Conference USA Report: Week 8

Last week gave us some big time wins and heartbreaking losses in the Conference USA. 

East Carolina had a big win against the more talented NC State Wolfpack, 33-27 in OT.  The Pirates missed a field goal in OT, but sealed the win when true freshman safety Damon Magazu intercepted a Russell Wilson pass at the goaline. 

The Rice Owls jumped out to a huge lead on the Houston Cougars, leading 27-7 at one point.  Then the Cougs woke up and even took a 31-27 lead late in the 4th quarter.  That lead wouldn’t last as Rice QB Nick Fanuzzi hit Vance McDonald for the go ahead TD, Rice won 34-31.

The Southern Methodist Mustangs traveled to Annapolis for a showdown with the Navy Midshipmen.  SMU started off the game hot, leading 14-0 at halftime.  Kyle Padron was throwing and even running the football at will and the Mustang D was looking good.  Then the 3rd quarter started and it was a different story.  Three unanswered scores for Navy made it 21-14 in the 4th, until Kyle Padron threw his 3rd TD of the game.  The Midshipmen would strike back taking a 28-21 lead late in the 4th, but the Mustangs had a shot.  The game ended with an SMU Hook ‘n Ladder attempt.  Navy wins 28-21.  The game changed on 2 Padron turnovers, a fumble and INT, both converted into TD’s by Navy.

UAB pulled off a huge upset over the UTEP MIners, 21-6.  The Miners couldn’t do anything on the offensive side of the ball, while the Blazers did what they wanted on offense after halftime.  UTEP led 6-0, until the Blazers went on a scoring spree late in the 2nd half.  UAB QB Bryan Ellis threw for 272 yards and 3 TD’s.

Ranking the C-USA

1.  East Carolina Pirates They pulled off a huge win over NC State, now they get a little easier test when Marshall comes to Greenville.

2. Southern Miss Golden Eagles They get to the bye week after beating down Memphis.  UAB comes to town Oct 30.

3. SMU Mustangs How will they respond after the tough loss to Navy?  A win at home against Houston would push them to 4-0 in CUSA, that would help them get over it.

4. UCF Knights I continue to be impressed by the Knights defense.  They get a tough Rice team at home this week in what should be a good game.

5. Houston Cougars David Piland isn’t Case Keenum, but he filled in well last week.  If the Cougars can get Beall going on the ground, they have a good shot against SMU.

6. Tulsa Golden Hurricane The Golden Hurricane got back to their offensive ways against Tulane, and head into the bye week fresh off a win.  They head to Notre Dame on Oct 30 for a huge road game with the Fighting Irish.

7. UTEP Miners  After a tough loss to UAB, the Miners should put one in the W column this week when Tulane rolls into town.

8. UAB Blazers I hope the Blazers took time to enjoy their win over UTEP, because they travel to Mississippi St this week .  It won’t be pretty.

9. Rice Owls After the big win over Houston last week, they head to UCF for a battle with the Knights. 

10. Tulane Green Wave Tulane is a team I wouldn’t want to play if I were a contender.  They will always battle, regardless of the score.  They just need more talent on their roster.

11. Marshall Thundering Herd  They were over matched last week against UCF and I see more of the same this week when they travel to ECU.

12. Memphis Tigers This team needed a bye after getting destroyed the past few weeks.

Week 8 Picks

Rice @ UCF

The UCF defense should control this game like they have throughout the season.  Rice has some nice weapons in QB Nick Fanuzzi, RB Sam McGuffie and a handful of good WR.  The story of this game might be the season ending knee injury to UCF QB Rob Calabrese.  Jeff Godfrey will be the lone QB in the Knights QB rotation.  I still like the Knights to win 27-7.

Houston @ SMU

This game is going to fun to watch.  Offense will be king as the Mustangs and Cougars can score the ball in bunches.  The key to this game will be Cougs running backs Bryce Beall and Michael Hayes.  Get these 2 going and Houston has a great shot to win.  I’ll take my chances with the Mustangs though, 34-28.

Marshall @ ECU

ECU should dominate this game from start to finish.  The Pirates QB Dominique Davis had an enormous game last week and I expect more of the same.  He has been fun to watch this season.  ECU wins big, 40-17.

UAB @ Mississippi St

Miss State is going to roll in this game.  They are just too much for the Blazers to handle.  Miss State wins 52-10.

Tulane @ UTEP

I like UTEP to get back on track in this West division battle.  UTEP wins 31-20.

Written by Jason Madson.  Follow him on Twitter @isbnJMAD.

Around C-USA Week 6

Tulane traveled into New Jersey as a team that hadn’t won a road game since early last season, and left with a huge upset win.  I know Rutgers hasn’t been a force this season, but Tulane has been far from it.  The rest of the Conference played out as many expected it to.  SMU and Tulsa continue to put up points in bunches, Southern Miss looks like a dominant contender for the league title and North Carolina beat the Pirates of ECU soundly.  Lets take a look at some of last weeks Top Performances.

Week 5 Top Performances

Tulsa QB GJ Kinne continues his dual threat dominance.  He threw for 214 yards and 2 scores, while gaining another 34 yards on the ground and 1 TD.  He has really taken to the hurry up, no huddle offense this season.

The trio at SMU consisting of QB Kyle Padron and WR’s Cole Beasley and Aldrick Robinson had a monster game.  Padron threw for 371 yards and 3 scores, with a 75 % complection percentage.  He is good!  Beasley and Robinson combined for 14 receptions 306 receiving yards and 2 scores.  In this same game, Owls running back Sam McGuffie also had a pretty good day with 96 rushing yards and 45 yards receiving.

Austin Davis didn’t really fill up the stat book on Saturday for the Southern Miss Golden Eagles, but the QB did have 4 total TD.  He threw for 1 score and rushed for 3 more in the blowout victory over Marshall.

Conference USA Top to Bottom

1. 1. Southern Miss (4-1)  I know they played Marshall, but they looked like the best team.
2. 2. East Carolina (2-2)  Had to drop them off the top after the blowout loss.
3. 3. Houston (3-1)  If they can keep the pressure off Broadway with the running game, they should be fine.
4. 4. SMU (3-2)  Offense is king here, and they have the weapons to compete.
5. 5. UTEP (4-1)  Trevor Vittatoe continues to lead this team to wins.
6. 6. UCF (2-2) After the tough loss to KState and a bye week, how will they respond?
7. 7. Tulsa (3-2) GJ Kinne is the real deal, but can they stop anybody on Defense?
8. 8. Rice (1-4)  We saw a glimpse of the potential offered by Sam McGuffie, will it continue?
9. 9. UAB (1-3) UAB has found a QB mix that works, UCF should be a good match up.
10. 10. Marshall (1-4) The bye week came at a good time for the struggling Herd.
11. 11. Memphis (1-4)  Heading to Lousville isn’t the best situation for the Tigers right now, especially after losing their starting QB to a concussion.

Week 6 Matchups and Picks

UAB @ UCF   Both teams will be using 2 quarterbacks in different fashions for tonight’s game, does that mean neither team has one?  I like the way the UCF defense has been playing, so I will take the Knights 27-10.

Memphis @ Louisville   Memphis just needs to hope they get some lucky bounces in this game.  The young Cardinals have more talent than do the Tigers, but experience is lacking.  I like the Cardinals at home 33-17

East Carolina @ Southern Miss  This is one game that every football fan should watch, or atleast DVR and watch later.  The top 2 teams in the East Division square off in what should decide the divisions champ.  This game is going to feature the 14th ranked ECU passing attack and the 16th ranked Southern Miss Defense.  Defense will prevail in the Golden Eagles Homecoming game, SoMiss wins 22-20.

Mississippi State @ Houston  Houston gets a big time test to come to their house on Saturday, and I don’t like their chances.  It’s not a CUSA game, so a loss won’t kill them.  I think the Bulldogs will be the more physical team and take this game from the Cougars easily.  I like Miss St, 28-17.

Army @ Tulane Army lost a tough game to Temple last week, but have been pefrect on the road so far this season.  Tulane is coming off a huge upset victory over Rutgers.  I like the Army option attack lead by QB Trent Steelman, who had a hand in all 5 Black Knight TD’s last week.  The Black Knights should take this game, 30-21.

Tulsa @ SMU   This game is going to be a good one, with 2 of the top QB’s in the C-USA with GJ Kinne and Kyle Padron.  Watch the scoreboard light up in this game, as I like SMU to take it 41-34.

Rice @ UTEP   UTEP should take this game easily at home, Rice just doesn’t have to firepower to keep up with Trevor Vittatoe and company.  I’ll take the Miners, 31-23.

Written by Jason Madson @isbnJMAD on Twitter

Around C-USA: Week 4

The big news around the conference this week is the season ending injury to Houston QB and Heisman candidate Case Keenum. The 5^th year senior suffered a torn ACL late in the second quarter of the Cougars loss at UCLA. To make matters worse late in the third quarter backup QB Cotton Turner was also lost for the season with a broken clavicle. Though not yet announced officially it is expected that Houston Head Coach Kevin Sumlin will name true freshman Terrance Broadway as the new starter.

UAB staged one of the most dramatic comebacks in their history in 34-33 win over Troy. With no timeouts, reserve QB Bryan Ellis engineered a 99-yard drive in the final 1:09 of the game, capping off the drive with a 44-yard `Hail Mary’ touchdown pass to freshman WR Jackie Williams. Ellis’ performance helped the Blazers overcome a 23-0 lead Troy had built through the midway point of the second period, and a 33-20 deficit in the final quarter. The comeback was the largest in UAB history. The previous largest deficit UAB had overcome was a 22-point deficit in a 51-34 win over Houston in 2002. The Blazers had trailed in that game, 28-6.

The SMU 35-21 win over Washington State was the first win against a BCS team since a win over Kansas (31-17) on Sept. 2, 2000, snapping a 17-game losing streak. Sophomore QB Kyle Padron was 19-of-34 for 280 yards and four scores. SMU has won five straight home games and is 7-2 in the last nine games, the best mark for any nine-game stretch since a stretch from the 1984 and 1985 seasons.

UCF true freshman QB Jeff Godfrey did nothing to temper the lofty expectations from Golden Knight fans in his first college start by going 15-of-24 for 130 yards passing and also ran for 44 yards.. With his 30 yard INT return fo a TD Senior DE Bruce Miller became the first UCF defensive lineman to return an INT for a TD since Jerry Nemethy on a 39-yard return against Alabama A&M on Oct. 17, 1981. UCF has scored on each of its last 14 red zone possessions dating back to Nov. 28, 2009.

UTEP senior QB Trevor Vittatoe became the first quarterback in UTEP history to throw for five touchdowns in a game four times as he completed 19-of-30 passes for 246 yards in the Miner 42-10 win over New Mexico State.  He also rushed three times for a career-best 54 yards in finishing with 300 yards of total offense. Vittatoe now has 83 career touchdown passes, the fifth-best total in Conference USA history.

East Carolina scored on five of their first six possessions and led 24-21 at halftime before falling at Virginia Tech on Saturday, 49-27. Pirate Junior QB Dominique Davis finished the day 30-of-44 for 251 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions. Senior WR Dwayne Harris caught 10 passes for 130 yards and a touchdown. He has now scored in seven consecutive games.

Ryan Williams became the first true freshman to start at QB for Memphis since 1986 in the Tigers 24-17 win over Middle Tennessee State.  All 24 Tigers points came following MTSU turnovers, as Memphis forced four miscues for the first time since the 2007 Middle Tennessee game.

UTEP RB Donald Buckram, who ran for almost 1,600 yards in 2009 could make his return this week versus Memphis. Buckram is the second leading returning rusher in the nation.

C-USA team records since conference realignment in 2005:

School                         C-USA            Overall

Houston                      30-11               44-25

East Carolina              30-12               40-28

Tulsa                           27-14               44-25

UCF                            26-14               36-31

Southern Miss            25-15               39-29

Rice                             19-21               24-39

UTEP                          17-23               28-35

Marshall                     17-23               23-38

Memphis                     17-24               25-37

SMU                           15-26               23-40

UAB                            13-28               20-42

Tulane                           8-32               15-46

Best team win week 2:

Going to call this one a draw between the UAB hail mary win over Troy and the Memphis win over MTSU. UAB Coach Neil Callaway REALLY needed this victory and Larry Porter got his first win as Memphis Head Coach.

Worst team loss week 2:

No doubt it was the Houston loss at UCLA. More so for the loss of Case Keenum to a season ending ACL injury then the loss on the field. This takes a team that had longshot BCS dreams and puts their season in an entirely different perspective.

CUSA Power rankings:

1. East Carolina (2-1) – Could not hold an early lead on the road at Virginia Tech.
2. Southern Miss (2-1) – Impressive win over mediocre BCS team(Kansas) at home.
3. UCF (2-1) – Good win and good things from young Mr. Godfrey
4. SMU (2-1) – Washington State isn’t a power but it shows SMU is making progress.
5. Houston (2-1) – A different team from one week ago. Young QB gets Tulane at home this week.
6. Tulsa (1-2)– Not much good to take from the basing at OSU.
7. Memphis (1-2) – Big win vs MTSU. Winnable game at UTEP this week.
8. UTEP (2-1) – New Mexico State may be the worst team in D1.
9. Rice (1-2) – Not a terrible loss to Northwestern but only win is a squeaker vs North Texas
10. Marshall (0-3) -  Still looking for first win. The West Virginia loss still hurts.
11. Tulane (1-1) - Get the first shot at the post Keenum Cougars this week.
12. UAB (1-2) – They won’t apologize for the win over Troy.

Blind Squirrel’s C-USA picks for this week

Last week’s pick’s record (8-3)

TCU at SMU:  SMU has won five straight home games but I’m not sure how much of a home field advantage they will have against TCU. So far SMU has beaten the teams they are supposed to beat and played Texas Tech tough. TCU has won its last six road games and 17 straight regular season games. Andy Dalton has been phenomenal at QB for TCU. My pick: TCU 34 – SMU 21

UCF at K-State: I think KSU is a little overrated. They are one dimensional on offense and have given up some points on defense. Still, that one deminsion is Daniel Thomas and he is tough to stop even when you know he’s going to get the ball. It’s also not easy to win in Manhattan Ks. A good test for the Knights to find out where then stand. My pick: Kansas St 23 – UCF 20.

Tulane at Houston: This is an interesting game considering the QB situation at Houston. They still have a lot of talent at the skill positions and should roll Tulane at home. If they don’t it won’t be a good sign for the rest of their season. Emotions should also be high for Houston in their first home game without Keenum. My pick: Houston 35  – Tulane 13

Southern Miss at Louisiana Tech: Ruston is not an easy place to play and this will be a tough game for the Golden Eagles. Still, Southern Miss is the better team and La Tech as not been impressive. My pick: Southern Miss 27 -  Louisiana Tech 17

Baylor at Rice: Baylor coming off a disappointing loss to TCU but Robert Griffin is very dangerous. The Owl defense will struggle to contain Griffin and the Baylor offense. Rice needs to control the ball offensively to keep the ball out of Griffins hands. It would be a good time for Rice to get RB Sam McGuffie untracked. My pick: Baylor 30 – Rice 17

Central Arkansas at Tulsa: We all know that FCS schools can’t be taken lightly and Central Arkansas is 3-0 and in some FCS Top 25 polls. Still, Tulsa is looking for a whipping boy after they filled that role themselves last week in Stillwater. My pick: Tulsa 49 – UCA 21

UAB at Tennessee: UT is coming off home losses to Florida and Oregon. It would be in the best interest of Derek Dooley’s future as head coach of the Vol’s not to let UAB stay close. Bryan Ellis will get the starting not for UAB. It won’t matter. Tennessee 49 – UAB 14.

Ohio at Marshall: Marshall still looking for their first win and this may be the best chance they’ll have for the next month. Marshall is tough in Huntington. Ohio is 1-2 with their only win over Wofford. Marshall 23 – Ohio 13

Memphis at UTEP:  UTEP is 0-3 all-time vs Memphis. The Tigers got a nice confidence boost last week in their win over Middle Tennessee. RB Donald Buckram is expected to make his season debut this week and if 100% could be a huge factor. My pick: UTEP 30 – Memphis 21

Week 3 CUSA Players of the week:

UAB junior QB Bryan Ellis was selected as the C-USA offensive player of the week. Ellis came off the bench in the second quarter and threw for 360 yards and three TD’s to lead UAB to a 34-33 come-from-behind win over Troy. Ellis led a 99 yard game winning drive  in the final 1:09.

UCF Junior DE Darius Nall was named C-USA defensive player of the week after leading UCF with nine tackles, including three TFLs and two sacks, plus a pass-break up and a quarterback hurry in UCF’s 24-10 win at Buffalo.

Tom Hornsey of Memphis and Deron Wilson of Southern Miss share the C-USA Special Teams player of the week award. helped keep Hornsey kicked a career-high 10 punts in the game, averaging 41.7 yards per punt. He kicked a career-long 63-yard punt from the Memphis six-yard line late in the fourth quarter that helped keep MTSU in its own territory and go three-and-out in a critical defensive opportunity for the Tigers. Wilson recovered a block punt and went seven yards for a touchdown late in the second quarter of the Golden Eagles’ 31-16 win over Kansas on Friday night. It was the second-straight week that he was involved with a blocked punt, tallying one last week against Prairie View.

Written by John Huber @Fort80 on Twitter

Around CUSA:

 

Houston entered both major polls following its 54-24 win over UTEP. The Cougars appear in both polls this week at No. 23…..the Cougars ran up 309 yards on the ground and scored six rushing touchdowns in a 54-24 win over UTEP on Friday night in a departure from their typical pass heavy offense. Heisman candidate Case Keenum had a nice game but failed to throw a td pass for the first time in 31 games.

Tulsa junior QB GJ Kinne is off to a very nice start in 2010. The Texas transfer struggled at times in 2009 mainly to poor pass protection but Kinne leads all FBS quarterbacks with 755 passing yards in the first two games of the season.

East Carolina fans have to be very happy with the way the Ruffin McNeill era has started. The 100 points(51 vs Tulsa, 49 vs Memphis) scored in the first two games are the most scored in back-to-back opening games in program history. The catalyst of the Pirates attack has been junior QB Dominique Davis. After throwing five touchdowns vs. Tulsa, he accounted for five scores against Memphis, throwing three TD passes and running for two more. He completed 27-of-38 passes for 244 yards.

Southern Miss junior WR DeAndre Brown has NFL written all over him when it comes to athletic ability and talent. The question that has arisen with Brown is consistent effort. Through the first two games of the season Brown has 9 receptions for 165 yards and 2tds. All while being called out publicly by Southern Miss head coach Larry Fedora for his effort on some plays following a season opening loss to South Carolina. “If you look at his game from the other night there was nothing special on his part. It wasn’t even an average performance to be honest with you”, Fedora stated in the Monday press conference following the opener.

UCF coach George O’Leary is battling a QB controversy with junior Rob Calabrese and true freshman Jeff Godfrey at the center of the storm. O’Leary is set to name a starter on Friday with most thinking Godfrey will get the starting nod following a late game entrance and impressive performance last Saturday in a 28-21 loss to NC St.

There has been a lot of anticipation at Rice since Sam McGuffie announced he was transferring from Michigan following the 2008 season. He has had mixed success in the first two games rushing for 80 yards in two game at 2.3 yards per carry. He has also caught 5 passes for 84 yards and 1 TD.

83 players from CUSA schools appeared on the opening day rosters of NFL teams this past weekend. All 12 C-USA schools are represented, with at least four or more players appearing from nine of the schools. UCF has the most former players on current NFL rosters with 12, while Memphis has 11 and Marshall has nine. Included are 12 players that have made at least one Pro Bowl appearance in their careers.

Best Team win week 2:

I’m going with the 32-31 Rice win over North Texas. It might not have been the most impressive win but not losing this game was huge for the Owl’s. Coming off a 2-10 2009 they did not want to start 2010 0-2.

Worst team loss week 2:

Although certainly not a terrible performance the Marshall loss to West Virginia was a heartbreaker. It would have been a huge win for Doc Holliday in his second game as head coach at Marshall in front of a record setting home crowd in Huntington.  To blow a 15 point 4^th quarter lead made it even more painful.

CUSA Power rankings:

1. East Carolina – Two good CUSA wins to start the season.
2. Houston – Number two so far based on a slightly weaker schedule.
3. Tulsa – Nice win over Bowling Green and a close loss at East Carolina
4. SMU – Close loss at Texas Tech and convincing home win over UAB.
5. UCF – Close loss at home to NC St
6. Rice – Respectable loss vs Texas and road win at North Texas
7. Southern Miss – Bounced back from loss at South Carolina with win over Prairie View.
8. UTEP – Big loss at Houston.
9. Marshall -  No wins yet but a brutal schedule and heartbreaker vs West Virginia.
10. Tulane – Non impressive home win vs SE Louisiana and home loss to Ole Miss.
11. Memphis – No wins but both losses on the road.
12.  UAB – No wins so far and tough schedule stretch ahead.

 Ranking the CSUA games for Week 3:

1. East Carolina at Virginia Tech – Playing 0-2 VT in Blacksburg isn’t good timing but the Tech defense is giving up 27ppg through the first two games. VT 30 – ECU 23
2. Tulsa at Oklahoma State – Tulsa can score points but also give them up. Not a prescription for success playing Okie St. in Stillwater.  OSU 40 – Tulsa 30
3. Kansas at Southern Miss – A pivotal game for both teams. KU looked terrible in their opener but much better vs a possibly overrated Georgia Tech. Hattiesburg will be rocking for a national TV audience on Friday night. Southern Miss 24 – KU 17
4. Houston at UCLA – UCLA has struggled mightily on offense and they have yet to face an offense as high powered as the Cougars.  Houston 38  -  UCLA 17
5. Washington State at SMU – Washington St beat Montana St by one point at home and opponents are averaging almost 6 yards per play. At home Kyle Padron and company should have a good day. SMU 31 – Washington State 21
6. Northwestern at Rice  – Northwestern plays their typically tough defense and QB Dan Persa has completed 86% of his passes through two games. Rice will have to improve on a 2.4 yards per rush average but should be able to keep it close at home. Northwestern 26 – Rice 19
7. Marshall at Bowling Green – How will Marshall bounce back from the brutal loss to West Virginia? Both teams need a win to avoid an 0-3 start. Home opener for Bowling Green after road losses at Troy and Tulsa. Bowling Green 28 – Marshall 21
8. UCF at Buffalo – Frosh QB Jeff Godfrey could get the starting nod after an impressive performance in the loss to NC St. Buffalo isn’t the toughest road  UCF 24  – Buffalo 16
9. Middle Tennessee at Memphis – Memphis opponents have averaged almost five yards per rush. MTSU has averaged six yards per rush. MTSU 28 – Memphis 17
10. Troy at UAB – Troy scared Oklahoma St to death last week in Stillwater. UAB needs a win badly this week before hitting the road at Tennessee and UCF in the next two weeks. Freshman QB Corey Robinson is doing a nice job or Troy. UAB will need a big game from QB David Isabelle. Troy 24 – UAB 17.
11. New Mexico State at UTEP – NMSU has lost eight straight games going back to last season. Look for UTEP to bounce back big from their loss to Houston. UTEP 38 – NMSU 10

Week 3 CUSA Players of the week:

Houston junior RB  Bryce Beall was named CUSA offensive player of the week . Beall rushed for his career-best 195 yards on 19 carries for a 10.3 yard average. He scored three touchdowns, tying a career best. Beall scored on runs of 43, 35 and 31 yards in helping Houston to a 54-24 win over UTEP in the conference opener.

Marshall senior DE Vinny Curry earned Defensive Player of the Week honors after a big performance in the Herd’s game vs. No. 22 West Virginia. Curry had 11 tackles, three for loss, two sacks and two forced fumbles in Marshall’s near upset of No. 22 West Virginia on Friday night. Curry led a Marshall defensive effort that did not allow a West Virginia touchdown until the fourth quarter.

Special Teams player of the week was Tulsa junior K Kevin Fitzpatrick, who had four field goals in Tulsa’s 33-20 victory over Bowling Green.

Written by John Huber @Fort80 on Twitter