Conference USA Week Two (9/9/06) Preview

UCF @ #7 Florida

George O'Leary leads his Golden Knights into Gainesville to take on Urban Meyer's Florida Gators in "The Swamp." UCF is coming off an up and down performance in their 35-16 victory over I-AA foe Villanova, while UF defeated fellow Conference USA member Southern Miss, 34-7, a week ago.

Central Florida returns the majority of its starters, including a trio of playmakers on the offensive side of the ball in quarterback Steven Moffett, running back Kevin Smith, and receiver Mike Walker. Moffett threw for nearly 3,000 yards as a junior. Mike Walker, who is 6 feet 2 inches and 200 pounds, gives the Golden Knights a big, physical go-to receiver. He is complemented by the running presence of the sophomore Smith. He rushed for nearly 1,200 years last year while earning CUSA Freshman of the Year honors.

This group will go up against one of the fastest and best defenses in the nation. UF held Southern Miss to only 295 yards of total offense, and the secondary produced three interceptions.

Chris Leak, who completed 21 of 30 passes for 248 yards and three touchdowns against USM, will lead the Gators' spread attack against a UCF defense that is seeking to tighten things up. They gave up 322 yards to Villanova in the opener, including 241 through the air.

This will be the second meeting between these schools that are separated by only a little more than 100 miles. Florida won the first meeting in 1999 and they should avoid the upset this time around. UCF has the talent to compete, but playing in "The Swamp", I'll go with the Gators by 14-17.

# 24 Texas Tech @ UTEP

Mike Price and UTEP are coming off a 34-27 victory at San Diego State. It was a game that saw them build a 24-point lead at 27-3, but then they were forced to hang on in the waning moments.

Texas Tech opened with a thorough drubbing of fellow Conference USA opponent, SMU, at Jones SBC Stadium in Lubbock. Graham Harrell and the Texas Tech offense racked up a little over 500 total yards.

The UTEP offense didn't have one of its better days against the Aztecs. They were held to 243 yards of offense, and only had 38 yards on the ground against the blitzing SDSU defense. Quarterback Jordan Palmer threw for 205 yards and three touchdowns, but continued his inconsistent play from last season as he threw four interceptions.

There should be a decent amount of offense in this one, but Texas Tech's defense is improved. They held the Mustangs to 189 to yards, but UTEP has more offensive weapons and will present a stiffer challenge.

The Sun Bowl will be packed and rocking when Mike Leach and his Red Raiders come to town, but I see them leaving disappointed. I think Texas Tech is the more well-rounded and consistent football team at this point. Although Jordan Palmer has taken a lot more snaps than Graham Harrell, Harrell appears to take better care of the football. He is also accompanied by the solid running of Shannon Woods.

Tech "wrecks ‘em" by a couple touchdowns in El Paso.

Tulsa at BYU

Steve Kragthorpe takes his Golden Hurricane into Provo, Utah for a match-up with Bronco Mendenhall's Brigham Young Cougars.

Tulsa won handily, 45-7, over I-AA Stephen F. Austin in its opener. BYU dropped a hard fought road contest at Arizona, 16-13, on a last second field goal.

The teams have met five times previously, with the Cougars winning them all. It is homecoming of sorts for Steve Kragthorpe, as he spent a few years at BYU in the 70's when his father, Dave, was coaching there.

It will be interesting to see how things play out with a potent Tulsa offense squaring off against a BYU defense that held Arizona to 253 total yards.

Tulsa's offense, one that piled up 521 yards in the opener, will be the difference. Paul Smith and company will score enough points for the Golden Hurricane to leave Lavell Edwards Stadium victorious.

East Carolina at UAB

Check out our in-depth East Carolina @ UAB preview!

Both the Pirates and Blazers are coming off close road losses against solid teams. UAB led in the third quarter before eventually falling to # 5 Oklahoma, while East Carolina dropped a 28-23 decision to what is believed to be Navy's best team in years.

James Pinkney and the Pirates' passing game were very sharp. "JP" connected on 24 of 35 attempts for 285 yards and two touchdowns, while completing passes to nine different receivers on the day.

Offensively, the Pirates' weakness is their rushing attack, which is a result of the lack of experience on the offensive line. The potential is there, but just no consistency at this stage.

The Blazers defense played well against Oklahoma, allowing the Sooners only 143 yards on the ground, which isn't bad given they possess a weapon like Adrian Peterson. They also forced four turnovers in the game, including two interceptions of OU QB Paul Thompson. All of this was done without preseason Conference USA Defensive Player of the Year DE Larry McSwain. He may be back for the ECU game.

Offensively, UAB found a welcomed spark at quarterback with the steady play of Sam Hunt. Hunt threw the ball effectively against OU, while also showing that he is a threat with his legs.

The Pirate defense struggled against the Navy option attack. It'll be interesting to see how it does against a more conventional offensive scheme. ECU is very inexperienced in its front seven, but particularly at linebacker.

This has all the makings of a closely contested game. I'm taking the Pirates by a touchdown or less.

SMU at North Texas

Check out our in-depth SMU @ Texas Tech preview!

Both of these teams lost lopsided games to Big 12 giants last week. SMU was "wrecked" by Texas Tech and their potent aerial attack. The defending national champion Longhorns hammered North Texas, 56-7.

Despite the big loss in the opener, things are looking up for an SMU program that has been down for a number of years. The offense struggled against the Red Raiders, only posting slightly less than 200 total yards. The Mustangs were plagued by unforced miscues such as penalties and fumbles. Freshman QB Justin Willis didn't post huge numbers in his first outing, going 9 of 16 for 69 yards, but he did a pretty good job of managing the game.

The defense was ripped apart by the Texas Tech offense, but they will do that to a lot of their opponents.

The Mean Green's offense does present an excellent runner in Jamario Thomas. There is not much of a passing game to compliment him though.

The folks in Denton will be ready when the Ponies roll into town. It is the first meeting between the teams since 1992.

The Pony Express will be too much for the Eagles. I'll go with SMU by at least two touchdowns.

Rice @ UCLA

The Owls nearly beat cross-town rival Houston in Todd Graham's first game as coach. They weren't able to hold onto a 30-14 lead, however, and lost 31-30. The Bruins defeated Utah, 31-10, in their opener at the Rose Bowl last weekend.

These two teams played last year in Los Angeles, but Rice had a different coaching staff and UCLA had much different personnel, so you can throw that film out.

UCLA coach Karl Dorrell is well aware of the weapon that Rice possesses in RB Quinton Smith. He is also impressed by the abilities of QB Joel Armstrong, who has good speed and can throw well on the move.

The Bruins' sophomore QB Ben Olson earned Pac-10 Player Of The Week honors after throwing for over 300 yards in the win over Utah.

Things appear to be headed up at Rice under the leadership of Todd Graham, but don't plan on him pulling an upset of this caliber just yet. Take the Bruins by at least three touchdowns.

Tulane @ Houston

Art Briles' Cougars jumped out to a 14-0 lead on Rice. However, they were then forced to come back from a 30-14 deficit before pulling out the 31-30 win in their opener at Rice Stadium. Chris Scelfo's Green Wave will be teeing it up for the first time this season.

Cougars' senior QB Kevin Kolb performed well in the game, completing 22 of 35 passes for 233 yards and three touchdowns. He did not throw an interception. He is complemented by the running threat of Jackie Battle.

Defensively, Tulane isn't bad up front, but the linebackers and secondary are a work in progress.

On offense, the Green Wave returns starting quarterback Lester Ricard. His top target is senior Preston Brown, who caught 47 balls for 720 yards and six scores in '05.

They will face a UH defense that returns nine starters and one that performed well against Rice. The Cougars held the Owls to 283 yards of offense.

The game is in Houston and Tulane will be working out the first game kinks. I think UH is the better football team period, but when you take those factors into consideration you will probably be looking at a two to three touchdown Cougar victory.

Chattanooga @ Memphis

Memphis welcomes I-AA Chattanooga into The Liberty Bowl for the home opener. The Tigers lost 28-25 at Ole Miss on Sunday. The Mocs won their first game, beating Tennessee Tech, 31-7.

The Memphis offense moved the ball well in the first game of the post-DeAngelo era. New starting QB Matt Hankins was efficient, completing 21 of 27 attempts for 211 yards without an interception. The Tigers did lose WR Carlton Robinzine for the season due to an injury suffered versus the Rebels.

Defensively, the Mocs played well against Tennessee Tech, allowing only 165 total yards.

The Chattanooga "O" is powered by it's rushing attack, which is led by Eldra Buckley. He ran for 204 yards on only 18 carries. Overall, UTC ran for 336 yards.

He will be running against a Memphis defense that was torn up pretty well the week before by Benjarvus Green-Ellis.

Memphis wins by three touchdowns or more.

Southeastern Louisiana @ Southern Miss

Jeff Bower's Golden Eagles dropped their opener at Florida, 34-7. This week they welcome the I-AA Southeastern Louisiana Lions to "The Rock," also known as M.M. Roberts Stadium.

SE Louisiana lost its opener at New Mexico State, 30-15. The Lions were competitive with the I-A Aggies, trailing only 23-15 at halftime. They did, however, allow Hal Mumme's NMSU team to throw for 381 yards.

SE Louisiana was only able to muster slightly over 200 yards of offense. They also only converted twice on third down out of eleven attempts.

Southern Miss is in the process of breaking in a new quarterback. Jeremy Young had his moments in the sun versus Florida, but also threw three interceptions.

USM will be too much for the I-AA Lions in this one. They win by three or four touchdowns.

Hofstra @ Marshall

This will be a challenge for coach Mark Snyder and Marshall. Last week, they played their ultimate rivalry game, and lost to West Virginia, 42-10. The I-AA Hofstra Pride went 7-4 last season, and two of those losses were close ones to top I-AA foes Richmond and Furman. They defeated Stony Brook, 17-8, in this year's opener.

Marshall allowed over 300 yards on the ground versus West Virginia, but the Mountaineers will likely roll up big ground yardage on many of its opponents this season.

The Thundering Herd offense performed well in spots against WVU. QB Bernie Morris was 12 of 22 for 168 yards, while running back Ahmad Bradshaw ran for 70 yards on 18 carries.