Conference USA Football Week Four (9/23/06) Preview

This week is a huge weekend for Conference USA as it has teams playing in five nationally televised games. Hopefully they can capitalize on this opportunity to generate positive exposure for the league. The game times and network they’re being shown on are noted below. All times are EST.

#4 West Virginia @ East Carolina (4:30 pm on ESPN2)

The Pirates welcome the fourth-ranked West Virginia Mountaineers into Greenville and Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium on Saturday for a nationally televised contest. I seriously doubt that anyone other than the East Carolina team and some Pirate fans think ECU has any shot to win this one.

WVU, who has it rolling under head coach Rich Rodriguez, possesses one of the nation’s most potent offenses and rushing attacks out of their spread set. They overpower teams with their zone rushing attack, which features the trio of quarterback Pat White and running back Steve Slaton and Owen Schmitt running behind one of the best lines in college football.

They enter the game 3-0, after slaughtering Marshall, Eastern Washington and Maryland by a combined score of 139-37!

The Pirates are coming in fresh off their first win of the season, an emotional one, over Memphis. They are banged up defensively and it’ll be a tall task for them to shut down such a strong offense; however, don’t count this hearty bunch out.

The Mountaineers’ pass defense is supposedly their weak link. We should get a better read on that in this game as ECU possesses, by far, the best passing attack WVU will have seen to date.

In the end, I think WVU will win this one by a couple touchdowns.

Tulsa at Navy (1:30 pm on CSTV)

Conference USA’s East Carolina got a taste of Navy’s vaunted flexbone attack in their opener. The Tulsa Golden Hurricane will travel to Annapolis this week to try and do a better job of slowing down Paul Johnson’s Midshipmen rushing machine. The last time the two teams met was in 2004, when the Middies took a 29-0 decision at Tulsa’s Skelly Stadium.

Tulsa enters the game coming off a 28-3 win at home over North Texas, while Navy stomped Stanford 37-9 in Palo Alto last weekend.

The Golden Hurricane offense will need to avoid the slow start that it had against UNT. If they allow the Middies to build a two or three touchdown lead, it will be tough to come back against a team with such a strong rushing game.

Tulsa quarterback Paul Smith has been somewhat inconsistent thus far. Against UNT, he started slow, but finished the day 21 of 33 for 266 yards and two touchdowns. He also threw two interceptions and has thrown three through three games this season. Smith has a couple of very good targets in wide receivers Ryan Bugg and Idris Moss.

Navy is averaging 346 yards on the ground per game, including 5.6 yards per carry.

Tulsa has been too inconsistent on both sides of the ball to beat a good team like Navy on the road. Go with the Middies by a couple touchdowns.

Rice @ #17 Florida State (3:30 pm on ESPNU)

Rice played very well in Todd Graham’s first two games, losing close ones to Houston and UCLA. Game three was a different story, as defending national champion Texas came into Houston’s Reliant Stadium and hooked the Owls, 52-7.

Bobby Bowden and the Seminoles are coming off a heartbreaking loss to Clemson.

FSU has been out of sync this season on the offensive side of the ball and this has left many fans wondering why they haven’t made a move to Xavier Lee, Drew Weatherford’s back up at quarterback. It wouldn’t hurt if the Noles could must some resemblance of a rushing game either. Through three games, they are ranked 118 of 119 in Division I-A. This is mind boggling when you consider they have two of the nation’s most decorated high school running backs from recent years in Lorenzo Booker and Antone Smith.

The Owls are running an entirely different offensive system this year. They feature a mobile quarterback in Joel Armstrong and solid wide receiver in Jarett Dillard. Armstrong threw for 180 yards against UT, while Dillard caught nine balls for 91 of those yards.

The weakness of the Seminole defense is in the middle, which is where Clemson exploited them, but Rice won’t likely be able to do so.

I say FSU cooks Rice by at least three or four touchdowns in Doak Campbell.

Marshall @ #15 Tennessee

Mark Snyder and his Thundering Herd are coming off a 23-7 loss at Kansas State. Marshall comes into Knoxville at 1-2, with their other loss coming at then #5 West Virginia, 42-10. Their win was over I-AA Hofstra, 54-31.

They have started slowly in each of their first three games, falling behind while committing costly penalties. This is a trend that must stop if they want to upset a Tennessee team that is coming off a 1-point loss at home to Florida. The Vols will be on a mission after last week’s loss.

Marshall has struggled defensively and will be hard pressed to stop a Tennessee offense that has been impressive under the return of former offensive coordinator David Cutcliffe. Erik Ainge didn’t have his best outing against UF, but has played relatively well, especially when you notice the lack of a running game to slow down the opponents’ pass rush. His favorite target is Robert Meachem, who is second in the SEC with 17 receptions for 344 yards and four touchdowns.

If Marshall is going to have a chance, it is going to have to get more consistent play out of quarterback Bernie Morris. The Herd will also have to find a way to get the ball into the hands of their playmaker, running back Ahmad Bradshaw.

Expect to hear Rocky Top played a few times in this one; UT will win by three touchdowns.

UTEP @ New Mexico (5:00 pm on CSTV)

Mike Price and his Miners have had a couple weeks to brew over that heartbreaking overtime loss at home to Texas Tech. New Mexico lost a 27-17 decision to the Missouri Tigers last weekend.

UTEP played better on offense in their loss to Texas Tech, but still weren’t able to establish much of a running game. The bulk of the Miners offense has come on the right arm of quarterback Jordan Palmer. Against the Red Raiders, he completed 34 of 51 passes for 334 yards and three touchdowns; however, as has been the case with Palmer, he threw two interceptions and now has already thrown six through two games. His favorite target is Johnny Lee Higgins, who has caught 20 balls for 252 yards and three touchdowns.

New Mexico’s offense seems to play its best when the Lobos are getting the ball in the hands of their running back Rodney Ferguson, who is averaging 70.3 ypg on 13 rushes per game.

In order for the Lobos to come out on top in the rivalry game, they must keep the ball out of the hands of Jordan Palmer and the UTEP offense. The Miners will win by a couple of touchdowns.

Oklahoma State @ Houston (8:00 pm on CSTV)

The Cougars are off to a 3-0 start, but their three wins have come against Rice, Grambling State and Tulane; therefore, the jury is still out on UH. Oklahoma State’s Cowboys should present Houston with their toughest challenge to date.

OSU has started 3-0 also, but they too have played an extremely light schedule thus far.

Houston’s passing game is potent with senior quarterback Kevin Kolb throwing to wide receivers such as Vincent Marshall, Donnie Avery and Biren Ealy. Jackie Battle has been the Cougars’ biggest threat in the ground game.

Adarius Bowman is a nice threat for the Cowboys as he offers a load of athleticism and the potential to take any play to the end zone.

The main question for OSU on offense has been will the pass protection hold up. It has been shaky at times thus far.

Houston will win a close one in this one.

Arkansas State @ SMU

Following an 0-2 start, SMU bounced back with an easy 45-14 win over Sam Houston State. Mustang quarterback Justin Willis accounted for all six touchdowns, including five through the air, as he only had one incompletion on the night. He was 18 of 19 for 248 yards.

Arkansas State is coming off an open date. The Indians lost their last game to Oklahoma State, 35-7. Their offense struggled in all aspects, but the offensive line and rushing attack can actually be strengths. The primary issue is who will become the starting quarterback.

If SMU is going to step up and be a bowl team this year, like many people predicted, then this is one they need to win at home. After starting 1-2, with a loss at North Texas, the Mustangs can ill-afford to have another such game with a tough CUSA slate ahead.

Detailed preview of Arkansas State @ SMU

Tulane at #10 LSU

Last week, Chris Scelfo and his Green Wave went into Starkville and beat Mississippi State, 32-29. Tulane led 32-7 and then withstood a furious Bulldog rally for the victory.

The Green Wave has a little bit tougher SEC assignment this week, as they travel to Baton Rouge to face No. 10 LSU. The Tigers are coming off a tough 7-3 loss at Auburn and will be ready to unleash their anger. Following a defensive struggle, they will be licking their chops to see the Tulane defense who got ripped by Houston and then gave up 29 points to MSU in game two.

In order for Tulane to have chance against the Bayou Bengals, they must get another strong performance out of quarterback Lester Ricard. He threw for nearly 300 yards and tossed four touchdowns a week ago at MSU.

LSU takes out their frustrations on Tulane and wins by four or five touchdowns.

Mississippi State @ UAB

Sylvester Croom takes his Bulldogs to historic Legion Field in desperate need of a win after losing their first three games at home to South Carolina, Auburn and Tulane.

After trailing Tulane 32-7 at the end of three quarters, Mississippi State stormed back with 22 fourth-quarter points and nearly pulled the amazing comeback off.

Meanwhile, UAB, who enters this game 1-2, was easily handled by UGA last week. The Blazers played good defense in Athens, allowing a little less than 300 yards. The problem was a lack of offense against UGA’s “Junkyard Dawgs”.

Although the offense didn’t exist versus Georgia, UAB has more than enough to beat MSU at home. UAB’s defense will shutdown the impotent MSU offense and the Blazers will win by at least ten to fourteen.