CUSA football midseason reviews

[Cheesesteak]

Wednesday, October 15, 2003

By Eric Crawford
Special to ESPN.com

Quick quiz.

Name Conference USA's biggest out-of-conference win of the season. Having trouble? That's the problem for C-USA at the season's midway point.

TCU, the preseason favorite, is unbeaten and has had a legitimately impressive season, particularly given that it has remained unbeaten despite injuries at quarterback and running back. But the Horned Frogs don't figure to be this year's bet to bust the BCS because they haven't played a ranked team and won't for the rest of the season.

When the conference has faced ranked opponents, the results haven't been pretty. C-USA teams have played 35 nonconference games, and only four of those have come against ranked opponents. The combined score of those four losses: 189-38 in favor of the big boys. In fact, C-USA hasn't won an out-of-conference game against a ranked team since Louisville upset Florida State last season, and that was just the fourth time in 53 tries that the league had beaten a ranked foe from outside the league.

So clearly, the focus is on infighting and who will land the league's top prize -- a trip to the AXA Liberty Bowl in Memphis. The more healthy TCU gets, the more likely it appears that the Frogs will be making a return trip. But they'll have some obstacles.

Southern Miss shares top billing in the league, despite having lost all three of its nonconference games, and if it takes care of business could have a conference title game of sorts when TCU visits Hattiesburg on Nov. 20.

Despite being picked fifth in a preseason poll of league coaches, Louisville is poised for a sixth straight bowl berth under first-year coach Bobby Petrino. Newcomer South Florida lost by a field goal to visiting TCU last week but should be strong enough to earn its first bowl bid, while Houston and UAB have put themselves in position to earn surprise bowl bids.

Biggest Surprise
Houston. Under first-year coach Art Briles, the Cougars are 5-1 for the first time since David Klingler led the team to a 10-1 record in 1990. True freshman quarterback Kevin Kolb has thrown for 12 touchdowns and just two interceptions in his first six games and the Cougars have topped 40 points three times in the first half of the season.

Biggest Disappointment
Cincinnati was picked to finish fourth in the league and got off to a 3-0 start, but it has lost three straight, including conference games to UAB and Southern Miss. With a three-game conference road stretch at South Florida, TCU and Memphis looming ahead, the Bearcats don't appear to be following up their league co-championship very well.

Midseason MVP
Tulane quarterback J.P. Losman is putting up the league's biggest numbers and is one of the league's top NFL prospects. But TCU kicker Nick Browne has been as valuable as any player in the league. Half of the Horned Frogs' wins have been by three-point margins, and he has made 13 field-goal tries.

Midseason Coach of the Year
TCU's Gary Patterson. Can the man get some credit? TCU has won 16 of its past 17 games and is 6-0 this season despite enduring the kind of injuries to key players that often can throw teams for a loop.

Bowl Bound
TCU, Southern Miss, Louisville and South Florida, with a handful including Cincinnati, Tulane, UAB and Houston fighting for the final slot.

[PonyFan]

So CUSA has FIVE bowl contracts?
Got my fingers crossed. We were left out in the cold last time.