Week 7 in the O5

 Tuesday and Wednesday football started earlier this season, but I don't get to my weekly blog until Thursday so no CUSA games left to pick.

AAC:  Big respect for Tulane but can't go against Henigan and the Tigers at home. MEM 31 TUL 30.

UAB and UTSA are coming off much needed wins. Zeno will return to his birthplace San Antonio Saturday and toss two TD passes for the Blazers. UAB 30 UTSA 27

MWC: Both teams are coming off blowout losses. SDST to AFA and Hawaii to UNLV. Aztecs steal one on the road with Mayden tossing a TD pass. SDST 22 Hawaii 20

MAC: Brown has a good game running the ball for NIU, but home field won't be enough. Ohio 24 NIU 20

SunBelt: Brin has some big passing stats and will lead the GA Southern to a huge road win in Harrisonburg. GA S: 27 JMU 24

Oct 14, 2023

M. Hughes RB - TULN 26 CAR130YDS 1TD, and the Green Wave D shut down Memphis in the 4Q for a 31-21 win.  I'm 0-1 to start the week.

Oct 15, 2023

Let's see if I got any right yesterday. Just one!

 Terribly wrong on GA SO who were pummeled by JMU. UAB didn't do much better against UTSA. Ohio lost to NIU. 

However, I was right on San Diego St who beat Hawaii 41-34. Lucky Sutton ran for 2 TDs, and McCuin added pick-6 to help for the Aztecs. In other MWC news. Colorado St beat Boise St as the clock expired. UNLV (5-1 2-0 MWC) pounded Nevada and is a team to keep your eyes on.

I thought the #herd were coming back when Ali scored on a long pass play to end the 3Q to narrow its deficit to 27-24, but GAST outscored them 14-0 in the 4Q.

Oct 17, 2023

I'll toss in a Tuesday game here.  Rich Rod's Jax St squad ekes out a 24-23 win over WKU tonight. Players to watch: A. Reed QB - WKU 1665 YDS 14 TD 3INT

RUSH: M. Jackson RB - JVST 104CAR 578YDS 4TD

Well, it was Z. Webb QB - JVST (28CAR 146YDS 1TD) who was a big factor in a close game, JAX 20 WKU 17.  

Liberty beat MTSU and South Bama demolished USM.

Week 6 in the O5

 MWC: Hard to resist making a guess on Fresno St at Wyoming. Kenne, the Fresno QB, has nearly 1500 passing yards but Cowboys will slow him down and Waylee will rush for over 100 yards. WYO 25 FRES 24.

AAC: Long road trip for NTX to Navy, but they'll squeak out a win. NTX 17 Navy 16. I'm not sold on the new Navy HC Newberry.

MAC: Both teams have upset P5 teams. I'll roll with Gabbert and the Redhawks. Miami O 27 BG 22

CUSA: Sam Houston will remain winless after its visit to Liberty.  LIB 30 SHSU 13.  Liberty's win will move it to 3-0, the same record as surprising Jax St.

SunBelt: Marshall is 5-0 and looking strong, but NC St(ACC) held Louisville to 13 points last week. NCST  15 MU 13.

Oct 6, 2023

I thought SHSU was going to get its first W, but the Flames D stiffened. LIB 21 SHSU 16. Nice game for Q. Cooley RB - LIB 17CAR 106YDS 1TD

Tulane AD Troy Dannen is headed to UW.

Oct 8 2023

4 of 5:  Navy was my incorrect pick. Surprised that Miami O shutout Bowling Green, and how high scoring the NC State 49 /Herd 42 game was.

AAC action that surprised me by the score: UTSA 49 Temple 34.  UAB 56 USF 35
Week6 surprises: MiamiO 5-1 and SDST Aztecs(2-4) 

NIT-2023

 You knew it was coming UAB/ USM. He!! they played each other twice a year in the CUSA until USM jumped to the SunBelt this season, And, don't go claiming you're keeping it regional when you have Colorado playing Seton Hall.  I'm intrigued by YSU(Horizon)/OK St.(B12), Sam Houston(WAC)/Santa Clara(WCC), and Cincy (AAC)/VTech(ACC). All those B10 teams here saved us from seeing them at the Dance.

AAC: I get Cincy in the NIT but how did UCF get the nod over Tulane or Temple. BTW, Temple moved McKie from HC to adviser.

I hope the announcers don't ramble on about religion during the Liberty(ASUN) /Villanova(Big East) game.

March 15, 2023

K. Buffen(26PTS 12REB) led UAB to an 88-60 blowout of USM. Blazers have been a hot team except for the loss to FAU in the CUSAT.

Liberty beat Nova and Toledo lost to Michigan.

Ga. Southern: Brian Burg is out and Charlie Henry, a Bama asst , replaces him. I'm sure they'll let CH coach at the Dance

No. 1 Rutgers vs. Hofstra 

No. 3 Michigan vs. Toledo

No. 4 UAB vs. Southern Miss 

No. 3 Liberty vs. Villanova |

No. 2 Vanderbilt vs. Yale 

No. 2 Wisconsin vs. Bradley 

No. 4 Washington State vs. Eastern Washington

No. 3 Colorado vs. Seton Hall 

March 15

No. 1 Oklahoma State at Youngstown State

No. 4 Florida vs. UCF | 7 p.m. 

No. 1 Clemson vs. Morehead State 

No. 2 North Texas vs. Alcorn 

No. 3 Sam Houston at Santa Clara 

No. 4 Cincinnati vs. Virginia Tech 

No. 2 New Mexico vs. Utah Valley

No. 1 Oregon vs. UC Irvine 

March 16, 2023

Clemson loses to Morehead St (OVC). What a rapid descent for the Tigers who were looking like a dance team a month ago. VTech, another ACC team, loses to Cincy (AAC).  WAC winners: Sam Houston edged Santa Clara(WCC), and Utah Valley beat New Mexico (MWC). Pitino Jr's Lobos have looked bad in the past six weeks.

March 19, 2023

I tip my hat to the CUSA in post-season. FAU is still Dancing, and UAB and NTX have rd2 NIT games today. North Texas hosts Sam Houston(WAC) at The Super Pit, Denton, TX.

UAB hosts Morehead St(OVC) at Bartow Arena, Birmingham, AL

WKU: Out: Rick Stansbury | In: Steve Lutz

Stansbury's had .610 winning percentage (139-89) over seven seasons but didn't get WKU to the Dance. I'll be surprised if he's unemployed for long. Lutz took TAMU-CC to the Dance this season.

March 20, 2023

Another good day for the CUSA: UAB 77 Morehead 59. NTX 75 Sam Houston 55.

Refs let Wisky charge over Liberty in the final seven minutes yesterday.  Contact initiated by Badgers O was called D foul on Liberty. 

North Texas/Oklahoma State

Wisconsin /Oregon

 Cincinnati /Utah Valley

UAB /Vanderbilt

March 22, 2023

I couldn't keep my eyes open for OT, but NTX outscored OK St 10-6 for a 65-59. Sissoko had 12 points/15 reb for the winners.  Badgers beat the Ducks in the other matchup.

March 23, 2023

Coach Kennedy made some adjustments on D, and UAB outscored Vandy 43-32 in the second of a 67-59 win. Blazers face Utah Valley(WAC) who beat Cincy(AAC) 74-68. Nice stat line A. Bandaogo-UVU:15PTS 12REB 4BLK.

I didn't pay much attention to the CBI tournament. EKU(ASUN) rally, last shot, fell short in its CBI final loss to Charlotte(CUSA) 71-68 . It's possible the CUSA could sweep three post-season tournaments

March 29, 2023

All CUSA NIT final. NTX 56- Wisky 54.  UAB 88 UVU 86.  Wisky was horrible in the 2nd half and were outscored 27-13.

March 31, 2023

NTX   takes the NIT with a 68-61 win over UAB.  CUSA is 18-2 this postseason. 

and Boom: Texas Tech hires Grant McCasland away from NTX to be its men's basketball HC.

June 4, 2023

So this is how FAU kept Dusty May: a 10-year contract worth well north of $1 million annually. I guess he likes it in Boca Raton. 

June 19, 2023

I wonder if WV raids Youngstown St to replace Huggy. Jerrod Calhoun, Youngstown State worked at WV previously and had an incredible year for YSU. I've seen Andy Kennedy's(UAB) name mentioned, but, I'm not sure they want to re-run all the Cincy era stories.

June  25, 2023

Josh Eilert, who been at WV since 2007, will take the WV head coaching job on an interim basis. AD Wren Baker didn't have much luck moving a good coach from a non P5 this close to basketball season's tip-off.

However, this didn't stop Charlotte basketball head coach Ron Sanchez from resigning this month after leading the 49ers to their first 20+ win season in a decade and joining Bennett's staff at UVA less than an hour later. Aaron Fearne was named interim head coach.

July 16, 2023

What a name! Sundance Wicks, the new HC at Green Bay(Horizon) will need to live up to his rep "Bring the Juice". His last gig was an asst at Wyoming.  

He helped launch the Arizona Power Basketball Academy in 2011. 

Oct 29, 2023

All CUSA NIT final. NTX 56- Wisky 54.  UAB 88 UVU 86. This must've really bugged the NIT.

NIT changed format: No automatic bids for regular-season champions, and power6 conferences to get first 12 spots.

And San Diego St made the final at the Dance.

Success breeds Revenge.

Early Non-power conference tourneys March 2023

I'm not seeing a lot of hope for these regular season conference champs to make the Dance if they lose in their conference tourneys. 

SunBelt:  USM deserves to be Dancing regardless of how it does in its tourney, but the Lunardi's don't  have them on their radar. Marshall and ULL had great seasons, and South Bama has been hot and tips off against Appy at 12:30PM.

WCC- Santa Clara may need to win the tourney to Dance. Zags and St Marys are in. I can't get over Gonzaga playing Chicago St last night when the WCCT tips off today.

Horizon: Youngstown St, the regular season champ, has tough matchup today facing Detroit Mercy led by Antoine Davis, who is trying to break Pete Maravich's scoring record.

MVC: Bradley (16-4) and Drake(15-5) had decent seasons, but only the MVCT winner is going to the Dance.

March 3, 2023

 SunBelt:South Bama, Troy, Georgia Southern, and Tx St won yesterday. TX65 ODU 36 is a crazy score.

 Horizon: Davis missed a hurried pull-up 3-pointer in the final seconds of Detroit-Mercy's 71-66 season-ending loss to Youngstown State, leaving him three points shy of tying Pete Maravich’s NCAA career scoring record.

March 4, 2023

WCC: BYU beat Portland to move to rd2 against LMU and needs to build something as the Big 12 move nears. San Fran beat Pacific and faces Santa Clara.

MVC: Bradley got a scare from UNI led by Bowen Born's 34 points but hung on for a 72-66 and faces Indiana St today. Drake gets SIU.

Sunbelt gets back into action today: USM/USA. Marshall TX/ST. Troy/JMU. ULL/Georgia Southern

March 5, 2023

Sunbelt : USM and Marshall fall.  Big game for O. White, guard for South Bama 23PTS 6REB.  South Bama/JMU . TXST/ULL in Pensacola today.

MVC: Top teams, Bradley and Drake are in the MVCT final today.

WCC: Santa Clara's Dance chances look bleak after they lost to San Fran who faces Gonzaga next. R. Williams scored 23 PTS for BYU to defeat  LMU and  move on to face St Mary's.

Horizon: Monday slate: N.Kentucky/Youngstown St.  Milwaukee/Clev St

ASUN Championship - Final: Liberty(26-7 15-3)/Kennesaw State(25-8 15-3). Keep your eyes on D. McGhee for LU.

March 6, 2023

SunBelt: South Bama continues its march from the middle of the pack with a 77-66 win over JMU. They'll face ULL, a winner over TX St. , in the title game.

MVC:  Two-seed Drake blew out top seed Bradley 77-51 for the automatic Dance ticket.

ASUN: Kennesaw St edged Liberty 67-66 to punch its Dance ticket. You can't get any closer than the two teams who tied for the ASUN regular season title being separated by a point. I doubt if the Liberty gets an at large. LU goes to the CUSA next season.

March 7, 2023

I was switching back and forth between the SunBelt and the Horizon games. ULL was the better team last night. Jags were too dependent on Moore to create a shot.

 In the HorizonT N.Kentucky knocked off top seed Youngstown St and Clev St beat Milwaukee. 

In the WCCT St Mary's beat BYU and the Zags beat San Fran. which likely means they'll be the only two WCC teams getting Dance tickets.

March 8, 2023

NKY edged Clev St. Vinson is a sharp kid on the floor. Norse HC Darrin Horn has revived his career. He left WKU for S.Carolina and had a bumpy ride. 

Zags pummeled St Marys.

Quick look at the WAC: Cal Baptist beat Abilene Christian, and Tarleton, coached by Billy Gillepsie, beat UTRGV.

Shout out to Oral Roberts(30-4 18-0 Summit) who beat N Dak St to go dancing.

March 9, 2023

Colgate (Patriot) and Montana state (Big Sky) capped off decent seasons and punched their Dance tickets.

CUSA, MWC, AAC, A10 and MAC are in tourney mode.

AAC: Houston and Memphis are in, but Tulane needs a great AACT run to get an at-large invite.

MWC: San Diego St is in. Boise St and Utah St are on the bubble.

CUSA- FAU should be in regardless of the CUSAT results. Same goes for VCU in the A10.

MAC and WAC- Only one dance ticket reserved for each!

March 10, 2023

Quick takes due to so much action.

MAC: I'm not surprised that Toledo, Kent St, and Akron advanced, but I didn't think Ohio would beat Ball St by 20 points.

MWC:  I checked in and saw San Jose St hang on against Nevada despite the refs taking forever to  keep the game moving in the final minute. I think Nevada is NIT bound despite what Coach Steve Alford thinks.

CUSA: FAU, NTX, UAB advance. MTSU got a trey from Camryn Weston with 19 seconds remaining to nip Charlotte 66-65.

March 11, 2023

AAC: K. Cross(24PTS 13REB) led Tulane to win over Wichita St, and they'll face Memphis who beat UCF. Cincy, a winner over Temple, faces Houston who beat ECU, and the Bearcats have to keep winning to Dance.

CUSA: UAB needed that 22-2 first half start to beat NTX 76-69 and will face FAU in the title game.

MWC: Utah St 's win over Boise St should be enough to get them dance shoes, and they face SDST in the title game today.

MAC: KentSt /Toledo is the final and it's a damn shame one of these teams won't make the dance.

March 12, 2023

 Lopsided games could hurt some teams' Dance chances.

AAC Memphis beat Tulane 96-57 and will face Houston, who beat Cincy 69-48, today.

CUSA: FAU made sure they got a ticket by beating UAB 78-56.

MAC: M. Jacobs (18PTS 13REB 6AST) led Kent St to a 93-78 win over Toledo.

MWC: SDST 62 Utah St 57. Ags will be nervous during selection time tonight.

A10: VCU faces Dayton is the final today and should be Dancing regardless. Dayton, too but Fordham and St Louis are on the bubble

MAAC- Iona -Pittino Sr., Big West- UCSB , WAC : Grand Canyon punched tickets.

March 14, 2023

MWC got four tickets. Just remember Ryan Odom, the Utah St HC, was the UMBC HC in 2018 that knocked off # 1 UVA at the Dance. I'm amazed Nevada got in.

Also, surprised A10 only got one ticket, and AAC only got two tickets.

March 17, 2023

ULL gave Tenn a scare but lost. NKY hung around Houston but lost.

Tough day for MWC- Utah St lost to Missouri, Boise lost to NW, and the Aztecs needed clutch free -throw shooting to survive against Charleston.

(14) Kennesaw State 43 (3) Xavier 36 at the half

March 18, 2023

Xavier roared back to beat Kennesaw 72-67.  Tough loss, good job of representing the ASUN.

FAU upset Memphis 66-65: Rosado FAU 15 PTS , 3 REB , 1 AST

Fairleigh Dickinson upsets Purdue 63-58. Moore FDU (19 PTS , 5 REB). Northeast Conference is definitely one of the weaker conferences.  Big 10 gets too much respect annually.

March 20, 2023

 FAU has allowed Dusty May to build a decent program since 2018. Can they keep him or does a power conference team swoop in? FAU beat FDU to make the Sweet 16.

Ok, I've been remiss in talking about the two best O5 squads. Houston (AAC) faces a MIami (AAC) team that knows how to make deep runs at the Dance. Coach Larranaga has been doing it for a long time and took George Mason , a small school in Fairfax ,VA, to the the F4 in 1999.

Coach Dutcher, who came over from Michigan with will Steve Fisher in 1999 , will have San Diego St(MWC) ready for Bama(SEC). Let's see if a Bama /Houston final occurs or if more brackets get busted.

March 21, 2023

Iona(MAAC) hired Tobin Anderson from FDU to replace Pitino. TA left St. Thomas Aquinas, a Division II school, last offseason for FDU, and in one season he took FDU to the Dance, despite losing to Merrimack by one-point in the Northeast conference championship game. Merrimack was ineligible to compete in the postseason as a transitioning school from Division II. 

BTW, he's paid his dues as a D2 and D3 coach for over 20 years. Quite a story!

 Wichita State(AAC) plucked Paul Mills from Oral Roberts(Summit).

2003–2017 Baylor (assistant)

2017–2023 Oral Roberts

2023–? Wichita State

March 24, 2023

FAU watchout, the Big boys are coming for your head coach Dusty May. FAU 62 Tenn 55. He!! of a post season for the CUSA. 

 Zags pull out a huge win over UCLA. Timme 36 points, 13 rebounds for the victors.

March 25, 2023

In a very physical game, the Aztecs beat Bama(SEC).

 Houston lost to Miami(ACC). You could sense Houston was in trouble early when the Canes rebounders were tossing football passes to their guards for easy layups.

March 26, 2023

Zags got spanked hard in the second half of an 82-54 loss to UConn. 

Hope Dusty May likes Boca Raton or else someone is going to get him with big $$$. V. Goldin(14PTS 13REB) for FAU in a 79-76 win over KST.

March 27, 2023

 So 1 of the 2 non power schools will be in the final with SDST facing FAU on Saturday. Pac12 may need SDST to get through these TV talks.

Miami faces UConn. MWC/CUSA , Big East/ ACC. I'm kind of laughing now at all the Pundits.

March 29, 2023

Amir Abdur-Rahim leaves  Kennesaw St St(ASUN), after getting them to the Dance, for the Head Coaching Position at South Florida(AAC). That's a brutal gig.

April 2, 2023

Aztecs win at the buzzer 72-71 over FAU and faces UConn on Monday night. Tip my hat to FAU for a hell of a season.

A. Martin- FAU 26PTS 7REB

M. Bradley SDSU 21PTS 6REB

April 4, 2023

UConn 76 SDST 59.  Tough to lose but a great season for the Aztecs. Maybe they're headed for the Pac 12, but California may need to fix it's travel issue. Its prohibition which forces sports teams at public colleges and universities to find other ways to pay for road games to states with what California labels anti-LGBTQ legislation.

June 18, 2023

San Diego State is talking exit from the MWC. Main reason:  It needs to give a year of notice to withdraw next June. If it waits past June 30, the exit fee it would owe jumps from nearly $16.5 million to nearly $34 million.

June 24, 2023

 Non power conference draft picks: AAC and WCC each had three kids drafted.

AAC: Houston U: Jarace Walker (No. 8 to Pacers) Marcus Sasser (No. 25 to Pistons)

Central Florida: Taylor Hendricks (No. 9 to Jazz)

WCC: Santa Clara: Brandin Podziemski (No. 19 to Warriors)

Pepperdine: Maxwell Lewis (No. 40 to Lakers)

Gonzaga: Julian Strawther (No. 29 to Nuggets)

MVC: Belmont: Ben Sheppard (No. 26 to Pacers)

A10: Dayton: Toumani Camara (No. 52 to Suns)

MAC: Eastern Michigan: Emoni Bates (No. 49 to Cavaliers) Ann Arbor kid who went to MemphisU than EMU.

Southern: Furman: Jalen Slawson (No. 54 to Kings)

Dec 17- 18 Bowl Games O5

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

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

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

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

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

Dec 13, 2022

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

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

Dec 15, 2022

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

Dec 17, 2022

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

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

Dec 18, 2022

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

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

Top dogs in the 05 -week 10

 Ok, I covered the MAC so now I'll focus on conference leaders in the other four conferences.

AAC: Tulane may get a battle at Tulsa for a while, but Spears will rush for over 100 yards and keep the Green Wave undefeated in conference play. Tulane 34 Tulsa 24

CUSA: No team has slowed down UTSA(4-0 in CUSA) QB Frank Harris for long. UTSA 30 UAB 27

MWC:  Boise St  (5-0-MWC) plays an OOC game against BYU, who is desperate to beat someone. Taylon Green has been solid since becoming the starting QB. and I'd love to call this one a tie if they were still allowed.  BYU 26 Boise St 24 at the buzzer.

SunBelt: Coastal Carolina and Troy are each 4-1 and lead their respective divisions. Troy Trojans will march into ULL and come out with a 17-14 win with the help of a pick6.

CCU hosts App St and survives a scare 24-21. McCall looks solid again for the Chanticleers.

Nov 4, 2022

 Lot more points scored than I guessed in last night's CCU  35-28 win over Appy. McCall threw 2 TD passes and no picks.

Nov 5, 2022

5-0 for the weekend

Spears was a beast again for Tulane in a 27-13 win over Tulsa.

UTSA needed double OT to defeat UAB 44-38. Harris had another great game for the victors.

Hall to Nicau connection saved the day for BYU in a 35-28 win over Boise ST. 

Troy outscored ULL 16-0 in the 4Q for a 23-17 win.

Week 3 O5: Hot or not

 I can't ignore three hot SunBelt schools, App St, Marshall, and Georgia Southern, this week. I think the trio may come out of the gate slow but get in gear by the second quarter of their respective games.

App St will get a big game out of running back C Peoples in a 30-19 home conference win over Troy.

Marshall will ride freshman phenom K. Laborn to a 31-16 win at Bowling Green(MAC).

Georgia Southern will have to slow down C Brown to pull out a close road win. GS 24 UAB(CUSA) 22

Air Force has relied on a strong running attack to get off to a 2-0 start but face a tough conference road game at Wyoming. Peasley will throw 3 TDS for the Cowboys and hand AFA a 27-24 loss.

I covered the AAC in a blog on ACC history and SMU losing a close one to MD(Big10)

Sept 17, 2022

Peasley only tossed one TD pass, but the Cowboys slowed down AFA in a 17-14 win.

Sept 18, 2022

The "Stun" belt had a few holes poked in it this weekend, on OOC play with Marshall falling in OT to BG and Georgia Southern getting handled by UAB which made me 2-2 in my picks. Laborn's fumble out of the end zone for a touchback was a killer for Marshall.

In other OOC play USA was held scoreless in the fourth quarter in a one-point loss to UCLA, Ark St fell to Memphis, ODU fell to UVA, SMU lost to MD, and ULL lost to Rice.

O5 vs Independents in week 2

UCF(AAC) is favored against Louisville(ACC) who lost to Cuse so I'm shifting gears looking for close games or upsets.

UTSA(CUSA) 27 @Army 23.  Roadrunners have a long road trip, but they but they took Houston to 3OT before losing last week.  

Toledo(MAC) 26 UMass 17. Minutemen won shatter any records at the Glass Bowl, but they'll hang around.

UTEP(CUSA) 20 New Mexico St 19. in a border war at the Sun Bowl. Tyrin Smith will get 100 receiving yards for the Miners.

Liberty 19 UAB(CUSA) 17. Coach Freeze will pull out a home field W.

I tip my hat to Marshall(SunBelt), but they won't last long against an angry Notre Dame squad.

Sept 10, 2022

Cards blank UCF 13-0 in the second half for a 20 -14 W. UCF has got some work to do before entering Big 12 play next season.

Sept 12, 2022

Four for four and darn close on the final score differences except for Toledo who clobbered UMass 55-10.

UTSA 41- Army 38 OT; LIB 21 UAB 14;  UTEP 20 NMST 13

Stat lines that impressed: McBride (UAB) 20  carries, 177 yards, 1TD

Frank Harris (UTSA) threw for 359 yards and 3 TDs

Shout out to my buddy from Ashland, WV:  Khalan Laborn rushed for 163 yards and a TD in a 26-21 #herd win over Notre Dame. Also, Georgia Southern, another Sunbelt team, knocked off Nebraska and Appy upset TAMU. 

Oct 27, 2022

Seven weeks later: 

StunBelt teams are beating each other up.

Liberty is having another decent season and just crushed BYU, who will look to recover with a home game against ECU(AAC). Cougars, watch out for Ahlers', the Pirates gritty QB.

Oct 29, 2022

 I thought the Cougars would find enough O to get by ECU so-so D. Ahlers rushed for two TDs for ECU in a 27-24 win over BYU.

BTW, Ahlers reminds me a little of Bobby Douglas, a former Kansas QB who played for the Chicago Bears in the 1970s

 

Early look at 2022 CUSA pigskin

Bill Clark, who stuck with UAB after the program was temporarily shuttered in 2014 and won two CUSA titles, is stepping down on Aug 1 to get a spinal infusion for an ailing back. I'm guessing UAB will keep him on the payroll in some role.

OC and assistant head coach Bryant Vincent will assume interim coaching duties. Running backs DeWayne McBride and Jermaine Brown Jr, who combined for 2,002 yards last season, anchor the CUSA's top backfield  

I'm real curious if Fran Healy's Charlotte squad can back in the mix.

June 28, 2022

FAU :9/24/22: @  Purdue . I'm nearly certain this is the first time these schools have met on the gridiron. A real test for HC Willie Taggart, who's been hanging on in 1A football since he blew his shots for the big time at Oregon and at Florida St.

July 5, 2022

West Virginia transfer Jarret Doege is the front-runner to replace Zappe as the WKU starting QB. Hilltoppers open at Hawaii(MWC) on 9/3/22.

C-USA was founded in 1995 by the merger of the Metro Conference and Great Midwest Conference, two 1A conferences that did not sponsor football.  The merger EXCLUDED Great Midwest member Dayton and Metro members ,VCU and Virginia Tech. 

July 10, 2022

Rich Rod doesn't have much of a 1A schedule in 2022. Tulsa(AAC) is Jacksonville St s only 1A opponent.  2023 will be a big wake up call when they get into CUSA action.

July 15, 2022

Sat 9/10 Maryland @ Charlotte - hope my Terps are careful in CUSA land

July, 19, 2022

UTSA HC Jeff Traylor told Texas Longhorns fans and Baylor Bears fans on Monday:" Rep the Roadrunners in San Antonio – or nothing at all."  Hey, Traylor has them on the move up to the AAC. His statement is goofy but gave me a morning chuckle"

Rest of O5 play in week 12

 AAC: It's sure looks like it will be a Cincy/Houston AAC final, so I'll take a look at Navy who's been playing better in conference during November. Perhaps Navy FB Carlinas Acie will have an 80 yard game against ECU this week like he did in the Tulsa win . It will still won't be enough. Ahlers will toss two TD passes for ECU in a 27-22 win over Navy.

CUSA: Frank Harris UTSA ( 190-284, 2306 YDS, 20 TD and Sincere McCormick UTSA

(230 CAR, 1150 YDS, 11 TD) will be too much for UAB  and win 31-23 to lock up the CUSAW

MWC: L. Bonner(193-315, 2749 YDS, 25 TD, 10 INT)  will lead Utah St  to a hard fought 26 22 win over pesky Wyoming and move closer to winning the MWCM.

SunBelt: Most of the conference is playing OOC games, so I'll go with Grainger leading Georgia St to a 20 17 win over Ark St.

nov 21, 2021

AAC: My totals were off, but I but my assessment was on target in in ECU's 38-35 win over Navy. Ahlers and Acie had big stats for their respective squads.

CUSA: UTSA outscored UAB 17-7 in the second half  for a 34-31 win. Another solid game for Harris, but the UTSA'D had difficulty stopping McBride who  rushed for 144 yards and a TD.

MWC: I blew this pick big time.  Titus Sven finished with 15 carries for 169 yards for Wyoming in a 44-17 win over Utah St.

Sunbelt: Ga St, RB Jamyest Williams rushed got 125 yards and 2 TDs in a 28-20 win over Ark St.

I was correct on 3 out of 4 this week.

Quick note on football in the Carolinas: CCU struggled a bit while beating Texas St, and Charlotte collapsed in a loss to Marshall.

Cincy's big win over SMU and Oregon's loss to Utah keeps the pressure on the CFP.

O5 vs Independents in week 5

 Coan is probable  for ND but Ridder is ready for Cincy (AAC). Bearcats  tear out a close one 27-25.

Utah St(MWC), who  barely avoided being shutout by Boise St last week in a 27-3 loss, will lose 30-16 to BYU,  who has beaten three Pac 12 teams this season.

UAB(CUSA) has played well except for the trouncing by Georgia, but I don't think they 'll be able to contain  Malik Willis, the Liberty QB. LIB 31 UAB 24

Ball St (MAC) will have trouble containing Army's QB Christian Anderson, their leading rusher. Army 26 Ball St 17.

Toledo(MAC) will win 33 28 at UMass.

San Jose St(MWC) will host New Mexico St and win 22 -19

Oct 2

BYU's running game made a big difference in last night 's 34-20 win over Utah St. Plus they have 6'6 TE - #IsaacRex

Oct 3

Ball St 28 Army 16.The only wrong pick  was Army. Ball St jumped out to an early 21-0 lead and Army never made it back. 

LIB 36 UAB 12 here's Wallis stat line :  Yds-Pa287 TD-Pa1 Yds-Ru144 TD-Ru2

Cincy 24 ND 13 : Big day  for Ridder plus the Bearcats D was stellar

Toldeo 45 UMass  7 

SJST 37 NMST 31. Spartans won  w/o   the injured Starkel at QB.

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

Heading toward O5 conference tourney time in 2021

 Central Michigan( 7-15, 3-12 MAC) got 26 points from Caleb Huffman scored  and  then Meikkel Murray made a go-ahead put-back with 2.3 seconds left  for the 81-79 upset of Toledo(19-7, 14-4 MAC)

Buffalo(13-7, 11-5 MAC) edged Akron(14-7, 12-6 MAC) 80-78

It's looking like Memphis may be the team who could upend Houston and Wichita St in the AAC tourney. Memphis (15-6, 11-3 AAC ) defeated South Florida(8-11, 4-9 AAC) 73-52 for its sixth straight winand they'll face Houston on Sunday in the final regular season game.

March 4

Trey Wade scored a career-high 23 points on 9 of 12 shooting for Wichita State in a 78-70 AAC win over Tulane 78-70. That's 6 straight Ws for the Shockers.

In the MWC SDST got by UNLV in a so-so performance, while Colorado St  defeated  UNM and is the hottest MWC team heading into the conference tournament.

March 5

UTEP(12-11, 8-8 CUSA) accepted a call to play a game at # 13 Kansas(B12) and built an early 15 point lead before crumbling in the final 12  minutes of the game in a 67-62 loss. Bryson Williams led the Miners with 23 points and 13 rebounds. 

FAU crushed MTSU 80-50.

March 9

Michael Almonacy scored a career-high 32 points with six 3-pointers for App St in its 80-73 upset of Georgia State  to win the Sun Belt Conference championship and return to the NCAA tournament for the first time since 2000. The Mountaineers were in the Southern Conference and coached by Buzz Petersen during the 1999/2000 season.

March 12, 2021

MWCT: Nevada popped Boise St bubble hopes and SDST barely survived Wyoming .

MACT:  Top seeds move forward: Akron, Buffalo, Ohio, and Toldeo

AACT-  Tulane got by Tulsa, and I bet their HC, Ron Hunter, thinks he can pull off one of those miracles  that his GA St squads pulled off in the SunBeltT for years.

mARCH  14, 2021

Cincy edged Wichita St  and if they beat Houston in  AACT, a bubble team possibly SMU will feel the pain. 

Jason Preston scored 22 points for Ohio in a 84-69 victory  over Buffalo, which was trying for a record third straight MAC title.

North Texas beat WKU 61-57 in overtime on Saturday night to win the CUSAT title game and earned its first Dance ticket since winning the Sun Belt tournament in 2010.

San Diego State beat Utah St 68-57 victory  to win the MWC title and secure the league's Dance ticket.

march 15,2021

Belmont, Furman,  and two CUSA teams, Marshall and UAB, are listed as replacement teams for the NIT.

March 18 2021

 NIT: Hollingsworth (21 PTS, 3 REB, 2 AST)led Western Kentucky(CUSA) to a 67-63 win over St Marys while Toledo(MAC) lost to Richmond

March 21, 2021

NIT: La Tech does the CUSA right with a win over OL Miss. Buffalo (MAC) lost to Colorado St (MWC) and Memphis (AAC) beat Dayton.

March 23

NIT down to 8 teams.  Four matchups on 3/25 including  two CUSA teams LAtech vs WKU.  Thde only game w/o an O5 team is Richmond(A10) /Miss St(SEC). Colorado St(MWC) faces NC St(ACC) and Memphis(AAC) plays BoiseSt (MWC).

I was bit surprised to see the CBIT is going on in Florida and Coastal Carolina(SunBelt) plays Stetson today.

March 25,2021

Darryl Polk Jr. had 19 points and five steals for  Pepperdine in an 84-61 romp over Coastal Carolina in the CBI final.. Pepperdine finished fourth in the WCC, which Gonzaga ruled.

March 26, 2021

NIT down to four teams: In a battle of CUSA teams Kalob Ledoux scored 20 points, making 6 of 7 3-pointers for Louisiana Tech in a 72-65 win over Western Kentucky 72-65  and will play Mississippi State, a winner over Richmond, on Saturday in Texas.

Colorado ST (MWC) got by NC St and will play Memphis(AAC), a winner over Boise St(MWC).

March 28, 2021

The NIT final is set, and it will be Memphis(AAC) vs Mississippi State(SEC) on Sunday for the title. Memphis rolled Colorado State(MWC) 90-67 and  Mississippi State rolled  Louisiana Tech(CUSA) 84-62.   Ben Howland has a decent stint at Miss St since 2015(116–81 )(.589)

La Tech will face CSU in a matchup for third place.

March 29 , 2021

It wasn't a blowout but Memphis  was in control most of the game in a 77-64 win over Miss St  for the NIT title. Boogie Ellis MEM - G (23 PTS, 4 REB, 5 AST)

La Tech  defeated  Col St 76-74 for 3rd place  on a buzzer beater by Kenneth Lofton Jr. LT - F(27 PTS, 13 REB, 3 AST)

April 1, 2021

Coaching news, no foolin: MAC:Akron Zips extend head coach John Groce through 2026 season. He's had more success in the MAC with Ohio and Akron, then the seesaw years at Illinois(Big 10). Ariz St assistant Rashon Burno is on his way to NIU

MWC news: New Mexico hired Richard Pittino quickly after Minnesota fired him, but I don't see it as a good fit. UNLV promoted Kevin Kruger, Lon's son, to HC.

April 7, 2021

This happens from time to time. UTEP(CUSA) head coach Rodney Terry is stepping down and will join Beard's staff at TX. He was a Texas assistant under former head coach Rick Barnes from 2002–11.

April 8, 2021

San Jose State(MWC) replaced Jean Prioleau with  Tim Miles who had some success  at Nebraska(2012-19), a hard gig.

In the MAC Central Michigan fired Keno Davis and Eastern Michigan fired Rob Murphy .

April 13, 2021

E. Michigan(MAC) hired Stan Heath as its new men's basketball coach.

He's an an EMU alum and has previously the coach at Kent State, leading that program to the Elite Eight in 2002. He also guided Arkansas to the NCAA tournament in 2006 and 2007. And did the same at USF in 2012 when they were in the Big East.

April 15, 2021

For years I saw a concrete slab with the Marshall Thundering Herd logo on it standing  in the side yard of a house I'd walk by every two weeks, then a few months ago it was gone. Today, it was back up but in the front yard.  It looks something like this but with more color  and a bull. 

Groundhog Day to the AAC and the O5 hoops

 Houston, we have a meltdown. East Carolina (8-6, 2-6 AAC). #JaydenGardner had 21 points and 15 rebounds for ECU in an 82-73 upset of fifth-ranked Houston  (15-2, 10-2 AAC). Wichita St(6-2), Memphis(7-3), and SMU(6-4) won their conference games  to stay close to the Cougars.

Here's my pre-Groudhog Day blog https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2020/12/o5-football-conferences-hoops-teams-as.html 

feb 6, 2021

Checking in the CUSA: #herd were outscored 54-30 in the 2nd half of a 82-81 loss to ODU. MTSU upset Charlotte and UAB(8-1) keeps trolling with a win over UTEP, but La Tech(8-3) stayed on the Blazers' heels with a win over  North Texas(5-2)

Feb 7 

Nice bounce back the #herd with a strong first half. MU 87 ODU 67. NTX beat La Tech and UAB rolled UTEP.

Feb 9 2021

ECU  crashed quickly after upsetting Houston a few days ago with losses to Memphis and SMU in AAC play.

Moving to the  MWC: Jordan Schakel scored 23 points for the SDST Aztecs in an easy 85-54 win over SJST and UNLV edged AFA.  Aztecs are staying in the MWC hunt. 

feb 11, 2021

Wichita State(12-4, 8-2 AAC) barely survived UCF(5-10, 3-9 AAC) 62-61 last night. Alterique Gilbert scored 17 points including Wichita State's last five points. Houston cruised by USF

Kalu Ezikpe( 22 PTS, 4 REB, 3 STL) led ODU((10-5, 6-3 C-USA) to a 78-76 win over Charlotte and moved the Monarchs to within a half games of WKU in the CUSA East.

Feb 12, 2021

Michael Flowers posted 18 points and seven rebounds for South Alabama in a 73-70 win over Troy . GA St beat Ga Southern. TX St over UTA. ULM over ULL. #sunbelt

feb 17, 2021

#akron appears to be  the rising star in the MAC.  Bryan Trimble Jr. scored 22 points for Akron(13-4, 11-3 MAC) in an81-76 win over NIU. Toledo(17-6, 12-3 MAC) beat Miami O, and Kent State

(13-5, 10-4 MAC) beat WMU.

feb 19. 2021

The Shockers (13-4, 9-2) defeated  Houston (17-3, 11-3) 68-63 and moved into first place in the AAC standings. Tyson Etienne and Alterique Gilbert each scored 16 points for the victors.

feb 21

South Bama beat App St by two points  in each of the back to back games and sits atop at the Sunbelt East at 10-5.

San Diego St(17-4,11-3). swept Fresno St in back to back games and is ranked in the top 25. Boise St(18-4, 14-3) is unranked but  has a better MWC conference and also overall record. Boise will try to rectify  that when they visit SDSU for back to back games.

feb 22, 2021

Houston (18-3, 12-3 American) took out its anger on Cincinnati(7-8, 5-5 American). Quentin Grimes had 20 points and eight rebounds for HU in the 90-52 win.

DeVante’ Jones scored 20 points and grabbed 11 rebounds for Coastal Carolina(7-5) in a 65-55 win over Georgia Southern and stay tied in the loss column with South Bama(10-5), but it will have to be resolved in a Conference tournament due to all the unbalanced schedules.

feb 24, 2021

MAC tightens up: Ben Roderick and Ben Vander Plas scored 17 points apiece for Ohio in a  90-73 win . Buffalo crushed NIU. 

feb 27,2021

I watched  the first half of the Marshall /NTX game and am not surprised the Herd lost 77-65. They played matador D and, made a ton of turnover s on O. NTX is 9-2 in CUSA play, but La Tech(11-4) and UAB(11-4) won their respective games to stay in the hunt in West .  ODU(9-4) is right there with WKU(8-5) in the West after  Kalu Ezikpe recorded 14 points and 13 rebounds in a 67-61 win over MTSU.

March 1

A flew blowouts yesterday. HOU 98 USF 52 in AAC action. WKU 91 FIU 58 in the CUSA. Utah St 87 Nev 66 in the MWC.

Memphis(14-6, 10-3 AAC) beat Cincy yesterday for its fifth win in a row.

March 2

Guess who's making a late run in the MWC.  David Roddy posted  22 points and 12 rebounds for Colorado State(16-4, 13-3 mwc) Air Force 74-44 win over AFA. CSU is tied with SDSU for first place.

O5 championship week ending Dec 19

 AAC: Cincy(8-0, 6-0 AAC) hosts Tulsa(6-1, 6-0 AAC) and will need to shake off some rust from the month layoff to slow down Zach Smith's passing . I suspect the Bearcats will rely on a solid rushing attack more than Ridder's arm for a 23-21 victory.

CUSA: Marshall(7-1, 4-1 CUSA) hosts UAB(5-3, 3-1 CUSA). Rice  blanked  the #herd two weeks ago and the lost to UAB. Johnston, the UAB QB,  will toss two TD passes, in a 20-15 win . 

MAC:  Buffalo (5-0) led by Jared Patterson's 1625 rushing yards and 18 TDs faces Ball St  led by Plitt's 1674 passing YDS and  13 TDs at Ford Field in Detroit, MI. Last team with the ball wins. Buff 37 Ball St 36.

MWC: Boise St(5-1, 5-0 MWC) faces San Jose St (6-0) in Vegas. Most folks expect a Bachmeier/Starkel shootout but I'll go with  a huge rush game from Tyler Nevens giving SJST a 24 -20 victory of Boise St

SunBelt: The QBs, McCall of CCU(11-0, 8-0 SUN) and Lewis of ULL(9-1, 7-1 SUN), will  entertain us, but McCall will toss late TDs to keep his guys undefeated . CCU 31 ULL 27

dec 19

Sunbelt game was cancelled, and AAC and MWC games are today. I split on the other two. Wells, the #herd QB, matched Johnston's 2 TD passes for UAB with 2 TD passes, but Marshall's D couldn't stop Spencer Brown who rushed for 149 yards. UAB 22 Marshall 13

I didn't foresee Ball St knocking off Buffalo  38-28 and holding Patterson to 47 yards rushing. Blitt tossed three TD in for the Cards victory.

dec 20

Correct on both games yesterday: Cincy eked out a 27-24 win over Tulsa. SJST used some rugged D, and an aerial attack led by Starkel to defeat Boise St 34-20 for the MWC crown.

O5 football conferences' hoops teams as of Dec 5, 2020

I took a look at Coaches Poll and found Houston(3-0) , an AAC team at # 10. Houston, led by Marcus Sasser 's 17.3 PPG, has wins over Lamar, Boise St, and Texas Tech. Connecticut(AAC) and  San Diego St (MWC) received some top 25 votes. Other top 25 schools to keep your eyes on are Memphis (AAC) and Western Kentucky (CUSA). I'll return with some tidbits once I get adjusted to how pandemic hoops is going.

Dec 10 update

Houston moved to 4-0 with a 77-67 win over South Carolina (SEC) a few days ago. Quentin Grimes had 23 points and seven rebounds.

Dec 17 update

San Diego St is 5-0. Jordan Schakel scored 25 points, Nathan Mensah had 17 points and 15 rebounds for the Aztecs in an 80-68 win over Arizona St(PAC12) last Thursday night.

Dec 24 update

Houston is 6-0 which includes a recent,  AAC win over Temple. Their next conference game is Dec 26 against UCF led by Brandon Mahan (22.5ppg, 6 rbg)

Jan 1, 2021

Boise St has one seven straight since losing its opening game to Houston (AAC) and may give San Diego St a battle for the MWC crown. DERRICK ALSTON JR (17.6    PPG 3.6 RBG 2.4 APG) has been a major factor.

Jan 5, 2021

I doubt if this lasts long, but Rice(8-2, 2-0 CUSA) is the lone CUSA team undefeated in conference play. Quincy Olivari is averaging 18 points a game for the Owls. Four CUSA teams haven't played a conference opponent.

Jan 9, 2021

UAB(CUSA) is off to a nice start except for the loss to Tenn -Chattanooga(Southern) ,but who knows that may not be a bad loss by the end of the season.

Jan 12, 2021

While reviewing  ODU's 3-1 start in CUSA play , I noticed they're playing back to back games against the same opponent. They split  two games at FAU  and  beat FIU at home. Malik Curry  is averaging 16 PPg for the Monarchs.

Jan 14, 2021

Morris Udeze and Tyson Etienne scored 20 points apiece  in Wichita State's win over Tulsa 72-53. The Shockers(8-3, 4-1 AAC) are doing Ok under Isaac Brown. the interim HC since Marshall's departure.

Jan 16, 2021

I turned on  the UAB/Charlotte game to catch up on the CUSA, and UAB was up 23-1, and it didn't get much better  for Charlotte the rest of the way. UAB 61CHAR 37

#herd couldn't recover from the 12 point deficit in the first half. WKU 81 Marshall 73.  J Anderson(WKU) was 6 of 9 from the field and hit 9 of 9 free throws.

Jan 24, 2021

Houston (13-1, 8-1 AAC)kept rolling with a 68-51 win over Temple. Sasser and Grimes had 15 points each for HU.

Jan 26, 2021

MAC check-in. Toledo Rockets 13-4 Overall | 8-1 Mid American. Their only conference loss was to Akron in OT. #MarreonJackson leads the Rockets in scoring with a 17.5 ppg

Jan 29, 2021

Terrell Gomez scored 14 points for San Diego State (12-4, 6-3 MWC), in 87-57 win over Wyoming(10-6, 4-5 MWC). Aztecs scored 63 in the first half which was enough points to get them the win.

Jan 29, 2021

RIP John Chaney, the great Temple coach, and yes Temple was in the Atlantic 10 ,not the AAC,  during most of Chaney's time there. A buddy and I were 30 rows  from the  court and could hear Chaney and Knight yelling at their respective squads during a 1994 March Madness game at Cap Center in Largo, MD. IU 67 Temple 58

Jan 30, 2021

 Dwight Wilson III scored 21 points for Ohio(10-6, 6-4 MAC) in 76-75 win over Buffalo(6-6, 4-4 MAC). He made 8 of 10 shots from the field.

Feb 1, 2021

Desmond Cambridge Jr. scored 17 points and Grant Sherfield scored 15 points with 11 rebounds for Nevada in an 89-60 MWC win over UNLV. Nevada was  31-for-55 (56.4%) shooting, including 14 for 24 (58.3%) from 3-point range.

Force four O5 picks for Oct 3

 I'm unsure as to how Air Force gets to start it's season against Navy(AAC) when it's conference, the MWC, doesn't start  play until Oct 24 and hasn't produced a schedule. Navy should win by 10 against the rusty Falcons.

 Arkansas St  lost to Memphis and beat Iowa St(Big12) while CCU beat Kansas(Big12) this season. Jamal Jones will rush for a 100 + in a 24 19 Ark St win over CCU in Sunbelt action.

Can any team slow down UAB RB Spencer Brown? I don;'t think UTSA will this week in a CUSA matchup. UAB 34 UTSA 22

App St gave Charlotte a reality check two weeks ago and will rely on Chris Reynolds, their QB, to shift into high gear against Taggart's crew at FAU in a CUSA matchup. This will be the Owls first game this season. CHAR 24 FAU 16

Oct 4

UAB win over UTSA was my sole correct pick.  Navy was the rusty military crew and were held to under a 100 yards rushing by Air Force. McCall(20/29 for 322 yards and 4 TDs) had a great game at QB for CCU in a 52-23 win over Ark St. Nick Tronti rushed for a TD and tossed two TD passes in third quarter for FAU in a 21 -17 win over Charlotte.

I didn't pick the game or see it coming but props to Tulsa for a huge AAC victory over UCF.

Dec 21 O5 Bowl Games

NEW MEXICO BOWL SDST(MWC) has found various ways to put together a solid season. CMU has been erratic . Aztecs D get a pick 6  and a narrow 19-17 win
FBC MORTGAGE CURE BOWL- Tough call . Can  Flames D contain Werts, the Georgia Southern QB? Nope! I'm looking for a wild won with Hickson of Liberty rushing for two TDs in a 36-34 win
CHERIBUNDI BOCA RATON BOWL Kiffin is gone so FAU falters to SMU(AAC)  34-22. Shane Buechele will strafe the  Owls D for three TD passes.
CAMELLIA BOWL You never know which FIU(AAC) teams will show up. Arkansas St(SunBelt) QB Hatcher will have a solid day.  Ark St 29 FIU 26
MITSUBISHI MOTORS LAS VEGAS BOWL: Harsin has Boise St(MWC) nearing the heights it was at Peterson left for UW.  Peterson goes out on a winning note at UW with 23-22 win. Ahmed rushes for 100  + and a TD for the Hiskies
R+L CARRIERS NEW ORLEANS BOWL UAB's (CUSA) offense tends to disappear. App St(Sunbelt) survives losing another HC. App St 20 UAB 16

dec 22 review

Five out of six. Only incorrect pick was SMU (AAC). Robison tossed for 305 yards and two TDs for FAU in a 52-28 win.. I thought UAB was going to make it a big day for the CUSA, but App St with Boynton rushing for 157 yards and two TDs roared back for  the 31-17 win. Then FIU(CUSA) couldn't slow down Hatcher, the  Ark St QB, and lost 34-26 giving the Sunbelt a 2-0 day against the CUSA.
Another Sunbelt squad , Georgia Southern , fell to Liberty 23 to 16. Calvert's 57 yards TD pass to a wide open Huntley was a huge play for the Flames.
MWC got a split. Aztecs controlled CMU the entire game  in a 48-11 win. Boise got rolled by UW 38-7.

Jan 8:

It turns out the Aztecs win over CMU was HC Rocky Long's last victory. He was 81-38 as head coach at SDSU and before that 65-69 in eleven seasons at New Mexico which makes him the winningest HC in MWC history. Brady Hoke, the man he replaced at SDSU nine years ago, is the new HC.

Jan 27

And  Rocky Long returns  to be the Lobos DC. Man, WTH happened at SDSU? I thought he'd retire or go to a different conference as a consultant.

May 21, 2020

 Props to UAB: Georgia is on their schedule in 2021 and 2023 and LSU in 2022. UAB is 2-25 versus SEC schools. In 2000 they beat Saban's LSU squad, and they beat Miss St in 2004.

July 14, 2020

Four-star QB Shedeur Sanders, son of Deion Sanders, commits to FAU (CUSA). Big nab for Coach Taggart.

O5 Title games 2019

AAC: Rematch of last week's game won 34-24 by Memphis. Coach Fickel will focus  on special teams to prevent another  Claybrooks KO return for  Memphis, but Memphis will eke out a narrower win 17-16 over Cincy.
CUSA: UAB at FAU UAB has shifted into a higher gear lately, but FAU hasn't lost since the Marshall game on Oct 18. FAU QB Robison will throw 2 TD passes in a 34 -22 win
MAC: Mami (OH) vs Central Michigan: Red hawks were flat in a 41-27 loss to Ball St while  the Chippewas rolled Toledo  49-7 last week.  Kobe Lewis will rush for 100 plus yards  in 28-23 CMU win over Miami O.
MWC: Hawaii at Boise St - Hawaii has a big time passing attack but Boise St will match it and  and win  30-20. I expected Highgtower, a Boise St WR, to have a big game.
Sunbelt:ULL at App St: Both teams have solid passing and rushing attacks . App St gets a pick six and wins a close one AppSt 20 ULL 19
Dec 4: On a side note: Mike Bobo parts ways with Colorado St (MWC)
Dec 6-More MWC news:  Tedford to step down at Fresno St. He was 22-6 in his first two years with a No. 18 finish in the final AP poll in 2018. He was 4-8 this season.
Dec 7: Coaching rumors :Kiffin from FAU to OL Miss. Norville from Memphis to Florida St . I just don't see how Kiffin merits an SEC gig.

Dec 8

Antonio Gibson came up big for Memphis, particularly in the game winning drive. His stat line for the game  130 yards rushing  and 1TD and 32 yards receiving and one TD . MEM 29 Cincy 24
Robison tossed 4 TD passes in for FAU in a 49-7 romp over UAB. 
Boise St D held Hawaii to ten points and got two TD passes from Jaylon Henderson in a 31-10 win
App St jumped out a big halftime lead and then hung on at the end. Levi Lewis tossed four TD passes for ULL during the comeback effort. App 45 ULL 38.
My sole incorrect pick was CMU, who couldn't overcome a solid Miami Ohio D in a 26-21 loss.

Dec 9

South Florida hires Clemson OC Jeff Scott as new head coach. Bobo, ex Colorado St HC,  is the new OC at S.Car. I'm stunned the App St HC got the Missouri gig, that's a huge leap.

dec 12

Taggart, ex FSU Hc, takes the FAU job.  Addazio, ex BC HC, takes Colorado St job  

april 28, 2020

   Troy (Sunbelt) and UAB(CUSA) , two schools in Alabama  separated by less than 140 miles., will play a home and home series later this decade.

June 12, 2020

CMU  (MAC) announced future matchups with Michigan St (B10) and this caught my attention:
Sparty  own an 8-3 advantage over the Chippewas.  The three wins for the CMU Chips came in 1991, 1992 and 2009.

Week 14 O5 picks -divsions at stake

MAC: WMU and CMU are tied for first  at 5-2 in the MACW. Central Michigan barely survived Ball St last week while Toledo got crushed by Buffalo. Koback rushed for 99 yards and 1TD and looks to be getting back in gear and will lead Toledo to an upset of CMU 26 -22.
AAC: Navy is tied with Memphis in the West after upsetting  SMU last week and faces a Houston team that found some D   last week in a win over Tulsa and will  contain Malcom Perry, the Navy QB, enough to  win 20-19.
CUSA: Three way tie  in CUSAW with UAB, La Tech, and USM at 5-2. UAB D was strong in a big win over La Tech last week and will handle North Texas who fell to Rice last week.
MWC: Air Force(6-1) will get a narrow 27-26 win thanks to 2 TD passes from DJ Hammond at home over Wyoming ,but that won't be enough for them to catch  the MWC Mountail leader Boise St (7-0) who will beat Colorado St.
SunBelt: Layne Hatcher will have huge day in a 33 -19 Arkansas St (5-2) win over South Bama and hope for ULM to upset ULL (6-1) the  West leader.

Nov 28

I'll stick with my Toledo pick despite  CMU's opportunity the West with a win since WMU lost to NIU in the fierce wind and  the rain on Tuesday night.

nov 30

Off to a rough (0-2) start with my picks. Koback scored the lone TD for Toledo and only rushed for 22 yards in a 49-7 loss to Central Michigan, the winner of the West who faces the East champ, Miami (Ohio), next week. Kobe Lewis rushed for 131 yards and 2 TDS for CMU.
In the SunBelt , Hatcher(23-38, 342 YDS, 2 TD )  had another big day  for Ark St, but it wasn't enough to prevent Desmond Trotter(20-31, 279 yards , 4TDs) and Jaguars of South Bama from getting  their first conference win this season. USA 34 Ark St 30

dec 1

I was wrong on Houston's D and ended up 2-3 this week. Navy 56 HOU 41 .

• Jamale Carothers NAVY 18 CAR, 188 YDS, 5 TD and Perry rushed for 144 yards and a TD

And here's my two correct picks: TD Marshall provided  a pick 6 and Spencer Brown carried the ball 19 times for 111 yards and a TD for UAB in a 26-21winover North texas
Donald Hammond scored both of AFA's TDs, on the ground, one by air, in 20-6 win over Wyoming.