Conference USA
East
UAB
|
UCF
|
East Carolina
|
Marshall
|
Memphis
|
Southern Miss
West
Houston
|
Rice
|
SMU
|
Tulane
|
Tulsa
|
UTEP
Past C-USA Picks:
Week 1 |
Week 2 |
Week
3 |
Week 4 |
Week 5
Week 6 |
Week 7 |
Week 8 |
Week
9
-
Week
10
C-USA Fearless Predictions | Get
Tickets for These Games
How'd we do so far? Straight up
53-19
... ATS 34-29-2 ATS
Tulane
(3-5) at
Marshall
(3-5), 7:30 EST, CSTV, Saturday,
November 4
Why to watch: Once down-and-out
Marshall has turned back-to-back wins
into hope that the 2006 season could
still end with a bowl game and a
Conference USA championship. Despite
opening 1-5, the Herd controls its own
destiny in the Eastern Division. Four
wins to close out the year will be
parlayed into a date with either Tulsa
or Houston in December. Ahmad Bradshaw
was as productive as any back in the
country in October, gaining 539 yards
and scoring eight touchdowns. No game
involving Tulane this year has had less
than 54 total points, so if nothing
else, its games are often entertaining.
The Green Wave is being led by senior QB
Lester Ricard, who’s coming off a
409-yard, three-touchdown day in last
Saturday’s win over Army.
Why Tulane might win: The way the
offense has been playing, the Green Wave
can simply out gun many of the weaker
teams in Conference USA. Ricard has
been on fire and Matt Forte has run for
more than 100 yards in each of the last
four games, a troubling combination for
a Marshall defense that’s ranked 102nd
nationally against the pass and 106th
overall.
Why Marshall might win: Tulane
can’t score if it doesn’t touch the
ball. With its big offensive line,
Marshall will run the ball about 45
times, controlling the clock and keeping
the Green Wave offense on the sidelines
for long stretches of time. The Herd D
isn’t all that stout, but Tulane’s unit
is downright debilitated, allowing 35
points and nearly 400 yards a game.
Who to watch: Marshall has a
budding Freshman All-America candidate
in TE Cody Slate, who leads the team
with 363 receiving yards and three
touchdown receptions. Slate had a
breakout day in last week’s win over
Memphis, solidifying himself as the
preferred option when Bernie Morris or
Jimmy Skinner drop back to throw.
What will happen: With both
defenses playing so poorly, the
potential exists for a very
entertaining, back-and-forth shootout.
Marshall will get 150 yards out of
Bradshaw and a third win in-a-row for
the first time since 2004.
CFN Prediction:
Marshall 34 … Tulane 20 ... Line:
Marshall -9
Must See Rating: (5 skip the
birth of your first born - 1 Running
with Scissors) ... 2
Rice
(3-5) at
UTEP (4-4), 9:00 EST, Saturday, November 4
Why to watch: Purely in terms of
entertainment, this game has a chance to
be sneaky good Saturday night. There
should be plenty of offense since both
teams can score in bunches, yet haven’t
been able to stop anyone in 2006. Rice
has won three of its last four, and can
use upcoming games with UTEP, Tulsa,
East Carolina and SMU as measuring
sticks to see just how far along it’s
come in Todd Graham’s inaugural season.
The Miners learned in consecutive losses
to Houston and Tulsa that they weren’t
quite good enough to win the West this
fall. Now, they’ll have to determine if
they’re good enough to win six games and
earn a third straight bowl invitation.
The game features Rice’s Jarrett Dillard
and UTEP’s Johnnie Lee Higgins, two of
this year’s 14 semifinalists for the
Biletnikoff Award.
Why Rice might win: Since getting
Chase Clement back under center and
exiting the meat grinding portion of its
schedule, Rice has won three of four
games, while finally turning the corner
on offense. During that stretch, the
Owls have averaged 37 points and well
over 400 yards a game. Clement has
sizzled and Quinton Smith has been a
horse on the ground, forming a diverse
attack that’ll move the ball on a
suspect Miner defense.
Why UTEP might win: Realizing
that the next loss will bump them below
.500, the Miners will play with a sense
of desperation in El Paso. UTEP’s
offense is the best Rice has seen since
September, when it gave up more than 50
points in consecutive games to Texas and
Florida State. The Owls have allowed 21
touchdown passes to just four
interceptions this year, a dastardly
ratio that portends a monster night for
Jordan Palmer and his receivers.
Who to watch: The Tallahassee
Quarterback Club might want to bring the
Biletnikoff Award to the Sun Bowl
Saturday night because Higgins is primed
for an electrifying evening, even by his
standards. Rice, which hasn’t stopped
anyone in 2006, will be clueless against
the senior speedster, who has 56 catches
for 898 yards and eight touchdowns and
has taken two punts back for scores.
What will happen: UTEP will hold
serve at home, but it’s not going to be
easy for a team that hasn’t played a
complete game all year. Rice will chuck
and duck in the second half to make the
final few minutes real compelling.
CFN Prediction:
UTEP 38 … Rice 28 ... Line: UTEP
-8
Must See Rating: (5 skip the
birth of your first born - 1 Running
with Scissors) ... 2
Southern Miss
(4-4) at
Memphis
(1-7), 8:00 EST, ESPN, Sunday, November
5
Why to watch: Southern Miss let a
game with East Carolina slip away last
weekend, losing its grip on first place
in the Eastern Division in the process.
The Golden Eagles are at .500 this late
in a season for the first time since
1998, needing to regroup on the fly in
order to stay in the hunt for the
division and a bowl bid. Memphis keeps
soldiering on, off to its worst start in
two decades and officially out of the
bowl picture after last week’s
two-touchdown loss to Marshall. As if
things couldn’t get any worse for the
Tigers, their headliner on defense, S
Wesley Smith, is expected to be on the
shelf this week with an ankle injury.
Why Southern Miss might win:
There’s a sense of urgency around
Southern Miss, which knows it has the
talent and the schedule to win four
straight to finish 8-4. However, it
first must get past Memphis. The
Tigers’ battered ,103rd
-ranked defense will prove to be the
perfect setting for a Southern Miss
offense that struggled throughout
October.
Why Memphis might win: Tennessee
and Tulsa aside, Memphis has been
competitive this year due to an offense
that protects Martin Hankins well and is
27th nationally in passing
offense. Feeding receivers Duke Calhoun
and Ryan Scott, Hankins will generate
points against an Eagle defense that’s
underachieved versus better passing
teams. As weak as the Southern Miss
offense has been—just 79 points over the
last five games—it’ll have a rough time
keeping pace with an offense that’s
capable of reaching the 20s.
Who to watch: If last week’s
16-carry, 59-yard effort versus East
Carolina was any indication, Southern
Miss RB Damion Fletcher may have come
back a week too early from arthroscopic
knee surgery. With that first game
behind him and a Memphis D that’s
allowed 18 rushing touchdowns in front
of him, Fletcher will flash the form
that made him a freshman sensation
during the first half of the year.
What will happen: Southern Miss
will get just enough from Fletcher and
QB Jeremy Young on offense to hold off a
feisty, yet out manned group of Tigers.
CFN Prediction:
Southern Miss 27 … Memphis 17 ...
Line: Southern Miss -7.5
Must See Rating: (5 skip the
birth of your first born - 1 Running
with Scissors) ... 1.5
-
Week
10
C-USA Fearless Predictions | Get
Tickets for These Games