Conference USA Week 4 Preview: Houston Takes Center Stage

With all due respect to the other 11 teams in the league, Conference USA's week four slate is dominated by the Houston Cougars. Executives and administrators in league offices, plus players and coaches throughout the non-BCS conference, will be hoping with all their might that the Coogs, as they're affectionately known, can take down Texas Tech in what is--don't laugh, it's true--the MOST IMPORTANT GAME of the weekend in all of college football. If Kevin Sumlin's crew scores even one more point than the Red Raiders after 60 minutes or any number of overtime periods, C-USA will have a chance to get a team into the Bowl Championship Series for the first time ever.

No pressure, Houston, no pressure.

On to week four...

Texas Tech @ Houston - Saturday, 9:15 ET, ESPN2

If ESPN's College Gameday wanted to attend the best game of the week (it sure isn't Iowa vs. Penn State), the gang of four would have stayed in the state of Texas for another Texas Tech road game. Chris, Lee, Kirk, and Desmond should have moseyed on over from Austin to Houston for this ballyhooed battle between two high-flying air shows: Mike Leach's spread 'em-and-shred 'em attack versus Kevin Sumlin's similarly dynamic passing game, expertly executed by conquering Case Keenum. Expect points to pile up, and scoreboard circuits to exist on overload, as these football daredevils deliver thrills and chills in what is likely to be a long, drawn-out affair with very few running plays.

There are three elements of this contest that immediately jump off the page as things to follow on Saturday night at Robertson Stadium. First up is the coaching matchup. Sumlin, like Leach, has worked for Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops as an offensive coordinator. The two men coached against each other in recent seasons with Leach on the Texas Tech sideline. The duel between these two men--and the ways in which they try to outdo each other on the offensive side of the ball--will be fascinating to watch. Keenum, the UH standout, and Texas Tech quarterback Taylor Potts--the newest trigger man to ably run Leach's "Air Raid" attack--should stage an on-field showdown worth the price of admission, but it's really the way in which their coaches guide them that will tell the tale.

The other two keys to this all-Texas tilt lie in the mindsets of the two teams. Texas Tech is coming off a physical and emotional 10-point loss at Texas, in which the Red Raiders competed with distinction, particularly on defense. Tech's defensive coordinator, Ruffin McNeill, saw his charges limit Colt McCoy's Longhorn offense to a solitary field goal in the first half of last week's encounter in Austin. Despite having the short straw in terms of talent, the Red Raiders came up with multiple turnovers against the Horns, keeping their team in the fight until the latter stages of the fourth quarter. Texas Tech's effort against the No. 2 team in America was good enough to beat anyone outside the top 15, and very likely a few overrated teams still inhabiting the upper reaches of the national rankings. If Tech can repeat that performance against a smaller Houston club, the dream will die for C-USA and its BCS aspirations.

With that said, it's not going to be easy for Tech to be at its best. The Texas rivalry occupies a large space in the hearts and souls of the Texas Tech players. Not recruited by Texas (or Oklahoma), the lads from Lubbock have a chip on their shoulder when they stare down the Longhorns. Last week's game drained the team in every respect, and one of the foremost challenges in college football is the weekly grind of the sport; one week's super showdown, if followed by another equally taxing tussle, can lead to two-game losing streaks quite quickly. Texas Tech needs to mentally regroup, so that its physicality--particularly on its beefy, brawny offensive line--can manifest itself on Saturday and wear down the Cougars. If Tech is still dragging after the Texas loss, Houston will have its opening.

Speaking of Houston, coach Sumlin's students--undersized in the trenches compared to Tech--just might be able to make up the difference with their freshness and focus. Indeed, while Tech is playing the second game of a nasty back-to-back gauntlet, Houston is coming off a bye week after its attention-grabbing win at Oklahoma State on Sept. 12 in Stillwater, Okla. If the Coogs had to play this game right after the OSU stunner, it would have been very hard for UH to maintain a high level of performance. But with the bye week, UH has had time to focus on this game and not allow the euphoria of the OSU win to create an emotional hangover. In addition to the team's emotional recovery, UH has also had the chance to heal any bumps and bruises that might have accumulated during the Oklahoma State contest. Assuming Houston uses the bye week well--and it's hard to see the break as anything but an advantage for Sumlin's squad--the Coogs should be able to tackle Texas Tech on relatively even terms.

Texas Tech is a program that's had a lot of experience playing in games of appreciable national stature. For Houston, the spotlight will be brand new on Saturday. Tech is, on the merits, more hefty and hearty in the trenches, a fact that has to worry UH's coaching staff. In looking at these teams from an NFL combine point of view, Tech owns better matchups in an aggregate sense. However, the Cougars can respond by bringing to the dance a combination of the rest, refreshment, resolve and resilience that defined the 45-35 thumping of another Big 12 South team (and on the road, no less!). If Houston can compete with the same intestinal fortitude it showed in Stillwater, expect this game to go down to the wire. With a handful of extra plays in crunch time, the Cougars can claim the biggest scalp in the football history of Conference USA.

OTHER WEEK 4 C-USA GAMES

Southern Miss @ Kansas - Saturday, Noon ET, TV TBA

If Texas Tech-Houston wasn't hogging the headlines, this would have been a pretty big C-USA spotlight in its own right. It is plainly a very attractive and important matchup for Larry Fedora's Golden Eagles, who might have been looking past Virginia in anticipation of this joust with the Jayhawks. Kansas hasn't looked smooth in its first few games, so if USM can establish running backs Damion Fletcher and Tory Harrison, the visitors from Hattiesburg can march into Lawrence, keep KU quarterback Todd Reesing off the field, and snag a huge win for C-USA.

UTEP @ Texas - Saturday, 3:30 ET, TV TBA

If Kansas walloped UTEP in El Paso, imagine what Texas might do to the Miners in Austin. And oh, here's this: Colt McCoy, the decorated Longhorn signal caller, has just conquered the flu by eating his peanut butter and jelly sandwiches. Look out, Mike Price. Be very afraid. UTEP quarterback Trevor Vittatoe will need to complete at least 70 percent of his passes, with no more than one interception, just to keep the Miners in the conversation throughout this contest.

UCF @ East Carolina - Saturday, 3:30 ET, no TV

The Golden Knights are finding ways to win games against equally-talented opponents. The Pirates are losing games to more talented teams on the road. This all leads one to wonder: Which team is playing closer to its capabilities? The short answer is UCF; the more complex answer is that while UCF is maximizing its talent to a slightly greater degree, ECU is playing a tougher schedule, and owns more overall talent than UCF does. If the Pirates play to their capabilities, they're a better team than George O'Leary's lads. Having home field (what a concept!) might do wonders for ECU's outlook as well. Let's see if the Golden Knights, overflowing with confidence at the moment, can stride into Greenville, N.C., and knock the Pirates off course.

McNeese State @ Tulane - Saturday, 3:30 ET, no TV

Tulane encounters a game it should win. That sentence won't be written many more times in 2009, so the Green Wave, under coach Bob Toledo, desperately need to notch a "W" against an FCS opponent.

Sam Houston State @ Tulsa - Saturday, 7 ET, no TV

When Tulsa put together its 2009 schedule, there's a reason why Sam Houston State, of the FCS, followed Oklahoma: The Golden Hurricane were likely to be beaten up, bruised, and damaged... and that's just in reference to their competitive egos (egos, of course, being used in the healthy and holistic sense of the term). Following a slaughter experienced at the hands of the rapidly-improving Sooners, Tulsa should get healthy--physically and emotionally--on home turf this weekend.

UAB @ Texas A&M - Saturday, 7 ET, no TV

The Blazers gave away a game a few weeks ago to SMU. Now, Neil Callaway's club will try to steal back a game against an A&M outfit that struggled to get past Utah State a week ago on home turf. It won't be easy to go into Kyle Field and defeat the 12th Man, but if the Blazers' pass defense can regroup and learn a few things after getting shredded by Troy the week before, A&M could be somewhat vulnerable in week four. There's nothing like a name-brand opponent to increase the intensity on the practice field, so as UAB prepares for gameday in College Station, the Blazers--with an increased appetite for combat--could make the Aggies sweat well into the second half.

Marshall @ Memphis - Saturday, 8 ET, no TV

Marshall's coming off a huge win over Bowling Green, and is showing the tenacity it needs if it wants to make a bowl game. Memphis polished off an FCS foe, Tennessee-Martin, to finally crack the win column in week three, but the Tigers now need to elevate their game against the Thundering Herd. Memphis has experienced a considerable amount of flux at the quarterback position, so Marshall will look to win this game on the defensive side of the ball. The Tigers will need a step-up performance from their offensive line, so that whoever propels the pigskin will be able to enjoy considerable protection in the pocket.

Vanderbilt @ Rice - Saturday, 8 ET, no TV

At the beginning of the season, this game looked like a mismatch in favor of the Commodores from the SEC. Now, it looks very competitive. Vandy has sputtered and stuttered in the early portion of its 2009 season, wiping away the happy memories of its rare winning season in 2008. The Commodores posted just a lonely field goal in a disillusioning 15-3 loss to Mississippi State the week before, and that field goal was the result of a turnover that gave Vandy a drive start at the MSU 6! Rice, on the other hand, acquitted itself quite well in week three at Oklahoma State. A two-man quarterback platoon between Nick Fanuzzi and John Thomas Shepherd produced 301 passing yards and kept the Cowboys on their toes well into the fourth quarter. If these teams both play the way they did last weekend, Rice should win. That's not what a lot of pigskin pundits were prepared to say before the 2009 season began.