C-USA Roundup - Week Six Standings & More

CollegeFootballNews.com
Posted Oct 6, 2008


Conference USA conference roundup, standings, player and game of the week

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.

Conference Roundups
- ACC | Big East | Big 12 | Big Ten | C-USA | Ind.
- MAC | M-West | Pac 10 | SEC | Sun Belt | WAC


East 
UAB | UCF | East Carolina | Marshall | Memphis | Southern Miss
West  Houston | Rice | SMU | Tulane | Tulsa | UTEP
- Week 1 | Week 2 | Week 3 | Week 4 | Week 5
 

Conference USA Game of the Week

UTEP 40 … Southern Miss 27 2OT
UTEP overcame a 260-yard rushing day from Damion Fletcher with a six-yard touchdown catch from Kris Adams in the second overtime for the win. Southern Miss forced the extra time with a  22-yard Britt Barefoot field goal as time ran out. Terrell Jackson caught a touchdown pass for UTEP in the first overtime, but USM answered with four-yard scoring grab from DeAndre Brown. Barefoot hit a 28-yard field goal in the second overtime, but UTEP came up with the touchdown. Trevor Vittatoe threw four touchdown passes, while Fletcher ran for a four-yard score to go along with all his yards.


Conference USA Player of the Week
UTEP QB Trevor Vittatoe completed 25-of-43 passes for 266 yards and four touchdowns, and in a losing cause, Southern Miss RB Damion Fletcher ran 34 times for 260 yards and a touchdown

  Conference Overall
East W-L PF PA W-L PF PA STK
Marshall 2-0 51 43 3-3 113 164 L2
East Carolina 1-1 52 65 3-2 127 120 L2
UCF 1-1 44 75 2-3 92 140 W1
Memphis 1-2 84 89 3-3 168 157 W3
Southern Miss 0-2 64 74 2-3 155 146 L2
UAB 0-2 52 78 1-5 147 198 L2
  Conference Overall
West W-L PF PA W-L PF PA STK
Tulsa 2-0 108 50 5-0 282 124 W5
UTEP 2-0 98 50 2-3 161 168 W2
Houston 1-0 41 24 2-3 186 142 W1
Rice 2-1 126 125 3-3 234 235 L1
Tulane 1-1 58 55 2-3 101 129 L1
SMU 0-3 71 121 1-5 132 248 L4
Thursday, October 2
8:00  Memphis 33 ... at UAB 30
CFN Prediction: Mem. 27-16  Mem. -4.5
Friday, October 3
8:00  Cincinnati 33 ... at Marshall 10
CFN Prediction: UC 27-20  UC -3.5
Saturday, October 4
3:00  Army 44 ... at Tulane 13
CFN Prediction: Tulane 30-6  Tul. -19
3:30  at UCF 31 ... SMU 17
CFN Prediction: UCF 37-20  UCF -14
7:00  UTEP 40 ... at Southern Miss 37 OT
CFN Prediction: USM 34-24  USM -8
8:00  at Tulsa 63 ... Rice 28
CFN Prediction: Tulsa 52-34  Tulsa -14.5
Games of the Week
Aug. 30 - ECU 27- VT 22
Sep. 6 - Rice 42 - Memp 35
Sep 13 - AF 31 - UH 28
Sep 20 -NC St 30 - ECU 24 OT
Sep 27 - UH 41 - ECU 24
Oct 4 - UTEP 40 - USM 37 OT
Players of the Week
Aug. 30 - Pat Pinkney, ECU
Sep. 6 - Chase Clement, Rice
Sep 13 - Chico Hunter, USM
Sep 20 - David Johnson, Tulsa
Sep 27 - Chase Clement & Jarett Dillard, Rice
Oct 4 - Trevor Vittatoe, UTEP & Damion Fletcher, USM

Conference
Roundup

East Carolina … Didn’t Play This Week.
Houston … Didn’t Play This Week
Marshall … Alright, so the offense doesn't work against West Virginia, Cincinnati and Wisconsin. The defense generated a little bit of pressure into the Bearcat backfield, but it didn't generate enough big plays to overcome a lousy night from the offense. Take away the 57-yard touchdown play from Cody Slate, and the offense managed just 211 yards with little from the rushing attack and three interceptions thrown by Mark Cann. They weren't all Cann's fault, but the offense can't afford the turnovers when it's struggling.
Memphis Memphis came through when it had to against UAB, but it had a nightmare of a time with QB Joe Webb. The defense might have struggled, but the offense came up with a nice day with 192 rushing yards and four touchdown passes from Arkelon Hall. Hall threw a pick, but he was otherwise rock-solid and clutch, keeping pace with Webb to answer every Blazer score. Now, on a three-game winning streak, the Tigers have to show they can beat a good team. With Louisville up next, they'll get the chance.
Rice … Tulsa is blowing away everyone, so there’s no reason to get too upset about the blowout loss. However, the four turnovers and a total lack of running game were a problem when the Golden Hurricane went on its scoring run to put the game away. Chase Clement did what he could, but this loss was simply a case of the Owls not having enough firepower against the nation’s most explosive team. Next up is Southern Miss and a must-win game to have any hope for a bowl appearance.
Southern Miss … Damion Fletcher is amazing. The USM star back ripped through UTEP, Austin Davis was excellent, and the offense kept the chains moving … and the Golden Eagles lost. Field goals instead of touchdowns turned into a problem in the fourth quarter, and penalties were a huge issue. USM played well enough to win in a walk, but instead it’s now 0-2 in Conference USA play with trips to Rice and Memphis up next.
SMU … Bo Levi Mitchell continues to improve … sort of. He’s starting to come up with more big plays, but he threw three interceptions against UCF. He’ll have to keep on bombing thanks to a defense that can’t come up with a clutch stop. The attack had better be geared up and ready to roll with Tulsa and Houston up next.
Tulane … Tulane is better than this. Much better. It was as if the Green Wave defense didn’t take the Army offense seriously, and why should it have? The Black Knights didn’t do anything all season long. Tulane helped with several mistakes, committing 10 penalties and turning it over four times. On the plus side, the offense moved the ball. Kevin Moore came up with the yards, but not the points. This was a must win, and next week’s game at UTEP is really a must win.
Tulsa … Tulsa’s offense keeps on rolling. The offense has scored more than 60 points in two straight games, has gone over 50 points in four straight games, and leads the nation averaging 56 points and 596 yards per game. After blowing away Rice, the hits will keep on coming next week against SMU. Everyone’s getting in the act. David Johnson is spreading the ball around well, the running game tore off 386 yards and averaged 7.3 yards per carry, and the defense is even doing a decent job.
UAB … UAB might have lost to Memphis, and it might be 1-5, but it's playing relatively well and battled hard in the last-second loss to the Tigers. Joe Webb was magnificent both running and passing, but he didn't do it all by himself. Rashaud Slaughter ran well and the receivers did a decent job of making things happen after the catch. The defense continues to struggle, it did next to nothing to stop the Memphis offense cold, and now comes a date with the high-powered Houston attack. Basically, Webb and the offense have to do even more.
UCF … Is it Michael Greco’s offense now? After coming up strong in the second half win over SMU, he might be the starting quarterback next week against Miami. However, UCF needs its running game to be strong to win. Ronnie Weaver had a nice day with 123 yards, while the offense took advantage of the four SMU turnovers. Now the O needs to be more consistent. 11 first downs aren’t going to cut it from here on.
UTEP… For a team that looked miserable over the first three games of the season, UTEP turned things around in a big hurry with big wins over UCF and Southern Miss to be one of Conference USA’s surprise 2-0 teams. Trevor Vittatoe has started to come into his own, but the team dodged about five bullets in the win. The run defense was non-existent, and USM racked up 541 yards in all, but the Miners didn’t self-implode. It was a good win to build on, and now a win over Tulane is a must with a trip to face the high-powered Tulsa offense to follow.