C-USA Review: Week 7

Want boring? Watch the Big 10. Week after week, the C-USA churns out action-packed weeks with crazy finishes and close games. Week 7 was no exception. Let’s check it out:

Game of the Week

East Carolina 45, UTEP 42 (OT) – Is it just patently against UTEP’s religion to play a game that doesn’t come down to the very last seconds or go to overtime? For the third consecutive week, the Miners played a game where both teams scored in the 40s, and UTEP got a touchdown in the final minute of regulation to either take the lead or send the game to OT. However, this time, East Carolina answered, capping a furious final drive with a 34 yard touchdown pass with no time left on the clock to send the game to OT, where they won it on a Rob Kass touchdown sneak. The Pirates, meanwhile, continued their resurgence on offense, getting 507 yards and 45 points despite throwing 4 picks. Robert Kass won’t have any problem hanging on to the starting job despite a lackluster performance; deposed QB Patrick Pinckney threw an interception on his only pass attempt. I’m telling you – if ESPN wants ratings, they’ll schedule an exhibition game between UTEP and Minnesota, just so we can see the world’s first 100-point fourth quarter.

Best of the Rest

UAB 26, Tulane 21 – The Blazers didn’t score on offense until Joseph Webb caught a 17-yard pass from Sam Hunt with 13 minutes left in the third quarter to give UAB a 20-14 lead. UAB got two quirky second quarter scores, one on Frantrell Forrest’s 92 yard kick return and another when Terence Edge recovered a Tulane fumble for 6. The Tulane D has to be applauded for pitching in that little thing the C-USA hasn’t seen much of this year: defense. Holding the UAB offense to one touchdown would be enough most days, especially with stud back Matt Forte topping the 200 rushing yard mark yet again. This makes three straight crushing losses for Tulane, and the Wave really should have gotten the last two; Swayze Waters with the game ball for UAB, netting two clutch fourth quarter kicks that put the game out of reach.

Houston 56, Rice 48 – When a team drops a fifty spot, is it OK to talk about how many points they left on the field? The Cougars ripped off 56 points and 748 yards of offense, but still needed three fourth quarter scores to overcome five turnovers. Houston WR Donnie Avery set a C-USA record with 346 receiving yards (not a typo) on 13 catches. All in all, Houston put up 474 passing yards, 274 rushing yards and 28 first downs to best a startling offensive outing from Rice. The Owls, who even after this contest rank the 109^th best offense in the land, got 355 yards and 3TD from dual threat QB Chase Clement, but Clement was just 2 of 8 for 36 yards and a pick in the fourth period.

Ho Hum

Tulsa 38, Marshall 31 – The score was close, but this one never seemed in doubt to me, as Tulsa led the whole way and never let the Herd get closer than the final margin in the second half. Paul Smith tossed his 6^th straight 300-yard game and Tarrion Adams pitched in another big effort, running for 134 on just 15 carries. The Herd stayed winless at 0-6, but did get a decent game out of quarterback Bernard Morris, who may be finding a new go-to target in sophomore TE Cody Slate, who registered his fifth straight outing of 5 catches or more. It’s still a tale of two units for Tulsa; the Golden Hurricane now boasts the 2^nd best offense in the nation yardage wise, but merely the 112^th ranked D. With UTEP’s loss, Tulsa’s right back in the hunt.

South Florida 64, UCF 12 – Ever seen one of those shows on the nature channel where a lion is mauling a gazelle, yet the camera won’t cut away, and you just can’t stop watching the carnage? Yeah, that’s what this one was like. Two weeks ago, UCF was looking like the team to beat in C-USA, but after a disappointing loss to ECU and this 52-point Pearl Harbor, the Knights are looking like a mediocre foe at best. USF was up 10-0 by mid first quarter, and the blows just kept coming and coming. It was 29-10 at the half, 43-10 after three, and 64-12 by the end, thanks to two long pass plays by the backups with less than five minutes remaining. Nation’s leading rusher Kevin Smith never got going, mustering just 55 yards on 18 carries and both UCF QBs were bad, combining for just 84 yards throwing on 27 attempts. The Knights aren’t down and out yet in the conference race, but a loss to Tulsa this week would do the trick; better get that pass D shored up in a hurry.

Boooooooring

MTSU 21, Memphis 7 – The Tigers got smacked by a MTSU team that dominated every phase of the game, running, passing, tackling and defending better than Memphis. The Blue Raiders committed four turnovers, but doubled the Memphis yardage total (490-248), as the Tigers looked flat after the emotional week following teammate Taylor Bradford’s murder. After showing promise in the first half, Memphis only crossed midfield once in the second half, running 28 plays for only 110 yards in the second half. The Tigers are capable of scoring points, but QB Will Hudgens has to do better than 13 of 35 passing.

Southern Miss 28, SMU 7 – The Golden Eagles righted the ship, at least for a week, with a nice win over an SMU team that seemed primed for an upset. Committing just 1 turnover after last week’s slippery hands display against Rice, Southern Miss got a badly needed 108 yards from sophomore Damion Fletcher. This week, it was the Ponies who couldn’t shake the turnover bug, with an INT, fumble and two missed field goals all inside the Golden Eagle 40.