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 .

WAC Hoops 2018/19 hunches

In my hip pocket I had a slip of  dusty paper  that said #NMST and #grandcanyon would be the teams to beat in the  #wac. GC lost to SDak St  while NMST handled N Dak SDt easily in Summit League /WAC challenge . UMKC  and Seattle got crushed by respectively, Loyola ( ILL) and Stanford.


NM State:  AJ Harris had five assists  in a win over UTEP and should have move per game as the season progresses and the Aggies try to repeat as conference champions.
Grand Canyon: T Dreschel  and C Johnson each at 17 ppg so far
Utah Valley- Toolson  18 ppg
Seattle U: Carter 7.5 RBG
CSU Bakersfield: Joiner 14 PPG
California Baptist: M Acquaah  22 ppg so far. Pirog 4 BLKG
UT Rio Grande Valley- Varner & Winn at 16 PPG so far
UM Kansas City: Mckissic 14.5 PPG
Chicago State: C Jacob  is at 8.7 RBG after three losses against IU, ND, and CMU

Nov 17, 2018

Wake up WAC: Cal Baptist is playing well in it's first 1A season. They beat Oral Roberts (Summit) a few days ago  and took Tulsa (AAC) to the final seconds before losing. #MilanAcquaah led Cal Baptist with 20 points, eight rebounds and 11 assists.

Dec 7, 2018

New Mexico (MWC) head coach #PaulWeir , who left NMST HC job in 2017 for the NM job,  apologizied for the actions of some of his players in a pre-game skirmish at rival New Mexico State in Las Cruces. JoJo Zamora tossed in 27 points and Ivan Aurrecoechea scored  23 with 11 rebounds in the NMST blowout of NM 100-65.The Aggies are 2-0 against the Lobos this season and also have OOC wins against Wash St (Pac12) and UTEP (CUSA).

dec 9

#IvanAurrecoechea  (14 PTS, 3 REB, 6 AST) but Zamora's last second trey attempt  bounced off the rim in New MexicoSt  loss to #2 Kansas.
dec 22
 #ChicagoSt got crushed by local neighbor  #Depaul last week and are 0-17 in this matchup which won't help recruiting. #seattleu is having a decent December including playing UW tough before falling 70-62.

jan 4, 2019

#Acquaah (36pts, 7 reb 1 asst) led Cal Baptist upset over NMST , the top dog in the WAC. Bakersfield beat Seattle. Irvine beat UTRG. Grand Canyon beat UVU.

jan 6, 2019

UTRG outscored Cal Baptist 53-34 in the second half for 81-74 win. Bakersfield beat UVU. Grand Canyon beat Seattle. And #ChicagoSt showed some improvement by staying close to #UMKC  but its 15 turnovers cost them dearly in an 80-72 loss.
jan 12, 2019: Perhaps there is a changing of the guard in the WAC as  CSU Bakersfield is 3-0 in conference play with wins over Seattle, UVU, and UTRG. Joiner, Durham, and Holden are each averaging about 12 ppg

jan 21,2019

It's not a great sign that CSUB(13-6, 5-1 WAC) had to rally beat Chicago State 86-73 (0-4 WAC) Saturday to remain tied with Grand Canyon , who beat UMKC, for first in the Wac.

Jan 25

CSUB (6-1)  beat Cal Baptist 85-81 to stay atop the WAC. Seattle (1-5) climbed out the basement with a win over Chicago St (0-5) .UVU beat UMKC.

Jan 27

NMST edged UTRGV 63-61 to stay within a half game of  first place Grand Canyon (6-1) a winner over Cal Baptist yesterday.  #XavierBishop scored 22 points and UMKC (3-3) snapped a three-game losing streak with a 63-54 win over Seattle, who remains a half game  ahead of cellar dweller Chicago St, a loser to UVU.

feb 8

Cal Baptist (4-5 WAC) beat  Chicago St by 50  , 94-44.  NMST (9-1) edged Bakersfield by 1 to stay in first. #TysonSmith scored 21 points for UTRGV in its win over Grand Canyon (7-2)

feb 15

NMST moved to 10-1 in WAC play with a win over UVU(5-4). UMKC  beat GC(7-4). Chicago St (0-11) lost to Bakersfield while Seattle (1-10) lost to UTRGV(7-4)

feb 22

Damari Milstead and Oscar Frayer scored 18 points apiece  Grand Canyon's(9-4) 91-58 rout of Cal Baptist(5-6) .Jake Toolson had 25 points for  Utah Valley in a 103-71 blowout of Chicago State(0-12). UMKC (5-7) lost to Seattle(2-9)

march 1

NMST  (25-4, 13-1 WAC) crushed UMKC (10-19, 5-9 WAC) amd Cal Baptist(15-12, 6-7 WAC) fell to Seattle(16-13, 4-10 WAC). Hey but Chicago St (3-26, 0-14 WAC) came darn close to a win in an 82-77 loss to UTRGV(17-14, 8-6 WAC). Travon Bell posted solid numbers for Chicago St:26 PTS, 2 REB, 1 AST

march 3

Is Utah Valley(21-8, 10-4 WAC) a team to watch in WACT ? #BayleeSteele recorded 14 points and 10 rebounds for UVU in a 64-63 win over Cal Baptist to move into a tie forsecond with Grand Canyon, a 73-69 winner over Bakersfield.

march 15

No surprises in rd 1 of the WACT. NMST crushed Chicago St. UTRG beat Bakersfield. UVU over UMKC.  Carlos Johnson scored 31 points in Grand Canyon's  84-75 win over Seattle.

march 16

 CBU had to wait out its transition period. If they were going by record, Chicago St, the perennial WAC cellar dweller, was winless, and would have been sidelined. Dan Majerle has Grand Canyon back in the WAC final against NMST.

march 17

#TrevelinQueen (27 PTS, 4 REB, 2 AST) led #NMST to a blowout victory over Grand Canyon in the WACT final.

March 19

NewMexico St faces Auburn , ahot team who just won the SECT. Ags may not move past rd1 of the Dance.

March 21

Tough night for the WAC in the CBI. Grand Canyon lost to West Virginia, and Cal Baptist made a nice second half comeback but fell 56-55 to Loyola marymount.

march 22

 Harris passed on an open layup and fed Terrell Brown for a trey. Brown was fouled but missed two of three free throws with 1.1 seconds left, and New Mexico State fell 78-77 to Auburn. What a roll of the dice.

april 7 2019

 Kareem Richardson, the only coach that has taken #UMKC to the postseason. is out and Billy Donlon, who was head coach at Wright State (Horizon) from 2010-16, is in was named UMKC He has spent time on staffs at Northwestern and Michigan which may help in recruiting in the Midwest.

april 11

I heard the rumors but remain mildly surprised that BYU(WCC)  hired a #WAC coach, #MarkPope from Utah Valley . His Wolverines went 77-56 overall in four seasons, including a 34-24 record in the WAC.

april 15

#markMadsen  hired as UVU Head Coach. His resume:six seasons on the Lakers staff, a year as the Lakers G League head coach, and a season as an assistant coach at Stanford.
 May 31: MILAN ACQUAAH, California Baptist- smart move not leaving for the 2019 NBA draft. He was decent on a so -so team.

july 3

 #grandcanyon Head coach Dan Majerle landed  Jaylen Fisher, an impact transfer from TCU
july 8-some history-  Utah Valley, UTPA and Chicago State  came from the Great West. Texas Pan- American merged into UTRGV. Chicago St won the last  Great West tourney in 2013.

Independents week 9 quick glance

Book  a win for Notre Dame over a  Navy(AAC) team  that's had some struggles this season
UMass  Offense will carry the day is a high scoring  40-30 win over UConn (AAC) . Andrew Ford,  UMASS QB (1366 YDS, 9 TD) will have a good day in the regional contest.
#army will make it 3-0 against the MAC this season and edge EMI 23-20.

Freshman   BYU  QB  #zackwilson  will do enough for the Cougars  to beat visiting  NIU (MAC) 26-19.

 New Mexico St will  get a road win at TX St, a weak Sunbelt team. NMST 12 TXST 9  -- a battle of field goals

Oct 27

Nice grind out win for Army. weird to see emu not throwing to the end zone in the final minute.

Marquis Young came alive late  (148 yards rushing) scoring the wiining TD in a Umass 22-17 win over Uconn. two for two, so far.

Oct 28

Wilson threw for 208 yards but couldn't find the end zone in BYU's 7-6 lost to NIU.
Book was solid at QB and Dexter Williams rushed for 142 yards and 3 TDs in ND's 44-22 win over Navy.
Willie Jones III threw for two touchdowns and ran for a third  as TX St pulled away early from NMST and held on for a  27-20. 3-2 for the weekend

Nov 1 Week 10

Army ' out rushes AFA and wins at home 29-20. Liberty (4-3) stays in line for a bowl shot with a big rushing game from Hickson . Lib 33 Umass 30. Rypien will lead  Boise St  by BYU in what should be a MWC game. Notre Dame  gets a tough game from Northwestern but will pull away late in a 40-30 win. Dexter Williams has been leading a solid rushing attack. NMST shouldn't lose to Alcorn St.
Nov 4: Four out of five  this week. I didn't foresee Umass outlasting Liberty 62-59. Hickson had a solid rushing game for Liberty, but #Comis threw for 540 yards, four TDs, and Young rushed for 148 yards.. Byu fell behind 14-0 in the first quarter and lost 21-16. Army got out to an early lead and hung on for a 17-14 win. ND survived a Wildcats scare behind Book's arm with a 31-21 win. NMST 52 Alcorn St 42

11/06/18

Week 11 Quick hits. Notre Dame should handle the worsening FSU Noles. Coach Taggert may be thinking I should've never have left USF for Oregon then returned  to the state of Florida.. Army should handle 1AA Lafayette.
I underestimated UMass last week against Liberty so I'll roll with their  O  against visiting  BYU.
Liberty has their moments  and Hickson may have another solid rushing game , but I don't see  them winning at UVA.

11/11/18

Book-less and ND was fine with Wimbush at QB and Dexter W rushing for 202 yards in a 42-13 pounding of the Noles. Army won, and Hickson did his best for Liberty in a loss to UVA.  BYU found some O  and outscored UMass 28-6  after the first quarter on their way to a 35-16 win over UMass. three of four for the weekend.
Nov 15: Week 12  quick peeks: Book is back for ND and they'll hold off Syracuse 34-33. Liberty will hang for awhile with Auburn but lose. Umass will get crushed by Georgia. BYU should beat NMST easily but may let it get close before eking out a win. Army will beat Colgate (1AA)

11/18/18

Book and the O played as expected in a 36-3 win over Cuse. Props to ND  defense. Liberty was blanked 53-0 and NMST played a decent first quarter in a  45-10 loss to BYU. Bit surprised UMass scored 27  in a loss to UGA.  Army won

11/21/18

ND should handle #USC in LA.  BYU  is a mediocre team and won't get by #utah, the leader of Pac 12 South. Curious  as to how Utah and Utah St are have surpassed BYU in football quality. Hickson will bounce back and rush for 100 plus as host Liberty  evens the series against NMST and makes up for the September loss.
Whipple is out as UMass HC

dec 8, 2018

 #army will make it 3 in a row over Navy today.  #byu lost to NIU of the MAC this season and now is going to the the Blue Turf in Boise to face  W. Michigan  in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl in about two weeks.

dec 9

Army (10-2)  beat navy 17-10 yesterday  making it three years in a row, and captured  the #cic cup.
dec 22: I'm so tempted to take #army over #houston in the Lockheed Bowl today . Maybe I'll toss a coin? #byu crushed #wmu yesterday

dec 23

#army QB, K. Hopkins Jr. rushed for 170 yards and  5 TDs in a 70-14 blowout of Houston.  Big props to Army, but Houston hasn't been the same since the Coach Applewhite/Ed Oliver jacket confrontation

June 6, 2019 

I'm pretty sure #Army left the CUSA in 2004 ,and Marshall joined the CUSA in 2005 so it's cool to see Army, and Marshall agree to home-and-home starting in 2025.

1A Independents 2018

It's my annual piss & moan about why these schools should be in a conference, and I'll include my favorite matchup against another Independentt football school.
Notre Dame with one foot in the ACC plays only teams in conferences so I'll highlight its opening week game vs Michigan.
New Mexico St and BYU, two teams that belong in the MWC, faceoff at BYU  on Nov17.
Liberty  with all your $$$ give the Sunbelt a boost, and why the hell are you playing New Mexico St twice.
Army- you should've stayed in the MAC- faces Liberty on Sept 9.
UMass , the AAC beckons, particularly for hoop reasons, and you have a nice regional match up against UConn (AAC) on Oct 27. The next week you play Liberty.

aug 1, 2018

#BYU faces five P5 schools Arizona  California, Wisconsin, Washington, and Utah. Cal is the only one of those teams traveling to Provo.

aug 19, 2018

New Mexico St is selling tickets for as low as $3 for first home game on national TV (ESPN) in a decade. #wyoming (MWC) is coming to #LasCruces for an Aug 25 matchup.

aug 26

#NMST falls at home to Wyoming 29-7  Nico Evans ran for 206 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries to help #wyoming beat 29-7. That's one way to replace Josh Allen. attendance 20,322

aug 29, 2018

#Army coach Jeff Monken named Kelvin Hopkins Jr. the starter at quarterback in the opener at Duke. He takes over for Ahmad Bradshaw, who led the Black Knights to consecutive winning seasons for the first time in three decades.

aug 31 2018

NMST was up 10-7 early against Minnesota, and I noticed that #FrankSpaziani, the former the DC then HC at BC, was their Defensive Coordinator. It went downhill for the Ags from there. Minn 48 NMST 10
sept 1: #army passed for more yards (197) than rushed (168) in a 31-14 loss to Duke
sept 15: #army hosts  #hawaii and their rushing attack  eating up the clock may be the best way to slow down the Rainbows' aerial show but they'll losea squaeker 24-21.
sept  29, 2018:  Plenty of road work for the Independents this weekend.
#army travels to Buffalo (MAC): Bulls Tyree Jackson's arm will do enough to edge Army 24-23 in an intrastate battle
#umass travels to Ohio (MAC).  Look for Ohio to slow down their former MAC foe and pull out a 28-27 win.
#Liberty  travels to New Mexico (MWC): Lobos 19 Liberty 14
#BYU travels to UW (Pac12) Another tight game . UW D gets a pick 6 and wina 23 -20
Notre Dame hosts Stanford (PAC12):  Maybe a special teams play turns the gave for the Irish. in a 27-26 win.

Sept 30, 2018

Props to #army and I was 100% wrong on Jackson's arm. Army 42 Buff 14
 The Bobcats roared into gear in the second quarter and never looked back in 58- 42 win over UMass.  N. Rourke, the Ohio QB, tossed three TD passes and rushed for a TD.
I was wrong on the amount of O and the winner as  Jones, the Libert QB, threw  for 417 yards and three TDs in 52-43 win over the Lobos.
UW defense was stingier than I guessed and Browning had a solid game for the Huskies in a 35-7 win over BYU.
ND defense was solid and Book threw four TD passes in a 38 -17 win over the Cards. Three out of 5 correct picks

oct 7, 2018

UMass got trounced  by USF. Notre Dame smacked  VTech, and #Nmst with 4 td passes from Josh Adkins, outlasted  #Liberty 49-41
Oct 13, 2018 7:52AM EST
INDEPENDENTS (FBS) W L
 Notre Dame                        6 0
 Army                                   3 2
 BYU                                3 3
 Liberty                               2 3
 New Mexico State       2 4
 Massachusetts               2 5

Oct 20,2018

Alabama adds New Mexico State to its 2019 and 2021 home football schedule.

Big game for #army (4-2) today to stay in the bowl game hunt as they host Miami (Ohio).

oct 21, 2018

G. Ragland (30-53, 329 YDS, 4 TD) effort for Miami O wasn't enough as Coach Martin's decision to go for a two pint conversion in OT backfired in a 31-30 loss at Army. Woofolk and Thomas led the strong Army rushing attack.

WAC HOOPS: Chicago to Seattle

WAC has some wild geography . #NEWMEXICOST is on a nice roll. Their only conference loss is and they face Seattle tomorrow. They've beaten Illinois, UTEP, Colorado St , & New Mexico and lost to USC in OOC play. Utah Valley and Seattle are the most likely teams to upset them in the WACT which returns to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the eighth year in a row. Utah Valley led by UVU #Manyang (14.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.0 APG) faces UTRGV on Feb 17.

Leading scorers

1. Dixon, Nick-UTRGV 20.6

2. Lofton, Zach-NMSU 20.0

3. Kavas, Matej-SU 16.1

Leading rebounder 12.4 rbg is Jemerrio Jones #NMSU





WAC standings

New Mex. St. 9-1 22-4

Utah Valley 7-3 18-8

Seattle 7-3 18-9

Grand Canyon 6-4 17-9

UT-Rio GV 5-5 14-13

UMKC 4-7 9-19

Cal-Baker. 3-7 10-15

Chicago St. 0-11 2-26

feb 18 update: Jordan Hill (24 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST) led #seattle to a 73-63 upset over #nmst despite
Zach Lofton's (26 PTS, 12 REB, 5 AST) effort. UVU won to keep things tight among the top 3.
Bakersfield beat GC. Cool first day checking out the WAC

feb 22 forecast: #nmst should stop their two game losing streak against Chicago St tonight.
Seattle plays GC and UVU plays Cal Bakersfield. Three conference games left. Obvious must win for the top three WAC teams
feb 23: Grand Canyon got a great game from Alessandro Lever  who scored 30 points , grabbed 10 rebounds, and hit 14 of 15 free throws  in a win over Seattle. NMST won and Conner Toolson scored 22 in UVU's win. Two WAC games to go.
New Mex. St. 10-2 Utah Valley 9-3 Seattle 8-4
feb 25 update: NMST  led Jemerio Jones (15pts , 23 rebs)crushed UMKC to wrap up the WAC regular season title. UVUmade alate push but fell to Grand Canyon. Seattle's slide continued when they couldn't hold back a late Cal-Baker  push. UT Rio kept Chicago St winless in WAC play.
March 4 update: Props to #deiontesimmons (20 PTS, 11 REB, 1 STL) leading Chicago St squad to it's first  #WAC win this season . CST 96 UMKC 82. They'll face #NMST  in rd1 of the WACT . Utah Valley crushed Seattle  in a matchup of two teams going in opposite directions. Seattle's loss allowed Grand Canyon who beat Bakersfield, to move into the 3rd slot. WACT March 8 PST times on ESPN3
6 UMKC vs. No. 3 Grand Canyon, 12 p.m. 
7 CSU Bakersfield vs. No. 2 Utah Valley, 2:30 p.m. 
 8 Chicago State vs. No. 1 NM State, 6 p.m. 
5 UTRGV vs. No. 4 Seattle, 8:30 p.m. 
march 9 rd 1: Do you remember #danmajerle when he played for the Phoenix Suns? His Grand Canyon squad edged #UMKC as they try to to recover  from a four year probation with a Dance ticket. Their next opponent is Utah Valley  who got solid efforts from the #toolson brothers in a win over Bakersfield. NMSU handled Chicago St easily as it appears winning the WACT  is their only Dance option. #seattle recoverd from its recent slide in a win over UTRGV. Solid game from Richaud Gittens SEA - G (17 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST). 
My gut says Utah Valley is the biggest threat for NMST.
march 10- My gut was wrong (what's new)  as Grand Canyon with Lever and Braun scoring 15 each beat UVU  to advance to final against NMST who beat Seattle. Zach Lofton NMSU - G (31 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST)
March 11: The Aggies weren't  betting on the committee so they took care of business defeating Grand Canyon 72-58 .  The WAC  made a solid move naming #jemeriojones the WACT MVP for grabbing 55 rebounds in three games.  I'm guessing #newmexicost will be a 13 or 14 seed.
march 15 : I'm rolling the dice on #newmexicost  winning its rd1 game over Clemson. #jemeriojones gets 20 rebounds
march 17: Clemson is better than #Newmexcost, who didn't shoot well , particularly from the free throw line. J Jones is a great rebounder who needs to work on free throw form. Great game from Lofton ( 29 points, 3 rebounds)

march 25, 2018

Is #chicagost looking to hire a Loyola Chicago ASST  Or will they hire #markaguirre, former #Depaul star.

april 3, 2018

Now that #gonzaga has  rejected an offer to move to #MWC , is New Mexico St their next target? 

april 6, 2018

Some off-season news: South Dakota hires Todd Lee, associate HC at #grandcanyon , as new head coach replacing Smith who took the Utah St job

april 13, 2018

Some coaches view  the #chicagost HC job as the worst position in college basketball. I wonder if the #WACwill be losing a team

april 17, 2018

Here's one reason  Chicago St job is tough.  CSU coaches have been  told to recruit only in the Chicago area to save money. Chicago has a lot of talented high school hoopsters, but you can bet  they weren't lining up to stay in town.
april 28- Maybe I should apply for the #chicagost job ?

April 30, 2018

#danmajerle is  taking the transfer route to move #grandcanyon  closer to New Mexico St in #WAC play. Forward Michael Finke, a graduate transfer from Illinois , will join his brother Tim at GC. Also coming but sitting a season are  is Isiah Brown  from Northwestern  and Carlos Johnson from Washington.

May  10, 2018

#chriszorich, a former LB for Notre Dame and the Chicago Bears, is the new Chicago St AD. They can only hope his recent stint as the Prairie ST CC AD helped him learn some lessons and that his 2013 personal tax evasion conviction is the rear view . Obviously he needs to hire some basketball coaches.

June 9, 2018

On Jan 13, 2017 California Baptist University Lancers accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference in three weeks July 1, 2018, and  will not be eligible for WAC postseason competition in any sport in which the winner is the league’s automatic qualifier for an NCAA. Unlike Chicago St, they have a head hoops coach #RickCroy. 

June 13

It's not often a  big time rebounder wins PoY in any conference. He's definitely going to be an NBA rd2 draftee. #JemerrioJones  (NMST) was named WAC PoY after averaging 11.3 points at a 54.5 percent clip, 14.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game in WAC play.

June 21 

Cal St Bakersfield kids probably will dig visiting the Bahamas  to face #CMU (MAC) in rd1 of #JunkanooJam in November

june 24, 2018

I've seen stranger things happen so I'll toss this into the cybersphere as an unsupported hunch . Will #zorich  of #chicagost interview the beleaguered ex #Uconn HC,  #kevinollie

june 27,2018

History lesson: The #Wac had 16 football teams  in 1996 and was on the cusp of hanging with big boys. It started as six-team league in 1962 -- Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Wyoming New Mexico and Utah.  WAC history 

july 14, 2018

#chicagost may not remain the the #WAC and 1A hoops if  all they can pay a hoops head coach is in the  $70,000-$90,000 range. 

july 28, 2018

Former #NMST basketball student-athlete #JemerrioJones has been awarded the 2017-18 WAC Sportsmanship Award. Jones, a Memphis native, played on the #Grizzlies NBA summer squad.

aug 3

Cal Baptist  will play in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Invitational
#Grandcanyon will play in the #woodenlegacy
Chicago St  official website doesn't have many updates, but James Farr is listed as the Associate Head Coach.

aug 15

I looked away and #chicagost hired #LanceIrvin, an assistant at Chicago’s Morgan Park High School for his brother Nick, as its hoops head Coach . He's had NCAA 1A assistance gigs in the past and his father, Mac Irvin,  was known as the “Godfather” of Chicago basketball.

nov 7, 2018

I haven't started on WAC predictions but Chicago St won't  be near the top . Hoosier 104 Chic St 55

nov 9

Chicago St needs a break from Indiana teams . They lost 89-62 to Notre Dame.

O5 week6 ending Oct 8, 2017

AAC:  SMU(Dallas) vs Houston intrastate battle. I'm looking for Hicks and the Mustangs to pull out a close one over the Cougars.
CUSA:  #ODU hosts an improved #FAU squad in their forst 2017 conference game. Monarchs will may need a big game from their D to survive the improved Owls. ODU 17 FAU 16
MAC:  #emu put up a good fight against Kentucky and will stun #toledo for a road win. Look for an aerial show from Roback (EMU) and Woodside (Toledo)
MWC:  Stevens and Rams will  tame the Aggies , who are coming off a big win over BYU. Colorado St 24 Utah St 20
Sunbelt: #newmexicost is playing decent football in its final Sunbelt season and their Rogers and rose show will take then to a 27 26 win over Lamb and the Mountaineers.

Oct 8

If you bet against my picks, then you have a cash swell. I was spot on about Nick Stevens and the Rams who won 27-14, but blew the other four picks.
#SMU couldn't contain #Catalon. #ODU D played matador as #JasonDriskel scored four of #FAU eight rushing TDs.. #roback was picked off twice late by #toledo in a 20-15 #emu loss. #rogers had some aerial success, but enough to counter the #appst rushing attack led by #JalinMoore (19 CAR, 241 YDS, 2 TD)

2017 Sunbelt football hunches

SUN BELT teams play alot of Power 5 conference matchup in the first three weeks.

App. St. doesn't have to face Troy and Ark St this season. Rushing duo of Upshaw/Moore is one of the keys.
Arkansas St: Ja’Von Rolland-Jones leads a strong D. Big conference  game @ Troy  and @south bama
Troy opens  If QB #justicehansen has good opener@ #BoiseST , then Sunbelt beware
South Alabama: Decent D and #dallasdavis at QB
Ga. Southern: More Statesboro blues
Georgia State hopes the rivalry game with GSU isn't a cellar-dweller battle.
La.-Monroe- look for QB #garrettsmith to rally the Warhawks
New Mexico St.: A healthy Larry Rose should help the Ags  stay in the middle of the pack.
Texas State: Lot of hype for #damianwillians
UL Lafayette- Need to replace a lot of starters
Coastal Carolina- Likely a rough Sunbelt delay- #austinwilson a QB transfer from Syracuse, has  a rough gig.
Idaho Vandals will slide out of 1A ball

Aug 22: Hey national media is paying attention to the O5:  SI.com ran a profile of #ArkSt DB  #BlaiseTaylor this week for his athletic and academic prowess.

week four O5 conference matchups

Lean picking for conference games.
SunBelt: Rogers to Caldwell connection will keep #newmexicost in the game, but Chunn will churn out the rushing yards for a #troy home win.
MW: Meyers passing and Mays running will help #utahstate eke out a home win over #airforce
MAC: No MAC matchup so I'll take the improved Army (independent), once a MAC member, to beat a the waning #buffalo team in an intrastategame
CUSA: Two of the better CUSA squads, MTSU /LaTech will faceoff @ MTSU. Stocksill willput on aerial show in a ten point win over LT.
AAC: No AAC matchup so I'll go with a one-time Big East matchup. #cuse (ACC) visits UConn. Feel like flipping a coin, but  Dungy will  tame  the home Huskies in an Orangemen win 21-20.

Sept 23,2016

Interesting inter-conference matchup: #Western Michigan(MAC) has beaten two Big 10 teams this season and should handle #Georgia Southern(Sunbelt) @ home before starting MAC play. #jamauriBogan will  rush for 150 over a GAS team with a decent D.

Sept 25, 2016 review

SUNBELT- TROY 52 NMST 6 Correct but the NMST didn't get close. Nailed this one WMU 49 GAS 31.
MW-  AFA 27 UTAH ST 20  Wrong on Utah St. AFA rushed for 213 yards.
MAC- Picked the wrong military academy this week. BUFF 23 ARMY 20  in an overtime game.
CUSA- MTSU 38 LA TECH 34. Stocksill threw for less yards  (356 yatds , 2t ds) than Higgins (504 yards , 3 tds) but led MTSU in 20 point comeback win .
AAC SYR 31 UCONN 24 Dungy threw for over 400 yards.

Peek at 2016 SunBelt football

Jeremy Lamb, the Appalachian St QB, is  getting a lot of hype,but do Arkansas St  and Georgia Southern  have enough to prove the Sunbelt pundits wrong. New Mexico with Larry Rose at RB should climb out of the cellar and finish in the middle of the pack. Maybe South Alabama's Xavier Johnson at return specialist shocks a few teams. And,  how about this name Dee Liner, the Bama transfer starting at defensive tackle for Arkansas St.
Games to look for:
Miami (Fla.) at Appalachian State, Sept. 17: App St stays close for three quarters but Richt's Canes will win by at least twelve points. BTW, App St opens the season at Tennessee.
New Mexico at New Mexico State, Sept 10. Larry Rose runs wild on his NMST home field and the Ags give the improving Lobos a hell of a scare.
ULM at Georgia Southern –Sept 17 Garrett , the ULM QB, leads the Warhawks  to a road win.
My pre-season rankings
1. Appalachian State

2. Arkansas State

3. Georgia Southern

4. Louisiana-Lafayette

5. Troy

6.  New Mexico State

7 Louisiana-Monroe

8. South Alabama

9. Georgia State

10.  Idaho

11. Texas State

Aug 17, 2016

Big news. Larry Rose, one of the top 2015 RBs, underwent sports hernia surgery and is considered questionable for the Aggies' season opener against UTEP.

Aug 25, 2016

 New Mexico State’s starting QB, Tyler Rogers turned himself in last Friday on a warrant that had been issued for him Aug. 14.  The junior was booked on one count of misdemeanor charge of battery against his girlfriend. Ags road just got bumpier.

9/2/16

App St kicking woes , missed extra point and FG, cost them dearly in their OT loss at Tennessee. He!! of a night for Marcus Cox.

9/3/16

 South Bama knocks off Miss St, who missed an easy FG in the final seconds . Sunbelt has given the SEC he!! this week.

9/9/16

Sunbelt won't knock off any big boys this week . ULM faces an angry Oklahoma squad. Same for Ark St at Auburn. Troy at Clemson and  Idaho at Washington will be ugly for the underdoogs

O5 Geography matters: martial re-alignment.

Hypotheticals to stir sports chatter:
 Find a way to get UMass into the AAC. I'd love this one for hoops more than football reasons. Tulsa to the Big 12 which won't take back Houston & SMU who go back to the CUSA. Tulane, too.
FIU and FAU exit the CUSA and return to the SunBelt.
Rutgers back to AAC  replaced by in the B10 by NIU from the MAC.

Return Marshall to the MAC  and  great matchups with the Ohio schools


New Mexico St from the SunBelt to the MWC. Wouldn't N.Mex St/New Mexico be a great conference and intrastate game? Move Idaho from Sunbelt to an Independent as  they are heading to1AA status.


For new readers: O5, the Other five 1A football conferences = AAC, MAC,MWC, CUSA,  &SunBelt

June 21, 2016

You can find UMass and other teams in

always looking for a new owner or two who will pay attention to their roster weekly

Seven weeks til 2016 automated draft.

1)acc ,b10,sec, aac, independents Aug 12

2)PAC12, B12,CUSA,SUNBELT, MAC, & MWC Aug 14

Free Fantrax leagues. Email me vaporbust4@gmail.com if you're interested and specify if which one(s) you want to join.

June 28, 2016

Let's try a reverse! How about Vanderbilt to the CUSA?

July 1 , 2016

Not often I can mention my Terps in an O5 blog .Teldrick Morgan will start for Terps.

http://collegefootballtalk.nbcsports.com/2016/06/28/new-mexico-states-leading-receiver-joins-maryland-as-grad-transfer/comment-page-1/#comment-262983

July 3, 2016

Now I can include Coastal Carolina in Sunbelt blogs. CCU joined the Sunbelt Conference on 7/1/16 for all sports except football, which begins a two year entry process in 2017. Coastal Carolina’s first football season in 2017 will also mark affiliate members Idaho and New Mexico State’s final season in the Sun Belt. CCU football becomes eligible for SBC championship and bowl play in 2018.

Note to new readers: 05= AAC, CUSA,MAC, MWC, SBC. O5

July 19 ,2016

Bit surprised to see Houston looking at the PAC12. University of Houston athletic director Hunter Yurachek met last month with Pac-12 Commissioner Larry Scott  as the school tries to attract interest from Power Five conferences.

AAC would miss houston

JULY 21,2016

Possible AAC raid continues: Big 12 focusing on  USF which  resides in the nation’s 11th-largest media market, according to Nielsen an will $5 million from the state — when it was awarded ‘emerging preeminence’ status by the Florida Board of Governors Strategic Planning Committee.

July 29,2016

Justin Timberlake, a Memphis native, is pushing hard for Memphis to leave the AAC for the Big 12.If it occurs where does the AAC turn?

September 28, 2016

Latest on B12 expansion "mess"

1) concern about how Houston would impact football recruiting in that area Texas.
2) West Virginia is believed to have reservations about elevating Cincinnati to "power five" status.
3) Oklahoma's wavering: Borens's favorite in expansion was BYU, which is now viewed as radioactive because of its stance on LGBT and Title IX issues , but it does have the backing of the Big 12's TV partners, especially ESPN.

October 19, 2016

#Houston, #Cincinnati and #BYU and eight other finalists spent $$$ for nothing as the #Big 12  will remain at ten teams.

1/15/17

#coastalcarolina baseball will shake up the Sunbelt

2/17/17

#Liberty U football is moving up to 1A They will transition this season and become Independent in 2018. #sunbelt conference could be a good landing spot. #ianmccaw is the current AD and was  the Baylor AD during the #Briles' scandal years. And their opening game this season is at #Baylor.

3/25/17

#wichitast wcould be a great hoops addition to AAC. They could fill the slot left by Navy not playing hoops in the AAC.

4/5/17

#WichitaState, a member of the Missouri Valley Conference since 1945, is closer to joining the #AAC as its 12 th hoop team for the 2017/18 season

4/6/17

It appears the MVC will recruit #Valparaiso  to leave the Horizon League and fill Wichitast 's spot

4/18/17

#wichitast will phase in a new contract with #underarmor among its sports programs and their asst HC #chrisjans took the #newmexicost hoops job. #jans had a good 2014/15 season  as the #bowlinggreen HC before being fired for off court shenanigans.
MVC is also targetting #murrayst

4/20/17

First Wichita St now Cincy  adding a hoops home &home with UCLA. #aac is looking up

5/6/17

#coastalcarolina jumps to 1A Sunbelt with a brutal non-conference game Sat, Nov 4
@Arkansas.

5/11/17

Vaparaiso replaces #Wichitast in the #MVC and .#murrayst and #omaho top the list to replace Valpo in the Horizon. I'm not buying  #GrandCanyon of Phoenix, Arizona as  a remote possibility . The economics of travels  is enough of a deterrent for this small Midwestern league.

6/22/17

AAC is  stepping up it's hoop game. UConn to renew it's rivalry with Nova (Big East). #wichitast ,new kid in the AAC, has a competitive OOC schedule including #okst, and #baylor. Also #marquette and #notredame are possible #Maui Invitational opponents.

7/1/17

#summit hoops down to eight teams as Horizon League replaces Valpo with #IUPUI. Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis pledges to  expand its hoops budget.

9/4/17

Liberty's upset of Baylor yesterday sparked a repost of my February comments:" #ianmccaw is the current  #liberty AD and was  the Baylor AD during the #Briles' scandal years. And their opening game this season is at #Baylor."

1/23/18

Will #newmexicostate makes another bid to join the #mwc.The honeymoon is over for #wichitastate in #aac hoops. #Valparaiso is 2-6 in its first season in MVC.

2/24/18

#valparaiso is 5-12 in conference play in its first #MVC season..#northernkentucky has a one game lead on wright st in the #horizon. IUPUI is in the middle of the Horizon pack. #wichitast  trails #cincy by a game in the #aac

5/4/18

 #NorthAlabama starts its move to 1A sports, including hoops but not football, this fall. UNA will play in the Atlantic Sun Conference.

5/18/18

#Liberty U is joining the Atlantic Sun for hoops but hasn't found a 1A conference for football. How about the Sunbelt Conference?

7/2/18

 It's official #Liberty is 1A and #Idaho has dropped to 1AA. Liberty Flames will also play a rare in-season home-and-home set against New Mexico State.

7/15/18

#Liberty will be next in line to fill any vacancy left open by the #AAC and Sunbelt for the  AutoNation Cure Bowl for the 2018 and 2019 seasons. There are provisions in place to allow the Flames ,playing in their first 1A season, to be included in the postseason in the event there are vacancies to fill.

1/12/19

Dusting off an old blog: #westvirginia had and may still have reservations about Cincy moving to Power 5 football status. Maybe FSU, Fla,, and Miami (FL) feel the same way about UCF
 Moving to hoops but staying in the area .
#NorthernKentucky moved to 4-1 in the Horizon league, edging Wright State 68-64 on Friday night.
Liberty  is 2-0 and Northern Alabama is 1-1 in conference play in their first seasons in the Atlantic Sun. 

3/11/19

#Liberty edged Lipscomb to win the Atlantic Sun Dance ticket  AND i'M STILL CAMPAIGNING FOR THE fLAMES TO JOIN THE sUNBELT, but maybe they're shooting for the AAC.

3/12/19

 Drew McDonald (18 PTS, 11 REB, 5 AST) led Northern Kentucky to a 64-63 win and they'll face Wright St , a winner over Green Bay, in the Horizon T final.

3/13/19

How about NKU punching the Dance card? Dantez Walton (15 points and 14 rebounds) and Drew McDonald(13 points,  eight rebounds, and five assists) led The Norse to a 77-66 victory over Wright St. in the Horizon title game.

3/18/19

NKU travels to Tulsa, OK to face  Texas Tech, who is probably still pissed about the B12T loss to WVA ,and Liberty travels to San Jose, Ca to face Miss St..

3/20/19

BWampler scored 17 points for Wright St in an NIT rd1 loss to Clemson.

3/23/19

How about Liberty U  stunning Miss St? It wasn't good for my bracket,but a he!! of night for  C. Homesley(LIB) (30 PTS, 4 REB, 1 AST),  Northern Kentucky was beaten soundly by Texas Tech.
T. Sharpe (NKY) (23 PTS, 1 REB, 1 AST)

3/31/19

How about #Lipscomb , who finished second to Liberty in the ASUN, advancing to play Wichita St in the NIT semi-finals? #GarrisonMathews scored 44 points for Lipscomb in a 94-93 victory over North Carolina State.
 April 3, 2019 #Lipscomb 71 Wichita St 64:  Garrison Mathews LIP - G  (34 PTS, 5 REB, 1 AST). Big win for the ASUN member who'll face Texas in the NIT final.
 June 23, 2019:  uconn wants to move to the Big East in 2020 and will likely be going Independent for football. Why not Liberty U as a full member of the AAC? Perhaps a local conference rivalry with #eastcarolina will develop?
July 2 :Arkansas State (Sunbelt), and Old Dominion (CUSA)  have been mentioned as possible AAC CANDIDATES
july 5:  James Madison is  interested in moving up to FBS to take UConn’s spot in #AAC
july11:  Liberty lands former Auburn QB Malik Willis and he'll be playing for Head Coach #hughfreeze, former Ol Miss HC.
july 17:  Aresco, AAC Commish, on REPLACING uCONN. we're not making phone calls but we'll receive them,

jAN 4 2020

 Reviving. It seems odd that the CUSA, which has a few Bible felt schools, has been bothered by Liberty U's evangelical system, and rejected it's bids and $$$ to join them. I've heard the Sunbelt is in talks with Liberty again..
It remains puzzling the James Madison  is stuck on joining the AAC or remaining in 1AA.

March 9, 2020

Liberty U (Atlantic Sun) hoops is going to the Dance again. Hey Sunbelt or AAC- it's time to invite them to your conference for hoops and pigskin.

May 16, 2020

 Liberty may be staying an Independent for awhile, but they're finding tougher opponents. Liberty added road trips to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia to its 2023-24 schedules .

June 1, 2020

Floyd Little ,the Denver Broncos sixth overall pick in the 1967 draft and an NFL Hall of Famer, is battling an aggressive cancer. I looked back at those Syracuse years when he was part a great group of running backs including Jim Brown and Ernie Davis and discovered that Syracuse was an Independent in football until 1991. Times have changed and Cuse didn't have #Liberty U's religious "baggage", but I bet those folks in Falwell country have studied Notre Dame and Syracuse football history as Independents.

July 17, 2020

St. Thomas , a private university in St. Paul, Minnesota, is jumping to 1A and  will compete in the Summit League in 19 of their 22 sports, including basketball.  The Tommies won the 2011 and 2016 NCAA Division III men's basketball championships. The school's football program is expected to join the Pioneer League  Subdivision.  

Aug 23, 2020

Liberty U revised it's schedule and updated information for ticketing for the five home games.

 Sept. 19 at Western Kentucky
Sept. 26 vs. FIU – 6 p.m.
Oct. 3 vs. North Alabama – 6 p.m.
Oct. 10 vs. Louisiana-Monroe – 6 p.m.
Oct. 17 at Syracuse
Oct. 24 vs. Southern Miss – 6 p.m.
Nov. 7 at Virginia Tech
Nov. 14 vs. Western Carolina – 2 p.m.
Nov. 21 at NC State
Dec. 5 at Coastal Carolina

Read more here: http://www.kansascity.com/sports/college/big-12/article90826982.html#storylink=cpy

UMass football left the MAC--why?

 UMass left MAC football apparently because the MAC wanted them to be an all sports member. A lot of chatter about them going to the AAC, but if they couldn't hack the MAC, they won't fare better in the AAC.  Perhaps, the Sunbelt , who've turned them down once,  downgrading to AA, or eliminating the  football program. Minuteman have a brutal schedule this year including three solid SEC  teams.

2016 U Mass schedule
at Florida Gators (SEC)
Boston College Eagles
FIU Golden Panthers
Mississippi State Bulldogs (SEC)
Tulane Green Wave (HC)
at Old Dominion Monarchs
Louisiana Tech Bulldogs
at South Carolina Gamecocks (SEC)
Wagner Seahawks
at Troy Trojans
at BYU Cougars
at Hawaii Rainbow Warriors

It  appears to be a tougher road than  their MAC days to become bowl eligible.

June 12, 2016

Sunbelt, who turned down UMass a few years ago, could use another team as they move toward a 2018 title game, but travel would be brutal with N Mex St and Idaho in the conference. Minutemen better find some $$$$ if they want to join the AAC.
 I would like to see UMass in the AAC for hoops reasons.

June 15, 2016

UMass has scheduled regional games with BC on the schedule this season and UConn next. Interesting tidbit: UMass and Boston College series started1901 but they only  played a total of 24 contests. BC lead the overall series 19-5 and have won eight straight.

June 21, 2016

You can find UMass and other teams in

always looking for a new owner or two who will pay attention to their roster weekly

Seven weeks til 2016 automated draft.

1)acc ,b10,sec, aac, independents Aug 12

2)PAC12, B12,CUSA,SUNBELT, MAC, & MWC Aug 14

Free Fantrax leagues. Email me vaporbust4@gmail.com if you're interested and specify if which one(s) you want to join.

July 28, 2016

UMass on the road @BYU and @ Hawaii to finish the regular season-that's nuts and I doubt if they'll fly back home between games.

may 18, 2017

Some of the same teams as on the @UMass 2016 schedule plus @Tennessee. Heavy southern flavor, particularly the Sunbelt.

Sat, Aug 26 vs Hawaii

Sat, Sep 2 @ CO CAR

Sat, Sep 9 vs Old Dominion

Fri, Sep 15 @ Temple

Sat, Sep 23 @ Tennessee

Sat, Sep 30 vs Ohio

Sat, Oct 14 @ South Florida

Sat, Oct 21 vs GA Southern

Sat, Oct 28 vs Appalachian St

Sat, Nov 4 @ MS State

Sat, Nov 11 vs Maine

Sat Nov 18     @ BYU

July 13, 2017

Is #umass leaning toward the SunBelt? Would their hoops teams stay in the Atlantic 10?

sept 16 2017

When you're an Independent and #Irma hits: To fill the vacated matchup with #usf , #UMass willplay #FIU in Miami on Dec2.  if FIU doesn't qualifies for the #cusa title game

Jan 20,2018

#Umass has a heavy southern 2018 schedule which includes ending its regular season @  #UGA. I still suspect the Minutemen land in the SunBelt and may fill the void left by the departure of New Mexico St to the  small group of 1A indies.  It would be cool to see NMST land in the #MWC.

Feb 13 2018

Is #newmexicostate mens  hoops making a strong case for  the entire sports program to move to the #mwc? Ags are heating up #WAC hoops.

April 21, 2018

#umass is still afloat in 1A football, and it may be time for them to  consider joining the Sunbelt. Heavy southern flavor in the #Minutemen  2018 football schedule. #AAC would be cool for hoops
Sat, Aug 25 Duquesne
Sat, Sept 1 Boston College
Sat, Sept 8 Ga Southern
Sat, Sept 15 FIU
Sat, Sept 22 Charlotte
Sat, Sept 29 Ohio
Sat, Oct 6 USF
Sat, Oct 20 C. Carolina
Sat, Oct 27 UConn
Sat, Nov 3 Liberty
Sat, Nov 10 BYU
Sat, Nov 17 Georgia

April 27, 2019

Walter A. Bell IV , the new UMass HC replaces Whipple , who is is now the OC at Pitt U . Will the 1A independent form their own league? Umass   travels to Army and hosts BYU and Liberty , three 1A Independents,  this season.

May 21, 2019

 Buffalo (MAC), UMass will start a six-game series starting in 2022.

					BYU