By P K Bartley
Surprisingly, Southern Miss went 6-5 last year and did not make it to a bowl game. One of the main reasons was their poor production at running the ball. Last year the Golden Eagles were 9th in C-USA, with a rushing average of 95.8 yards per game. The lack of production from the running game was a result of senior running back Derrick Nix having to red-shirt because of kidney problems. Nix is back this year, and the Golden Eagles are looking to make a return to a bowl game.
“With Derrick Nix coming back, he is going to bring so much to the table,” said junior linebacker Rod Davis. “He runs so hard, he is bigger and faster than he has ever been No more passing on third and short, just give the ball to Nix and ride the Bull.”
On defense, the Golden Eagles are expected to have another outstanding year. In 2001, the Golden Eagles were second in C-USA in total defense and first in scoring defense where they gave up just 16.9 points per game. Last year as a pre-season All-American, Davis led the Golden Eagles in tackles with 100 averaging 9.1 a game. The Golden Eagles were also first in C-USA in pass defense, only giving up eight touchdown passes.
Players to watch: RB Derrick Nix, LB Rod Davis
Games to watch: Sept. 21 at Alabama, Nov. 14 vs. Louisville
Predicted finish: 10-2 overall, 2nd in C-USA
Last year, Cincinnati went 7-4 in the regular season and made it to the Motor City Bowl, where they lost to Toledo 23-16. This year, head coach Rick Minter’s team looks poised to make it to another bowl game. The offense is led by sophomore quarterback Gino Guidugli, who last year threw for 2,573 yards and 16 touchdown passes. Guidugli has three senior receivers to throw the ball to; LaDaris Vann, Tye Keith and Jon Olinger, and the trio should help keep UC offense towards the top of C-USA. Last year, the Bearcats had the third best offense in the conference, and they will need a similar performance if they are to make it to another bowl game.
As for the defense, the Bearcats need some improvement over last year, where in C-USA they were 8th in running defense and 5th overall. One of the leaders for the Bearcats on defense is senior defensive end Antwan Peek. Peek has already made a school record of 21 sacks. The entire defensive line has a lot of senior leadership.
The possible weak links of the Bearcats’ defense are their linebackers, where UC is young. In the secondary, the Bearcats have experience but very little depth. “We need to improve on defense for us to stay with the caliber of the schedule,” said Minter. “If we want to have a chance to stay in the race for the Conference USA title, our defense is going to have to set the tone.”
Players to watch: QB Gino Guidugli, DE Antwan Peek.
Games to watch: Sept. 21 vs. Ohio State, Nov. 9 at Louisville
Prediction: 9-4 overall, 3rd in C-USA
Last season was the first for TCU in C-USA. They had a good debut, going 6-5 and making it to the galleryfurniture.com Bowl, where they lost to Texas A&M.
This season, TCU has a good chance to make it to another bowl game. The main reason that TCU has a chance is their defense. Last year, TCU ranked third in C-USA in total defense, and they were second in C-USA in running defense. TCU returns with six starters from last year. At the head of that list is senior cornerback Jason Goss, who was second in team all-conference last year with 24 pass breakups.
However, for TCU to truly be a top team in C-USA, they must improve on offense, which was eighth last year in C-USA in total offense. TCU was seventh in C-USA in rushing offense with 124.5 rushing yards per game.
Junior tailback Ricky Madison will have stiff competition from junior Texas transfer Kenny Hayter. Senior quarterback Sean Stilley will be leading the offense for head coach Gary Patterson. “I think we are going to play a lot better this year,” said Patterson “We have 14 out of 15 offensive linemen back and we have all our receivers back. We have all our running backs back.” In a surprising move, star wide receiver LaTarence Dunbar is moving to the other side of the ball to play defense at the free safety position. Dunbar could help an already good defense become even better.
Players to watch: Safety LaTarence Dunbar, CB Jason Goss.
Games to watch: Sept. 2 at Cincinnati, Sept. 7 at Northwestern
Prediction: 7-5 overall, 4th in C-USA
Memphis had a sub par 5-6 record last year, and the offense was one of the problems. Memphis was next to last in C-USA in total offense, as well as passing offense. If the Tigers want to get to a bowl game this year, they must improve on their 189.7 passing yards per game. However, the offense did have some success last year. The Tigers were fifth in C-USA in scoring, with 26.7 points a game. They were also fifth in the conference in rushing, with 137.0 yards a game. “I think offensively, we are going to be better then we have been,” said head coach Tommy West. “We can be a little more explosive than we have been. We can score a little quicker then we have in the past. That gives you a chance to win games that you might not be expected to win, but we need to win the games that we are supposed to win.”
The Tigers were a solid sixth in C-USA in total defense last year. Six starters are back on the defense led by senior cornerback Anthony Harden. The pass defense was fourth in C-USA last year, having given up 15 TDs through the air. If the defense stays the same and if the passing game improves, then the Tigers could make their first bowl appearance since 1971.
Players to watch: CB Anthony Harden, TB Danny Brown
Games to watch: Sept. 7 at Old Miss, Oct. 8 vs. Louisville
Predicted finish: 7-5 overall, 5th in C-USA
Last season East Carolina went 6-5 and made it to the GMAC Bowl, where they lost to Marshall 64-61 in the highest scoring bowl game in NCAA history. If the Pirates are to make it back to another bowl game this year, some holes are going have to be filled. The most notable is the departure of quarterback David Garrard. Taking over for him is sophomore Paul Troth, who will need to get a good ground game from junior fullback Art Brown. Brown last year ran for an average 5.7 yards a carry. Junior halfback Terrance Copper will also need to be productive for the Pirates to have a good offense. The Pirates have a lot of experience at the wide receiver position with senior Richard Alston and junior Marcuse White. ECU should be able to score points, but their biggest problem is the same as last year; their defense, mainly their passing defense. Last year, the Pirates ranked seventh in C-USA in pass defense, having given up a completion percent of 58.3 for the season. ECU also gave up 20 touchdown passes and 2,871 yards. With the secondary struggling like they did, it brought down the team’s overall defensive ranking to seventh in C-USA. “I felt like our defense is a lot better then it was last year,” said senior outside linebacker Christshawn Gillam. “We are faster and quicker, we are more athletic, we have some seniors that can pave the way for the young guys. We have to improve from week to week.” If the secondary does not improve, the Pirates could be sitting at home this bowl season.
Players to watch: QB Paul Troth, FB Art Brown.
Games to watch: Sept. 28 at West Virginia, Nov. 23 vs. TCU
Predicted finish: 6-6 overall, 6th in C-USA
UAB had a solid 6-5 record last year but were unable to make it to a bowl game even though they finished 5-1 in C-USA, which put them second behind Louisville. The main problem that the Blazers had was their offense.
In C-USA, The Blazers were last in both total offense and passing offense. The total number of touchdown passes that the Blazers made was eight. Senior quarterback Tomas Cox will be back at the helm for the Blazers, and he will have to have a better year if the Blazers are to improve on their record from last year. “The last two years we have been bowl eligible, but we have not made it to a bowl game,” said senior defensive end James Malone. “That is our goal, and the main goal is to win the conference championship.”
Last year, the Blazers defense was the best in C-USA and one of the best in the nation. The bad news is that only two starters will return this year: free safety Chris Brown and cornerback Dio Hill. The question for the defense is if the new starters can step in and keep the defense at the top of C-USA.
Players to watch: QB Tomas Cox, FS Chris Brown
Games to watch: Sept. 14 vs. Pittsburgh, Nov. 16 vs. ECU
Predicted finish: 5-7 overall, 7th in C-USA
The Tulane had a disappointing 3-9 season last year, but they were an exciting team to watch because they were able to score a lot of points. On the other hand, the Green Wave defense gave up just as many points as the offense scored. Ranking last in C-USA, the defense gave up yards 490.3 per game.
“You can’t win in our league (C-USA) unless you play defense,” said head coach Chris Scelfo. “Look at the teams that went to bowl games last year. They all play good defense. To give yourself a chance, you have to play good defense.” This year, the Green Wave have nine starters back on defense. All nine will have to step it up for the Green Wave to improve, and the offense will need to score a lot of points for the Green Wave to make it to a bowl game.
Players to watch: RB Mewelde Moore, K Seth Marler
Games to watch: Sept. 7 at Houston, Sept. 28 vs. Texas
Predicted finish: 5-7 overall, 8th in C-USA
Last season, Army had a disappointing 3-8 record. There are a lot of areas where the Black Knights need to improve. Last year in C-USA, Army ranked 8th in total defense and last in turnover margins. Surprisingly, however, Army ranked 5th in C-USA in total offense. This year, that could improve with first year starter sophomore quarterback Reggie Nevels, who head coach Todd Berry says is a great athlete. Army does have capability, but it is young talent, so it is going to take time to develop, which could give Army another disappointing year.
Still, Berry is optimistic about his team’s chances. “This could be a very interesting year for us. We could stay status quo,” said Berry, “or we could make a big leap, or we could end up somewhere in the middle.”
For Army to make that big leap, they will need to cut down on the turnovers. The Black Knights have a brutal schedule that will either forge them into a quality team or completely discourage them by the middle of October. Army follows its home game against Louisville with Southern Miss at ECU, then TCU at West Point.
Players to watch: QB Reggie Nevels, WR William White.
Games to watch: Oct. 19 at Houston, Dec. 7 vs. Navy
Predicted finish: 4-8 overall, 9th in C-USA
Things should look up for Houston this year. Of course, going 0-11, the worst season in the school’s history, there’s nowhere to go but up. This year, the Cougars have a lot of holes to fill if they intend to get better.
The worst problem the Cougars had last year was their lack of a running game, ranking last in C-USA with an average of 93.4 yards per game.
Senior running back Jeffrey Reynolds needs to improve on his production for the Cougars to be successful. However, the Cougars were fourth in passing last year, with 249.2 yards per game. This year, the Cougars will have a new quarterback delivering the ball in senior Nick Eddy, a junior college transfer. Eddy has good receivers to throw the ball to in senior Brian Robinson and junior KeyKowa Bell. “I think that it is realistic for us to make it to a bowl game this year,” said head coach Dana Dimel. “I think if we could get to a 500, we could make it to a bowl game, because of the Houston Bowl. If we get to that, we could draw a good crowd.”
For the Cougars to make it to a bowl game, they must improve their defense. The Cougars were last in C-USA in passing defense and next to last in running defense as well as total defense. Houston was ninth in C-USA in scoring defense, giving up 39.3 points per game. If that wasn’t enough, the Cougars were also 9th in turnover margins. If the Cougars are to get better, they have a lot of work to do.
Players to watch: QB Nick Eddy, WR Brian Robinson.
Games to watch: Sept. 21 at Texas, Oct. 19 vs. Army
Predicted finish: 1-10 overall, 10th in C-USA
