Scout.com: C-USA Conference Roundup

Click on each team for game recaps, thoughts, schedules and more and scroll down for the games, results, players of the week and the conference roundup.

East UAB | UCF | East Carolina | Marshall | Memphis | Southern Miss
West Houston | Rice | SMU | Tulane | Tulsa | UTEP

Conference USA Game of the Week
UTEP 48 ... SMU 45 OT
UTEP answered SMU's overtime field goal with the third Marcus Thomas touchdown run of the day barreling in from ten yards out to complete the comeback. Down 42-28 in the fourth, the Miners got two Trevor Vittatoe touchdown passes, the second coming on a nine-yard strike to Jake Sears with seven seconds to play to force overtime. This was the second major Miner comeback of the game, with Lorne Sam running for two third quarter touchdowns, and Thomas running it in from 11 yards out, as part of a 21-point run to overcome an early 28-7 deficit. SMU got two James Mapps touchdown runs, a 50-yard Cedrick Dorsey dash, and a 23-yard interception return for a touchdown from Wilton McCray, but the defense couldn't hold down the UTEP running game. The two teams combined for 1,074 yards of total offense, with UTEP running for 308.

Conference USA Player of the Week
UTEP RB Marcus Thomas rushed for 207 yards and three touchdowns on 35 carries in the 48-45 overtime win over SMU.

Conference Roundup

East Carolina … ECU's defense struggled with the Houston speed, the passing game didn't do much, with the quarterbacks combining to hit 11 of 26 passes, but a win is a win. Now the Pirates are in the Conference USA race with two of the big boys, Southern Miss and Houston, off the schedule. Now comes the real test against UCF. To pull this off, more will be needed out of the passing game, and the run defense will have to stiffen up and not allow the big home-run.
Houston … Houston will have to quickly get past the heartbreaking loss to East Carolina, or the Alabama game won't be pretty. There was tremendous explosion, Donnie Avery and Anthony Alridge did what they do, but the defense couldn't handle the ECU running game, and the kicking game had issues with two late misses and a block. On the plus side, Blake Joseph stepped in for Case Keenum and was fantastic, completing 24 of his 29 passes.
Marshall … Didn’t Play This Week
Memphis … Barring a miracle turnaround, the collapse against Arkansas State might mean the end of the Tommy West era. The Tigers blew a 31-6 lead with inefficient offense, and several bad plays along with penalty after penalty after penalty. The defense wasn't awful, but the entire team broke down with a special teams gaffe, rough offensive play, and not enough key stops. A quarterback has to emerge from the fray. Martin Hankins wasn't the answer this week.
Rice … Didn’t Play This Week
Southern Miss … The Southern Miss defense was hardly the Southern Miss defense against Boise State. The defensive line got pushed around, the tackling was poor, and just when it seemed like there was a chance to turn things around for good early in the second half, it got marched on. The offense was decent, but it had to press after it became obvious the defense wasn't going to be able to get the job done. Now comes the easy part against Rice, SMU and Marshall. This has to be when the Eagles go on a big run.
SMU … A week after a nice defensive performance in the loss to TCU, the SMU D went into the tank against UTEP, failing to hold two big leads, and doing nothing to slow down the Miner ground game. The Mustangs were able to move the ball, as well, but UTEP was able to go on the bigger, time-killing drives, especially in the second half, with no one from the SMU defense making a big play to stop the momentum. The season is quickly becoming a disaster, and now a trip to Southern Miss is up next.
Tulane … The offense wasn't able to do much against LSU, but no one has an easy time of it against this amazing D. The positive to get fired up about was the play of the defensive line that allowed just 134 rushing yards, and was in the backfield all day long. If the defensive front can generate the pressure, and the plays behind the line, against the far lesser offensive lines of Conference USA, Tulane will be in some ball games.
Tulsa … Tulsa's offense, when it's working, is as dangerous as any of the mid-majors. UAB was powerless to handle the balance, with the Golden Hurricane rumbling for 362 yards on the ground and throwing for 333. The defense continues to be a major question mark, giving up way too many yards and points for the third game in a row, but as long as Paul Smith is playing at such a high level, the offense will simply outbomb just about everyone left on the schedule.
UAB … The two quarterback system sort of worked against Tulsa, with plenty of rushing yards from Joseph Webb, and decent passing from Sam Hunt, but there was little continuity to the attack. The offense is all about the quarterbacks, and now it's up to the running backs, primarily Rashaud Slaughter, to give more options. Even with the 1-3 start, the team is playing far better than originally expected. The wins will come.
UCF … UL Lafayette is a more dangerous team than it might seem, but UCF ran right through it for 300 yards, with Kevin Smith once again showing why he's worthy of All-America consideration. Kyle Israel was effective, but he didn't have to push the ball too much and wasn't under too much pressure. Next week against East Carolina, he's going to have to make quick decisions and hit on at least on deep throw early on.
UTEP… While the defense had a nightmare of a time against the SMU offense, the offense started to hum better than it had all season long. Marcus Thomas is starting to run like the star everyone was hoping he'd be, while Trevor Vittatoe had just enough good moments to provide a little bit of balance. Getting Lorne Sam involved in the offense is a must, and he came through with some key runs in the comeback. With big home showdowns against Tulsa, East Carolina and Houston up next, this was a vital, confidence-boosting road win.

Thursday, September 27
7:00 PM	at Arkansas State 35 ... Memphis 31 CFN Prediction: ASU 37-24 ASU -4
7:30 PM	at Boise State 38 ... Southern Miss 16 CFN Prediction: BSU 28-20 BSU -10

Saturday, September 29
12:00 PM	LSU 34 ... at Tulane 9 CFN Prediction: LSU 49-0 LSU -40
4:30 PM	UTEP 48 ... at SMU 45 OT CFN Prediction: SMU 31-27 SMU -1.5
6:00 PM	at UCF 37 ... UL Lafayette 19 CFN Prediction: UCF 48-21 UCF -21.5
7:00 PM	at Tulsa 38 ... UAB 30 CFN Prediction: Tulsa 45-20 Tulsa -19
7:00 PM	East Carolina 37 ... at Houston 35 CFN Prediction: Houston 31-26 UH -10

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