C-USA needs a jewel among its members

[Harry]

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- There's a good chance that Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky could find himself with more bowl-eligible teams that he'd know what to do with. Well, that's not exactly true. He knows what to do with them - find them all good homes in the postseason once the rest of the conferences shake out.

That's not a bad problem to have if you can get seven or maybe eight of your 14 teams into bowls in one year. Marshall's win over the University of Alabama at Birmingham gave C-USA a definite six, filling up the conference's guaranteed bowl slots.

Florida Atlantic has a soft enough schedule to potentially win out and become the seventh. Louisiana Tech could pull some upsets and get to six wins. And if the Football Bowl Subdivision can't field 70 eligible teams for its bowls (though it likely will), the University of Texas at San Antonio could sneak in to the picture.

But here's the flipside: For as many C-USA teams that could make the bowl list, how many are found on the Top 25 lists of college football, even in the "also receiving votes" group?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.com/Sports/201311130157

[foutsrouts]

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- There's a good chance that Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky could find himself with more bowl-eligible teams that he'd know what to do with. Well, that's not exactly true. He knows what to do with them - find them all good homes in the postseason once the rest of the conferences shake out.

That's not a bad problem to have if you can get seven or maybe eight of your 14 teams into bowls in one year. Marshall's win over the University of Alabama at Birmingham gave C-USA a definite six, filling up the conference's guaranteed bowl slots.

Florida Atlantic has a soft enough schedule to potentially win out and become the seventh. Louisiana Tech could pull some upsets and get to six wins. And if the Football Bowl Subdivision can't field 70 eligible teams for its bowls (though it likely will), the University of Texas at San Antonio could sneak in to the picture.

But here's the flipside: For as many C-USA teams that could make the bowl list, how many are found on the Top 25 lists of college football, even in the "also receiving votes" group?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.com/Sports/201311130157

Those OOC numbers sound awfully familiar.

[Mean Green Matt]

North Texas will be the emerald.

[Christopher Walker]

North Texas will be the emerald.

Or peridot... Really just whatever shade URCM is feeling that day.

[JesseMartin]

Shrouded in subtlety in that column: "CUSA needs to stop playing FCS schools." That's what I took away from it...maybe because I wanted to.

[jdennis82]

Outside perception of a non-power 5 conference dwells largely on the teams at the top rather than depth.

CUSA needs two things:

1. A title game of E.Carolina (10-2) vs. NTexas or Rice (9-3)

2. A good record in the bowl games

[PlummMeanGreen]

CUSA needs 1 (preferably 2) of its teams to try to be MAC'ish and have a Top 25 team among its elite. That was what I hoped leaving the SBC would do for us (and I still think will) BUT................this season with the wins and the bowl choices have been most welcome. Only thing missing is sellouts for every home game and a Top 25 ranking. When all that happens....we will have officially arrived as the program most think we can be.

GMG!

Edited November 14, 2013 by PlummMeanGreen

[forevereagle]

Outside perception of a non-power 5 conference dwells largely on the teams at the top rather than depth.

CUSA needs two things:

1. A title game of E.Carolina (10-2) vs. NTexas or Rice (9-3)

2. A good record in the bowl games

Disagree, CUSA needs to have Marshall in the title game. ECU is leaving the conference, so for the long term heath of the conference, it is best if they are not playing for the whole thing.

[Harry]

If a MAC team can make the top 25 than a C-USA team sure can. NIU is a good team but I'd sure like our defense to get a chance at em. Scheduling is also extremely important. Days of funding the program entirely through body bag games is over.

The problem for CUSA is that we will have more good teams than the MAC meaning it is harder for us to form a version of NIU that can go undefeated in conf every year.

[Stan R]

Mean Green tsavorite

[pastorgrant]

What I see in CUSA looks very encouraging for the future. I don't see USM staying down, UTEP will get better, UTSA and FAU seem to be on a good trajectory, Rice, Marshall, MTSU have solid programs, and the sleeping giant of UNT is waking up and smelling englishmon blood. This conference will be fine, it's just down at the moment.

[Rudy]

If a MAC team can make the top 25 than a C-USA team sure can. NIU is a good team but I'd sure like our defense to get a chance at em.

Especially when you consider the attendance numbers and stadiums of some of those schools

[greenjoe]

In the "Also receiving votes" last week, Ball State got 7 votes. NT beat Ball State.

If we win out, I bet we'll see NT in the top 25.

Until then,

Beat UTSA. Then, beat everybody else.

GO MEAN GREEN

[untbowler]

If the team had beaten Ohio and Tulane, and even flip the Ball State game to a close loss the team would have been getting votes sitting at 9-1 or 8-2

[casual fan]

For CUSA in the short term it is important for UNT & Marshall to win out and keep East Carolina out of the title game. Then CUSA needs to win some bowl games.

In the long term I think the "jewels" will be FAU & Marshall in the east and UNT & UTSA in the west.

In the west over the next 5 - 10 years the 2 teams most likely to get ranked are UNT and UTSA. I know there is a disdain for UTSA by some around here but they are doing it right by hiring a quality coach with skins on the wall. TD taught us a harsh lesson about hiring a quality coach, but hiring Mac corrected that mistake. UTEP & La Tech will never be ranked and probably the same can be said of Rice.

Last point: Mac and Coker both surrounded themselves with good coaches who know how to develop players. That plus recruiting will eventually get you ranked

[ColoradoEagle]

How can you say La. Tech will never be ranked when they were ranked just last year?

[GrayEagle]

If we're to make it as a conference we need several jewels. But, perhaps just as important is that we don't need any duds.

Southern Miss and LaTech should both return to the Top 25 and if North Texas commitment holds true then they are another candidate for the top group along with Marshall.

There could be others that step to the front as well if they will but make the commitment to funding a good coaching staff. CUSA doesn't have to have a perennial power but does need a couple of dogs in the hunt each year. The killer in conference ranking is having two or three near winless teams. If all of the teams can win two or three conference and non-conference games each year we will never again be at the bottom of the FBS conference rankings.

Another area where I hope to see improvement is attendance. Every team in this conference should strive to have a minimum average attendance of 20,000. It's important to TV contracts and bowl selections to have good attendance. It appears that we will have three members who will continue to struggle with that; maybe four until Charlotte establishes its fan base.

[MeanGreenTexan]

In the "Also receiving votes" last week, Ball State got 7 votes. NT beat Ball State.

If we win out, I bet we'll see NT in the top 25.

Until then,

Beat UTSA. Then, beat everybody else.

GO MEAN GREEN

Sadly, those votes will probably go away now.

[untjim1995]

I think the eastern jewels will be MUTS, an F_U (interchangeable, really), and one of the urban schools that are moving up (Charlotte or ODU). Marshall and WKU will probably be fine, but I don't see a huge upsiade for either of them. I just think Middle Tennessee has a lot of advantages in being in a state with a lot of talent that has one behemoth school (Tenn) and a big private school (Vandy) with high admittance standards, and a basketball school in Memphis. MUTS has a lot of potential, IMO.

In the west, I've always said that UTSA has the most upside because of the market they serve and they have no "bad" years to recover from. That said, I think UNT, La Tech, and USM are right up there, too. Rice, to me, as a small private school with high academics, will slide back down. And UTEP and UAB are lost causes, I think, for the next 5 years.

[oldguystudent]

The conference jewels? What balls! Footballs, that is.

[Harry]

I think the eastern jewels will be MUTS, an F_U (interchangeable, really), and one of the urban schools that are moving up (Charlotte or ODU). Marshall and WKU will probably be fine, but I don't see a huge upsiade for either of them. I just think Middle Tennessee has a lot of advantages in being in a state with a lot of talent that has one behemoth school (Tenn) and a big private school (Vandy) with high admittance standards, and a basketball school in Memphis. MUTS has a lot of potential, IMO.

In the west, I've always said that UTSA has the most upside because of the market they serve and they have no "bad" years to recover from. That said, I think UNT, La Tech, and USM are right up there, too. Rice, to me, as a small private school with high academics, will slide back down. And UTEP and UAB are lost causes, I think, for the next 5 years.

I think you are pretty much dead on with the exception of Rice in that their degree is so coveted that they will get good players. Being in Houston doesn't hurt either. The key for Rice is will their administration open up the bank (they have a huge endowment) for facilities.

[casual fan]

How can you say La. Tech will never be ranked when they were ranked just last year?

True. They were ranked for a moment last season, but after the loss of their HC, I don't see that happening again in the next 5-10 years.

The same for S Miss the next 5-10 years.

If we end the season on a 9 game win streak we might sniff a ranking. I think we should at least get some votes.

but 11-3.............big if

[MeanGreenTexan]

True. They were ranked for a moment last season, but after the loss of their HC, I don't see that happening again in the next 5-10 years.

The same for S Miss the next 5-10 years.

If we end the season on a 9 game win streak we might sniff a ranking. I think we should at least get some votes.

but 11-3.............big if

Oh, I think they could. The Bulldogs will scratch & claw (and bite) their way to bowl eligibility after losing this weekend at Rice, probably in a pretty close game. It's been a tough transition year for them, but this is the team we need to latch onto and hate... not the birds that don't fly.

[ragpicker]

HUNTINGTON, W.Va. -- There's a good chance that Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky could find himself with more bowl-eligible teams that he'd know what to do with. Well, that's not exactly true. He knows what to do with them - find them all good homes in the postseason once the rest of the conferences shake out.

That's not a bad problem to have if you can get seven or maybe eight of your 14 teams into bowls in one year. Marshall's win over the University of Alabama at Birmingham gave C-USA a definite six, filling up the conference's guaranteed bowl slots.

Florida Atlantic has a soft enough schedule to potentially win out and become the seventh. Louisiana Tech could pull some upsets and get to six wins. And if the Football Bowl Subdivision can't field 70 eligible teams for its bowls (though it likely will), the University of Texas at San Antonio could sneak in to the picture.

But here's the flipside: For as many C-USA teams that could make the bowl list, how many are found on the Top 25 lists of college football, even in the "also receiving votes" group?

Read more: http://www.dailymail.com/Sports/201311130157

We are exactly one field goal and one touchdown from being in the also receiving votes category, if not in the top twenty-five itself. Tulane and Ohio still hurt.

[BillySee58]

A 10-2 ECU team in the conference championship may have the refs on their side knowing that they could be playing for a top 25 ranking.