Week 11 in the O5

 AAC:  Navy lost to Temple last week while Zena and UAB have been putting some points on the scoreboard. UAB wins at home. UAB 31 Navy 20

CUSA: Kill's Kids go on the road this week to WKU. New Mexico St D creates some turnovers in a 24-23 win over the Hilltoppers.

MAC: Toledo looks like a lock in the MACW while Little Miami, Bowling Green, and Ohio battle it out in the East. Those four teams won games earlier this week.

MWC:  Does AFA rebound from being upset by Army last week? Yep, they'll find a way. Hawaii. AFA 21 HAW 17

SunBelt: Texas St heads east to face Coastal Carolina, who's won four in a row. CCU D will slow down Finley. CCU 30 TX ST 24.

Nov 11, 2023

Not among my picks but worth noticing. SMU rolled NTX in AAC play. 

MWC:  UNLV beat Wyoming 34-14: Jayden Maiava threw a touchdown pass and ran for two TDs.

Nov 12, 2023

Wrong: UAB- Coach Dilfer's O was weak. AFA got strafed by B. Schager QB - HAW(176YDS 2TD)

Correct: NMST   Mekhi Miller scored on a pick6. CCU, and I got damn close on the final score. CCU 31 TX St 23

BTW, I noticed 3TDs from Ali in the # herd W.

 Brady Hoke will retire from San Diego St after the season and rumors are flying that TAMU is coming for Cignetti, the James Madison football HC.

Also hearing, but not buying, Chadwell leaving Liberty for Miss. St.

Week 5 in the O5

 CUSA: Battle of QBs: Reed (WKU) outduels Vattiato(MTSU) in a close one. WKU 34 MTSU 31

I'll take Henigan at home to lead Memphis(AAC) to a 27-24 win over Boise St(MWC).

MACaction: CMU is coming off a big win over South Bama but will struggle to eke out a 16-13 win over EMU.

SunBelt: Coach Elliot has GA St off to a 4-1 start. M.Carroll will rush for over 100 in a win 30-20 win over Troy.

Sept 29, 2023

 I was correct on WKU who won 31-10. Reed threw for 297 yards and 2 TDs.

Jax St beat SHS and are 2-0 in CUSA action.

Oct 1, 2023

I was correct on Memphis and CMU and wrong big time on GA St who lost 28-7. Henigan, the Memphis QB, led them to a comeback win.

Some interesting stats: Marshall won over ODU despite allowing K. Calloway11CAR 236YDS 3TD.

T. Stewart.,RB - BGSU(MAC), 26CAR 138YDS 1TD in 38-21 upset of GTech(ACC)

In the MWC, UNLV rush for 307 yards in a win over Hawaii and is 4-1 for the season. 

Dec 20-24 O5 bowl games

 Famous Idaho Potato Bowl

Eastern Michigan Eagles(8-4) vs San José State Spartans(7-4). MWC is on a nice bowl roll so I'll go with SJST to win 31 to 27.

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers(8-5) vs South Alabama Jaguars(10-2) Jags lost to UCLA by 1 and Troy by 4 while WKU has a solid aerial attack.  USA 24 WKU 23

Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl

Baylor Bears(6-6) vs Air Force Falcons(9-3)

Air Force doesn't have enough firepower to get by the Bears and the MWC roll ends. BAY 34 AFA 23

Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl

Louisiana Ragin' Cajuns(6-6) vs Houston Cougars(7-5)

Cougars finish their AAC career with a narrow win over ULL of the Sunbelt. HOU 34 ULL 27

EasyPost Hawai'i Bowl

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders(7-5) vs San Diego State Aztecs(7-5)

Two up and down teams all season. Aztecs D gets the MWC back on the winning track.

SDSU 20 MTSU 17

I didn't forget two MAC teams,Toledo/Liberty  and  Bowling Green/ NewMexico St. Hunches are here https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2022/11/countdown-to-less-independents-nearly.html

Dec 21, 2022

Off to a bad start! SJST was up 13-9 after 1Q, got blanked in the second quarter 21-0 and never recovered. EMU 41 SJST 27. Nice game for I. Hamilton WR - SJSU 5REC,137YDS,1TD

Dec 22 , 2022

If you're betting against my picks, you're doing fine. WKU was hot early and rolled South Bama. Reed threw for 497 yards and two TD passes for the Hilltoppers in a 44-23 victory.

Dec 23, 2022

Wrong again, Air Force had plenty of firepower in a 30-15 win over Baylor.

Dec 23, 2022

Little less scoring than I guessed, but the Cougars pulled out a win thanks to its QB Tune and its D shutting out the Cajuns in the second half. HOU 23 ULL 16

Dec 25, 2022

My lack of faith in the CUSA burns me again. MTSU hits a FG with two minutes to go and hangs on to beat the Aztecs 25-23. Mayden , the SDST QB, tossed three interceptions.

O5 Week 13

 AAC: Tulane visits Cincy to determine who hosts the title game next week against UCF if they beat USF. Bearcats have re-grouped since a loss to UCF three weeks ago. Tulane lost to UCF two weeks ago and crushed SMU last week. Bearcats nip the Green Wave 24-23.

CUSA: WKU will win at FAU and stay in contention with North Texas for a chance at the CUSA title game against UTSA. Austin Reed will toss three TD passes. WKU 31 FAU 23

MWC:  If Fresno St beats Wyoming, they'll face Boise St in the MWC title game. Jordan Mimms rushes for 125 yards for the Bulldogs. Fresno St 24 Wyoming 20.

Sunbelt: James Madison(5-2) survived a rough 3 game loss stretch to remain in contention with Coastal Carolina(6-1) in the East. CCU's veteran QB McCall hangs tough. CCU 27 JMU 24.  Troy U and South Bama are tied for first in the West.

Nov 26, 2022

A split yesterday. Wrong on Cincy, correct on Fresno St. Spears rushed for 181 yards and 2 TDs for Tulane in a 27-24 win over Cincy. Tulane will host the AAC title game. If UCF wins, it holds the tiebreaker with Cincy and heads to Tulane.

 I'm a bit surprised that Fresno blanked Wyoming 30-0.

Nov 27, 2022

It feels like I've been wrong on JMU since October. JMU 47 CCU 7

WKU went for two in OT to defeat FAU 32-31 in OT. There's never a dull moment when Austin Reed is in the game. I went 2-2 in this blog.

What a wild day of football. I found the UTSA/UTEP game on the Stadium channel in time for the 4th Q. UTSA kicked a FG in overtime to take its only lead of the day and also win the game.

Nov 28, 2022

Fickel to Wisky. I thought Cincy would've made sure they kept him for the move to the Big 12. I'm not surprised Tulsa fired Montgomery.

Nov 30, 2022

Trent Dilfer, the head coach at Lipscomb Academy in Nashville and a former quarterback at Fresno State and in the NFL, is new HC at UAB, which is moving to AAC.

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.

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"

O5 Title games 2021

CUSA: I'm taking the hot team WKU led by Zappe who has tossed 52 TD passes. WKU 37 UTSA 31

MAC:  Kent St has a stellar rushing attack led by Marquez Cooper.  Kent St 26 NIU 19

MWC: Tough one to call, but I'll go with Bonner tossing a few TD passes against a solid Aztecs D for the win. Utah St 27 SDST 22

SunBelt: App St has climbed out of a rough September and finished nicely. ULL lost Coach Napier to FLA. App 23 ULL 22

AAC: Cincy keeps the heat on the CFP voters and squeaks by a solid Houston team. 26-24. Bearcats rushing attack led by Ford will carry the day.

Dec 3, 2021

Wrong on pick 1. UTSA couldn't slow down Zappe who threw for 577 yards and 4 tds, so they outscored WKU 49-41 with a big day from SINCERE MCCORMICK (36 carries for 204 yards and 3 TDs).

Dec 4, 2021

I split on yesterday's games. Correct on Cincy and Utah St. and wrong on App St and Kent St.

Utah St and Bonner pierced the Aztecs D in a 46-13 blowout win.

 Cincy rode the Ford(18 carries, 187 yds, 2 TDs) to a 35-20 victory.

Appy couldn't stop Lewis in the first half and never got its own O into gear. ULL 24 App 16. BTW, Napier coached for ULL yesterday.

NIU blanked Kent St in the first half and won 41-23.

BTW, remember Joe Moorhead who Miss St fired as its HC in 2019 and Oregon made its OC in 2020? He's the new HC at Akron.

O5 regular season winds down

 Cincy visits a decent ECU squad and will not cover the 14 point spread but will remain undefeated. The Bearcats D held Mordecai(SMU) in check last week and will slow down Ahlers. CIN 30 ECU 20. Next week Cincy will face Houston, whose only loss this season was to Texas Tech(B12), in the AAC title game.

Zappe (WKU) has tossed 48 TD passes, and Ali has scored 20 rushing TDs for Marshall. I don't think the Herd D will be able to contain Zappe. WKU 31 MAR 23 in a game that decided who plays UTSA in the CUSA title game next week.

I'll take the Gabbert to Sorenson connection to lead Miami (O) to a 27 -25 win over Kent St and a ticket to Detroit to face NIU in the MAC title game.

Air Force, Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State have a shot to play in the MWC title game next Saturday. SDST wins and they're in. The Aztecs D will take charge in a 19-16 win over Boise St .

ULL Ragin' Cajuns will play App St in Sun Belt championship game next Saturday. Coastal Carolina's mid-season stumble kept them out of next week's game, but look for McCall to toss a few TD passes in a 31-10 win over South Bama this Friday.

Nov 27, 2021

Cincy took its time getting in gear while ECU played some fired up D early. Cincy 35 ECU 13.

SDST O played the first half against Boise St like they were hungover but found enough caffeine in the second half for a 27-16 win. They better bring more against Utah St in the MWC title game.

Nov 27, 2021  evening

Wells injury was obviously a factor, but that was brutal second half for Marshall who got zapped 53-21 by WKU.   Miami O lost to Kent St in OT 48-47 in a wild one. Gabbert and Sorenson were great for M(O), but Cooper and Williams rushed for close to  to 300 yards for Kent St. McCall and CCU needed OT to beat South Bama 27-21. 4-1 on my picks. 

BTW what happened to UTSA who got clobbered by NTX

Nov 29, 2021

Jax State to hire Rich Rodriguez, ULM OC, as head football coach ahead of 2023 FBS move to the CUSA

Fresno has a HC opening with the departure of Kalen DeBoer to UW(PAC12). Most of his resume is 1aa and NAIA then this:

2017–2018 Fresno State (OC/QB) 2019 Indiana (OC/QB) 2020–2021 Fresno State (HC)

Dec 1, 2021

La Tech hired Texas Tech's interim HC Sonny Cumbie as its next football coach, but Cumbie will coach TT in the bowl game.

Rest of O5 play in Week 11

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

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

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

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

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

Nov 14, 2021

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

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

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

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

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.

New O5 head football coaches and an AD in 2021

 The path to head coaching job often includes working for the big boys. Charles Huff was the running backs coach at Bama  before taking  the Marshall job, and Butch Jones built his resume back up as analyst  for Saban before taking the Arkansas St Job.

Then  Terry Bowden who's been in an out of football took a grad assistant gig at Clemson and was hired at ULM.. He brought three Clemson staffers with him.

Will Hall, the former OC at Tulane , is the new Southern Miss HC

Tennessee raided  the O5 and hired UCF athletic director Danny White to be its new AD.

Jan 26, 2021

Terry Bowden hired Rich Rodriguez to be the ULM  OC. He was an OC under Terry's brother, Tommy Bowden, when Tommy was the coach at Tulane and Clemson. Rhett Rodriguez, Rich's son, joins as a quarterback QB grad transfer from Zona.

Jan 27, 2021

AAC loses a good one Heupel leaves UCF for the Vols.

Jan 31, 2021

I missed this one in early December. South Alabama(Sunbelt) hired Indiana defensive coordinator Kane Womack. He was South Alabama's DC  from 2016-17.

Feb 3, 2021

I wonder what's going on at WKU (CUSA) who tops UTenn , 21-19 in the number of players in the transfer portal, Hilltoppers coach Tyson Helton is 14-11 in two seasons.

Feb 9, 2021

O5 raids itself.: Arkansas State (Sunbelt) AD Terry Mohajir agreed to take the athletic director's job at UCF(AAC). Hey, but I doubt if he's bringing Butch Jones who he hired last month to be the Ark ST HC.

feb 15, 2021

UCF focusing on Gus Malzahn. Aside from how this affects his buyout from AU, there's the 2018 UCF bowl win over AU and Gus that led to undefeated UCF claiming they were # 1

March 9 2021

Will Kansas(B12) raid the AAC after firing Les Miles? Willie Fritz, the Tulane HC, has roots in the region and his Tulane tenure includes three straight bowl games.

April 21, 2021

Harsin, the former Boise HC, has a tough schedule in his first season at Auburn which includes an OOC game at Penn St. Also, they'll face O5 teams Georgia St and Akron.

April 22, 2021

#hinesWard , who spent the last two years as an offensive assistant on Adam Gase’s staff with the Jets, agreed to take a job on FAU(CUSA) head coach Willie Taggart’s staff and will work with wide receivers coach Joey Thomas.

Nov 4, 2021

Looking back at the off-season O5 coaching moves. #herd are pleased with HC Huff ,and Taggart's addition of Hines Ward as FAU receivers coach is paying dividends . LaJohntay Wester FAU WR stat improvements.

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.

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

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.

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

Shaky four picks week in O5 games

 Tulane (2-1) visits Houston(0-0) tonight in an AAC matchup. Tulane bench their starting QB Howard for Pratt in a win against S.Miss. I'm guessing the home team wins a game filled with field goals. HOU 19 TUL 12

Herd's run game will prevail in a 24-16 CUSA win over WKU , whose QB Pigrome is far from accurate.

In the Sunbelt, I'm going with the high powered TX St Bobcats to roll over Troy 38-22. Bobcats hung tough with SMU and  BC in OOC play this season.

I'll circle back to the CUSA and say Taggart's FAU bunch wins again. This week they'll find a way to slow down the USM  offense and prevail 22-20

Oct 9

Houston pick was correct, but I was way off on the score. Houston 49 Tulane 31. Green Wave D scored two TDs and Houston returned kickoff for a TD.

Oct 11

FAU game was canceled, and I split on the other two picks. Knox 15 CAR, 107 YDS, 3 TD led a solid Marshall U rushing attack in a 38-14 win over WKU. . I'm not sure if Troy finally woke up,but TX St has suddenly fallen asleep.

Gunnar Watson  ( 33-46, 338 YDS, 4 TD) found Kaylon Geiger  ( 7 REC, 121 YDS, 1 TD) , and Kimani Vidal  12 CAR, 106 YDS  led the Troy rushing attack in a 37-17 victory TX ST.

O5 OOC tight ones for Sept 19

 GA Tech(ACC) D was impressive  against the Noles last week and should contain UCF(AAC) QB Dillon Gabriel. If GT finds a way to prevent kicks from being blocked, they 'll win a nailbiter 24-22.

Is there enough "Tiger" in the tank with ex -Auburn QB , Malik Willis  leading Liberty in a matchup against WKU(CUSA)? Ex Terp QB Pagrome struggled against Louisville last week. LU 20 WKU 17.

Will a defense show up in the SMU(AAC) /North Texas (CUSA) matchup. Buechele will lead SMU to a 38-35 win over Jason Bean and the not so Mean Green. Both QBs will toss at least three TD passes.

I couldn't ignore this matchup of former Southwest Conference rivals Baylor(Big12) and Houston(AAC)  meeting for the first time since 1995 . Plus, Aranda(Baylor) and Holgorsen(HU) were members of Mike Leach's staff at Texas Tech in 2000. Brewer will toss two TD passes for Bayor in in 21-16 win over the Cougars, who will need to develop a strong rushing attack.

Sept 20

BAY/HOU was canceled. I was wrong big time on UCF who obliterated the GT D 49-21. No D showed up  as the Mustangs ran wild across the not so Mean Green. SMU 65 -NT 35. I got the winner the 35 right.. Willis played a solid game at QB and  the Flames rushing attack was in gear in a 30-24 win over WKU. 2-1 for the weekend.

Special shout-out to the Marshall fans. Herd 17 Appy 7

Pre-season 2020 Other 5 football notes

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

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

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

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

July 20:

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

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

July 23, 2020

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

July 30, 2020

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

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

Aug 6

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

Aug 9

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

Aug 10, 2020

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

Aug 14, 2020

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

Aug 15

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

aug 21, 2020

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

aug 23

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

aug 31 

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

Sept  3, 2020 

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

Sept 4, 2020

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

Sept 6

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

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

What's left of O5 bowl games

SERVPRO FIRST RESPONDER BOWL:  WKU(CUSA) has a knack  for pulling games out thanks to a solid D. WMU (MAC) has plenty of O Jon Wassink WMU (222-371, 2904 YDS, 19 TD), LeVante Bellamy WMU (248 CAR, 1412 YDS, 23 TD) . I'll roll with the Hilltoppers D.
WKU 19 WMU 17
AUTOZONE LIBERTY BOWL: #23 Navy(AAC) will get rushing TDs, but Kansas State QB Skylar Thompson will get in gear for a KSU 30-28 win
NOVA HOME LOANS ARIZONA BOWL: Wyoming(MWC) takes advantage Georgia State's (Sunbelt) weak D in a 26 -13 win . Valladay rushes for a 100+ for the Cowboys.
TICKETSMARTER BIRMINGHAM BOWL: Boston College vs #21 Cincinnati(AAC). I love Cincy in this onewith Michael Warren rushing for 125+ in  a 33-20 win.
FAMOUS IDAHO POTATO BOWL: Ohio(MAC) Nevada(MWC) Rourke by ground and air leads the Bobcats to a 27-23 win.
LOCKHEED MARTIN ARMED FORCES BOWL: Southern Mississippi(CUSA) Tulane(AAC)  He!! of a regional matchup being played in Fort Worth, TX. McMillan lifts the Green Wave to a 31 -29 win over USM
LENDINGTREE BOWL: ULL(Sunbelt) Miami (OH)(MAC) The Redhawks flying pattern is erratic so I'm banking on the the Cajuns QB, Levi Lewis to lead ULL to a 37 -20 win.
dec 30- Correct on WKU but just barely. The Hilltoppers  were given the final play after a five-yard defensive substitution penalty by WMU and made a FG with no time on the clock. Before that they made a FG with 1:36 on the clock. WKU 23 WMU 20
Jan 1- I was wrong on Navy who got a last second FG to beat KSt 20-17. Valladay did better than I guessed with 204 yards rushing and 2 TDS against GaSt. Freshman QB Levi Williams was a bit wild but was involved in four TDS. Props to Ellington , the Ga St QB, who accounted for 236 yards and two touchdowns despite playing with a torn right ACL. WYO 38 GA St 17

jan 3

I'm not sure why BC was there. Cincy dominated the entire game in a 38-6 win. 

jan 4

 They dumped fries on Ohio Coach Solich after the Potato Bowl win over Nevada and he ate one. LOL

jan 4 afternoon

On a roll lately as the bowl season winds down. Green Wave started slow but crested by the 3rd quarter.  J. McMillan(13-18, 215 YDS, 3 TD)had a great game for Tulane in the 31-13 win over USM

Jan 7

I went 6-1 in this bunch of games . Levi Lewis, ULL QB, tossed for 246 yards and 2TDs in a 27-17 win over Miami O.
Final O5 conference bowl standings. AAC(4-3) cusa(3-5), mac(3-4) MWC(4-3) SUNBELT(3-2)

March 30

 Not much news but I saw this: Georgia State lands Noel Ruiz, a grad transfer and FCS All-American kicker from NC A&T .

May 29, 2020

   Wyoming (MWC) will square off Sept.  25, 2021, at UConn. And this came about because of the Georgia/Clemson game announced earlier this year.  While I try to figure out why, I noticed that UConn has scheduled some big $$ future games, UNC, Michigan, and Ohio St, in its Independent future.

June 20, 2020

For you southern boys: Duke’s Mayo replaces Belk as a Bowl sponsor of the annual game in Charlotte which features an ACC team versus a team from either the Big Ten or SEC. Kentucky(SEC) beat Virginia Tech(ACC) 37-30 in the Belk Bowl on 12/31/19.

July 6, 2020

Here's the final payout for the MWC schools allowing Clemson & UGA to play in the "Kickoff" game. Clemson will pay Wyoming $1.1 million, and Georgia will cut San Jose State a $1.8 million check

CUSA 2019.20 Hoops predictions

1) Western Kentucky are shaping up well for the CUSA conference play. Hollignsworth led the way with 22 points in a nice win over Arkansas(SEC) yesterday
2) North Texas Mean Green hit 19 treys in win over Ark-LR. Mohamed and Draper are over 50% in 3P%
3) Southern Miss Golden Eagles. Harper-Baker has played well. Eagles will be hanging around the CUSA  top 4
4) Charlotte 49ers upset Wake Forest. Freshman guard Jahmir Young led the way with 24 points.
5) Louisiana Tech Bulldogs: Amorie Archibald and  the Bulldogs are going to be in the hunt. Nice win over Miss St.
6) Florida International Golden Panthers: Andrews will be top scorer
7) Marshall Thundering Herd played FLA tough in a loss on Xmas eve but have looked ragged in most games. Kinsey and West are averaging 14 PPG
8) Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders has had a rough start. They'll need a ton of  treys from Antonio Green the rest of the season.
9) UAB Blazers played UK, Memphis, and Texas tough in losses. They'll need more points from Jalen Benjamin in CUSA play
10) UTEP Miners: Bryson Williams has played well and they look a little better than last season
11) Old Dominion Monarchs-Xavier Green will need to get to a 20 PPG for them to get in to the middle of the CUSA pack. Stith graduated.
12)  UTSA Roadrunners- J Jackson will need to hit a lot of treys again this season
13)  Florida Atlantic Owls- Scoring has been low. Maybe Cornelius Taylor will get into gear
14) Rice Owls will be hanging on a cellar limb again. TJ Atwood  score about 20 PPG

Jan 10, 2020

#usm (0-3) stands out as my worst prediction so far . Eagles lost 76-64 to UTEP (1-2) last night. Iran Bennett (17 points , 11 rebounds) led Marshall(2-1) to a 79-75 win over MTSU(0-3). Tavin Lovan scored 16 points for UAB(1-2) in a 72-62 mild upset of WKU(2-1).
UTSA (1-2) blew out La Tech (2-1). Fau(3-0) beat Rice(0-3) 81-76 NTX(2-1) blew out FIU(2-1) 74-56.

Jan 17

It's getting crowded at the top. Charlotte (4-0) edged Marshall 77-75. Taevion Kinsey had  29 points and 11 rebounds for the losing Herd.  FAU(4-1) beat MTSU. La Tech (4-1) beat Rice. WKU (4-1) beat ODU. NTX(4-1) beat USM.

Jan 21

In rare Monday night CUSA action Charlotte(4-2) fell to ODU(3-3) led by  Jason Wade's 23 points, and Javion Hamlet  scored 24 for NTX in a win over Rice, That's NTX sixth win in a row  and puts them alone atop the CUSA with half game lead on WKU(5-1)

Jan 24

I thought MTSU, a loser to La Tech(5-2) last night, would struggle but  not still be winless in CUSA play.   NTX is up to 7-1 with its 98-73 blowout of UTSA(3-4).  #JamirYoung scored 24 points for Charlotte(5-2) in its 70-68 win over FAU. .Eric Lovett hit six treys  for FIU(5-2) in its narrow win over ODU.

Jan 28

I'm not doing too bad on my pre-season top 4 in the CUSA.
1)NTX(8-1) I picked them second. 2)WKU (7-1) I had them first.  La Tech and Charlotte are tied for 3rd at 6-2. I had Charlotte fourth and La Tech fifth. NTX has won eight in a row and it's last defeat was to WKU who has a five game winning streak and it's last loss was to UAB.

Jan 31-

LaTech got a big win over Charlotte while WKU lost  to FIU and the #herd (4-5) is hanging around after a win over FIU . NTX 8-1, WKU and La Tech are 7-2. Charlotte is 8-3

Feb 9

Hamlet and Gibson each scored 13 points for NTX(10-2) in a win over UAB   that kept them in first place, one game ahead of WKU(9-3) a winner over USM.

 Feb 16

The top three teams NTX(12-2) , WKU(11-3), and La Tech(10-4) won yesterday. I was stunned to see Rice(5-9) beat Charlotte(8-6) and took note of Marshall(7-7) reaching .500 with it's win over UTEP(4-10).

feb 24

 The top three teams NTX(12-3) , WKU(11-4), and La Tech(11-4). La Tech's narrow win over NTX tightened up the standings and #wku  's loss to Charlotte  added to the tension. WKU faces La Tech on Thursday.

feb 28

Taveion Hollingsworth  (43 PTS, 6 REB, 3 AST) led WKU to a big win over LATech to keep them within a game of NTX who beat FIU. NTX(13-3) , WKU(12-4), and La Tech(11-5).

March 2

 Javion Hamlet (25 PTS, 4 REB, 9 AST) led NTX(14-3) to a win over WKU(12-5) and the CUSA regular season crown with one CUSA game left.

March 8

 Mikel Beyers  (20 PTS, 5 REB, 1 BLK) helped Marshall(16-15, 10-8 C-USA) to an 82-77 win over UTSA while Charlotte(10-8) lost to LA Tech which leaves  them tied with Marshall for fourth in the CUSA after NTX,WKU, and La tech. Top four get a round 1 bye.

March 12

 Taevion Kinsey had 26 points as sixth-seeded Marshall beat No. 11 seed UTEP 86-78 in the first round of the CUSAT and will play third-seeded Louisiana Tech on Thursday. FAU beat ODU. UAB beat UTSA. FIU beat Rice
 

Week 9 Five pack- Other 5

AAC: Battle of QBs: Justin McMillan (TULN 92-160, 1229 YDS, 9 TD) visits Malcolm Perry (NAVY 124 CAR, 792 YDS, 14 TD). Both teams have been spanked by Memphis this season. Navy win 27-24.
CUSA:  Brenden Knox will rush for at least 125 yards and his Marshall Herd will hold off Ty Storey and the his WKU teammates 22-19
MAC: I'm going to go with Drew Pitt the Ball St Cards again this week. This time they'll hold off Nathan Rourke and the Ohio Bearcats 27-26.
MWC: Fresno St led by QB Josh Reyna is coming off a big offensive win over UNLV. Colorado St  needs this game to stay in contention in the Mountain Division . Marvin Kinsey Jr will get 100 yards, but that won't enough as his Rams will fall to the Bulldogs. 30-20.
Sunbelt: Kaleb Barker (143-223, 1670 YDS, 16 TDs)  leads the Troy Trojans into Atlanta for a shootout that Dan Ellington, the Georgia St QB, will win in a 27-26 squeaker.

Oct 25: 

 AAC: SMU gave up a 96 yard pass play TD with five minutes left but survived Houston 34-31 to remain undefeated. I didn't think the game would be that close.

Oct 27

McMillan led a he!! of a Tulsa comeback  but Navy scrambled into position for a late game winning field goal that made the final score 41-38.
Rohrwasser kicks 53-yard FG for the #herd to survive #wku 26-23. 
Nathan Rourke and the Ohio Bobcats put the brakes on Ball St three gave winning streak in a 34- 21 victory. 
Patrick O'Brien CSU (23-42, 322 YDS, 2 TD) handled Fresno St 41-31
 Tra Barnett GAST (34 CAR, 242 YDS, 2 TD) rolled the Trojans 52-33 
I was 3-2 for the week