Late Dec 2022 O5 coaching hires and bowl games

  Kenni Burns (Minnesota running backs coach) takes over at Kent St for Sean Lewis, who joined Neon Deion's staff at Colorado. He was also at W.Michigan with Fleck so he's familiar with the MAC.

    Eric Morris (Washington State OC) takes over at North Texas and has plenty of experience as an assistant coach in the state of Texas, including at Houston (2010-11), Texas Tech (2013-17) and Incarnate Word (2018-21).

   Lance Taylor (Louisville OC) takes over at W.Michigan.

  I've had a rough picking season with the Bowl Games but will toss in a few words on the remaining O5.

TUE 12:00pmESPN

Ga. Southern/Buffalo: Former USC HC Todd Helton wins the Kyle Vantrease bowl. KV was the starting quarterback at Buffalo last season, and this year he starts for Georgia Southern against his former team. GS 34 Buff 24

Camellia Bowl, Cramton Bowl, Montgomery, AL

TUE 3:15pm ESPN

Memphis/Utah St: Ags hoops has been hot so maybe it will spread to the pigskin squad. Utah St 31 Memphis 28

First Responder Bowl, Gerald J. Ford Stadium, Dallas, TX

TUE 6:45pmESPN

C. Carolina/East Carolina: McCall/Ahlers QB battles. I'll go with Ahlers, the ECU lefty. ECU 35 CCU 31

Birmingham Bowl, Protective Stadium, Birmingham, Alabama

WED 2:00pmESPN

UCF/Duke: I know Duke has exceed expectations, but I'll go with Malzahn. UCF 27 Duke 24

Military Bowl, Navy - Marine Corps Memorial Stadium, Annapolis, MD

Dec 30 4:30pm Barstool Sports

Ohio/Wyoming: Cowboys rope in the Bobcats with a final minute FG. WYO 19 Ohio16

Arizona Bowl @ Arizona Stadium, Tucson, AZ

Jan 2 @ 1:00pm ESPN

Tulane/ USC: Green Wave subsides against the Trojans. USC 38 TUL 31

Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic AT&T Stadium (Arlington, Texas)

Dec 28, 2022

I finally got an assessment correct. Ahlers threw 5 TDs for ECU in a 53-29 win over Coastal Carolina. He's a gutsy QB and may find a place in the NFL as a backup

Wrong picks: Utah St and Georgia Southern!

Dec 29, 2022

Wrong on UCF who didn't score in the middle of the game. Coach Gus has some work to do with the Knights going to the Big 12. Duke 30 UCF 13

I missed this hire. GJ Kinne is the new HC at Texas St. His Incarnate Word squad averaged 52.9 ppg last season, but the Sunbelt is a big step up.

Dec 31, 2022

Wrong on the Cowboys who didn't have enough rope to slow down S. Bangura RB - OHIO 25CAR 138YDS 1TD.  Ohio 30 WYO 27

Jan 2, 2022

Well, folks guessed McCall, a well-liked player at CCU entered the portal, only to follow Coach Chadwell to Liberty U.   New CCU HC Tim Beck, formerly an asst at NCST, must've had a chat with him and he's exited the portal.

Wow. I thought the Trojans D was shaky but what a complete meltdown. Props to Tulane(AAC).  Has Lincoln Riley ever  been the HC of a team with a decent D. Tulane 46 USC 45. Spears ' stats for the Green Wave

Jan 4, 2022

Petrino's stint at UNLV (MWC) lasted a month. Texas A&M hired Bobby Petrino as offensive coordinator today.

Jan 7, 2023

Steve Spurrier Jr. is the new Tulsa(AAC) offensive coordinator and will also coach QBs. He worked as an asst for Mike Leach at Wazzoo and Miss St.

Jan 27, 2023

Speaking of head coaches if SDST keeps Hoke for a few more years, he 'll be back in the P5. "There are more bars in that stadium(Snapdragon) than there are in most cities," said Aztecs coach Brady Hoke. 

There's an assumption  the Pac-12 has no choice but to plug up its Southern California hole with SDSU.

Feb 7, 2023

 Tulane defensive coordinator Lance Guidry is heading to Miami U to replace Kevin Steele, who is headed to Bama to take the DC job

Guidry spent the 2022 season at Marshall and took the Tulane job last month. Tulane is owed $500,000 in buyout money for Guidry's departure, and the payment is due to the school in the next 60 days

Feb 14, 2023

The U hired Houston U OC Shannon Dawson 

I'm torn on this. Kevin Sumlin, co-offensive coordinator and tight ends coach for the Maryland Terrapins. Previous gigs: 

2008–2011 Houston

2012-2017 Texas A&M

2018-2020 Arizona

Feb 16 2023

Tulane raids the SunBelt and hires Troy's DC Shiel Wood as its new defensive coordinator.

March 4, 2023

San Diego St is looking for a new associate head coach/running backs coach again after the LA Rams hired Ron Gould.  

Maryland is planning to hire former Texas State DC Zac Spavital as its Safeties Coach.  Locksley has been raiding the southwest USA  for coaches, a lot lately.

April 2, 2023

I think Navy (AAC) should've kept HC Ken Niumatalolo, and he's moved on to be Director of Leadership for UCLA Football, a job title that baffles me.

Week 6 O5 conference play

 AAC: I'm keeping my eyes on UCF but missed out on picking that game in which they played a he!! of second half and rolled SMU 41-19. ECU nearly upset NC St, but lost to Navy, while Tulane beat Houston and Kansas St but lost to S.Miss. I'll go with Ahlers tossing 3 TD passes for ECU in a victory over Tulane. ECU 27 Tulane 24

CUSA: In a battle of productive QBs, I'll give Frank Harris(UTSA) the edge at home in the Alamodome over  Austin Reed(WKU) . UTSA 41 WKU 38

MAC: E.Michigan beat Arizona St but struggled to victory of UMass and W. Michigan has been dull. I want to call this one a tie, but EMU will pull out a 17-16 win.

MWC: The passing Rebs have been lighting up the scoreboard this season. I'll roll with Doug Brumfield leading UNLV to a 30 -27 win over San Jose St.

SunBelt:  The Stun Belt has lost some of its shock appeal, but James Madison, the new 1A kid in town,  won at Appy, so I think Centeio and the Dukes pull out a 23 -19 squeaker at Ark St this week.

Oct 8, 2022

I was wrong on the passing Rebs. SJST 40 UNLV 7. Cordeiro, the SJST QB, threw for two TDs and ran for two TDs. 

 Tune woke up late for Houston and they outscored Memphis. 26-12 in the 4th for a 33-32 W.

Oct 9, 2022

I finished 3-2.  I was wrong on ECU who couldn't figure out Tulane's D. UTSA won a shootout over WKU. I was correct on EMU and JMU but guessing they would be low scoring games was off by a mile.

Surprises. Appy lost to TX ST. NIU  keeps losing, yesterday it was 52-32 to Toledo.

Oct 11, 2022

James Madison jumped into the AP top 25.  They're at Georgia Southern this week. Dukes beware of road road life in the StunBelt.

Mackin Tuesday in week 11

 Ok, I didn't guess on a MAC game last week and haven't reviewed any of its Tuesday and Wednesday games in weeks.

Miami(Ohio) needs this game to stay with a game of Kent St in the East. The focus will have to be on D after suffering a 35-33 defeat to Ohio in the Battle of the Bricks last week. RedHawks will keep McDuffie under 100 yards rushing.  M(O) 19 Buff 17.

Was Ohio's win last week  the spark they needed? It won't be enough this week against Ben Bryant's passing .He's thrown for 2190 YDS and 13 TDs.  EMU 30 Ohio 20

Akron fired its HC Arth . Look for WMU's rushing attack led by Tyler to have a big game . WMU 26 Akron 13.

Nov 10, 2021

Well 2 out of 3. I was wrong on EMU . Ohio jumped out to an early lead and got a 34-26 win.

Akron gave WMU a late scare with a huge second half but the Broncos rallied late. Sean Tyler WMU(16 CAR, 147 YDS, 1 TD) had another huge game.

Brett Gabbert M-OH(21-28, 351 YDS, 4 TD ) was the dude in 45-18 win over Buffalo.  I 'll be back tomorrow with a blog on the rest of the O5.

Nov 11, 2021

Wednesday night  review :   Rocky Lombardi and NIU  edged Ball  St 30-29 on a last second FG and moved to 5-1 in the MAC to stay one game ahead of  CMU in the MACW.                                      Rocky Lombardi NIU 23-38, 264 YDS, 1 TD

Jay Ducker NIU         24 CAR, 155 YDS, 1 TD                                                                               Toledo blew out Bowling Green and CMU beat Kent State.

Nov 16, 2021

Miami (Ohio) has a chance to win the MAC East in a crazy season which includes narrow conference losses to EMU and Ohio. I'll stay on the Gabbert train and take M(O) to beat Bowling Green  33-30 tonight in week 12. BTW, BG beat Minnesota(B10) while Miami (Ohio)lost to the Gophers in September.

Nov 17, 2021

 I was close on the MO total and am surprised the Falcons could only score one TD . MO 34 BG 7. This kid,  Jack Sorenson, M-OH(4 REC, 111 YDS, 1 TD) has had a lot of big games in 2022).

Nov 18, 2021

NIU needed OT to escape with a W over Buffalo.

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 Mixed Bag in week 6

 I'm focusing more on conference games this week but there remains some intriguing OOC games this week, too.

CUSA: UTSA (5-0, 1-0 CUSA) has impressive win over Illinois and Memphis and will squeak by Western Kentucky(1-3, 0-0 CUSA) led by B. Zappe (133-183, 1712 YDS, 16 TD, 2 INT). UTSA 36 WKU 32

CUSA: North Texas (1-3, 0-2 CUSA) has played poorly, but they 'll put a scare in Missouri(2-3, 0-2 SEC) who has stumbled in the past two weeks. Missouri 22 NT 19

MAC: Western Michigan (4-1, 1-0 MAC) has won four straight since losing to Michigan(B10) and will hold off Ball St(2-3, 0-1 MAC)    by a score of 24-22

AAC: East Carolina (3-2, 1-0 AAC) has surprised a few folks this season and QB Holton Ahlers 

(101-170, 1266 YDS, 7 TD) has been a major reason.  UCF(2-2, 0-1 AAC) has lost two in a row and Coach Gus will pull out some new tricks to get back on track at home . UCF 37 ECU 27

Oct 10, 2021

CUSA: Harris(6 TD passes) and Zappe(5 TD passes) put on a show as  expected. UTSA got by WKU 52-46. Austin Aune (16-26, 305 YDS, 4 TD) did his best for UNT, but their slow start hurt them in a 48-35 loss to Missouri. (2-0) for me

MAC: Wrong on WMU. Plitt threw four TD passes for Ball St in a 45-20 win over WMU.

AAC: Johnny Richardson (16 CAR, 104 YDS, 1 TD) had a solid day for UCF in a 20-16 win over ECU. Right on this one so 3-1 for the weekend.

O5 Side notes -Surprised that: Marshall needed OT to beat ODU. Boise St handled BYU.  Memphis lost again , this time to Tulsa.

O5 OOC play in week 4

N. Starkel (63-123, 937 YDS, 6 TD, 4 INT) takes his San Jose St(MWC)  team  to play Western Michigan(MWC) led by K. Eleby (58-93, 702 YDS, 5 TD). In a battle of productive QBs WMU , who upset Pitt last Saturday , will survive 31-30.

In a battle of two former SWC teams , SMU(AAC) will give TCU(Big12) a tough matchup but fall 28-24. 

Tanner Mordecai SMU(81-111, 1023 YDS, 16 TD)has been productive and one of his TD passes was a final second Hail Mary TD pass in a win over La Tech last Saturday.

Tulane(AAC) has scored some points in losses to Oklahoma and Ol Miss while UAB(CUSA) scored one TD in a loss to Georgia, but the Blazers will keep this a low scoring game and prevail 19-16.

Just heard: Tennessee paid an additional $100,000 to not play Army in 2022.  Army  was supposed to get $1.4 million for the game but was paid a $500,000 buyout to cancel the agreement. Akron(MAC) will replace them and be paid $1 million.  Army hasn't filled the schedule slot yet. Vols' folks claim Fulmer got the ball rolling on this. It's a chicken-sh^t move.

Sept 26, 2021

One for three for this weekend. UAB 28 Tulane 21 Starting qbs, Hopkins (UAB) , Pratt (TUL) each threw three TDs

Another game with 3 TDs QBs: Mordecai lead SMU over TCU and Dugan by a score of 42-34. Also, Bentley rushed for 153 yards and TD for the Mustangs in the Dallas area "bowl"

Starkel and the Spartans laid an egg in a 23-3 loss to WMU

In a day filled with upsets and near upsets, how about  Bowling Green(MAC) defeating Minnesota(b10) 14-10

O5 we got Thursday football Dec 10

 FAU was held to three points by Georgia Southern last week and will likely get enough O back against USM in Hattiesburg, MS for a 13-10 CUSA win tonight.

Will Houston have lift off after a four -week "break"? They'll shake off the rust for 24-23 AAC win over a Memphis team with suspect D. 

I'll take Ball State in a 27-25 win  over WMU in a battle  two 4-1 teams in MAC play. Plitt outguns Eleby.

Fresno St  lost to San Jose St last week and New Mexico upset Wyoming. Haener will throw two TD passes  to lead  Fresno to a 23-16 MWC win over UNM.

Troy hosts the undefeated Chanticleers and will be gunning for the upset but McCall and crew will get the job done. CCU 27 Troy 19 in Sunbelt action.

Dec 11

Off to another rough week of picks. USM 45 FAU 31 USM QB Trey Lowe threw two touchdown passes and ran for a score, and  his teammate Camron Harrell returned a kickoff 100 yards for a TD. Also Gore Jr rushed for 111 yards and a TD. Golden Eagles fans have to be wondering where has this been all season?

dec 13

Two more incorrect picks , Houston, and Fresno St, before I get tot the correct ones, Ball St and CCU.

Tune, the Houston QB, and White , the Memphis QB , were about even in stats so it came down to a FG from Riley Patterson as time ran out to give Memphis a 30-27 win.

The Lobos ground attack, powered by  Bobby Cole who ran for 138 yards and three of the team's six rushing TD, rolled over the Bulldogs. New Mexico 49 Fresno St 39

A crazy final minute of play ended with Ball St winning 30-27 over WMU and earning a right to play Buffalo in the MAC title game. Plitt and Eleby  were about even in the QB stats.

Jaivon Heiligh caught a 23-yard touchdown pass from McCall with 45 seconds left to keep Coastal Carolina undefeated. CCU 42 Troy 38

dec 13  more news

Arkansas St  hired Butch Jones as its next football coach to replace former HC Blake Anderson who stepped down to take the vacant Utah State job.

jan 5, 2021 news

 It happened.  Doc Holliday 's contract was not extended at Marshall. His record there is  85-54 (55-30 in league play) with a CUSA title in 2014 and three division championships. 

 

.

Slim conference options in the O5 Dec 4-5

 All the schedule shuffles makes it difficult to find games that matter inside conferences but here I go.

Tulsa(5-0 AAC) trails Cincy, who they faces next week,  by a half a game in the AAC . They may have to rely on back QB Brin Collins to eke out a win at  Navy team and remain undefeated. Tulsa 25 Navy 22

Marshall(7-0, 4-0 CUSA)  the so-so Rice Owls and should take care business with Knox rushing for over 100 yards. #herd 30 Rice 17

Western Michigan (4-0 MAC) should handle EMU and keep pace with Buffalo(5-0 MAC) . The E & E , Eleby and Eskridge, show will lead the way to 29 -22 WMU win.

Nevada suffered its first MAC loss to Hawaii last week while Fresno St has been on a roll. Jalen Cropper is a hot receiver for Fresno so I'll gamble he gets two TDs in a win Fresno St 36 Nevada 33

The national media is high on ULL, but I suspect App St isn't too happy after a tough loss  to CCU. Zac Thomas roars back and throws two TD passes for APPY in a 31-30 win over ULL in Sunbelt action.

Dec 5

ULL 's snapper  tried to give Appy the game, but the Cajuns hung for a 24-21 win and gave me  an incorrect pick.  Mountaineers' Chandler Staton missed a 30-yard FG with 2 seconds left that would've sent the game to OT.

Dec 6

 I was certainly wrong on Marshall who got blanked 20-0 by Rice yesterday. The Owls D was stellar with five INTs, one of which was a pick6.

And lets keep rolling on my poor day yesterday. Eleby threw 4 TD passes for WMU, but EMU got three TD passes from P. Hutchinson and  a great rushing performance from Daruis Boone (148 yards, 1TD) in a 53-43 win yesterday.

Carson Strong threw 5 TD passes for Nevada in a 37-26 over Fresno and its D kept.Jalen Cropper out of the end zone.

My sole correct pick was Tulsa who got a key 3rd quarter 66-yard touchdown pass from Zach Smith to Josh Johnson to earn a 19-6 victory.

dec 7 2020

An addendum due to a Sunday night CUSA game . #wku (5-6) has improved a great deal while Charlotte (2-4) has had a bouncy pandemic ride. Pagrome and Gaej Walker had solid games in the Hilltoppers' victory. wku 37 CHAR 19.

 Nice 20-3 win for G Southern over an FAU team that usually scores a lot of points.

aug 7 2024

RIP  Coach Kragthorpe(59) died from Parkinsons. He went to three bowl games in four years with Tulsa when they were in the CUSA

Ge also was the HC at Louisville and an assistant with the Buffalo Bills.

Midweek pigskin in week ending Nov 21

 A battle of two (2-0) MAC, WMU and CMU, teams kicks off tomorrow tonight at Central Michigan. WMU will need  more than the fake spike TD that saved them against Toledo last week. Richards to Dixon passing game will take  the home team to a narrow victory. CMU 20 WMU 18.

I'm taking field goals as the winner in the FIU/WKU game in the CUSA.  The tossed coin landed on FIU 12 WKU 9

Tulsa reached the top 25 and I don't see Tulane slowing down Zach Smith, who has tossed 10 TD passes, in this AAC matchup. Tulsa 27 Tulane 22

It's hard to resist to the MWC matchup of San Jose St (4-0) and Fresno St (3-1). I'll take the Starkel to Gaither connection to keep SJST undefeated. SJST 31 Fresno St 26

 Coastal Carolina (7-0, 5-0 Sun Belt) hosts AppSt(6-1, 4-0 Sun Belt) and the home team Chanticleers will ride McCall's passing to 34-19 victory over AppSt..

Nov 18, 2020

Props to #JerotPatterson  for this stat line 31 carries for 301yards, 4 TDs in his Buffalo Bulls  42-17 win over Bowling Green. 

Nov19

Wrong about the QBs and the game . It was Eleby, WMU QB, who stole the show by tossing 5 TD passes in a 52-44 win over CMU.

Nov 20

I got damn close on the final score  and was correct on Tulsa, who needed OT to put away Tulane 30-24. Davis Brin, the Tulsa  QB , had  solid night: 18-28, 266 YDS, 2 TD 

Nov 22

 I was wrong on WKU who  outscored  FIU 28-8 in the second half  for a 38-28 victory 

CCU got a hell of a battle from App ST in scrapping out a 34-23 win. McCall is a gamer and Isaiah Likely ( 3 REC, 118 yards, 1 TD) shows a lot of promise and may keep the Chants undefeated this season.

SJST /Fresno ST was cancelled. 2-2 this weekend

MAC 2018 Football predictions

East
Ohio  averaged 39.1 points a game last season and has a potent rushing attack led by A.J. Ouellette
Akron needs an improved D to repeat in the East
Buffalo will rely on Jackson to Johnson aerial show
Miami (Ohio)- Solid D but questions linger about the offense
Bowling Green St Yep, Carl Pelini is out of the shadows and running the D
Kent State -Another long season


West Division
Northern Illinois QB Childers takes the Huskies to the head of the pack
Central Michigan will rely on a solid D until the young offense gets into gear.
Toledo: Woodside's replacement at QB ?
Eastern Michigan- A lot rides on who replaces Roback at QB.
Western Michigan - Will a healthy Wassink return to form at QB?
Ball State  QB Riley Neal  and RB  James Gilbert  are healthy and will need stellar seasons  to improve a squad that averaged 17.9 points a game

sept 2

Rough weekend for #MAC football.  Ohio barely escapes Howard U (DC). Kent St was headed to a big win over Illnois until they were outscored 28-7 in the second half in aq 31-24 defeat. #wmu showed some fight scoring 35 in the 2nd half of a 455-42 loss to Cuse.  #bowlinggreen got stomped by Oregon Ducks 58-24. #Ragland threw for the 357 yards and 3 TDs in Miami of Ohio  35-28 home loss to #Marshall. #CMU went scoreless in the 2nd half of their 35-20 loss to Kentucky, #NIU scored once in the 4th quarter in a 33 -7 loss to Iowa, Buffalo, Toledo,  and EMU beat 1AA schools. Akron game was cancelled.

sept 7

#CMU , who was so-so against UK in a loss last week hosts #kansas who lost to 1A Nichols St last week. Maybe the #MAC beats a B12 team this week.

sept 9

Kansas had an easy day against CMU,  but how about #EMU  eking out a tough win over Purdue of the B10. In defeat Ball St hung tough with Notre Dame and NIU played a decent game against Utah of the Pac12.
Against the AAC: Miami O was shutout by Cincy , but Buffalo beat Temple.
WMU and Bowling Green were trounced by respectively , Michigan (B10) and MD (ACC).
Akron and Kent St won against their 1AA opponents.

oct 6 , 2018

Toledo may struggle  against BG if Guadagni isn't healty enough to play QB. Ohio is tricky and may trounce Kent St. Akron over Miami O. NIU over  Ball St. EMU over WMU.

Oct 7,2018

Some rusty picks yesterday , particularly underestimating Miami O with Ragland leading them to a 41-17 win over Akron. Wassink and WMU edged EMU.

2017 MAC football snap hunches

East
Miami (Ohio) -Look for Ragland's band to rock the East
Bowling Green- Morgan to Miller aerial show
Ohio- Solich has another solid squad.
Akron- No zip on D
Buffalo- Still re-building
Kent St- Not much gold on the Flash.

WEST
Toledo- Hard to go against Woodside's Rockets soaring in the West
W. Michigan- PJ rowed to Minnesota and some stars plaing on Sunday.
E. Michigan- Is Roback's arm enough totake them bowling again?
C. Michigan- Who starts at QB? Morris or Poljan?
N. Illinois-Will late 2016 rebound carry over?
Ball St  freshman LB, Brandon Martin will be busy.
Must see #MAC games: Oct 7 #EMU @ #toledo , #bowlinggreen  @#miami(OH) . Miami (OH) last played  #notredame  in 1909 in 46-0 loss and will travel to South Bend for a Sept 30 match up.

Aug 12: I wonder if this scheduling  pre-dates PJ stint @ #westermmichigan  .
Sept. 2 at #USC
Sept. 9 at #MichiganState

Aug 18: I missed this surprising tidbit : #Toledo has not appeared a MAC title game since 2004.

O5 baseball 2017 quick peeks

Conference play starts in abut ten days except for the MWC which is led by #newmexico at 3-0 and scored 59 runs in its three game sweep of Air Force
Sunbelt- Reigning national champ #coastalcarolina opens its debut Sunbelt season at #TXst. #kevinwoodall and pitcher #alexcunningham are off to nice starts for the Chanticleers.
AAC: #usf and #ucf are off to strong starts. #ecu woke up
CUSA- Louisiana tech knocked off #MissSt which is a good sign.
MAC- #ohio is doing okay C. #Ibarra looks decent.
Definitely could use baseball bloggers on these O5 conferences: AAC CUSA MAC MWC SUNBELT
NCAA Other 5 Conferences

March 12

AAC- USF  14-1 before conference play while Tulane is a disappointing 3-11.
CUSA: Lousiana Tech (13-1) remians hot
MAC: #kentst has been improving
MWC: How about those Lobos (13-5) and 5-0 in conference play.
SunBelt: #coastalcarolina is 11-7 and may have tough road to repeating as national champs

March 22

#ULL 11-7 (2-1 Sun Belt)  is in the top 25. Pinero, Edwards, and Abbott are batting above .300. Gruner and Lee are each 4-1.
#rice (CUSA) is having a terrible season

March 26

#cajuns are crumbling- lost five of their last eight games including yesterday's loss to #troy.  #AustinCrook struck out 14 ULL batters, tossed 158 pitches, and allowed four runs (two earned) on four hits and five walks over 8.2 innings,  

Crook is 4-0, 2.15 in four starts.

March 27

ODU (19-4, 5-0) has won nine straight. #Bainbridge (5-1) lowered his ERA to 1.62 in the #odu win over #utsa yesterday. Three way tie at 5-1 in the CUSA Standings . #fau , #odu , #usm

April 2

Southern Miss 7-1 has won five straight including two over #wku
Florida Atlantic 6-2 need to beat Rice today today to in the series

Old Dominion         6-2  need to beat Charlotte today to win the series
In the Sunbelt #ULL gets most of the ink but #txst  is up by half of a game. keep your eyes on Bobcats outfielder #DerekScheible

April 8

What kind of squad will #wichitast bring to the AAC in 2017?  some Mid season stars at blog
OF #MattWallner, Southern Miss 333avg 9HR 24rbi 2sb
RP#Nate Harris, Louisiana Tech 3-0 0.76ERA  seven saves

April 12

#houston demoted then suspended ace lefthander #SethRomero, a possible round 1 pick in the MLB draft,  and then swept #ecu in #AAC play . No specific reasons were given for Romero's suspension.

April 13

Time to focus on the MAC. #cmu is 6-0 in conference play. #danieljipping is one of the reasons 5HR, 29RBI, .294avg

April 16

CUSA focus. #USM and #FAU are 11-3 and tied for first , one game up on #odu. TJ Nichting of #charlotte is one the top offensive players with 4HR, 31RBI, 9SB, & a  .390avg.. Nate Harris of La Tech  is 4-0 with 8 saves and a .60 ERA

April 20

#charlotte (CUSA)  upset Wake Forest . How about #tjnichting
#southalabama (SunBelt) ,  with a strong start from #seantrimble ,  upset Miss St.  UT Arlington (sunbelt) beat Texas A&M

April 22

#coastalcarolina has recovered from a slow March and sits atop the Sunbelt East
#newmexico and #sandiegost in a two team race for the #mwc title.
 on the rise: #Fau #tulane

April 25

#cmu remains atop the #mac west and will face #kentst , the leader the in the East, this weekend.
#joeymurray has beeen stellar for Kent St. Five wins , 66ks , 2.40 ERA.

April 27

Does this catcher have an MLB future  Travis Watkins #EastCarolina .324avg, 5 HR, 32 RBI
O5 upsets the SEC. #tulane beat LSU and #troy beat Auburn

April 30

#tjnichting of #charlotte leads the #cusa in batting avg  (.406)  slugging avg  (.689) and runs scored .(49) and Hits (71). #finfer of the #herd leads in HR (13) and Total bases (106)

May 4

MAC Leaders Kent St (East) Central Michigan (West)
BRETTELL, Michael, CMU.....    6 Wins
ROEHN, Jake, OHIO..........   10 saves

BURCH, Luke, Kent St  .384 AVG

ALLISON, Tanner, WMU.......   55 RBIs

ROBINSON, Daniel, CMU......   19 stolen bases

May 5

Flash on the SunBelt: #connorleonard ,  #appst  1B, has improved his batting average from .156 to .224 . He had 14 hits and two multi-hit games in his first 32 appearances this season but turned it around with  16 hits and five multi-hit games in his last 11 games.

May 7

#usf and #houston   are tied for first in the AAC. Houston:  #jakescheiner 13 hr, 42 rbis .363 AVG and #treyCUMBIE ,   2.61 era   6-1. #ryanVALDES #USF  2.70era   9-0

may9

#sunbelt: Hardy Dylan is batting .349 for #southbama  which tops the East.  #uta tops the West.. Trae Peterson is 6-3 for UTA.

may 13

#usm (21-5) can  clinch the #cusa regular season with a win over #uab  today. #odu (17-9) crushed #fiu 21-1 last night to stay in the race another day . Four CUSA games left.
#AAC is tight
UCF 13-7  #fau (1)  then three against #usf
Houston 13-7 #tulane (1)then three against Cincy
USF         13-8  three against #ucf
UConn 12-9 three against #ecu

may 17

Three way tie with #usf,  #houston, #ucf at 13-8
#usm captures #cusa regular season title
#coastalcarolina is within a half game of #southalabama in the Sunbelt East

may 20 2017

Yes, #USM is a scorching team and the 1seed in CUSAT, but props to #odu for clinching the 2 seed. #TurnerBishop hit a tying three-run homer in the ninth inning and #JaredYoung hit the go-ahead RBI single in the Monarchs comeback win over #fau.
#MWC: #sandiegost has turned its season around and will likely clinch the regular season title.
MWC leaders
Adam Groesbeck Air Force .411avg
Brett Seeburger San Diego State 9 wins

May 23, 2017

Cheers to the MWC, who gives the highest seed host status for the conference tournament.

May 25

Wild one in AACT: #memphis edged Cincy 15-14. They combined for 29 runs on 32 hits and neither team committed an error in the game.
#coastalcarolina  is the # seed- quite a climb from the middle of the pack in their first #sunbelt season.

may 29, 2017

At Large  bids will be announced today,but these teams are in.

AAC - Houston
CUSA- Rice
MAC-Ohio
MWC  San Diego St
SunBelt- South Alabama
______________________
Special props to UMBC (America East), my alma mater for qualifying.

May 30

At O5 large bids
AAC- UCF and USF
CUSA- Southern Miss
#coastalcarolina goes from national champ to no invitation, SunBelt sting.

June 3

How about #southalabama  beating #mississippist . props to  #TravisSwaggerty of #usa  on the three-run homer
June 4
Tough day for three. O5 teams:  #ohio (MAC) pounded by the Hoosiers.. #UCF (CUSA) lost to Florida St  #usf (AAC) lost to florida  However three other O5 teams won.. #houston (AAC) crushed 17-3,  #rice (CUSA)  beat texas southern 13-6, #sandiegost (MWC)  edged #Ucla 3-2.
june 6
All o5 teams eliminated.

june 30

props to #houston of the #aac and #southernmiss #cusa for making the top 25 in most post season baseball polls.

july 21 

Just thought I'd mention some  #mwc players shining in the #MLB
#Aaron Judge, New York Yankees Fresno State
#StephenStrasburg, Washington Nationals San Diego State
and #JoshHarrison, Pittsburgh Pirates Cincinnati of the #AAC

May 26, 2020

 The first College World Series  was played in 1947 at Hyames Field on the campus of Western Michigan University(now in the MAC) in Kalamazoo, Michigan. The Mississippi River was the dividing line between  the eight teams competing in the Eastern and Western Playoff. The Eastern Playoff featured Clemson, Illinois, #NYU and Yale, while the Western Playoff included California, Denver, Oklahoma and Texas.
Denver U baseball is played at the club level and NYU is moving  up from club level  to D3

George Bush Sr was on the Yale team that lost to Cal in 1947 CWS championship final.

rest of the O5 Bowl games

Dec 27
Bradshaw, Davidon and the rest if the rushing crew will lead #Army to a ten point win over #Northtexas (CUSA) in the Dallas Bowl
Temple won the AAC and had to settle for the #MilitaryBowl.The Owls wil eke out a two point win over improving #wakeforest behind Walker's arm and Thomas' legs.
#Boisest  (MWC) QB #Rypien will have big game over the stumbling  Baylor Bears in the Cactus Bowl.

Dec. 29
Birmingham Bowl:South Florida will miss Coach Taggart and South Carolina, on a seven game winning streak, will contain #quentinflowers for the win
Dec 30
Nova Home Loans Arizona Bowl
South Alabama (Sunbelt) vs. Air Force (MWC): Two erratic teams . Air Force pulls out a squeaker . #randyallen  of South Bama is a fun defensive player to watch
Jan 2
 Goodyear Cotton Bowl Classic

I'll be rooting for No. 15 Western Michigan , the undefeated guest from the MAC, to beat No. 8 Wisconsin, but can't see #wmu D withstanding the relentless Badgers rushing attack

Dec 28 review

Army was my only correct pick  yesterday.What happened to thne Wazzou O?

Dec 30 review

Totally wrong on the Gamecocks containing #quentinflowers , who earned MVP honors Thursday with 261 yards passing, 105 yards rushing and five total touchdowns in #USF (AAC) 46-39 win over #southcarolina.

Dec 31 review

If you bet opposite my picks lately, then you're doing well. #AFA  roared back from an early 21-3 deficit to defeat S.Bama 45-21.Maybe this stt says it all. #Worthman, the Air Force QB, completed only 7 of 10 passes but still passed for 207 yards.

Jan 3, 2017 review

#wmu battled the entire game but didn't have enough to overtake Wisky. Incredible effort by #coreydavis on his TD catch. Wis 24 WMU 16

Jan 8 update

I didn't foresee Minnesota as #Fleck 's next move. Can he recruit another WR like #coreydavis, who should be a late first round or early second round NFL draft pick.

MAC football 2016

East
1) Akron looks better. The addition of transfers of Natson and Ball on offense should keep the Zips in contention.
2) Bowling Green:  Darrion Landry, a JUCO transfer, will be an asset as Knapke tries to replace Matt Johnson at QB
3) Ohio- Maybe Wyndham does enough to keep the Bobcats in the middle of the pack.
4) Miami (Ohio)- Maybe Bahl makes a huge leap at QB
5) Kent St- Flashes are young and not looking golden .
6) Buffalo will miss Licata

WEST
1) W. Michigan: Terrell to Davis connection will help Fleck's  Broncos eke out the division title
2) Northern Illinois is solid in three phases of the game, particulary with lurry in the secondary.
3) Toledo has Kareem Hunt running  behind a talented OL.
4) Ball St.- Jury is out on QB Riley Neal
5) C. Michigan: Cooper Rush is an improving QB but is that enough.
6) E. Michigan:  Maybe  a win or two but not ready to escape the cellar

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.