Conference USA had an eventful weekend, providing one of the biggest upsets of the weekend nationally, and taking at least a couple steps toward sorting out the championship race. Of course, this just serves to set up more intrigue in the next couple weeks- Houston still has a chance to go 10-2, but is back to potentially missing out on the conference championship game entirely. ECU’s dismantling of Tulsa beefs up their claim to be East favorites, but Southern Miss is charging hard too.
Conference USA Standings
| East | ||
| Conf | Overall | |
| East Carolina | 5-1 | 6-4 |
| Southern Miss | 4-2 | 6-4 |
| UCF | 4-2 | 6-4 |
| UAB | 4-2 | 5-5 |
| Marshall | 3-2 | 5-5 |
| Memphis | 1-5 | 2-8 |
| West | ||
| Conf | Overall | |
| Southern Methodist | 5-1 | 6-4 |
| Houston | 4-2 | 8-2 |
| UTEP | 2-4 | 3-7 |
| Tulsa | 2-4 | 4-6 |
| Rice | 1-5 | 1-9 |
| Tulane | 1-5 | 1-9 |
Week 11 Results
UCF 37, Houston 32- UCF took the lead early in the third quarter and never gave it back. Houston started fast, but UCF played ball control and seized on turnovers to keep thing close, then kept Case Keenum and the Cougars off the field as much as possible in the second half. UH still had a distant chance to steal it with one more onside kick with :10 on the board, but recovered it before the ball went ten yards.
UAB 31, Memphis 21- The firing of coach Tommy West wasn’t enough to inspire his team on to victory, and UAB stays alive in the conference chase. UAB pulled away in the second quarter and was never threatened by the Tigers after that.
Southern Methodist 35, UTEP 31- After Houston went down in the noon game, SMU just had to win to take sole possession of the CUSA West lead. UTEP came to play, though, and a back and forth game was not decided until SMU scored the winning TD with less than 5 minutes to play. UTEP’s 7th loss removes them from postseason consideration for good.
Rice 28, Tulane 20- Rice went on a 21 point run in the second and third quarters to take a lead that would carry them to their first win of the year. And in case there was any doubt, Tulane is also now ineligible for a bowl, picking up their seventh loss.
Southern Miss 27, Marshall 20- Another back and forth CUSA game, this one tied until Southern Miss finally broke it open at 6:54 to go, while Marshall’s last two drives both ended with interceptions. USM stays alive in the conference race, Marshall is essentially sidelined and still needs at least one more win to go bowling.
East Carolina 44, Tulsa 17- I recapped this one yesterday, but am still amazed by how bad Tulsa’s offensive line played. ECU controlled the game all night on both sides of the ball, and if they play that well in the last two weeks, they should win the division.
Conference USA Power Rankings
Hard to know where to put Houston- I saw them play in person, and they really did not look very good. They probably won’t be the 5th conference team in my national top 25, but in the last two games, they had a last second win over a below average Tulsa team and a sound beating from UCF.
- East Carolina
- Southern Methodist
- Southern Miss
- UCF
- Houston
- UAB
- Marshall
- Tulsa
- Rice
- Tulane
- Memphis
- UTEP
Conference Championship Outlook
In the West, SMU leads at 5-1 and hits the road to Marshall this weekend, followed by a home finale against Tulane. If they win them both, the division is theirs and they will host the championship game. If they drop one of those games, then all eyes go to Houston- Memphis and Rice are all that stands between them and the finish line, and they hold the tiebreaker with SMU. If Houston wins the division, home field in the title game is not a given.
The East picture is clearing up, but the path isn’t easy for any team. East Carolina controls its own destiny, but so do UAB, and Southern Miss almost does:
- East Carolina: beat UAB and USM and win the division with a 7-1 record. Home field against any West team except SMU.
- UAB: beat ECU and UCF, win the division with a 6-2 record and tiebreakers over ECU and USM.
- Southern Miss: need a UAB loss, and to beat Tulsa and East Carolina.
- UCF: win out against Tulane and UAB, East Carolina loses to UAB and USM, Southern Miss loses to Tulsa.
ECU is the only team that can probably withstand a loss, but only if it comes to UAB and they would still need UCF to turn around and beat the Blazers the next week. Marshall is eliminated at 3-3 since they would lose tiebreakers even if the bottom fell out for all the teams left.