Week 1 O5 matchups from the gut

It's early and I'm trying to get a feel for O5 ball so I'm going from my gut.

 Army marches south to visits ULM(SunBelt). Bowden's boys survive 20-19.

Cal visits Denton and loses 24 -20 to NTX(AAC)

Tulane (AAC) gets a rough test from South Bama. TUL 27 USA 23

Sept 1, 2023

UCF 56 Kent St(MAC) 6. The entire off-season folks discussed how Sean Lewis' exit from the Kent ST HC job to become Deion's OC at Colorado was going to sting. It sure does. Rough first game for HC Kenni Burns.

Ugly start for MAC continues. Miami FLA rolls Miami O. Sparty rolls CMU.

Sept 3, 2023

Right on ULM and Tulane, way off on NTX.

He!! of a comeback: ULM 20 Army17

I doubt if Mean Joe Green could've saved NTX yesterday. Cal 58 NTX 21

Tulane took care of Biz: TUL 37 USA 17

Powerful early season upsets: Wyoming(MWC) over Texas Tech. TX St(SunBelt) over Baylor. NIU(MAC) over BC (ACC)

If UTSA(AAC) came close but no cigar against Houston. That may have been too much sh^t talk for the State of Texas.. HOU 17 UTSA(AAC) 14

Sept 5, 2023

Charlotte (AAC) visits my Terps this Saturday. I'm on upset alert. Biff Poggi, the 9ers HC, was born in Baltimore, MD and coached at St Francis Academy High School in Baltimore City.

Sept 10, 2023

When I turned on the game, the Terps were down 14-0. They got in the gear and won 38-20. Glad I was wrong on Charlotte, but I still see think the 9ers will be worth keeping an eye on in AAC play this season.

J. Mack, WR - CLT 4REC 106YDS 1TD 

Quick peek at Non P5 hoops standings

SunBelt : I was all set to give the #herd  a toast, but ULM behind Blackmon's 35 points beat them Thursday night in double OT. USM and ULL are 7-2. Marshall and ULM are 6-3 in conference play.

Sienna handled Iona(Pittino Sr) last night and sits alone atop the MAAC. Same can be said for San Diego St(MWC), Liberty(Atlantic Sun), and then there are a bunch of undefeated teams in conference play including these three, Charleston (Big South), FAU(CUSA), and Eastern Washington(Big Sky).

However, it's Saint Mary's(18-4, 7-0, WCC) with a one game lead over Gonzaga that has tongues wagging. Aidan Mahaney leads the team in scoring with 15.0 ppg. Their four OOC losses are all by single digits to UW, Houston, Colorado St, and New Mexico. The loss to CSU is the worst of that bunch. 

Jan 29, 2023

I thought Cincy was going to beat Houston after seeing part of the first half, but the Cougars roared back for the win. HOU 75 CIN 69. These two games caught my eye.

I'm keeping an eye on Memphis who beat Tulsa yesterday for its fifth straight W to stay in the AAC race with Temple and Houston.

Feb 2, 2023

AAC: Cincy(6-4) rebounded from the tough loss to Houston with an 81-55 blowout of Tulsa. Tulane(7-3) rode the Mustangs and cruised to a 74-52 win over SMU.

WAC- Wow, NM St has been ragged since Coach Heiar replaced Coach Jans who went to Miss St, but they beat Stephen F Austin 73-65 last night for their first conference win

The other new kids in town had nice nights. Abilene Christian beat Seattle. Southern Utah beat Cal Baptist. Sam Houston beat UTRGV.

 

Big 12 to discuss adding Gonzaga(WCC) to the conference tomorrow, per 

dennisdoddcbs

Feb 3, 2023

#herd got a solid game from Taylor in a win over Appy to remain a game behind USM and ULL who each won.

FAU didn't look like a team who had won 20 straight and lost to UAB in CUSA action.

St Marys(9-0) and Gonzaga(8-1) won in WCC action.

Feb 4, 2023

Ball St(7-3) eked out a 91-90 win over EMU. It was he!! of a battle. Akron(9-1) beat Kent St(8-2) to stay atop the MAC. 

 SDST(18-5, 9-2 MWC) is ready for Pac 12 hoops. Nathan Mensah scored 17 points for No. 22 San Diego State in a 72-52 win over Boise State. 

Feb 5, 2023

WCC: St Mary's beat the Zags and are in a solid spot for the WCCT one seed. BYU is showing a pulse with a win over Pacific and trails the Zags by a game.

CUSA: FAU bounced back from the loss to UAB with a win over Charlotte while UAB beat FIU and may be a threat in the CUSAT.

SunBelt: Two 10-2 teams won yesterday. ULL beat Marshall and USM beat GA St.

AAC: Speaking of GASt, man do they miss Coach Ron Hunter, whose Tulane squad gutted out an 82-81 win over Memphis yesterday and are 1.5 GB of Houston.

ASUN: Queens(6-6) edged Austin Peay. Liberty and Kennesaw sit at the top with 10-2 records. E.Kentucky trails them by a game.

Feb 6 2023

Houston beat Temple. Tulane moved into a tie for second in the AAC.

Feb 7, 2023

Freddy Hicks scored 22 for Tarleton(13-11, 6-5) in a WAC win over UTA(8-16, 3-8). Billy Gillepsie seems to be doing ok and staying out of trouble at Tarleton. UTA is struggling in its first WAC season since the Sunbelt kicked them and Ark-LR to the curb for not having football programs.

Feb 8, 2023

J. Cook(27PTS 14AST) led Tulane to a 101-94 win over Cincy in AAC action.

Houston 80 Tulsa 42- Sasser 25 points. Memphis beat USF and SMU knocked off Temple , who will probably slide more. It's looking more and more like it's HU, Memphis, and Tulane are heading to the Dance. 

WAC: Tough night for Cal Baptist who lost to UVU 71-55. Nice win for Seattle over Utah (Dixie) Tech to stay in the conference title race. 

MWC: M. Bradley - SDSU(18PTS 6REB 3STL) in the Aztecs W over Utah St.

Feb 10, 2023

WCC: Zags handled San Fran while St Mary's got tripped up by ULM. C. Shelton(G - LMU) scored 31 points in the 78-74 win.

SunBelt: USM beat ULL to take sole control of first place.  Andrew Taylor scored 33 points to help Marshall defeat Coastal Carolina 92-74 and move within a game of second-place ULL.

Feb 11, 2023

New Mexico State men's basketball canceled tonight's game at Cal Baptist and suspended its season indefinitely following "new allegations" within the program. Alleged hazing issues are the latest in the mess.

East Carolina won't play its men's basketball game at Tulane tonight after the death of Pirates radio announcer Jeff Charles(70) while with the team Friday in New Orleans.

 Dwayne Cohill scored 33 points for Youngstown State(12-3) who beat Purdue Fort Wayne 81-72 last night and moved into first place in the Horizon Conference

Kent St(10-2) moved into first in the MAC with a win over Buffalo and Akron's(9-3) loss to Ohio. 

Feb 12, 2023

WCC: St Marys took of care of Portland and the Zags beat BYU, who will need a serious boost to survive in the Big 12 next season. LMU was edged 71-69 by Santa Clara.

SunBelt: Taevion Kinsey scored 37 points for Marshall(10-4)  in 88-77 win over Georgia State. ULL(10-4) lost to Troy. JMU(9-5) beat CCU. USM(12-2) remains the top team with a win over ULM.

CUSA: Florida Atlantic(24-2, 14-1C-USA) keeps rolling with a win over La Tech, while NTX(21-5, 12-3C-USA) stays in the hunt with a win over Charlotte.

Feb 13, 2023

Just wondering if some of the culture at N Mex St predates Heiar, was hired from Northwest Florida State, a JC power. He previously worked as an assistant at ETSU, LSU, Wichita State, and S Miss.

 Chris Jans, the previous HC, is the Miss St HC.

Feb 15, 2023

Three of the four teams atop the MAC are from Ohio. Kent State 11-2, Toledo 11-2, Ball State 10-3 ,Akron 10-3.

Muncie, Indiana: Payton Sparks scored 20 points and grabbed 16 rebounds to lead Ball State to an 87-77 home victory over NIU.

Feb 16, 2023

I'll end this blog with this: NMSU Chancellor Dan Arvizu backed AD Moccia's firing of head coach Greg Heiar over the locker room hazing of a male basketball player and claimed that was not reflective of the athletic department or the school overall. You can bet the CUSA will want better answers than we're hearing, and I'm not surprised that Heiar was sacrificed.  However, I doubt this culture started as soon as Heiar arrived on campus.

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.

O5 conference play in week 9

 AAC:  Cincy deserve all the press it can get , however SMU(7-0, 3-0 ) /Houston(6-1, 4-0)  matchup this week should be a good one. I don't think Houston's D can slow down SMU's QB T. Mordecai(187-263, 2320 YDS, 29 TD, 7 INT)  SMU 34 Hou 29

CUSA: UTEP's only loss is to Boise St and FAU looked like a new team in a blowout W over Charlotte last week. I'll take Taggart's kids at home . FAU 26 UTEP 22

MAC: Only one MAC game slated and it's in Buffalo this week. Bowling Green has disintegrated since beating Minnesota last month and Buffalo has been doing ok. Buffalo 17 BG 16

MWC: Fresno St QB Haener will toss a few TD passes and help the Bulldogs give San Diego St its first loss. Fres 24 SDST 19

Sunbelt: Is App St back after beating CCU? Can Bowden keep ULM on a roll after wins against Liberty and South Bama? I'll roll Charles Rodgers throwing two TD passes in a ULM win. ULM 23 App St 20

Oct 31

I was wrong on SMU who couldn't contain Tune(HOU), and Buffalo  who couldn't stop Matt MacDonald(BG).

I was correct on  FAU who held back a late UTEP rally, Fresno who handed SDST its first loss, and Appy who rolled ULM .

Nov 3, 2021

Ex USC coach Clay Helton was hired to helm Georgia Southern(Sunbelt) .  Undefeated Cincy(AAC) got F'D in the polls for no valid reasons. 

O5 conference play in week 7

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

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

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

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

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

Oct 17, 2021

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

Oct 18, 2021

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

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

Oct 23, 2021

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

O5 UPSET chance vs P5 in weeks 0-1

 Does Chip Kelly have UCLA(Pac12) going  up or can Hawaii(MWC) sneak in to the Rose Bowl for an early upset? UCLA nearly upset Oregon in November 2020. Hawaii beat Houston  in the New Mexico Bowl, then lost its HC to Wash St. Todd Graham , who's bounced around the football map, is the Rainbows HC.

Houston (AAC) could make a big noise in Texas by upsetting Texas Tech (B12) in its home season opener.

Charlotte (CUSA) is a program that showed some promise in Will Healy first season in 2019 but has slipped a little. It has a solid chance at an upset in its home opener against Duke.

There are plenty of other O5/P5 matchups, but these caught my attention.

July 6, 2021

It's a game USC and Coach Helton better not lose. San Jose St(MWC) , who had a great 2020 season( 7-1 Overall | 6-0 MWC - 1st) travels to LA to face USC. USC is 4-0 in this series.

July 13, 2021

Speaking of being Leach-less. Washington St had a terrible, brief 2020 season and they open hosting Utah St(MWC) who has a new HC, former Arkansas State HC Blake Anderson . Nick Rolovich didn't fare well in first WSU season after leaving Hawaii. This game is so hard to guess so I'll say the Ags stumble at the end in Pullman, WA.

aug 7, 2021

Rich Rodriguez takes over as interim HC at ULM(Sunbelt) while  HC Terry Bowden leaves team to be with his dying father, Bobby Bowden. The Warhawks opener is at Kentucky on Sept 4.

aug 19, 2021

Here's a tough one to pick of two top  O5 teams . Boise St is on the road at UCF in a game with some Auburn flavor. Harsin left Boise St for Auburn to replace Malzahn who  moved on to UCF. A lot of hype about Boise St O vs UCF D, but I'm taking UCF in a 33-30 home win.

Aug 29, 2021

Hawaii never had a shot as UCLA rolled over them from the jump in a 44-10 win.

He!! of a day for UTEP QB to WR connection, Hardison  (11-16, 249 YDS, 1 TD)to Cowing(5 REC, 158 YDS, 1 TD) ,in a 30-3 win over New Mexico St.

Aug 31, 2021

 Tulane(AAC)  will be the designated as the home team and retain all net proceeds from ticket sales in a matchup against OK that will be played in Norman, OK due to Hurricane Ida. This is the second in a three game series and would have been the one Tulane hosted. 

Could the Boise St/UCF game be a matchup of two future Big 12 members?

Sept 2, 2021

Last season  ULL took down Iowa St as the Sunbelt beat three B12 teams on Sept 12. My hunch TX beats ULL by 10 on Saturday.

https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2020/09/will-sunbelt-shine-against-b12-on-sept.html

Sept 3, 2021

I got close on the score(33-30) and UCF made a comeback from a 14-0 first half deficit to beat BSU 36-31 . Dillon Gabriel threw for 318 YDS and  4 TDs for UCF.

Some tough O5 losses to AA teams. Tulsa lost to UC Davis and UNLV lost to Eastern Washington

Sept 4, 2021

How about Charlotte(CUSA) knocking off Duke(ACC) 31-28 . Some big stat numbers.

Chris Reynolds CHARLOTTE  19-30, 324 YDS, 3 TD

Mataeo Durant DUKE               29 CAR, 255 YDS, 3 TD

Sept 5,2021

I was wrong on Houston who got blanked in the second half and lost 38-21  to TT.

Noteworthy O5 items:  Tulane(AAC)  outscored OK 21-3 in the second half but lost 40-35. NIU(MAC) beat Ga Tech. MWC vs Pac12: Nevada beat Cal and Utah St beat Wash St ,while Fresno St gave Oregon  a scare and SJST crumbled against USC.

In the CUSA Marshall crushed Navy. UTSA shocked Illinois(B10) and La Tech gave Miss  St(SEC) a huge scare

Bowl picks O5 rapid fire

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

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

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

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

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

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

Now, to today's games.

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

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

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

5-1 in this slate of games.

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

Will the Sunbelt shine against B12 on Sept 12? Or others?

Three Sunbelt team will get close but not get a cigar against the Big 12 on Saturday. Coastal Carolina upset Kansas last season but Les Miles won't let that occur again. Pooka Williams will rush for 150 plus  in a KU win. ULL will give Iowa St (Big 12) a difficult time and lose a close one. Purdy's arm will win the day for ISU. Arkansas St will have a tough time containing Skylar Thomphson of Kansas St .

However, the non B12 matchups will  result in some wins. App St hosts an improving Charlotte(CUSA) squad in a matchup that may cement a growing regional rivalry. App St won 56-41 last season, but this game will be lower scoring.  App St DBs will make some big plays in a 23-19 win. South Alabama will upset Tulane(AAC) behind the Trotter to Tolbert connection.

Texas St played ok in a loss to SMU last week but will fall to UTSA(CUSA) in a nailbiter .

ULM faces an Army squad that rolled MTSU 42-0 last week. Warhawks will score some points but  will not have enough D  to muster a victory.

sEPT 13, 2020

I'm here to eat crow. Those three Sunbelt teams, CCU, ULL, and Ark St  had a great games in knocking off Big 12 squads. South Bama crumbled in the final 20 minutes and lost to Tulane 27-24. T. Spears rushed for 105 yards on eleven carries for the Green Wave.

I was correct on App St, UTSA,  and Army, but TX St forced OT before losing, and I thought Coach Traylor of UTSA was going to blow a gasket on the sidelines. UTSA RB, Sincere McCormick, rushed for 197 yards and a touchdown on 29 carries.

Sept 14, 2020

 ULL Ragin' Cajuns in first college football rankings since 1943 They're ranked 19 in this week's AP Top 25.

Pre-season 2020 Other 5 football notes

Yes, the proliferation of transfers is dizzying, but this one caught me off guard. Two-year starting QB Isaiah Green leaves Marshall for the transfer portal.

Former UNLV starting quarterback Armani Rogers will play  at Ohio and is a grad transfer so he's eligible for 2020.

Ricky Slade , Penn St RB, is headed to ODU  to play for HC Rick Rahne who  an assistant coach at PSU.

Maybe a bad sign for the O5 football future.: Michael Alford, the Central Michigan AD , is  taking the job of CEO of Seminole Boosters, Inc., at Florida State.

July 20:

Former WAC rivals, Wyoming (MWC) and Arizona (PAC12) announced a  home-and-home series starting in 2033.

Wyoming lost to Zona 13-12 when they  last met in 1977.  Zona leads the all-time series 12-10.

July 23, 2020

Grisham, the Governor of New Mexico asked New Mexico, which competes in the MWC,to suspend contact sports. The Lobos  lost its Sept. 12 game with USC(PAC12).  In addition to their conference slate, the Lobos are scheduled to play Idaho St, Miss St(SEC), and New Mexico State as non-conference opponents. NMST also received the "suspend" letter.

July 30, 2020

Ball State(MAC) replaced Iowa(B10) on Iowa St(Big 12) schedule and had an open slot because its game at Michigan(B10) was canceled by the B10.

ISU won the only previous meeting between the two schools in 1998.

Aug 6

AAC 8 +4  ,starts Sept 19, MWC 8+2 , starts Sept 26. Sunbelt 8+4  , starts Aug 29

Aug 9

MAC cancels 2020 football season. Will its best players transfer ASAP?

Aug 10, 2020

ODU of the CUSA cancels its season and so does MWC.

Aug 14, 2020

FIU(CUSA) delayed it's start til Sept 16. Sunbelt and AAC haven't had much to say lately.

Aug 15

There's going to be a lot of last minute shopping for opponents now.  Tulane(AAC) needs a new opponent for its opener since Southeastern Louisiana, a Southland Conference member had it's season canceled by the conference.

aug 21, 2020

Chris Robison , the FAU Owls' starting quarterback the last two seasons. who was recently named to the Maxwell Award Watch List, was removed from the team's roster and no reason was given publicly.

aug 23

WKU (CUSA) added 1a independents ,Liberty and BYU, to it s 2020 schedule.

aug 31 

South Florida(AAC) will play Notre dame on Sept. 19. The game will be part of a three-game series in which the Bulls get one home game in Tampa, Florida.

Sept  3, 2020 

Mike Collins, ULM DC, resigns 10 days before season-opener vs. Army. Basically because his tank is empty.

Sept 4, 2020

Desmond Trotter threw for 299 yards and two touchdowns and Jalen Tolbert had 169 yards receiving and two TD receptions for South Bama (Sunbelt) in a 32-21 win over USM(CUSA) . UAB(CUSA) beat Central Arkansas(1AA). 

Sept 6

SMU(AAC) looked shaky  yesterday for about 3/4 of the games yesterday against Texas St (Sunbelt) but held on for a 31-24 win. TJ MDaniel rushed for 130 yards  for the Mustangs. BTW, Jeremiah Haydel made a great one-handed TD reception for the Bearcats early in the second quarter. In another AAC /Sunbelt matchup Brady White threw four TD passes to lead Memphis to a 37-24 win over Arkansas St.

Three CUSA teams, Marshall, UNT, and UTEP beat 1AA teams , but UTEP had some problems with SF Austin in a 24-14 win.

Week 8 Five- pack -Other5

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

Oct 19

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

 oct 20

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

Early 2019 Sunbelt football season predictions

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

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

CUSA football suffered Sunstroke, etc

A few years ago the CUSA  was raided by the AAC so they raided the Sunbelt . Yesterday was a rough day for CUSA and the Sunbelt delivered some of that pain. #MarcusOutlow  rushed for
20 CAR, 140 YDS, 2 TD in Coastal Carolina's romp over #UAB and #CalebEvans passed for 165 yards and two TDs in a 21-20 ULM win over #USM. Also Zac Thomas  passed for
14-14, 295 YDS, 3 TD as App St  trounced Charlotte in a nice recovery from the OT loss at Penn St last week.
MWC  had a decent day as the hot Cole McDonald of Hawaii threw 4 TDs in a win over Rice, and UNLV  steam rolled UTEP. However FAU beat Air Force (MWC)
WKU suffered the worst loss of the days as Maine, a 1AA team, edged them 31-28. Marshall,  La Tech, and MTSU handled their 1AA opponents.
UTSA fell to Baylor of the BIG 12,
FIU squeaked by ODU in   a CUSA conference matchup

Week 3 Sept 13- #ODU  will get it's first win @Charlotte this afternoon. Expect the ODU QBs to look for Duhart who's averaging about 24 yards a catch. I'm a little surprised the #herd at South Carolina  game was postponed rather than moved to an earlier date
sept 15: Charlotte won so I'm off to a bad start. Sunbelt's weekend started out  rough with GA St getting crushed by Memphis (AAC) and it could get worse. ULL faces Miss St, GA Southern faces Clemson, & ULM plays TAMU.

Sunbelt 2018 football predictions

SunBelt East
Appalachian State and Troy led the  Sun Belt in scoring defense last year and should keep these squads vying for the East slot in the Championship game. The Nov 24 matchup could decide who moves on.  Georgia State and  Georgia Southern tend to find their footing by mid season and could be bowl eligible. Maybe Marvin Sanders, the new DC at Coastal Carolina, makes a difference

West
 Arkansas State's  high-powered offense  led by quarterback Justice Hansen and a  strong receiving corps are the best bet for  the West title game slot. Caleb Evans, ULM QB , will keep the Warhawks  in contention. South Bama has highly touted freshman QB, Cephus Johnson. Keep your eyes on  Ishmael Davis DL, Texas State, for comeback player of the year.  ULL remains in rebuild mode.

Aug 18

Some early ESPN Sunbelt focus Friday, Sept. 14
Georgia State at Memphis  (AAC)   coverage-(ESPN/ESPN2/ESPNU/ESPNews)

Aug 30

In an article about the Sunbelt  which has twelve teams in most sport but only 10 football teams , I found this.   .  Texas-Arlington and Ark- Little Rock do not currently field football teams, though there has been some discussion about Little Rock reviving its long-dormant program.

Sept 2.

#appst knocked off Michigan on 9/1/07 when they were 1AA and took PennSt to the limit  yesterday 9/1/18 before falling 45-38 yesterday- He!! of a game. South Bama took La Tech  to the final minutes before falling 30-26. Meanwhile Ga St and  ULM barely survived 1AA opponents.

sept 6

Can #appst bounce back from the tough loss at #psu and beat #charlotte (CUSA) who barely survived Fordham. Yes Jalin Moore  will gain 100+ for APP in a win.
oct 10- #appst started out slow last night but Zac Thomas got threw 2 TDS and the D was solid in a 35-9 win over Ark St.

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.

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