Mid-Season Report Cards: Western Kentucky, Troy, and FIU

Let’s see how the new Report Card format is going to work today with a batch of Sun Belt teams.  Not as in-depth, but most of the same information is there, just faster…

Read Post

Mid-Season Report Card: Tulsa

The Mid-Season Report Cards are a subjective look using objective numbers with a look toward the remainder of the season as well.  Teams are being reviewed in random order once they reach 6 games.

The third of our non-BCS teams that reached 6 games during midweek contests last week, the Tulsa Golden Hurricane were made out to be worthless scrubs while they gave Boise State all they could handle a week ago, mostly due to their blowout loss to now-struggling Oklahoma.  But fans of non-BCS teams and conferences know that Tulsa is always dangerous and often very good, and have shown flashes of both this season too.  They have a bounceback game tonight at UTEP, so consider this Part 1 of a preview there too.

  • Wins: B. The reality of the situation is that Tulsa has played two very good teams, a 1-AA team, a bad team, and two very bad teams.  So essentially, Tulsa has done the bare minimum that would be expected of them, but other than playing BSU close, not much more.  And so we do have to keep the schedule in mind when we look at the stats. Read Post

Mid-Season Report Card: Boise State

The Mid-Season Report Cards are a subjective look using objective numbers with a look toward the remainder of the season as well.  Teams are being reviewed in random order once they reach 6 games.

Hey, look, this Boise State bunch is pretty good.  Debuting at 4th in the first BCS Poll, the Broncos are the first non-BCS team that meets all the requirements for a realistic shot at a National Championship Game bid- ranked high at the beginning of the season, a couple quality opponents, and winning.  Now, I know the college football illuminati are getting nervous about actually putting them in the game, and they’re going to need a lot of help, since I suspect they’ll be the last choice behind the SEC guys, Texas, Iowa, and Cincinnati.  They also have to get through a slate of decent-to-good WAC teams without slipping, which could be just as hard.

  • Wins: A. Oregon is tearing it up in the Pac-10 and is now a Rose Bowl candidate, Fresno State is back on their feet, and Tulsa still sits at 4-2 and should be a 9 or 10 win team this year.  Yes, they’ve got some dud teams on the schedule too, but not too many. Read Post

Mid-Season Report Card: Louisiana Monroe

The Mid-Season Report Cards are a subjective look using objective numbers with a look toward the remainder of the season as well.  Teams are being reviewed in random order once they reach 6 games.

We got a good look at the Louisiana Monroe Warhawks last Tuesday night when they held off Arkansas State in an important Sun Belt showdown.  That win put them into the conference lead, which they now share with Troy at 3-0 in the league.  These league wins are vital for Monroe’s postseason chances, as non-conference games with 3 strong BCS league teams are bad for bowl eligibility.

  • Wins: B. ULM has gotten the job done against the Sun Belt and the 1-AA team on the schedule, but is 0-2 against Texas and Arizona State, understandably. Read Post

Mid-Season Report Card: Central Michigan

The Mid-Season Report Cards are a subjective look using objective numbers with a look toward the remainder of the season as well.  Teams are being reviewed in random order once they reach 6 games.

Central Michigan is the only team I haven’t gotten to yet before they played their seventh game.  And since the NCAA stats site doesn’t save the week-by-week averages, the numbers are based on 7 games, not the first six, so I apologize if that offends anyone.  Right, moving on.

The CMU Chippewas are out to one of their best starts ever, now 6-1 and 4-0 in the MAC.  They’re now in the drivers seat in the MAC West and really looking like the premiere team in the league, with wins over Michigan State and no conference wins by less than a touchdown.

  • Wins: A. Got the big win over Michigan State and have been steamrolling in the league.  A 10 win season looks very possible from here. Read Post

Mid-Season Report Card: Air Force

The Mid-Season Report Cards are a subjective look using objective numbers with a look toward the remainder of the season as well.  Teams are being reviewed in random order once they reach 6 games.

Our Mountain West Marathon concludes, at least for this week, with Air Force (ed note- well, it would have, if I had pushed the publish button on the Wyoming entry).  Thanks to a bye week, Air Force and UNLV both have Wyoming as their next game, so this is like two game previews done right here.  Air Force has played extremely well this year, and with a little more luck, could honestly have been 6-0.  They lost to Minnesota while the Gophers were opening a brand new stadium by 7, lost on the road at Navy in overtime, and went toe-to-toe with TCU last weekend, falling by 3 when they couldn’t recover an onside kick that could have led to a chance to win.  But despite the losses, Air Force has plenty of reason to be optimistic going forward.

  • Wins: C+. Let a couple chances slip away, particularly with a missed field goal in OT against Navy, but getting the job done against the non-top-3 teams in the MWC. Read Post

Mid-Season Report Card: UNLV

The Mid-Season Report Cards are a subjective look using objective numbers with a look toward the remainder of the season as well.  Teams are being reviewed in random order once they reach 6 games.

UNLV came into the season with high expectations, with a lot of people picking them 4th or 5th in the MWC and bowl bound.  Unfortunately, those expectations haven’t turned into wins, although the Rebels’ schedule has been pretty front-loaded so far.  Things started well, sitting at 2-1 after beating Hawaii, but since then they’ve dropped 3 in a row, including games at Wyoming and to in-state rival Nevada.

  • Wins: D+. Two of the losses, Oregon State and BYU, were practically a given, and a split between Hawaii and Nevada isn’t the worst possible outcome either.  It’s the loss to Wyoming that hurts the most, to a conference team that looked inferior prior to the season. Read Post

Mid-Season Report Card: New Mexico

The Mid-Season Report Cards are a subjective look using objective numbers with a look toward the remainder of the season as well.  Teams are being reviewed in random order once they reach 6 games.

Our mid-season tour of America now brings us to the bottom: quite possibly the team having the overall worst season in America.  They’re [...]

Mid-Season Report Card: East Carolina

The Mid-Season Report Cards are a subjective look using objective numbers with a look toward the remainder of the season as well.  Teams are being reviewed in random order once they reach 6 games.

East Carolina began its season with its usual slate of top 25 non-conference games, like they do nearly every season.  Things got off to a shaky start, going 1-2 in the early weeks of the season.  Since then, a 2-1 conference record has the season stabilized, but not the results that ECU fans hope for and expect.

  • Wins: C. Losses to West Virginia and even in-state rival North Carolina are not a huge surprise, but this weekend’s defeat at the hands of SMU is not what ECU expected. Read Post

Mid-Season Report Card: Memphis

The Mid-Season Report Cards are a subjective look using objective numbers with a look toward the remainder of the season as well.  Teams are being reviewed in random order once they reach 6 games.

The Memphis Tigers are no stranger to slow starts.  Starting in 2005, their 6 game records have been 3-3, 1-5, 2-4, and 3-3 last year after a 0-3 start.  In every year except the 1-5 start, they’ve wound up in bowl games.  Now, they’re sitting at 2-4 but coming off a win against UTEP and hoping that’s the start of some momentum yet again.

  • Wins: D. Their only wins are against 1-AA Tennessee Martin and the erratic UTEP team.  Losses to UCF and Middle Tennessee, neither of which looking like a stellar team, hurt. Read Post