O5 vs Independents in week 2

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

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

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

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

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

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

Sept 10, 2022

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

Sept 12, 2022

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

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

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

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

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

Oct 27, 2022

Seven weeks later: 

StunBelt teams are beating each other up.

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

Oct 29, 2022

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

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

 

O5 upset chances vs P5 in weekend 1

 Ain't no way Leach let's Memphis(AAC) hang around too long. It's time for him to prove he was a good hire for Miss St(SEC). Dawgs return 16 starters. Miss St 30 Memphis 22.

Miami-Ohio(MAC) will give UK (SEC) a tough first half, but Levis will get the Wildcats in gear in the second half. UK  37 M-O 19

Kent St flashes some O but will fall on the road at UW(Pac12)  UW 23 Kent 20

Chase Brice  will get Appy(SunBelt) an upset win in week 1 at UNC(ACC). APP 26 UNC 25

And UCLA will get by Bowling Green behind veteran QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson. UCLA 30 BG 20 BTW, Bowling Green will be the first team from the MAC to play in the Rose Bowl, and it's also their first-ever matchup. 

Sept , 2 2022

I didn't guess on this game but OK St allowed 22 points in the 4Q to make the final look decent for C.Mich (MAC). I 'm sure the Cowboys subs were in . OKST 58- CMU 44

Sept 4, wrap up

Leach had his dawgs ready. Miss St 49 MEM 23

I got damn close on this score UK 37 M-O 13

Flashes batteries faded except for Cephas ( 6 rec, 105 yards) UW 45 Kent St 20

Off in so many ways on this one:  After App missed a 2 point conversion with 31 seconds to go, I watched another game. Both teams scored again- wow. UNC 63 App 61

Bowling Green hung with UCLA for a half. UCLA 45 BG 20.  

 Noteworthy: Houston needed a big second half comeback to be UTSA. Ohio roared back to beat FAU. Is Willie Taggert sweating? James Madison rolled MTSU(CUSA)

Rising SunBelt 2022 football hunches

 Time to see what a wild off-season looks like on the field

In the West, ULL is a favorite with many but replacing QB Levi Lewis may not be as easy the Cajuns hope. Perhaps they take a nap w/o Napier? Troy has the talent towin the West

I'm keep my eyes on Butch Jones who recruited well for Ark St, and Terry Bowden should get more out of ULM this season.

It's difficult to not pick App St, but a healthy McCall will keep CCU in the East race all season. #herd could do some stomping if they get the QB situation resolved.

Earlier off-season blog https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2022/01/sunbelt-2023-or-2022-expansion.html

August 17, 2022

 I forgot about this: Texas St HC Spavital made headlines in 2021 when he went with an all-transfer portal approach in recruiting. Bobcats went from two to four wins and haven't had a winning season since 2014.

Aug 23, 2022

Two MAC/Sun Belt Conference games will be televised by the NFL Network in 2022.

Eastern Michigan Eagles of the MAC will travel to take on the ULL Ragin’ Cajuns of the Sun Belt on Saturday, Sept. 10. Series history is 1-1.

Sept. 17, the Bowling Green Falcons of the MAC will host the Marshall Thundering Herd of the Sun Belt. BG has won 21 of 29 games again the #herd

AAC 2022 football hunches

 While the big AAC debate appears to be about the Cincy and Houston, the two teams, headed to the Big 12 in 2023, I want to give a shout out to Jamie Romo, an Annapolis, MD kid playing OL for Navy. His grandfather, Leon "Red" Romo, played football at LSU.

I'm giving Cincy proper respect for winning the AAC title and cracking the F4 ceiling last season, and it gets a big test in its opener @ Arkansas(SEC). Unfortunately, Cincy will not face Holgorsen's Cougars in the regular season. Houston's toughest OOC game is @ Texas Tech(BIG12) on Sept. 10.

SMU and Memphis could get in the mix since each has a gunslinger to apply the offensive pressure. Tanner Merdecai for the Mustangs and Seth Henigan for the Tigers could be difference makers.

Aug 9, 2022

 First-team All-MAC linebacker Ivan Pace transfers in from Miami (Ohio) and joins his brother Deshawn to bolster Cats LB corps. They are local Cincy kids.

Gerry Bohanon, an ex-starting QB at Baylor, has not locked up the QB1 job at USF, and remains in a battle with Timmy McClain.

Aug 16, 2022

Bohannon gets the nod to start in its opener against BYU, and McClain enters the transfer portal. SOP these days.

aug 24, 2022

Guz Malzahn named John Rhys Plumlee, a transfer from Ol Miss, the starting quarterback at UCF. He beat out Mikey Keene, who played last year amid Dillon Gabriel’s injury.

Dallas/Ft worth area got hit with 9.19 inches of rain in a 24-hour period this week, and now only a small patch of turf remains above water on SMU's football field at Gerald J. Ford Stadium. 

MAC pigskin 2022 could be an Ohio-centric story

 If Kent St opening schedule doesn't bang them up too much, the MAC games may be a break.

Miami Ohio receiver Jack Sorenson is done, but 48-catch veteran Mac Hippenhammer returns and they'll need him to catch Kent St in the East. A lot of pundits think Buffalo will finish high. I'm not so sure.

NIU and CMU finish tied atop the West in 2021. However, Dequan Finn, Toledo's quarterback, leads a potent offense that may derail NIU. Toledo is at Ohio St on Sept 17. 

Aug 2, 2022

Season 2 for Coach Albin who replaced Solich at Ohio in 2021. They'll rely heaving on an LB corps anchored by Bryce Houston who led the team with 104 tackles last season. 

Probably another rough season and they face Penn St on 9/10.

Ball State ain't getting much love this pre-season, mostly because folks wonder if Paddock is the guy to replace three-year QB starter Drew Plitt. BTW, Plitt is in the Bengals' training camp. 

Akron @ Michigan St. in week 1. What will the P5 do in September if they relegate the other 5 to a different division.

MWC pigskin 2022 Utah St and more

 Utah State was picked to finish third in its division, behind Boise State and Air Force in pre-season media rankings. And on Thursday, the media voted no Aggies players into its preseason All-Mountain West football team

Same type of thing occurred last pre-season and the Ags pounded a one-loss San Diego State team 46-13 to win the MWC Championship and then coasted to a victory over Oregon State in the LA Bowl.

Realignment dominoes: You have to think San Diego St and Boise St are likely targets the Pac 12 pursues if the P5 doesn't become the P4

July 24, 2022

.Aztecs play Zona and Utah in September, and they don't face Utah St in the 2022 regular season. 

Ags face Bama on 9/3. Also, Utah State and BYU who have met 90 times since 1922 will discontinue their series but hope to schedule future meetings.

July 27, 2022

Boise State, who opens this season Sept. 3 at Oregon State(Pac12), is trying to recover from its worst season in a decade. Hank Bachmeier is the favorite to win the starting QB job for the fourth year in a row.

 He!! of an opener on 9/3 for Colorado St  @ The Big House in Ann Arbor. Two weeks later they in the wilderness @Wash St.

Hypothetical: if Klia can save the Pac 12, he'll need San Diego St(MWC) and Notre Dame(I)? Or who knows Newsom makes it too onerous for UCLA to exit for the Midwest.

August 28, 2022

I expected Wyoming to give ILL  a little better game. ILL 38 WYO 6

Utah St roared back from a 14-0 deficit to beat UConn 31-20 . It was HC Jim Mora first game coaching the Huskies.

Nevade beat New Mexico St

Hawaii got pummeled by Vandy 63-10

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"