MEMPHIS IN THE DRIVERS SEAT: G5 TOP 20

TOP 20

1. MEMPHIS
2. TEMPLE
3. HOUSTON
4. TOLEDO
5.  BYU
6. NAVY
7.BOISE STATE
8. MARSHALL
9.  APP STATE
10. WKU
11. BOWLING GREEN
12. SAN DEIGO
13. UTAH
14. LA TECH
15. SOUTHERN MISS
16. UCONN
17. USF
18. CINCY
19.  GA SOUTHERN
20. ARKANSAS STATE

THE CURIOUS CASE OF MARSHALL FOOTBALL: WINNING BUT WITH NO PLACE TO GO

MARSHALL'S TALENTED RB DEVON MARSHALL

G5 Original content

If you are Doc Holiday( Marshall Head Coach) and you need a QB to replace your all world former QB, Rakeem Cato, you simply go back to the same well that has been giving you living water for the past 2 decades, the state of Florida.

In this case you convince a 3 star,  6-6 Tampa Bay Pro Style QB named Chase Litton to make a late commitment , ( Litton committed after National Signing day last year) to your school. You then play him early in the season when the starting QB , a JMU transfer named Michael Birdsong, struggles and you start winning games again like the Marshall faithful have grown accustomed  to the last 3 years. Score another one for Holiday and his recruiting chops.

There is  now  only one problem for the 5-1 Thundering Herd and its a problem that has plagued the talented football team for several years; they continue to receive  virtually no respect on the national stage. This lack of national respect  boils down to one and only one insurmountable issue, Marshall Ad Mike Hamrick continues to struggle in creating a football schedule worthy of garnering praise and respect from the college football talking heads and the college football playoff committee.

Want to know the worst part of this for Marshall fans? This Marshall time period will be tagged as the period in which great teams played weak and uninspiring schedules. It now seems highly likely that the Doc Holiday era will be one of the brightest and best for a Thundering Herd program already  steeped in a rich and historic tradition. It will also be an era in which Marshall will almost certainly miss out on any long lasting benefits to the program.

Think about that for a moment. Marshall has seen more talent come to Huntington over the last 5 years than the program has ever had.  The Herd dominate their conference , Conference USA, and  have become a legitimate place for highly regarded transfer students to land.

All of this success however, will likely be wasted for the Herd Program.  The scheduling decisions made by the school, will ultimately sink any hopes  Holiday or  Marshall have in getting the football program into a   better conference or in receiving an  invite to a Bowl game that matters on the National Stage.

In many ways the Doc Holiday era has all of the trappings of Greek tragedy. It also has the markings of some seriously unfulfilled potential. Football programs go through cycles of success and failure. You want to capitalize when things are good so when the lean years come, you have reserves stored in the barn. The calamity  for Marshall is that the feast years under Doc Holiday will probably never be fully celebrated or appreciated on a national level like they deserve to be.

There is no question that Doc Holiday is one of a heck of a recruiter and coach. Holiday has completely overhauled Marshall into a top notch program. There is also no question that Marshall fans are some of the most loyal in all of college football. The real tragedy for the Marshall program however, is that a miscalculation in scheduling philosophy means that  Marshall  and its supporters will  be left wondering what might  have been.

NORTH TEXAS FANS DESERVE BETTER

NORTH TEXAS STRUGGLING WITH A 0-5 START

G5 original content

UNFORGIVABLE OFFENSE

North Texas Athletic Director Rick Villarreal had seen enough. The Mean Green had just suffered the worst loss against an FCS school in the history of College Football. Portland State had marched into the state of the art Apogee Stadium and laid down an old time shellacking of a North Texas team that had been to a bowl game( and won)  only two short years prior to Saturday's loss. The 60 plus points that Portland scored on North Texas was both stunning and embarrassing. For a school with a growing and passionate fan base, there was no bigger misstep or unforgivable offense for their Head Coach of 5 years, Dan McCarney, than to lose in this fashion.  Worse yet, McCarney's team looked totally unprepared and listless  on a homecoming weekend in which his team should have been eager to win for its fans and supporters.

As soon as the final whistle blew, AD Villarreal was on the Mean Green sideline ready to end this painful chapter in North Texas football history. Villarreal wasted little time in turning to Dan McCarney and telling him that it was over. That his services were no longer needed for this team, this University, this fan base.   After the firing, North Texas  sent out a hastily prepared press report letting its supporters and the rest of the football world know  that McCarney had spent his last day as the North Texas head coach.

Thus the search for a new Head Coach had begun. A new search that had officially ended the school's relationship with McCarney. A relationship that had begun much fan fare and hope. A relationship that 5 years later had ended like so many other North Texas head coach hires had, in defeat and in shame.

In fact, since 1982, no North Texas Head Coach has left the program with a winning record. A devastating  statistic  and one that points to a larger issue than  North Texas being routed by Portland State. Simply put, the North Texas Football Program is broken  and it will take years to fix .  Losing has become a way of life for North Texas football , and the only way to remedy the problem is for a complete and thorough overhaul of the program and the people running it.

FANS DESERVE MORE

Whether we like it or not , College Football programs are the calling cards of the Universities they represent. They are the brand, the culture, the attitude towards winning and losing that a University puts out into the Universe. Right now , the North Texas name is taking hit in its PR image. North Texas has many terrific academic programs, including a top notch music department. Guess what, most people only know North Texas for one reason, that they lose in football on a regular basis. North Texas is of course more than this, but if your University is going to have an FBS football program you better be ready to enjoy the spoils of winning and the despair of losing and all that comes with both.

You know what, North Texas fans deserve better than what they have been given on the gridiron. Thats right, its fans, supporters and donors deserve better. The supporters of North Texas football are a cross roads. Either demand a product that can compete, or don't compete at all on the FBS level.

College Football has changed dramatically in the last 5 years. The sport has entered into a winner takes all culture where many FBS football programs are on the verge of irrelevance. North Texas stands at the precipice of this new landscape  and the school's football program may simply not survive the  purge happening in college football without a total and complete commitment to make its football program a winner.

It's time for the North Texas administration from the very top to the very bottom to understand that competing at the collegiate level in football has become a 24/7 , all out rush to the finish line,  365 days of the year.

NEXT HIRE THE MOST IMPORTANT IN NORTH TEXAS HISTORY

For all the reasons listed above and more, the next head coaching hire for North Texas will be the most important  in its history. The next hire and who will be involved in that hire,  will tell North Texas fans everything they need to know about the commitment the school has to its football program.

Here is some good news for the North Texas program. The school does not need to hire a famous name to compete, nor does it need to hire a flashy coach who has been spending time in the tv studio or broadcasting booth. It does however, need to bring in someone who  has proven in some way or fashion  that they know how to win, have a track record doing so and can  create a culture of success within the North Texas football program. North Texas will also need to show this new coach that they are ready to spend whatever it takes to make the program a winner. They will also need to be patient with the new hire. North Texas did not get into this mess overnight, nor will they emerge from it overnight. The good news however, is that given the Mean Green's proximity to talent, money and Dallas, there is no reason why North Texas can not find a way to win on a consistent basis with the right leader in place.

Is there a great deal of pressure to find the right person for the North Texas coaching job, yes. In truth, this type of pressure should have been part of the selection process for the past 20 years. The school can no longer afford to play football with one hand tied behind its back. It is now or never, make or break for the North Texas football program and its fans.

G5 TOP 20 WEEK 8

HOUSTON DEFEATED SMU TO REMAIN UNBEATEN

TOP 20

1. TEMPLE

2. TOLEDO
3. HOUSTON

4. MEMPHIS

5. BYU

6. BOISE STATE
7. NAVY
8. WKU
9. GEORGIA SOUTHERN
10. MARSHALL
11. APP STATE
12. CINCINATTIE
13. LA TECH
14. BOWLING GREEN
15. ECU
16. TULSA
17. AIR FORCE
18. SDSU
19. UCONN
20. RICE

GANG OF 5 WEEK 4 TOP 20

ECU PICKED UP A QUALITY WIN AGAINST VA TECH ON SATURDAY

TOP 20


1.TOLEDO
2.TEMPLE
3.NAVY
4.OHIO
5.HOUSTON
6. BOISE STATE
7. AIR FORCE
8. GEORGIA SOUTHERN
9. MARSHALL
10. APP STATE
11.  ECU
12. SOUTHERN MISS
13. HAWAII
14. TULSA
15. BYU
16. MTSU
17. LA TECH
18. CINCINNATI
19. COLORADO STATE
20. NEVADA

GANG OF 5 WEEK 3 TOP 20

NAVY QB KENAN REYNOLDS LIT UP THE SCOREBOARD SATURDAY AGAINST ECU

1. TOLEDO
2. TEMPLE
3. NAVY
4. OHIO
5. HOUSTON
6. NORTHERN ILLINOIS
7. UCONN
8. BOISE STATE
9. AIR FORCE
10. HAWAII
11. WKU
12. MTSU
13. MARSHALL
14. TULSA
15. SOUTHERN MISS
16. GEORGIA SOUTHERN 
17. SOUTH ALABAMA
18. CINCINNATI
19. APP STATE ( DID NOT PLAY)
20. ULL( DID NOT PLAY)

WINNERS AND LOSERS WEEKS 1-2

TOLEDO PULLS UPSET WIN OVER ARKANSAS IN WEEK 2

G5 Blog original content

With two weeks under the College Football Belt, let's take a quick look at the Winners and Losers thus far among the Gang of 5 Schools

WINNERS

MAC AND AAC :  With conference wins against the SEC, B1G, and the ACC ; the MAC and AAC have had two  very good weeks. 

TEMPLE:  Temple Football is back. Well maybe its back. How ever you want to describe it, OWL Head Coach Matt Rhule has his team playing good ball right now. With wins over Penn State and Cincinnati, Temple looks to be the class of the G5 at the moment.

BYU:   Things initially looked disastrous  for BYU when their all world QB Taysom Hill was injured during the Cougars win over Nebraska. BYU however, went into the wood shed and found back up qb Tanner Magnum. Magnum threw  the game winning td last Saturday to beat Boise State.

Charlotte Football:  Don't look now but the 49ers are off to a 2-0 start in their first FBS season.

LOSERS:

BOISE STATE:  Turns out they are not the class of the G5

MARSHALL:   After a great game against Purdue, the Thundering Herd laid an egg against rival OHIO. Is there a QB controversy brewing in Huntington?

THE SUN BELT:  The Sun Belt has struggled during the first two weeks of the season. When Georgia State has the same won/loss record as ULL something is wrong in Belt land. 

UCF:  UCF has had a disastrous start to the 2015 season. Is O'Leary stretched to thin as both AD and Head Coach?

stay tuned

GANG OF FIVE WEEK 2 TOP 20

TEMPLE PICKED UP A BIG WIN AGAINST PENN STATE IN WEEK ONE

1. BYU

2. TEMPLE

3. MEMPHIS

4. HOUSTON

5. WKU

6. OHIO

7. NORTHERN ILLINOIS

8. AIR FORCE

9. TOLEDO

10. NAVY

11. BOWLING GREEN

12. TULSA

13. BOISE STATE

14. CINCINNATI

15. LA TECH
16. ECU
17. ULL
18. MARSHALL
19. ODU
20. APP STATE

( honorable mention: Charlotte)

FIU BEATS UCF

FIU BEATS UCF IN THURSDAY NIGHT ACTION

G5 Original Content

In what is fast becoming one of the best rivalry games  among the G5, Head Coach Ron Turner lead his FIU team into Orlando and escaped Brighthouse Stadium with a one point win. The game was primarily a slugfest in which the FIU Def line proved to be to much for the UCF Oline to handle.

Chalk this up for a good one for FIU and Conf USA.

GAME THOUGHTS:

POOR PLAY CALLING AT THE END OF THE GAME FOR UCF

UCF fans have to be scratching their heads this morning wondering why their Head Coach, George O'Leary continued to call power runs at the end match when the FIU D Line had been dominating the line of scrimmage all game long.

GAME WAS OVER WHEN

O'Leary decided to put the game of the shoulders of a Freshman kicker who had never kicked a game on the collegiate level before.

TAKE AWAY

FIU Head Coach Ron Turner is slowly but surely building the Panther program into a winner. The FIU Def Line, lead by Imarjaye Albury, looks to be the best line in Conf USA.

UCF Looked unispired and out of sync. One has to wonder if O'Leary is to distracted with his AD and Head Coaching duties.

The FIU-UCF Series is now tied at 2 a piece. 

UTEP LOOKING FOR ANSWERS

Head Coach Sean Kugler is doing a great job rebuilding the UTEP brand and Football team. He still however, has much work to do. UTEP STILL HAS QUESTIONS LINK

KURT BENKERT NAMED STARTING QB FOR EAST CAROLINA

East Carolina has named Kurt Benkert as its starting QB . Head Coach Ruffin McNeill made the announcement last evening after practice.  Benkert,  a 3 star QB from Florida, had initially  signed with South Florida but made the switch to ECU his Senior Year.

Benkert will have big shoes to fill as he replaces  former ECU QB Shane Carden. Carden and his favorite  WR Justin Hardy( Hardy set the NCAA record for the number of receptions last year) were the public faces of Pirates last year. Benkert is a good athlete with a fast throwing release.

*In other ECU news:

Athletic Director Jeff Compher announced that ECU was seen by 12 million viewers last season. Compher credited the large viewership to the tv contract the AAC has with ESPN. Stay tuned.

UNLV LOOKS FOR WINNING FOMULA

UNLV fans hoping Head Coach Tony Sanchez can turn the program around:UNLV HOPES TO ESTABLISH WINNING CULTURE LINK

CONFERNECE USA NAMES JUDY MACLEOD AS INTERIM COMMISSIONER

Conference USA has named Judy MacLeod as interim Conference Director. MacLeod joined CUSA in 2005 as assistant to then CUSA Commish Britton Banowsky. Banowsky is expected to officially step down as conference head in Sept or October of this year and take the reigns of the College Football Playoff Philanthropy.

ODU President and Chair of the Conference USA Board announced that the league will continue to look for a permeant leader in the months to come. MacLeod becomes the first woman to  head a FBS Conference. MacLeod has an excellent reputation in the sports world and is a front runner to become the permeant CUSA Commish.

A few weeks ago I published a "to do" list for the new CUSA Commish. I am going to republish the list  in case Judy is looking for jump start to her Tuesday morning. Stay Tuned:


CUSA TO DO LIST

With Britton Banowksy stepping down as  Conference USA leader in October the league will have to hire a new Commissioner in the coming months. With this in mind, here are 4 agenda items the new CUSA Commissioner should begin to address  from day 1 on the job:

1. TV CONTRACT: With rumors that the Conference USA tv contract is not receiving  the financial numbers it wants, the new Commish will have to convince TV partners that CUSA is worth a monetary  investment that puts it ahead of the Sun Belt and MAC.

2. INCREASE FOOTBALL ATTENDANCE:  While CUSA is not at the bottom of football attendance, it is darn close. Tv partners are increasingly under financial pressure  from changing cable tv habits. This means they are becoming choosier about how and who they spend their money on especially as it concerns  non power leagues. No TV exec wants to see an empty stadium on Saturday afternoon, especially in HD. Schools like FIU FIU Fan Issues, FAU and RICE to name a few, need extra work in getting fans on board with their sports product.

3. MERGE WITH THE SUN BELT: Britton Banowsky was a big proponent of the use of scale to reduce costs and create efficiencies . The new CUSA Commissioner  should start negotiations with the Sun Belt for a full merger and create divisions based on geographic lines and interest. If tv financial numbers prove to be as low as many expect them to be , then there will be little reason for CUSA to set itself apart from the Sun Belt. A combined league would solve many travel problems and help create regional rivalries that fans actually care about seeing.

4. CREATE THE BEST DIGITAL NETWORK IN COLLEGE SPORTS: Cable tv is changing rapidly. No one really knows  how sports will be broadcast in the next two decades. Instead of waiting for the tv networks to sort things out, why not use existing technology and take control away from the unknown. CUSA should endeavor to create the best digital network in all of College Sports.
Use the guaranteed revenue from the College Football Playoff and cut the cord from traditional tv contract providers. At the very least create a combination of the two. Much like what has happened in the airline industry in the last 15 years, there will be few "legacy" conferences left standing in the next 15 years. The Gang of 5 Conferences are going have to evolve into what amounts to no  frills airline companies  and find leaner and meaner ways of functioning.  By creating a world class digital network CUSA can sell and keep its own ad revenue, distribute product on its own terms and keep fans happy with consistent high quality broadcasts. Stay tuned.

G5 TRAINING CAMP NEWS: NEW MEXICO STATE SEEKS FULL MEMBERSHIP INTO SUN BELT CONFERENCE

COMMENTARY BY JASON GROVES: LAS CRUCES SUN NEWS

"It's now or never for New Mexico State.

Since his hire, Athletics Director Mario Moccia's main charge has been to find a stable home for Aggies football. The current four-year agreement with the Sun Belt Conference is nice, but a temporary membership leaves NMSU in the same college athletics limbo that resulted in the Aggies playing an independent football schedule in 2013.

As conference movement across the country has slowed down in recent years, there is an apparent window open to NMSU. A contingent of Sun Belt officials will be on campus for two days later this week, following visits to current Football Championship Subdivision schools Eastern Kentucky and Coastal Carolina in recent weeks.

NMSU has a number of compelling arguments for full membership to the Sun Belt, a league the university was a member of from 2001-2005. It's location, and accompanying travel costs, is certainly a significant strike against potential membership, especially when compared to Coastal Carolina (Conway, South Carolina) and Eastern Kentucky (Richmond, Kentucky). The Sun Belt has stayed consistent with its geography over time, with the exception of temporary outliers Idaho and NMSU for football." FOR THE REST OF THE STORY CLICK HERE:NMSU SUN BELT MEMBERSHIP LINK

G5 FALL CAMP NEWS: MARSHALL HAS JUST 13 OF ITS 25 2015 RECRUITS AT FALL FOOTBALL CAMP ACCORDING TO COLUMNIST CHUCK LANDON

College Football recruiting is a tough business. Few are better at finding hidden gems than Marshall's Head Coach Doc Holliday. Getting High School players to sign on the dotted line is only half the battle however, as getting them to campus can prove the most daunting part of the recruiting process.

In a recent opinion story in the Herald  Dispatch, the hometown paper that covers Marshall sports, columnist Chuck Landon writes an interesting piece in which he gives a detailed account of why only 13 or Marshall' s 25 2015 signing class has made it to  Herd Fall Camp this year.

Doc Holliday has Marshall playing some of its best ball in school history. Landon's article  however, provides an interesting look into the struggles of getting players to college campuses once they have said yes to playing football. Here is the link to the story: ONLY 13 of 25 2015 MARSHALL RECRUITS REPORT TO FALL CAMP THIS YEAR. Scroll down to a few paragraphs once the link takes you to the article. Stay tuned

ECU Hall of Famer Earnest Byner speaks to ECU football players during Fall Camp

G5 FALL CAMP NEWS: SMU WILL START MATT DAVIS AS QB THIS SEASON

After suffering through a dismal season last year, new Head Coach Chad Morris has already named his starting QB in Matt Davis.  Speaking to reporters a few days ago Morris said this:

On when he would like to name a starting quarterback:

“Well, Matt (Davis) is our starter. But there is some great competition going on behind him. And there needs to be. We have to get them ready just in case something happens. But we’ll see how it goes. Matt has had a good camp up to this point. He’ll keep getting better. But everybody’s job is on the line. Yeah, I might have you starting today, but tomorrow may be somebody else. Right now, Matt is our starter, and he’s had a good camp. Ben (Hicks) has had a good camp. Darrell (Colbert) has done some really good things, so we’ll take it day to day.”

UCF VS USF MOVED TO THANKSGIVING NIGHT AT REQUEST OF ESPN

The Tampa Tribune is reporting this morning that ESPN has reached out to UCF and USF and asked them to move their regularly  scheduled game to Thanksgiving Night. The move is an attempt by ESPN to have more content on Thanksgiving. Click here for the story:USF VS UCF THANKSGIVING STORY LINK

G5 FALL CAMP CONTINUES: KENT STATE LOOKS TO REBOUND FROM DISAPPOINTING 2014 SEASON

Kent State fans suffered through a miserable season last year, watching the Golden  Flashes win only 2 games. Kent State needs help at just about every position this season and have been picked to finish last in the MAC. The Golden Flashes are simply one of the worst football teams in the FBS. Kent State Fall Football Report link

TEMPLE FOOTBALL CAMP: LOOKING AT TEMPLE QB'S

A LOOK AT THE TEMPLE OWL QB'S: TEMPLE QB'S LINK