O5 next 4 bowl picks

 Minnesota(Big 10) 18 Bowling Green(MAC)  13.  Dragan Kesich, the Big Ten Kicker of the Year, hits 6 FGs for the Gophers 

Maybe the other McCaffrey gets a win this week? Rice (AAC)24 TX S(SBC)t 20. 

RICE: L. McCaffrey(68 REC, 963 YDS, 12 TD)

Rebels' yell fades. Kansas(Big 12) 30 UNLV(MWC) 17

Special teams, perhaps a kickoff return for a TD for Virginia Tech, males the difference. VT(ACC) 27 Tulane(AAC) 23

Dec 27, 2023

Two out three ain't bad. Wrong on Rice. Bowling Green gave Minnesota a battle, and UNLV scored  plenty against Kansas. 

Dec 28, 2023

Well, I got VT correct which give 3 of 4. Coach Pry has had a nice end of the season beating UVA than Tulane, who have ended the season poorly.  Plenty of rain in Annapolis, MD yesterday. K. Drones QB - VT (20CAR 176YDS 1TD)

I'll add today's O5 game and take SMU(AAC) to beat BC(ACC) at Fenway Park. SMU 24 BC 20

Dec 29, 2023

Wrong on SMU

Yes, the AAC(2-3) has been underwhelming in the Bowl Games, and the 2 victors are UTSA and USF. I thought SMU was getting in gear yesterday with 14 points in the 2Q then they stalled out. BC 23 SMU 14

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 4 reality check O5 teams

 UNLV(MWC) is coming off a big win over Vandy while UTEP(CUSA) has stumbled this season. UNLV 24 UTEP 19.

USF played a decent game in a loss to Bama, and Rice has a win over Houston this season. USF in a nailbiter by a score of 22-20 in this AAC matchup. Look for B Brown, the USF QB, to have a solid game.

Ohio returns to MAC play after stunning Iowa St and visits Bowling Green. BobcatsD helps them survive 13-12 at BG.

South Bama(SBC) is coming off a blowout W over OK St. CMU(MAC) has lost to Notre Dame and Sparty. L Webb rushes for over 100 yards and the Jags win 27 -20 over C. Michigan.

Sept 22, 2023

M. Carroll RB - GAST 29 CAR 150YDS 1TD in a win over Coastal Carolina. I would've had that pick wrong.

Sept 24, 2023

Correct on UNLV, USF, and Ohio, but wrong on USA who lost to CMU. Quite a day for two USF players:

B. Brown QB - USF Passing:435YDS 2TD, Rushing 14CAR 82YDS 1TD

N. Simmons WR - USF 8REC 272YDS 1TD 

How about Wyoming's win over Appy, and the #herd win over VTech(ACC)

It turns out WYO/APP game was the second half of a 2015/2021home /home series. The 2021 game was re-scheduled, probably due to the covid crisis.

Warming up for the 2023 O5 season

 Aztecs pay some legal fees to stay in the MWC another year while they wait for the Pac12  to get a deal with Apple or anyone. SDST host Ohio(MAC) in its opener

Funbelt  usually pull some upsets early, but I don't see many serious possibilities except Coastal Carolina beating UCLA at the Rose Bowl. McCall returns at QB for CCU, and Coach Chip Kelly's teams often stumble out of the blocks. Of course, Coach Chadwell is at Liberty U and Tim Beck is running the Chanticleers.

Rick Rod is back as a Head Coach and his JaxSt squad host UTEP in the season CUSA opener. 

Rice (AAC) will likely get spanked in Austin by the Horns, but I like seeing ex-SWC matchups.

 Tulane finished ahead of UCF in the AAC last season and beat USC in the Cotton Bowl. Coach Fritz has a good thing going. Sincere Haynesworth anchors a solid OL. Green Wave hosts South Bama in its opener

CUSA:  I noticed a lot of "love" for WKU in pre-season CUSA polls. I'm still wondering about their D. It was OK until the loss to Auburn then weaker until the end of the 2022 season.

July 26, 2023

 Tyrice Knight, who led UTEP(CUSA) with 95 tackles last year, skipped a portal move to a P5 team. "I'm more of a loyal guy... I couldn't walk out on them." Big hit on twitter and its fits our group posts. BTW, the Miners may be sniffing upset of Northwestern scandalCats on Sept 9.

July 30, 2023

Week Zero: Intrigued by games 2 and 5

UMass vs New Mexico State(CUSA) 

Ohio(MAC) vs San Diego State(MWC)

Hawaii(MWC vs Vanderbilt

San Jose State(MWC) vs USC

FIU vs Louisiana Tech: CUSA game

Aug 1, 2023

Seems like a longshot and that's if the Pac 12 gets in gear soon:   ULNV joining the P12. Rebels play at the new Raiders-owned Allegiant Stadium, and the A's are bringing the MLB to town.

Aug 5, 2023

Well gang, looks like I may be chatting about Cal, Wazzoo, Stanford, and Oregon St next year in non p5 sports. Crazy day yesterday with the death of the Pac 12.

I'm looking at week 1 and thinking UCF better prepare well for Kent St(MAC). Not a good look getting upset in game 1 as a member of the P5.

I was looking at the FIU /La Tech game in week Zero, and if Coach MacIntyre can get to .500 this season. Looked back at FIU coaching tree. Don Strock, the ex-Dolphins back QB, was its first HC.

Aug 16, 2023

reading some amusing tweets: NMST /Umass game on ESPN will get more eyes than San Jose St/USC on P12N on week 0.

Dae Dae Hunter (Liberty) will sit out the 2023 season and transfer for 2024 season. That stings!

Announcers should have fun on Nov 4 when Jax St plays South Carolina. Both teams are Gamecocks.

Aug 27, 2023

I thought FIU would play LA Tech close, but hard way to lose by being outscored 9-0 in the second half LT 17-FIU 13.

Ohio gave SDSY a tough game but fell 20-13

Rich Rod wins first game as Jax St HC. Jax 17 UTEP 14

NMST lost to UMass 41-30- tough loss.

Hawaii hung with Vandy but lost. Vandy 35-Hawaii 28. Next up possible upset against Stanford.

aug 16au

Peeking at non-p5 baseball-Carolina style

 ECU(AAC) is 30-6: Josh Moylan, a first baseman, leads the team in RBIs with 39

CCU(SunBelt) is 23-11 and its team batting average is .318

Campbell (Big South) is 30-8:  Bryce Arnold, a SS, leads the teams win Home Runs with 14.

Elon (Colonial) is 24-14.  took down # 2 Wake Forest(ACC). 

April 26, 2023

Rough night for most of the teams I listed. Wake Forest rolled CCU 11-1. Duke edged Campbell 4-2. ECU lost to NC St 5-4. Wake Forest has a killer lineup. I watched some of the game on the ACCN.

April 28, 2023

Not much D1 baseball action last night so I took a peek at the WCC.

BYU (18-21) defeated Portland (22-18) by a score of 9-8.  It's going to be rough for BYU in Big 12 baseball next season.

Tulane 's was leading ECU 9-6 when the game was suspended because of lightning. It will be finished today in AAC action. BTW UTSA(CUSA), who is AAC bound next season, has made it to the top 25.

May 2, 2023

Simon Miller earned his ninth save on Sunday for UTSA, keeping UAB scoreless in the final three innings.

May 4, 2023

Campbell beat Elon 5-2 in a matchup of Carolina teams. Jake Murray is now 3-0.

May 9,2023

Yesterday: Campbell rolled UNC-Asheville 10-3.

CCU 6 App St 5

ECU 11 Cincy 5: Justin Wilcoxen knocked in 5 runs for the Pirates.

May 13,2023

I forgot DBU left the MVC for the CUSA this season. Dallas Baptist got the better of host UTSA in both games yesterday, 11-7 and 11-9

May 15, 2023

A couple of pigskin-like scores in D1baseball yesterday. CCU 15 South Bama 10 in Sunbelt action.

I rarely look at Horizon baseball, but Youngstown St beat N Kentucky 17-13. Andre Good went 4-5 with 3 HR and 4 RBI for the YSU Penguins.

May 18, 2023

Off the beaten path: I wonder how often these teams have played: Miami O 14 McNeese St 8 in a MAC /Southland game.

May 19, 2023

Army may make the NCAA TOURNAMENT. they won the Patriot League regular season and face Bucknell in the conferenceT finals

Kind of surprised to UNC-Wilmington is on the bubble for D1 baseball tournament. Elon has slipped. CAAT starts May 24 with winner getting the one ticket.

May 21, 2023

Brutal day for the Herd: CCU 19 Marshall 1 then CCU 10 MU 9. ECU beat USF 7-1, Campbell beat USC-Upstate 12-9. Why is Oregon St(Pac12) playing Western Carolina(21-32 , 8-12 Southern Conference) a few days before conference tournaments? Oregon St 8 WCU 4.

May 23, 2023

Army and Penn are in the 64. Kinda funny that Rice(21-34), a one -time powerhouse, gets to host the CUSAT this season. CUSA shifted away from Biloxi as the host during Covid. I'll start a new blog as the conference tourneys kick into gear.

Dec 17- 18 Bowl Games O5

 Hometown Lenders Bahamas Bowl: UAB 20 vs. Miami (Ohio) 16:  Blazers recover from a sub-par season

Duluth Trading Cure Bowl: UTSA 31 vs. Troy 27: I know Troy has a solid D  and UTSA starts some games slowly, but Frank Harris is a beast and will lead the Roadrunners to the W.

Wasabi Fenway Bowl: Cincinnati 22 vs. Louisville 21 in the land of Ted Williams and Yaz.

Jimmy Kimmel LA Bowl Presented by Stifel: Washington State 28 vs. Fresno State 20: Bulldogs don't have enough bark to handle Wazoo who was hot early in Pac 12 play this season.

LendingTree Bowl: Southern Miss 24 vs. Rice 17:  Can Rice's O get steamed up? Not so sure?

Dec 13, 2022

In O5 news, I'm a bit surprised that CCU(SunBelt) QB Mccall entered the transfer portal. Maybe the HC taking the Liberty job played a role. 

Navy(AAC) fired HC Niumatalolo, the winningest coach in program history (109-83).

Dec 15, 2022

Bobby Petrino is exiting the HC gig at Missouri St and returning to 1a as offensive coordinator at UNLV(MWC) under new coach HC Barry Odom.

Dec 17, 2022

UAB 24 M-O 20. Correct on UAB , who tried hard to give the game to M_O. Two retired Super Bowl QBs were on the sidelines. Dilfer who's the incoming HC at UAB, and Big Ben, an alumnus of Miami(Ohio)

Troy 18 UTSA 12. Wrong on this one. The Trojans slowed down Harris.

Dec 18, 2022

Cincy D at least tried, the O vanished in Fenway. LOU 24 Cincy 7.  Fresno rolled Wazzo 29-6. Cougars were awful. I got those two wrong, but was correct on USM who road 329 yards rushing from Gore Jr to beat Rice 38-24.

Not usually a ton of news from Kent St, but its QB Schlee transferred to UCLA, and its HC Sean Lewis will become Colorado's OC for Neon Deion

O5 week 12

 AAC: I'm taking ECU at home against Houston, a future B12 member, in a battle of productive QBs, Ahlers(ECU)/Tune (HOU). Houston gave up 77 points to SMU two weeks ago, while ECU is 2-1 against future Big 12 teams, after beating BYU and UCF, and losing 27-25 to Cincy.   ECU 34 HOU 31

CUSA: Frank Harris, the UTSA QB, will remain in high gear @ Rice, in an intrastate matchup and keep the Roadrunners undefeated in CUSA play. UTSA 40 Rice 27

MAC: I couldn't get to all the early MAC games so this is the one I have to pick. Snow is coming to the Buffalo area this weekend, but will only keep the final score lower. BUFF 16 Akron 6.

MWC: Boise State(7-3 6-0 Mountain West) @ Wyoming(7-3 5-1 Mountain West). Cowboys kick 5 FGs and survive. WYO 22 BSU 20

SunBelt: If the NFLN can travel to Hattiesburg, MS to televise a game, so can I. Carter Bradley will toss 3 td passes to keep South Bama on pace with Troy u in the West. USA 27 USM 20

Nov 18

I didn't pick this game, but Tulane crushed SMU 59- 24 last night. 

Nov 20, 2022

MAC game canceled, and I split on the other four.

Correct: UTSA jumped out to a big lead early and never looked back in a 41-7 win. USA withstood a mild late threat from USM, and holy sh^t I guessed the correct final score.

Wrong:  ECU got crushed 42-3 by Houston. The E stands for erratic. Wyoming went up 10-0. but Boise worked its way back slowly and won 20-17.

Nov 21, 2022

If Ohio wins this weekend, than they take the East. Will the MAC re-schedule the Buffalo /Akron game if Ohio loses? 

Nov 22, 2022

I might as well make my MAC week 13 pick here since a few MAC games are being played tonight. Bowling Green rolls into Athens, Ohio tonight. I'll ride with Rourke, Ohio's QB. Ohio 27 BG 17

Nov 23

Ohio started N Harris at Qb because Rourke was still dinged up from last week and didn't miss a beat Ohio 38 BG 14. Ohio clinches the East and will likely face Toledo from the West next week in Detroit for the MAC title. EMU has a chance of tying depending on Friday's outcomes. 

Nov 27, 2022

Toledo meets Ohio in the MAC title game, while Akron travels to Buffalo to make up the snow game.  Who knows with the MAC?

Week 9 O5 conference play

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

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

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

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

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

oct 28, 2022

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

Oct 30, 2022

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

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

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

Week 7 O5 conference play

 AAC: Navy is averaging 237 yards on the ground this season and scored 52 against Tulsa last week, but may not score enough to stay with high-scoring, low-winning SMU.  SMU 40 Navy 38.

CUSA: It's the battle of the Owls. Rice is having a decent season while FAU 's only win is against a 1AA team. Rice 27 FAU 24

MAC: I'll go with BGSU (M. McDonald 106-190, 1218 YDS, 14 TD, 2 INT) over Miami(Ohio) in a nailbiter. Bowling Green 24 Miami O 23

MWC: Nevada hasn't won since beating TX St in week 1, and Hawaii gave San Diego St a good game before losing by 2 points. HAW 20 Nev 19

SunBelt: JMU and CCU are getting all the ink, but South Bama's only loss is to UCLA by a point. USA 34 ULM 23

Oct 15, 2022

I picked the AAC game right and got damn close on the final score: SMU 40 Navy 34. Mordecai to Goffney remains a solid connection for the Mustangs.

Oct 16, 2022

4-1 on my picks.

Wrong: on Rice who lost to FAU 17-14.

 Right: on Bowling Green who beat M-O 17-13. Hawaii got a great game from Parson who rushed for 136 yards and 3TDs in a 31-16 win over Nevada. SBama kicked it in to gear in the second half for a 45-38 win over ULM. Carter Bradley(USA) tossed for 420 yards and 3TDs.

Stunbelt theme this season has been if you're undefeated, you're in trouble. Georgia Southern handed JMU its first loss and ODU did the same thing to CCU.

Week 5 OOC with a dash of military style

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

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

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

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

Oct, 2, 2022

1-3 this week

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

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

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

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

Week 4: O5 OOC 4-Pack

 Once upon a time Houston(AAC) and Rice(CUSA) were SWC members. Houston will get a much needed win but it won't be easy. McCaffrey will catch a lot of passes for the Owls, but it won't be enough. HOU 31 Rice 26.

Both QBs have decent numbers in the North Texas(CUSA)/Memphis(AAC) matchup, but Aune won't outduel Henigan. MEM 34 UNT 23

Both teams are off to rocky starts.  D. Finn will have a solid game carrying the ball for Toledo, but the Aztecs outkick them at home. SDST(MWC) 15 TOL(MAC) 13

I'm not seeing USM pulling a  Stunbelt-style upset against the surprising Green Wave(AAC) who are coming off a 17-10 win over Kansas St (Big12). Neither team has a player with incredible numbers. Perhaps a pick 6 turns the game around. TUL 19 USM 16.

Sept 23, 2022

Road party for Coastal: CCU 41-G State 24 

Air Force crushed Nevada, and Boise St lost to UTEP, who may be a threat in CUSA play this season.

Sept 25, 2022

Owls gave the Cougars a scare, but Houston prevailed 34-27.

NTX couldn't restrain the Tigers. MEM 44 NTX 34

I got darn close on picking the final score correctly on the SDST 17 Toledo 14

Zach Wilcke threw a pair of touchdown passes, and the USM D got a pick 6 in a 27-24 win over Tulane. I was correct on a pick 6 but wrong about which team got that and a win.

3-1 for the week.

App St got a taste of its own "stun" medicine and lost to James Madison, a new SunBelt member.

Big CUSA win by MTSU over Miami (FLA).

Rest of O5 play in Week 11

 AAC: In a  matchup  of two erratic squads ECU Pirates led by Ahlers will steal one on the road at Memphis by a score of 34-33.  H. Ahlers (181-298, 2180 YDS, 14 TD, 7 INT)  . Henigan (172-280, 2545 YDS, 18 TD, 5 INT).

CUSA:  WKU has been hot  and home-team Rice will hold them in check for awhile but fall 30-19. Check out these stats for the WKU QB B. Zappe (308-441, 3688 YDS, 37 TD, 6 INT)

MWC: Can San Diego St slow down Nevada QB Carson Strong (289-410, 3197 YDS, 25 TD)? Aztecs will do just enough in a 24-23 win

SunBelt: ULL is 6-0 in conference play, but Troy usually give them a hard time. Cajuns  strong rushing attack including its QB Lewis will wear down the Trojans and win 22 -20

So that ECU,WKU, SDST, and ULL this week.

Nov 14, 2021

4-4 for this weekend. Man, I got really close on SDST 24 Nevada 21 score/ prediction, and the fact the Aztecs survived Carson Strong NEV (34-48, 350 YDS, 3 TD).

ECU broke up a conversion pass in OT for a 30-29 win.

ULL outscored  Troy 21-8 in the second half  after tough 14-13 first half.

Bailey Zappe (34-42, 482 YDS, 5 TD)kept up his production for WKU in a 42-21 win over Rice, which game them a one game lead over Marshall in the CUSA East. Marshall came out flat and fell to UAB, who remained 1GB of undefeated UTSA in the CUSAW.

The Other five in 2018 D1 baseball

I'm playing catch up with D1 baseball and welcome input at https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/104643398353248786505
When Wichita St joined the AAC, the chatter was about hoops but their baseball team is hanging tough with #ecu led by the pitching of #tylersmith (4-0, 1.07 ERA)
(CUSA) - Southern Miss , Louisiana Tech  are playing well again. Special shout out for #herd pitcher #willray (2-1 , 1.57 ERA)
Coastal Carolina (Sunbelt) Kevin Woodall Jr has 12 HR
San Diego St (MWC) Garrett Hill (6-0, 1.28 ERA)
Miam of Ohio (MAC) Ross haffey is batting .345

April 8

#ccu rocked south bama 14-7. Tough game for Woodall (0-4) but Weisz had a Hr and four RBIs
Gavin Williams pitched seven innings giving up one earned run in the #ecu win over Washington

April 11

Quick hits : #CCU Seth Lancaster hit a home run and knocked in two runs as the Chanticleers beat Wake Forest, 9-2. Gunnar Troutwine hit a home run and three RBIs in #wichitast 10-7 win over #OKST. Here's a twist  Rice (CUSA) and Houston (AAC) may both miss the postseason. The Cougars took care of the Owls last night, 1-0, in the annual crosstown showdown.

april 15

AAC: #uconn took two from wichita st on Friday and moved in to 2nd place behind #ecu. #Feolo is 5-0 for the Huskies.
MAC: #kentst sweopt three from #NIU to move into first.  Mason Mamarella is batting .363 with 23 SB.

April 19, 2018

#nevada baseball is on the rise. The Wolfpack is 14-4 behind the offense of Grant Fennell (.394 avg , 7 SB) and the the six wins from Jake Jackson. UNLV is next at 9-6 behind six wins from Alan Stromg. It's time for third place SDST to get into gear.

april 23, 2018

#usm  #Sandlin is back:striking out 12, not walking anyone and allowing one hit in five shutout innings against #mtsu.

april 26, 2018

#rice rumblings that  the Owls are paving the way for Coach Graham to exit  nicely. #houston has been playing better and may make the playoffs.  #ecu on the bubble for a top 8 seed the playoffs ?

april 29, 2018

It's been two weeks since I checked on the #MAC. Miami O has dropped to third behind #kentst and #cmu. Mamarella has 27 SB. #joeymurray is 7-1 for Kent St.

May 2, 2018

 The Eastern Michigan University baseball team led for the first seven innings before a late rally wound up being the difference in a crushing 6-4 loss at the University of Michigan . #emu is in the middle of the MAC pack while UM sits atop the Big 10. They meet again tonight.

May 3, 2018

#emu got pounded 12-5 by Michigan. Back to #MAC play.

May 5, 2018

#AAC #ECU  Pirates were swept by Houston at home. Both teams should make the field of 64. In the Sunbelt Coastal Carolina has been erratic but should make the playoff while South Bama is fading from view.

May 8, 2018

#AFA baseball has moved into third in the #MWC behind Nevada and SDST. Air Force catcher #robdau is batting .361

May 11, 2018

In a bit of an aside, can casino funds help #herd baseball and its other sports? #wva also hopes to receive a cut of the possible legal sports gambling revenue in West Virginia.

May 12, 2018

Three #AAC teams in the top 25: UConn, East Carolina, & South Florida
Bryant Packard #EastCarolina  is ranked 10th in BA  .405

May 16, 2018

#louisianatech took 2 of 3 from #usm and moved back into the field of 64 hopefuls. Hunter Wells is batting .348  and Mason Mallard has 25 SB for the season.

May 20, 2018

#coastalcarolina  finished the season strong and goes in to the Sunbelt Tournament in good shape to make the field of 64. Watch out for Kevin Woodall JR who has 17 HRs this season. Nick Kanavas is batting  .373 for Kent State as the MACT nears when Miami of Ohio, who took 2 of 3 from them this weekend, appears to be their biggest roadblock.

May 26, 2018

Don't look now but those #Rice Owls are hooting in the CUSAT after a so-so regular season. Rice   plays the 9am CST game today against Florida Atlantic.

May 27, 2018

#cusa paybacks: Last year #usm rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning with a walk-off home run against #Charlotte to force a win-or-go-home CUSAT contest. Yesterday Charlotte's  #TommyBullock’s three-run, walk-off  home run capped a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth of a 7-4 win over USM.

May 28, 2018

#usm bats roared in the CUSA final . USM 12 FAU 3
Coastal Carolina defeated Troy 11-6  in the Sun Belt tournament title game to claim the league title and scored 42 runs while going unbeaten in its four games.
Eli Kraus tossed a a two-hitter and 12 strikeouts in #kentst  14-0 shutout  of Miami (OH) in the MAC championship game.
#sandiegost pounded unlv 14-5 in the MWC title game
#ecu edged Uconn 4-3 to win the AAC title game.

May 30 2018

American: 4:   Uconn Houston USF  ECU
Conference USA: 2:   FAU USM
MAC   Kent St
MWC  San Diego St
Sun Belt: 2: Coastal Carolina    Troy

June 2

I'm not sure if this will reverse trends but selling beer outdoors has made #fresnost happy. Beer sales at  Bulldog Stadium  took in some $90,000 from six home football games in 2017 and added another $20,000 from sales at baseball and softball games.

June 5

All O5 teams were eliminated. Probably the biggest suprise is #stetson (Atlantic Sun) going to Omaha.

July 11, 2018

#cusa baseball coaching news
Wayne Graham out Matt Bragga,  leaves Tennessee Tech after 16 season to take over at  #Rice
Jim McGuire out Jim Toman, head coach at Liberty from 2008-16 in #MTSU

Week 2 quick jabs in the O5

MWC: Boise St and San Diego St outlasted ,respectively PAC12 opponents, Wash St and Cal. Speciap props to the #Aztecs #Pumphrey who rushed for 281 yards against Cal
MAC: I know USF is improving but NIU  looked ragged in defeat yesterday. CMU got the benenfit of  asleep at the "wheel" officiating to upset OK st (Big 12)
AAC: Big regional win for ECU  over NC St (ACC) in a topsy turvy game. Navy got the benefit of UConn's poor clock management. Cincy handled Purdue (Big 10) and is off to a solid start.
CUSA: Shaky week! No losses to 1AA schools but no wins against  1A OOC opponents. Stocksill threw for nearly 400 yards in the MTSU' loss to Vandy (SEC) .
SunBelt-  Troy threw a he!! of a scare into Clemson (ACC) in a tough 30-24 loss.How about those Aggies of New Mexico St defeating intrastate rival New Mexico (MWC) 32-31. Ags  are doing ok as they wait for Larry Rose III, their star RB, to return to the lineup. South Bama  upset Miss St last week but Georgia Southern  gave them a sunbelt slap 24-9.

9/14/16

A little off the field news: On Tuesday, #UNLV (MWC) announced that the Feritta family,who recently sold their stake in the UFC, has donated $10 million to help build the school a new indoor football practice facility.

4/26/17

Post season  follow up: Oklahoma State's #AlamoBowl championship rings count the week 2 loss to #cmu (MAC) in week 2 as a win . NCAA didn't reverse  the result. Central Michigan won the game.

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/

Skimming O5 top baseball teams

MAC- Kent St and EMU  are tied with the best MAC conference record, but Kent flashes a better overall record. Eric Lauer is 4-2 with a 1.19 ERA, and Dylan Rosa has 7HR, 34 RBI
MWC:New Mexico hosts Fresno in a weekend series  for first place, and should prevail behind Carson Schneider (5-1) and Chris Devito (.416 avg).
CUSA: Rice Owls are hootin but USM remains atop the conference standings. Cord Cockrell is is 5-0 with a 2.74 ERA. Tim Lynch 6HR 35 RBI .392 AVg
SunBelt: S.Bama Jags are 13-0 in conference play. Kevin Hill is 6-1 with 1.84 ERA. Brew LeBounty is batting .364 with 24 RBI & 9 SB
AAC: UCF nudges Cincy this week with a better overall record. Austin Griffin has 8HR 32RBI .Robby Howell is 6-1 with a 1.08 RBI

May 31 , 2016

Nearly two months later and  the regular season is over. back to an overall O5 blog entry.
 MAC and MWC placed their conference tournament winners respectively, Western Michigan &New Mexico, in the NCAA 64.
AAC placed tournament winner UConn , as well Tulane and ECU.
CUSA placed tournament winner Southern Mississippi, as well as Rice, Louisiana Tech , and FAU.
Sunbelt placed tournament winner UL-Lafayette as well as South Alabama.
ECU/New Mexico, UConn/South Alabama & FAU/Tulane pair off members of the O5 conferences in rd1 matchups.

June 5

Western Michigan is the only O5 team that 's been eliminated so far.The rest of the O5 teams must win today.

June 6

ECU advanced to the next round. Rice needs to beat SE Louisiana.  If ULL loses to Arizona, they play again with the winner advancing. The rest of the O5 teams were eliminated yesterday.

June 7

Rice scored six-straight runs in a win over LSU to force an NCAA Regional deciding game today against the LSU .. ULL is out.

June 8

LSU eliminated Rice.  ECU , from the AAC, is the sole O5 survivor. ECU faces Texas Tech in this round.

June 11

ECU Pirates kept rolling last night in an 8-6 win over TT. Travis Watkins, the Pirates starting catcher, who hit three home runs during the regular season, swatted two last night to give him  four for the NCAAT so far. Freshman reliever Matt Bridges  earned a multi-inning save.

June 13

Texas Tech gets a two run hit from Eric Gutierrez in the 13th to force a game 3 against ECU today

June 14

TT dismissed ECU 11-0 and sent the Pirates home. ECU starter Jacob Wolfe lasted only 1/3 of an innning.

CUSA baseball March 26

Three teams tied at 4-1:
USM  : Jake Sandlin batting .386 leads a potent lineup
FAU’s offense has a .305 batting avg and is led by senior Billy Endris and junior CJ Chatham.
Rice 's centerfielder, Ryan Chandler, gets on base often and is stellar in the field and went 3-4  in a win  overODU (3-2)  in game 1 of their current series.
Louisiana Tech and Charlotte are also (3-2)

Marshall (2-3) has a solid lineup led by Sam Hunter &Tommy Lane
Rest of the CUSA:
FIU   2 3
UAB 2 3
WKU 1 3
MTSU 1 3
UTSA 1 4

April 28

USM remains atop the CUSA.

Louisiana Tech, UAB, and WKU are on hot but time is running out as they sit in the middle of the pack. May 3 Rice and USM sit atop the CUSA with 15-6 record. FAU (14-7) and Marshall (13-8) follow them. CUSA Batting leaders: Tommy Lane (Marshall)  11 HR. Tim Lynch (USM)   47 RBI. Danny Hudzina WKU .434 AVG. Corey Bird (Marshall) 23 SB May 13 Southern Miss 18-6  Rice 18-6  Florida Atlantic 17-7   Marshall 16-8 0.667   Louisiana Tech 15-9  Hudzina (WKU) .408 avg. Lane -(Marshall) 13 HR, Shearer (Charlotte) and Lynch USM tied with 49 RBI Byrd( Marshall)  24 SB Salinas (Rice) and Cockrell (USM) tied with 7 wins May 16 #herd feasted on WKU and moved into 3rd. USM still ahead of Rice in a battle for  first. May 22 #Herd took two of three  from ODU to move up to a #2 seed. Rice fell to a #4 seed. Here's opening day schedule for the double elimnation 2016 CUSAT. Game 1 (5) Louisiana Tech vs. (4) Rice 9:00a Game 2 (8) Charlotte vs. (1) Florida Atlantic 12:30p Game 3 (6) Old Dominion vs. (3) Southern Miss 4:00p Game 4 (7) FIU vs. (2) Marshall 7:30p Conference  stat leaders  Danny Hudzina WKU .409 AVG. Tommy Lane (Marshall)  13 HR. Logan Sherer (Charlotte) 52 RBI Corey Bird (Marshall) 32 SB Four pitchers with sevin wins Chase Boster Marshall,Jon Duplantier  Rice, Cord Cockrell Southern Miss, Ricardo Salinas Rice Cameron Ragsdale (FAU) topped the league with 13 saves. May 27 Bracket One:  – Rice, 2-0 – FAU, 1-1 faces LaTech, 1-1 in an elimination game today. – Charlotte, 0-2 (eliminated) Bracket Two: – SoMiss, 2-0: Sandlin's grandslam was the key blow in their win over Marshall 1-1 who now needs to beat  FIU, 1-1 today – ODU, 0-2 (eliminated) May 29 Marshall left too many guys on base again and lost to USM who faces Rice in the final. Rice outslugged (barely) a tough LaTech team.