Bowl Watch - October 29

[CalallenStang]

CUSA East:

East Carolina (4-4, 3-2) - I did not expect the Pirates to beat Southern Miss in Hattiesburg. The Pirates now have to win two games out of @ UCF, Marshall, @ Rice, and @ NC State. If ECU wins out in conference, they will take home the CUSA East Crown

Southern Miss (4-4, 2-2) - With @ Memphis, @ Tulane, UAB, and Marshall left, I see the Golden Eagles winning out.

Marshall (3-5, 2-2) - The Herd are on a two game win streak...but that was in games @ UAB and vs Memphis. With Tulane, @ ECU, UTEP, and @ Southern Miss left, I do not feel that the Herd will get the three wins necessary to become bowl-eligible.

UAB (3-5, 2-2) - The ESPN2 game between UAB and SMU is shaping up to be huge in determining the bowl picture. With @ SMU, UTEP, @ Southern Miss, and @ UCF left, I do not see UAB becoming bowl eligible.

UCF (2-6, 1-3) - Giving up 143 points over the last three games (Pittsburgh, Rice, and @ Houston), the Golden Knights are in a tailspin and now must win out to go to a bowl. With @ ECU, @ Memphis, @ Tulane, and UAB left, I do not believe they can do it.

Memphis (1-7, 0-4) - So far, this is the only CUSA team eliminated from the bowl picture. With Southern Miss, UCF, Houston, and @ UTEP left, the Tigers could still play a role by pulling off a few upsets.

CUSA East Bowl Eligibility Projection: East Carolina, Southern Miss

CUSA West:

Tulsa (7-1, 4-0) - There are those who think Tulsa is the best team in Oklahoma. With @ Houston, Rice, @ SMU, and Tulane left, the Hurricane will play some teams fighting for what Tulsa already has: bowl eligibility.

Houston (6-3, 4-1) - The Cougars just became bowl eligible yesterday with a 51-31 defeat of UCF. With Tulsa, @ SMU, and @ Memphis left, the Cougars will now turn their attention toward trying for the division championship.

UTEP (4-4, 2-2) - The Miners are on a two-game losing streak, but that won't last as they have Rice, @ UAB, @ Marshall, and Memphis left.

Rice (3-5, 2-2) - What a job Todd Graham has done at Rice. They still need three more wins though, and with @ UTEP, @ Tulsa, ECU, and SMU left, I don't see them getting it done.

Tulane (3-5, 1-3) - A big win for the Green Wave over Army last weekend positions Tulane to become bowl-eligible by winning three of the last four. With @ Marshall, Southern Miss, UCF, and @ Tulsa remaining, I don't think they can get it done.

SMU (4-4, 2-2) - We have UAB, Houston, Tulsa, and @ Rice left. We need two wins out of those four...and probably three due to attendance.

CUSA West Bowl Eligibility Projection: Tulsa, Houston, SMU, UTEP

As it stands right now, here are my bowl projections:

Liberty: Tulsa
GMAC: Southern Miss
New Orleans: Houston
Birmingham: ECU
Armed Forces: UTEP

(switch UTEP and Houston if La-Lafayette wins the Sun Belt)

[FordtoTolbert]

..nice work, but.....we just are not bowl material, for many, many reasons......maybe next year. BEAT UAB!!

[perunapower]

..nice work, but.....we just are not bowl material, for many, many reasons......maybe next year. BEAT UAB!!

Would you like to expand at why you don't think we a bowl material?

[The PonyGrad]

Our bowl chances have been hampered by off the field activities.

I think we are bowl material, especially when Martin gets back healthy.

Look at our losses.

Tech, loss to a good team, they just missed beating Texas.
UNT, we should have won but we suffered through maturing, some bad luck and injury to Martin, maybe the key piece of our game plan.
UTEP, should have won if we had Willis
ECU, turns out they are getting healthy and hitting their stride. Our loss to ECU was a loss to a decent team at their place. ECU just beat USM at USM and lead the East.

Granted we must fix our pass coverage but that is the only gaping hole where one could question our team.

Now beat UAB and we are in the game.

[mrydel]

Lots of teams are not bowl material and they still play in the post season. You want to get there for exposure and extra practice. You can apologize for being there after the game.

[jtstang]

Our bowl chances have been hampered by off the field activities.

Which off-field activities got our @sses handed to us at NTSU? That's a gutless excuse and I sincerely hope SMU does not play that card when they get sent home at 6-6.

[The PonyGrad]

If you look at the UNT description you will not see anything about that. That comment referred to our overall results and especially UTEP. If we beat UTEP we would look like a lock now.

[jtstang]

UTEP is better than SMU, get over it. If one more win would have made us "look like a lock," it should have been NTSU.

[mustangfan01]

I guess playing with your 2nd string QB @ UTEP while also losing both of your starting defensive ends and losing to UTEP on a trick play = being the weaker team.

[Stallion]

I see our losses and see 4 games where we were thoroughly outplayed-but I guess I'm not a Cheerleader. Woulda Coulda

[Pony Fan]

We need to have at least three wins to get any bowl.

[jtstang]

I guess playing with your 2nd string QB @ UTEP while also losing both of your starting defensive ends and losing to UTEP on a trick play = being the weaker team.

Excuses for losing. Which ones have you been using for the last twenty years?

[Col. Nathan R. Jessep]

I guess playing with your 2nd string QB @ UTEP while also losing both of your starting defensive ends and losing to UTEP on a trick play = being the weaker team.

Excuses for losing. Which ones have you been using for the last twenty years?

-----------------
JT, I agree with you on how NTSU game will haunt this team, but no way UTEP was the better team that night. Leaving that rainsoaked stadium, I was still shaking my head that Price had to use a gadget play to pull ahead in 4Q.

With a backup QB (who had no weekly preparation) & both DE sitting out the 2nd half, those aren't excuses they are facts in the outcome of the game. Those 3 players are difference makers on this team-- yet, this team played UTEP ON THE ROAD IN THE RAIN dead-ass even without 'em.

[Stallion]

Oh Please. UTEP had what 420 yards? SMU had 180 yards? And SMU was the better team.

[perunapower]

Oh Please. UTEP had what 420 yards? SMU had 180 yards? And SMU was the better team.

You were close on the yards, UTEP had 387, we had 190. We also had the ball for half the amount they did. It means jack squat when you run down the field racking up yards and don't get any points. We got owned for the first quarter and a half, maybe even the entire first half. The outcome of games is not dependent on the statistics of the game. It doesn't matter if we ran all the way from our one yard line to score a touchdown or if we intercept the ball on their one yard line and score a touchdown.

All that is being said is that if we had a more confident QB who could spark the offense into scoring during the first half, or had at least practiced with the first string offense during the week, the UTEP game would most likely be a W.