The Golden Hurricane gets the UAB Blazers at home Saturday, Tulane gets a visit from the Bayou Bengals and Southern Miss goes Smurfing in Boise. Another big week in the C-USA; how do I see it? Read on.
GAME OF THE WEEK
East Carolina (1-3, 0-1 CUSA) at Houston (2-1, 1-0 CUSA) – The Pirates are trying to keep their season from swirling out of control after losing a tight battle to Southern Miss and then getting only 95 yards in the first 55 minutes against the Mountaineers. The one bright spot for ECU has been a front four that sites at 3rd in CUSA in sacks and 2nd in TFL; the problem is, the secondary’s been so weak that when opposing QBs do release a pass, it is very too often completed. Houston has looked good against two out of conference opponents, and the comeback last week against Colorado State could inject the Cougs with some momentum. Houston’s got no major weaknesses, at 21st nationally in rushing, 35th in passing and 37th in scoring. Those are good numbers for a CUSA squad that has done battle with two good out of conference foes, and if they can start holding on to the ball (-5 turnover margin in just 3 games), this team could be the C-USA favorite. Houston 28, East Carolina 16.
BEST OF THE REST
Southern Miss (2-1) at Boise State (2-1) – The Golden Eagles go Smurfing in Boise against a Bronco squad that finally saw its buzz wear off with a defeat against Washington that snapped the nation’s longest winning streak. Jared Zabransky is off doing video game covers, but Ian Johnson is still around, and the junior in closing on 3,000 rushing yards in a career that could end up being one of the greatest ever in a Broncos’ uniform. Johnson will be trying to elude So. Miss’ sophomore LB Gerald McRath who has been a tackling machine, with 40 in 3 games, good for second nationally. I’ve still got the Eagles in my CUSA top three, but it won’t be enough to beat Boise where few can. Boise State 33, Southern Miss 20.
UAB (1-2, 0-0 CUSA) at Tulsa (2-1, 0-0 CUSA) – The Blazers improved a lot between weeks one and two, losses to Michigan State and Florida State by 37 and 10, respectively. Still, both sides of the ball are 90th or worse in nationally in almost every major category, including 104th in total offense, a mark that should have Tulsa dialed in on improvement this week. The best news for Tulsa is that the UAB secondary has 1 pick in three games, and ranks 11th in the league in defending the pass. Paul Smith, you’re going to Disney World. Tulsa 40, UAB 28.
La-Lafayette (0-4) at UCF (2-1) – The Knight offense is led by star back Kevin Smith (163.33 ypg, 3rd in NCAA), but he really hasn’t been a one man show. The entire offense is doing a great job at converting yards in to points (20th in scoring), and I’m not sure anybody has a great idea how to defend George O’Leary’s two headed quarterback monster featuring Kyle Israel and Michael Greco. UCF gets a taste of their own medicine, with junior LA-LAF QB Michael Desormeaux coming to town. Desormeaux is ripping off yards by land (82 carries, 422 yards) and by air (59-107, 617 yards). Smith vs. Desormeaux should be worth the price of admission, but La-Laf plays worse defense than the Knights. That’ll make the difference. UCF 37, La-Lafayette 27.
HO-HUM
LSU (4-0) at Tulane (1-2) – As cool as this game is in theory, with two schools hurt by Hurricane Katrina meeting in the Super Dome, its going to be a stinker in reality, with LSU annihilating everything in its path with Katrina-like fury, and Tulane getting crushed through the air and on special teams. Matt Forte is Tulane’s best player and earned the praise he got after last week’s record setting 303 yard, 5 TD outing against SE Louisiana. But this is Lousiana State, a defense so fearsome that the Tigers are 44-0 since 2001 when scoring at least 30 points. Just think about that for a second. Done? LSU 51, Tulane 7
UTP (2-2, 0-0 CUSA) at SMU (1-3, 0-0 CUSA) – Here’s my upset of the week, as SMU has a chance to do what it should have done last week against TCU, and beat a more renowned in-state foe. SMU has been solid against the rush (3rd in CUSA, 121 ypg), so we’ll see how UTEP QB Trevor Vittatoe responds when he has to carry the entire offensive load by himself. Pony QB Justin Willis can run (60 ypg) and throw (240 ypg), and I think this week SMU seals the deal and gets a big CUSA W. SMU 26, UTEP 20.
BOOOOOOOOOOOORRRRRRRRING
Memphis (1-2) at Arkansas State (1-2) – I’ve got Memphis at #8 in the conference right now, and they could start to find their way back to my good graces with a convincing win here against an Indians squad with some talented individual performance and absolutely no proficiency up front on either side of the ball. Arkansas State played Texas to an 8-point setback in their opener, and got 131 yards rushing from sophomore scatback Reggie Arnold in an encouraging 45-27 loss at Tennessee. The Tigers aren’t getting much push up front (88th in rush D, 86th in sacks), but are getting some nice production from the passing game (272.33 ypg). The punting game has been absolutely brutal, at 25 yards per kick. Memphis doesn’t have a skill advantage to give away 10 yards a kick like that. It won’t hurt ‘em against AK State, but their defense will. Arkansas State 24, Memphis 17.
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