C-USA Preview

Predicted Order of Finish


East

Southern Miss | 7-1 | 9-3

East Carolina | 6-2 | 7-5

UCF | 6-2 | 7-5

Memphis | 4-4 | 7-5

Marshall | 2-6 | 3-9

UAB | 1-7 | 2-10



West

Houston | 7-1 | 9-3

SMU | 5-3 | 7-5

Tulsa | 4-4 | 7-5

UTEP | 3-5 | 4-8

Rice | 2-6 | 3-9

Tulane | 1-7 | 2-10



East

Southern Miss should be the best team in the East division, punching their ticket to the conference championship game for their second straight year. This team will be led by its defense, which was first in the conference in points allowed and second in total yards allowed. This year it could be even better. The offense will pound the ball and try to control the clock, relying on sophomore RB Damion Fletcher. He had a huge season as a true freshman, rushing for 1388 yards and 11 TDs. The non-conference schedule includes tough road games at Tennessee and Boise St. They also miss the top two teams from the West (Houston and Tulsa), so expect another great season by the Golden Eagles.


East Carolina should challenge for the top spot in the East division. The offense loses most of its skill players, but it returns a veteran offensive line. Last year the passing game dominated the offense, expect more balance this year. The defense will be one of the best in the conference, which will keep the pressure off the offense. The only question mark on defense is the young but talented secondary. The non-conference schedule has four quality opponents, so wins will come at a premium. If the offense doesn't have any major trouble, expect the Pirates to be playing in the postseason again.


UCF made an unexpected run to the conference title game in 2005, but then had a disappointing year in 2006. Expect them to be back in a big way this season. The offense was strange last year as it put up a lot of yardage but not a lot of points. The scoring should be back this season. The offense is led by QB Kyle Israel, who played about half the time last year, and RB Kevin Smith, who should be one of the best rushers in the conference. Most of the offensive line and receivers are back, so the offense should be top-notch. The defense had problems last year, especially with forcing turnovers. It should improve this year. UCF opens its brand new on-campus stadium in Week 3 against Texas. The Golden Knights will contend for the East and play in their second bowl game.


Memphis was the most disappointing team in the conference, following up three straight bowl seasons with a two win season. Everything is in place for a much better year. The offense is led by a senior QB and RB, and the receivers are a talented and experienced group. The defense was the main problem last year, giving up over 30 points and 400 yards per game. The DC was fired after the third game, and the defense never recovered. Memphis did show some promise in the last three games of the season, playing UCF and Houston close and beating UTEP in the finale. The Tigers also play a relatively easy non-conference, so they also have a great shot at making a bowl this year.


Marshall had not had a losing season since 1983 until they moved to Conference USA in 2005. Then they had losing seasons in both years as a member in C-USA. It's the third year in head coach Mark Snyder's tenure, and he may need to show some improvement to keep his seat from getting warm. The offense was a predominantly rushing attack with the 1500+ yards and 19 TDs from Ahmad Bradshaw. Bradshaw is off to the NFL, and now the offense has to fill that void. The passing game should improve behind a senior QB and one of the best TEs in the conference in Cody Slate. The defense gave up a lot of points last season, especially through the air. One bright spot is that they have DE Albert McClellan, who had 11.5 sacks last year. The schedule is extremely difficult with road trips to Tulsa and Houston from the West and three tough non-conference games. The Thundering Herd will have their third consecutive losing season.


UAB is in a transition year with a new head coach and a ton of young players. Head coach Watson Brown was replaced at the end of last season by the Georgia's OC Neil Callaway. The offense loses most of its rushers, receivers and linemen, but does get back two QBs. One is Sam Hunt, the senior and opening day starter. The other is Joe Webb, the QB of the future who will line up at receiver when Hunt is behind center. The defense also loses a lot of contributors. The secondary is the only defensive unit with a lot of experience. The non-conference schedule includes three road games that will be hard to win. The Blazers are young and inexperienced at most positions on both sides of the ball, so wins will be few and far between.



West

Houston is the hardest team to predict in the conference. On one hand, head coach Art Briles has put together a solid team all around that should contend in the West year after year. On the other hand, they do lose QB Kevin Kolb and WR Vincent Marshall, the team's all-time leading passer and receiver. Kolb has been the starter for all four years that Briles has been the head coach. It seems impossible that anyone can come in and match that kind of production. Even with those two major losses, the offense does have a veteran line, the top rusher and two other receivers returning. The defense should be near the top of the conference. The Cougars will inevitably be worse on offense this season, but still are the team to beat in the West.


SMU has a great chance to play in a bowl game for the first time since the 1984 season. They just missed out on a bowl last season when they lost to Rice by four points in the season finale. This year they will be led by QB Justin Willis, who last year was chosen the C-USA Freshman Player of the Year. The offense also gets back its top rusher and receiver, as well as four linemen. The offense should be much improved over last year's that averaged less than 320 yards per game. The defense is a little inexperienced on the line, but still should be effective. The Mustangs have an excellent shot to show everyone how good they are when Texas Tech comes to Dallas for the first game of the season.


Tulsa has been one of the best teams in the West over the past two years, so it will be interesting to see what they do in somewhat of a transition year. Head coach Steve Kragthorpe left to take the opening at Louisville in the offseason. Taking his spot is Todd Graham, the former head coach at Rice who took them to a bowl for the first time in 45 years in his first season. Graham was the DC at Tulsa for the first three years of Kragthorpe's tenure, so he is stepping into a familiar situation. The offense doesn't have many returning starters, but does have senior playmakers in QB Paul Smith and RB Courtney Tennial. The top two receivers are gone as well as four offensive linemen, but they still could put up numbers comparable to last year. The defense may take a small step backwards, if only because it was one of the best in the conference last season. The Golden Hurricane should go to their third straight bowl game even with the coaching change.


UTEP looked like a good team for the first half of the season, but then fell apart and only won one of the last six games. Now their situation is eerily like Houston's, as they must also replace the school's all-time leading passer in Jordan Palmer and all-time leading receiver in Johnny Lee Higgins. The running game was atrocious last season, averaging only 58 yards per game. That total was worst in the conference and fourth worst in the country. The defense gave up over 30 points per game last season and only returns four starters. The Miners will have an even worse record this year.


Rice was one of the most surprising teams in the country last year, going from a one win season in 2005 to a seven win season in 2006. Rice was also one of the most overachieving teams last year, since they had a winning record while being outscored by over six points and 70 yards per game. That's a red flag that they won't be that good consistently. Also, the head coach left for the Tulsa job after just one season. Replacing him is former Texas St head coach David Bailiff. The passing game shouldn't drop off with the return of QB Chase Clement and WR Jarett Dillard, who caught 21 TD passes and was named a Second Team All-American. The running game is the unknown, as the projected starter was a backup CB last year. The defense is the biggest concern, teams don't usually have winning records when they rank last in the conference in yards allowed and next to last in points scored. The Owls will probably win less than half as many games as last season.


Tulane is the third team in the West going through a coaching change, but they were the only one whose coach was let go instead of leaving for another opportunity. The new head coach is Bob Toledo, who is known most as being the head coach of UCLA from 1996-2002. Last year he was the OC at New Mexico. Last year the offense relied heavily on the pass, ranking 11th in the conference in rushing yards. Now QB Lester Ricard is gone, so the offense may try to run more. Tulane only scored 18.7 points per game and gave up 33.3 points per game, both were worst in the conference. Too much is going against the Green Wave for them to even match last season's mark of four wins.