Conference USA Week Five Review

Another week is in the books for the 2015 college football season with Conference USA going 5-7. Conference play kicked into gear with four CUSA game taking place. Let's take a look at the good, bad, and ugly of week five CUSA football action.

Week Six Schedule:

• Southern Miss at Marshall
• UTEP at Florida International
• MTSU at WKU
• Rice at Florida Atlantic
• Portland State at North Texas
• Louisiana Tech at UTSA

Week Five Scoreboard:

• Temple 37, Charlotte 3
• Massachusetts 24, Florida International 14
• Marshall 27, Old Dominion 7
• Western Kentucky 49, Rice 10
• Southern Miss 49, North Texas 14
• Vanderbilt 17, MTSU 13
• Louisiana Tech 43, Louisiana 14
• UTSA 25, UTEP 6

Power Rankings:

1. Western Kentucky
2. Louisiana Tech
3. MTSU
4. Marshall
5. Southern Miss
6. Rice
7. Florida International
8. Florida Atlantic
9. Old Dominion
10. UTSA
11. UTEP
12. North Texas
13. Charlotte

Who/What Looked Good:

• Western Kentucky: The Hilltoppers put up video game numbers versus Rice, but actually looked somewhat competent on defense. Rice giftwrapped WKU a couple of turnovers and didn’t play well in this game. Even with Rice’s poor play, WKU took advantage and won easily.
• Southern Miss Offense: Yes, it was North Texas, but the Golden Eagles put up 573 yards of total offense and 49 points in the dominant win. The run game averaged 7.5 yards per carry for a total of 248 yards. Mullens threw for 325 yards and four touchdowns, while Hayes (86) and Smith (84) led the way running the football.
• Louisiana Tech: The Bulldogs easily beat in-state rivals Louisiana 43-14 Saturday night. A blocked punt for a safety and a pick six made for a 29-7 first half lead. The Bulldogs are rolling again and look like heavy favorites to face WKU in the CUSA title game.

Who/What Looked Bad:

• MTSU Finishing Games: The Blue Raiders held a 13-3 lead with under eight minutes left in the game. Vanderbilt scored touchdowns on back to back drives in the fourth quarter and stole a homecoming win away from MTSU. This one will stick with the Blue Raiders for a while.
• Old Dominion: The Monarchs were not 20 points worse than Marshall, but turning the ball over like they did is unacceptable. ODU was even given the ball on back to back drives to start the game for Marshall, but could not make the Thundering Herd pay for either mistake. The only bright spot for Old Dominion was the play of Ray Lawry with 160 yards on the ground.
• UTEP’s Running Game: One of the better in the nation last fall, the Miners were stuffed for 59 yards on 22 carries by UTSA. No team has seen the loss of one player negatively affect their season like UTEP has with Aaron Jones.

Bye Weeks:

• Old Dominion
• Charlotte

CUSA Standings:

East:

1. Western Kentucky 2-0
2. Marshall 1-0
3. MTSU 1-0
4. Florida Atlantic 1-0
5. Florida International 0-1
6. Old Dominion 0-1
7. Charlotte 0-2

 West:

1. Southern Miss 1-0
2. UTSA 1-0
3. Louisiana Tech 1-1
4. Rice 1-1
5. UTEP 0-1
6. North Texas 0-2