| AccuScore Conference Previews - Conference USA |
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Exactly half the conference reached the postseason last year as six teams played in bowl games. Central Florida is the defending champion, but the Knights lost superstar running back Kevin Smith to the NFL. The conference has gone pass happy in recent years, and has passed the Pac-10 as perhaps the most offensively oriented league in the nation. Six teams threw for more than 3,000 yards in 2007 including Tulsa which topped the 5,000 yard mark. The trend towards the air should only continue as new coaches June Jones (SMU), Larry Fedora (Southern Miss), and Kevin Sumlin (Houston) plan to bring wide open passing offenses to their new schools. There doesn't appear to be a legitimate candidate to go undefeated which is a prerequisite for a team to bust the BCS and several schools could be among the worst teams in the country. That doesn't mean the games won't be entertaining as Conference USA should be highly entertaining filled with shootouts as each squad tries to outdo each other through the air. Contenders: East Carolina, Tulsa, Southern Miss Tulsa is the reigning conference offensive powerhouse as coach Todd Graham installed a no-huddle spread scheme to great success. The Golden Hurricanes averaged 41.1 points per game and led the nation in yardage (543.9 yds/game). The offense led Tulsa to a school-record 10 wins in 2007, and the team will be looking for more this year. East Carolina stunned Boise State in the Hawaii Bowl to cap a solid 2007 season. The Pirates will need to settle on a quarterback as three players competed for the job in spring, but this program is moving in the right direction under coach Skip Holtz. Southern Miss has been one of the most successful programs in the country having reached a bowl game in 10 of the past 11 seasons, and should do so again this year. New coach Larry Fedora will be implementing the spread offense, and he will have a talented stable of skill players led by junior running back Damion Fletcher. Team on the Rise: Marshall The Thundering Herd has won just 12 games over the last 3 seasons, and hasn't had a winning season since 2003. Head coach Mark Snyder made changes to both coordinators and finally has a full complement of 85 scholarship players. There is good talent at the skill positions, and new defensive coordinator Rick Minter is shifting to a 3-4 alignment to beter utilize his talented linebackers. A sense of urgency is attached to this team because another poor season probably costs Snyder his job. Bottom Feeders: UAB, SMU UAB ranked in the bottom 10 nationally last year in both total offense and defense. Joe Webb takes over full-time under center after being a part-time quarterback and part-time wide receiver a year ago. SMU is very inexperienced and lacks talent. June Jones will experience some growing pains, but he should turn the program around in short order. Just not this season. Trackback(0)
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Jonathan Lee AccuScore Analyst
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