Week 9 O5 Tuesday and more

 CUSA Tuesday time then the other 4 picks later this week.

SHSU stumbled against WKU, and FIU is having a rough season. Hunter Watson threw 2 TD passes in the loss to WKU but the rushing game was  weak.  Probably time to get McKinney 20 carries.  SHSU 24 FIU 16.

SHSU barely survived two missed FGs and being stuffed on 4th and goal at the end of the first half. SHSU 10 FIU 7. Bearkats need a healthy Watson back at QB ASAP.

Oct 24, 2024

Wow, Liberty loses to Kenn St. ODU blows out  GASO. SBC  is getting wild.

Ok on to the rest of my picks:

AAC: Navy has been sailing along nicely against team with weak defenses Notre Dame(Independent) will slow them down. ND 24 Navy 20

MAC: CMU has stumbled in  conference after beating  the Aztecs(MWC). Gabbert has put up some decent passing numbers for Miami(Ohio). MO 28 CMU 24.

MWC: Can the Rebels slow down Jeanty? Not enough to win! BSU 31 UNLV 27

SBC: SBC: South Bama got a much needed win over Troy last week ,but ULM will handle them. Hardy rushes for 100 yards ULM 34 USA 23

Oct 26, 2024

Got pretty close on the final score  guess . BSU missed a 2pt attempt after a Jeanty TD . BSU 29 UNLV 24

Jeanty rushed for a 128 yards.

Oct 27, 2024

Wrong on ULM who got 100 yards rushing from Hardy but were rolled by S.Bama 46-17.

Correct  on Navy losing to ND.

Correct on Miami (OH) winning. Mazee rushed for 120 of the Red Hawks 277 rushing yards in a 46-7 victory.

In other MAC news, Coleman Owen(WR- Ohio) ,Yds-Ru 22 TDRu 1

Yds-Rc 146 TD-Rc 2, has been putting up some numbers.  Ohio 47 Buff 16

Oct 28, 2024

You knew it was coming: Rice fires HC Mike Bloomgren after 2-6 start in his 7th season. Special teams coordinator Pete Alamar is the interim HC.

Week 8 in O5 conferences.

 WKU played well in 31-14 win over SHSU. Hunter Watson, SHSU QB, was hurt early in the game.

UTEP finally got a W with a win over FIU. CUSA is done for this week. Now to my picks.

AAC: Morris(NTX) has better stats  than Henigan(MEM) except in INTs.  NTX loses 28-24 @ Memphis.

MAC: Are the Buffalo Bulls back? I'm not sold. That 47-3 loss to UConn was bad.  WMU 30 BUFF 21

MWC: Both teams are hard to gauge. I'll go with S. Red rushing for over 100 yards for Nevada in a 31-30 win over Fresno. St.

SBC: Time to pay some attention to ULL, who beat Wake Forest and its only loss is to Tulane. Cajuns prevail at CCU 24-14.

Oct 19, 2024

Wrong on Nevada! S. Red rushed for 56 yards and a TD in the Wolf Pack's loss. FRES 24 NEV 21

In a game I didn't pick the Herd  stayed with Braxton at QB and got 177 yards rushing and 3 TDs from A.Turner in a 35-20 win over GA ST.

Oct 20, 2024

Wrong on NTX who lost a he!! of shootout to MEM. 

Right on WMU: Wolff  outduels Ogobanna  in another shootout. WMU 48-  Buff 41

Correct On ULL  who beat CCU34-24 and sit atop the SBCW.

2-2 this week.

Week 7 in O5 conferences

 CUSA: Veltkamp will toss 2TDs passes for WKU in a 28 to 20 win over UTEP. Hilltoppers need to keep pace with Liberty and Jax St who won this week. 

AAC: Coach Dilfer  needs a rapid improvement in his D. UAB will get a little better and stay close at Army. Army 24 UAB 19

MAC: Ohio loses a 17-16 nail-biter at CMU. 

MWC:  Both teams have  not impressed anyone this season. Cowboys win at home. WYO 20 SDSU 17.

SBC: Can the Herd contain French, the GASO QB?  Is Braxton, the Herd QB,  the answer . GASO 31 MU 27 in Statesboro, GA.

Oct 11, 2024

Veltkamp tossed 3TD passes for WKU in the 44-17 blowout. Jolly rushed for 119 yards for UTEP.

Oct 13, 2024

Army  rolled over UAB. Dilfer's program is not improving

MAC game was a nail biter, but I picked the wrong winner. CMU second  half comeback fell short  Ohio 27 CMU 25.

MWC: another close one that I predicted the wrong winner .Aztecs nipped the Cowboys 27-24

SBC: Dexter Williams came off the bench and sparked GASO to a 21-0 fourth quarter in a 24-23 win over the Herd. Two QB system backfired for MU. Earle's safety was costly. Braxton played well

3-2 this week.

Oct 14, 2024

They tossed an SBC game into the early week mix. Two struggling teams, Troy @ South Bama

Oct 16, 2024

Lopez , the USA QB, produced enough  O for South Bama(2-1 SBC) in a 25-9 win over Troy(0-3 SBC). MTSU beat  Kenn St 14-5 and NMSU survived La Tech 33-30 in CUSA action.

Week 6 in the O5 conferences

 MAC: We're heading into more conference games and I'm circling back to Bowling Green and their solid TE, Harold Fannin(37rec, 537 yards, 4 TDs). Falcons have struggled since giving Penn St a scare. BG 24 AKR 17

CUSA: Sam Houston St got spanked by UCF but have handled their other four opponents, UTEP hasn't won a game. SHSU 27 UTEP 20

AAC: Charlotte edged Rice last week , which may be just what Coach Biff needs to prevent another bad season. 9ers slow down Garcia, the ECU QB. CHAR 24 ECU 21

SBC:  ODU got it first win last week and CCU got spanked by UVA. CCU improves its weak rushing attack and  edges ODU 17-16.

MWC: Cooper rushes for 100 yards for the Aztecs to get a much needed win.  SDSU 23 Hawaii 17

Oct 4, 2024

D. McKinney,RB - SHSU 14CAR 138YDS 2TD in a 41-20 win over UTEP. First pick correct.  SHSU is 5-1.

Oct 5, 2024

No shortage of points for O5 teams last night .  UNLV scored 41 in OT loss to Cuse. Huff, the JVS QB, rushed for 176 yards and 3 TDS in a 63- 24 win over KENN

Oct 6, 2024

Wow Marshall scored over 50 in a win over Appy.  Braxton tossed 3 TD passes and rushed for two TDs for the Herd. 

ULM upset JMU, who failed ona 2PT conversion attempt to tie the game with four minutes left.

Now to the rest of my picks: went 5-0 for the weekend.

 CCU beat ODU. Charlotte pounded ECU. SDSU beat Hawaii.  Another big game for Fanin (9 rec, 135 yards) in  BG's 27-20 win over Akron.

Oct 8, 2024

Just noticed the CUSA is playing games on Tues &  Wednesday. Used to be just the MAC doing that. FIU/Liberty tonight.  NMSU/Jax St tomorrow night.

And Liberty got a scare from FIU . Cooley rushed for 174 yards for the Flames who won 31-24 OT

Week 5 nailbiters in the O5

 Temple's win last week over USU was its first  W this season. Army is undefeated. This will be an AAC nail-biter. Daily, the Army QB, kicks it into gear late. Army 19 Temple 13

Sunbelt intrastate battle: GASO looks to recover from an OL Miss' pounding. GAST beat Vandy last week. J. French tosses a late TD pass for an Eagles' win . GASO 20 GAST 17.

Herd gets a boost from its home crowd and its D saves the day against WMU. MRSH(SBC) 16 WMU(MAC) 13

Booth teams are struggling. Dampier tosses two TD passes for the Lobos in an intrastate match up against NMSU.   UNM(MWC) 27 NMSU(CUSA) 24

Sept 27, 2024

Right on Army, wrong on it being close. B. Daily, Army QB, 24 CAR 152YDS 3TD in a 42-14 win over Temple

Sept 28, 2024

App State's home football game scheduled for today, Sept. 28, against Liberty is canceled due to severe impacts to App State, the town of Boone and surrounding areas caused by Hurricane Helene.

It will not be rescheduled.

Sept 29, 2024

Correct on GASO, the Herd, and UNM

Rogers rushed for 122 yards for the Lobos 50-40 win over the Aggies.

Turned rushed for 124 yards for the Herd.

I didn't pick these games:

Fannin, the BG TE's ,stats in a surprising loss to ODU. Yds-Rc 188 TD-Rc 2

ULL stuns Wake Forest. 41-38

Sacramento business community is making a big push for a new stadium as part of an effort to get Sacramento St in the Pac12. Can that region support this?

Week 4 O5 close matchups

 Both teams have struggled , particularly running the ball. Tulsa(AAC) 24  ULL 17 . K. Francis will have a decent game passing for the Hurricane.

The No D special: Rich Rod finally finds a way to win this season . Jax St(CUSA) 42 USM 41(SBC)

The Limited O special : Colorado St(MWC) 16 UTEP(CUSA) 13. Perhaps J Marshall scores a rushing TD for the Rams.

Ball St is coming off a 62-0 loss to Miami(FLA). Is a MAC match up against CMU, the Cure? Nah, Labas throws 2 TD passes  for the Chippewas. CMU 23 Ball St 16 

Sept 21, 2024

Coach Ken has done a great job,  but I didn't foresee  his Spartans giving Wazoo a hell of a scare  before losing 54-52. Too bad Chip Kelly's late move  didn't give UCLA a chance to promote Coach Ken

Sept 22 2024

Right on  Tulsa, Jax St,  & Colorado St, and CMU

Hughes rushed for 166 yards and a TD for Tulsa. Tulsa 41 ULL 33

Jax St got plenty of O and found some D in a 44-7 rout of USM.

Morrow rushed for 156 yards and 2TDs  for Colorado St. in a 27-17 win over  

Labas threw a  TD with 16 seconds left on the clock to lead CMU to a 37-34 win.

Tough loss for NIU getting upset by Buffalo

Herd  were leading the Buckeyes  7-0 after one quarter, but then it ugly for them. Ohio St 49 MU 14.  A Turner, the Herd's leading rusher, gained 32 yards.

James Madison  70-50 win over UNC   was a nice shot at the Power boys but also showed the Dukes haven't missed a beat so far  by hiring Chesney, from Holy Cross, to replace Cignetti.

Sept 25, 2024

Chatter about Sacramento St, a 1AA team in the Big Sky, leaping to the  MWC or PAC12.

Sluka, , the UNLV starting QB, leaves the team to save his red-shirt season, because the Rebels did not  "honor" a promise.. $$$$$$

Miami (Ohio) started the season with high hopes  and played NW tough before losing 13-6. Then lost to Cincy and ND. I suspect Gabbert goes off on UMass this week.

Week 3 MWC /CUSA matchups

 Keene to Dalena gets Fresno a W. Fresno St 24 NMSU 20

Sam Houston has home field edge and pulls out a 17-13 win over Hawaii

I'm riding with the Spartans and Coach Ken at home. SJSU 27 Kennesaw St 16

Boise State, Colorado State, San Diego State, and Fresno State are the four football targets of the re-formed Pac 12. Hope they stay west  of the Mississippi river in their pursuit of two more teams.

Will California consider coming back to the Pac12 or are they tied too much by $$$ to the ACC.

Aztecs  will give Cal a fight but fall 27 -17

Sept 15, 2024

4-0 on Fresno, SJSU,Cal, and SHSU, but none of the games were as close as I predicted. Definitely did not foresee Fresno shutting out NMSU 48-0. Keene threw two TD passes, and Sherrod rushed for 113 yards on 15 carries for the Bulldogs. Coach Ken's Spartans keep winning.

BTW, CSU contained Neon's Buffs for a little over a quarter and lost 28-9.

Toledo 42 Miss St 17. -Wow

Sept 16, 2024

O5 Wrap up: Cheers to Memphis who beat the Noles.  Butch Jones' Ark St squad kept it respectable at Ann Arbor. Helluva battle:Appy nipping ECU.

NIU and UNLV are getting some respect. How about Toledo? Kyirin Heath, the Southern Miss TE, is having a solid season.