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C-USA Sports Fans
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Conference USA Week #2 Football Recap
Houston 45, Oklahoma State 35
Last year, East Carolina carried the flag for Conference USA with showcase September wins over Virginia Tech and West Virginia, stirring talk of a possible BCS bowl bid. Now, in 2009, it's the Houston Cougars who could make some noise in C-USA, after Kevin Sumlin's crew waltzed into Stillwater, Okla., and stunned the fifth-rated Cowboys of Oklahoma State.
This game naturally involved the offensive excellence of Houston's stud signal caller Case Keenum, who lit up the Oklahoma afternoon for 366 yards and three touchdowns on 32-of-46 passing. Houston's offense struggled in the third quarter, but flourished in the other three stanzas, on the way to a very productive performance that exposed OSU's defense as an overrated unit. Yet, for all of Keenum's top-quality tosses, Houston's defense was just as gritty and gallant in this upset of Mike Gundy's men. The Cougars plucked a fumble at midfield late in the game with the Cowboys driving for a go-ahead score. Minutes later, with OSU getting one more turn with the pigskin at the 3:14 mark of regulation time, UH cornerback Jamal Robinson pulled in a tipped pass from Cowboy quarterback Zac Robinson and took the pill to paydirt. The pick-six gave Houston a 10-point lead and sealed the sensational success story for Sumlin's squad. East Carolina couldn't maintain its place in the top 15 last season after the Pirates' two early conquests of brand-name programs. If Houston can remain relentless and knock back Texas Tech in a couple weeks, the Cougars will have the strength of schedule necessary to get them to a BCS bowl. Opportunity awaits for this big-league bunch; with focus and an attention on nothing but the next opponent, Houston might be able to say hello to a very big January bash.
West Virginia 35, East Carolina 20
The Pirates couldn't make it two in a row against West Virginia. The Mountaineers outclassed ECU, winning comfortably despite coughing up four turnovers. West Virginia's first two turnovers--both fumbled punts--set up the Pirates in great field position, leading to 10 ECU points. The Pirates, though, left the first half down 21-20 and kicking themselves that they didn't have a lead. One of ECU's drive starts came at the Mountaineer 6, but Patrick Pinkney and friends couldn't stick the ball into the end zone. On another drive, the Pirates also stalled at the 6, and ECU kicker Ben Hartman missed a 23-yard field goal.
When teams fail to capitalize in the red zone in the first half, the second half often turns out to be a beast. That's what happened in Morgantown, W. Va., as the Mountaineers powered past Skip Holtz's club. Quarterback Jarrett Brown led a WVU offense that accumulated 507 yards, more than double ECU's paltry total of 237. The Big East behemoth moved the ball with regularity against an increasingly weary ECU frontline, building up a 15-point lead despite two red-zone turnovers. The final score could have been a lot worse for East Carolina, but then again, at halftime, it should have been a lot better. Pinkney, a sixth-year senior, needs to finish drives in his final season under center.
SMU 35, UAB 33
In what is clearly the biggest win of the June Jones era, the Mustangs stunned the Blazers by two in Birmingham. A number of college football games were decided by missed extra points, and this was one of them. After a pick-six by Andre Hicks brought the homestanding Blazers to the precipice of a tied game late in the third quarter, the Mustangs managed to block the PAT and preserve a 28-27 lead. After SMU tallied a crucial fourth-quarter touchdown--a 19-yard run by Shawnbrey McNeal with 4:04 left--the Blazers needed a touchdown and a two-point try to tie. Neil Callaway's kids got the touchdown with 13 seconds left, but the two-point pass failed, and SMU--despite blowing most of a 28-7 bulge--walked out of Alabama with a massive victory, one of the best the program has been able to enjoy in a very long time. UAB, meanwhile, is left to wonder how it couldn't close down a bottom-feeding conference foe. The Blazers need to get back on their horse in a hurry, or else this season will spiral out of control in Birmingham.
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Southern Miss 26, UCF 19
Football games are won by points, not yards, much as baseball games are won by runs, not hits. This was a contest in which Southern Miss statistically dominated, but narrowly prevailed in the only category that mattered. USM outgained UCF by a 408-194 count, yet scored only 19 points on offense, the same as the Golden Knights. The Golden Eagles' defense held Central Florida to just 15 yards rushing, which had to please USM head coach Larry Fedora, but the authoritative display of defense didn't allow Southern Miss to blow the roof off of George O'Leary's lads in Hattiesburg. UCF competed well throughout, and remained within one possession for much of the second half. In the end, though, Southern Miss was able to hold on with its superior line play in a fiercely-contested fistfight.
Middle Tennessee State 31, Memphis 14
Improbably, the same Memphis team that played Ole Miss close for three quarters didn't show up at all against the Blue Raiders. Memphis, doubled up in total yardage and only 6-of-17 on third downs, got smacked around for three and a half quarters, falling behind 31-7 before adding a cheap window-dressing touchdown before the final gun. In one of C-USA's more disappointing results from week two, the Tigers simply pulled a porker on the road, dropping to 0-2 and seriously damaging their chances of returning to another bowl game.
Kansas 34, UTEP 7
This was a mismatch from the word go. Kansas outgained UTEP, 576-208. Third-down conversions? Kansas went 9-for-18, UTEP only 1-for-11. Rushing yards? Try 255 to 4 for the visiting Jayhawks, who strolled into the Sun Bowl stadium and took no prisoners. The Miners' 7-point output was the lowest in the Mike Price era. UTEP is a team in trouble, after failing to win one of two marquee home games against name opponents. Trevor Vittatoe has a considerable amount of talent, but that ability has been bottled up in the season's first two contests. Kansas simply manhandled the Miners on the way to a 34-0 lead; if Price's pupils don't turn the tables on other teams in the coming weeks, it's going to be a long Autumn in the West Texas town.
Virginia Tech 52, Marshall 10
You know that hangover the Marshall Thundering Herd was counting on from a depressed Virginia Tech club smarting from its loss to Alabama? Well, it never materialized. The Hokies were focused and on-task, and that's pretty much the story of this one-sided affair in Blacksburg. Tech piled up over 600 yards of offense, 444 on the ground. Frank Beamer's boys compiled a 42-7 lead less than five minutes after halftime, and the runaway was on. Marshall needs to use this game to steel itself for the C-USA season ahead. If the Herd can improve, this rout will be looked on favorably.
BYU 54, Tulane 3
You know that "happy hangover" Tulane was counting on from a joyful BYU group still celebrating its win over Oklahoma the week before? It did happen through the first one and a half quarters on Saturday afternoon at the Louisiana Superdome, but once the Cougars shrugged off their complacency, they put a beatdown on Bob Toledo's bunch. Up by only a 6-3 score with four minutes left before halftime, the No. 9 team in the nation finally found its true self. Scoring two touchdowns in three minutes, Brigham Young was able to take a 20-3 lead to the locker room. With its defense smothering Tulane's undermanned and overwhelmed offense, the visitors from Provo were able to wear down the home folks in the second half, powering the ball to touchdown after touchdown. In a span of less than 14 minutes of game time, BYU tallied five touchdowns to make its rout complete.
Texas Tech 55, Rice 10
Rice served as Texas Tech coach Mike Leach's convenient opposition in what seemed like a glorified scrimmage for the Red Raiders. Taylor Potts, the newest quarterback in Leach's pass-happy offense, threw seven touchdown passes without an interception, as Tech clipped the Owls' wings with ease. Flinging the football around the ballpark with easy, breezy confidence, Potts shredded Rice's woebegone secondary, giving coach David Bailiff a lot of film study material for the rest of the season.
Tulsa 44, New Mexico 10
Yes, Conference USA actually came out on top in a lopsided game, as the Golden Hurricane strolled into Albuquerque and conquered their Mountain West opponent. Tulsa quarterback G.J. Kinne picked up where he left off against Tulane. Kinne sliced and diced "Los Lobos" for 310 yards passing with four touchdowns and no interceptions. New Mexico's only touchdown of the night came on a 92-yard fumble return, which meant that Tulsa kept the Lobos' offense out of the end zone throughout the proceedings. Indeed, the visitors spanked UNM's offense, dominating up front and allowing just 171 yards of total offense, and only 55 of them on the ground.
Article by Matt Zemek
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