Conference USA Week 5 Preview: League play heats up

Houston is ranked 12 th in the AP Poll this week

Last week, much was made about how Houston would handle the spotlight it thrust itself into after hanging a 45-35 loss on then No. 5 Oklahoma State in Stillwater.

The 17 th-ranked Cougars capitalized on their first chance under the national microscope by delivering a thrilling 29-28 comeback win over in-state foe Texas Tech before a record crowd of 32,114 at Robertson Stadium.

With the victory over Mike Leach’s Red Raiders, UH rose to 12 th in the Associated Press Poll and 15 th in the Coaches’ Poll. The Cougars have now joined Boise State and TCU among the teams with legitimate chances of busting into the BCS.

Houston will now head to the Sun Bowl for a date with UTEP. This match-up is one of five league games this weekend. Tulane and SMU are the only teams playing non-league games, as they travel to Army and TCU, respectively.

Southern Miss @ UAB—Thursday, 8:00 ET— CBS College Sports

After having its eight-game win streak snapped last weekend when it dropped a 35-28 decision at No. 20 Kansas, Southern Miss will look to bounce back with a Thursday night win over the Blazers in Birmingham.

Since racking up a win over Rice in the season opener, UAB has dropped three straight. The Blazers have been underwhelming on offense while getting overwhelmed on defense.

UAB’s porous defense, which is allowing over 35 points and 480 yards per contest, will be unable to slow down a USM attack that is averaging nearly 36 points and 440 yards.

The Golden Eagles’ sophomore quarterback Austin Davis should throw for at least 250 against a Blazer pass defense that is next to last nationally.

The best chance the Blazers will have is if USM playmakers Damien Fletcher, Tory Harrison and DeAndre Brown are sidelined with injuries. Fletcher is only 18 yards away from placing himself among the NCAA’s Top 30 FBS rushers of all-time.

Offensively, UAB will need a Rice like effort. The Blazers put up 44 in that game and Joe Webb ran for 194 yards. Such a ground effort is unlikely against the nation’s sixth best rushing defense; therefore, Webb will need to throw the ball much more efficiently than he has the past three weeks. He has completed just 40 of his last 80 attempts while throwing two more picks than touchdowns (five to three)

The Golden Eagles handed UAB a humbling 70-14 defeat last year in Hattiesburg to improve to 9-0 all-time against the Blazers. The first seven were decided by nine points or less, but the past two have been blowouts. This season’s match-up should follow that trend.

The atmosphere—or lack thereof—at Legion Field forces teams to create their own energy. The Golden Eagles will generate plenty and take this one by three touchdowns or so.

East Carolina @ Marshall—Saturday, NOON— CBS College Sports

Tulane @ Army—Saturday, NOON-CBS College Sports (Tape Delayed)

The Green Wave got swamped in their first two home games against Tulsa and BYU.

After garnering a much-needed 42-32 win over FCS power McNeese State last week, Tulane will travel away from the Big Easy for the first time this season.

The first road test will take Bob Toledo’s club to the banks of the Hudson River where they will face Army.

The Black Knights are 2-2 with wins over MAC foes Eastern Michigan and Ball State. The losses came against Duke and Iowa State.

First-year Army head coach Rich Ellerson has brought the triple option attack back to our nation’s military academy. It is producing 240 yards per game and could be headed for a good day against a Green Wave defense that allowed 242 yards on the ground versus McNeese State.

Neither team has thrown the football much, but Tulane has done so much more effectively when they have put it in the air. Wide receiver Jeremy Williams caught ten balls for 222 yards against McNeese last week, but he was the only Green Wave receiver to log a reception in the contest. Meanwhile, Army has completed just 40 percent of its attempts for 78 yards per game.

Army has defended the run very well and is allowing just 108.5 yards per game on the ground (3.3 ypc). It will seek to slow down Tulane tailback Andre Anderson, who rushed for 199 yards last week. If it can force Green Wave QB to go to the air, a defense that has produced six interceptions may be able to have success versus an aerial attack that’s too reliant on Williams.

The Black Knights blasted Tulane last year in New Orleans. This year’s contest will be closer, but Army’s ball-control rushing attack may be too much against a Green Wave defense that has struggled to get it done stopping the run.

Memphis @ UCF—Saturday, 3:30 ET—None

This game features teams that are already treading serious water in the Conference USA race.

Memphis is 1-3 with its lone win coming over FCS foe UT-Martin. The Tigers lost its league opener last week to CUSA East rival Marshall and must win in Orlando to give itself a legitimate shot at staying alive. Tommy West’s club still has games with East Carolina, Southern Miss, Houston and Tulsa.

Meanwhile, UCF is 2-2. However, the Golden Knights losses have been against the projected top two teams in the East division—Southern Miss and East Carolina. Both of those losses were by a touchdown or less on the road, but they were losses nonetheless and that really makes this week a must win if they’re going to give themselves a remote chance of contending.

Both teams have struggled to score.

Memphis is averaging just 21 points and 328 yards. Tyler Bass, who replaced Arkelon Hall at quarterback after the Middle Tennessee State, leads the team with 161 rushing yards. Bass has thrown for over 550.

Tiger running back Curtis Steele will be back against UCF, but could find the going tough against a Knights’ defense that is good against the run.

The Knights’ offense struggled to protect the football last week against East Carolina. They committed five turnovers and failed to convert on red zone opportunities.

UCF may play both Brett Hodges and Rob Calabrese. They have solid targets in Rocky Ross and Kamar Aiken.

However, the difference may be Brynn Harvey running the football against a Tigers’ defense that allows nearly 180 yards per game on the ground.

Memphis’ defense has struggled to stop opponents in the red zone. It has allowed the opposition 11 touchdowns in 16 trips inside its 20-yard line.

This match-up of teams really needing a win will likely be decided in the fourth quarter. The team that values the football and converts in the red zone will likely be the victor.

Take UCF to win. The Knights are very tough at Bright House Networks Stadium.

Tulsa @ Rice—Saturday, 7:30 ET— CBS College Sports

Todd Graham’s Tulsa squad was nearly upset two seasons ago when he returned to Houston to face the Rice program he led to a bowl game in his lone season at the helm.

However, don’t expect such a thriller this time around.

The Owls, who lost essentially all of their offensive production from their potent unit of a year ago, needed their defense to be improved to help an offense that would be a work in progress.

Well, that hasn’t happened as the unit is allowing 44 points and nearly 480 yards per game to earn the recognition as the nation’s worst defense.

Thus, the Owls sit at 0-4 and their closest loss is 17 points.

Tulsa is seeking another decisive victory prior to entering the more challenging part of its schedule. The Golden Hurricane, which suffered a 45-0 setback at Oklahoma in its only challenging game to date, is averaging 421 yards per game. Over 270 of those yards come from the ground game, which is led by quarterback G.J. Kinne. TU still makes plenty of plays in the passing game, though. Damaris Johnson, Trae Johnson and Slick Shelley are all averaging over 16 yards per catch.

With quarterback Nick Fanuzzi and two offensive linemen potentially sidelined for this CUSA West battle, don’t be surprised to see Tulsa post something like a 45-17 victory.

SMU @ TCU—Saturday, 8:00 ET—The Mtn

Second-year coach June Jones has the Mustangs sitting at 2-1 prior to this week’s battle for The Iron Skillet against No. 11 TCU in Fort Worth.

However, it will be interesting to see how SMU responds after missing out on a golden opportunity to produce the program’s first 3-0 start since 1985 the last time out at Washington State. The Cougars capitalized on Bo Levi Mitchell’s failure to protect the football and used two interception returns for scores to overcome a 24-7 deficit and slide past SMU, 30-27, in overtime.

While the performance was overshadowed by the untimely picks, Mitchell managed to complete 40 passes for 424 yards in Pullman. Emmanuel Sanders was on the receiving end of 18 of those. He compiled 178 yards and was rewarded with CUSA Offensive Player of the Week honors. Sanders is only 14 receptions shy of becoming SMU’s all-time leader.

The Horned Frogs have started 3-0 with a pair of road wins over ACC foes Virginia and Clemson.

Quarterback Andy Dalton earned Co-Mountain West Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors with 312 yards of offense—including 86 rushing yards on 19 carries—in the rain at Clemson.

With BCS aspirations and it being a rivalry game, TCU will continue its series domination over its former Southwest Conference foe. The Horned Frogs have won eight of the last nine to take a 42-39-7 advantage in the all-time series.

June Jones’ program has made significant strides, but it’s not ready enough to tackle a tough road test like TCU. The Horned Frogs will win this one by at least a couple touchdowns.

Houston @ UTEP—Saturday, 9 pm ET—None

The Cougars’ stock continued to climb last weekend as it posted a thrilling 29-28 come from behind win over a second straight Big 12 foe.

Now, 12 th-ranked Houston will head to the Sun Bowl where it will face struggling UTEP in its conference opener. With the program receiving more exposure since atleast the high-scoring era behind quarterbacks such as David Klingler and Andre’ Ware, Kevin Sumlin’s club must continue to take it one game at a time as they hope to keep themselves in the hunt for a BCS bowl.

The Miners’ downward spiral under sixth-year head coach Mike Price has continued this season. Following three straight losing seasons, the UTEP program was expected to return to its winning ways of Price’s first two years in El Paso.

However, the Miners sit at 1-3 after getting mauled 64-7 by No. 2 Texas last weekend. They were outgained 639-53 in Austin and failed to score an offensive touchdown for the first time in six seasons. The Horns rushed and passed for more than 300 yards.

While the defense has been lit up for 33 points and 450 yards per game, the most puzzling thing about this UTEP club is its underachieving offense that is mustering just 17.2 points and 242.8 yards per contest.

Miners’ junior quarterback Trevor Vittatoe was 7-of-21 for 38 yards and four interceptions against Texas. He is just over 50 percent on the year and has thrown just a single touchdown pass.

Meanwhile, the Cougars’ Case Keenum has picked up where he left off last season. Keenum, who can also challenge defenses with his running ability, is completing nearly 70 percent of his attempts. He was 38-of-58 for 435 yards against Texas Tech and has thrown for 1,160 yards on the year. He has eight touchdowns compared to just two picks.

To say the Houston offense has been high-powered under Sumlin would be an understatement. The Cougars have passed for over 400 yards in each of the 16 games under their second-year coach and are averaging 43 points and 543 yards through three games.

Expect Case Keenum to scorch this defense the way Colt McCoy did a week ago. He will spread the ball around to Charles Sims, Tyron Carrier, Patrick Edwards and company. Meanwhile, Bryce Beall, who had 75 yards against Texas Tech, should surpass the 100-yard plateau on the ground.