Tons of seniors playing their final games, bowl bids in the balance, and division titles going down to the wire. If you don’t care by this point, I can’t help you. Here we go:
Game of the Week:
Southern Miss at UTEP – The Golden Eagles have been up and down all year, and now find themselves on the brink of elimination in the bowl hunt. A win over UTEP would make their case much stronger, but will the Miners make one last exciting stand on their home turf? No way this game gets decided by more than a TD either way; like every UTEP game, it’ll down to who can put together drives and get stops in the last 7 minutse of the contest. So. Miss has lost two C-USA battles by a FG or less – time to make it 3. With the year UTEP has had, I see no more fitting end than a 3 point win in 2OT. UTEP 44, So. Miss 41
Best of the Rest:
Marshall at Houston – All of a sudden, the Herd is putting a couple wins together and looking like they might be a mid-tier squad next year. How will Houston respond to the embarrassment at Tulsa last week? Marshall has been brutal on the road, going 0-5 with an average defeat of 19.6 points. The defense did a number on the ECU attack last week; how will they respond against the wounded Cougars? I gotta think Houston bounces back on the running of Aldridge this weekend…they’re too good not to. Right? Houston 37, Marshall 20.
Tulsa at Army – Michie Stadium is one of the nation’s finest football-watchin’ venues, and the Golden Hurricane get an exciting road trip as a reward for the huge Houston win. Any chance of a letdown? Maybe – there’s no way Tulsa is quite as good as they looked against the Cougars, given how uneven their early season performances were. On the other hand, will Army even be focused on Tulsa two weeks before the Navy game? I’d say the “overlooking the opponent” possibilities for each team cancels each other, and the best team will win by 2 touchdowns. Tulsa 38, Army 24.
Ho Hum:
Tulane at Rice – Rice has a shot at 4 C-USA wins, which would be a great feat for the weak Owl squad. Matt Forte would love to win that national rushing title, for something to tell his grandkids about, and if Tulane could notch a 4th win of the year, that would be good too. Have I mentioned that Tulane’s actually had one of the league’s pass rushes this year? The Green Wave’s strength is up the middle, the weakness is on the edges. I think Forte tops 200 one more time, and the Wave rides him to a tight win. Tulane 30, Rice 26.
UCF at SMU – This one would be surely in the boring category if it weren’t for UCF’s newfound East lead. The Knights are two wins away from the title game, and SMU will be trying to give the title back to East Carolina in Phil Bennett’s last home game as SMU coach. The Ponies have lost their last 4 by 27 total points; not bad, but still, as Bill Parcells says, “You are what you are.” SMU is a 1-9 team, and some things never change: UCF 40, SMU 35.
Boooooooooring:
UAB at Memphis – The Tigers deserve some credit for rallying after the emotional death of Taylor Bradford for 4 wins in their last 6. Now, at 5-5, they could be going bowling with 2 wins over UAB and SMU. Two home games against the league’s two worst teams. Should be no problem, right? Well, Memphis hasn’t exactly overwhelmed anybody, and UAB is surely due for a good outing, since they haven’t given one since September. I don’t know why I’m doing this, call it a gut feeling: UAB 28, Memphis 24.
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