Conference USA Week 8 Preview: Race heats up as midway point nears

League play takes center stage

Wednesday, October 21, 2009

After this week’s games are completed, eight of the league’s 12 teams will have played half of their CUSA schedule.

As that mid-point in the season approaches, the divisional races continue to heat up.

2008 champ East Carolina holds a half game lead over Southern Miss and UAB in the East. Marshall is also 2-1 in league play, but the Pirates defeated the Herd, 21-17, and hold the tiebreaker.

Out west, Tulsa and SMU share the lead with 2-0 marks. No. 17 Houston and UTEP are 1-1 with the Miners having the edge in the standings by virtue of their 58-41 win over the Cougars.

East Carolina and Memphis have the weekend off as they prepare for their Tuesday night showdown on ESPN2 on October 27.

Tulsa @ UTEP—Wednesday (Oct. 21), 8 p.m. (EST), ESPN

After taking No. 5 Boise State to the wire in Tulsa before falling 28-21 last week, Todd Graham must prepare his team for another mid-week national television contest.

The Golden Hurricane will now make the excursion to El Paso where it’ll meet Mike Price and UTEP in a critical CUSA West match-up.

Against Boise, Tulsa had a tough time getting off the field as it allowed nearly 200 yards rushing to the Broncos. However, the Golden Hurricane bent, but didn’t break, and had a chance to force overtime on the game’s final possession.

Texas transfer G.J. Kinne took care of the football and gave his team a chance to win. He has passed for nearly 1,300 yards and 12 touchdowns. The dual threat quarterback, which has rushed for nearly 200 yards, has thrown just two interceptions.

Kinne was often found scrambling from Bronco defenders, though, as he was sacked four times. The Golden Hurricane has now surrendered 23 sacks through six games.

If Kinne has time, he should team up with playmakers Damaris Johnson, Slick Shelley and Trae Johnson to torch UTEP’s struggling pass defense.

Meanwhile, UTEP will attempt to get back into the win column after a 35-20 loss at Memphis the last time out.

If the Miners are going to pull out consecutive CUSA West wins at home, it will need a big day through the air by Vittatoe. The junior signal-caller completed just over 50 percent of his 40 attempts against the Tigers, but threw for 319 yards and two scores in the loss. However, he was also intercepted twice.

However, another big ground game by Donald Buckram would be very beneficial for Mike Price’s club, as it would keep a defense that has been continually dominated off the field.

Rice’s defense, which hasn’t held anyone else under 36 points, limited Tulsa to 27 so maybe the Miners can slow a solid, but less potent Golden Hurricane attack down enough to collect what would be a very big divisional win.

A UTEP win and a Houston win over SMU would create a situation where there would be four teams with 2-1 records in the West Division.

The Miners will be tough to shake at the Sun Bowl; however, Tulsa is the more consistent club and will take control of this game in the fourth quarter.

Tulsa 34 UTEP 24

UAB @ Marshall—Saturday, Noon, CSS

Neil Callaway’s Blazers bring just a 2-4 mark into their CUSA East match-up with the Herd on Saturday in Huntington.

However, those two victories have come in league play. Thus, UAB, whose lone CUSA loss was a 35-33 loss to SMU, is a half game behind East Carolina and looking to keep pace with the Pirates by beating Marshall.

Blazer quarterback Joe Webb is the best running quarterback in the conference and Marshall will certainly have to keep the damage he does with his legs to a minimum. Webb had 121 yards on 17 carries in UAB’s 48-13 loss at Ole Miss last week.

Despite the defeat, the Blazers managed to surpass the 200-yard mark on the ground for the fifth time in six games.

Marshall, which sits at 4-3 overall in a critical season for Coach Mark Snyder, is coming off a 24-7 loss in the “Coal Bowl” to WVU in Morgantown.

The Herd had a chance to knock off its rival, trailing just 10-7 after three quarters, but was unable to make the necessary plays in the game’s final 15 minutes.

Darius Marshall, who has rushed for over 800 yards on the year, was held to a season-low of 82 by the Mountaineers.

If quarterback Brian Anderson and company protect the football, the combination of Marshall and Cody Slate will likely be too tough for UAB to handle. The Herd is hard to beat at Joan C. Edwards Stadium.

Marshall 27 UAB 20

UCF @ Rice—Saturday, 3:30 (EST), no TV

Following a frustrating 27-7 home loss to in-state rival and No. 9 Miami, George O’Leary must get his Golden Knights mentally ready to play a game that could be tempting to take lightly.

Next up for UCF is a date with winless Rice.

The Owls, who allow more points than anyone in the nation, are coming off a 49-13 loss at previously potent-less East Carolina. They were within two touchdowns through three quarters and were driving to pull within a touchdown when an interception opened the floodgates for the Pirates.

Quarterback Nick Fanuzzi was 25-of-43 for 231 yards and connected with Toren Dixon on an 80-yard touchdown strike against East Division-leading ECU. Dixon, who had eight catches for 115 yards in the game, has caught a pass in 33 straight games.

They may make some plays, but it won’t be enough as the porous Owls defense won’t be able to get enough stops against a much improved Golden Knights’ aerial attack. UCF has 16 pass plays of more than 20 yards after finishing with just 12 last year.

If the Owls can prolong the Knights’ red zone woes, it may be able to make this a competitive contest. However, bet on a strong UCF defense that sacked Miami’s Jacory Harris six times to place heat on Fanuzzi and limit the Owls’ production.

UCF 31 Rice 20

Tulane @ Southern Miss—Saturday, 7:00 p.m. (EST), CSS

The Golden Eagles snapped a three-game losing streak last week with a 36-16 home win against Memphis.

While they won the game by three touchdowns, the Tigers did put up 425 yards of offense. However, it was a first half goal line stand by the Golden Eagles that really got the ball rolling downhill for Larry Fedora’s club.

USM quarterback Martevious Young completed just 10-of-21 attempts, threw an interception and fumbled twice.

Tulane hung tough with then No. 23 Houston, trailing just 9-6 at halftime before falling 44-16.

The Green Wave offense features a talented running back in Andre Anderson and playmaking wideout with Jeremy Williams; however, inconsistency at quarterback has been a cause for concern and this week Ryan Griffin may start rather than Joe Kemp.

Bob Toledo’s team can compete against the Golden Eagles in Hattiesburg. Southern Miss’ offense is still seeking to find it’s stride under Young.

USM will get the win because it’ll get Damien Fletcher and wideout DeAndre Brown involved better than Tulane will Williams and Anderson.

It’ll be competitive for awhile, but the Golden Eagles won’t get upset at “The Rock”.

Southern Miss 30 Tulane 17

SMU @ Houston—Saturday, 7:30 p.m. (EST), CBS College Sports

Since suffering a 58-41 setback at UTEP that knocked them out of the polls, the Cougars have bounced back with consecutive road victories at Mississippi State and Tulane to climb back up to 17 th in the latest polls.

After leading just 9-6 at the Superdome last weekend, Houston’s high-powered offense exploded for 35 second half points to produce an easy 44-16 victory.

The Cougars’ attack showed against the Green Wave that it can also run the ball, as UH managed 182 yards and four scores on the ground.

Super signal-caller Case Keenum threw for a season-low 334 yards. Keenum, who is a dual threat, has completed 70 percent of his passes for nearly 2,500 yards. He has thrown 19 touchdowns and has been picked off just four times.

The Mustangs have made significant strides under second-year coach June Jones. SMU is 3-3, but could very easily be 5-1. It has lost two overtime games by a field goal after relinquishing two touchdown or more leads.

Sophomore signal-caller Bo Levi Mitchell has thrown for nearly 1,700 yards and 12 touchdowns, but is completing only 56 percent of his passes and has been intercepted ten times.

The running game has struggled to produce for much of the season, but it showed significant improvement last week when Shaunbrey McNeil rushed for 131 yards on just 15 carries against a Navy defense that had defended well versus the run.

SMU’s progress is evident, but it’s not ready to win a road game like Houston. Both teams possess high-scoring offenses, but the Cougars are much more consistent and run the football better. Mitchell will make some plays to Sanders and Robinson against a Houston defense that surrenders a lot of yardage and points. However, Keenum and the Cougars’ scoring machine will undoubtedly surpass the 400 yard mark for the 20 th straight time—every game under second-year head coach Kevin Sumlin. UH rolls and gets back into the thick of the West Division race.

Houston 48 SMU 27