C-USA Power Rankings: Week 12

1. Tulsa – Tulsa redefined “answering the bell” with the huge win over Houston, and now only a season finale against Rice stands in between the Golden Hurricane and a West title. This was the Tulsa squad we’ve hoped for all season long, and then some. Given how uneven the team has been all year, it’s remarkable that after all the inconsistency, 10 wins is still in play.
2. UCF – The Knights are back atop the East courtesy of ECU’s gag in Huntington. Two more wins and UCF is in the C-USA title tilt versus the Golden Hurricane. This week’s road date at SMU shouldn’t be much of a problem; next week’s home date with UTEP might be. You never know what you’re going to get with the Miners; a steady quarterbacking performance by Kyle Israel will be essential.
3. ECU – This was the ultimate “wha happened??” game of the year. How did the Pirates lose at awful Marshall and cost themselves the the East title in the process? I have no idea, but it was a disastrous performance from a program that might be wearing down from a brutal non-conference schedule early in the year. Greenville’s like a church on Monday right now; after leading the East race almost the whole way, one brutal road outing has them solidly on the outside looking in.
4. Memphis – If you told me this was only the 8^th best team in C-USA, I wouldn’t argue with you. But the Tigers have won close game after close game, getting 4 C-USA wins by 10 total points. So maybe they’re lucky or maybe they’re clutch. Your guess is as good as mine, but with all the other teams in the league prone to choking when they need a win, I’ll take this team in a street fight.
5. Houston – Maybe we ignored the signs that this team was ready to be beaten. The loss to Tulsa was preceded by a weak outing vs. SMU and a narrow escape at UTEP. Maybe the offensive balance I praised all year really just means the Cougars have no outstanding players. Tulsa obviously did on Saturday. Regardless, the Cougars are still an attractive bowl team, with the 6^th best offense nationally.
6. Southern Miss – The Golden Eagles could sneak in to a bowl with two wins over UTEP and Arkansas State in the next two weeks. As it turns out, the narrow loss to Memphis this week could cost them a shot at the C-USA title. This team is probably closer than any second tier team to being an elite team in the league. 7 turnovers doomed So. Miss against Rice in a 2 point loss earlier in the year; giving up 400 passing yards to Martin Hankins did the trick this week.
7. Rice – The Owls have a genuine shot at a .500 C-USA record with Tulane coming to Houston this week; that would be a quite a feat, not only because of how bad Rice has been, but really, because of how bad they are this year. The Owls are 100^th or worse nationally in the following major categories; total yardage D, scoring D, punting, returns, pass D, sacks allowed, rushing yards. 4 wins will be a major accomplishment.
8. Marshall – How’d they do it? Marshall stunned East Carolina with a 26-7 upset, ruining the Pirates’ season and giving the Herd something to build on for next year. The offense really isn’t that bad – 7^th in the league overall and 5^th in passing yards. But in the Herd’s two wins, they’ve won with defense. Holding ECU to 7 and Rice to 21 are both feats that the nation’s 101^st ranked D can build on for next year.
9. Tulane – As long as the Green Wave have competence under center, Matt Forte will carry the team to its share of C-USA wins. That’s what happened Saturday, as Kevin Moore and Anthony Scelfo combined for 16-21 passing for 277 yards and Forte lugged 38 times for 171 yards. David Skehan is looking like he could anchor a decent secondary next season.
10. UTEP – After only finishing 1 of 3 games in the big homestand, this team mentally checked out and hasn’t been the same since. Maybe they can turn it around back in El Paso against Southern Miss this week. Marcus Thomas and Trevor Vittatoe kept the offense going, but the defense couldn’t stop Matt Forte and UTEP only got 19 points out of 412 yards.
11. SMU – The Ponies have been close now four straight weeks, but I can’t move them up without the ability to finish in the league. The porous pass defense has killed SMU, despite a decent pass rush (6^th in C-USA in sacks) and an offense that has been, at least, competent. Good news: Thomas Morstead is the league’s punter at 44.17 yards per kick.
12. UAB – The Blazers improved against UCF, but still weren’t close and now close the year with two road games against Memphis and Marshall. This team has fallen so far since playing out of their mind at Mississippi State. After beating Tulane the next week, it’s been 4 losses by a combined 118 points. In a league this balanced, that’s a mark of a team behind the times.