Week 7 Other five Conference time

CUSA: It appeared that  ODU was turning the corner after hanging tough in a loss to UVA but then they lost to ECU and WKU. Marshall will increase Knox's workload and edge  the visiting Monarchs 17-12
MAC: MIAMI(ohio) is coming off a solid conference win over Buffalo and will need a big game from rushing game from Jaylon Bester to win at WMU, led by the big arm of J. Wassink. Miami(O) 31 WMU 30.
Sunbelt: ULL hosts App St in a battle of two teams off to nice starts. Ragas/Mitchell lead a potent rushing attack for the home team, but I'll roll with Zac Thomas  to have a300 yard passing game in an App St 34 -32 win.
MWC: I'm taking Josh Love and the Spartans  to get a home win over the sluggish Wolfpack. San Jose St  29 NEV 22
AAC: Navy looks like they're back in  contention and Tulsa has been erratic. Tulsa will feed Brooks more carries and win a close one at home 23 20
Oct 9-  San Diego St football coach Rocky Long opinion on  JJ Justice, the son of former MLB star David Justice,  placing his name into the NCAA transfer database.  "He’s got a full-ride scholarship, he doesn’t have to play for it and he gets to finish out the semester."
Oct10- I was correct on App St but it was a low scoring game. Zac Thomas had two rushing TDs in the 17-7 App St win over ULL. 

Oct 13

I was way off on Tulsa, wrong on  Miami O  and San Jose St, and spared from going 0fer for saturday by  Marshall.
 Tulsa couldn't contain M.Perry, Navy's QB, who rushed for 218 yards and three TDs in a 45-17 win over Tulsa.
Gabbert threw three INTs, including a pick 6, in the Miami O 30-16 loss to W.Michigan. Bellamy rushed for two TDs and Wassink tossed two TDs for the Broncos.
Love threw for 405 yards but the his Trojan teammates rushed for only 34 yards in a 40-37 last play, Talton's 40 yard FG, loss to Nevada who were led by Taua's 160 rushing yards.
Knox rushed for 104 yards and a TD in the #herd's win over  ODU.
Here's what caught my eye in some other games. W.Kentucky(CUSA) held Army to 8 points in a 17-8 win..The MWC is definitely a rocky road. Wyoming got tripped by SDST, FresnoSt couldn't handle Air Force, and UNLV pounded Vandy of the SEC.
NIU got a game ending field goal in a wild 4th quarter to edge Ohio 40-37 in MAC play.
oCT14:   MWC geography and caliber of opponents fits AFA. ODD COMMENT from Air Force coach,Troy Calhoun,  who questions Air Force’s placement in the Mountain West: “I don’t know if it’s really a match”

Week 6 heavy AAC and one MAC

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

oct 5

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

oct 6

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

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 .

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

Week 4 Other5 OOC matchups

Wyoming(MWC) @ Tulsa(AAC) Two solid RBs ,Brooks of Tulsa and T.Smith of Wyoming, will each go over 100 yards rushing. Home team will win 24-23 and hand the Cowboys their first loss this season
South Alabama(SunBelt) @ UAB(CUSA) This intrastate matchup may turn into an aerial show beat the Jags Johnson and the Blazers Johnstston.  UAB 41 USA  33
Toledo(MAC) @Colorado St (MWC). Rams  get in gear and win 20 17 at home. look for Collin Hill to have a big aerial day for CSU at home.
sept 19- I'll stick with #CSU rams despite just learning that Hill suffered his third torn ACL since 2016 during last week's loss to Arkansas. Coach Bobo  will likely start Patrick O’Brien, a transfer from Nebraska.
sept 20: Meanwhile in AAC play Tulane stunned Houston  38-31 on a 53 yard reception by Mcleskey. 

sept 21 review

Tulsa blew a 17 point lead but got it together late with a Brooks' 19-yard touchdown run and a fumble recovery at the 3-yard line during the final minute in a 24-21 win over Wyoming. 
Johnston threw for 313 yards and 3 Tds in the Blazers 35-3 win over South Bama.
OBrien threw for 405 yards and 1TD and Marvin Kinsey Jr. rushed for 246 YDS, 2 TD
but it wasn't enough to stop Toledo who got  228 rushing yards, 3 TD from Bryant Koback and 119 rushing yatds and 1TD from Mitchell Guadagni. TOL 41 CSU 35

sept 23

 How about San Jose St grabbing five INTs and  winning 31-24 at Arkansas? The last time SJST beat a power conference opponent was in 2006 when the Spartans beat Stanford. 

Week 2 Three OOC Other5 matchups

Tulsa (AAC), particularly Shamari Brooks, was throttled by Sparty last week, and this week's Spartans, San Jose St(MWC), looks like the cure, but it may be tough. Tulsa ekes out a 16 - 13 road win
Ark St (SunBelt) @ UNLV(MWC): Bonner had a solid passing game in the Red Wolves' loss to SMU. Charles William rushed for 142 yards in the Rebels win over S.Utah (1aa). UNLV survives  24 -22 at home
UAB(CUSA) @ Akron(MAC): A TD kickoff return saved UAB from an embarrasing loss to Alabama St last week while Akron was demolished at Illinois. Tyler Johnston tossed two TD passes in 19 -16 UAB road.
Feel free to comment and/or mention an OOC matchup between non-power five 1A conferences  that intrigues you
Sept 7:  In a game I didn't mention #herd  jumped to a 7-0 lead but fell to Boise St(MWC) 14-7. Only 56 yards passing for Marshall (CUSA)
Sept 8: Tulsa 34 SJSU 16  Brooks woke up and rushed for 140 yards and a TD in the Tulsa win.
Bonner had a sold game passing and Ark St D had a pick six in the 43-17 win over the Rebels who got a great ground game from Charles Williams , 168 yards , 1 TD.
UAB survived the aerial show 31-20 over Akron.
Two of three for the weekend
 

K. Nelson Akron

25/44

359

2

0

Johnston III UAB

15/24

319

4

1

2019 MWC Football hunches.

Fresno State-  Bulldogs will have to rely on their D until they break in a new QB.
 Hawaii- Cole Macdoald, the Rainbows QB, will  face three Pac12 teams to start the season but should recover when they get into conference play.

Nevada : Only returns ten starters.
San Diego State: Coach Long  will try stretch the O beyond it's major foucus on rushing. 
 UNLV: Promises, promises
San Jose State  Permanent t re-build mode
 

MWC Mountain

Utah State: It's difficult not to take QB #jordanlove and the Ags. Gary Anderson  has found his way baco to being the #USU HC.   He replaces Matt Wells who took the Texas Tech job.

Boise State : Replacing Mattison's numbers (1400 yards, 17 TDs ) will be tough
 Colorado State  Bobo's job is one theline
 New Mexico Same for Bob Davie
Wyoming  Big ? Maybe they'll get bowl eligible
Air Force remains grounded .

aug 8

In some future news: San Jose State adds future home-and-homes with Toledo(MAC), UTEP(CUSA). The 2023  gave with Toledo will be  their first regular season  matchup. They met in California Bowl in 1981, a 27-25 win for Toledo.

aug 10

Sappy or catch : #UtahSt promoted Love for the Heisman Trophy with candy hearts (“Vote Love”) at the media preview

Aug 13

Bob Davie(HC) returns to Notre Dame as an opponent. UNM at ND on Sept 14

Aug 23

 #fresnost opens the season at USC (p10) then hosts Minnesota (B10).

aug 27

McDonald(378 yds, 4tds) outgunned Tate(361 yards, 3 tds)  in Hawaii 45-38 OOC win over Zona (Pac12).

aug 31

Talton hit a 56yd FG at the end of regulation in Nevada's 38-35 upset of Purdue (B10). Utah St lost to Wake Forest(ACC)  despite a solid effort from Jordan Love (416 yards, 3 tds, 3ints)

sept 1

 Quarterback Sean Chambers rushed for 120 yards and a TD, and X.Valladay rushed for118 yards rushing and a TD to lead Wyoming to an upset of Mizzou(SEC). Fresno fell to USC(Pac12), and I'm not sure what to make of San Deigo St scoring just two FGs in a 6-0 win over Weber (1AA). Plus, Boise St  roared back to knock off FSU (ACC). Bachmeier threw for for 407 yards and Mahone rushed for 142 yards and two TDs

sept 19

#hawaii fell to Washington 52-20 in its first loss this season. They face Central Arkansas this week, then its MWC play.

aug 13:
Read more here: https://www.idahostatesman.com/sports/college/mountain-west/boise-state-university/boise-state-football/article233349717.html#storylink=cpy

Playing O5 baseball catchup

 AAC- ECU (17-2) leaders on offense is Bryant Packard with .376 AVG and in pitching its Jake Agnos with 7 wins and 108  K's. I'm a bit surprised that USF and UCF are near the bottom of the conference.
CUSA: USM (19-6) and FAU(18-7) are in a fierce battle for first place. Bryan Bowen is batting .359 for USM and Mitchell Hartigan is batting .341 for FAU.
MAC: CMU  (17-5) is led by Garrett Navarra .371 avg and Zach Gilles 370 AVG.
MWC: Fresno St (16-7-1) Zach Ashford is batting .373 and Ryan Jensen has 8 wins and 74 K's.
SunBelt: Texas St (17-8) leads the West. Jaxon Williams is batting .335 and has five steals.
In the East every teams has a shot except for Georgia St.

May 12: 

 Fresno St hasn’t been to the postseason since 2012.

mAY 15

USM lost it's last two games while FAU split,  leaving both teams at 19-8 in the CUSA .

May 16

Ball St (17-5) has moved to within two games of CMU in the #MAC. #Aaaronsimpson is batting .339 with 14 SB

May 18

#herd beat Rice in ten innings  which should  get them in the top 8  and make them eligible for the CUSAT.

May 19

ECU is easily the favorite in the AACT , but keep your eyes on #JoeyWeimer (6hr, 26 rbi)  and the 2 seed Cincy Bearcats against  7 seed Memphis on May 21.

May 20

Sunbelt: Seeds 7-10 will play-in for the 7 and 8 seeds.  Texas St is the 1 seed and Georgia Southern is the 2 seed.

 May 23

  #CUSA rd1: Marshall first baseman Shane Hanon hit a two-RBI single in the with two out in the top of the 12th to provide the decisive runs in 6-4 win over La Tech.

may 25 

D1 O5 baseball bubble watch:  TXst (sunbelt)  , UCF and Houston (AAC) may get in  and USM (CUSA) may not.

MAY 27, 2019

Automatic Bids: AAC-Cincy, MAC- CMU, MWC- Fresno St, CUSA-USM, SunBetlt - Coastal Carolina.

May 28

At large from O5- FAU (CUSA). AAC: ECU, UConn
June 2: All O5 teams remain alive in the CWS. Fresno St got a big win over Stanford yesterday.
June 4:  ECU (AAC) is the sole O5 team to make the round of 16. The Pirates double-dipped Campbell to move on and face Louisville.

June 8

ECU was pounded 14-1 by Louisville and needs to beat Cards today or they're done 

June 9

 ECU lost 12-1 yesterday. Louisville swept ECU and scored its 26 runs off of 32 hits, none of them home runs.

April 17, 2021

So I got curious about some the players mentioned in this blog since 2020 was a terrible year for kids in the MLB minor league system.

LF #BryantPackard, who played for ECU, was assigned to West Michigan Whitecaps in the Detroit Tigers' system.

May 12, 2021

Nevada's #TylerBosetti ( 5-10, 170 pounds)  homered in his ninth consecutive game, breaking an NCAA Division I record of 8 consecutive games.  It was his 11th homer in 10 games.  

May 26, 2021

Four Memphis players hit home runs, highlighted by back-to-back-to-back dingers by Alec Trela, Austin Baskin, and Taylor Howell in a 11-1 AACT upset of 11th ranked ECU. This is the fourth straight time the AACT  1 seed  lost to the 8 seed in the quarterfinal round. 

May 31, 2021

Automatic bids for O5: Sun Belt South Alabama,  AAC South Florida, CUSA Old Dominion

MAC: Central Michigan,  MWC Nevada: regular season winners

At large bids will be announced later today.

June 8 2021

Marshall athletic director Mike Hamrick is stepping down at the end of the month to become special assistant to university president Jerome Gilbert for one year and will focus on fundraising and planning for the university's baseball stadium project. Gilbert, who  is leaving in 2022,  appointed associate AD and chief of staff Jeff O'Malley as interim AD, effective July 1.

july 25, 2021

#SamBachman RHP, Miami (OH) of the MAC went 14th overall to the Angels in the recent MLB draft. His fastball has been clocked at 101MPH. Later in the draft they took Tulane's(AAC) Braden Olthoff.

March 28, 2022

I was looking around to see if any O5 teams were in the top 25 in baseball and only see TX ST (Sunbelt). 

Then I notice Maryland dropped to 18-5 on the season, after falling to Dallas Baptist(MVC) twice in three days. MD/DB regular season games are not a common occurrence. 

Also, Liberty who's on a path to the CUSA is in the top 25. 

April 9, 2022

Update on how one of these kids is doing. #TylerBosetti returned to Nevada(MWC) for his senior year and the infielder if  off to a solid start with 19 RBIs and 4 SB s. 

June 7, 2022

Sweet 16 in CWS 2022 has two O5 teams: ECU(AAC) and Southern Miss(CUSA). Sunbelt adds S.Miss next season.

Vegas to Diamondhead- those players' first names

I was scanning the 12/23/18 scores of the smaller hoop conferences  and the names JoJo, Fatts, Amauri, Zigmars, and Lamine  leapt off the page.
Jo Jo Zamora scored 28  for N.Mex St  (WAC) in a win over Wash St (Pac12). Of course, I remember Jo Jo White, of Kansas then the Celtics.
Fatts Russell scored 20 for Rhode Island (A10) in a win over Charlotte (CUSA).
Amauri Hardy scored 22  for UNLV (MWC) in its loss to Indiana St(MVC)

Zigmars Raimo (14 PTS, 17 REB, 3 AST) in Hawaii's (Big West) win over Colorado (pac 12) 

Lamine Diane (24 PTS, 9 REB, 2 AST ) for CSU Northridge (Big West) in a narrow win over Rider(MAAC)

April 20

Making the transition to  college baseball players' interesting first names.

Alsander Womack

Norfolk St. batting

.463.

Easton Walker has a .82 ERA for BYU.

 Adley Rutschman batting  .420 for Oregon St.  Equon Smith has 32 SB for Jackson St.
Andru Summerall (FAU) scored 29 runs

may 7, 2019

I guess this first name isn't too rare.  #davonJones, a BC  RUNNING BACK grad transfer, will be reunited with former Boston College assistant coach Scot Loeffler, who is now the head coach of Bowling Green (MAC).

may 26,2019

 The spelling of  #CodiePaiva,  Loyola Marymount pitcher (7-5, 1.71 ERA), first name is different. BTW, LMU won the WCC tournament.

june 19

Try learning how to spell this first name as a kid:  Kent St defensive back #QwuantrezzKnight will appeal the NCAA's denial of his waiver request for immediate eligibility, which he says is based on depression he developed while playing at MD.

July 13

 #Tyree Appleby 's name has some commercial potential ,  but he was the Cleveland St (Horizon) best basketball player, and his transfer request may have played a role in yesterday's dismissal of head coach #DennisFelton and his staff in the middle of the only July live period. Felton's resume includes HC stints at #wku and #uga .

aug 20

 Wisconsin football reinstates WR Quintez Cephus after being acquitted on two counts of sexual assault.
 aug 26:  Cephus is practicing and listed behind Pryor on the WR depth chart.
sept 2: Cephus had three catches for 39 yards in a Wisky blowout  49-0 win over USF . Bigger question is USF HC Charley Strong  headed for the exit?
sept 24:  Healthy Houston QB D’Eriq King is going to use the red shirt rule to eventually grad transfer elsewhere in 2020.  Self absorption reaches a new high

May 3 , 2020 

I omitted #pookawilliams, RB for Kansas, in my list. He'll be back for his junior year this season.  He's first Kansas U football player since Gale Sayers in 1963 to reach 2,000 career rushing yards in his first two seasons. BTW, Kansas is renewing a Big 8/ big 12 border war in 2025 with Missouri who left for the SEC in 2011.

August 18, 2020

Jahmi'us Ramsey, a Texas Tech freshman hoopster is expected to be a rd1 pick in the NBA draft. The spelling of his name has me wondering if the clerk hit the ' in error while typing his birth certificate.

Jan 10, 2021

Sometimes checking out these rare first names keeps me in the loop. I caught some action on the Red Zone and noticed that #QuintezCephus saw a lot of action in final four games for the Detroit Lions.

May 8, 2021

#JakubDombek and his Hartford U teammates can't be happy with this. Their reward for winning  the school's first America East championship and first Dance ticket is to learn its dropping all sports  from Division I to Division III. Consultants claim the move will save 9M.

May 9, 2021

Cashius McNeilly, a Texas A&M point guard and a native of Scarborough, Ontario , transferred  to TCU . Maybe he'll change the spelling to $$$$ius to take advantage of  the coming laws that allow college athletes to make money from their name, image, and likeness rights.

May 11, 2021

BTW, Pooka Williams was signed as a FA by the Bengals 

May 27, 2021

"It's the lack of respect for the area that bothers me," Hartford U hoops Coach Gallagher said. "It's the '(Hartford) Whalers Syndrome.'

Aug 9, 2022

Checking back in! Pooka Williams, spent most of last season on the Bengals training squad and played one game in December at kick returner. He's been a returner during 2022 Bengals training camp.

Sept 9, 2022

Some tough games to pick among teams with a long matchup histories took me another odd first name. Jirehl Brock, RB for Iowa St. Iowa/Iowa St and Kansas St /Missouri are some tough games to predict this weekend.

Dec 29, 2022

Jalon Daniels was back for the Jayhawks who nearly completed a huge comeback against Arkansas but fell 55-53 in OT. Texas Tech spanked Ol Miss last night. I was hoping for a 2-0 Big 12 night.

Circling back to the original blog topic, I noticed Pooka Williams only lasted a season with the Bengals and is now in the XFL.

.

O5 title games

AAC- #MEMPHIS is hot and #ucf will miss Milton.Tigers lost by 1 to UCF in October. Henderson/Patrick rushing attack willl be the ley in a 27-26 win.
CUSA: UAB lost to MTSU 27-3 last week and will lose again 17-13, this time. MTSU QB Stocksill remains the man
MAC: Ok , Buffalo has home field but NIU QB Childers will step up in 19-17 win
MWC: I don't think the Fresno D will contain Boise St QB Rypien and  RB Mattison for long on the blue turf. BSU 30 Fresno 20
Sunbelt:  APP St D will step up in a narrow 17-16 win over visiting ULL.
dec 1: #childers woke up in the second half and led #NIU back from a 29-10 deficit to a 30-29 win over Buffalo. Tears and Brown made nice TD catches for the Huskies  in the 4th Q
dec 2: UCF found a little defense and their O roared back for 56-41 win over Memphis. UAB won the seasaw battle 27-25 with MTSU. Stocksill struggled in the the 4th Q against the UAB D. I picked the wrong week to jump off the Fresno train. Fres 19 Boise16 OT. How does  Boise only score  16 points when Mattison rushed for 200 yards? Niu was my only correct pick.
dec 14 : Ok, I also got App St pick right as they beat the ULL 30-19 in early December, and yesterday their HC #Satterfield took the Louisville job- that's a huge step.  #Drinkwitz, the NC St OC became the 21st football coach in #appst history.

Dec 19, 2018

Ok so I've been lukewarm on the CUSA in bowl mania and am 2-1. I was correct on MTSU losing to App St and NTX losing to Utah St , but was wrong for not taking UAB who blew out NIU so  I'll roll the dice on Marshall D to slow down USF  tomorrow and win a squeaker.

Dec 20

A.J. Ouellette  (29 CAR, 164 YDS) led the #ohio O while it's D blanked #sdst  (MWC) 27-0. Nice win for the MAC.

Dec 21

Herd D did enough and the O  led by Keion davis on the ground (94 yds, 2 TDS) was solid in a 38-20 win over USF. He!! of a night receiving for Randall St. Felix 6 rec 165 yds 2TDS

dec 22

Rough friday for the #MAC:. Toldeo lost to FIU and WMU was trounced by BYU. Some poor D
in the FIU game but it was entertaining. BTW the announcers noted that Butch Davis, the FIU HC,
was the last head coach to get the Browns to an NFL playoff game.

dec 23

Troy (Sunbelt ) beat #Buffalo handing the MAC another loss. Sawyer Smith tossed for 320 yards and 4 TDs leading the Trojans over the Bulls
42-32 win over the Bulls. Ohio is the only MAC bowl winner. La Tech (CUSA) handled Hawaii (MWC) 31-14

dec 28

It's been a tough bowl season for most of the AAC. Houston got rolled over by Army. 
Memphis fell apart at the end against Wake Forest. 
Temple was handled by Duke .USF lost to Marshall. Tulane beat ULL for the sole conference win. 
Cincy plays Va Tech and UCF faces LSU.

dec 30

MWC bowl record is 3-2  after Nevada found some o in Ot and won 16-13. Still not sure why the Boise St /BC bowl game wasn't rescheduled.

dec 31

#MichaelWarren ran for a career-high 166 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown with 1:29 left to carry Cincy (AAC) past VT 35-31

jan 11. 2019

 #Temple (AAC) raided the MAC last night and hired #NIU HC Rod Carey. Former NIU star Thomas Hammock,  the Ravens RB coach., is a top candidate to replace Carey.

july 10 , 2019 

 Gov #Ige signed a law  that starts the process of redeveloping the 44-year-old Aloha Stadium into a mixed-use sports and entertainment district. Maybe one day #Hawaii will  win the MWC West and host a MWC football title game?

July 16

 #sawyersmith goes from leading #troy to a bowl win over Buffalo to vying for the starting QB job at Kentucky (SEC) via the grad transfer route.

July 20 

In April 2019 #FenwayPark in Boston annnounced it will host  anew 2020 college football bowl game between ACC,AAC teams and two months later the UConn, the closest AAC team announced its leaving that conference.

Week 13 O5 Impact games

MWC- I picked Utah St (10-1, 7-0 MW)to win the conference in my pre-season blog and they'll survive at Boise St (9-2, 6-1 MW)  to win the Mountain division . Brett Rypien  BSU (263-384, 3270 YDS, 28 TD ) has some impressive stats, but look for Jordon Love, the Ags,QB, to rise to the occasion  on the Boise blue turf.
AAC- Memphis O has been smoking and they'll cut down the King-less Cougars to tie Houston for AACW.
MAC- Ragland's  RedHawks will  edge Ball St and move Miami O  into a possible tie with Buffalo for the East depending on the Buff/BGSU game  outcome.
CUSA: #herd travels to FIU with a chance to tie  for the East.  Herd D vs FIO O. Home team win 27-26
Sunbelt- Troy travels to APPSt with a chance to win the East outright. Treoy relied on FGs to beat TX St last Saturday. APP St has a solid rushing attack anchored by Darrynton Evans. Topsy--turvy league. My guess is Troy 19 App St 17

Nov 22, 2018

#AlonzoSmith  M-OH (18 CAR, 207 YDS, 3 TD) in a big 42-21 win over Ball St. Ragland rushed for 2 TDs and tossed one TD pass.  Red Hawks  six wins  are in conference play (6-6, 6-2 MAC)

Nov 24

Nailed the Memphis pick. Memphis  scored 21 while shutting out Houston in the fourth quarter of 52-31 win.
Nov 25, 2018.
I lost my last three picks  of the batch. #herd 28 FIU 25 , Nice rushing average from Knox 19 carries for for 110 yards, and Brady caught two TD passes while the MU D made FIU settle for field goals early. FIU loss enabled MTSU to make the CUSA title game against UAB.
QBs, Rypien (BSU) and Love (USU) ,had solid games but Mattison (BSU) rushed for the 200 yards  and 3TDs. BSU 33 USU 24.  BSU face Fresno St in the MWC title game
Zac Thomas tosses 2 TD passes in their 21-10 win over Troy and they'll face ULL in the Sunbelt title game
MAC title game: Buffalo/NIU

MWC 2018/19 Hoops hunches

Southwestern USA Journalists think highly of these kids:
Preseason PoY: G Caleb Martin, Sr., Nevada
Preseason Star Freshman: F/C Jordan Brown, Fr., Nevada
Preseason Newcomer  F Vance Jackson, So., New Mexico

Nevada Wolf Pack: Coach Musselman has the tools
UNLV Rebels- Rebs will surprise some folks.  Keep your eyes on Shakur Juiston
San Diego State Aztecs got into gear late last season so watch out in January.
New Mexico Lobos- Buckeye transfer JaQuan Lyle will give the Lobos a lift
Colorado State Rams_ Kendie Moore can score but coach Medved  will take some time getting  the Rams in gear
Utah State Aggies may rely too much on treys
Boise State Broncos iareusually solid but could slip a bit this season
Fresno State Bulldogs new coach will lean on guard play, defense
Wyoming Cowboys- Justin James is the key
Air Force Falcons will struggle to get to the middle of the MWC standings
San José St Spartans- Rough OOC start doesn't bode well.

Dec 8, 2018

#mussbus J Caroline scored 16 points for #6 Nevada  in a comeback win over #25 Ariz St last night, but it's way to early to talk about an undefeated season. They travel to Utah (Pac12) on Dec 29, and have to face tough conference  foes, Utah, St and Fresno St twice.
After a bad loss to NMST (WAC) .New mexico lost to St Mary's (WCC) 85-60 last night.

Jan 3, 2019

#nevada opened MWC conference play with Jordan Caroline  (15 PTS, 12 REB, 7 AST) leading the Wolfpack over Utah St. UNM beat AFA, Boise beat Wyoming, UNLV edged Col.St and Fresno St beat SJST

Jan 10, 2019

#nevada took out it anger for getting crushed by New Mexico over the weekend and pounded SJST 92-53. Braxton Higgins scored 33 points for Fresno St in a 78-77 win over Utah St. 

jan 13, 2019

More jagged mountain hoops as UNM, who crushed Nevada a week ago, fell to Col St 91-76 yesterday. Meanwhile Nevada is back in stride getting a big win over Fresno St. Caleb Martin had 27 for the #mussbus. Boise St and Utah St won while SDST lost a headscratcher 62-48 to AFA.

jan 16, 2019

Caleb Martin hit a trey at the buzzer for Nevada to outlast Boise St 72-71. SDST recovered from the AFA loss by pounding UNM 97-77 

jan 17, 2019

AFA 106 INLV 88 . I never thought the airmen could find so much  firepower on the court. Ryan Swan scored 22 for AFA..
Utah St beat SJST

Jan 20, 2019

Nevada brought AFA down from its lofty scoring games with 67-52 win . Fresno keeps rolling with a big 63-53 win over Boise St.. Utah St got a big won over Col St.

Nevada 5-1

Fresno St 4-1

UNLV4-1

Utah St4-2

Boise St 3-2

Blowout I didn't expect: UNLV 94 SJST 56 . UNLV 83 Wyo 56

Jan 23, 2019 

Air Force surprised Boise St 74-60.  Fresno and UNLV  defeated respectively, SDST and New Nexico.
Nevada 5-1 Fresno St 5-1 UNLV 5-1
Utah St 4-2 Boise St 3-3

feb 3

Top dogs in MWC : Nevada (8-1)  blew out Boise St.  Utah St (7-2) Sam Merrill had 20 points and five assists in an easy win over UNLV. Fresno St (7-2) #NateGrimes matched  19 points, 19rebounds in a win over UNM.

FEB 7

#mussbus stayed on track with a 98-82 win over Colorado St last night. Jordan Caroline (40 PTS, 12 REB, 3 AST) led Nevada (22-1, 9-1 MW) to the victory. AFA beat Wyoming and UNLV beat Boise St.

Nevada 9-1

Utah St 8-2   Fresno St 7-3

Feb 10

 #mussbus got revenge for it's only conference loss by pummeling UNM 91-62. #boise st took out some of its frustration for a mediocre season by clobbering San Jose St 105-57. Fresno St beat UNLV to move into a tie for second place with Utah St who lost to SDST.

feb 14

Fresno St  and Utah St gained a half game on idle Nevada with wins over respectively, Boise and Wyoming. UNM crushed SJSt.

feb 17

SDST(8-4) is making a late season rally and looked solid in a win over Boise St yesterday.   #DevinWatson paced San Diego State with 19 points. Fresno St and Utah St  each won and are tied for second with 10-3 records. #mussbus (11-1) roared past Wyoming 82-49 

feb 21

#mussbus gets diverted:  Devin Watson (15 PTS, 5 REB, 8 AST) led SDST(9-4) to a 65-57 win over nevada(11-2). Fresno St(10-4)  was upset by AFA and Utah St(11-3)moved to within a game of Nevad with a 71-55 win over UNM. Queta scored 23 for Utah St.

feb 24

#mussbus got back into gear holding off Fresno St(10-5). AFA(7-8) and  SDST(10-4) remained hot with wins respectively over SJST(0-14) and UNLV(9-6). Utah St(12-3) beat Boise St (6-8) and remains a half game behind Nevada (12-2)

feb 27

 Quinn Taylor(13 PTS, 11 REB, 4 AST) helped Utah St cool down SDST  70-54 . Noah Bauman (26 PTS, 5 REB, 5 AST) helped SJST  defeat UNM 89-82 for its first MWC victory this season.

march 3

How about that? Utah St(14-3) beat Nevada(13-3) 81-76 to move into first place by half a game.  Tre'Shawn Thurman (Nevada) 21 PTS, 10 REB, 3 STL . Sam Merrill(Utah St) 29 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST. Nevada  travels to AFA who moved to 8-8 in MWC play with a win over Wyoming  yesterday and hosts SDST(11-5) who beat SJST  yesterday.  USU is at Colorado St(7-9) who lost to UNM (6-10) yesterday.

march 6

 #SamMerrill scored 38 points for Utah St(15-3) in an OT win over Colorado St that guarantees them at least a tie for the MWC regular season title. Nevada(14-3) beat AFA and needs a win over SDST on Saturday for a share of the MWC title.

march 10

Caleb Martin (25 PTS, 6 REB, 7 AST) led the #mussbus to an 81-53 win over SDST which gave  Nevada a tie for the MWC regular season title with Utah St at 15-3.

March 15

Boise put quite a scare into Nevada before the Wolfpack put them way in the final three minutes.. It took UTah St  about half a game to figure out the UNM press. Nev 77-Boise 69. Utah St 91 UNM 83. Fresno St  76 AFA 50. sdst 63 unlv 55.

March 16

#mussbus gets a flat and loses to SDST who faces Utah St , a winner over Fresno St, in the MWCT final. If SDST wins , I don't see the committee inviting UTah St and  giving three slots to the MWC.

March 17

 #samMerrill scored 24 points, hitting 11 of 12 from the charity stripe and earning MWCT MVP honors, in Utah State's 64-57 win over a pesky SDST Aztecs squad. Nevada will likely get an at large bid. I picked Utah st to finish second in my pre-season ratings,

april 7

 #MarvinMenzies three-year tenure as the head coach at UNLV is over, and South Dakota State head coach T.J. Otzelberger, who  led SDak  to multiple NCAA tournament appearances, is in.  That's some different turf to recruit.

april 8

#mussbus is leaving Nevada on its way to Arkansas

april 12

#stevealford will replace the #mussbus at Nevada. He coached at New Mexico (MWC) before his his UCLA gig.
May 30: good news for Utah St:  #Queta  , the 6'11 center (11.8 points, 8.9 rebounds and 2.4 blocks per game), is coming back  and will hook up with  #SamMerrill, the reigning MWC player of the year.

June 21 , 2019

A couple of MWC players were drafted in rd2 of the NBA draft. Cody Martin (Nevada ) and Jalen McDaniels (San Diego St) went to the Hornets. Justin James (Wyoming) went to the Kings.