Conference USA Week One (9/2/06) Preview: “Lets Get It On!”

The summer months are a time of excitement and agony for college football fans. The reason for the excitement is obvious; another season and all it holds is on the horizon. Fans throughout the country anxiously await the debut of their team and remain hopeful for what the new season will bring. You envision the game day atmosphere and all that it entails—the tailgate parties, the marching bands, the crowd involvement and the “edge of your seat” thrill of the game itself.

So where is the agony in all of this? The closer you get to opening day, the slower the time seems to pass. The anticipation is so great for many college football crazed fans that they do whatever they can to appease their “football hunger” until opening day. They’re starving for anything remotely related to college football and/or their team. They’ll buy and study their preview magazines like they’re preparing for the toughest examination imaginable. They’ll have discussions with other fans about the prospects for the coming season. They’ll make travel arrangements for the entire season. They’ll do just about anything to pass the time until it arrives.

I am currently suffering through such a state, hence my writing of this preview about three weeks in advance. Hopefully this will help to satisfy the “football” hunger of some of those college football fanatics, like myself, who are dying to get their hands on anything related to the upcoming season.

UTEP @ San Diego State

(Thurs. Aug. 31st)

UTEP Miners 2006 football preview

The Miners travel to San Diego to open the season against the Aztecs and their first year head coach Chuck Long. Prior to taking over the SDSU program, Long was the offensive coordinator at Oklahoma where he had developed a reputation for guiding offenses that featured explosive passing attacks. However, don’t expect that to be the case with the Aztecs this season. They will most likely try to be a ball-control offense that minimizes mistakes, particularly if excellent junior running back Lynell Hamilton can bounce back after playing sparingly the past two seasons due to injuries. There are big question marks along the offensive line and in the receiving corps. This Aztec offense will be squaring off against a Miner defense that returns ten starters from ’05.

Offensively, UTEP has lit it up under head coach Mike Price and expect them to do so again this year as they return senior quarterback Jordan Palmer, running back Marcus Thomas and one of the biggest lines in years. The high octane passing attack will face an experienced, talented San Diego State secondary. Palmer did struggle with throwing interceptions last year, but he should take better care of the football this time around.

This should be a good one, but expect UTEP to win it on the road, as the Aztecs will be transitioning to Chuck Long’s systems. They have the ball rollin’ in El Paso and I foresee “the Price being right” in the opener.

Stephen F. Austin @ Tulsa

(Thurs. Aug. 31st)

Tulsa Golden Hurricane 2006 football preview

Tulsa won the Conference USA title a year ago, their first conference championship in 21 years. They went on to defeat a solid Fresno State team in the Liberty Bowl. Golden Hurricane head coach Steve Kragthorpe recently received a contract extension and pay raise following his posting a 21-17 record, which included two bowl trips, in his first three seasons. This year’s Tulsa team should be strong once again as they return seven starters on offense and nine on defense.

The Golden Hurricane will welcome Stephen F. Austin, a solid I-AA program, to Skelly Stadium to open the ’06 campaign. The Lumberjacks were 5-6 in ’05, but have historically been a solid team in I-AA. They are receiving 12 points in this year’s I-AA preseason Top 25 poll. Tulsa should win, but don’t be surprised if Stephen F. Austin puts up a fight for a while.

East Carolina @ Navy

ECU Pirates 2006 football preview

Check out our in-depth East Carolina vs. Navy preview!

Offense! Don’t be surprised if there is plenty of it in this one. Navy led the nation in rushing last season as they averaged 318.7 yards per game. Needless to say, stopping the run wasn’t the strong suit of the East Carolina defense as it allowed 217.6 yards per game on the ground. The Pirates will undoubtedly be better against the run this season, but how much remains to be seen. One thing is for certain; it will get a stiff first test.

East Carolina’s offense should be potent as well. The Pirates return senior signal-caller James Pinkney and a wealth of talent at running back and receiver. The key will be the development of the offensive line. If they can provide Pinkney and company with sufficient time to operate, count on the ECU offense putting plenty of points on the board versus a Navy defensive unit that struggled in ’05.

This could be a 42-35 game where the team who has the ball last wins it. Bank on it being a closely contested football game that is decided in the fourth quarter.

Preview note: CUSA-fans.com ECU correspondent Bubba Rosenbaum will preview this game in greater detail in the coming weeks. Keep checking back here at CUSA-fans.com for updates.

Marshall @ West Virginia

This is the battle for supremacy in “wild, wonderful, West Virginia”! In the past, for whatever reason, WVU hasn’t wanted to play Marshall. Marshall is salivating for the opportunity to knock off their in-state rivals. Well, this year they will get their chance and they certainly have their work cut out for them.
The Mountaineers enter the season with a ton of promise. Coming off Big East and Sugar Bowl Championships in 2005, they are primed to make a run at a national title. The Thundering Herd will have to find a way to slow down Pat White, Steve Slayton and the WVU offense in this one. Also, Marshall’s offense will have to regain some of the potency it demonstrated during the Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich eras. The Herd only averaged 18.6 points per game last season, but they return starting quarterback Bernie Morris, last year’s starter at running back Ahmad Bradshaw, and several other offensive starters from a year ago.

Marshall should be better in coach Mark Snyder’s second season at the helm, but it will probably be too tough a task for them to knock off WVU in Morgantown.

Southern Miss @ Florida

Southern Miss Golden Eagles 2006 football preview

Several years ago, Southern Miss adopted the slogan “Anyone, Anytime, Anywhere” to depict its approach to non-conference scheduling. The Golden Eagles waste no time in living up to that motto this year as they travel to “The Swamp” to face Urban Meyer’s Florida Gators on opening weekend.

Jeff Bower led USM to its eighth bowl game in the past nine seasons a year ago. Nine starters return on offense from a team that averaged 29.6 points per game in ’05. However, one of the positions that the Golden Eagles must fill is quarterback.

The Gators won nine games in year one of the Urban Meyer era, but expect them to be even better this season. Senior quarterback Chris Leak has a much better grasp on the UF offense and should have a big final season.

Southern Miss is a solid program and should produce another bowl team this year, but pulling off the big upset in Gainesville while breaking in a new quarterback is an awful lot to ask.

Memphis @ Ole Miss

Memphis Tigers 2006 football preview

Tommy West takes his Tigers to Oxford looking to avenge last year’s close call in the opener to Ole Miss in Memphis. The Rebels won a 10-6 ball game that saw both teams blow several scoring opportunities.

Ole Miss’ scoring output, or lack thereof, was a sign of things to come as the Rebels finished 3-8 under first year head coach Ed Orgeron. They were only able to muster 13.5 points per game. They are hoping for much greater success this season as former Tennessee starting quarterback Brent Schaeffer is expected to be the starter.

Defensively, Mississippi was pretty good last season, but is replacing all four defensive linemen.

Memphis will be playing game one of the post DeAngelo Williams era. They will also be breaking in a new signal-caller, but have some talented unproven depth at the position.

West has taken the Tigers to three consecutive bowl appearances and has the program on solid ground. Expect them to survive the loss of DeAngelo Williams just fine. These two teams have played some closely contested ball games in recent years. This year should be no different. I see a game that will be low scoring, but not 10-6 like last year either.

SMU @ Texas Tech

SMU Mustangs 2006 football preview

Phil Bennett led the Mustangs to a 5-6 season in ’05 and was just shy of guiding them to their first bowl game in 22 years. They will attempt to build on that success this season and face a stiff test right out of the gate.

SMU travels to Lubbock to face Mike Leach’s Red Raiders in this season’s opener. They will attempt to slowdown Texas Tech’s aerial attack that has been the best in college football the past four seasons. They have thrown for 19,830 yards in that time despite having a different starter at quarterback each season.

The revolving door at quarterback will continue this season as Graham Harrell takes over the reigns of Mike Leach’s finely tuned passing machine. Don’t expect them to miss a beat.

SMU struggled to defend the pass last season, allowing 250 yards per game, which ranked them 89 th nationally. If they haven’t shored things up some, it will be a very long day for the Mustangs.

UAB @ Oklahoma

UAB Blazers 2006 football preview

The Blazers will travel to Norman to open the 2006 season against Bob Stoops’ Sooners. Many prognosticators were projecting OU to win the national title this year, but they suffered a major bump in the road when they lost starting quarterback Rhett Bomar for receiving money that he wasn’t entitled to for work that he had supposedly done at an Oklahoma booster’s car dealership.

UAB is coming off a disappointing 5-6 season and the graduation of star quarterback Darrell Hackney. He is being replaced by senior Chris Williams, who only attempted three passes in 2005. Thus, the Blazers are going to be incorporating more of a ball control offense this season.

In addition to breaking in a new quarterback, UAB will be using a new defensive scheme against the Sooners.

Although Oklahoma lost Rhett Bomar, they still have plenty of offensive firepower. They return junior Heisman Trophy candidate Adrian Peterson, who ran for 1,104 yards last season despite missing a large part of four games with a severe ankle injury. Peterson’s combination of strength and speed makes him one of the best, if not the best running back in all of college football.

The Sooners might not click as well early on as they probably would have had they not lost Bomar, but this is a game that they should still definitely win at home.

Houston @ Rice

Todd Graham’s first game as Rice head coach will be a home conference game against cross-town rival Houston. The Owls will be implementing new schemes across the board, and it remains to be seen if the current personnel will fit what they’re trying to do. Offensively, Rice will be operating out of the spread. This will maximize the talents of Rice’s skill players, but will be a tougher adjustment for the linemen as they were brought in to run an option offense.

Houston finished 6-6 last year following a blowout loss to Kansas in the Fort Worth Bowl. They return senior quarterback Kevin Kolb and six other starters on offense. Art Briles’ Cougars were 19 th nationally in total offense last season as they averaged 438.8 yards per game. They also return nine starters on defense.

Rice’s defense ranked 116 th out of 119 teams in 2005. The Owls surrendered 454.6 yards per contest. They are incorporating a new 3-3-5 scheme this year in order to get the best athletes in the secondary on the field.

In order for Graham’s club to have a chance to win this one, the much-abused Rice defense from last season must be able to keep Kevin Kolb and an experienced Houston offense from going up and down the field at will. The Cougars should win over their cross-town rivals.

Villanova @ UCF

UCF Golden Knights 2006 football preview

Last season, George O’Leary led Central Florida to an 8-5 record and the best turnaround in college football. The Golden Knights are primed to make another run at the CUSA crown as they return 18 of 22 starters, including: senior quarterback Steven Moffett, sophomore running back Kevin Smith, and senior wideout Mike Walker. The dynamic trio lit up opponents last season. Moffett threw for 2,925 yards, 22 touchdowns and nine interceptions while Mike Walker hauled in 64 passes for 855 yards and nine touchdowns. Freshman sensation running back Kevin Smith ran for 1,178 yards a year ago while earning Conference USA Freshman of the Year honors.

UCF opens in Orlando against I-AA opponent Villanova. The Wildcats, who hail from the Atlantic 10, were 4-7 in ’05 and are projected to finish fifth in their division of the A-10 this season. They return 31 letterwinners and feature an offense that likes to throw the ball around. Offensively, quarterback Martin Burroughs gives Nova a very good double threat as he can hurt opponents with both his feet and his arm. Defensively, they are trying to replace the loss of two first team A-10 selections.

UCF should be better than last season and the opener against Villanova shouldn’t be much of a test if the Golden Knights play up to their potential.

Folks, the season is upon us! Finalize your travel plans, finish organizing your tailgate parties, and do whatever you need to do to get ready for the upcoming season because college football is going to get cranked up into high gear in just less than three weeks. Get your mind right and buckle up; it is going to be a wild ride!