Thursday, November 10, 2022

O5 - Week 11

 Well, MAC was early this week so here's 4 picks..
AAC: Gus has the UCF(7-2 4-1 AAC) looking sharp. Plumlee will toss two TD passes at Tulane (8-1 5-0 AAC). UCF-24 Tul 20
CUSA: FAU (4-5 3-2 C-USA) at FIU((4-5 2-3 C-USA) in an intrastate battle. Nkosi Perry is having a decent year at QB and had a good game in last week's big win against UAB. FAU 21 FIU 20
MWC: San José State (6-2 4-1 MWC) visits Snapdragon to take on San Diego State (5-4 3-2 MWC). I'll ride with Cordeiro, who has tossed for 2,224 yards and 11 TDs for the Spartans. SJST 28 SDST 23
SunBelt: App St visits Marshall and the erratic teams have identical (5-4 2-3Sun Belt) records. Laborn carries the rushing load for #herd at home. MU 17 APP St 16
Nov 13, 2022
Pratt threw more TD passes than Plumlee but that wasn't enough for Tulane. UCF 38 TUL 31
Nkosi Perry accounted for 4 TDs and FAU rolled FIU 52-7. 
Wrong on SJST. Cordeiro did plenty, but Jalen Mayden threw three touchdown passes and Jordan Byrd returned a kickoff 95 yards for a TD for San Diego State. SDST 43 SJST 27
Marshall U blocked a punt for TD and Fancher tossed two TDs in a 28-21 win over App St
3-1 for the weekend

Nov 16, 2022
Virginia canceled its game against Coastal Carolina this coming weekend after 3 football players  were killed earlier this week in an on campus shooting.

And some Baltimore -related news. Charlotte has hired Michigan associate head coach Biff Poggi as its next HC 

Poggi was a longtime successful high school coach in Baltimore ,Maryland with  Gilman School and  then powerhouse, St. Frances Academy, before joining Jim Harbaugh's staff at Michigan. He  sent  Blake Corum and other St Frances stars to Michigan.



Thursday, November 3, 2022

Top dogs in the 05 -week 10

 Ok, I covered the MAC so now I'll focus on conference leaders in the other four conferences.
AAC: Tulane may get a battle at Tulsa for a while, but Spears will rush for over 100 yards and keep the Green Wave undefeated in conference play. Tulane 34 Tulsa 24
CUSA: No team has slowed down UTSA(4-0 in CUSA) QB Frank Harris for long. UTSA 30 UAB 27
MWC:  Boise St  (5-0-MWC) plays an OOC game against BYU, who is desperate to beat someone. Taylon Green has been solid since becoming the starting QB. and I'd love to call this one a tie if they were still allowed.  BYU 26 Boise St 24 at the buzzer.
SunBelt: Coastal Carolina and Troy are each 4-1 and lead their respective divisions. Troy Trojans will march into ULL and come out with a 17-14 win with the help of a pick6.
CCU hosts App St and survives a scare 24-21. McCall looks solid again for the Chanticleers.
Nov 4, 2022
 Lot more points scored than I guessed in last night's CCU  35-28 win over Appy. McCall threw 2 TD passes and no picks.
Nov 5, 2022
5-0 for the weekend
Spears was a beast again for Tulane in a 27-13 win over Tulsa.
UTSA needed double OT to defeat UAB 44-38. Harris had another great game for the victors.
Hall to Nicau connection saved the day for BYU in a 35-28 win over Boise ST. 
Troy outscored ULL 16-0 in the 4Q for a 23-17 win.

Tuesday, November 1, 2022

Week 10 early MAC slate

 It's November so we have Tuesday and Wednesday games.
Buffalo(5-3 4-0 MAC) got off to a rough OOC start but has feasted in MAC play. and will get a narrow road win at Ohio(5-3 3-1 MAC). Cole Snyder is on a roll for the Bulls, and I'm not overlooking Rourke'
s season for the Bobcats. Buff 31 Ohio 30

  • Ball State(4-4 2-2 MAC) gets back to winning at Kent State(3-5 2-2 MAC). Paddock tosses 2 tds for the 
  • Cards in a win. Ball St 24 Kent 17

Central Michigan(2-6 1-3 MAC) at Northern Illinois(2-6 1-3 MAC). NIU 17 CMU 16. Whoever has the ball last wins

Western Michigan (3-5 2-2 MAC) at Bowling Green(4-4 3-1 MAC) Jaison Patterson, a big RB from Jacksonville, FLA has been getting into gear for BG. BG 27 WMU 19
Nov 2, 2022
Tuesday split: Wrong on Buffalo who lost to Ohio 45-24, but Ball St roared back from a 13-0 first quarter deficit to beat Kent St 27-20. Carson Steele rushed for 192 yards and a TD, and Paddock tossed 2 Tds for the Cards in the victory 
Nov 3, 2022
Wednesday split: Wrong on NIU who didn't score until the second half. WMU 35 NIU 22
Bowling Green won a low-scoring game. BG 13 WMU 9. The Falcons move into a 3-way tie for first in the East with Buffalo and Ohio
Ball St trails Toledo by a game in the West.
Nov 8, 2022
Week 11 and full slate of early games has me scrambling. I under-valued Ohio last week but not this week. Rourke will toss two TD passes for Ohio in a 28 -20 win over Miami(Ohio)
Nov 9
Rourke tossed 3 TD passes in Ohio's 37-21 win so I got that one. In other news, Toledo got a big 28-21 win over Ball St, despite Steele rushing for 198 yards and 3 TDs for the Cards.
Nov 11, 2022
Ohio has a one game lead over Buffalo and Bowling Green in the East,while Toledo has a two game lead over three teams.

Wednesday, October 26, 2022

Week 9 O5 conference play

 AAC: Cincy @ UCF  Two teams that  are Big 12- bound face off this week . I thought Gus had UCF in gear until  an erratic ECU squad handled them easily last week. Cincy 's run game has carried them to some close wins.  Home team barely. UCF 24 Cincy 23

CUSA: Charlotte @ Rice   AAC probably thought Charlotte was the better choice at the time.  Rice 's leading receiver is CMC younger brother L. McCaffrey (43 REC, 555 YDS, 5 TD). Rice 27 Charlotte 21

MAC: Only two games  on its schedule. I'll take the home team in the Toledo @ EMU matchup in a battle with a lot of FGs.  E.Mich 15 Toledo 12

MWC:  I'll go with the Cowboys in Hawaii. Look for another big rushing game from Titus Swen.  Wyoming 28 Hawaii 16

SunBelt: USM hosts ULL in a battle of two teams playing well lately.  Perhaps Southern Miss QB Wilcke tosses another final minute TD this week.  USM 23 ULL 20
oct 28, 2022
USM got pick6 on D, and TD passed tossed by RB, Frak Gore Jr, in a 39-24 win over ULL. 1-0 so far on my picks.
Oct 30, 2022
Two for four yesterday and 3-2 for the weekend. I laid an egg with Rice who fell to Charlotte 56-23. Reynolds tossed 5 Td passes for the 9ers. EMU led Toledo until the fourth quarter and lost 27-24.

UCF jumped out to a 10-0 led but then Cincy woke up in the second quarter, but UCF hung on for a 25-21 win. DQ James rushed for 174 for Wyoming in a 27-20 win.

It's getting crowded at the top of the AAC.

Thursday, October 20, 2022

Week 8 O5 conference play

 AAC: I'll roll with Tyjae Spears(500 rushing yards, 8TDs) and the Green Wave(6-1, 3-0) in a close home win over Memphis. TUL 27 Mem 24
CUSA: It's hard to ignore Harris tossing for 2300 yards and 15 TDs so I like UTSA at home. UTSA 31 NTX 23
MAC: Most of the MAC has beaten up on each other while Toledo and Buffalo are each 3-0 in conference play. Buffalo wins at home. BUFF 20 TOL 19
MWC: Air Force host Boise St, and I think Roberts has a big game running the ball at home. AFA 38 BSU 35
SunBelt: I visit the Hampton Roads/Virginia Beach area once or twice a year and bet Virginians are wondering how JMU and ODU are getting all the sports ink. Well, I think Khalan Laborn, a Virginia Beach native who is having a great season running the ball for Marshall, will steal some of the ink from JMU this weekend. Marshall 24 JMU 23
Oct 22, 2022
UAB's D contained WKU QB Reed's passing so he rushed for two TDs in a 20-17 win. jury is out on whether Reed is another Zappe.
Oct 23, 2022
4-1 for the week and we'll start with the one incorrect pick. Boise kept Robert under 100 yards, and it was a low scoring game. BSU 19 AFA 14
Spears had a solid game for Tulane who led 35-0 at the half. TUL 38 MEM 28
Harris tossed the winning TD for UTSA with 15 seconds remaining. UTSA 31 NTX 27
Buffalo outscored Toledo 24-zip in the fourth quarter. BUFF 34 Tol 27
JMU was up 12-2 in the first quarter and stopped scoring. Laborn 30 car 151 yards and two TDs. MAR 26  JMU 12.

AAC nabbed my attention this week. Ahlers, the ECU QB, led ECU to a convincing 34-13 win over UCF, and Cincy had to stop a two -point conversion attempt by SMU for a 29-27 win.  UCF and Cincy need more work for they join the Big 12.

Thursday, October 13, 2022

Week 7 O5 conference play

 AAC: Navy is averaging 237 yards on the ground this season and scored 52 against Tulsa last week, but may not score enough to stay with high-scoring, low-winning SMU.  SMU 40 Navy 38.
CUSA: It's the battle of the Owls. Rice is having a decent season while FAU 's only win is against a 1AA team. Rice 27 FAU 24
MAC: I'll go with BGSU (M. McDonald 106-190, 1218 YDS, 14 TD, 2 INT) over Miami(Ohio) in a nailbiter. Bowling Green 24 Miami O 23
MWC: Nevada hasn't won since beating TX St in week 1, and Hawaii gave San Diego St a good game before losing by 2 points. HAW 20 Nev 19
SunBelt: JMU and CCU are getting all the ink, but South Bama's only loss is to UCLA by a point. USA 34 ULM 23
Oct 15, 2022
I picked the AAC game right and got damn close on the final score: SMU 40 Navy 34. Mordecai to Goffney remains a solid connection for the Mustangs.
Oct 16, 2022
4-1 on my picks.
Wrong: on Rice who lost to FAU 17-14.
 Right: on Bowling Green who beat M-O 17-13. Hawaii got a great game from Parson who rushed for 136 yards and 3TDs in a 31-16 win over Nevada. SBama kicked it in to gear in the second half for a 45-38 win over ULM. Carter Bradley(USA) tossed for 420 yards and 3TDs.

Stunbelt theme this season has been if you're undefeated, you're in trouble. Georgia Southern handed JMU its first loss and ODU did the same thing to CCU.

Thursday, October 6, 2022

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.

DI Baseball peek in April 2024

 UC Irvine 24-4 (10-2 Big West) Joichiro Oyama 5HR 28RBI 4SB ULL 24-8 (11-1 Sun Belt) LP Langevin has four saves. Eyes on WKU who just kno...