O5 slaps the Power 5

Group of 5 or what I call the Other 5 rocked the Power 5 which should but won't be a lesson to the NCAA to stop subdividing the 1A into two  levels.

AAC- Houston stunned the  Oklahoma Sooners(Big12) and staked a claim for a shot the pigskin final 4.
CUSA- Louisiana Tech took Arkansas (SEC) to the bitter end before falling 20-14. Southern Miss roared back to beat Kentucky(SEC) 44-35
MAC- Western Michigan hung on for dear life and eked out a win at Northwestern 22-21
SunBelt: beware of the glare that must've stunned the kickers. App St kicker, Michael Rubino, missed an extra point and a field goal allowing Tennessee (SEC) to escape with an OT win. South Alabama escaped with a win at Miss St(SEC) when their kicker. Westin Graves, missed a cheap shot in the final seconds.
C'mon NCAA let the boys play and slow down on creating four or five super conferences. You can't control everything.

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May 25 2017

Memo to the Big 12: If the # Sunbelt can do it why can't you? In 2018 , the Sunbelt  with ten teams will have a conference championship game
East: Appalachian State, Coastal Carolina, Georgia Southern, Georgia State, Troy
West: Arkansas State, Louisiana, UL-Monroe, South Alabama, Texas State

Oops Big 12 is playing a championship game in Dallas in 2017.my apologies

CUSA football 2016

CUSA is  the most discussed conference at the Other  5 community. USM is getting a lot of hype this 2016 pre-season, but I'm not jumping that train. Instead I'll get on the Rice Owls limb.
EAST
1) Marshall- All signs point to a great Herd  D led by Durant. Can Litton continue to light up the O?
2) FIU: QB McGough will step up in his sophomore season.
3) W. Kentucky: Replacing Doughty will slow down the Hilltoppers in Septemebr
4) FAU: Trey Hendrickson, Owls DE, will get his fair share of sacks.
5) M. Tenn. St. Injury bug has hit the WR corps.
6) Old Dominion: Looks for some strong play from Monarchs LB, T.J. Ricks.
7) Charlotte:Kevin Olsen may be the QB answer

WEST
1) Rice- Stehling will play well enough at QB and the Owls develop a rushing game and surprise in the West.
2) Southern Miss- Coach Monkton's exit will hurt , but QB Mullens will keep them in contention.
3) Louisiana Tech: Trent Taylor and Carlos Henderson. are a nice WR/TE tandem, but QB situation is shaky
4) North Texas :  Alec Morris, Bama QB transfer,  could provide some sparks.
5) UTEP : Shaky QB situation
6) UTSA-Post Coker era starts, Cavill, a transfer WR should be fun to watch.

9/2/16

My Rice  limb cracked quickly -WKU crushed them last night. FIU collapsed after the first half in a loss to Indiana/

MAC football 2016

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

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

AAC 2016 football predictions

Who knows what the AAC will look like in 2017 so here's a look at this season. It appears  I haven't bucked the pundits much.

AMERICAN ATHLETIC
EAST
1) South Florida: Coach Taggart  may have finally turned the Bulls around and look for the Flowers  to Adams  connection to score big points.
2) Temple: Quarterback P.J. Walker and running back Jahad Thomas provide the scoring and Owls D is solid
3) Cincinnati Coach Tommy T's Bearcats were erratic last season despite having two solid QBs, Kiel and Moore, and may not have found any answer to the  teams' turnovers' problems.
4) Connecticut:Huskies O needs a huge dose of Viagra.
5) East Carolina-  New HC Scottie Montgomery, a Cutliffe disciple, will try to mobilize the Pirates.

6) UCF: New HC Scott Frost will hit some speed bumps installing the Duck attack

WEST
1) Houston: It's hard to see anyone topping Coach Herman's Cougars, but there secondary may be a huge weak spot. Greg Ward leads a potent offense.
2) Tulsa: QB Dane Evans will keep the Golden Hurrican on Houston's heels.
3) Navy will miss Keenan Reynolds
4) SMU: Head Coach Morris heads in year 2 and still seems short of  prime Mustangs.
5)Tulane- Rebuilding again - this time with Coach Willie Fritz

6)Memphis: Coach Fuente is now at VTech and Paxton  is in the NFL -could be long first season for new Head Coach Norvell

9/16/16

I know Ward had a big night for #Houston's Offense, but it was the Cougars D who did a stellar job against Cincy last night.

12/28/16

 and #Uconn ends their season by rehiring "the Edsel" , a HC  who left them immediately after the 2011 Fiesta Bowl, without flying home with the team or ever addressing his players about the departure. His last years with my Terps were terrible. Gotta be a better coach out there  

A peak of 2016 MWC football

MOUNTAIN
Colorado St. Coach Bobo turns the corner this season and guides an explosive offense led by QB Nick Stevens.
Boise St. is the pundits darling, but I'm not sold. QB Rypien will get his numbers.
New Mexico Coach Davie got the Lobos to a bowl game behind some exciting play by a versatile QB, Lamar Jordan.
Utah St.: If the Aggies had a better D, I'd pick them to grab the division title.
Air Force  won't repeat it's surprising 2015 division title run
Wyoming  Cowboys will struggle again

WEST
San Diego St. Coach Long D and a solid rushing attack will help the Aztecs repeats as MWC champs.
UNLV- Sanchez Rebels were a bit of a surprise and should be in contention most of the season
San Jose St: QB Kenny Potterhad the highest MWC completing % in 2015. Spartans may be turning the corner.
Nevada visits Notre Dame on Sept 10, a good test for the Wolfpack and the MWC
Fresno St.- New coordinators won't be enough
Hawaii- No pot of gold over the Rainbow this season.

SD St edges Colorado St in the MWC title game.

Aug 26

Long plane ride for Hawaii/Cal game in Australia today, then Hawaii plays Michigan at Ann Arbor, MI on Sept 3, Who made this schedule?

Aug 27

Cal  51 Hawaii  31 . David Webb, a transfer from Texas Tech, didn't miss a beat (4 passing TDs, one rushing TD) replacing Jared Goff, 1st round pick of the LA Rams. It's going to be a long season for Hawaii's D

9/3/16

Colorado St, my pick to win the MWC Mountain division  , got crushed by Colorado in the intrastate rivalry game . Rams Coach Bobo nailed it 

"It's embarrassing. Totally embarrassed our name," 

9/3/16 

Peek at 2016 SunBelt football

Jeremy Lamb, the Appalachian St QB, is  getting a lot of hype,but do Arkansas St  and Georgia Southern  have enough to prove the Sunbelt pundits wrong. New Mexico with Larry Rose at RB should climb out of the cellar and finish in the middle of the pack. Maybe South Alabama's Xavier Johnson at return specialist shocks a few teams. And,  how about this name Dee Liner, the Bama transfer starting at defensive tackle for Arkansas St.
Games to look for:
Miami (Fla.) at Appalachian State, Sept. 17: App St stays close for three quarters but Richt's Canes will win by at least twelve points. BTW, App St opens the season at Tennessee.
New Mexico at New Mexico State, Sept 10. Larry Rose runs wild on his NMST home field and the Ags give the improving Lobos a hell of a scare.
ULM at Georgia Southern –Sept 17 Garrett , the ULM QB, leads the Warhawks  to a road win.
My pre-season rankings
1. Appalachian State

2. Arkansas State

3. Georgia Southern

4. Louisiana-Lafayette

5. Troy

6.  New Mexico State

7 Louisiana-Monroe

8. South Alabama

9. Georgia State

10.  Idaho

11. Texas State

Aug 17, 2016

Big news. Larry Rose, one of the top 2015 RBs, underwent sports hernia surgery and is considered questionable for the Aggies' season opener against UTEP.

Aug 25, 2016

 New Mexico State’s starting QB, Tyler Rogers turned himself in last Friday on a warrant that had been issued for him Aug. 14.  The junior was booked on one count of misdemeanor charge of battery against his girlfriend. Ags road just got bumpier.

9/2/16

App St kicking woes , missed extra point and FG, cost them dearly in their OT loss at Tennessee. He!! of a night for Marcus Cox.

9/3/16

 South Bama knocks off Miss St, who missed an easy FG in the final seconds . Sunbelt has given the SEC he!! this week.

9/9/16

Sunbelt won't knock off any big boys this week . ULM faces an angry Oklahoma squad. Same for Ark St at Auburn. Troy at Clemson and  Idaho at Washington will be ugly for the underdoogs

2016 Week 1 can O5 take down Big 5 teams

   SunBelt: Appalachian St  went to and won it's first bowl game last season and the Mountaineers march into Knoxville as a 22 point dog. Maybe Marcus Cox, a tailback on the Doak Walker watchlist, can keep them in the game I don't see them  duplicating their  2007 upset of Michigan @ Ann Arbor.
MWC: Hawaii  host Cal in August then travels to Michigan where the Rainbows will be lucky to score ten points. Fresno St may put a scare in the slow starting Nebraska Cornhuskers
MAC: Bowling Green Linebacker Austin Valdez may need to make ten tackles in the first half half to keep the Falcons competitive  @ Ohio St. Miami (Ohio) decent D-Line will keep them in the game until the third quarter @ Iowa. Western Michigan won the MAC West last season  and has Corey Davis a great WR. Look for a  mild upset @Northwestern.
AAC: Houston hosts Oklahoma- now this could be a good game between two pre-season top 10 teams. Two transfers , Duke Catalon, an RB from Texas, and Ra'Shaad Samples, WR from OK St, could help the Cougars pull off an upset of the Sooners.
CUSA- Louisiana Tech will struggle against the rising Arkansas Razorbacks. I'm curious if Southern Miss has improved enough to give Kentucky a hard time. Charlotte will be overwhelmed at Louisville

8/7/16

 Louisiana Tech starting quarterback Ryan Higgins was arrested early Friday in Ruston on a DWI charge. If Holtz suspends him for Game 1 , Arkansas  should cruise.