Conference USA Power Rankings (9/4/17)

It was an odd start to the season for CUSA as the elites struggled with inferior opponents, MTSU no showed versus Vandy again, and Marshall showed that you don’t always need an offense to win a game. With that said, let’s take a look at the CUSA power rankings.

1. Western Kentucky (1-0, 0-0): Sure, EKU is a rival, but the Hilltoppers looked a bit disinterested and looking ahead Saturday night. A win is a win and with Illinois, Louisiana Tech, and Ball State filling out a September slate, things will only get tougher for WKU.
2. Louisiana Tech (1-0, 0-0): It is hard to get up to play versus a vastly inferior opponent. The Bulldogs took care of business, but have quite a bit to work on before facing Mississippi State, WKU, and South Carolina in the next three weeks.
3. MTSU (0-1, 0-0): As usual, the Blue Raiders choked against their neighbors from Nashville. All you can really do is throw that game out the window and start new. Wins over Syracuse and Minnesota in the next two weeks could completely change the trajectory of the program this season.
4. Old Dominion (1-0, 0-0): It was an ugly game, but Old Dominion held off a tougher than expected Albany squad in week one. LaRussa showed flashes of brilliance and should have his spot cemented as a starter with his week one performance. Three turnovers cannot happen versus North Carolina and Virginia Tech if they want to pull an upset or two.
5. UTSA (0-0, 0-0): Weather kept the Roadrunners from playing in week one. They instead get to start their season with a trip to a Baylor squad smarting from a loss to Liberty in week one. If they can get this win, they could be looking at a possible 9/10 win season this fall.
6. Marshall (1-0, 0-0): I don’t even know what to make of the Thundering Herd. They cannot expect to score 21 non-offensive points every week. Until the offense proves they are improved from last season, Marshall sits in the middle of the CUSA pack.
7. Southern Miss (0-1, 0-0): There is hope for the Golden Eagles as they have found their quarterback in Kwadra Griggs. There were multiple chances for USM to beat Kentucky and they would have moved to #6 if they did, but they could not pull out the win. With Southern and ULM next on the slate, USM should start CUSA play at 2-1 overall.
8. North Texas (1-0, 0-0): The Mean Green took care of business in week one and beat the doors off Lamar as expected. Now, they have a real challenge with SMU and Iowa on the schedule before starting CUSA play with a visit from UAB.
9. UAB (1-0, 0-0): The Return got off to a great start in week one with a 38-7 win over Alabama A&M. The Blazers get into real FBS action in week two versus a solid Ball State squad, followed by Coastal Carolina. Five wins are possible for UAB this year.
10. Charlotte (0-1, 0-0): The 49ers hung around and had a chance to get within a score versus EMU, but could not put things together offensively in the 24-7 loss. Fix some mistakes and Charlotte could be battling for a bowl berth.
11. Florida Atlantic (0-1, 0-0): The Lane Kiffin era got off to a lackluster start versus a solid Navy squad. The players looked lost at times and the coaching staff looked ill prepared for the triple option of Navy. It could get ugly for the Owls in the next two weeks as they travel to #9 Wisconsin and Boston College comes to town.
12. UTEP (0-1, 0-0): The Miners were never going to compete with Oklahoma on the road. Forget that game. This week marks a matchup with Rice that could determine the worst team in Conference USA.
13. Florida International (0-1, 0-0): If Kiffin’s era got off to a lackluster start, the Butch Davis era started with a disaster. Playing rival UCF, the Golden Panthers are lucky that they didn’t give up 80 points. It was bad.
14. Rice (0-1, 0-0): With Stanford, Houston, Pitt, and Army making up the non-conference schedule, this could be the year that Rice goes 0-12. The best chances for the Owls to win a game might come in September as they travel to UTEP and host FIU.

Group Of Five Coaches On The Hot Seat

Every year, we see multiple programs make changes at the head coaching position. Whether it is due to losing that coach to another program, the coach resigning, or a firing, it happens. 

Most of the time, warning signs are there and coaches are put on the proverbial hot seat. There, they stew as an administration takes a look at accomplishments, failures, and the in between. It is a rough time for any coach and something that I wouldn't wish upon my enemies.

With that said, let's take a look at some coaches that are on the hot seat in 2017. 

David Bailiff, Rice:

The question has been asked on multiple occasions by many different people. What does David Bailiff have on Rice in order to keep his job? I honestly have no idea at this point.

Well, it is put up or shut up time for Bailiff and company this fall as they attempt to recover from an 8-16 swoon over the last two years. The Owls didn’t quite fall off in 2015 and 2016 as they began to freefall with no end in sight. Consider some of these losses from 2016: 46-14, 38-10, 44-28, 61-16, 42-25, 41-17.

The only wins for Bailiff last season came over Charlotte, UTEP, and Prairie View. That does not get many on the Rice bandwagon.

The saving grace for Bailiff that may get him another year is all the good will be bought from a magical season in 2008 and a three-year stretch of bowls from 2012-2014. Outside of those four seasons, he is 21-51 at Rice.

Sean Kugler, UTEP:

By UTEPAthletics - Own work, CC BY-SA 4.0.

No offense to Kugler, but maybe he is one of those coaches that excel at assistant duties while struggling to run the entire operation. Think Wade Phillips on the NFL side. Kugler was an impressive assistant coach that came running when the Miners needed someone to replace Mike Price. Heading into his fifth season as head coach, maybe it is time to think about another direction.

Again, I really like Kugler as a vital assistant and he will likely get multiple NFL job offers to coach an offensive line if UTEP goes in a different direction. While the respect is there, college football is a result driven enterprise and winning 18 games in four seasons is hard to justify to an administration looking for a winning program.

If Kugler is unable to reverse a trend that has seen the Miners fall further and further away from bowl contention, he could be forced to resign at the end of the year.

Paul Haynes, Kent State:

Let’s be honest with ourselves. Kent State does not really care if the football team goes 10-3 or 3-9. Sure, a boost in the profile of the program is nice, but it does not matter in the long run. That much is clear by the fact that Haynes is still leading the program heading into a fifth season. He is 12-35 in four seasons and has finished no better than fifth in the weaker of the MAC divisions in the last four seasons.

Since Haynes has been head coach, the Golden Flashes have won a total of eight MAC games while losing to FBS program North Carolina A&T last season. There is no reason to expect Kent State to be any better this season, but there is little to no buzz about the possibility of a new head coach in 2018.

The only thing keeping Haynes with a job at this point is apathy. Another 3-9 season may force the administration to make a chance.

Lance Leipold, Buffalo:

For a coach that lost all over 6 games in eight seasons at Wisconsin-Whitewater, coaching at the FBS level was a rude wakeup call. Leipold lost more games in 2015 (seven) than in his entire college head coaching career combined.

Hindsight 20/20, Leipold may have waited a season or two longer for a more sustained program to come calling. Buffalo is a tough place to win with a fan base that desperately wants a winner. The athletic department is trying to show some initiative and get at least in the same ballpark as other programs, but Buffalo is a place where football dreams come to die.

I wouldn’t quite call Leipold’s seat all that hot at the moment, but he has to prove that he and his coaching staff are not overwhelmed by “big time” college football. Patience from the AD could see Buffalo turn into a situation like Wyoming where Craig Bohl finally flourished in his third season.

Doug Martin, New Mexico State:

Another coach that I have the utmost respect for, Martin may be about to ride off into the sunset with the Aggies. He has in his fifth season and has a total of ten wins in the previous four seasons. His best record has been 3-9 and the team has been unable to stop air from scoring in the last few seasons.

So much uncertainty surrounds this program, from the surprisingly high expectations to the unknown wilderness that is college football independence; it would make sense for the Aggies to stick with Martin after this season. That includes another 3-9 season.

I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Aggies take a bold approach and go with a young FBS coach full of energy and fire to take the reins. Overall, put it this way. If NMSU were staying in the Sun Belt beyond the 2017 season and went 3-9 this fall, I would pretty much expect Martin to get the ax. Since they are completely independent in 2018, who really knows what will happen?

Tyson Summers, Georgia Southern:

By Bobak Ha'Eri - Own work, CC BY 3.0.

Summers is in a precarious situation at Georgia Southern. The Eagles were one of the most storied teams in FCS history with six national titles. They made the move to the FBS and never seemed to break stride under Willie Fritz. The program went 18-7 in two years, including a win over Florida and the program’s first bowl appearance (and win).

Summers, a member of the 2006 coaching staff, took over to the surprise of some but had a group of loyal fans expecting the best. Then, 2016 happened. The Eagles fell to 5-7 and looked like a completely different (in a bad way) team under Summers.

There were fan’s calling for Summers to be fired after last season, but there was no chance of that happening. Instead, he must prove that he can turn this team into a winner once again. I am not saying that he would be fired after a poor 2017…. Well, it really depends on how poor that season ends up.

Put simply, a poor 2017 season would turn his seat into one of the hottest in the nation.

Matt Wells, Utah State:

By Bobak Ha'Eri - Own work, CC BY 3.0.

Remember not all that long ago when Matt Wells was a coach on the rise, earning a 19-9 record and two straight bowl berths? He was mentioned as a coach that would someday lead a P5 program. That seems so long ago as Wells is coming off of back to back losing seasons and a 3-9 year that no one expected. 

The Aggies just have not looked like a top tier MWC team in the last two seasons and much of the blame has to fall on the man at the top. Unimpressive recruiting and being outcoached on the field have turned 2017 into a make or break year for Wells. 

Bonus Pick: Rod Carey, Northern Illinois:

While this would be a complete out of nowhere firing and a crazy decision, there is a significant portion of the Huskies fan base that would be thrilled to see Carey get the ax. Despite winning 23 of his first 28 games as head coach, it could be argued that the Huskies have been on a downward slide since he took over for Dave Doeren.

A 5-7 season that was only that good due to a very poor MAC last season got a very intense group of fans very riled up and could be the undoing of Carey. How well NIU is able to bounce back this fall after missing the postseason for the first time since the 2007 season will determine how much leash is given moving forward.

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.

Who is the most disappointing G5 team this season?

There are always surprises and disappointments in any college football season. Tomorrow we will talk about the biggest surprises, but today is all about disappointment. Here are my choices for the most disappointing G5 teams so far this season.

Conference USA Week Four Review

Another week is in the books for the 2015 college football season with Conference USA going 5-8 with two conference games taking place. Let's take a look at the good, bad, and ugly of week four CUSA football action.

Conference USA Week Four Preview

Week four of the college football season gets underway tonight with Cincinnati and Memphis getting a seat on the big stage. Conference USA action kicks into gear with 11 games scheduled for Saturday.

Conference USA Week Three Review

Another week is in the books for the 2015 college football season with Conference USA going 6-7 with two conference games (Rice-UNT, MTSU-Charlotte) taking place. Let's take a look at the good, bad, and ugly of week three Conference USA football action.

G5 Week Three Mailbag

This week's mailbag talks about undefeated possibilities, surprise teams, injuries, and conference power rankings. Send in your questions to adcock.jeremy@yahoo.com or on twitter @cfoutpost and I will answer your G5 queries.

Conference USA Week Two Review

Another week is in the books for the 2015 college football season with Conference USA going 4-9 with only one conference game (WKU-La. Tech) taking place. Let's take a look at the good, bad, and ugly of week two Conference USA football.

13 G5 over P5 Upset Opportunities

I have 13 games this week in which a G5 and P5 team square off with the legitimate shot of an upset. Do you agree or do you think I am way off base in seeing these games as upset opportunities? **Note: I am not picking all of the games as upsets, I only see them as distinct possibilities.**

CUSA Week One Preview

With all CUSA members except for North Texas kicking off the season this week, let's take a look at each matchup and who will win.

Conference USA Predictions

I have some ideas for how Conference USA will turn out this fall. I will most likely be wrong so bookmark this page to rub it in my face and laugh at me later.

Conference USA Players to Watch

There is lots of talent all over the board in Conference USA this year with some of the craziest offensive numbers as well as some of the better defensive players in the nation. Unsure of who to watch for in the conference this season, let's take a look and find out who should be noticed among CUSA this season.

Top CUSA Conference Games

With so many quality programs in Conference USA, it is tough to narrow the list of top CUSA conference games down to 10. Here is my best shot at doing so. **These games are in no particular order.**

TOP CONFERENCE GAMES:

Top CUSA Non-Conference Games

Conference USA has quite the slate of non-conference games in 2014 with matchups versus P5 programs dotting the landscape. Here is a look at ten of the biggest non-conference games involving Conference USA teams in my opinion. **These games are not listed in any particular order**

TOP NON-CONFERENCE GAMES:

2015 Conference USA Football Schedule

2015 Conference USA Football Schedule:

64 FBS to FBS transfers dot the CUSA landscape

Conference USA programs have been able to bring in players from other FBS programs on a regular basis to fill holes, give players second chances, and give players a chance to compete for playing time when that was not a possibility previously. 64 FBS to FBS transfers are currently on Conference USA team rosters with with five schools bringing in 5+ of those players.

Top 15 G5 Running Backs

15 best G5 running backs:

Fall Previews: UTEP

UTEP:

Group of Five Players on the Lou Groza Award Watch List

Lou Groza Award: