1A Independents 2018

It's my annual piss & moan about why these schools should be in a conference, and I'll include my favorite matchup against another Independentt football school.
Notre Dame with one foot in the ACC plays only teams in conferences so I'll highlight its opening week game vs Michigan.
New Mexico St and BYU, two teams that belong in the MWC, faceoff at BYU  on Nov17.
Liberty  with all your $$$ give the Sunbelt a boost, and why the hell are you playing New Mexico St twice.
Army- you should've stayed in the MAC- faces Liberty on Sept 9.
UMass , the AAC beckons, particularly for hoop reasons, and you have a nice regional match up against UConn (AAC) on Oct 27. The next week you play Liberty.

aug 1, 2018

#BYU faces five P5 schools Arizona  California, Wisconsin, Washington, and Utah. Cal is the only one of those teams traveling to Provo.

aug 19, 2018

New Mexico St is selling tickets for as low as $3 for first home game on national TV (ESPN) in a decade. #wyoming (MWC) is coming to #LasCruces for an Aug 25 matchup.

aug 26

#NMST falls at home to Wyoming 29-7  Nico Evans ran for 206 yards and two touchdowns on 25 carries to help #wyoming beat 29-7. That's one way to replace Josh Allen. attendance 20,322

aug 29, 2018

#Army coach Jeff Monken named Kelvin Hopkins Jr. the starter at quarterback in the opener at Duke. He takes over for Ahmad Bradshaw, who led the Black Knights to consecutive winning seasons for the first time in three decades.

aug 31 2018

NMST was up 10-7 early against Minnesota, and I noticed that #FrankSpaziani, the former the DC then HC at BC, was their Defensive Coordinator. It went downhill for the Ags from there. Minn 48 NMST 10
sept 1: #army passed for more yards (197) than rushed (168) in a 31-14 loss to Duke
sept 15: #army hosts  #hawaii and their rushing attack  eating up the clock may be the best way to slow down the Rainbows' aerial show but they'll losea squaeker 24-21.
sept  29, 2018:  Plenty of road work for the Independents this weekend.
#army travels to Buffalo (MAC): Bulls Tyree Jackson's arm will do enough to edge Army 24-23 in an intrastate battle
#umass travels to Ohio (MAC).  Look for Ohio to slow down their former MAC foe and pull out a 28-27 win.
#Liberty  travels to New Mexico (MWC): Lobos 19 Liberty 14
#BYU travels to UW (Pac12) Another tight game . UW D gets a pick 6 and wina 23 -20
Notre Dame hosts Stanford (PAC12):  Maybe a special teams play turns the gave for the Irish. in a 27-26 win.

Sept 30, 2018

Props to #army and I was 100% wrong on Jackson's arm. Army 42 Buff 14
 The Bobcats roared into gear in the second quarter and never looked back in 58- 42 win over UMass.  N. Rourke, the Ohio QB, tossed three TD passes and rushed for a TD.
I was wrong on the amount of O and the winner as  Jones, the Libert QB, threw  for 417 yards and three TDs in 52-43 win over the Lobos.
UW defense was stingier than I guessed and Browning had a solid game for the Huskies in a 35-7 win over BYU.
ND defense was solid and Book threw four TD passes in a 38 -17 win over the Cards. Three out of 5 correct picks

oct 7, 2018

UMass got trounced  by USF. Notre Dame smacked  VTech, and #Nmst with 4 td passes from Josh Adkins, outlasted  #Liberty 49-41
Oct 13, 2018 7:52AM EST
INDEPENDENTS (FBS) W L
 Notre Dame                        6 0
 Army                                   3 2
 BYU                                3 3
 Liberty                               2 3
 New Mexico State       2 4
 Massachusetts               2 5

Oct 20,2018

Alabama adds New Mexico State to its 2019 and 2021 home football schedule.

Big game for #army (4-2) today to stay in the bowl game hunt as they host Miami (Ohio).

oct 21, 2018

G. Ragland (30-53, 329 YDS, 4 TD) effort for Miami O wasn't enough as Coach Martin's decision to go for a two pint conversion in OT backfired in a 31-30 loss at Army. Woofolk and Thomas led the strong Army rushing attack.

The Other five in 2018 D1 baseball

I'm playing catch up with D1 baseball and welcome input at https://plus.google.com/u/0/communities/104643398353248786505
When Wichita St joined the AAC, the chatter was about hoops but their baseball team is hanging tough with #ecu led by the pitching of #tylersmith (4-0, 1.07 ERA)
(CUSA) - Southern Miss , Louisiana Tech  are playing well again. Special shout out for #herd pitcher #willray (2-1 , 1.57 ERA)
Coastal Carolina (Sunbelt) Kevin Woodall Jr has 12 HR
San Diego St (MWC) Garrett Hill (6-0, 1.28 ERA)
Miam of Ohio (MAC) Ross haffey is batting .345

April 8

#ccu rocked south bama 14-7. Tough game for Woodall (0-4) but Weisz had a Hr and four RBIs
Gavin Williams pitched seven innings giving up one earned run in the #ecu win over Washington

April 11

Quick hits : #CCU Seth Lancaster hit a home run and knocked in two runs as the Chanticleers beat Wake Forest, 9-2. Gunnar Troutwine hit a home run and three RBIs in #wichitast 10-7 win over #OKST. Here's a twist  Rice (CUSA) and Houston (AAC) may both miss the postseason. The Cougars took care of the Owls last night, 1-0, in the annual crosstown showdown.

april 15

AAC: #uconn took two from wichita st on Friday and moved in to 2nd place behind #ecu. #Feolo is 5-0 for the Huskies.
MAC: #kentst sweopt three from #NIU to move into first.  Mason Mamarella is batting .363 with 23 SB.

April 19, 2018

#nevada baseball is on the rise. The Wolfpack is 14-4 behind the offense of Grant Fennell (.394 avg , 7 SB) and the the six wins from Jake Jackson. UNLV is next at 9-6 behind six wins from Alan Stromg. It's time for third place SDST to get into gear.

april 23, 2018

#usm  #Sandlin is back:striking out 12, not walking anyone and allowing one hit in five shutout innings against #mtsu.

april 26, 2018

#rice rumblings that  the Owls are paving the way for Coach Graham to exit  nicely. #houston has been playing better and may make the playoffs.  #ecu on the bubble for a top 8 seed the playoffs ?

april 29, 2018

It's been two weeks since I checked on the #MAC. Miami O has dropped to third behind #kentst and #cmu. Mamarella has 27 SB. #joeymurray is 7-1 for Kent St.

May 2, 2018

 The Eastern Michigan University baseball team led for the first seven innings before a late rally wound up being the difference in a crushing 6-4 loss at the University of Michigan . #emu is in the middle of the MAC pack while UM sits atop the Big 10. They meet again tonight.

May 3, 2018

#emu got pounded 12-5 by Michigan. Back to #MAC play.

May 5, 2018

#AAC #ECU  Pirates were swept by Houston at home. Both teams should make the field of 64. In the Sunbelt Coastal Carolina has been erratic but should make the playoff while South Bama is fading from view.

May 8, 2018

#AFA baseball has moved into third in the #MWC behind Nevada and SDST. Air Force catcher #robdau is batting .361

May 11, 2018

In a bit of an aside, can casino funds help #herd baseball and its other sports? #wva also hopes to receive a cut of the possible legal sports gambling revenue in West Virginia.

May 12, 2018

Three #AAC teams in the top 25: UConn, East Carolina, & South Florida
Bryant Packard #EastCarolina  is ranked 10th in BA  .405

May 16, 2018

#louisianatech took 2 of 3 from #usm and moved back into the field of 64 hopefuls. Hunter Wells is batting .348  and Mason Mallard has 25 SB for the season.

May 20, 2018

#coastalcarolina  finished the season strong and goes in to the Sunbelt Tournament in good shape to make the field of 64. Watch out for Kevin Woodall JR who has 17 HRs this season. Nick Kanavas is batting  .373 for Kent State as the MACT nears when Miami of Ohio, who took 2 of 3 from them this weekend, appears to be their biggest roadblock.

May 26, 2018

Don't look now but those #Rice Owls are hooting in the CUSAT after a so-so regular season. Rice   plays the 9am CST game today against Florida Atlantic.

May 27, 2018

#cusa paybacks: Last year #usm rallied in the bottom of the ninth inning with a walk-off home run against #Charlotte to force a win-or-go-home CUSAT contest. Yesterday Charlotte's  #TommyBullock’s three-run, walk-off  home run capped a four-run rally in the bottom of the ninth of a 7-4 win over USM.

May 28, 2018

#usm bats roared in the CUSA final . USM 12 FAU 3
Coastal Carolina defeated Troy 11-6  in the Sun Belt tournament title game to claim the league title and scored 42 runs while going unbeaten in its four games.
Eli Kraus tossed a a two-hitter and 12 strikeouts in #kentst  14-0 shutout  of Miami (OH) in the MAC championship game.
#sandiegost pounded unlv 14-5 in the MWC title game
#ecu edged Uconn 4-3 to win the AAC title game.

May 30 2018

American: 4:   Uconn Houston USF  ECU
Conference USA: 2:   FAU USM
MAC   Kent St
MWC  San Diego St
Sun Belt: 2: Coastal Carolina    Troy

June 2

I'm not sure if this will reverse trends but selling beer outdoors has made #fresnost happy. Beer sales at  Bulldog Stadium  took in some $90,000 from six home football games in 2017 and added another $20,000 from sales at baseball and softball games.

June 5

All O5 teams were eliminated. Probably the biggest suprise is #stetson (Atlantic Sun) going to Omaha.

July 11, 2018

#cusa baseball coaching news
Wayne Graham out Matt Bragga,  leaves Tennessee Tech after 16 season to take over at  #Rice
Jim McGuire out Jim Toman, head coach at Liberty from 2008-16 in #MTSU

Coaching hoop moves or not, post Madness

Is it  the $$$ tempting  #chrismack to consider  leaving a solid hoops program at Xavier (BIg East) for the Louisville swamp?
#TubbySmith had Memphis close to a Dance ticket and he's gone as theyre chasing Penny Hardaway to take over.
#umbc doesn't have a lot of money but I suspect Odom stays.
#hurley sounds like he'll stay at URI.  A10 is a solid hoops conference Why would he take the #Pitt job?
Can #nevada keep the #Mussbus in it's garage?
Pitino Jr Gophers were bad. Is he out?
Pearl is in deep  crap again? Is he out at Auburn
Crean took the #georgia job? Not sure if that's a great fit.
Is Depaul thinking Moser, the Loyola Chicago HC should come on over?

March 22,2018

#padgett out! I thought he did a decent job. Is #utahst  his next stop? Pitt doesn't have enough issues. and now the #seanmiller rumors

March 23, 2018

#coloradost  raids the MVC and hires #Medved, who spent six seasons as an Asst at CSU and was 17-17 at #Drake last season.
Moser's stock rises

march 24 update.

 #markgottfried has had high & lows at Bama and NC St and has landed at Cal  St Northridge(Big West). Lorenzo Romar from St Louis to Washington with a one year pit stop as an assistant at  Zona is back at Pepperdine(WCC).   CUSA news: Dusty May  from Florida assistant to FAU.  Ron Sanchez from UVA assistant to Charlotte.   South Alabama  hired Nicholls State (2018 Southland co-champs) head coach Richie Riley.

march 25: 

#loyolachicago is in the F4. I bet Chicago sportswriters are typing : Wake up DePaul U.
#mtsu hires #McDevitt  who has won at least 20 games in three consecutive seasons at UNC Asheville  which includes trips to the NCAA tournament in 2016, the CIT in 2017 and the NIT this  season.

March 27

#uta (Sunbelt) needs a reality check after firing #scottcross who won 72 games over the past three seasons, including a Sun Belt regular-season title in 2016-17. #UMBC (America East) keeps Odom

March 28

Besides 4M a season for 7 years, Mack must've received assurances that #Louisville isn't facingmore penalties. Pitt hires #Jeffcapel, whose last HC stint at Oklahoma didn't go well.  Tubby Smith takes over at his alma mater High Point  of the Big South.
March 29 : Is Xavier looking at #Moser of Loyola Chicago. How about #UIC, another Chicago team in the #CIT final
April 5: #ECU  hired #JoeDooley of Florida Gulf Coast as its hoops head coach. It's Dooley's second stint at ECU and he faces a tough gig with a team that finished next to last in AAC.
April 9 : Not a big surprise- #lasalle (A10) is expected hire #AshleyHoward , a Villanova Asst, as Head Coach
april 13: #rodneyterry left fresno st for the #utep job. Hutson left the san diego st to take over at Fresno

April 16, 2018

#Patsos resigned from #sienna (MAAC) on April 13 after reports of allegations that he verbally abused a team manager. He left Loyola of Baltimore five years ago because they moved from the #MAAC  to the Patriot League, which was stronger in lacrosse and weaker in hoops. He has been a fiery coach with mixed results on the courts.  Apparently ,Belein's son   has a good chance at the job.

april 20, 2018

#fiu hasn't hired a hoops coach.Is this the curse of #isiahthomas

april 22, 2018

UNC Asheville hired #MikeMorrell , an assistant on Shaka Smart's staffs with Texas (2015-18) and Virginia Commonwealth (2011-15). Morrell knows the area from his VCU. I look forward to the High Point game when he faces Tubby in the Big South regular season.
Shaheen Holloway, a #setonhall, asst, has been named St Peters men's basketball coach.

april 26, 2018

Loyola-Chicago reached a new contract agreement with #Moser that will extend his deal through 2026 with what the Chicago Tribune called a big raise” on his $420,000 per year salary, 
Here's why from Moser : "I am a Catholic kid from Chicago who played in the Missouri Valley Conference,” . He played at Creighton when it was in the MVC.

May 3, 2018

#siena (MAAC)  keeps raiding MD schools for head coaches. They hired #JamionChristian of Mt St Mary's (MD) to replace Patsos, who was hired away from Loyola U in Baltimore MD a few years ago.

may 6, 2018

Cool scheduling : Rematch of the Sweet 16 thriller , Nevade/Loyola-Chicago, headlines the 2018 edition of the annual #mwc #mvc  Challenge. Medved, the new Colorado State coach,  will host #SIU. .

may 15, 2018

Donations up 660% for Loyola -Chicago. The school hasn't tallied the increase in licensing revenue.

may 19, 2018

#CUSA : #FIU hired  #jeremyballard, a long time assistant at  several schools Colgate, as well as Tulsa, Virginia Commonwealth, Illinois State, Pitt and VCU  to his first head coach gig. On a side note to the NCAA , please don't expand March Madness to 72 teams.

may 21, 2018

And now the Houston Cougars (AAC) may need a head coach. Orlando Magic are reportedly targeting Houston head coach Kelvin Sampson  who has had assistant jobs with the Bucks and Rockets

june 3, 2018

Detroit, Delaware State and Chicago State have been without a permanent person in charge of their basketall programs since mid-March 2018. On a side note, we used to pay to park on someones grass near #delawarest  and walk a mile to to Dover Downs Nascar race. 

June 6

#mikedavis is the new HC at Detroit-Mercy.  He's been around: Indiana, UAB , Texas Southern. He took Texas Southern  to four NCAA tournament appearances in six seasons

june 12

It took awhile for the local Baltimore papers to get the news via public records that #UMBC coach #RyanOdom will make $425,000 per season through 2023 -a 200K boost  as part of his new contract agreed to in March, which also  includes $75,000 for appearances and a number of incentives for postseason appearances.

June 14

Will a lot of NBA flavor work at #memphisU ? Hardaway adds #sammitchell , a former NBA Head coach and assistant  to his staff where he joins former NBA player Mike Miller.

June 17

#mtsu new HC  #McDevitt  had a brutal week David Simmons  (17.9 PPG)  and Tyrik Dixon intend to transfer while Antwain Johnson and  Davion Thomas were dismissed. from the team

june 26, 2018

#JohnnyJones who  went 90-72 in five seasons at #LSU, is taking over at #TexasSouthern. You may recall that he was the HC who didn't qualify for the NCAA tournament with a team that featured Ben Simmons.

WAC HOOPS: Chicago to Seattle

WAC has some wild geography . #NEWMEXICOST is on a nice roll. Their only conference loss is and they face Seattle tomorrow. They've beaten Illinois, UTEP, Colorado St , & New Mexico and lost to USC in OOC play. Utah Valley and Seattle are the most likely teams to upset them in the WACT which returns to the Orleans Arena in Las Vegas for the eighth year in a row. Utah Valley led by UVU #Manyang (14.0 PPG, 8.7 RPG, 1.0 APG) faces UTRGV on Feb 17.

Leading scorers

1. Dixon, Nick-UTRGV 20.6

2. Lofton, Zach-NMSU 20.0

3. Kavas, Matej-SU 16.1

Leading rebounder 12.4 rbg is Jemerrio Jones #NMSU





WAC standings

New Mex. St. 9-1 22-4

Utah Valley 7-3 18-8

Seattle 7-3 18-9

Grand Canyon 6-4 17-9

UT-Rio GV 5-5 14-13

UMKC 4-7 9-19

Cal-Baker. 3-7 10-15

Chicago St. 0-11 2-26

feb 18 update: Jordan Hill (24 PTS, 6 REB, 1 AST) led #seattle to a 73-63 upset over #nmst despite
Zach Lofton's (26 PTS, 12 REB, 5 AST) effort. UVU won to keep things tight among the top 3.
Bakersfield beat GC. Cool first day checking out the WAC

feb 22 forecast: #nmst should stop their two game losing streak against Chicago St tonight.
Seattle plays GC and UVU plays Cal Bakersfield. Three conference games left. Obvious must win for the top three WAC teams
feb 23: Grand Canyon got a great game from Alessandro Lever  who scored 30 points , grabbed 10 rebounds, and hit 14 of 15 free throws  in a win over Seattle. NMST won and Conner Toolson scored 22 in UVU's win. Two WAC games to go.
New Mex. St. 10-2 Utah Valley 9-3 Seattle 8-4
feb 25 update: NMST  led Jemerio Jones (15pts , 23 rebs)crushed UMKC to wrap up the WAC regular season title. UVUmade alate push but fell to Grand Canyon. Seattle's slide continued when they couldn't hold back a late Cal-Baker  push. UT Rio kept Chicago St winless in WAC play.
March 4 update: Props to #deiontesimmons (20 PTS, 11 REB, 1 STL) leading Chicago St squad to it's first  #WAC win this season . CST 96 UMKC 82. They'll face #NMST  in rd1 of the WACT . Utah Valley crushed Seattle  in a matchup of two teams going in opposite directions. Seattle's loss allowed Grand Canyon who beat Bakersfield, to move into the 3rd slot. WACT March 8 PST times on ESPN3
6 UMKC vs. No. 3 Grand Canyon, 12 p.m. 
7 CSU Bakersfield vs. No. 2 Utah Valley, 2:30 p.m. 
 8 Chicago State vs. No. 1 NM State, 6 p.m. 
5 UTRGV vs. No. 4 Seattle, 8:30 p.m. 
march 9 rd 1: Do you remember #danmajerle when he played for the Phoenix Suns? His Grand Canyon squad edged #UMKC as they try to to recover  from a four year probation with a Dance ticket. Their next opponent is Utah Valley  who got solid efforts from the #toolson brothers in a win over Bakersfield. NMSU handled Chicago St easily as it appears winning the WACT  is their only Dance option. #seattle recoverd from its recent slide in a win over UTRGV. Solid game from Richaud Gittens SEA - G (17 PTS, 10 REB, 3 AST). 
My gut says Utah Valley is the biggest threat for NMST.
march 10- My gut was wrong (what's new)  as Grand Canyon with Lever and Braun scoring 15 each beat UVU  to advance to final against NMST who beat Seattle. Zach Lofton NMSU - G (31 PTS, 5 REB, 2 AST)
March 11: The Aggies weren't  betting on the committee so they took care of business defeating Grand Canyon 72-58 .  The WAC  made a solid move naming #jemeriojones the WACT MVP for grabbing 55 rebounds in three games.  I'm guessing #newmexicost will be a 13 or 14 seed.
march 15 : I'm rolling the dice on #newmexicost  winning its rd1 game over Clemson. #jemeriojones gets 20 rebounds
march 17: Clemson is better than #Newmexcost, who didn't shoot well , particularly from the free throw line. J Jones is a great rebounder who needs to work on free throw form. Great game from Lofton ( 29 points, 3 rebounds)

march 25, 2018

Is #chicagost looking to hire a Loyola Chicago ASST  Or will they hire #markaguirre, former #Depaul star.

april 3, 2018

Now that #gonzaga has  rejected an offer to move to #MWC , is New Mexico St their next target? 

april 6, 2018

Some off-season news: South Dakota hires Todd Lee, associate HC at #grandcanyon , as new head coach replacing Smith who took the Utah St job

april 13, 2018

Some coaches view  the #chicagost HC job as the worst position in college basketball. I wonder if the #WACwill be losing a team

april 17, 2018

Here's one reason  Chicago St job is tough.  CSU coaches have been  told to recruit only in the Chicago area to save money. Chicago has a lot of talented high school hoopsters, but you can bet  they weren't lining up to stay in town.
april 28- Maybe I should apply for the #chicagost job ?

April 30, 2018

#danmajerle is  taking the transfer route to move #grandcanyon  closer to New Mexico St in #WAC play. Forward Michael Finke, a graduate transfer from Illinois , will join his brother Tim at GC. Also coming but sitting a season are  is Isiah Brown  from Northwestern  and Carlos Johnson from Washington.

May  10, 2018

#chriszorich, a former LB for Notre Dame and the Chicago Bears, is the new Chicago St AD. They can only hope his recent stint as the Prairie ST CC AD helped him learn some lessons and that his 2013 personal tax evasion conviction is the rear view . Obviously he needs to hire some basketball coaches.

June 9, 2018

On Jan 13, 2017 California Baptist University Lancers accepted an invitation to join the Western Athletic Conference in three weeks July 1, 2018, and  will not be eligible for WAC postseason competition in any sport in which the winner is the league’s automatic qualifier for an NCAA. Unlike Chicago St, they have a head hoops coach #RickCroy. 

June 13

It's not often a  big time rebounder wins PoY in any conference. He's definitely going to be an NBA rd2 draftee. #JemerrioJones  (NMST) was named WAC PoY after averaging 11.3 points at a 54.5 percent clip, 14.1 rebounds, 3.2 assists and 1.1 steals per game in WAC play.

June 21 

Cal St Bakersfield kids probably will dig visiting the Bahamas  to face #CMU (MAC) in rd1 of #JunkanooJam in November

june 24, 2018

I've seen stranger things happen so I'll toss this into the cybersphere as an unsupported hunch . Will #zorich  of #chicagost interview the beleaguered ex #Uconn HC,  #kevinollie

june 27,2018

History lesson: The #Wac had 16 football teams  in 1996 and was on the cusp of hanging with big boys. It started as six-team league in 1962 -- Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Wyoming New Mexico and Utah.  WAC history 

july 14, 2018

#chicagost may not remain the the #WAC and 1A hoops if  all they can pay a hoops head coach is in the  $70,000-$90,000 range. 

july 28, 2018

Former #NMST basketball student-athlete #JemerrioJones has been awarded the 2017-18 WAC Sportsmanship Award. Jones, a Memphis native, played on the #Grizzlies NBA summer squad.

aug 3

Cal Baptist  will play in the Continental Tire Las Vegas Holiday Invitational
#Grandcanyon will play in the #woodenlegacy
Chicago St  official website doesn't have many updates, but James Farr is listed as the Associate Head Coach.

aug 15

I looked away and #chicagost hired #LanceIrvin, an assistant at Chicago’s Morgan Park High School for his brother Nick, as its hoops head Coach . He's had NCAA 1A assistance gigs in the past and his father, Mac Irvin,  was known as the “Godfather” of Chicago basketball.

nov 7, 2018

I haven't started on WAC predictions but Chicago St won't  be near the top . Hoosier 104 Chic St 55

nov 9

Chicago St needs a break from Indiana teams . They lost 89-62 to Notre Dame.

O5 bowl picks Dec 24-

Yes, my hunches have been lame, but I'll keep rolling the fake dice.
Hawaii Bowl: #fresno (MWC)  D will do enough for a win over Houston (AAC).
Quick Lane: #uni  (MAC) has had a decent season , but Duke's O will rule the day.
Independence: #fsu D will dominate USM (CUSA)
Military: Surprised UVA got a bowl bid. #Navy will represent the AAC well in  35 -19 victory
Home Loans: New Mexico St wins it's last game as a Sunbelt member behind the rushing of Larry Rose. Theyll be an Independent 1A team next year, but I suspect a future move to the MWC.  NMST 40 Utah St 33
Liberty: Ferguson  throws a few TDs  for #memphis who'll represent the AAC well in a win over Iowa St.
Peach: #UCF (AAC) will score but  not enough against #Auburn . AUB 31 UCF 20
Merry Christmas
Dec 25: McMaryion threw for 341 yards and a TD  in #fresnost 33-27 win over Houston .  Fresno had a pick 6 ,and Houston blocked a FG and returned it for TD
Dec 27: Nailed the  Quick Lane Bowl as Daniel Jones  (27-40, 252 YDS, 2 TD) led Duke to a 36-14 win over NIU.
Dec 28: USM was up 6-0 early in the 1st quarter, but Blackman tossed 4 TDs and the Noles rolled to a 42-13 victory.
Dec 29: UVA returned the  opening kickoff for a TD then didn't score again, while Navy's QB Abey  attempted one pass but scored five rushing TD's in a 49-7 win. 
Dec 30:  #larryrose rushed for a the winning TD in OT to give NMST a 26-20 win over Utah St 26-20 in the battle of Aggies. BTW, NMST last bowl win was over Utah St in the 1960 Sun  Bowl. 5 for 5 so far in this block of games.
Dec 31:  Close game and no scoring in the 4th quarter. ISU 21 memphis 20.First incorrect pick in this blog. Nice game  A. Lazard10 REC, 142 YDS, 1 TD of Iowa St.
Jan 1: .Picked the last two wrong- 5-2  for this set. #UCF 34 AUB 27 . UCF QB #milton 's  (13 CAR, 116 YDS, 1 TD) (16-35, 242 YDS, 2 TD). Bg win for the #AAC .

April 18,2018

Maybe some investment in the #sunbowl, will spark the #Utep football program back to a bowl game in a few seasons? Sun Bowlwill get its first major renovation since 1982 with UTEP investing $10-15 million to add premium seating, install a new press box with luxury boxes and renovate the concourses throughout the stadium.
May 24, 2018
Another good move by the #sunbowl folks: The Sun Bowl game will be moved back to December 31st for the 85th edition of the with a 12 p.m (traditional time slot). Mountain Time kickoff on CBS.

6/7/18

#bama discovers the #MAC. #cmu open at #Bama Sept. 2, 2023, in what will serve as the season opener for both teams and the first matchup ever. Bama faces #kentst , who they defeated 48-0 in 2016,  in 2020

6/8/18

 Las Vegas Bowl will retain its partnership with the Pac-12 but will end its long-running alliance with the Mountain West Conference. In place of the #MWC, is looking to the SEC in 2020.

6/29/18

I mentioned this in a #MWC baseball blog a few months ago, and now #unlv football  introduced an all-you-can-eat ticket package.  For $79 you get tickets to UNLV’s games against UTEP (Sept. 8), Fresno State (Nov. 3) and Nevada (Nov. 24) and all the hot dogs, nachos, popcorn and soft drinks you can devour. I'm working on  my pre-season  prognostications.

6/30/18

I didn't say much about this when the news was released this spring but I wish CBS would go deeper in its  #cusa coverage. 

"Beginning with the 2018-19 season, CBS Sports Network will broadcast nine football games plus the C-USA Football Championship and eight men’s basketball games per year, as well as the C-USA men’s basketball championships semifinals and men’s and women’s basketball championship games"

7/4/18

Ok, I know #navy was an Independent not yet in the AAC  when  #JesseIwuji played football for them (2006-09)  and  now races in NASCAR’s K&N Pro Series West. Props to him for  pulling a family from a burning vehicle on California I5.

7/12/18

#SunBelt will play an 8-game schedule, so each team will play all but one of  the conferences members, and the division winner with the highest CFP raning hosts the Sunbelt championship game. If no team is ranked, the tiebreaker move to the BCS standings.
EAST
Appalachian State
Coastal Carolina
Georgia Southern
Georgia State
Troy

WEST
Arkansas State
Louisiana-Lafayette
Louisiana-Monroe
South Alabama
Texas State

7/16/18

Decent #sunbelt story : #nealBrown , #TroyU head coach , sent a 2017 Sunbelt championship ring to the family of #NathanHarris, a former Troy football player who died  in a motorcycle accident in Alabama two years ago.

7/17/18

#AntwanDixon , a 5-foot-8, 173-pounder who caught 26 passes for 355 yards and one touchdown for #KentState as a freshman in 2015, is returning to the gridiron after a successful bone marrow transplant Dixon received 14 months ago from his father Anthony Dixon

7/18/18

#BillMallory is the only one coach to win the #MAC at two different schools, #niu #miamiohio. Their future matchups will  be played for the Mallory Cup. Huskies hold a 9-8 edge in the series

7/20/18

 Tyre Brady, Marshall (CUSA)  & Trevon Brown, East Carolina (AAC) are two of a few O5 guys on the 2018 Biletnikoff Award watch list.

7/21/18

 #SunBelt named Arkansas St QB #JusticeHansen and #AppSt defensive back #CliftonDuck as their 2018 preseason offensive and defensive players of the year . I guess it's time to research and make my pre-season prognostications.

7/22/18

The John Mackey (one of my favorite Baltimore Colts) Award  pre-season list for TE. Mountain West (six) and Sun Belt (five)  AAC (4) and MAC (4)  CUSA(3) Here's a few: Bates (Boise), Becker (Miami O) Harrison (FAU).

7/25/18

#MWC championship football game will be hosted the team with the best conference winning percentage. The first tiebreaker will be head-to-head record. If the teams don't meet in the regular season, CFP rankings and computer rankings will determine the host.

7/26/18

MAC media poll  members think #ohio will win the  East and the league championship. They like #NIU in the West.

7/27/18

Navy (AAC) QB #MalcolmPerry , #McLaneMannix , Nevada (MWC), #IsaiahHarper , Old Dominion (CUSA) are among a few O5 players on the Paul Hornung List (Versatility). Hornung was a RB who threw passes at Kentucky high school, Notre Dame, and a great Green Bay Packer.

O5 bowl picks Dec 19-Dec 23

1) FAU (CUSA) gets a home bowl game and should have too much O for Akron (MAC).
2) DXL Bowl: Ben Hicks will a few TDs for an SMU (AAC) win over La Tech (CUSA)
3) Gasparillo Bowl: Who has more D? Toss a coin and Take FIU (CUSA), Butch's guys, to edge Temple (AAC).
4) Bahamas Bowl: #Erderly and the UAB Blazers will handle #ohio (MAC)
5) Spud Bowl: #joshallen helps his draft status and tosses a few TDs in a Wyoming (MWC) win over CMU (MAC)
6) Birmingham Bowl: Whoever scores last wins.Texas Tech 49 USF (AAC) 48
7) Armed forces Bowl: Torn on the this one-two solid rushing attacks> SDSU 19 Army 17
8) Dollar General Bowl: Appst hangs for 3 quarters with Toledo  who pulls away in the 4th. TOL 27 App 22

Dec 20

1) #Fau 50 #akron 3. Easy won for Owls Jason Driskel  (19-25, 270 YDS, 2 TD)
Devin Singletary  (26 CAR, 124 YDS, 3 TD) .Somehow, I doubt #Kiffin stays there for ten years.

Dec 21

Totally blew it on SMU who were down 42-10 at halftime. These two La Tech layers were solid #J'MarSmith  15-23, 216 YDS, 3 TD, #BostonScott  20 CAR, 110 YDS

dec22

choose opposite of me and you'll win. Temple 28 FIU 3. Temple QB #Nutile tossed for 258 yards and a TD.

dec 23

#ohio running game demolished the Blazers , but I finally got a hunch correct as #joshallen tossed 3 TDs for Wyoming in a 37-14 win over #cmu

Dec 24

Texas Tech crumbled late. Army was better than I guessed. Toledo didn't show up.
USF 38 TT 34. Army 42 SDSU 35 App St 34  TOL  0.
Two of eight correct in this blog

April 29, 2018

Is this a sign that #appst talent pool has weakened? App St first 2018 NFL draftee: Colby Gossett, a 6-foot-5, 311-pound guard , went in RD6 as the 213th overall pick, to the #Vikings.

O5 teams bowl games thru Dec 16, 2017

New Orleans Bowl: Mason Fine will toss a few TDs leading #northtexas (CUSA) to a  23 -21 win  #troy (Sunbelt)
Auto Nation Cure Bowl: #wku (CUSA) has too much offense for  the erratic Georgia St Sunbelt squad .WKU 31 Ga St 19
Las Vegas Bowl: #boisest  (MWC) doesn't have enough O to keep pace with the Oregon Ducks
New Mexico Bowl :#herd special teams have  been a major role in a decent CUSA season for Marshall (CUSA),  but look for #nickstevens to lead the CSU Rams (MWC) to a 30 20 win.
Camelia Bowl: A healthy Stocksill at QB  will lead #mtsu (Cusa)  to a 27-22 win over Arkansas St (Sunbelt)

Dec 17

If you went against my picks, you went 4-1 yesterday.
Stocksill was decent and #mtsu found enough D to slow down Hansen  for a 35-31 win over #arkst.
Now for my wrong selections.
Silvers  threw 4 TDs and Troy was too much for NTX from the start in a 50 -30 win
Manning threw a few TD and GA St D created a few turnover in a 27-17 win over WKU.
Rypien to Wilson show was key in the BSU win over Oregon
#keion davis rushed for a 141 yards and the #herd D survived a late comeback by Stevens and the CSU Rams. for a 31-28 win