Countdown to less Independents - nearly over.

 Notre Dame may not ever give up its Independent football status, and it continues to keep Navy(AAC) on its schedule. They meet at M&T stadium in Baltimore City today. ND 30 Navy 20 in an old-fashioned rushing slugfest.

#Army travels to Bama to face a tough Troy(SunBelt) Defense.   Troy 19 Army 12

#Liberty crosses the Mason-Dixon line to face UConn. The Flames lost Dae Dae Hunter to injury last week but Freeze's O will be still be too much for Mora's Huskies. LU 31 UConn 17

UMass visits Ark St(SunBelt). Both teams are having bad season. Home team wins Ark St 20 UMass 17

New Mexico St host Lamar(1AA). NMST is eading to the CUSA while Lamar doesn't know what 1AA conference it wants to be in, (Southland or WAC). NMST 24 Lamar 13.

Nov 12  in the PM

Notre Dame allowed Navy to get damn close after controlling the game for three quarters. ND 35 Navy 32

Troy took its time but survived. Troy 10 Army 9

Liberty was missing some key players on O, and UConn upped its game. I'm still a bit surprised at the Huskies O, and it was my sole incorrect pick,.  UConn 36 LU 33 

Ark St  survived the Minutemen's late rush. Ark St 35 UMass 33

NMST 51 Lamar 14

Nov 18, 2022

UMass travels to TAMU. If the Minutemen prevail, the oil men will find a way to get Jimbo deported from the state of Texas

Mizzou will handle NMST, and BYU will take care of Utah Tech, formerly known as Dixie State before the woke crowd invaded Utah.

Don't look now but Mora's Huskies will beat Army to get UConn its 7th W.

Notre Dame should handle BC, but there have been some close ones in this series. BC lost to UConn and then beat NC St

Liberty lost to UConn last week and looks beat up. VA Tech hasn't won since mid-September and that continues. Flames flicker but hang on in a 20-17 squeaker.

Nov 20, 2022

Wrong on UConn who lost 34-17, and Liberty who lost 24-23.  I'm a bit surprised that BC got shutout. It was hilarious to see the TAMU twitter fans freaking out when the Ags were only up 10-3 on UMass at halftime. TAMU 20 UMass 3

Nov 22, 2022

Can Notre Dame keep playing the vampire? Their Ws over Clemson and UNC did some damage, but they don't have enough O to win against USC in LA. USC 31 ND 24. 

BYU gets back on track with a 23 17 win at Stanford. Army stops the Minutemen, and Liberty gets back on track hosting New Mexico St.

Nov 26, 2022

Liberty is losing to New Mexico St 42-7 in the 3Q. Freeze is staying in Falwell country and not headed to Auburn. NMST(5-6) scored 51 on Lamar and 45 on Hawaii, but never got above the 20s against any other opponent and are not bowl worthy. It doesn't look like NMST/SJST game will be made up next week.

Army crushed UMass and needs to beat Navy to get win number 6.

ND lost to USC

BYU saved face and beat Stanford.

Nov 28, 2022

  well I was wrong about Freeze- Auburn is hiring him.  The bad Liberty loss to NMST was irrelevant.

Dec 4, 2022

Liberty didn't waste time: Jamey Chadwell left Coastal Carolina for Falwell U.

Dec 6, 2022

Army plays Navy(AAC) in Philly this Saturday, and neither is headed to a Bowl game. My hunch: Navy 16 Army 13

New Mexico St will play Bowling Green(MAC) @ Ford Field in Quick Lane Bowl. Two very erratic teams. BG 23 NMST 20

Liberty will play Toledo(MAC) in the Boca Raton Bowl. Spark is out of the Flames with Freeze gone TOL 27 LIB 20

UConn in a Myrtle Beach Bowl game against Marshall(SunBelt). I'll take #herd -hoping Leborn plays. MAR 26 UConn 17

Dec 11. 2022

I was wrong on my final regular season pick. Army edged Navy in the 2nd OT : 20-17

Dec 19, 2022

I got home from work and the Herd was up 28-0 in the 3Q. A few minutes later and its 28-14. Ali/Laborn is a nice #herd RB combo. MU 28 UConn 14

Dec 21, 2022

I was correct on Toledo and the MAC went 2-0 yesterday. Flames flickered in the 2nd half, and Toledo RB, JACQUEZ STUART had solid game rushing for 111 yards on 23 carries. Toledo 19 Liberty 17

Dec 23, 2022

I saw the name Earl Weaver, the name of late Orioles baseball manager, and did a double take while reading the Chicago St basketball box score. This Weaver scored 16 points and grabbed seven rebounds in a 55-53 loss to Minnesota of the Big 10. Chicago St has improved but won't survive as an Independent

Hartford, the other hoops Independent which is in the process of going to a lower division, got crushed by San Francisco 85-53 last night.

Dec 26, 2022

New Mexico St will play Bowling Green(MAC) @ Ford Field in Quick Lane Bowl. Two very erratic teams. BG 23 NMST 20

The Lou Holtz Bowl is in Jacksonville on Dec 30. Rattler will have a good day for the Gamecocks in 30 -27 win over Notre Dame.

Dec 27, 2022

Good thing my picks are made with Monopoly money. I was wrong on NMST(7-6) who led 14-0 at the half and held on for a 24-19 win over Bowling Green. The Ags started the season 0-4. Off to the CUSA for the 2023 season.

Dec 31, 2022

In a wild game, the Irish got the best of the Gamecocks and handed me another incorrect pick. ND 45 SCar  38

Jan 14, 2023

Are you kidding me? A committee will study the potential for football at Chicago State. The school can barely sustain its hoops 1A program after parting ways with the WAC and could not find a conference in the Midwest to join. Ain't no way they get 1A  FOOTBALL unless there is some billionaire alumnus out there. Maybe at a lower level, but that's still a he!! of a dream.

Jan 24, 2023

Wow, Wesley Cardet Jr. scored 21 points as Chicago State defeated Coastal Carolina(Sunbelt) 74-70 in a road win last night. I'm sticking to the Summit Conference as a possible landing place move for them.

Jan 26, 2023

Wow, Chicago St played well but fell short at Stanford(PAC12).  Cardet scored 31 in a 72-65 loss to the Cardinals. Yes, I know Stanford is having a bad season, but Chicago St struggled to beat anybody in the WAC last season, let alone anyone else.

Jan 31, 2023

Chicago St raids the The Citadel(Southern) and picks up another win in the state of South Carolina. Cardet Jr scored 21 points in the Cougars 76-75 win.

Feb 4, 2023

Rees to Bama to replace O'Brien. Is ND cheap or is he not working well with Freeman?  He turned down Brian Kelly's offer to go with him to LSU last year.

Feb 14, 2023

Neither Utah offensive coordinator Andy Ludwig nor Kansas State offensive coordinator Collin Klein are taking the ND OC gig. BTW, Ludwig's first stint at Utah as OC included the Utes' undefeated 2008 season and a Sugar Bowl win over Bama.

Feb 19, 2023

Since some may view this as a quirky blog: Chicago St(10-18) hosts Hartford(5-22) in hoops today.  Cougars won at Hartford on Feb 4. I think some Independents in football played home/away series in pigskin during one of the Covid seasons. Hartford is dropping to a lower division so this may be the last of this matchup. Chicago St is talking of adding football which is crazy. School needs to join the Summit conference and calm down.

J. Corbett CHST (23PTS 7REB)  CHST 75 HART 53 

May 15, 2023

While NMST mens' hoops remains a mess from various scandals, football HC Jerry Kill finally signed a contract, which calls for paving parking lot near the football offices. Ags are coming off a bowl win as they head for the CUSA.

I was looking at NM St 2023 schedule this season and it includes two MWC teams:

Sept. 16 NMSU at New Mexico(love the intrastate rivalry)

Sept. 23 NMSU at Hawaii

June 8, 2023

Kind of getting a chuckle from all the twitter kids promoting UConn to B12. UConn showed that re-connecting with the Big East and focusing on hoops and the northeast was the correct call. If it needs a conference for football, try the MAC. I never understood why it didn't remain in the AAC for football only like Navy does.

Chicago St remains a mystery, and there must be something amiss if the MEAC, a 1a hoops conference of schools with a majority of black students, nixed inviting Chicago St to join it. Possibly it was due to east coast schools not wanting to increase travel costs.

July 21, 2023

Down to four 1A Independent FOOTBALL SCHOOLS: Army ,Notre Dame, UConn, and UMass who visits Army.

Army will spend some time in Louisiana.

Sat. Sept. 2.      at Louisiana-Monroe

Sat. Sept. 9      DELAWARE STATE

Fri. Sept. 15     at UTSA

Sat. Sept. 23     at Syracuse 

Sat. Oct. 7        BOSTON COLLEGE

Sat. Oct. 14      TROY

Sat. Oct. 21       at LSU

Sat. Oct. 28      UMASS

Sat. Nov. 4        at Air Force*

Sat. Nov. 11     HOLY CROSS

Sat. Nov. 18     COASTAL CAROLINA

Sat. Dec. 9        NAVY^

July 29, 2023

I've been saying for years this kid Demario Douglas was a decent WR. Hear he's moving up BB's depth chart.  COLLEGE Liberty DRAFT INFO 2023: Rd 6, Pk 210 (NE) 

Aug 14, 2023

UMass guys in the NFL. I thought Isabella(Bills) might have staying power in the NFL, but did not see Merriweather(Saints) who carried the ball 150 times for 575 yards for the Minutemen in 2022, possibly making the NFL.

No invite to the Horizon for Chicago St hoops, but they secured commitments from Matt and Ryan Bewley, 5* recruits.

Previous blogs

 https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2021/01/1a-ncaa-independents-and-geography-2021.html  

https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2022/05/1a-independents-start-to-dwindle-in-2023.html

1a NCAA Independents and Geography 2021

 I've been keeping track of  the 1A independents since 2016,  and it's time for a fresh blog but this a nice reference point https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2016/06/o5-geography-matters-martial-re-alignemt.html  

After  watching the big dogs not give Liberty U  a chance play a P5 team in a bowl game instead matching them up against undefeated CCU (Sunbelt) in what turned out to be an exciting LU win, it's time for the Sunbelt to add Liberty as a member in all sports  and maintain a growing, southern rivalry with Coastal Carolina. LU plays hoops in the Atlantic Sun conference.

Would be Army jump to the AAC for football only and join Navy , which is football only there now?

UMass got to play a few games this year as an Independent perhaps a return to the MAC  (football only) is in order. I'd suggest the CUSA but traveling to west Texas could be a pain in the butt. Perhaps UMass will remain a mercenary Independent which is the likely outcome for its neighbor UConn .

New Mexico St would be a cool addition to MWC if  the Aggies keep football.

Big 12 could use BYU for football only.

Jan 12, 2021

While reviewing Liberty U's hoop schedule I came across Bellarmine U, a new ASUN member and a private Catholic college in Louisville. KY. This will be the Knights first season in 1A.

Jan 17, 2021

The 2021 BYU football schedule  is heavy with Pac 12 teams, Zona, ASU, Utah, WSU, and USC, and reminds me of Notre Dame's dalliance with the ACC before Covid.

If UMass were to find an O5 conference for football, it would  be interesting to see if the hoops team would leave  the A10, a  strong basketball conference.

Feb 2, 2021

It's not a big shock but Notre Dame football is Independent again. Next season's schedule looks tough enough. I like seeing the matchup with Cincy and also Wisky

feb 23,2021

Bellarmine(13-5, 10-2 ASUN) and Liberty(18-5, 9-2 ASUN) are atop the Atlantic Sun and have a back to back set on Feb 26, 27 to finish the season.

march 6, 2021

What a crazy way to  make the Dance? Liberty will face North Alabama in the ASUN tournament championship game Sunday, but punched its Dance ticket because UNA is ineligible for the NCAA tournament because it's transitioning to 1A.

 Bellarmine, another ineligible team, went 1-7 in its final eight games of the regular season and lost to Stetson in ASUN rd1

March 20, 2021

Liberty put up a good fight but lost to OK St 69-60. Elijah Cuffee had a solid day with 16 PTS, 3 REB, 4 AST  for the Flames, but Cunningham and Anderson III were too much for the Flames to handle.

April 9, 2021

Liberty U goes back to having a so-so competitive football schedule in 2021, but I'm intrigued by the "Freeze Bowl" matchup at Ol Miss.

                                               

 

May 6, 2021

Since UConn has gone independent in football and left the AAC, the two most northern AAC teams are Cincy U and Temple which should give  the AAC more reason to invite Liberty U to join the conference for all sports. I'm not sure if they're ready for a Christian university with  big money and solid athletic facilities. ECU  isn't too far from Lynchburg, VA  and could become a regional AAC rival.

May 22, 2021

What jumped out at me was Army playing Wisky, which doesn't occur often and the Army /Air Force game is in Arlington Texas.

June 5, 2021

While reading the CBSSN  football schedule, which has solid coverage of the military academies, I was stunned to see UConn, an Independent, will be televised nearly every week. The Huskies were terrible in  the AAC and haven't improved since their exit.

These games featuring an Independent look to be good ones:

Friday, Oct. 1 BYU at Utah State(MWC)

Saturday, Oct. 2  Liberty at UAB(CUSA)

Saturday, Oct. 23 Wake Forest(ACC) at Army

June 20, 2021

Good move: CBS Sports and Army football agreed to a multi-year extension through the 2028 season

Also, CBS Sports will carry eight Black Knights football games this season.

July, 2, 2021

BYU athletes seeking to profit off of their name, image and likeness still must follow the university's honor code standards, which means they can't enter business partnerships with alcohol, tobacco and  coffee vendors. 

July 19, 2021

J J Holloman who had eight catches for 108 yards and a touchdown for FIU in 2020 is transferring to Liberty. He was a four-star recruit out of high school and spent two years with Georgia before being dismissed from the program in the summer of 2019, Freeze has a tough nut to crack there.

Aug 5, 2021

Has Notre Dame gone too far? Between now and 2:30 ET on 9/11/21, fans who want to watch the Irish play Toledo(MAC) must subscribe to Peacock Premium streaming service.

I've read a ton of complaints about how frustrated fans of the Olympics have been  about the disjointed NBC/Peacock approach.

BTW, New Mexico St travels to ALBUQUERQUE, NM  to face #NewMexico of the #MWC  on 9/11/21

August 28, 2021

Will the Big 12 take the religious route to recovery buy adding BYU, at least for football ,and Liberty for all sports?

Liberty football has two P5 opponents this season, Syracuse and Ol Miss and improved a great deal in hoops.

 BYU has the brand.

UConn shutout by Fresno St 45-0.  Are Huskies headed for a lower division or out of football?

Sept 6

Notre Dame survived a big scare from Florida St last night.

Edsall does the right thing and announces he 'll retire from UConn after the season.

Edsall move out day is now. Lou Spanos, The UConn DC,  will take over for the rest of this season.

Sept 26, 2021

 UMass got clobbered by Coastal Carolina, and U Conn played a decent game w/o  the Edsel in a 25-23 loss to Wyoming.

Liberty lost 28-21 to Syracuse, who has a shot in the wacky ACC. Another great game  for Malik Willis LIB (14-19, 205 YDS, 3 TD), Hey Auburn folks have you noticed how well this kid has played since he left you?

New Mexico St continues to not include D in its game plan.  Hawaii 41-NMST 21.

Now for undefeated I s: Rip Van Notre Dame woke up and scored 31 unanswered points in the 4Q in a 41-10 win over Wisky.

Baylor Romney(20-25, 305 YDS, 3 TD) BYU's QB led the Cougars to a 35-27 win over USF(AAC).

Christian Anderson (15 CAR, 236 YDS, 2 TD ) in a 23-10  Army win over Miami(Ohio) of the MAC.

Oct 17, 2021

Tough weeks for the Independents. Liberty lost to ULM(Sunbelt) and BYU lost to Baylor(B12) a week after losing to Boise St(MWC).

Army gave Wisky(B10) a good fight but lost 20-14, a week after losing to Ball St (MAC).

Oct 18, 2021

I like MTSU(CUSA) in a rare matchup with UConn on Friday night. Middle Tennessee is 2-0  against UC with wins in 2000 & 2001 when they were in the Sunbelt and UConn was an Independent. The Huskies tried to lose to Yale on Saturday but survived with a W and appear to be headed to 1AA or no football.

Oct 23, 2021

Returning  to a running theme in these "Independent" blogs: James Madison(1aa) is being heavily recruited to step up to 1A and be apart of the Sunbelt conference's expansion into Va(ODU)/WVA(Marshall).

Oct 30, 2021

Coach Mendenhall brings UVA  to play at BYU, his former employer. Look for BYU to beat the erratic Cavs by 5 points and build its resume as it steps up to B12.

Willis and the Liberty Flames will win big vs UMass. Will any conference accept Falwell's school?

UNC has been disappointing and could help its season by beating Notre dame today, but I suspect the Irish will eke out a W.

Nov 4, 2021

Ok guys, the Freeze "Bowl"  @ Ol Miss is on this week. Willis will have a decent not great day for Liberty,  but Kiffin's Rebels can't lose this home game. Miss 38 LIB 26

Nov 6, 2021

 Liberty is getting a conference in 2023 , it's the USA. You mentioned this coming at O5 group. Liberty and New Mexico State will be joining along with two other schools, Jacksonville State and Sam Houston State. who are moving up to 1A. That takes it to nine:  UTEP, FIU, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, and Western Kentucky , however wku and MTsu are talking to the MAC.

 So the SHS' move to the WAC will be short, if it all ,and NMST hoops leaving the WAC will be a plus for the CUSA.

Nov 11, 2021

I guess Uconn wants to stay 1A. Jim Mora joins the UConn program immediately as a hands-off assistant coach, to begin his evaluation and recruiting, and officially become the HC on Nov. 28, the day after the season finale vs. Houston. Interim UConn coach Lou Spanos,  was Mora’s defensive coordinator at UCLA in 2012-13.

Nov 26, 2021

Liberty has struggled a bit as opponents focus on mainly stopping Willis, and Freeze will need some creative thinking for a home win over Army on Saturday.

UConn will lose to Houston and be lucky to stay within 20 points of them. 

UMass/NewMexico St: If ties were allowed, this game would qualify. Minutemen get a final second FG to win.

ND has too much talent for the wingless Stanford Cardinals

BYU makes it 5-0 against the Pac 12 this season with a win over USC.

Nov 28, 2021

Liberty continues to stumble and Army is now 8-3. I guess defense was outlawed in New England yesterday. UH 45  Uconn 17  and NMST 44 UMass 27. ND rolled Stanford and BYU got by USC by 3

Dec 3, 2021

Wow, in the first visit of an SEC team to Liberty Arena, Missouri got waxed.

Darius McGhee scored 20 points and Shiloh Robinson scored a career-high 15 in the Flames 66-45 win over the Tigers. LU (ASUN) may have a seamless move to the CUSA for hoops.

Dec 7, 2021

BYU was 5-0 against the Pac 12, which included a win over Rose Bowl bound Utah, and the best bowl game they could get was against UAB, who finished behind UTSA in the CUSA West. BYU's two losses were to Baylor and Boise St.

Dec 12, 2021

It happens from time to time in Army /Navy series when the "dog" turns the tables. Navy 17 Army 13.  It was 7-7 early in the 1Q then offenses came to a slowed down. Navy shutout Army in the second half.

dec 22, 2021

No doubt Mizzou(SEC) is watching the tapes of how Navy held Army to 13 points on Dec 11. 

Armed Forces Bowl: Army (8-3) vs. Missouri (6-6). 

Army is favored against an SEC team so I'll go with that. Army 20 Missouri 19

Dec 23, 2021

How about Army coming back from a 10-0 deficit in the first quarter to defeat Mizzou 24-22 on Cole Talley's last second 41 Yd Field Goal?

March 9, 2022

Conference seeding matters. Liberty was 2 seed in the ASUNT, but 1 seed Jax St(ALA) wound up with the Dance ticket. CJ Fleming scored a career-high 27 points, Dylan Penn added 22 and 1A newcomer Bellarmine defeated Jacksonville(FLA) 77-72 in the ASUNT but is not eligible for the Dance since it is in the second season of a four year transition to 1A.

Liberty and Jax St(ALA) will be heading to CUSA in 2023 for all sports.

April 19, 2022

I know the transfer portal makes one dizzy, but this one struck me as a bad one for former Notre Dame and Cincy HC Brian Kelly. Corey Kiner, a former Mr. Ohio Football who finished second on LSU in yards rushing in 2021, is transferring to Cincy.

April 21, 2022

2022 Liberty Football Schedule

Flames ain't backing down from the bigger boys. Akron is  a rare trip to  Ohio for LU

Sept. 3 at Southern Miss

Sept. 10 vs. UAB

Sept. 17 at Wake Forest

Sept. 24 vs. Akron

Oct. 1 at Old Dominion

Oct. 8 at FIU

Oct. 15 vs. Gardner-Webb

Oct. 22 vs. BYU

Oct. 29 at UMass

Nov. 5 at Arkansas

Nov. 19 vs. Virginia Tech

Nov. 26 vs. New Mexico State

May 1, 2022

Perhaps this is why Kelly took the LSU job? 2022 draft: 

Notre Dame — 2 (Independent) Hamilton to the Ravens,  Kyren Williams -Rams

BYU — 1 (Independent) Tyler Allgeier RB to Falcons

Liberty — 1 (Independent) Willis to Titans

UConn — 1  (Independent) Travis Jones -Ravens

Rare 1A pigskin matchups, Independent style

 No. 22 #Marshall (4-0, 2-0 Conference USA)  scheduled a Nov. 7 home football game against Massachusetts, their first meeting since Marshall(then a MAC member) beat UMass 49-20 in 2001 when the Minutemen competed in the Atlantic 10 (1AA). The Herd should romp over the Minutemen who lost to Georgia Southern 49-0.  UMass  can be classified as a schedule filler.

A more intriguing matchup  is an intrastate Virginia battle between Liberty(5-0), led by Malik Willis, visiting VT(4-2) of the ACC. VT beat Liberty in 2016

And I'd be ignorant if I forgot to mention  BYU and Boise St ,  who were  once in the MWC together for a year or two. 

I like Liberty and BYU to win and give Independents more respect this season

Nov 7

BYU(8-0) demolished Boise St 51-17. Zach Wilson threw for 359 yards and two TDs and rushed for a TD.

Nov 7 afternoon

Wow what a wild ending  to the Liberty game. VT called a time out  with 11 seconds to go negating the  block of a FG attempt and a  return for a TD, then let  the Flames  get a first down and kick a FG. LIB 38 VT 35
Marshall destroyed UMass 51-10. Knox rushed for 118 yards and  two TDs for the Herd. 

Nov 16: I wonder if Sankey's SEC freeze on Freeze is still in effect. Apparently this stopped Bama from hiring Freeze as an ASST a few years ago. So folks may want to relax on all the chatter about HF leaving taking the South Carolina job.

Nov 17

 Army was snakebit by Tulane last week, and I suspect Werts and his Georgia Southern (Sunbelt) mates will carry some venom into West Point and pull off a 19-17 win. Taggart's FAU bunch should have fun with UMass, and BYU will take care of N. Bama.

Hugh Freeze's coaching stock will soar higher with a win over NC St (ACC) behind  Malik Willis: 122-180, 1645 YDS, 15 TD   98 CAR, 700 YDS, 9 TD 

Nov 21

UMAss 's only score was a safety in a 24-2 loss to FAU(CUSA) . The Minutemen have scored 12 points in three games this season.

Nov 22

BYU had no problems with N.Bama, but I was  was wrong on two squeakers. Army roared back to edge  Ga Southern 28-27. Close call by the refs on whether GA SO got the ball spiked in time for a last gasp long FG attempt. NC ST blocked a Liberty FG attempt to survive 15-14.

Nov 26

 Liberty should handle UMass easily tomorrow. I wonder if the Freeze chase has cooled down since the loss to NCST.

Nov 28, 2020

Willis train rolls on for Liberty in a 45-0 shutout of UMass.  He rushed for 63 yards and a TD, and passed for 223 yards and 3 TDs 

Sept 22, 2022

UMass to hold Pride Day when Liberty football visits this week. Coach Freeze will have the Flames O ignited, and they'll get past this crap: UMass to hold Pride Day when Liberty football visits.  BTW, LU's field hockey team played at Northwestern in field hockey on Sept. 9, when the Wildcats set that day as their Pride Game. Do you see a trend?

 

 

O5 Geography matters: martial re-alignment.

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

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


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


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

June 21, 2016

You can find UMass and other teams in

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

Seven weeks til 2016 automated draft.

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

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

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

June 28, 2016

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

July 1 , 2016

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

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

July 3, 2016

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

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

July 19 ,2016

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

AAC would miss houston

JULY 21,2016

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

July 29,2016

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

September 28, 2016

Latest on B12 expansion "mess"

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

October 19, 2016

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

1/15/17

#coastalcarolina baseball will shake up the Sunbelt

2/17/17

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

3/25/17

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

4/5/17

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

4/6/17

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

4/18/17

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

4/20/17

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

5/6/17

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

5/11/17

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

6/22/17

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

7/1/17

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

9/4/17

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

1/23/18

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

2/24/18

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

5/4/18

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

5/18/18

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

7/2/18

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

7/15/18

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

1/12/19

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

3/11/19

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

3/12/19

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

3/13/19

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

3/18/19

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

3/20/19

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

3/23/19

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

3/31/19

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

jAN 4 2020

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

March 9, 2020

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

May 16, 2020

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

June 1, 2020

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

July 17, 2020

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

Aug 23, 2020

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

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

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