Midseason Reports
Midseason
All-America Teams
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- 2006 CFN
Midseason All-America Teams
Offensive Player of the Midseason
Kevin Smith, RB UCF
Defensive Player of the Midseason
Gerald McRath, LB Southern Miss
Ten best Conference USA players in the
first half of the season
1. Kevin Smith, RB UCF
2. Chris Johnson, RB East Carolina
3. Paul Smith, QB Tulsa
4. Anthony Alridge, RB Houston
5. Gerald McRath, LB Southern Miss
6. Marcus Thomas, RB UTEP
7. Quintin Demps, S UTEP
8. Matt Forte, RB Tulane
9. Trevor Vittatoe, QB UTEP
10. Donnie Avery, WR Houston
Biggest Surprise
– UTEP
Although absolutely nothing was expected from a Miner team that
was gutted by graduations, it has delivered a commendable 4-3
start and an exciting offense that’s scored at least 42 points
in four straight games. UTEP is tied with Tulsa and Houston in
the Conference USA West largely because of the development of QB
Trevor Vittatoe and a running game that’s been the most
productive in Mike Price’s tenure in El Paso. The Miners have
already beaten the Hurricane, and get the Cougars in the Sun
Bowl, so the opportunity is there to cap a surprising start with
a division crown.
Biggest Disappointment – SMU
While the defense certainly had question marks entering the
season, it still looked as if the Mustangs would have enough
offensive firepower to break through and earn a first bowl berth
in the post-death penalty era. It aint happening. Through six
games, SMU is a dismal 1-5, showing little hope that a
turnaround is in store for the second half of the year. Even QB
Justin Willis and the offense have shown signs of wear-and-tear,
real bad news for beleaguered head coach Phil Bennett, who
looked for a time that he had turned the corner with the
Mustangs.
The Conference USA Champion will be ... Houston
In a wide-open league race that still has six legitimate
contenders in the hunt, the only certainty is that both
divisions won’t be decided until the final weekend of the
regular season. And you might want to keep your tiebreaker
charts handy when that day comes. Disregard Houston’s average
start, which has as much to do with a rugged first-half schedule
as anything else. The Cougars are battled-tested and getting
good production from the quarterback tandem of Blake Joseph and
Case Keenum. They’ll get hot over the next six games, beating
UTEP in two weeks to take control of the West before topping
either East Carolina out the East division.
Best Game of the First Half
East Carolina 45 ... UTEP 42 OT,
Oct. 6
UTEP got a 45--yard field goal from Jose Martinez in overtime,
but ECU QB Rob Kass plunged in for a one-yard score to pull off a
wild win. The Miners appeared to have the game won, as Marcus Thomas
tore off a 31-yard touchdown run with 34 seconds to play, but the
Pirates put it into overtime on a 34-yard Juwon Crowell touchdown
catch with no time left on the clock. The two teams traded scores
throughout, with Thomas starting things off with a 42-yard scoring
catch, and ECU taking an early lead with a 50-yard Van Eskridge
fumble recovery for a score. In the third quarter, ECU came up with
a few haymakers, getting a 57-yard Dwayne Harris touchdown run and
an 80-yard Jamar Bryant touchdown catch to go up ten. But UTEP would
respond with the third of Martinez's four field goals and a 17-yard
Jeff Moturi touchdown grab early in the fourth before the fireworks
at the end. UTEP cranked out 589 yards of total offense, while ECU
came up with 507.
Second Best Game
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UTEP 48 ... at SMU
45 OT, Sept. 29
Third Best Game
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UTEP 48 ... Tulsa 47, Oct. 6
Worst Game of the First Half
Texas 58 ... Rice 14
Texas exploded on Rice with 560 yards of total offense,
outgaining the Owls 227 yards to -11 on the ground, in what quickly
turned into a laugher. The Longhorn offense cranked out the first 41
points of the game, helped by Limas Sweed touchdown catches from 52
and 24 yards out, and two of Jamaal Charles' three short touchdown
runs. Rice didn't get on the board until the final minute of the
second half, with Toren Dixon scoring on an 18-yard catch, but the
game had gotten well out of hand.
Coach of the Midseason
– Skip Holtz, East Carolina
The good news around Greenville is that Holtz is doing another
terrific job with the Pirate program. The bad news is that his
name is going to get circulated again when the coaching carousel
starts to spin in December. Despite having issues at
quarterback and injuries on defense, Holtz has helped guide East
Carolina out of a 1-3 start and into the top spot in the East.
With no teams with a winning record left on the schedule, he’s
liable to carry an eight-game winning streak into the Conference
USA championship game. Let the new contract negotiations
begin.
Player who'll step up in the second half – East Carolina
QB Rob Kass
Kass has bounced back from a preseason DWI to retake the
starting job from Patrick Pinkney while giving a jolt to the
Pirate vertical game. A strong-armed pocket passer, he’s
beginning to develop a rhythm with the young East Carolina
receivers, and should feast on a second-half schedule that
doesn’t include one opponent ranked in the top 65 nationally in
total defense. While Kass made some bad reads in El Paso
Saturday night, scoring the game-winner in overtime is sure to
give him a sizable confidence boost going forward.
Best performance so far
– On a weekend that Stanford beat USC, no one noticed, but
Rice’s upset of Southern Miss in Hattiesburg on Oct. 3 was a
Herculean effort for David Bailiff’s club. Entering the game
0-4 and 21-point underdogs, the Owls jumped all over the Golden
Eagles, taking a 31-7 lead and holding on for a 31-29 victory.
For a team that figured to be on life support, we all learned
that Rice is going to be quite feisty in the second half of the
year. Individually, no one has topped East Carolina RB Chris
Johnson’s performance in a come-from-behind win over UCF on Oct.
6. With the Pirates laboring through the first two quarters,
Johnson went berserk, accounting for 372 yards and four scores
while leading the team in rushing and receiving, and opening the
third quarter with a 96-yard kickoff return for a touchdown.
Top Freshman – UTEP QB Trevor Vittatoe
In just his first season at the controls, Vittatoe has done an
almost seamless job of replacing four-year starter Jordan Palmer
at quarterback, occasionally sharing snaps with Lorne Sam and
improving each week. In a pivotal win over Tulsa two weeks ago,
he went 21-of-27 for a Miner freshman record 319 yards and three
touchdown passes, en route to being named Conference USA
Offensive Player of the Week. If not for Vittatoe’s crisp
passes and uncommon rookie poise, there’s no way UTEP would be
in the hunt for a West division title with only five games
remaining.
Coach who needs to have a big second half – Marshall head
coach Mark Snyder
There are just four winless programs left in the FBS. Marshall
is one of them. No, the Herd was not expected to compete for a
Conference USA crown this year, but losses to New Hampshire and
Memphis are signs that this program is going in reverse under
Snyder, despite talk of the talent being improved in
Huntington. Although the coach is young and well-liked by the
administration, could he survive an 0-12 campaign in his third
year on campus? Over at SMU, Phil Bennett is another coach
that’s pining for a couple of wins over the final month of the
season. The Mustangs are a disappointing 1-5, when 7-5 was
probably the preseason benchmark for the coach to earn another
year with the school.
Player who needs to have a big second half – Southern
Miss QB Jeremy Young
Even after inexplicably losing to Rice, the Golden Eagles are
still in contention in the East, but they need a healthy Young
to be behind center. Although the offense is serviceable with
Stephen Reaves taking snaps, Young adds an element of
escapability that frustrates opposing defenses, especially in
the red zone. Before suffering a high ankle sprain in
September, he was playing some of the best ball of his career,
throwing with accuracy and taking off when the pocket broke
down. Southern Miss needs that element back on offense in order
to stay with the likes of UCF and UTEP in the next month, while
going stride-for-stride with East Carolina in the Eastern half
of the league.
Best remaining conference game – Houston at UTEP, Oct. 27
Not only will this game go a long way toward deciding the West
champion for 2007, but it should also be one of the most
entertaining games of the year in Conference USA. While neither
team plays much defense, both have offensive-minded head coaches
and a ton of really good skill position talent, such as
Houston’s Anthony Alridge and Donnie Avery, and UTEP’s Marcus
Thomas and Jeff Moturi. The way the Miners, in particular, are
playing football this season, figure this to be a fireworks show
that generates 90 points and 1,000 yards, and requires an extra
session or two to determine a winner.
Team Mid-Season
MVPs & Predictions
East Carolina –
RB Chris
Johnson
predicted wins:
UAB, at Memphis, at Marshall, Tulane
predicted losses:
NC State
predicted record:
8-4
Houston –
RB
Anthony Alridge
predicted wins: at UAB, at UTEP, SMU, Marshall, Texas
Southern
predicted losses: at Tulsa
predicted record: 8-4
Marshall –
TE
Cody Slate
predicted wins: Rice
predicted losses: Southern Miss, at UCF, East Carolina,
at Houston, UAB
predicted record: 1-11
Memphis –
QB
Martin Hankins
predicted wins: UAB, SMU
predicted losses: at Rice, at Tulane, East Carolina, at
Southern Miss,
predicted record: 4-8
Rice -
LB
Brian Raines
predicted wins: Memphis, Tulane,
predicted losses: at Marshall, UTEP, at SMU, Tulsa
predicted record: 3-9
SMU – QB Justin Willis
predicted wins: Tulane, Rice,
predicted losses: at Tulsa, at Houston, UCF, at Memphis
predicted record: 3-9
Southern Miss –
LB
Gerald McRath
predicted wins: at Marshall, at UAB, UCF, Memphis,
Arkansas State
predicted losses: at UTEP
predicted record: 8-4
Tulane –
RB
Matt Forte
predicted wins: Memphis, Tulsa
predicted losses: SMU, UTEP, at Rice, at East Carolina
predicted record: 3-9
Tulsa –
QB
Paul Smith
predicted wins: SMU, Houston, at Army, at Rice
predicted losses: at UCF, at Tulane
predicted record: 8-4
UAB –
S
Will Dunbar
predicted wins: at Marshall
predicted losses: Houston, at East Carolina, Southern
Miss, UCF, at Memphis
predicted record: 3-9
UCF –
RB
Kevin Smith
predicted wins: Tulsa, Marshall, at UAB, at SMU, UTEP
predicted losses: at Southern Miss
predicted record: 8-4
UTEP –
RB
Marcus Thomas
predicted wins: at Rice, at Tulane, Southern Miss
predicted losses: Houston, at UCF
predicted record: 7-5
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