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1. Head coaches have been saying that the kicking game is one-third of football going back to the days of leather helmets. In the past decade, as coaches have bestowed more and more titles on their assistants, many schools have special-teams coordinators. But that title and those responsibilities have translated into very few head coaching jobs. Houston promoted Tony Levine. Will that move push open the door for guys like John Baxter at USC and Brian Polian at Texas A&M?

2. USC head coach Lane Kiffin explained away the seven interceptions that quarterback Matt Barkley has thrown this spring by pointing out that wide receiver Robert Woods is injured and not practicing -- not all picks are the fault of the passer -- and that Barkley is, in his fourth spring practice, bored. Kiffin’s acknowledgement that Barkley is human is refreshing. But I’m pretty sure Vince Lombardi and his small playbook didn’t exactly captivate the Packers season after season.

3. New York Yankee fans are delighted that Kentucky won its eighth NCAA men’s basketball championship Monday night, if only because the Yankees won the World Series in the previous seven years that the Wildcats won. There’s also good news in the SEC. In the last 50 years, when Kentucky won the Final Four -- 1978, 1996 and 1998 -- an SEC team also won the football national championship. As if the SEC needed another omen to win its seventh consecutive BCS title.

At various points throughout his coaching career, Tony Levine would ask athletic directors and other coaches for some advice.

What is the best way to become a head coach?

The answers were invariably the same -- you need to be either an offensive or defensive coordinator at the highest level; or you need to take a job as a head coach at a lower level, then work your way up. Levine always listened, realizing these were two pretty big gaps on his own résumé if they served as job qualifications. He had never held either job -- unless you count serving as ninth grade football coach when he was 23.

Levine would simply have to break some pretty deeply ingrained notions about what made the perfect head coach. He had done a bit of that in four years as an assistant at Houston, having been contacted about other head-coaching opportunities. But there never was one that made sense for him or his family.

Until Dec. 10.

When Levine left home that morning, he told his wife he would be home around 4 p.m. That afternoon, when he should have been pulling his truck into the driveway, Levine was holding a news conference in front of 20 cameras -- as the interim head coach at Houston.

Two weeks later, he was promoted to replace Kevin Sumlin -- having never been an offensive or defensive coordinator, or a head coach. How about that for a unique path?

"I have coached on offense, coached on defense and coached special teams for 10 years. I've been a director of football operations. I've been a strength coach, I've been recruiting coordinator. Out of college, I had my own sports marketing company," Levine said in a recent phone interview. "I have coached at every level and every position. I was just never offensive or defensive coordinator and never a head coach. But to me, all of the great experiences I have had have really prepared me for this position."

Levine had been special teams coordinator, along with tight ends and inside receivers coach during his tenure as a Houston assistant. What many casual fans may not realize is the role the special teams coordinator plays with the entire team. There is only one other coach who holds entire team meetings and is as responsible for game management as the head coach -- that would be special teams coordinator.

So Levine was already quite familiar with speaking to his players, with what it takes to manage a game. Learning under Sumlin the past four years put him in a great spot to continue the continuity that already has been established at a program coming off a 13-1 season and a bowl victory over Penn State. Levine led the team in that game, so he goes into spring practice Wednesday with a perfect 1-0 record as a head coach.

Now comes the huge challenge. Levine is charged with maintaining that level of excellence without the face of the program. The most popular question in Houston this spring: How do the Cougars go on without record-setting quarterback Case Keenum? First up to fill that slot is David Piland, who started eight games in 2010 after Keenum tore his ACL, throwing for 2,641 yards and 24 touchdowns. Piland was able to redshirt last season, but he was completely involved during practice, shadowed Keenum during meetings and traveled to games, all while adding weight and strength.

The experience gives Piland an advantage, but Levine said every position is open for competition this spring. His pre-spring practice depth chart is blank.

Another concern is developing receivers. Not only did Houston lose Keenum, the NCAA career passing leader, the Cougars also lost their all-time receptions leader in Tyron Carrier, their all-time yardage leader in Patrick Edwards and first-team Conference USA performer Justin Johnson.

"A couple years ago, we had Kevin Kolb leave, and everybody asked [former coach] Art Briles what was he going to do. Along came Case Keenum," Levine said. "We've had tradition here at quarterback, we've had tradition here at wide receiver. I made it clear to our team that now it's their turn to step up and contribute for us on the field. Nobody has to be Case Keenum and nobody has to be Patrick Edwards. They just have to be themselves and help us continue the success we've had and be consistent."

So the high-powered offensive scheme remains. Defensively, Houston will switch back to the 4-3. The Cougars have seven senior defensive linemen, so that definitely helps the transition. Replacing Sammy Brown is a major priority this spring.

There is no doubt this is a critical juncture for Houston. The Cougars have to maintain what they have done, all while keeping an eye to their next destination -- a home in the Big East in 2013. They have turned to a man without the usual credentials on his résumé. But Levine brings continuity, consistency, energy, passion and a deep-rooted commitment to the city of Houston.

Now we will see how all those traits serve him -- and this program -- moving forward.

1. The merger of what’s left of the Mountain West Conference and Conference USA on Monday is the latest painful episode of the epidemic unleashed upon intercollegiate athletics by AQ conferences. Of all that the BCS brought to college football, the most havoc has been wreaked by the heightened financial importance of belonging to an AQ league. Conferences are misshapen. Rivalries are tossed aside. Surely if anyone could have predicted this, the BCS commissioners would have come up with Plan B.

2. The NCAA Football Rules Committee’s proposed change on kickoffs is a two- or three-beer argument. If player safety is the goal, the idea of moving the kickoff from the 30- to the 35-yard line is a no-brainer. But moving the result of a touchback from the 20 to the 25? The argument is that it will encourage receiving teams not to return the ball from the end zone. But if I’m kicking off, do I want to surrender five more yards? If my kickoff defense is good, why kick it into the end zone?

3. Boston College has been anemic on offense for three years, yet new Rutgers coach Kyle Flood hired three Eagle offensive assistants in the last few days. Assistants, like players, are more successful under some head coaches than others. BC head coach Frank Spaziani already had hired former Kent State head coach Doug Martin and longtime Ohio State coordinator Jim Bollman to transform his offense. Rutgers may or may not be better for the arrival of the coaches. BC, which needs fresh blood, is better off for their departure.

The Mountain West and Conference USA have announced plans to form a new athletic association for the 2013-14 season, as a way to ensure their future survival due to heavy losses each league has suffered in realignment.

Presidents and chancellors of the 16 schools that will be a part of the group met in Dallas on Sunday to discuss the details. Those schools: Air Force, UAB, Colorado State, East Carolina, Fresno State, Hawaii, Marshall, Nevada, New Mexico, UNLV, Rice, Southern Miss, UTEP, Tulane, Tulsa and Wyoming. With the exception of Hawaii as a football-only member, the participation would involve all sports.

The Mountain West is losing Boise State and San Diego State to the Big East, while Conference USA is losing Houston, Memphis, SMU and UCF to the Big East as well. Most interesting in the announcement made Monday were these two points that will likely be included in the future structure of the new association:

• Membership of 18 to 24 universities
• Championship football game format that includes semifinal matchups

Growing from two to eight teams means the new association might have designs on absorbing the WAC, which is struggling to hang on after recent defections to the Mountain West, or possibly going after teams in the Sun Belt. Utah State and San Jose State, currently in the WAC, have been tied to the Mountain West in the past. In fact, Utah State was offered a spot in the Mountain West in 2010 but turned it down.

The championship game format, complete with semifinals, is obviously intriguing simply because that is something most folks have yearned for in college football as a whole. If the league grows to 24 teams, having four teams making it into a "championship round" would seem to increase interest. Especially if the semifinal round is on a home campus.

Now keep in mind regular-season scheduling will be contained to divisions, and those divisions are going to be set based on geography. There is a reason the news release cited this as essential to the new association: "bringing fiscal discipline into athletics and ensuring competitive fairness."

Right now, Conference USA has teams stretching from East Carolina to El Paso. So one would think that it would make more sense to have UTEP in a different division than the Pirates, just like they are now, with road games East contained to one or fewer a year, or perhaps eliminated entirely. If the league gets to 18 teams at a minimum with two nine-team divisions -- think eight regular-season football games contained to that division.

That should help alleviate some of the money that is spent on traveling alone, especially in the nonrevenue sports.

1. The Big East expansion has made the best of an untenable situation. If Memphis is the end of expansion --Air Force, what are you going to do? -- then taking four teams from Conference USA, Boise State, San Diego State and Navy just may be a wash for losing Pittsburgh, Syracuse and West Virginia. That is, if you measure by football. The problem is that the Big East football schools share neither tradition nor geography, both critical to the well-being of a conference.

2. We let the NCAA train us to say “student-athlete” like it’s a word and not something made up to sound academic. Enough’s enough. “Plus-one” is nothing more than a nom de grid for a playoff, made up by those who don’t want to upend the bowl system. The most popular plus-one idea, with the top four teams seeded into (or separate from) the bowls, is nothing more than a four-team playoff. So, unless it’s absolutely necessary, I’m done with the term plus-one. It is what it is: a playoff.

3. The Pac-12 is playing a nine-game schedule. The ACC, as of this week, and Big 12 are on board to follow. The Big Ten will play an eight-game schedule with a ninth-game against the Pac-12, which is admirable. The SEC is sticking with an eight-game schedule, allowing its members to play four stadium-filling, bowl-qualifying home games. The argument that that eight SEC games is enough to prove a team’s worth is just so much chicken salad. The schedules cheat the ticket-buying fans and mock the viewers at home.

The Conference USA board of directors is set to meet later this week to discuss the possibility of forming a merger with the Mountain West, a source told ESPN's Andy Katz.

The two leagues have lost a collective six members to the Big East in recent months. They had already announced a joint partnership to form a football alliance, in which schools in the leagues would play games against each other. But given the heavy losses the leagues have taken, merger discussions are now on the table.

The Big East will make it official with a conference call set for noon today -- Memphis will join as the 12th member of the league.

Though the Tigers have been terrible in football of late, they add a boost in basketball and are in a top 50 TV market -- two of the biggest reasons they are on board. Their addition means the Big East has now added four schools from Conference USA, and would give the Big East 12 teams in time for the 2015 season.

"I am thrilled that my hometown team and alma mater, the University of Memphis, is being invited to join the Big East," U.S. Rep. Steve Cohen (D-Tenn.) said in a statement. "Joining the Big East will not only be great for the University of Memphis, but it will be an economic catalyst for the City of Memphis.

"Thanks to Louisville coach Rick Pitino for his strong support. And congratulations to Dr. Shirley Raines and R.C. Johnson."

Stay tuned for more later this afternoon.

Time to take a look at recruiting needs for some selected non-AQ schools.

Boise State

Running back. With Doug Martin gone, there is no question the Broncos need some quality players at this position to not only play but add depth. This was already one that had depth issues because of injuries this season -- which is why a walk-on running back had the ball late in the game against TCU. Boise State has two commitments from quality prep players in Devan Demas and Jack Fields, both out of Texas.

Linebacker. Three of the four players on the two deep are gone, so this is a definite area where the Broncos have got to get some more players. Two of their more highly rated commitments are linebackers -- Ben Weaver and Andrew Pint.

Secondary. Another problem area for the Broncos in 2011 was in the secondary after injuries also hurt depth. They lose George Iloka, Hunter White, Travis Stanaway and Cedric Febis, plus Jamar Taylor is a rising senior. So you can see why the Broncos have commitments from four defensive backs.

BYU

Quarterback. Jake Heaps' departure all of a sudden hurts depth at the position. Riley Nelson is a senior; James Lark is a senior. There are a few other guys on the roster, but now the commitment of four-star prospect Tanner Mangum is even more important.

Linebacker. Jameson Frazier is gone, and five others on the depth chart will be either juniors or seniors -- including Uona Kaveinga, Kyle Van Noy and Brandon Ogletree. So this is probably a good time to restock the position to start building some depth.

Receiver. Cody Hoffman had a great year, but you still get this nagging feeling that the Cougars really need a game-changer at receiver who can really stretch the field. Some thought Ross Apo might do that but it didn't quite happen in 2012. So I bet BYU fans feel good about some of the receiver/athlete commitments already on board.

East Carolina

Secondary. The Pirates are losing three starters in the secondary and four key backups are juniors. It's huge for this program to get a commitment from four-star safety Lucas Thompson. He should help right away.

Offensive line. No question East Carolina has to keep adding quality players here because depth was lacking this season. Plus, the Pirates lose starter Steven Baker at left tackle, several key backups and four players on the depth chart will be juniors or seniors.

Running back. This is another area where the Pirates have to build some depth. There simply wasn't any once Reggie Bullock got hurt last season. Receiver Torrance Hunt had to fill in while Bullock was out. East Carolina has commitments from four athletes, including two with three-star ratings, so the hope is to try and convert a few of them into quality backs.

Houston

Defensive line: If there is one area that has to get better for the Cougars, it is defense. Certainly strides have been made but they were exposed in the Conference USA championship game. This team has to get better up front, which is why you see five defensive linemen commits. In fact, its best commit is four-star defensive tackle Donald Hopkins.

Offensive line: The Cougars lose starting center Chris Thompson, and seven of their offensive linemen will be juniors or seniors next season. Time to reload.

Receiver/running back: Houston has plenty of guys listed on its roster at these positions, but the Cougars are going to be in need of some athletes to take the place of Tyron Carrier, Patrick Edwards, Justin Johnson and Bryce Beall.

SMU

Offensive line. This is an area that coach June Jones has worked at to create depth, but the Mustangs have to continue to build. They lose six seniors of the 2011 team -- including all five starters.

Defensive back. Of the eight players listed on the depth chart, four seniors are gone -- including starters Chris Banjo and Richard Crawford. The other four will be juniors or seniors.

Receiver. In the offense Jones likes to run, you can't have too many athletes or receivers. Cole Beasley and Terrance Wilkerson are gone, Darius Johnson will be a senior and Jeremy Johnson and Keenan Holman will be juniors. One of the Mustangs' top commitments is athlete Daijuan Stewart.

Southern Miss

Linebacker. Starting linebackers Ronnie Thornton and Jeremy Snowden are gone from the 4-2-5 set the Golden Eagles ran last year. So is backup Tim Green. It's unclear what type of formation Southern Miss will run under its new coaching staff, but stocking up in this area is a good idea.

Defensive line. The Golden Eagles lose Cordarro Law and three other seniors from the two-deep. Of the 10 linemen remaining on the roster, only five are freshmen or sophomores.

Receiver: Three starters were seniors, including Kelvin Bolden and Ryan Balentine. There were only two freshmen on the roster last season so this should be an area that gets addressed.

Let's take a look back at some of the top moments from the non-AQs in 2011, both good and bad.

1. A missed field goal strikes again. Everybody knew the Boise State-TCU game would have major implications in the national picture. No. 5 Boise State came in undefeated, with a 65-game regular-season home winning streak and veteran Kellen Moore leading the way. But the Horned Frogs are never an easy out, as Boise State has learned through the years. Casey Pachall rallied his team from a fourth-quarter deficit with 1:05 to go when he threw a 25-yard touchdown pass to Brandon Carter. Rather than go for the extra point to tie the game at 35, Gary Patterson went for 2. It was a bold move, but it was one he felt was necessary if he wanted to win in regulation. Pachall converted with a pass to Josh Boyce and TCU went up 36-35. Moore wasn't done. He guided the Broncos into position for the game-winning field goal. But for the second straight year, they missed. This time, it was Dan Goodale's 39-yard kick sailing wide right, denying Boise State a shot at a BCS game. TCU left the Mountain West with its third straight conference title.

2. Houston collapses. All Houston had to do to secure its first BCS berth was beat Southern Miss in the Conference USA title game. The Cougars were the favorite, having gone undefeated in the regular season with Case Keenum behind center. Southern Miss had lost to UAB. So yeah, most everybody expected the Cougars to romp. Instead, the Golden Eagles pulled one of the biggest upsets of the season, shutting down Keenum and winning 49-28 in a game they dominated from start to finish. Keenum threw two interceptions and was harassed all day long. The end result: Houston ended up in the TicketCity Bowl, a far cry from one of the major BCS games. Southern Miss won its first C-USA title game.

3. Records broken. The two best non-AQ players this year ended up breaking two of the most meaningful stats for quarterbacks. Moore ended his career as the NCAA all-time wins leader with 50, passing Colt McCoy of Texas; Keenum ended his career with several NCAA marks -- 19,217 passing yards; 20,114 yards of total offense; 155 passing touchdowns; and 1,546 completions. They both did all they could to lead their teams with maturity and class, and were great representatives for their respective programs.

4. No BCS. For the first time since the BCS expanded to five games, there were no non-AQ teams represented. Much was made about a one-loss No. 7 Boise State team getting passed over for an at-large selection in favor of two teams ranked lower in the BCS standings (Michigan and Virginia Tech). Though four non-AQs finished the season ranked in the AP poll (Boise State, TCU, Houston, Southern Miss), this season will be remembered as one in which there were no undefeated non-AQs for the first time since 2005.

5. Expansion. One of the biggest storylines to eclipse the entire season was expansion, and its impact on the non-AQs. The Mountain West and Conference USA announced they were forming an alliance in the hopes of gaining an automatic bid, and bolstering itself in the event they lost teams. Well, the inevitable happened and they both lost teams. Boise State and San Diego State are leaving the MWC for the Big East, along with UCF, Houston and SMU of C-USA. With TCU going to the Big 12, you can say the non-AQs have been stripped of nearly every single one of their most consistently good teams. There is no word on the future of the alliance between the MWC and C-USA.

6. End of an era. Pat Hill had become an institution at Fresno, guiding the Bulldogs to some of their most important victories in the past 15 years while putting this program on the national map. But this team has slid in recent years and hit rock bottom in 2011 -- going 4-9, tying the mark for most losses in school history. The administration decided it was time for Hill to go and fired him after winning 112 games and going to 11 bowl games in his career there.

7. End of an era, Part II. Many wondered how good TCU would be this season with Andy Dalton headed to the NFL. After a few early-season struggles, the Horned Frogs proved they would be just fine. TCU ended its Mountain West reign with its third straight conference title; 11 victories; and yet another top 15 ranking. In fact, TCU is one of just four schools (Alabama, Boise State and Oregon) to finish in the top 15 of both major polls over the past four seasons. On top of that, TCU and Boise State are the only schools to win at least 11 games each of the past four years.

8. Navy streak ends. For the past eight years, we have come to expect Navy in a bowl game. But it was not meant to be this season. The Midshipmen lost one heartbreaking game after another -- five games by three points or fewer. The last one of those was a 27-24 setback to San Jose State in the second-to-last game of the season. Navy led going into the fourth quarter, but could not hold on. A victory in that game would have ensured a bowl appearance, because Navy finished the season with its 10th straight win over Army.

9. Got any D? The wildest game in college football happened in the MAC this year, between Northern Illinois and Toledo. Now this game is what MAC-tion is all about. The Huskies outlasted the Rockets 63-60 in a game that featured eight lead changes, 1,121 combined yards of offense and a MAC-record 17 touchdowns. Chandler Harnish won the game when he threw a 4-yard touchdown pass to Perez Ashford with 19 seconds left. The victory gave Northern Illinois the MAC West title, and allowed the Huskies to make it to the conference title game, where they won their first title since 1983. They also ended up tying the school record with 11 victories.

10. Turn it around. This season, the Sun Belt literally turned itself upside down. Louisiana-Lafayette, Arkansas State and Western Kentucky went a combined 9-27 in 2010. This season, they went 26-12 and each finished with a winning record. Arkansas State won the league and finished 10-3; ULL went 9-4. Both teams made bowl games. Western Kentucky, which went winless in 2009, finished 7-5 but was left out of a bowl.

Time to put a bow on non-AQ bowl season and look at what we learned.

1. Boise State should have been in a BCS game. We already knew that going into bowl season, but Boise State's 56-24 dismantling of Arizona State in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas just served as a fresh reminder that the Broncos were done an injustice. Combine that with the mistake-filled Allstate Sugar Bowl between Michigan and Virginia Tech, and you get that "woulda, shoulda, coulda" feeling all over again. Playing in the Vegas bowl game was not only unfair to the Broncos, who had to bid farewell to Kellen Moore on a weeknight in December, it was unfair to the Sun Devils. Both teams deserved a chance to play a team more on their own level. Being paired up against San Diego State would have made a much better game for Arizona State; A Michigan-Boise State matchup would have been much more appealing as well. Instead, Boise State is left with an unsatisfying end to the season.

2. Houston was fired up. OK maybe that was an understatement. Houston came out with its full passing arsenal and completely obliterated Penn State in the TicketCity Bowl. It was a bigger rout than the 30-14 final score indicates, as Houston led 24-7 at halftime. Despite losing a shot to play in the BCS, and then losing head coach Kevin Sumlin, the Cougars clearly felt they had something to prove. Case Keenum threw for 532 yards and three touchdowns on a defense that was giving up an average of 162 yards through the air headed into the game. The bowl performance capped Keenum's NCAA record-breaking career, and also allowed Houston to complete the best season in school history at 13-1.

3. MWC not as dominant. Last season, the Mountain West rolled to a 4-1 bowl record and its fourth Bowl Challenge Cup. But the success was not replicated this year. The Mountain West went 2-3 in its bowl games, with two losses to the MAC (Wyoming to Temple, Air Force to Toledo) and one loss to the Sun Belt (San Diego State to Louisiana-Lafayette). If you fashion yourself as one of the top conferences in the country, you have got to win all your bowl games against non-AQ competition. Boise State and TCU once again held up their end of the bargain, but the story of this conference has been and will continue to be its lack of quality depth top to bottom. You can add in Nevada, which joins in 2012, and the Mountain West went 2-4 -- 1-4 against non-AQ competition.

4. MAC, C-USA shine. On the other end of the spectrum, bravo to the MAC and C-USA for putting together 4-1 marks during bowl season. C-USA went 2-0 against competition from the AQ conferences, with wins for Houston over Penn State, and SMU over Pitt. In the MAC, the Toledo-Air Force game was perhaps one of the best of the entire bowl season, with Air Force coach Troy Calhoun calling a fake extra point attempt to win the game instead of heading to overtime. Toledo was prepared, and the 42-41 win gave 32-year-old Rockets head coach Matt Campbell his first victory. Ohio pulled a come-from-behind stunner on Utah State to win the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl 24-23 -- the first bowl win in school history. Northern Illinois ended the season with its ninth straight win, and Temple cruised.

5. BYU ends with 10 wins. Closing Year 1 as an independent with a 24-21 win over Tulsa in the Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl, meant the Cougars notched their fifth bowl win in the last six season and ended with 10 victories. How much fun was it to see Riley Nelson unleash the fake spike just before throwing the winning touchdown pass to Cody Hoffman? That win earned them a No. 25 ranking in the final coaches' poll, also the fifth time in the last six seasons they ended in the Top 25. BYU is one of only 11 programs nationally to be ranked in at least one of the two major polls during five of the last six seasons.

Marshall beat FIU 20-10 in the Beef 'O' Brady's Bowl on Tuesday night. Here is a look at how it happened:

How the game was won: Marshall special teams. The Thundering Herd have been excellent all season at blocking kicks, and Tuesday night was no exception. With its offense stalling left and right, Marshall got the big play it needed with 7:35 left in the game. FIU set up to punt from its own 22, but Zach Dunston blocked the kick -- the seventh block of the season for Marshall (three kicks, four punts). The Herd appeared to score on the play, but the touchdown was negated because there was an illegal forward pass. A personal foul call on Tyrone Carper was tacked onto the end of the play. But Marshall was able to stay in field goal range, and Tyler Warner made a 39-yard kick that hit off the inside of the upright to put the Herd ahead. Aaron Dobson caught his second touchdown pass of the game on a fourth-down play with 30 seconds left to ice the game.

Turning point: The block was a huge turning point for Marshall. For FIU -- it was the play of T.Y. Hilton. The Panthers were determined to get him going early, and he had some nice plays -- including their only touchdown of the game. But he bruised his thigh in the first half and was mostly ineffective when he returned to the game in the second half. After Marshall kicked its go-ahead field goal, Hilton had a costly play that ended up being a deciding factor. He fumbled after a catch near midfield with 4:24 remaining, and Marshall recovered. It was his second fumble of the game, though he recovered his first.

Player of the game: Dunston. His blocked kick turned the tide in the game.

What Marshall learned: The Thundering Herd won their seventh bowl game in the last eight appearances, and Doc Holliday led this team to a winning record in his second season. This win is huge for the momentum he is building at program eager to restore its past traditions. Rakeem Cato was inconsistent in the game, but playing as a true freshman can only help next season.

What FIU learned: Without an effective quarterback, it is hard to win games. The Panthers decided to start senior Wesley Carroll, but he struggled. Backup Jake Medlock came in briefly in the fourth quarter but was equally ineffective. They had no downfield passing game, also hurt because of a hobbled Hilton. Now the question that looms is whether FIU coach Mario Cristobal returns next season. He is a candidate at Pitt.

FIU posted a school-record eight wins and is making back-to-back bowl appearances for the first time in school history. Marshall is back in a bowl under second-year coach Doc Holliday. Both teams feature the top players in their respective conferences -- T.Y. Hilton has been a force in the Sun Belt, while Vinny Curry has been a menace to Conference USA opponents. This is the first meeting between the schools and just the second time FIU will play a team from C-USA. The Panthers beat UCF this season.

WHO TO WATCH: Hilton. One of the most dynamic playmakers in all of college football, Hilton was slowed earlier this year with a hamstring injury but has returned to form. This season, Hilton broke the FIU and Sun Belt career records for receiving yards (3,443), receiving touchdowns (24), all-purpose yards (7,351) and kickoff return yards (2,819). He also was named to the Sun Belt first-team as a receiver, kick returner and all-purpose player. That's as well-rounded as you can get.

WHAT TO WATCH: Quarterback situation. Neither team has the most stable quarterback situation. Marshall will start true freshman Rakeem Cato, who is back in the starting lineup after he got benched midway through the season. With A.J. Graham out because of a shoulder injury, the Herd must rely on Cato to help lead the team to victory. He was great in an overtime win over East Carolina to get Marshall bowl eligible, but he has been maddeningly inconsistent this season (10 interceptions to 13 touchdown passes). Meanwhile, FIU is expected to play both Wes Carroll and Jake Medlock -- coach Mario Cristobal will probably make a game-time decision. Carroll was benched this season as well but played again after Medlock got hurt. Both are healthy going into this game.

WHY TO WATCH: This is your last chance to get a look at Curry before he moves on to the NFL. The C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, Curry has put together back-to-back outstanding seasons. Cristobal says Curry "discombobulates people." That is an astute way of putting it. This season, Curry is tied for third nationally with six forced fumbles, ranks second in tackles for loss (21) and is sixth in sacks (11).

PREDICTION: FIU 28, Marshall 21. Neither team jumps off the page statistically speaking. In fact, Marshall is the only one of the 70 bowl teams to rank 80th or worse in both total offense and total defense, according to ESPN Stats & Information. FIU has Hilton, and he makes the difference in this game.

Here is what I will be watching from the non-AQ teams once bowl season begins:

1. Last hurrah for Kellen Moore. Boise State closes out the season in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas next week against Arizona State, bringing to a close the final chapter for Moore, the best player in school history. Moore already holds the NCAA record for career victories. Another win will mean he and his senior class will set the school mark for most victories by a group with 50. What Moore has achieved is simply remarkable — four-year starter, 3,000-yard passing seasons in each of his four seasons and only once did he throw double-digit interceptions (his freshman year, 10). He led this team to four top-10 finishes in the BCS standings, one BCS appearance and one undefeated season. His critics will point out that the strength of schedule has not been impossible, but it is hard to knock what this young man has accomplished with his consistency, his football IQ and his ability to will his team to victory. Boise State has lost three games in his time as a starter, and all three were by a field goal or less. Moore has elevated this program, and whoever replaces him will have an enormous legacy to match.

2. TCU says goodbye. It has been a nice run for the Horned Frogs in the Mountain West, but now it is time for them to say goodbye and move on to their new home in the Big 12. They closed out the conference season with their third straight league title, thanks to a huge win at Boise State, and now have a chance to post 11 wins for the seventh time in the past 10 years. A victory also would be career win No. 109 for coach Gary Patterson, which would tie him with Dutch Meyer as the all-time winningest coach in school history. Meyer was 109-79-13 from 1934 to '52, including national championships in 1935 and 1938.

3. How does Houston respond? One of the biggest questions in all of bowl season is what we will see out of Houston. This is a team that fell one win short of making a BCS game. Now the Cougars are relegated to the TicketCity Bowl against Penn State and will be without coach Kevin Sumlin, who accepted a job to coach Texas A&M. It is hard to know exactly what to expect out of Houston for several reasons. Its performance in the Conference USA championship game against Southern Miss was the worst of the season, it has to fight the distraction of losing its coach and it has to fight the feeling of playing in a lesser bowl game after working so hard to try to bust into the BCS. It will be up to senior quarterback Case Keenum to get his teammates prepared to play and motivated to find a little extra to get them up for this game.

4. Anything to prove? There are four bowl games out of 35 that pit non-AQ teams against those from automatic qualifying conferences: Boise State-Arizona State in the MAACO Bowl Las Vegas, Western Michigan-Purdue in the Little Caesars Pizza Bowl, SMU-Pitt in the BBVA Compass Bowl, and Houston-Penn State in the TicketCity Bowl. Bowl season is always a great time for the non-AQs to prove themselves against teams from the bigger conferences, but without a big BCS matchup this season, these matchups fall a little flat. Is anybody going to take notice if the non-AQs go 4-0 with wins over Arizona State (6-6), Pitt (6-6) and Purdue (6-6)?

5. My favorite matchup: BYU vs. Tulsa, Bell Helicopter Armed Forces Bowl. Both teams have had solid seasons. BYU in Year 1 as an independent has a chance for another 10-win season; Tulsa survived a brutal nonconference stretch to open the season to make it back to a bowl game. Starting quarterbacks Riley Nelson and G.J. Kinne can run, and both have good skill position players around them. Tulsa linebacker Curnelius Arnick and BYU linebacker Kyle Van Noy have put together great seasons and are fun to watch. When you start to parse the numbers, their wins have not come against the toughest competition. Of BYU's nine wins, only one has come against a bowl team. Of Tulsa's eight wins, only two have come against bowl teams.

Houston coach Kevin Sumlin picked up Conference USA coach of the year honors Wednesday, while quarterback Case Keenum was selected as the league's most valuable player.

Sumlin guided the Cougars to a 12-1 record, a West Division title an No. 6 national ranking before they lost to Southern Miss in the Conference USA championship game.

Keenum became the first two-time winner of the MVP award after breaking NCAA records for career passing yardage (18,685), total offense (19,572), touchdown passes (152), total touchdowns (175), completions (1,501) and 300-yard games (38).

The other award winners:

Offensive Player of the Year: Houston WR Patrick Edwards

Defensive Player of the Year: Marshall DE Vinny Curry

Special Teams Player of the Year: Houston KR Tyron Carrier

Freshman of the Year: East Carolina LB Jeremy Grove

Newcomer of the Year: Houston DB D.J. Hayden

1. When sportswriters talk about exciting games we covered, one of my trump cards is the Fresno State-USC game in 2005. The No. 16 Bulldogs scared the No. 1 Trojans to death before losing, 50-42. Fresno State coach Pat Hill borrowed the philosophy that Bobby Bowden used to put Florida State on the map in the 1980s: play anybody, anywhere, anytime. Hill’s Bulldogs beat Colorado, Oregon State, Wisconsin, Georgia Tech, UCLA, Washington, Kansas State, etc. Fresno State let Hill go Sunday after 15 seasons with a record of 112-80. He’s one of the good guys. Hill will be missed.

2. Oregon dropped suspended junior corner Cliff Harris from its program Monday. Man, he gave up a lot for the privilege of not adhering to coach Chip Kelly’s rules. Harris may have been a 2010 consensus All-American, but this year, the Ducks got along just fine without him. Harris played in six games before being suspended for a second time. When Oregon plays in the Rose Bowl, Harris will be looking for an FCS school or trying to explain to the NFL why it should take a chance on a kid who got thrown off the team.

3. Tulane made a smart choice in hiring Saints receiver coach Curtis Johnson as its new head coach. As a college assistant, Johnson made a reputation as a top recruiter, most memorably for going into New Orleans 21 years ago and finding tailback Marshall Faulk for San Diego State. Johnson has never been a head coach, which means Tulane made a leap of faith. But with an alienated New Orleans fan base and nine straight losing seasons, the Green Wave can’t afford to play it safe.