Utah St with a 45-20 W in Provo Wisconsin, you're fucking awful. BYU is really lucky they have an easy second half of the season (Hawaii, NIU, UMass and NM St) MTSU with a big win at Marshall to get back on the plus side of things at 3-2
UNLV is gonna have to end this Tony Sanchez experiment ASAP. What they have right now is exactly what you should expect when hiring a HS coach they trail Utah St 42-7 at the half. A week after losing to New Mexico 50-14 they need to take advantage of the momentum that city will experience with a NFL team coming to town. They won't be able to do that with this sideshow unfolding. They had been struggling to raise the remaining funds for some facility upgrades, no one is gonna want to support that program with him at the helm
After going 2-10 last season we have the chance to be Bowl Eligible in 7 games if we can defeat NMSU this weekend.
Works for UGA in some fashion as a consultant. I expect them to skull drag us up and down the field. I could see us getting the upset but we will need help like a few key turnovers and penalties.
We get another shot this weekend at ending our 62 year losing streak to Arkansas. Should be a terrible time.
You guys should win, and actually I would not be shocked to see the AAC go 2-0 vs the SEC this weekend with Memphis @ Mizzu.
Eclipsed our win total from last year with a win over UMass tonight. Next up, at Georgia State. Hopefully they continue to not know what a run defense is.
Thanks to Appy State getting ranked #25, this Thursday will be the first time we host a ranked team at Paulson Stadium. I fully expect them to skull drag us for 4 quarters.
this has turned into a massively disappointing season on the High Plains in Laramie. Currently, WYO sits 2-6 with a 0-4 record in MWC play. The Pokes rank 128th nationally in scoring offense at 15.5 PPG. They are 62nd in scoring defense at 25.5 PPG. That was supposed to be about 10 points per game lower coming into the year. Hopefully it will fall as they play their last four games. After two straight seasons with trips to a bowl game, it seems the Pokes will be staying home this bowl season Jeff Tedford deserves a P5 head coaching gig after this year. Guy is absolutely crushing it at Fresno St right now. Fresno went 10-4 last year. Currently, they sit at 6-1 with a 3-0 record in MWC play. What a job he has done there
Wow Ghaifan suspended for false imprisonment and harassment http://www.espn.com/college-footbal...cowboys-suspend-youhanna-ghaifan?platform=amp
welp San Jose St came into this past weekend 0-7. After a 50-37 win over UNLV they are now 1-7 UNLV gotta fire Sanchez ASAP https://lasvegassun.com/news/2018/oct/28/unlv-ad-desiree-reed-francois-will-address-footbal/
WYO SR RB Nico Evans had 176 rushing yards last week vs CSU. Yesterday vs San Jose St he had 187 rush yards and now has 1,166 on the season. He entered the year with a little over 100 yards on the ground for his career. That's a nice story in an otherwise disappointing year for the Cowboys offense sitting at 4-6 with games vs Air Force and @ New Mexico left. I bet they beat AF. That game in Albuquerque should be really interesting
What's your connection to Wyoming again? I'm not asking to be an ass btw, I just honestly can't remember you saying why you like them so much.
Weird. I found myself rooting for BYU last night to get Harsin fired. I think Utah State is going to destroy Boise on the Blue. This Boise team is so talented yet Harsin has not done a great job.
I signed up for The Athletic to read all the glowing articles about David Price last week so here is some G5 coverage: Spoiler For the third time in less than a calendar year, Fresno State and Boise State will face off as two of the Mountain West’s best. Last year included a meaningless regular-season finale, which Fresno State won 28-17, and then the MWC championship game, which Boise State won 17-14 a week later. This year’s Friday night matchup has massive stakes for both, and other teams in the conference, too. Fresno State sits atop the West Division at 5-0, one game ahead of 4-1 San Diego State. The Bulldogs and Aztecs meet next week. Boise State is 4-1 in the Mountain Division, one game behind 5-0 Utah State. The Broncos and Aggies meet in the final week of the regular season. Some things change in a year, but the Bulldogs and Broncos are plenty familiar with each other. “There is a lot of carryover,” Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford said. “They’re a veteran team. A great quarterback, receivers, offensive line, well-coached on defense, run to the ball. But everyone has new little wrinkles every year.” Only three teams are in the top 15 nationally in scoring offense and defense: Alabama, Clemson and Fresno State. But the Bulldogs haven’t faced a conference test like this. Last year’s Fresno State defense was among the nation’s best, and it remains so despite losing defensive coordinator Orlondo Steinauer to the CFL and promoting Bert Watts. Meanwhile, the scoring offense has improved by more than 60 spots nationally. That starts with senior quarterback Marcus McMaryion, who is completing 70 percent of his passes with 20 touchdowns and three interceptions. In the second year of Tedford’s offense, the comfort level is obvious. “He’s better this year,” Boise State head coach Bryan Harsin said of McMaryion. “He looks stronger. He looks better. He’s made some throws this year I think are because of his offseason. He looks like he’s able to do more. I’m impressed, as a quarterback guy. That’s a major challenge for our defense.” Boise State will need its pass rush to slow him down. The Broncos rank fourth nationally in sacks (31). But the Bulldogs have allowed only five sacks, third fewest nationally. On Monday, Harsin announced that sophomore linebacker Riley Whimpey tore his ACL. He has a team-leading 55 tackles and two sack. The Broncos have lost three defensive starters to season-ending injuries. In the four games since Boise State’s loss to San Diego State, the Broncos have three wins by 10 points or fewer. They needed a goal-line stand to beat BYU last week. Still, this remains a veteran team led by four-year starting quarterback Brett Rypien. He had two touchdown passes and five interceptions in consecutive games against SDSU and Nevada, but he has rebounded with 10 touchdown passes and one interception in the three games since. Fresno State has never won on the blue turf. The Bulldogs won in their first trip to Boise State in 1984, but they have lost nine consecutive matchups there. “I don’t think the blue turf has anything to do with it. The team is really good,” Tedford said. “It’s very loud there, a hostile environment. But the color of the turf, I don’t see that that makes a difference. I hope we’re not looking at the turf. Our eyes should be up, focused on what we’re doing. Boise has a great tradition at home.” The Bulldogs are No. 23 in the College Football Playoff rankings. There are dreams of a New Year’s Six bowl. But Boise State still runs the Mountain West, and if Fresno State wants the title, it’ll have to take it. State of the AAC Last year, three teams in the American Athletic Conference stood apart from the rest: UCF, South Florida and Memphis. This season, the Knights are undefeated again, but the division races are wide open. With three weeks left, four teams in each division still have a chance. “There’s a lot to be done in the next three weeks, a lot of big games, a lot of teams with opportunities,” Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell said. “That’s what you love about college football. It’s maybe not as exciting when you look around and see one team dominating a league and say, ‘When’s Clemson going to have another (competitive) game?’ In our league, there are big games all over the place, you’re not sure who’s going to close this thing out in the East or West, and that’s what makes it exciting.” In the East, UCF is undefeated and on top, coming off a win against Temple, but the Knights still have to play Cincinnati and at USF in the final two weeks. Cincinnati and USF also play each other this Saturday, and Temple plays Houston and USF in the next two weeks. For all the talk about UCF’s Playoff hopes, the division battle is the first goal, and it’s far from a sure thing. “The only thing we talk about inside of our program is the next opponent,” head coach Josh Heupel said. “We understand the tests you have every week in this league.” In the West, Houston was in a comfortable position until last Saturday’s stunning 45-31 loss at SMU. Now the Mustangs are a game back and hold the tiebreaker. SMU finishes the season with UConn, Memphis and Tulsa, while Houston has a tougher path with Temple, Tulane and Memphis. Tulane’s 41-15 win against USF kept the Green Wave in the race, too. “That’s the reality of college football right now,” Houston head coach Major Applewhite said. “You look back four or five weeks and for a lot of people it looked bleak. It’s changed in just a month. That’s the reality of conference play. Some people start off 4-0, 0-2 and it doesn’t matter until you get into November and have to play your best ball. You can’t get past tomorrow.” The AAC isn’t as top-heavy as a year ago, but there are plenty of stories, and the final four weeks in the league will be fascinating. A UTEP celebration two years in the making You might have thought UTEP won a championship with the way the Miners ran into the tunnel at Rice Stadium, screaming and waving. “Coming up that ramp, I’ve never heard anything that loud,” head coach Dana Dimel said. It wasn’t a championship. It was the end of a 20-game losing streak, the longest in the FBS. The Miners beat Rice 34-26 for the first win in Dimel’s first season. It was a win Dimel saw coming. Despite the losing streak, the Miners had been playing better this year. In their five previous losses, three had come by seven points or fewer, including against top C-USA teams like North Texas and Louisiana Tech. It also came amid a rash of injuries. Dimel says 27 players from the two-deep were out against Rice, including five offensive linemen. “The hurdles we’ve overcome have been incredible,” Dimel said. Dealing with a long losing streak was not new to Dimel. His first coaching job was as a Kansas State graduate assistant, and the Wildcats went 0-10-1 in 1987 and 0-11 in 1988. In 2001, when he was head coach at Houston, his Cougars went 0-11, but they rebounded to 5-7 the next year. He wasn’t a part of UTEP’s 0-12 season last year, but he knows the feeling, and the celebration of the win was special. “We just had a blast,” he said. “It tells you how much they care and how much they enjoy having fun. To get the victory was a big thing for them, because they’ve been working so hard. They’re getting better every Saturday. It finally escalated into a win.” Group of 5 Games of the Week No. 23 Fresno State at Boise State (10:15 p.m. ET Friday, ESPN2) It’s all been explained above. The Broncos have had some trouble this year, and the Bulldogs get the win on the blue turf. Pick: Fresno State 24-17 Troy at Georgia Southern (1 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPN+) The Troy offense hasn’t been the same since quarterback Kaleb Barker’s season-ending injury, but the Georgia Southern defense allowed 44 points to Louisiana Monroe last week. Home field makes the difference. Pick: Georgia Southern 21-20 USF at Cincinnati (7 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPNU) The loser is likely out of the AAC race, and both still have to play UCF in the final two weeks. The Bulls are reeling after two consecutive losses, and Cincinnati’s defense has been one of the best in the country. Pick: Cincinnati 35-21 Group of 5 Power Rankings 1. UCF (8-0). A close call against Temple, but the Knights remain undefeated and host Navy this week. 2. Utah State (8-1). The Aggies handled Hawaii on the road and should have no problem with San Jose State this week. 3. Fresno State (8-1). The Bulldogs beat UNLV 48-3 and have big games against Boise State and San Diego State next. 4. UAB (8-1). The Blazers lead the nation in scoring defense and put up a school-record 668 yards in a 52-3 win against UTSA. They host Southern Miss this week. 5. Boise State (7-2). A loss to Fresno State would likely knock the Broncos out of the Mountain West race. 6. Cincinnati (8-1). The Bearcats beat Navy 42-0 last week and host USF on Saturday. 7. Army (7-2). The Black Knights held on late to beat Air Force. They shouldn’t have trouble against Lafayette, an FCS team, this week. 8. Buffalo (9-1). The Bulls blew out Kent State 48-14 on Tuesday to stay unbeaten in MAC play and have a pivotal MAC East game at Ohio next Wednesday. 9. San Diego State (7-2). The Aztecs pulled away from New Mexico and host UNLV this week. 10. Houston (7-2). The Cougars’ loss to SMU was a bad one, and it doesn’t get easier with Temple this week. Just missed: North Texas, Georgia Southern, Appalachian State, USF, Louisiana Tech, Troy
The Athletic's G5 coverage for the week: Spoiler UCF has an opportunity to make a statement Saturday, but so does its opponent, Cincinnati. The 9-0 Knights host the 9-1 Bearcats with “College GameDay” in town. Hopes of a spot in the College Football Playoff are distant, but this will be UCF’s best chance at a quality victory, something lacking on its résumé. The attention will focus on No. 11 UCF, but the game presents an opportunity for No. 24 Cincinnati, too: a potential division title, conference title and New Year’s Six bowl bid. It’s all on the table with a Bearcats win. UCF’s offense against Cincinnati’s defense stands out as the most important matchup, and it could come down to explosive plays. Cincinnati’s run this year has been fueled by its defense, which ranks No. 7 in points allowed at 14.9 per game. The Bearcats rank No. 15 in rushing defense (3.2 yards per carry) and No. 6 in opponent yards per pass attempt (5.5), and their 87 plays allowed of 10-plus yards are second fewest nationally, behind only Michigan. UCF’s offense, scoring 44 points per game, sits at No. 12 in plays of 20-plus yards, with 65. “Their front four is as good as there is,” UCF head coach Josh Heupel said. “It’s a huge challenge for us in the run game to create movement and space for our backs and also in the pass game protecting the quarterback. On the back end, they challenge everything, a lot of press-man on the outside and tight coverage on your slot receivers. They make you earn it, and they’ve been on the right side of not allowing people to do that. We have find ways to have balance, run the ball and have big plays in the passing game.” Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell said the UCF offense under Heupel is different than what Scott Frost’s offense did a year ago, when the Knights beat Fickell’s team 51-23 in a game Fickell says wasn’t even that close. The Knights are running 76.8 plays per game this year, up from 71 a year ago. “You think it’s the same tempo type of stuff and some quarterback runs, but it’s uniquely different,” Fickell said. “I don’t know that I’ve played against what they do, the tempo and pace they play at.” In the past two weeks, UCF’s defense has allowed 40 points and a Temple-record 670 yards to the Owls and 24 points to a two-win Navy team. Cincinnati beat USF 35-23 and shut out the same Navy team 42-0 the past two weeks. Cincinnati went 4-8 in Fickell’s debut season. Asked about what has changed, he mentioned the opening 26-17 win at UCLA that was tied heading into the fourth quarter. This year’s Cincinnati team knows how to finish. “Last year, even the games we won, (opponents) somewhat handed it to us with mishaps on their side of things,” Fickell said. “Our ability from the start of UCLA to find a way to win down the stretch is where our guys have grown from. This past week is another example. We’re in a dogfight, 16-14 at half down, missed a field goal, but the ability to come out in the second half and play the way we did is a lot of maturity.” It could be another dogfight in Orlando. Fickell doesn’t plan to bring up “College GameDay” and the national attention on this ABC prime-time game to his team until later in the week. At UCF, the Knights are used to this. Since he took over in January, Heupel has talked about blocking out the noise. “The first nine weeks, there wasn’t a day I didn’t think our kids were focused on the job at hand, preparing the right way,” Heupel said. “It’s critical we do that this week. We want our program to be in a situation like this where each week the games get bigger. We’re embracing the opportunity and will get ready to play.” Norvell and Nevada negating naysayers Nevada is bowl-eligible for the first time since 2015 after winning three consecutive games, and it’s proved to be a validating season for head coach Jay Norvell. Four years ago, Norvell was fired as Oklahoma co-offensive coordinator alongside Josh Heupel and replaced by Lincoln Riley. A year later, Norvell left Texas, where he was calling plays, for Arizona State as Charlie Strong overhauled the offensive staff. Norvell was a surprise head coaching hire at Nevada two years ago and went 3-9 in his first season. Now, the Wolf Pack are 6-4 with a good chance to finish the regular season with eight wins. “It’s satisfying,” Norvell said. “It’s a little bit validating for me always believing I could build a football team and build a winning program. We’re getting the opportunity to do that. We’re not done yet. We’ve got a lot more to accomplish. Our expectations were to have a strong year, so we’re living up to our preseason goals.” The Wolf Pack have improved in basically every area this year. The scoring offense has increased by more than five points per game. The defense has improved by nearly five points per game and is allowing around 70 fewer rushing yards per game. Nevada has jumped more than 50 spots nationally in yards per pass allowed. Despite the 3-9 debut season, Norvell didn’t overhaul the staff. He lost offensive line coach Mason Miller to Washington State and made changes at cornerback and safety, but that was it. The repetition has paid off, especially on offense, where young skill-position players surround senior quarterback Ty Gangi. “We have a very young team; 70 percent of our team is new players, freshmen or sophomores,” Norvell said. “We’ve just improved every week. We’re starting to play at a very high level. When you have young players and you practice well, they get better every day. We’ve improved throughout the conference schedule and still feel like our best football is in front of us.” With six wins already, Nevada finishes the regular season with games against 1-9 San Jose State and 3-7 UNLV. The Wolf Pack went 13-1 under Chris Ault in 2010, but they haven’t won more than seven games in a season since joining the Mountain West in 2012. “We have a chance to do something never done at our school and make a step toward being a team that competes for a championship,” Norvell said. On-campus stadiums in sight for two Group of 5 teams Last week marked a breakthrough in stadium plans for San Diego State and South Alabama. On Nov. 6, as part of the midterm elections, San Diego voters supported an initiative to allow SDSU to negotiate with the city for the sale of the land where SDCCU Stadium sits. SDSU’s plans include a campus extension, commercial and residential real estate space and a 35,000-seat football stadium. “The plan is to have a football stadium in place in the project in four or five years,” head coach Rocky Long said after the vote. “That means anybody we recruit this year who will be a freshman next year will probably play in it. Obviously, we’ll recruit using that as a point we make.” The Aztecs have played at SDCCU Stadium — formerly Qualcomm Stadium — since 1967. Despite heavy tarping, the massive stadium, which is 5 miles away from campus, still holds 54,000 for SDSU games and is typically half-full, at best. Officially, the Aztecs’ average attendance is 32,010 this season. “It’s going to give us a home-field advantage, because it’ll be the right-size stadium, and if we continue to play well, we’ll fill it up,” Long said. “Anytime you can fill a stadium up, it’s fun for everybody in the stands, because it’s a lot of energy, noisy and it gives the home team a huge advantage.” On Saturday, South Alabama’s board of trustees voted to authorize Phase II of construction of an on-campus stadium to open for the 2020 season. The initial phase of approving infrastructure work was approved in May. In August, the Mobile city council rejected a proposal to contribute $10 million to the project, but the Mobile county commission agreed in October to provide $2.5 million in exchange for the stadium’s academic center. The stadium is estimated to cost $74 million. “The stadium is a huge deal for us,” head coach Steve Campbell said this week. “After being here and traveling to App State, Georgia Southern and Arkansas State and seeing what a home-field advantage is in this conference, you can see what a tremendous advantage it’s going to be for us to be able to have our student body and all of our fans here on campus backing up our team on game day. … Having an on-campus stadium will not only pay dividends during the game with the crowd support, but it will pay off during recruiting which will add depth to our roster and help us finish some games like the one we were in this past week.” USA has played at Ladd-Peebles Stadium since the program began play in 2009. It’s 20 minutes from campus. Group of 5 Games of the Week Louisiana Monroe at Arkansas State (3 p.m. ET Saturday, ESPN+) The Warhawks sit atop the Sun Belt West Division at 4-2, but Arkansas State is right behind at 3-3. The Red Wolves have won at least a share of five of the past seven Sun Belt titles, but ULM has won four consecutive games and can score the upset on the road. Pick: ULM 31-30 No. 24 Cincinnati at No. 11 UCF (8 p.m. ET Saturday, ABC) UCF has scored at least 30 points in 22 consecutive games. Cincinnati will put that to the test, but the Knights will win and attempt to make another Playoff pitch with the spotlight on them. Pick: UCF 30-24 San Diego State at Fresno State (10:30 p.m. ET Saturday, CBSSN) Fresno State’s loss to Boise State last week keeps the West Division open in the Mountain West. SDSU is coming off a surprising loss to UNLV. Can the Fresno State offense bounce back? Pick: Fresno State 30-17 Group of 5 Power Rankings 1. UCF (9-0): The Knights beat Navy 35-24 and have other G5 teams at their heels for that New Year’s Six spot. 2. Utah State (9-1): The Aggies beat San Jose State 62-24 and are outscoring opponents by 30 points per game in their nine wins. They entered the CFP top 25 at No. 23 and travel to Colorado State this week. 3. UAB (9-1): The Blazers needed overtime to beat Southern Miss, but they clinched the Conference USA West Division. They travel to Texas A&M in a nonconference game Saturday. 4. Boise State (8-2): The Broncos beat Fresno State 24-17 to stay alive in the Mountain Division race. They visit New Mexico this week. 5. Cincinnati (9-1): The Bearcats beat USF 35-23 and are tied with Temple, which won the head-to-head matchup, for second in the AAC East behind UCF. 6. Army (8-2): An independent, so not eligible for the G5’s New Year’s Six spot, Army is in a soft part of the schedule against back-to-back FCS opponents. The Black Knights beat Lafayette last week and host undefeated Colgate this week. 7. Buffalo (9-1): The Bulls handled Kent State 48-14 and travel to Ohio on Wednesday. Because of Ohio’s loss to Miami (Ohio) last week, Buffalo needs only one win in its final two to clinch the MAC East Division. 8. Fresno State (8-2): The Bulldogs lost to Boise State, but a win against San Diego State could clinch the West Division. A loss could set up a three-way tiebreaker, also including Nevada. 9. Louisiana Tech (7-3): The Bulldogs beat Rice 28-13 and travel to Southern Miss this week. 10. Troy (8-2): A huge 35-21 win at Georgia Southern kept Troy atop the Sun Belt East Division. The Trojans host Texas State this week before a potential division-deciding game against Appalachian State next week. Just missed: Appalachian State, Temple, Houston, San Diego State, Georgia Southern
Wyoming gave themselves a chance for a third straight bowl with a really nice comeback today. Took down Air Force 35-27 in the snow in Laradise. Wind chill of -4 at time of opening kick WYO with 21 points in the fourth quarter. AF punted with 3 minutes to play and a 27-21 lead. WYO scored a TD with 1:09 to play, got an INT on the ensuing AF drive and then scored another TD to put it out of reach. Heck of an effort @ New Mexico next week, a team who has lost six in a row and 7 of their last 8 with a win over lowly UNLV mixed in. So I hope the run game and D can lift the team to a bowl. It would be incredible to see them continue the streak with the offense being so ineffective. I don't think they've ever been to three straight bowl games
WYO bowl eligible for a third straight year. Have never been to three straight bowls Might not get a chance with so many bowl eligible teams and the MWC having such poor tie-ins