C-USA Week 11 Power Rankings

1. East Carolina – The Pirates are an offensive machine, and I’m shocked, quite frankly. Where did this come from? It doesn’t matter who’s playing QB, RB or anywhere: ECU is dropping points left and right on everybody, with five straight 37-plus point performances against C-USA foes. That kind of offensive output isn’t exactly novel in the conference, but when it’s coupled with a defense like ECU’s rush D (3^rd in league), the combo is deadly.
2. Houston – After finishing off SMU despite a lot of Pony moxie Sunday night, the Cougars come to Tulsa next week with the C-USA West lead and the conference’s most balanced offense, by far. If any of you caught tonight’s ESPN telecast, commentator Bill Curry called RB Anthony Aldridge and WR Donnie Avery “one of the most dynamic playmaking duos in the history of the NCAA.” Really? Wow. They’re good, but, Bill….come on….
3. UCF – Down half a game plus a tiebreak to ECU, the Knights need a Pirate loss to either Marshall or Tulane to keep their title hopes alive. Even if they don’t make the C-USA title tilt, the resurgence of football in Orlando might make UCF an attractive bowl option with 8 wins. With UAB, SMU and UTEP on deck, I’d be shocked if UCF doesn’t get to at least 8-4.
4. Tulsa – Tulsa got a solid win over a C-USA foe for the first time in forever, and with the UTEP loss to Rice, the Golden Hurricane will win the West by beating Houston and the Owls. Houston’s supremely balanced offense will test Tulsa’s struggling defense, which ranks in the bottom 20 nationally against both rush and pass. Still, the solid performance this weekend against Matt Forte has to encourage TU fans.
5. Southern Miss – The Golden Eagles have been all over the map this season, but can still win the East if they get in to a tiebreaker with ECU, who they beat way back on September 15^th. If So. Miss gets to 7-4 by beating Memphis and UTEP, an intriguing cross-conference season ender with Arkansas State could make the difference between bowl game or bust.
6. Memphis – Martin Hankins threw 60 passes this weekend against ECU, and even though Hankins continues to impress, there’s no chance Memphis will win any more games if he’s throwing that often. The Tigers need more from Joseph Doss on the ground, where he’s only given Memphis more than 50 yards once since September 1^st. The O-Line continues to excel, allowing Memphis QBs to be sacked just 1.11 times per game, but the D-Line is getting pushed around, better than only one other C-USA team in sacks and TFL.
7. Tulane – I can’t believe I’m ranking this 2-7 team 7^th, especially since they’ve lost so many close games. But the five below teams have looked incredibly poor at so many times on the year, and the Wave have always looked at least competent. I would be more alarmed at Tulane’s 111^th ranked pass D, but maybe I shouldn’t be – the conference has 5 teams in the bottom 9 nationally.
8. Rice – Let’s try to not get crazy here, but the Owls are 2 wins from a .500 C-USA campaign, which would be a nice achievement considering how bad this program has been lately. SMU is a dead duck this season, so Rice should be 3-3 with home dates against Tulane and Tulsa. Can Brian Raines, Scott Solomon and the big boys up front keep a lid on Matt Forte and get win #4?
9. UTEP – This may be a bit low for the Miners, who probably won’t win or lose a game by more than 7 the rest of the year, but my gut tells me that after letting the West lead slip away in a three game home stand against the league’s best, the Miners are mentally done for the year. How else do you explain the outing against Rice, where the Miners gave up 56 points, 550 yards and 26 first downs to what is still the league’s 11^th best offense?
10. Marshall – Somehow, the Herd is two rungs off the floor despite having just one win on the season. This is more a function of SMU and UAB futility
11. SMU – Perhaps reports of the Ponies’ demise were greatly exaggerated by yours truly. Four of SMU’s last five losses have come by 10 or less, but nonetheless, Phil Bennett is still gone at season’s end. If Justin Willis can cut down on the INTs (14:11 TD:INT ratio), he could join the league’s elite QBs next season.
12. UAB – The Blazers have been the walking dead since beating Tulane, losing their last three by a total tally of 127-23. That’s horrendous in a league that boasts close games every single week. The UAB offense can’t do anything, converting just 4 of 17 possession downs, and getting no more than 38 rushing yards from one player. Yow. Things are bad when you’re ranked below SMU and almost certain to be a dog to Marshall in the season finale.