sniffing upset here.

AAC: Cincinnati (5-0, 1-0 AAC)  30  UCF(3-2, 1-1 AAC) 19  Ridder rides on and won't be slowed down by Gus' Knights

CUSA: UTEP (5-1, 2-0 C-USA) 27 Louisiana Tech(2-3, 1-0 C-USA) 20. I'll take UTEP at home despite LA Tech hanging close in its three losses to Miss St, SMU, and NC St

MAC: Kent State(3-3, 2-0 MAC) 30 Western Michigan(4-2, 1-1 MAC) 27. In the QB battle, Crum will have a slightly better game than Eleby and get the W.

MWC: Nevada(4-1, 1-0 MWC) 39  Hawai'i (3-3, 1-1 MWC) 38 . Hawaii  will roll into Reno, NV feeling great after its upset of Fresno St but will lose a nailbiter in aerial duel  in which Strong edges Cordeiro.

Oct 17, 2021

Picks' review: Correct on Cincy, UTEP, and Nevada   Wrong on TX St, WMU

Sunbelt- K. Vidal (25 CAR, 162 YDS, 2 TD) was a big key for Troy plus the Trojans intercepted three of McBride's passes, one a pick 6 in the 4Q.

AAC- Cincy outplayed  UCF in every facet of the game for a 56-21 W

CUSA: Deion Hankins ran for two first-quarter touchdowns for UTEP earned in a 19-3 win

MAC: Eleby's passing and Tyler's rushing(169 yards) were major factors in the WMU's 64-31 blowout of Kent St.

MWC: Big game for Carson Strong NEV(34-54, 395 YDS, 2 TD) in a 34-17 win but quite a stat line Dae Dae Hunter HAW(8 CAR, 174 YDS, 2 TD), too.

I'm going to keep my eye on UL-Monroe of the SunBelt after they hung on to beat Liberty 31-28

Oct 18, 2021

AAC is raiding the CUSA as it moves away from the northeast to the southeast and southwest continues. AAC has plans to invite: Florida Atlantic, Charlotte, North Texas, UTSA, Rice and UAB. Temple remain the most northern AAC city, 

These six teams won't improve the level of hoops play. I like the Charlotte/ECU  potential AAC rivalry.

Oct 23, 2021

 Sunbelt claims they have USM for 2023 and they're coming for Marshall, ODU, and James Madison (1AA)

Heading toward O5 conference tourney time in 2021

 Central Michigan( 7-15, 3-12 MAC) got 26 points from Caleb Huffman scored  and  then Meikkel Murray made a go-ahead put-back with 2.3 seconds left  for the 81-79 upset of Toledo(19-7, 14-4 MAC)

Buffalo(13-7, 11-5 MAC) edged Akron(14-7, 12-6 MAC) 80-78

It's looking like Memphis may be the team who could upend Houston and Wichita St in the AAC tourney. Memphis (15-6, 11-3 AAC ) defeated South Florida(8-11, 4-9 AAC) 73-52 for its sixth straight winand they'll face Houston on Sunday in the final regular season game.

March 4

Trey Wade scored a career-high 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting for Wichita State in a 78-70 AAC win over Tulane 78-70. That's 6 straight Ws for the Shockers.

In the MWC SDST got by UNLV in a so-so performance, while Colorado St  defeated  UNM and is the hottest MWC team heading into the conference tournament.

March 5

UTEP(12-11, 8-8 CUSA) accepted a call to play a game at # 13 Kansas(B12) and built an early 15 point lead before crumbling in the final 12  minutes of the game in a 67-62 loss. Bryson Williams led the Miners with 23 points and 13 rebounds. 

FAU crushed MTSU 80-50.

March 9

Michael Almonacy scored a career-high 32 points with six 3-pointers for App St in its 80-73 upset of Georgia State  to win the Sun Belt Conference championship and return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000. The Mountaineers were in the Southern Conference and coached by Buzz Petersen during the 1999/2000 season.

March 12, 2021

MWCT: Nevada popped Boise St bubble hopes and SDST barely survived Wyoming .

MACT:  Top seeds move forward: Akron, Buffalo, Ohio, and Toldeo

AACT-  Tulane got by Tulsa, and I bet their HC, Ron Hunter, thinks he can pull off one of those miracles  that his GA St squads pulled off in the SunBeltT for years.

mARCH  14, 2021

Cincy edged Wichita St  and if they beat Houston in  AACT, a bubble team possibly SMU will feel the pain. 

Jason Preston scored 22 points for Ohio in a 84-69 victory  over Buffalo, which was trying for a record third straight MAC title.

North Texas beat WKU 61-57 in overtime on Saturday night to win the CUSAT title game and earned its first Dance ticket since winning the Sun Belt tournament in 2010.

San Diego State beat Utah St 68-57 victory  to win the MWC title and secure the league's Dance ticket.

march 15,2021

Belmont, Furman,  and two CUSA teams, Marshall and UAB, are listed as replacement teams for the NIT.

March 18 2021

 NIT: Hollingsworth (21 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST)led Western Kentucky(CUSA) to a 67-63 win over St Marys while Toledo(MAC) lost to Richmond

March 21, 2021

NIT: La Tech does the CUSA right with a win over OL Miss. Buffalo (MAC) lost to Colorado St (MWC) and Memphis (AAC) beat Dayton.

March 23

NIT down to 8 teams.  Four matchups on 3/25 including  two CUSA teams LAtech vs WKU.  Thde only game w/o an O5 team is Richmond(A10) /Miss St(SEC). Colorado St(MWC) faces NC St(ACC) and Memphis(AAC) plays BoiseSt (MWC).

I was bit surprised to see the CBIT is going on in Florida and Coastal Carolina(SunBelt) plays Stetson today.

March 25,2021

Darryl Polk Jr. had 19 points and five steals for  Pepperdine in an 84-61 romp over Coastal Carolina in the CBI final.. Pepperdine finished fourth in the WCC, which Gonzaga ruled.

March 26, 2021

NIT down to four teams: In a battle of CUSA teams Kalob Ledoux scored 20 points, making 6 of 7 3-pointers for Louisiana Tech in a 72-65 win over Western Kentucky 72-65  and will play Mississippi State, a winner over Richmond, on Saturday in Texas.

Colorado ST (MWC) got by NC St and will play Memphis(AAC), a winner over Boise St(MWC).

March 28, 2021

The NIT final is set, and it will be Memphis(AAC) vs Mississippi State(SEC) on Sunday for the title. Memphis rolled Colorado State(MWC) 90-67 and  Mississippi State rolled  Louisiana Tech(CUSA) 84-62.   Ben Howland has a decent stint at Miss St since 2015(116–81 )(.589)

La Tech will face CSU in a matchup for third place.

March 29 , 2021

It wasn't a blowout but Memphis  was in control most of the game in a 77-64 win over Miss St  for the NIT title. Boogie Ellis MEM - G (23 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST)

La Tech  defeated  Col St 76-74 for 3rd place  on a buzzer beater by Kenneth Lofton Jr. LT - F(27 PTS, 13 REB, 3 AST)

April 1, 2021

Coaching news, no foolin: MAC:Akron Zips extend head coach John Groce through 2026 season. He's had more success in the MAC with Ohio and Akron, then the seesaw years at Illinois(Big 10). Ariz St assistant Rashon Burno is on his way to NIU

MWC news: New Mexico hired Richard Pittino quickly after Minnesota fired him, but I don't see it as a good fit. UNLV promoted Kevin Kruger, Lon's son, to HC.

April 7, 2021

This happens from time to time. UTEP(CUSA) head coach Rodney Terry is stepping down and will join Beard's staff at TX. He was a Texas assistant under former head coach Rick Barnes from 2002–11.

April 8, 2021

San Jose State(MWC) replaced Jean Prioleau with  Tim Miles who had some success  at Nebraska(2012-19), a hard gig.

In the MAC Central Michigan fired Keno Davis and Eastern Michigan fired Rob Murphy .

April 13, 2021

E. Michigan(MAC) hired Stan Heath as its new men's basketball coach.

He's an an EMU alum and has previously the coach at Kent State, leading that program to the Elite Eight in 2002. He also guided Arkansas to the NCAA tournament in 2006 and 2007. And did the same at USF in 2012 when they were in the Big East.

April 15, 2021

For years I saw a concrete slab with the Marshall Thundering Herd logo on it standing  in the side yard of a house I'd walk by every two weeks, then a few months ago it was gone. Today, it was back up but in the front yard.  It looks something like this but with more color  and a bull. 

Sunbelt shines ,CUSA hopes: week ending October 17

 I missed that the CCU/ULL Sunbelt was last night  and it was quite a battle. McCall to Heligh connection was key  for Coastal Carolina(4-0, 2-0 Sun Belt) in a 30-27 win over ULL(3-1, 2-1 Sun Belt).

TxSt started out the season playing exciting , aggressive football, but they've faded quickly. It won't get much better in this week's visit to South Alabama .  J. Tolbert(15 REC, 327 YDS, 3 TD) will have a big game for  USA in a 30-20 home victory over TX St.

Georgia Southern found an opponent in UMass who reversed it's early decision to cancel  it's 2020 season and will now  be a fill-in for teams who need to fill  their schedules. Unless the Minutemen have another Andy Isabella, I don't think they'll do well  at Georgia Southern. GS 42 UMass 16.

Can Knox and the #herd survive the passing of La Tech QB, Luke Anthony who has tossed ten 10 passes this season. Home field may be just enough for La Tech to pull out a close 24 21 win over Marshall U. 

Oct 16

Tucker Gregg GAST ( 14 CAR, 142 YDS, 1 TD)- He!! of night in a 59-52 loss to Ark St.

Oct 18

3-0 for the weekend. TX St hung tough for most of the game but South Bama had enough in the tank for a 30-20 win, the score I predicted.. Kennedy III and Werts were far too much for Umass to handle. GA Southern 41 UMass 0.  When  the #herd D stopped La Tech at the goal line on the final play of the 2nd quarter to maintain a 14-3 lead,  I thought they'd win.  Wells and Knox had good games  for Marshall in a 35-17 win.

A shout out to undefeated Liberty for a 38-21 win over Syracuse of the ACC. Do you think Auburn misses Willis, the Liberty QB?

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.

CUSA 2019.20 Hoops predictions

1) Western Kentucky are shaping up well for the CUSA conference play. Hollignsworth led the way with 22 points in a nice win over Arkansas(SEC) yesterday
2) North Texas Mean Green hit 19 treys in win over Ark-LR. Mohamed and Draper are over 50% in 3P%
3) Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Harper-Baker has played well. Eagles will be hanging around the CUSA  top 4
4) Charlotte 49ers upset Wake Forest. Freshman guard Jahmir Young led the way with 24 points.
5) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs: Amorie Archibald and  the Bulldogs are going to be in the hunt. Nice win over Miss St.
6) Florida International Golden Panthers: Andrews will be top scorer
7) Marshall Thundering Herd played FLA tough in a loss on Xmas eve but have looked ragged in most games. Kinsey and West are averaging 14 PPG
8) Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders has had a rough start. They'll need a ton of  treys from Antonio Green the rest of the season.
9) UAB Blazers played UK, Memphis, and Texas tough in losses. They'll need more points from Jalen Benjamin in CUSA play
10) UTEP Miners: Bryson Williams has played well and they look a little better than last season
11) Old Dominion Monarchs-Xavier Green will need to get to a 20 PPG for them to get in to the middle of the CUSA pack. Stith graduated.
12)  UTSA Roadrunners- J Jackson will need to hit a lot of treys again this season
13)  Florida Atlantic Owls- Scoring has been low. Maybe Cornelius Taylor will get into gear
14) Rice Owls will be hanging on a cellar limb again. TJ Atwood  score about 20 PPG

Jan 10, 2020

#usm (0-3) stands out as my worst prediction so far . Eagles lost 76-64 to UTEP (1-2) last night. Iran Bennett (17 points , 11 rebounds) led Marshall(2-1) to a 79-75 win over MTSU(0-3). Tavin Lovan scored 16 points for UAB(1-2) in a 72-62 mild upset of WKU(2-1).
UTSA (1-2) blew out La Tech (2-1). Fau(3-0) beat Rice(0-3) 81-76 NTX(2-1) blew out FIU(2-1) 74-56.

Jan 17

It's getting crowded at the top. Charlotte (4-0) edged Marshall 77-75. Taevion Kinsey had  29 points and 11 rebounds for the losing Herd.  FAU(4-1) beat MTSU. La Tech (4-1) beat Rice. WKU (4-1) beat ODU. NTX(4-1) beat USM.

Jan 21

In rare Monday night CUSA action Charlotte(4-2) fell to ODU(3-3) led by  Jason Wade's 23 points, and Javion Hamlet  scored 24 for NTX in a win over Rice, That's NTX sixth win in a row  and puts them alone atop the CUSA with half game lead on WKU(5-1)

Jan 24

I thought MTSU, a loser to La Tech(5-2) last night, would struggle but  not still be winless in CUSA play.   NTX is up to 7-1 with its 98-73 blowout of UTSA(3-4).  #JamirYoung scored 24 points for Charlotte(5-2) in its 70-68 win over FAU. .Eric Lovett hit six treys  for FIU(5-2) in its narrow win over ODU.

Jan 28

I'm not doing too bad on my pre-season top 4 in the CUSA.
1)NTX(8-1) I picked them second. 2)WKU (7-1) I had them first.  La Tech and Charlotte are tied for 3rd at 6-2. I had Charlotte fourth and La Tech fifth. NTX has won eight in a row and it's last defeat was to WKU who has a five game winning streak and it's last loss was to UAB.

Jan 31-

LaTech got a big win over Charlotte while WKU lost  to FIU and the #herd (4-5) is hanging around after a win over FIU . NTX 8-1, WKU and La Tech are 7-2. Charlotte is 8-3

Feb 9

Hamlet and Gibson each scored 13 points for NTX(10-2) in a win over UAB   that kept them in first place, one game ahead of WKU(9-3) a winner over USM.

 Feb 16

The top three teams NTX(12-2) , WKU(11-3), and La Tech(10-4) won yesterday. I was stunned to see Rice(5-9) beat Charlotte(8-6) and took note of Marshall(7-7) reaching .500 with it's win over UTEP(4-10).

feb 24

 The top three teams NTX(12-3) , WKU(11-4), and La Tech(11-4). La Tech's narrow win over NTX tightened up the standings and #wku  's loss to Charlotte  added to the tension. WKU faces La Tech on Thursday.

feb 28

Taveion Hollingsworth  (43 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST) led WKU to a big win over LATech to keep them within a game of NTX who beat FIU. NTX(13-3) , WKU(12-4), and La Tech(11-5).

March 2

 Javion Hamlet (25 PTS, 4 REB, 9 AST) led NTX(14-3) to a win over WKU(12-5) and the CUSA regular season crown with one CUSA game left.

March 8

 Mikel Beyers  (20 PTS, 5 REB, 1 BLK) helped Marshall(16-15, 10-8 C-USA) to an 82-77 win over UTSA while Charlotte(10-8) lost to LA Tech which leaves  them tied with Marshall for fourth in the CUSA after NTX,WKU, and La tech. Top four get a round 1 bye.

March 12

 Taevion Kinsey had 26 points as sixth-seeded Marshall beat No. 11 seed UTEP 86-78 in the first round of the CUSAT and will play third-seeded Louisiana Tech on Thursday. FAU beat ODU. UAB beat UTSA. FIU beat Rice
 

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 8 Five- pack -Other5

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

Oct 19

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

 oct 20

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

Friday the 20th football slate

FIU at La Tech- The Panthers were crushed by Tulane and lost to WKU and will lose 22-16 to La Tech. I expect J"Mar  Smith, the Bulldogs QB, to have a good game.
Utah at USC- Doubts that Helton can lead the Trojans back to their glory years are firmly entrenched. Trojans D will wilter against the Utes QB/RB combo of Huntley/Moss. Utah 34 USC 23
AFA at Boise St I'm tempted to roll with Air Force, who had a nice win against Colorado last week, but Bachmeier , the Broncos QB, will do enough for his team to win 26 24.

Sept 21 wrapup- 

 J'Mar Smith was outgunned by Panthers QB James Morgan, but Justin Henderson rushed for 141yards and 3 Tds in LA Tech's 43-31 win.
 Pittman Jr had a hell of a game for USC 10 rec , 232 yards, 1td. Backup QB Fink sparkled of the bench . USC D held Moss to 20 yards rushing in a 30-23 win.
Bachmeier tossed for 263 yards and 2 TDs in a 30-19  Broncos' win over AFA

CUSA 2018/19 Hoop predictions

1) Western Kentucky Hilltoppers, with scorers like Jared Savage, may win the CUSA
2) North Texas Mean Green- A couple of dudes named Simmons  and a CBI 2018 title. Mean Green will be in the CUSA top five.
3) Marshall Thundering Herd- I was going to take the #herd higher, but they crumbled against the Terps last night. I suspect  #jonelmore will get "hawked" until the Herd adjust.
4) Charlotte 49ers upset OK ST. I'm bumping them up.
5) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs: Amorie Archibald and  the Bulldogs are going to be in the hunt.
6) Florida International Golden Panthers: Andrews and beard are their top scorers.
7) Southern Miss Golden Eagles. T Griffin and crew  continue the slow climb out of the CUSA cellar
8) Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders have lost to some good teams, UVA and Stanford, in pre-conference play and should finish in the middle of the CUSA.
9) Florida Atlantic Owls- Seabrees is a freshman to watch
10) UAB Blazers- Zack Bryant has been solid, so far
11) Old Dominion Monarchs- BJ Stith will need a lot of 20+ nights
12) UTEP Miners got a way to go to see the light
13) UTSA Roadrunners- J Jackson will need to hit a lot of treys
14) Rice Owls will be hanging on a cellar limb

Dec 6, 2018: Checking in the CUSA OOC play last night: Taveion Hollingsworth 
WKU (24 PTS, 1 REB, 4 AST) lost 84-78 to  Missouri St (MVC)led by 
Tulio Da Silva (18 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST). Ryan Woolridge's triple-double led North Texas past Indiana St (MVC) 80-69. CJ Burks scored 26 but that wasn't enough for the #herd in a 93-82 loss to Duquesne (A-10). MTSU got crushed by Vandy (SEC). FAU edged Mercer (Southern).

dec 16, 2018

BJ Stith (18pts, 10reb)  led ODU to a big  road win over Cuse. Maybe I under-estimated the Monarchs? #JonElmore totaled 19 points, eight rebounds and six assists in the Marshall road  75-74  win at Akron . #herd was0-2 against MAC schools with recent loss to Ohio and Toledo.
dec 30
 Hollingsworth (22 PTS, 4 REB, 6 AST)  and Banton with a triple double led #wku (7-6) over Wisconsin (B10) 83-76. It's been a strange first two months for the Hilltoppers including losses to Missouri St and Indiana St

jan 4, 2019

#usm hoops had a rough #Cusa start in a loss to Rice.  #herd get 20 points and 10 assists  from  Elmore in  a win over ODU.  NTX beat La Tech and is now 2-0 in the CUSA and 14-1 overall. #wku rolled charlotte. UTSA beat UTEP. UAB beat FAU. Beard and Jacob combined to hit eleven treys and score 48 points in #FIU 's win over MTSU.

jan 6, 2019

 Wow, Rice won again- this time over LA Tech. Herd squeak by Charlotte thanks to Burks. #wku fell to ODU. FAU over mtsu, ntx edged usm, uab over fiu. And this is some goofy scheduling: #JhivvanJackson scored 24 points to help UTSA beat UTEP for the second time in three days.

jan 11, 2019

NTX beat Utep moving to 4-0 in CUSA play. Rice cooled off in a loss to UTSA. MTSU  stumbled further in a loss to USM. FAU, FIU, and LA tech beat respectively, ODU, Charlotte, and UAB. 
jan13: How about the #herd knocking off #wku  70-69. Nice night from Hollingsworth ( 20 PTS, 4 REB, 1 STL). Also NTX lost to UTSA) ???

jan 18, 2019

Burks and Elmore led the #herd by FAU 96-84  last night, and MTSU edged UTSA for it's first CUSA win. Other winners: ODU, uab, fiu, and usm.
JAN 20 , 2019

Herd 105 FIU 97 Burks scored 30. WKU got back in the win column 72-66 over FAU. NTX survived Rice 76-75

jan 22, 2019 

Josh Anderson(25 PTS, 3 REB, 1 AST) was a big factor in WKU 68-59 victory over the #herd. B.J. Stith scored 22 points and Ahmad Caver added 20 in ODU's second half comeback win over Charlotte.

 Jan 25, 2019 

A lot of shake up in the standings in a week . Last night WKU survived a big second half from USM. UAB nipped NTX. ODU struggled but won over UTEP, and the #herd  fell to La Tech despite a big effort from Burks. ODU (6-2). At 5-2 - Marshall, UAB, UTSA, NTX.. At 4-3: WKU , FIU

jan 27, 2019

 I did a double take when I saw the #herd score USM 101 MU 51 scroll across the bottom of my TV screen.The 31-6 USM run at the start was a killer . UAB, UTSA, NTX are tied for first after win over respectively Rice,  ODU,  & MTSU
feb 1
 What a night for Elmore(44 PTS, 7 REB, 2 AST) in the #herd win over UTEP. Leonard Harper-Baker scored a career-high 21 points on 10-of-11 shooting for streaking USM in a win over FIU. FAU, ODU, and WKU defeated respectively LT, NTX, and UTSA.

feb 10

Great Saturday for the Texas  CUSA schools. UTSA(9-3), UTEP, and Rice beat respectively, Fau, Marshall and FIU. USM, WKU (8-4), Charlotte, and ODU(10-3) were the other winners. 

feb 15

Jared Savage tallied 16 points and 11 rebounds for #wku  (9-4) in a win over MTSU.
Cortez Edwards had 24 points, nine rebounds and five assists for USM(8-5) in its win over UTSA(9-4). NTX (8-5) lost to FAU.  #herd lost to UAB.

feb17

wku(9-5)  and utsa(9-5) losses to respectively La Tech and UAB helped the hot  ODU(11-3) and USM(9-5) squads who won last night. #herd beat mtsu 98-93 in the no D special last night.

  Feb 24

while the #herd (7-7) waits to play, ODU(12-3) beat wku (9-6) and and UAB(9-6) beat USM). NTX fell to 8-7 with a loss to La Tech (8-7)

March 1

 Elmore had 34 in the #herd win over La Tech. I caught the end of the #odu hanging on at UTSA in a fierce final four minutes to clinch the regular season title. WKU beat UAB.  ODU, WKU, UTSA, and USM are getting the rd1 byes at this moment.

March 4

 C.J. Burks scored 21 points in Marshall's 85-82 win over NTX and has a slim chance to get a rd1 bye . WKU beat USM to take a half game lead over UTSA, a winner over UAB,  for second  place.

Old Dominion	13-3
Western Kentucky	11-6
UTSA	10-6
Florida International	9-7
Southern Miss	9-7
Marshall	9-7

March 7

Another great night for Burks(21 points) in the #herd win over FIU. USM beat ODU while WKU lost to UTSA who got 29 points from J.Jackson. After ODU(13-4) UTSA is 11-6 and a win guarantees them a rd1 bye. USM and Marshall are 10-7 with a game to go.WKU finished at 11-7. FIU and UAB are 9-8.

march 10

USM beat UTSA and Marshall beat FAU moving to 11-7 creating a four way tie with WKU and UTSA for the three remaining byes after ODU (13-5). I'm not sure how this shakes out . Is it pod play?

march 14

Big game for Elmore (32 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST) in the #herd 82-65 win over Rice. La Tech in a squeaker over FAU.NTX beat FIU and UAB handled MTSU.

March 15

 ODU needed a last second trey from Ahmad Carver's  to eke out a 57-56 win over La Tech. Elmore had another solid game for Marshall but they fell to USM. UAB beat UTSA and WKU beat NTX.

March 17

#xaviergreen  scored 14 of his 16 points in the second half to lead ODU to a 62-56 victory over #wku in the CUSAT, and will likely be the only CUSA team at the Dance. My pre-season rating of  Old Dominion finishing 11th in the CUSA was pretty bad.

March 21

 USM lost to Longwood and UAB fell to Brown in CBI action.

March 22

ODU only scored 19 in the first half and lost to Purdue 61-48 at the Dance.

April 5

I've been remiss in my #CUSA coverage. #herd got (28 PTS, 7 REB, 6 AST) from  C.J. Burks to win the #CIT . Elmore added  17 points and 6 rebounds for Marshall in the 90-70 victory over Green Bay (Horizon Conference).

april 14

#docsadler , stepped down as USM HC after a 20-13 season and will become an assistant for Hoiberg at Nebraska

june 25

 Ryan Woolridge, a grad transfer from #NorthTexas, announced he will play his final season of eligibility for #gonzaga.  He was injured all of last season.

CUSA 2018 football predictions

EAST
Florida Atlantic- Kiffin  is looking for a Power 5 job ,and  former Nole  De Andre Johnson may be a his key.
Marshall's D held opponent under 20 PPG and returns nine starters  but #herd fans can only hope Doc has a cures for the O's woes.
Middle Tennessee: All rest on QB Stocksill if they can run with the big dogs in the East.
Florida Intl: Butch Davis has a lot of holes to fill, but the Panthers will be a tough foe  by the middle of October.
Old Dominion Monarchs- Wilder is a decent HC, but I'm not sold on the Monarchs' talent.
Charlotte has eleven D starters returning.
Western Kentucky- Year 2 w/o Coach Brohm and more holes to fill.
WEST

UAB's solid QB Erdely and a stellar rushing attack will lead the Blazers to the West title.
Louisiana Tech has a solid D and big hopes for QB J'Mar Smith.
North Texas - Nice job in 2017 by Fine and the Mean Green lads, but you can bet the West will exploit NT's weak O-Line
UT San Antonio: Josiah Tauaefa returns to the D and the Roadrunners need him
Southern Mississippi has great talent but keeps getting stuck when trying to turn the corner
UTEP Miners' Rebuild continues with new HC Dimel.
Rice : Good luck new HC Bloomgren!

8/17/18

#USM senior QB #KwadraGriggs, who started seven games last season, was suspended indefinitely  Saturday for a "student conduct matter." It appears transfer Jack Abraham will get the  starting job.

8/23/18

#WKU will host Cincinnati on 9/20/25 and visit them  on 9/26/26. They've never matched up on the field espite being  about three hours apart.

8/27/2018

Going to be a long season for #rice . Jack Fox kicked a 23-yard field goal as time expired to help Rice beat Prairie View

9/15/18

Glimmer of hope for the Cusa. #northtexas qb Fine led the Mean Green to romp over Arkansas.

9/26/18

Focusing on CUSA conference games. Love the #herd behind I Green at #wku. NTEX will be Fine hosting LA Tech. UAB handles Charlotte. #FAU will pull it out at end at #MTSU. UTSA gets by UTEP.
I don't trust ODU coming off the VA Tech win against ECU (AAC)

CUSA 2017-18 hoop predictions

CUSA has no one in the current top 25 and will likely need a miracle to get two teams in the Dance.
East
Middle Tenn-  King 23 PPG 6 rbg
Marshall- Elmore returned and looks sharp with 28PPG and 92 FT%
Old Dominion- Stith and Carver lead in stats on a team that has no current star.
Charlotte- Davis 15 ppg 6 rbg 6 apg
W Kentucky- Beardsen 17.5 ppg 3 APG
Fla Atlantic- Troutman 13 PPG 62.5 ft%
Florida Intl- Lockett 16.9 ppg 9 rbg
West

UAB- Cokely  is leading the Blazers with 19 ppg & 11.7 rbg3 

LA Tech- Harris isaveraging 25 ppg and Jean has a 57.1 - 3p%

TX El Paso- Off to a slow start . Frazier  14 PPG 

S Mississippi -Griffin leads in nearly every stat category

North Texas- Woolridge 17 ppg  2.3apg

TX-San Ant- Jackson is the man from three point land

Rice- Cashaw 17.3 PPg 8.3 rbg
dec 23: How about the #herd (9-4) hanging with Xavier before falling 81-77. Also noticed that #jonelmore passed #halgrier on the Marshall  history scoring list in the win over EKU.
Jan 12: #mtsu and #wku are 4-0 in CUSA play.  C.J. Burks scored a career-high 33 points on 12-of-19 shooting helping the #herd recover from big loss to #wku with a win over Charlotte.
Jan 21: #herd  beat #mtsu and #uab this week.. MTSU recovered from that loss with a win over  #wku yesterday. #odu led by #AhmadCaver (17 PTS, 7 REB, 4 AST) beat  #FAU and moved into a tie for first with WKU and MTSU.
Jan 28: #herd run over late by #wku (7-1).#brandonwaters (17 pts 12 reb) led #mtsu (8-1) to an easy win UTEP. #utsa hit 15 treys in a win over UAB. Is the NTX  Mean Green revving up with wins over FAU and FIU.
Feb 11: Elmore and Paneva had solid night  in the #herd win FAU.  #Nickyoung 32points helped MTSU get by NTU. #ODU and #wku won to keep the race tight.  UTSA 63 UTEP 59 #deonlyle hit five of eight trays  to keep a surprising #utsa in  the picture.
Middle Tennessee 12-1
Old Dominion         10-2
Western Kentucky 10-2
Marshall                  8-4
North Texas          7-5
UT San Antonio 7-5
feb 18 CUSA update- Wow, I had to look at this score #odu 82 #utep 33 a few times.
#herd get a big win at the buzzer over #ntx . UTSA needed OT to beat Charlotte. #wku and #mtsu. Top 4
remains the same. UTSA is in fifth now.
feb25 update : How about the #herd Offense scoring 103 in a win over Charlotte. led by #jonelmore 's
38 points which includednine treys. CUSA leaders #MTSU and #wku won. #utsa led by #donlyle beat
La Tech to remain one game behind Marshall for the 4th seed and rd1 CUSAT bye
march 4- Huge #herd upset of #mtsu gets them the final bye slot. WTH happened to #wku ?
#uab led by Nate Darling rolled WKU 101-73. UAB or USTA , fifth and sixth in the CUSA are in gear and
may pull some CUSAT upsets. MTSU, ODU, WKU, & Marshall have rd1 byes.
march 16: It didn't take long. Kermit Davis is leaving #mtsu for Ol Miss (SEC) job. #Buffalo surprised
me . I liked them all season but didn't think Zona was going to toss in the towel in the second half.
SCORING LEADERS W. Clark BUFF 25 PTS, 4 REB, 7 AST
march 19 update : Ajdin Penava MRSH - F (18 PTS, 6 REB, 6 AST) had a decent game but Jevon Carter WVU - G (28 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST)and his teammates were too much in the
intrastate matchup. #wvu 94 #herd 71

march 24 update: Western Kentucky is in the NIT F4. #WKU freshman Taveion Hollingsworth scored  30 points (4 of 7 treys, and 8 of 9 free throws)  in a 92-84 win @ #OKst and faces #utah next.  Penn St/ Miss St is the other semi. In the CIT, #Utsa was outscored 48-32 in the second  half and lost to Sam Houston St . 76-69

march 28 update: Justin Johnson's (24 PTS, 11 REB, 2 AST) solid game was not enough for #wku in the 69-64 loss to Utah , who will face Penn St in #NIT final.
March 31 update: I tuned in to the end of the #northtexas 88-77 win over #usf in the CBI. NTX hit their free throws down the stretch.Roosevelt Smart scored 25 points and made all 14 of his free throws.   The champion is determined  by the a two out of three series.
NTX #CBI  results

• 
  @ SDAK
  W

  90-77
• 
  vs MER
  W

  96-67
• 
  vs JVST
  W

  90-68
• 
  @ SF
  L

  72-62
• 
  vs SF
  W

  69-55
• 
  vs SF
  W

  88-77

REGULAR SEASON

May 30, 2018 : I'm not digging the #Cusa hoop scheduling change in which the top five teams in the league will play each other for the final four conference games, as will teams seeded 6-10 and teams seeded 11-14. Yes, I think the #cusa get shorted on dance tickets, but gearing everything toward the RPI metrics and having some teams face each other three times in the reular season  borders on bizarre.
June 22, 2018
#mitchell robinson of #wku went to the Knicks in rd2. Only #cusa player taken.
July 1, 2018
#UAB- #ChrisCokely averaged 17 pts, 9 reb in his senior and the #charlottehornets signed him as a UFA

CUSA Hoops 2016/17

CUSA Prognostication
1. UAB- The Blazers have four starters including William Lee back from a 26-7 NIT team but let's see how new coach Ehsan handles them.

Read more here: http://www.charlotteobserver.com/sports/college/article112870173.html#storylink=cpy

2. WKU- New coach Stansbury will make the most of a  Pancake Thomas anchoring a six deep rotation.
3. Marshall- Small ball rules and Dantoni's tempo is blazing . Maybe a sprinkle of D and a great season from Ryan Taylor will do the trick.
4. La Tech- Erik McCree is a star on the rise on a solid squad
5. MTSU- Potts and Upshaw Jr return  from the squad thnat upset Sparty in the 2016 Dance
6. North Texas- Jeremy Combs are Mean Green crew are solid but will Coach Benford get consistent play.
7. Charlotte- Look for Coach Price to accelerate freshman Quentin Jackson  to starting shooting guard
8. Rice- I made the mistakes of over-rating Rice football so I'm leary about Owls' hoops.  Props to #Marcusevans, but I ain't buying a CUSA title run
9. UTEP- Six freshmen won't make a dent quick enough.
10  FAU- Coach Curry recruited three freshman, two transfers, and three JUCOs which should propel the Owls to the 8 spot.
11. ODU will have a tough time replacing scorer Trey Freeman
12. UTSA: New coach Steve Henson will rely big man, Lucas O'Brien to keep the Roadrunners from stumbling to the basement.
13. Southern Miss.- Coach Doc Sadler has four returning starters and are ceeeping upward from sanctions -era.
14 FIU- No incoming freshmen and rolling the dice on transfers. I see basement but they could land around 7th

May 24,2017

Post season bashing of the CUSA bugs me. JUCO reference to the CUSA and more:
Found this cheap comment about the Rice hoops which hasn't made the NCAA Dance since 1970. An anonymous coach texted: "They have Ivy League admission standards in a JUCO league. MTSU, WKU, UAB, UTEP all can get ANYONE in school.

CUSA football 2016

CUSA is  the most discussed conference at the Other  5 community. USM is getting a lot of hype this 2016 pre-season, but I'm not jumping that train. Instead I'll get on the Rice Owls limb.
EAST
1) Marshall- All signs point to a great Herd  D led by Durant. Can Litton continue to light up the O?
2) FIU: QB McGough will step up in his sophomore season.
3) W. Kentucky: Replacing Doughty will slow down the Hilltoppers in Septemebr
4) FAU: Trey Hendrickson, Owls DE, will get his fair share of sacks.
5) M. Tenn. St. Injury bug has hit the WR corps.
6) Old Dominion: Looks for some strong play from Monarchs LB, T.J. Ricks.
7) Charlotte:Kevin Olsen may be the QB answer

WEST
1) Rice- Stehling will play well enough at QB and the Owls develop a rushing game and surprise in the West.
2) Southern Miss- Coach Monkton's exit will hurt , but QB Mullens will keep them in contention.
3) Louisiana Tech: Trent Taylor and Carlos Henderson. are a nice WR/TE tandem, but QB situation is shaky
4) North Texas :  Alec Morris, Bama QB transfer,  could provide some sparks.
5) UTEP : Shaky QB situation
6) UTSA-Post Coker era starts, Cavill, a transfer WR should be fun to watch.

9/2/16

My Rice  limb cracked quickly -WKU crushed them last night. FIU collapsed after the first half in a loss to Indiana/

2016 Week 1 can O5 take down Big 5 teams

   SunBelt: Appalachian St  went to and won it's first bowl game last season and the Mountaineers march into Knoxville as a 22 point dog. Maybe Marcus Cox, a tailback on the Doak Walker watchlist, can keep them in the game I don't see them  duplicating their  2007 upset of Michigan @ Ann Arbor.
MWC: Hawaii  host Cal in August then travels to Michigan where the Rainbows will be lucky to score ten points. Fresno St may put a scare in the slow starting Nebraska Cornhuskers
MAC: Bowling Green Linebacker Austin Valdez may need to make ten tackles in the first half half to keep the Falcons competitive  @ Ohio St. Miami (Ohio) decent D-Line will keep them in the game until the third quarter @ Iowa. Western Michigan won the MAC West last season  and has Corey Davis a great WR. Look for a  mild upset @Northwestern.
AAC: Houston hosts Oklahoma- now this could be a good game between two pre-season top 10 teams. Two transfers , Duke Catalon, an RB from Texas, and Ra'Shaad Samples, WR from OK St, could help the Cougars pull off an upset of the Sooners.
CUSA- Louisiana Tech will struggle against the rising Arkansas Razorbacks. I'm curious if Southern Miss has improved enough to give Kentucky a hard time. Charlotte will be overwhelmed at Louisville

8/7/16

 Louisiana Tech starting quarterback Ryan Higgins was arrested early Friday in Ruston on a DWI charge. If Holtz suspends him for Game 1 , Arkansas  should cruise.