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
-
Week 1 |
Week
2
Conference USA
Game of
the Week
Air
Force 31 … Houston 28
In the rain and wind thanks to Hurricane Ike, Air Force jumped out to a 31-7
lead, and then held on for deal life. The Falcons didn’t complete a pass, but
they ran for 380 yards and got three short touchdown runs from Shea Smith.
Houston owned the final 20 minutes with Case Keenum throwing three touchdown
passes including two seven-yarders to Mark Hafner in the fourth quarter. Houston
never got the ball back as Air Force ran out the clock. The two teams combined
for 20 penalties for 160 yards.
Conference
USA
Player of the Week
Southern Miss CB Chico Hunter made 15 tackles, a tackle
for loss, and broke up two passes in the win over Arkansas State.
| |
Conference |
Overall |
| East |
W-L |
PF |
PA |
W-L |
PF |
PA |
STK |
| E Carolina |
1-0 |
28 |
24 |
3-0 |
79 |
49 |
W3 |
| Marshall |
1-0 |
17 |
16 |
2-1 |
66 |
77 |
W1 |
| So Miss |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
2-1 |
91 |
72 |
W1 |
| UCF |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
1-1 |
41 |
31 |
L1 |
| UAB |
0-1 |
22 |
45 |
0-3 |
59 |
129 |
L3 |
| Memphis |
0-2 |
51 |
59 |
0-3 |
75 |
100 |
L3 |
| |
Conference |
Overall |
| West |
W-L |
PF |
PA |
W-L |
PF |
PA |
STK |
| Rice |
2-0 |
98 |
62 |
2-1 |
119 |
100 |
L1 |
| Tulsa |
1-0 |
45 |
22 |
2-0 |
101 |
48 |
W2 |
| Houston |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
1-2 |
120 |
90 |
L2 |
| UTEP |
0-0 |
0 |
0 |
0-2 |
30 |
84 |
L2 |
| SMU |
0-1 |
27 |
56 |
1-2 |
81 |
135 |
L1 |
| Tulane |
0-1 |
24 |
28 |
0-2 |
30 |
48 |
L2 |
|
|
Saturday, September 13 |
| 11:30
|
Air
Force 31 ... at Houston 28
CFN Prediction: Houston 34-27 UH -4.5 |
| 12:30
|
at
Tennessee 35 ... UAB 3
CFN Prediction: Tenn. 48-13
Tenn. -30 |
| 3:00
|
East
Carolina 28 ... at Tulane 24
CFN Prediction: ECU 28-13 ECU
-13.5 |
| 7:00
|
at Texas Tech 43
... SMU 7
CFN Prediction: TTech
58-17 TT -26 |
| 7:00
|
at
Vanderbilt 38 ... Rice 21
CFN Prediction: Vandy 35-23
Vandy -7 |
| 7:00
|
at Marshall
17 ... Memphis 16
CFN Prediction: Mars 34-27 Mars -3.5 |
| 7:00
|
Southern
Miss 27 ... at Arkansas St
24
CFN Prediction: USM 24-20 ASU
-2 |
|
Games of the
Week
Aug. 30 - ECU 27-
VT 22
Sep. 6 - Rice 42 - Memp 35
Sep 13 - AF 31 - UH 28 |
Players of the Week
Aug. 30 - Pat Pinkney, ECU
Sep. 6 - Chase Clement, Rice
Sep 13 - Chico Hunter, USM |
Conference
Roundup
East Carolina
… Was East Carolina looking past Tulane
or was this game more indicative of the
real Pirates team? ECU only converted
3-of-10 on third down, couldn’t run the
ball worth a lick, running for 1.9 yards
per carry, and turned it over four
times. A win is a win, but the big,
crippling loss was on defense with star
LB Quentin Cotton getting knocked out
with a knee injury. This is a very good
ECU team, but to really be top 15, it’s
going to have to turn it up a few
notches offensively again..
Houston … Houston struggled with
the Air Force running game, like
everyone does, but in horrible
conditions, the Cougar offense did a
good job of getting back in the game
with the late rally. This is still a
young team replacing several key
players, but eventually, this team is
going to be much tighter and much more
efficient. Now it needs a better ground
game. 172 yards were nice but 75 came
from the quarterback, Keenum.
Marshall … Marshall is 2-1 with
the one loss to Wisconsin. That’s not
bad. The defense did a nice job of
generating pressure on Memphis, but it
wasn’t able to do enough to slow down
Arkelon Hall and the passing game until
absolutely needed. Offensively, Mark
Cann had a nice day throwing the ball,
but the idea is to keep getting the ball
to playmakers Darius Marshall and Darius
Passmore. MU is going to have to win
close games, and it’s doing it.
Memphis … Memphis has to try to
avoid going into the tank. After the
crushing loss to Rice, the Tigers had
their chances against Marshall but ended
up losing by one. Arkelon Hall is
throwing well and getting the offense
moving, but he’s not getting the team
into the end zone enough. The running
game isn’t consistent, so it’s going to
be on Hall to keep producing.
Rice … What happened to the
offense in the second half? Chase
Clement tried to get the attack rolling
in the second half against Vanderbilt,
and while the passing game worked, the
points didn’t come. Turnovers, misfires
on key plays, and a problem getting the
Commodore running game off the field
proved to be the issues. On the plus
side, Clement got some help. Tight end
James Casey had a huge game, catching 12
passes for 115 yards, Jarett Dillard was
Jarett Dillard, and C.J. Ugokwe ran
well.
Southern Miss … The defense
wasn’t always a rock against Arkansas
State, but it was strong when it had to
be at the very end and in the first
half. The offense got a nice, efficient
day out of Austin Davis, who appears to
be growing more and more into the
starter’s role. This is a good Red
Wolves team that’s playing extremely
well. This wasn’t just some win over a
Sun Belt team.
SMU … So the June Jones offense
needs a tad more work. SMU only threw
for 213 yards against Texas Tech and had
no prayer of keeping up in the
firefight. The hope has to be for Bo
Levi Mitchell to grow into his job, and
while he’s going to make mistakes,
throwing five interceptions, he has to
start making more big plays to show that
he’s the one to build the offense
around. The one positive continues to be
Emmanuel Sanders, who continues to be a
true No. 1 target after catching eight
passes for 125 yards.
Tulane … Tulane can play. Yeah,
it’s 0-2 to start out, but the defense
played well in the losses to Alabama and
East Carolina while the offense showed a
little bit of spark. Kevin Moore is a
decent quarterback to build around,
while Andre Anderson had a workmanlike
effort. The run defense was fantastic.
The Green Wave went toe-to-toe against
the best in Conference USA, and it had a
chance to win in the end.
Tulsa … Didn’t Play This Week
UAB … Joe Webb needs help. He's
the entire UAB offense. Playing against
a team like Tennessee might not be a
proper indicator, but there has to be a
few more options and someone to do more
with the running game. Webb did a good
job of spreading the ball around, but he
threw three interceptions and struggled
to keep the chains moving. Defensively,
the Blazers didn't do anything to slow
the Vols down, but safety Will Dunbar
had a strong game.
UCF … Didn’t Play This Week
UTEP… Didn’t Play This Week