Week 7 in the O5

 Tuesday and Wednesday football started earlier this season, but I don't get to my weekly blog until Thursday so no CUSA games left to pick.

AAC:  Big respect for Tulane but can't go against Henigan and the Tigers at home. MEM 31 TUL 30.

UAB and UTSA are coming off much needed wins. Zeno will return to his birthplace San Antonio Saturday and toss two TD passes for the Blazers. UAB 30 UTSA 27

MWC: Both teams are coming off blowout losses. SDST to AFA and Hawaii to UNLV. Aztecs steal one on the road with Mayden tossing a TD pass. SDST 22 Hawaii 20

MAC: Brown has a good game running the ball for NIU, but home field won't be enough. Ohio 24 NIU 20

SunBelt: Brin has some big passing stats and will lead the GA Southern to a huge road win in Harrisonburg. GA S: 27 JMU 24

Oct 14, 2023

M. Hughes RB - TULN 26 CAR130YDS 1TD, and the Green Wave D shut down Memphis in the 4Q for a 31-21 win.  I'm 0-1 to start the week.

Oct 15, 2023

Let's see if I got any right yesterday. Just one!

 Terribly wrong on GA SO who were pummeled by JMU. UAB didn't do much better against UTSA. Ohio lost to NIU. 

However, I was right on San Diego St who beat Hawaii 41-34. Lucky Sutton ran for 2 TDs, and McCuin added pick-6 to help for the Aztecs. In other MWC news. Colorado St beat Boise St as the clock expired. UNLV (5-1 2-0 MWC) pounded Nevada and is a team to keep your eyes on.

I thought the #herd were coming back when Ali scored on a long pass play to end the 3Q to narrow its deficit to 27-24, but GAST outscored them 14-0 in the 4Q.

Oct 17, 2023

I'll toss in a Tuesday game here.  Rich Rod's Jax St squad ekes out a 24-23 win over WKU tonight. Players to watch: A. Reed QB - WKU 1665 YDS 14 TD 3INT

RUSH: M. Jackson RB - JVST 104CAR 578YDS 4TD

Well, it was Z. Webb QB - JVST (28CAR 146YDS 1TD) who was a big factor in a close game, JAX 20 WKU 17.  

Liberty beat MTSU and South Bama demolished USM.

Week 6 in the O5

 MWC: Hard to resist making a guess on Fresno St at Wyoming. Kenne, the Fresno QB, has nearly 1500 passing yards but Cowboys will slow him down and Waylee will rush for over 100 yards. WYO 25 FRES 24.

AAC: Long road trip for NTX to Navy, but they'll squeak out a win. NTX 17 Navy 16. I'm not sold on the new Navy HC Newberry.

MAC: Both teams have upset P5 teams. I'll roll with Gabbert and the Redhawks. Miami O 27 BG 22

CUSA: Sam Houston will remain winless after its visit to Liberty.  LIB 30 SHSU 13.  Liberty's win will move it to 3-0, the same record as surprising Jax St.

SunBelt: Marshall is 5-0 and looking strong, but NC St(ACC) held Louisville to 13 points last week. NCST  15 MU 13.

Oct 6, 2023

I thought SHSU was going to get its first W, but the Flames D stiffened. LIB 21 SHSU 16. Nice game for Q. Cooley RB - LIB 17CAR 106YDS 1TD

Tulane AD Troy Dannen is headed to UW.

Oct 8 2023

4 of 5:  Navy was my incorrect pick. Surprised that Miami O shutout Bowling Green, and how high scoring the NC State 49 /Herd 42 game was.

AAC action that surprised me by the score: UTSA 49 Temple 34.  UAB 56 USF 35
Week6 surprises: MiamiO 5-1 and SDST Aztecs(2-4) 

Fewer Independents in NCAA sports

 I thought Army/BC series had more games. Army won the first nine games from 1917-1959. I'm trying to figure out why the series froze after the 1919 game and didn't return until 1959. BC leads Army 25-13 in the series. They have not played since 2013. I'll go with Castellanos and the Eagles winning 22-20 at Army. 

Oct 8, 2023

T. Castellanos QB - BC 31CAR 142YDS 4TD saved the day BC 24 Army 21

UConn beat Rice(AAC) despite the younger McCaffrey having 100yards receiving and 2 TDs .

Notre Dame lost to Louisville (ACC), and UMass got whacked by Toledo(MAC).

Oct 14, 2023

Troy is a tough SunBelt team and will escape with a narrow road victory of Army.

USC may lack a defense, but Notre Dame can't outscore the Trojans.

The Minutemen of UMass will be down by 24 at Penn St in the first 15 minutes.

Oct 15, 2023

Troy shutout Army 19-0, and UMass got blanked 63-0 by Penn St.

Wow was I wrong on Notre Dame who rolled USC 48-20. I guess all the Caleb Williams QB hype can slow down. His stats: 199YDS 1TD 3INT.

Oct 21, 2023

UConn /USF will be close, and it would be a tie in the old days. USF has regressed since hanging tough with Bama in a loss.

Army visits LSU and hopes it's not a 60-10 loss.

In hoops Chicago St, the last 1A independent, opens at Bowling Green on Nov 6.

Oct 22, 2023

USF survived 24-21, and I got darn close on that Army score. LSU 62 Army 0.

Oct 27, 2023

New England flavor in Independents. UMass is the right tonic for Army coming off the blowout loss to LSU. Army 21. UMass 16

Mora JR's Huskies are going in reverse after showing some promise last season. BC 27 UConn 20

Notre Dame should handle Pittsburg but won't cover the line of 20.5. ND 31 Pitt 20

Oct 29, 2023

Two out of three ain't bad. Wrong on Army and its anemic O.

UConn stayed in the game but lost to BC. Neither team looked good. 

Notre Dame crushed Pitt 58-7.

Nov 3, 2023

Notre Dame by 6 over Clemson.  Does Dabo have any tricks left?

UConn won't stay with Tennessee past the first quarter.

Army /AirForce. Army gets strafed by the Boys in the sky.

UMass plays Merrimack and should win over a lower division opponent. I'm looking for Jack Kerouac's(RIP) hunch. He mentioned the mighty Merrimack River in his early notes and novels about Lowell.

Nov 5, 2023

Dabo has some tricks left: Clemson 31 ND 23. I changed my mind just before kickoff and took Clemson in a Yahoo pickem but was wrong in this blog.

My other incorrect pick was AFA. Army brought them back to earth Army 23- AFA-3 

Tenn 49 UConn 3

UMass 31Merrimack 21

Nov 7, 2023

Rough start for Chicago St Cougars hoops: Bowling Green(MAC) 70  Chicago State 41.

Wesley Cardet Jr.posted 12 points and four assists for the Cougars.

Nov 16, 2023

Who knows what to make of an Army team that lost to UMass but beat Air Force? Coastal Carolina(SBC) 24 Army 17.

UMass can't handle Liberty O. Liberty(CUSA) 34 UMass 13

Notre Dame 38 Wake Forest(ACC) 27

UConn 30 Sacred Heart 10.  

Hoops: Cardet scored 23 for Chicago St in a win over S. Indiana. Cougar are 1-3 . Losses to Bowling Green, Mercer, and CS- Northridge.

Nov 19, 2023

Wow, Army beat CCU 28-21. Incorrect on that, right on the rest.

Nov 24, 2023

Minutemen up 38-36-2 in the series with UConn. I thought Mora Jr would have made more progress at UConn. UMass 31 UConn 30

 Fighting Irish remember being upset last year by Stanford. ND 35 Stanford 23. Perhaps NND listens to Rockne audio during pre-game.  Rockne started a plan of ending every season with a game in CA to aid West Coast recruiting efforts.

Nov 26, 2023

ND crushed Stanford yesterday. UConn beat UMass: C. Edwards

RB - CONN 19 CAR 102YDS  2TD

A. Simpson WR - MASS 6REC 107YDS

In Hoops: Chicago St (2-6) beat Morgan State 84-83 on Nov 22. Jahsean Corbett cored 18 points for Chicago State in a 84-83 win over Morgan State in the third-place game of the Mayan Division of the Cancun Challenge.

Dec 9, 2023

Since Army upset Air Force they've been on a roll. I'm taking them to beat Navy 20-19 today at Gillette Stadium and win the Commander-in-Chief Trophy. Tysun Riley rushed for 112 yards in the win over CCU. Look for more of the same from him today. If Navy, who lost to AFA earlier this season, wins then it's a three-way tie.

Navy leads the all-time series 62-54-7

Dec 10 2023

Army 17 Navy 11. Army LB Kalib Fortner scored on a fourth-quarter strip sack and then helped keep Navy QB Tai Lavatai out of the end zone with 3 seconds left.

Belichick spoke to the Midshipmen on Friday night and pulled on a Roger Staubach-era Navy helmet for a TV pregame show to predict the winner.

Dec 12, 2023

Chicago St. hoops beat Stetson and lost to St Thomas. Now a win over Northwestern tonight would be wild. 

They play at UTEP in January at the Don Haskins Center, El Paso.

Dec 23, 2023

Well, Chicago St upset NW(Big10) on Dec 12, then beat UTRGV(WAC) and Bethune (MEAC), but Wisky was too much for them last night. WIS (Big10) 80 CHIC St 53. Badgers held Wesley Cardet Jr to 10 points.

Jan 1, 2024

Chicago St hoops lost to California Baptist(WAC) 74-62 and then to DePaul(BigEast) 70-58 last week.

Notre Dame cruised past Oregon St 40-8 in the Sun Bowl.

Jan 11, 2024

Cougars showing some plus signs. Still think they should apply to join the Summit Conference.

 Jan 2: loss to Kansas State 62-55

Jan 3: loss to Oklahoma State 72-53

Jan 7: loss to UTEP 74 69

Jan 10: win over FDU(NEC) 75-74 w/o Wesley Cardet. A Neal led Chicago St with 14 points.

Feb 10, 2024

J Corbett(21pts, 11reb) was not enough for Chicago St in a 65-60 loss to Duquesne(A10) on Jan31. Today's opponent: S.Carolina St(MEAC).Time to join the Summit or OVC.

Feb 26, 2024

MAC board voted to add UMass as an all-sports member beginning in 2025-26, Well, I've been saying it for about 7 years in various blogs.

UMass was in the MAC as a football-only member from 2012-15. They remained in the A10 for other sports.

UMass Ice hockey plays in the Hockey East Association, separate from any A-10 to MAC move. 

March 23, 2024

I thought the CIT had faded into oblivion after Marshall won it in 2019 Sorry gang,  but it's the CBI occurring. Chicago St got invited to the CBI and faces UC -San Diego (Big West) today. Will Cardet leads the Cougars with 18.1 PPG

Wednesday, December 13, 2023

 C ST 75 Northwestern 73

March 24, 2024

Will Cardet (30pts, 4ast) for the Cougars in a 77-75 win over UCSD and plays the winner of Fairfield(MAAC)/Ark LR(OVC).

march 25, 2024.  : W Cardet scored 25 for Chicago St but they they lost to Fairfield 77-74

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Previous blog:

https://busterother5.blogspot.com/2022/11/countdown-to-less-independents-nearly.html

Week 5 in the O5

 CUSA: Battle of QBs: Reed (WKU) outduels Vattiato(MTSU) in a close one. WKU 34 MTSU 31

I'll take Henigan at home to lead Memphis(AAC) to a 27-24 win over Boise St(MWC).

MACaction: CMU is coming off a big win over South Bama but will struggle to eke out a 16-13 win over EMU.

SunBelt: Coach Elliot has GA St off to a 4-1 start. M.Carroll will rush for over 100 in a win 30-20 win over Troy.

Sept 29, 2023

 I was correct on WKU who won 31-10. Reed threw for 297 yards and 2 TDs.

Jax St beat SHS and are 2-0 in CUSA action.

Oct 1, 2023

I was correct on Memphis and CMU and wrong big time on GA St who lost 28-7. Henigan, the Memphis QB, led them to a comeback win.

Some interesting stats: Marshall won over ODU despite allowing K. Calloway11CAR 236YDS 3TD.

T. Stewart.,RB - BGSU(MAC), 26CAR 138YDS 1TD in 38-21 upset of GTech(ACC)

In the MWC, UNLV rush for 307 yards in a win over Hawaii and is 4-1 for the season. 

Week 4 reality check O5 teams

 UNLV(MWC) is coming off a big win over Vandy while UTEP(CUSA) has stumbled this season. UNLV 24 UTEP 19.

USF played a decent game in a loss to Bama, and Rice has a win over Houston this season. USF in a nailbiter by a score of 22-20 in this AAC matchup. Look for B Brown, the USF QB, to have a solid game.

Ohio returns to MAC play after stunning Iowa St and visits Bowling Green. BobcatsD helps them survive 13-12 at BG.

South Bama(SBC) is coming off a blowout W over OK St. CMU(MAC) has lost to Notre Dame and Sparty. L Webb rushes for over 100 yards and the Jags win 27 -20 over C. Michigan.

Sept 22, 2023

M. Carroll RB - GAST 29 CAR 150YDS 1TD in a win over Coastal Carolina. I would've had that pick wrong.

Sept 24, 2023

Correct on UNLV, USF, and Ohio, but wrong on USA who lost to CMU. Quite a day for two USF players:

B. Brown QB - USF Passing:435YDS 2TD, Rushing 14CAR 82YDS 1TD

N. Simmons WR - USF 8REC 272YDS 1TD 

How about Wyoming's win over Appy, and the #herd win over VTech(ACC)

It turns out WYO/APP game was the second half of a 2015/2021home /home series. The 2021 game was re-scheduled, probably due to the covid crisis.

Week 3 O5 wacky style

 Lobos(MWC) host Ags(CUSA) in an intrastate battle:  Neither team has been impressive this season. UNM 20 NMST 19.

Utah St wins 21-17 on the road at AFA. Legas will be tossing a lot of passes for Utah St..

Cordeiro will be winging the ball around the Glass Bowl for San Jose St(MWC). SJST 30 Toledo(MAC) 23

Tulane(AAC) showed some mettle in its loss to OL Miss last week and will win 27-24 at USM(SBC). Makhi Willis rushed for 92 yards for Tulane in that loss.

Sept 16, 2023

Michel rushed for 3TDs in AFA's 39-21 win over Utah St. One wrong.

Army won at UTSA(AAC). The injured Frank Harris DNP for the home team.

NMST was in the WAC from 2005-12. NM left the WAC in 1998

Sept 17, 2023

I was wrong on both MWC picks, NM and SJST yesterday. Only correct pick was Tulane over USM. 

The sh^t talk from Little Miam fans is probably nuts on Twitter after the win over Cincy. The size of the OK St loss blows my mind, and Webb of USA ran all over them (151 yards,2TD). Ohio U has a stellar D. OHIO 10 Iowa St 7

Back to the MWC: UNLV beat Vandy, Fresno blanked Ariz St, and Col St took Deion's Buffs to OT before losing. 

NMST was in the WAC from 2005-12. NM left the WAC in 1998.

Sept 18, 2023

AAC took a beating, but NTX fought off La Tech rally for the W.

Week 2 O5 matchups along the Atlantic.

 Miami (Ohio) visits Amherst, MA and wins a close one over UMass 20-19. Rough game for the Redhawks' Gabbert last week, but he'll return to form this week. I hope UMass returns to the MAC soon.

I've enjoyed this Marshall(SunBelt)/ECU(AAC) matchup over the years. Ali has a big game for the Herd and Garcia is not Ahlers yet for ECU. MU 27 ECU 19

FAU(AAC) hosts Ohio(MAC). Larry McCammon has a big game rushing for the Owls in a 24-20 win.

In a SunBelt matchup, ULL visits ODU in Norfolk, VA. Both are coming off tough matchups which they lost. ODU lost to VTech and ULL lost to Houston. Home cooking in a low scoring game. ODU 17 ULL14

Sept 10, 2023

G. Larvadain WR - M-OH 8REC 273YDS 3TD in a 41-28 win over UMass

The Herd took their time getting into gear and scored 21 points in the 4Q for 31-13 win over ECU.

FAU fell 17-10 to visiting OHIO. My only incorrect pick.

K. Wicks carried the ball 17 times for 103 yards for ODU in a 38-31 win over ULL.

Toss up on biggest upset yesterday. Rice (AAC) beat Houston (Big12) or James Madison(SunBelt) roaring back to beat Virginia(ACC).

Sept 12, 2023

App St (Sunbelt) took UNC to OT before falling. No games scheduled in the future for this intrastate match. UNC is up 3-1 in the series. Appy won in 2019.

Wyoming (MWC) plays TX this week. Got me thinking that's where Fred Akers was HC before he took the TX HC job. He was also Purdue HC after he left TX.