By Al Myatt, Special to CNNSI.com
Conference USA has yet to pull off a win that its entire membership
could point to with pride as an indicator of the young league's football strength.
In years past, C-USA members have gloried in wins such as Cincinnati's
triumph at Wisconsin in 1999, East Carolina's upset of Miami the same
season, and Southern Miss' shutout at Alabama before the Crimson Tide's
demise in 2000.
Such outcomes gave the league exposure and legitimacy, important factors
when it comes to negotiating television packages and earning national
respect in the polls.
Last week fans across the country saw Cincinnati and Memphis, in games
televised Sunday afternoon and Monday night, in position to
advance the cause of C-USA only to falter at the end.
East Carolina didn't help its perception in ACC country as the Pirates
were stunned 21-19 by Wake Forest. The Pirates were picked second in the
C-USA preseason poll while the Deacons were slotted eighth in the ACC.
Louisville did the best job of carrying the league banner, blowing out
SEC member and state rival Kentucky, 36-10, as Cardinals quarterback
Dave Ragone threw for a career-high 368 yards.
Southern Miss took care of business with a 17-9 win at home against a
rebuilding Oklahoma State team that was 3-8 last year.
And TCU won 19-5 at another team coming off a 3-8 season, North Texas.
UAB extended the losing streak of Division I-AA Montana State to 18
games with by a decisive 41-13 margin but that's hardly the stuff that
gets you into the bowl championship series.
Elsewhere, Houston lost hometown bragging rights 21-14 to Rice and
Tulane's state pride took a hit with a 48-17 pounding from LSU.
This week presents an opportunity for some league-wide celebrating as UAB
plays at Florida State, which looked vulnerable at Duke in its opener
for about 18 minutes before rolling to a 55-13 win over the Blue Devils.
Cincinnati was in position to knock off defending Big Ten champion
Purdue when the Bearcats found a unique way to beat themselves.
Before the largest crowd ever to see a game at Nippert Stadium, 35,097,
the Bearcats faced fourth-and-15 in the final minute at the
Boilermakers' 32.
Adam Hoover threw to LaDaris Vann for a 26-yard gain to the Purdue 6.
But the opportunity was wiped out by a penalty on the Bearcats. Running
back Ray Jackson didn't realize he was supposed to be on the field and
was trying to get into position when the ball was snapped. He wasn't set
and the Bearcats' big play was wiped out.
"Any time you're dealing with humans, you're going to have human error,"
said Cincinnati coach Rick Minter. "But we can't make mistakes like that
at that moment. It just took away a golden opportunity."
For Cincinnati and C-USA.
Memphis opened the Tommy West coaching era by getting a 10-0 lead over
Mississippi State before the Bulldogs erupted for 30 points in the final
20 minutes and a 30-10 win.
C-USA is 5-7 thus far in non-conference games.
That leaves it up to UAB as they visit the Seminoles this week, although
the Blazers have been blindsided by a lawsuit from a girl who claims to
have been sexually exploited by 25 football players while a 15-year-old
student at the university.
The suit alleges that Blazers coach Watson Brown and staff knew about
the activity and did little about it. The school president and chief of
campus police are also named in the suit, apparently for their failure
to act.
"The charges leveled against me and my staff are completely false,"
Brown said.
As far as Florida State goes, Brown will accentuate a defense that
limited Montana State to a net of minus-1 yard in the opener.
The Blazers will be vastly outnumbered in Tallahassee. Their supporters
will be dispersed at locales throughout C-USA.
 |
|---|
|
Replacing a Heisman finalist and the NFL's No. 2 pick is no small chore. So far, Ricky Madison is slowly inheriting the mantle as TCU's first tailback post- LaDainian Tomlinson.
His first start, against Nebraska, wasn't exactly memorable. The 5-9, 183-pound sophomore from Dallas gained just 33 yards on 18 carries. Last Saturday against North Texas, those numbers improved, though still not great. Madison pounded out 81 yards on 22 carries.
The TCU offense is struggling in general, but it has high hopes that Madison can kick things into high gear.
|
|
|
|
 |
|---|
|
HOT:
UAB RB Jegil Dugger
Ran for 122 yards on 25 carries in a 41-13 win
over Montana State.
NOT:
ECU RB Leonard Henry
Was limited to
44 yards on 11 totes in a loss to Wake Forest.
HOT:
Louisville QB Dave Ragone
Completed 21-of-34 for 368 yards and 3 TDs against Kentucky.
NOT:
Houston's defense
Allowed 354 yards on the ground to Rice.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|---|
|
Cincinnati was coming out of a timeout when a costly snafu occurred
that wiped out a late scoring opportunity in a 19-14 loss at home to
Purdue.
Running back Ray Jackson charged onto the field too late to be
legal for the 26-yard pass play on fourth down that would have given the
Bearcats first-and-goal at the Boilermakers 6 with about 40 seconds
left.
A mistake like that shouldn't be made, especially following a
timeout when personnel should be settled and organized.
|
|
|
|
 |
|---|
|
 Southern Miss QB Jeff Kelly
Completed 20-of-27 for 277 yards
despite wet conditions against Oklahoma State.
East Carolina LB Pernell Griffin
C-USA preseason defensive player of the year was in on a school-record 24 tackles.
TCU kicker Nick Browne
Tied a school record with
four field goals after playing in the Frogs' 3-1 soccer win at Vanderbilt the previous night.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|---|
|
Don't try to tell UAB coach Watson Brown that Florida State isn't up to
its usual level this season.
The Seminoles returned just nine starters,
and Heisman Trophy-winning quarterback Chris Weinke was not among them.
But Brown, whose Blazers play at FSU on Saturday, said the
names may have changed but the product looks the same.
"Their defensive front looked the same against Duke, their kicking game
looked the same, and their receivers were making plays down the field,"
Brown said. "That's not what you want to see."
The league schedule gets underway with two games. Cincinnati visits Army
for the Cadets' opener and East Carolina travels to Tulane. Combined
record of those teams is 0-4. Pirates coach Steve Logan plans a Friday
practice at the Superdome to get his team acclimated.
|
|
|
| |
 |
|---|
|
Tulane quarterback Patrick Ramsey continues to post impressive numbers,
going 25-for-47 for 343 yards against LSU. He's thrown a TD pass in 23
straight games. ... Kenneth Johnson of Southern Miss had seven catches
for 92 yards against Oklahoma State. ... Louisville's Zek Parker had
184 yards on six catches. ... LSU slowed Tulane sophomore Mewelde Moore
to 65 yards on 22 carries. ... Houston quarterback Kelly Robertson, a
23-year old junior college transfer, played his first game since 1997
and completed 22 of 47 for 192 yards with two touchdowns and one
interception. He has played baseball the last three years. ... Sophomore
defensive end Dewayne White had 11 tackles for Louisville. ... Southern
Miss held Oklahoma without a touchdown for the second straight year. ...
TCU coach Gary Patterson got his first career win. ... The Horned Frogs
gave up a safety for the first time in 112 games. ...
|
|
|
