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Tulane (4-7) at East Carolina
(6-5)
1:00 EST
Why to watch: Even after
inexplicably losing to Marshall
two weeks ago, East Carolina
still has a faint hope of
winning the East Division of
Conference USA. Step 1 will be
to handle Tulane in Greenville.
Step 2 will be to huddle around
a TV set, and root like heck for
a UTEP upset of front-running
UCF later in the afternoon. A
Pirate win coupled with a Knight
loss sends ECU to league
championship game a week later.
Regardless of what others do,
East Carolina must pick up win
No. 7 to fortify its chances of
earning an invitation to a
December bowl game. The best
reason to watch Tulane all year
is the same one that’ll draw
attention for this week’s
finale. Last week, RB Matt
Forte became just the 11th
player in FBS history to rush
for more than 2,000 yards in a
season, another milestone in a
season filled with heroics for
the senior. The Green Wave has
won two straight games, and a
third in-a-row will lock up a
third place finish in the West,
giving head coach Bob Toledo and
his staff a talking point when
he gets back on the recruiting
trail.
Why Tulane might win:
Hey, if East Carolina can lose
to Marshall only two weeks ago,
it’s certainly vulnerable to any
Conference USA program. Forte’s
efforts have begun to seep into
the rest of the roster, as
evidenced by recent wins over
UTEP and Rice. The Green Wave
racked up 940 yards and 79
points in those games, getting
help from a passing game that’s
successfully implementing two
quarterbacks, Anthony Scelfo and
Kevin Moore. Sophomore WR
Jeremy Williams has shown a
penchant for blowing up beatable
secondaries, which applies to
the Pirates’ last line of
defense.
Why East Carolina might win:
With two weeks to prepare and
get past the Marshall debacle,
the Pirates are healthy, rested,
and focused on finishing
strong. They’ll revert back to
the team that was lighting up
opposing offenses with the
combination of Chris Johnson’s
running and the passing of
Patrick Pinkney and Rob Kass.
While Johnson could have some
issues against the league’s top
run defense, Pinkney and Kass
will feast on a Tulane defensive
backfield that’s yielded 14
touchdown passes over the last
five games.
Who to watch: Pencil in a
huge day for East Carolina’s
leading receiver, Jamar Bryant,
who’s caught a touchdown pass in
five of the last six games, and
holds the edge over the Tulane
corners. The Green Wave will
spend a lot of resources trying
to contain Johnson in the open
field, which will put Bryant in
favorable one-on-one situations.
What will happen: In a
very important game for the
future of the program, East
Carolina will get back on track,
peppering the Tulane defense
with passes, and keeping Forte
from completely taking over the
game.
CFN Prediction: East
Carolina 30 …
Tulane
20 ...
Line: East Carolina -12
Must See Rating: (5
The inside of your
eyelids after eating two pounds
of turkey
- 1
The inside of a gym with every
120 calories equaling a mile on
the treadmill) ...2
SMU (1-10) at Memphis (6-5)
2:00 EST
Why to watch: Ever so
quietly, Memphis has authored
one of the best stories of the
year in Conference USA. Coming
off a brutal campaign, and
getting no preseason respect,
the Tigers moved above the .500
mark with a win over UAB last
Saturday, and will padlock a
once improbable bowl berth by
beating SMU this weekend. While
he’ll get stiff competition from
UCF’s George O’Leary and Tulsa’s
Todd Graham, Memphis’ Tommy West
has earned strong consideration
for Coach of the Year honors.
On the opposite career spectrum
is SMU’s Phil Bennett, who was
fired a few weeks back, making
this his final game with the
program. The Mustangs have been
a wire-to-wire disaster, never
even approaching expectations,
while occasionally providing
some fireworks from versatile QB
Justin Willis.
Why SMU might win: No, the
Mustangs can’t stop anyone, but
they can score, averaging over
400 yards a game and 30 points
over the last month. Willis
gives the attack a spark with
his multi-dimensional potential,
leading the team in rushing and
helping pad the receiving
numbers of Emmanuel Sanders and
Zack Sledge. Against a soft
Memphis front that’s next to
last in the league at stopping
the run, SMU will put a greater
emphasis on keeping it on the
ground with capable backs James
Mapps and DeMyron Martin.
Why Memphis might win: If
there’s one thing that’s led
most to SMU’s demise, it’s been
the play of the defense, which
has never regrouped from the
loss of last season’s key cogs
up front. Six opponents have
scored more than 40 points on
the Mustangs, who are No. 115 in
the country in total defense.
The Tigers will take advantage
of their surroundings,
unleashing QB Martin Hankins and
his posse of talented receivers
on an SMU secondary that will be
completely overmatched. A few
tweaks of the offensive line
also sparked Joseph Doss and the
running game last week, which
means double trouble for the
Mustang D.
Who to watch: Memphis WR
Duke Calhoun is finishing the
regular season with a flurry,
going over the 100-yard mark in
four of the last five games,
capped by a career-high 159
yards on four catches last
Saturday. The 6-4 sophomore is
just one of a number of
mismatches that the SMU
defensive backs will be trying
to shut down at the Liberty
Bowl.
What will happen: While
Memphis is motivated, SMU
already has one foot in the
offseason. It’ll show. The
Tigers will blast the Mustangs
right from the opening kickoff,
getting 300 yards and three
touchdown passes from Hankins.
CFN Prediction:
Memphis
37 … SMU 23
...
Line: Memphis -7.5
Must See Rating: (5
The inside of your
eyelids after eating two pounds
of turkey
- 1
The inside of a gym with every
120 calories equaling a mile on
the treadmill) ...1.5
Tulsa (8-3) at Rice (3-8)
3:00 EST
Why to watch: The only
thing standing between Tulsa and
a West Division title is a pesky
and dangerous Rice team. Any
hopes that the Owls had of
returning to the postseason
ended a few weeks ago, but
denying the Hurricane a chance
to play in the Conference USA
Championship game would provide
momentum heading into the
offseason. Rice may not be able
to stop anyone, but as long as
QB Chase Clement is flinging the
ball all over the field, it’s a
threat to pull an upset. Tulsa
escaped West Point with a win
last week, but got to this point
by ransacking Houston, 56-7, two
weeks ago. With Clement and
Hurricane QB Paul Smith facing a
couple of porous defenses, no
lead—and few offensive
records—will be safe Saturday
afternoon.
Why Tulsa might win: The
Rice defense can’t stop anyone,
let alone a Hurricane attack
that’s spitting out 544 yards
and 40 points a game. Smith has
excelled in the hurry-up,
no-huddle offense, tossing 34
touchdown passes, while
spreading the ball around to six
or seven different receivers
every week. Against the Owls,
which have allowed more than 40
points seven times this season,
Tulsa will be able to name its
final score.
Why Rice might win: The
one thing the Owls do well,
throwing the ball, has been a
problem for the Tulsa defense
since September. If given a
chance, Clement will throw the
ball 60 times on Saturday, many
of which will wind up in the
mitts of Jarett Dillard, Toren
Dixon, and James Casey. Tulsa’s
104th-ranked defense
is still processing the fact
that it allowed 328 yards and
three touchdown passes to Army’s
Carson Williams a week ago.
Clement will put up sick
numbers, wearing out the
Hurricane defensive backfield by
the second half.
Who to watch: By way of
DeAnza (Calif.) Junior College,
Tulsa WR Brennan Marion has
emerged as one of the best
long-ball hitters in the
country. While his receptions
are infrequent, they always pay
dividends in the form of a
touchdown or a first down.
Marion has only 25 catches, but
they’ve gone for a whopping 904
yards and nine touchdowns,
numbers that’ll give the Rice
defensive backs nightmares.
What will happen:
Ideally, Tulsa would blow
through Rice in the first half,
and start getting ready for UCF
or East Carolina early in the
third quarter. It won’t
happen. The Owls will hang
tough behind the passing of
Clement before finally giving
way to Smith’s aerial assault in
the final quarter.
CFN Prediction: Tulsa 45 …
Rice
35 ...
Line: Tulsa -12
Must See Rating: (5
The inside of your
eyelids after eating two pounds
of turkey
- 1
The inside of a gym with every
120 calories equaling a mile on
the treadmill) ...2
C-USA Fearless Predictions, Week
13,
Part 2 |