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Former Notre Dame assistants Rob Ianello and John Latina have taken new jobs at Kansas and Duke, respectively.

Ianello, who coached Irish receivers and served as recruiting coordinator from 2005-08, was hired by Charlie Weis to perform the same duties with the Jayhawks. He was promoted to assistant head coach for offense in 2009 and was the Irish's interim coach after Weis was fired.

Ianello is coming off a two-year stint as Akron's head coach.

Latina, meanwhile, joins David Cutcliffe's Blue Devils staff as an offensive line coach, the same role he served at Notre Dame from 2005-08. He was Akron's offensive coordinator the past two seasons.

Former Irish quarterback coach (2007-09) Ron Powlus joined Weis' Kansas staff Dec. 13.

Let's take a look back at the non-AQs in Week 13:

Houston one step away. The Cougars faced a tough task on the road at Tulsa, with a spot in the Conference USA championship game on the line. Tulsa jumped out to a 10-6 lead early in the game, and some had to wonder whether we were seeing the old Houston come back to life. But these are not the Cougars of 2009 or 2010. The Cougars reeled off 28 straight points in the second half to blow open the game and win 48-16. Case Keenum threw for 457 yards and five touchdown passes, and Patrick Edwards had 181 yards and four touchdowns as Houston won a school-record 12th game. Two of their touchdown connections came on fourth down. Edwards went over 100 yards for the 16th time in his career and also broke the conference record for career receiving yards. Houston now hosts Southern Miss on Saturday with a chance to make its first BCS appearance.

Coaching carousel starts. Akron, Memphis and UAB all are in the market for new head coaches. The Zips fired Rob Ianello after he went 2-22 in his two seasons at the helm. The Tigers fired Larry Porter after he went 3-21 in two seasons. UAB fired Neil Callaway after he went 18-42 in five seasons with the Blazers. Athletic directors at all three schools essentially said they did not see improvement in their programs and decided to go in different directions. Callaway is the third Conference USA coach who has been fired this season, joining Bob Toledo of Tulane. New Mexico also fired coach Mike Locksley earlier this season, but already hired former Notre Dame coach Bob Davie. Meanwhile, Ianello was reportedly fired as he drove to his mother's funeral in Long Island, N.Y.

Going bowling. Marshall became bowl eligible for the first time under coach Doc Holliday, after a 34-27 win over East Carolina in overtime. The Pirates sent the game into the extra period when Dominique Davis threw a 6-yard touchdown pass to Justin Jones with 14 seconds left in regulation. But Davis threw an interception in overtime, after Tron Martinez scored on a 1-yard run for the Herd. East Carolina will not be in a bowl game for the first time in six years. As for the Herd, they are one of several non-AQ teams to become bowl eligible after losing seasons in 2010:

• Ball State improved from 4-8 to 6-6.
• Western Kentucky improved from 2-10 to 7-5.
• Wyoming improved from 3-9 to 7-4, with one game remaining at Colorado State.
• Louisiana Tech improved from 5-7 to 8-4 and WAC champs.
• Utah State improved from 4-8 to 6-5 with one game remaining at New Mexico State.
• Arkansas State improved from 4-8 to 9-2.
• Louisiana-Lafayette improved from 3-9 to 8-4.

As you can see, three Sun Belt teams made five-game improvements, and the league has four bowl-eligible teams this season.

Game of the week. FAU 38, UAB 35.

Howard Schnellenberger announced his retirement before the season, began but his final season was not exactly going according to plan. The Owls were the only winless team in FBS heading into Week 13. But alas, the football gods conspired to make sure the legendary program builder would not go out without a win. The Owls played inspired football Saturday against UAB, beating the Blazers 38-35 as Schnellenberger avoided his first winless season. Alfred Morris had a career-high four touchdowns, with a career-high 198 yards on 38 carries to notch his fifth straight 100-yard game. "I got the biggest and best kiss from [wife] Beverlee in a long time on the sideline," Schnellenberger said afterward. "And I'm expecting more when I get home."

WAC-ky WAC. Nevada was in control of the WAC heading into last week's game against Louisiana Tech. But the Wolf Pack have now dropped two straight games, losing to Utah State 21-17 on Saturday. The Bulldogs had no such problems after their big win over Nevada last week and beat New Mexico State 44-0 to win their first WAC title since 2001. Louisiana Tech has won seven straight after starting the year 1-4. The team also accepted a bowl spot in the San Diego County Credit Union Poinsettia Bowl, the fifth bowl bid in school history. This will be first bowl appearance since an Independence Bowl victory over Northern Illinois in 2008.

Helmet Stickers

Rakeem Cato, QB, Marshall. Cato went 23-of-29 for 341 yards and two touchdowns in a 34-27 overtime win over East Carolina to get the Thundering Herd to a bowl game.

Bernard Pierce, RB, Temple. Pierce had a season-high 189 yards and three touchdowns on 24 carries in a 34-16 win over Kent State. Pierce went over the 100-yard mark in rushing for the 17th time in his career and eighth time this season. Pierce has had three or more touchdowns in six games this year.

Bobby Rainey, RB, Western Kentucky. Rainey had a season-high 227-yards and three touchdowns in a 41-18 win over Troy. Rainey also broke the school's single-season rushing record, ending the regular season with 1,695 yards. He now leads the nation for the second straight season in carries and broke his own school record with 369 attempts on the season.

Travis Stanaway, S, Boise State. Stanaway, making just the second start of his career for Boise State, had a career-high nine tackles, forced a fumble and had his first career interception as a Bronco in a 36-14 win over Wyoming.

Bobby Wagner, LB, Utah State. Wagner had a game-high 15 tackles in a 21-17 win over Nevada, and also had a critical fumble recovery on a fourth-and-1 in the final minutes of the game to preserve the victory.

Taking a look back at Week 9 for the non-AQs:

Southern Miss flying high: Plenty have taken notice of the Golden Eagles this season following a 7-1 start. They are now ranked No. 25 in the BCS standings for the first time since 2004, and have gotten off to its best start since 1996. After getting a big challenge from UTEP on Saturday, going into halftime tied at 10, Southern Miss scored 21 points in the second half and shut the Miners out in the fourth quarter to win 31-13. The defense, which has had its share of letdowns the last several seasons, has shown major improvement. Southern Miss has allowed just a touchdown and three field goals over the last two games, and held its fourth opponent of the season to under 100 yards rushing. Southern Miss went undefeated in October for the first time since 2000 and have emerged as the favorite to win the East in Conference USA.

Arkansas State red hot: The two best teams in the Sun Belt are quite unexpected -- Arkansas State and Louisiana-Lafayette, under two first-year coaches. The Red Wolves are bowl eligible with Hugh Freeze leading the way after a 37-14 win over North Texas. This is a program that posted back-to-back 4-8 seasons before Freeze took over. They have one bowl appearance as an FBS team, back in 2005, a 31-19 loss to Southern Miss. They now lead the Sun Belt at 4-0, with a huge showdown against Louisiana-Lafayette (7-2, 5-1) looming Nov. 12.

Keenum watch: Case Keenum threw a whopping nine touchdown passes in a 73-34 win over Rice, passing Graham Harrell for the most career touchdown passes in FBS history. Keenum now has 139, five more than Harrell had from 2005-08 at Texas Tech. Next up on the Keenum assault of the NCAA record book -- the career passing yards record. Keenum now has 16,805 passing yards to rank second in NCAA history. He needs 268 yards Saturday against UAB to pass Timmy Chang, who holds the mark of 17,072 yards set from 2000-04 at Hawaii.

Upset of the week: Wyoming 30, San Diego State 27. The Cowboys scored 30 first-half points behind true freshman quarterback Brett Smith, who scored two passing and two rushing. One of those scores came on third-and-goal from the San Diego State 26. Then Wyoming had to hold off a furious comeback. Ronnie Hillman ran for 224 yards -- including a 99-yard touchdown that was the longest play from scrimmage in school history. But it was not enough. Kicker Abel Perez had a tough game, missing field goal attempts from 39 and 27 yards in the fourth quarter, along with an extra point as well. Coach Rocky Long said the first half was “as bad a defensive performance in the first half as I've been associated with.” Wyoming, 18-point underdogs going into the game, moved to 5-2 on the season but needs two more wins to become bowl eligible because two of its victories came against FCS teams. Still, the Cowboys have a shot with New Mexico and Colorado State left on the schedule.

Close calls: Akron. The Zips came oh so close to beating Central Michigan after Clayton Moore drove the team 56 yards and threw a 9-yard touchdown pass to Marquelo Suel as time expired. Rather than go for the tie, they went for the win. But Moore threw incomplete on the 2-point conversion and Central Michigan won 23-22.

Idaho. Hawaii kicker Kenton Chun made a 35-yard field goal with 32 seconds to play to give the Warriors a 16-14 lead. Idaho nearly pulled the upset, but Trey Farquhar missed a 53-yard field-goal attempt with 8 seconds left. Idaho dropped to 1-7 and 0-4 in the WAC.

Colorado State. UNLV quarterback Caleb Herring ran for a 5-yard touchdown 1:20 left to give the Rebels a 38-35 win. Pete Thomas tried to rally the Rams, but one of his passes was tipped and intercepted at the UNLV 28-yard line with 35 seconds left. Also of note in the game, Phillip Payne set the school career touchdown receptions record with 25. Colorado State, a team many thought had a shot for a bowl game this season, dropped to 3-5.

Helmet stickers

Patrick Edwards, WR, Houston. Edwards had seven receptions for 318 yards and five touchdowns in a 73-34 win over Rice -- the best receiving performance for any player this season. Edwards leads the nation with 11 touchdown receptions. Also in the game, Tyron Carrier returned the opening kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown, the seventh of his career. That ties the NCAA mark for kickoff returns for touchdown, set by C.J. Spiller at Clemson.

Jordan White, WR, Western Michigan. White had nine catches for 172 yards and two touchdowns in a 45-35 win over Ball State to become Western Michigan's career receptions record holder at 261. He also went over 1,000 yards this season, making him only the third receiver to have back-to-back 1,000-yard seasons in school history.

Jonathan Anderson, S, TCU. Anderson finished with a career-high and team-best 17 tackles (11 solo) and recorded his first career interception in a 38-28 win over BYU. Anderson, who came off the bench to replace the team’s leading tackler, Tekerrein Cuba, had the team's highest tackle total since 2004.

Alonzo Harris, RB, ULL. Harris had a career-best 189 yards and two touchdowns while averaging 5.7 yards per carry in a win over Middle Tennessee.

Lampford Mark, RB, Nevada. Mark had 185 yards on eight carries for a 23.1 yard average in a 48-34 win over New Mexico State. He got all those yards after sitting out the first three quarters, then posting two runs of 80 yards or more.

Brian Bennett previews today's Buckeyes-Zips matchup.

Miami (Ohio) and Toledo were picked to win their respective divisions in the MAC preseason media poll released Tuesday. Toledo was the choice to finish as MAC champion.

Miami edged Ohio as the champ in the East by one point, while Toledo edged Northern Illinois in the West by two points.

The RedHawks return 17 starters from a team that went 10-4 last season and won the MAC championship. Miami capped a dramatic turnaround to become the first program in college football FBS history to go from double digit losses (1-11 in 2009) to double digit wins (10-4 in 2010) in consecutive years and become the most improved program in the country. They do have a new coach this season in Don Treadwell.

Ohio actually received more first-place votes in the East.

Toledo also returns 17 starters, including receiver Eric Page, who was named to four All-America teams in 2010.

The complete poll:

Team (First Place Votes) Points

MAC East Division

1. Miami (4) 97

2. Ohio (8) 96

3. Temple (4) 88

4. Kent State 57

5. Bowling Green 48

6. Buffalo 37

7. Akron 25

MAC West Division

1. Toledo (8) 83

2. Northern Illinois (5) 81

3. Western Michigan (2) 76

4. Central Michigan (1) 55

5. Ball State 27

6. Eastern Michigan 24

The NCAA released its full academic progress rates today, and six non-AQ schools are faced with losing scholarships for poor academic performance.

ULM lost seven scholarships, while UTEP and Akron each lost four; FAU lost three and Idaho lost one. FIU also lost one after failing to meet conditions that would have waived the reduction.

Each Division I team calculates its APR each academic year, based on the eligibility and retention of each scholarship student-athlete. Teams scoring below certain thresholds can face penalties, including scholarship losses and restrictions on practice and competition. Rates are based on the past four years’ performance.

The NCAA announced last week that 14 schools had been honored with Public Recognition Awards for being in the top 10 percent of their sports with their APR scores. Air Force, Boise State, Middle Tennessee, Navy, Northern Illinois and Rice were the non-AQ schools recognized.

Here is a complete list of the non-AQ conferences and how their schools did. I have listed the schools based on the conference they played in for 2009-10.

Conference USA
Rice 983
UCF 971
Tulane 970
Marshall 947
East Carolina 943
Memphis 940
SMU 939
Houston 929
Southern Miss 928
Tulsa 927
UTEP 918 -- lost four scholarships
UAB 901

MAC
Northern Illinois 987
Miami (Ohio) 970
Western Michigan 963
Ohio 950
Central Michigan 943
Toledo 943
Ball State 942
Kent State 942
Bowling Green 941
Eastern Michigan 937
Temple 937
Buffalo 930
Akron 924 -- lost four scholarships

Mountain West
Air Force 978
TCU 972
Utah 956
Colorado State 948
New Mexico 947
UNLV 947
San Diego State 934
BYU 929
Wyoming 933

WAC
Boise State 981
Hawaii 959
Fresno State 952
Utah State 946
Louisiana Tech 944
Nevada 943
Idaho 923 -- lost one scholarship
San Jose State 931
New Mexico State 918

Sun Belt
Middle Tennessee 979
Western Kentucky 959
Arkansas State 943
Louisiana 943
FIU 936 -- lost one scholarship. (Failed to meet conditions that would have waived the penalty).
North Texas 932
Troy 932
FAU 920 -- lost three scholarhips
ULM 908 -- lost seven scholarships

Independent
Navy 978
Army 968

Plenty of spring football games tonight and tomorrow. Now on to some links:

Boise State is looking for a safety to replace Jeron Johnson.

Prep coaches have packed the Nevada sideline, trying to learn the Pistol offense.

Chris Campbell is confident he has the edge to become the backup quarterback to Austin Davis at Southern Miss.

Darryl McBride is making the transition from safety to end/linebacker for Hawaii, which has its spring game tonight.

Keith Morgan also made a switch, from safety to rover for Bowling Green. The Falcons also play tonight.

Akron coach Rob Ianello is pleased with his team's progress.

Curnelius Arnick has accepted a leadership role for Tulsa, which has its spring game tonight.

Positions are up for grabs as Miami (Ohio) plays its spring game tonight.

Buffalo is building depth on defense.

DeMarcus Grady has worked this spring to make the transition from quarterback to receiver.

BYU quarterback Jake Heaps tells Gordon Monson of The Salt Lake Tribune the Cougars are playing for a national championship.

Jake Broyles is in the mix to start at guard for Boise State.

The UCF-Tulsa game has reportedly been moved, which is not good news for the Golden Hurricane.

Injuries are offering opportunities at UTEP this spring.

Austin Boucher and Zac Dysert are locked in a quarterback competition at Miami (Ohio).

Northern Illinois cornerbacks are covering a lot of ground.

Hi ho! Akron quarterback Clayton Moore is hoping for playing time in the fall.

Marshall is trying to get more athletic on defense.

The Gillmore brothers are causing havoc at Colorado State.

Colleague Ivan Maisel has a great breakdown of the MAC nonconference schedules Tuesday in his "3-point stance." We must have telepathy because I planned to put out the complete list of schedules today. Maisel points out:

-- Of the 29 games against the AQ conferences, 24 are on the road and one is at a neutral site (Wisconsin vs. Northern Illinois at Soldier Field).

-- MAC teams play 11 games against the Big Ten and nine against the Big East, which just may be for a leg up. Last year, I wrote about the MAC vs. Big Ten games, which are played every year. They may be for big paychecks, but the MAC has been able to win at least one of those games in each of the last three seasons.

Now here are the schedules by team:

Akron
Sept. 3 – at Ohio State
Sept. 10 – FIU
Sept. 17 – at Cincinnati
Sept. 24 – VMI

Ball State
Sept. 3 – Indiana
Sept. 10 – at USF
Sept. 24 – Army
Oct. 1 – at Oklahoma

Bowling Green
Sept. 3 – at Idaho
Sept. 10 – Morgan State
Sept. 17 – Wyoming
Oct. 1 – at West Virginia

Buffalo
Sept. 3 – at Pittsburgh
Sept. 10 – Stony Brook
Sept. 24 – UConn
Oct. 1 – at Tennessee

Central Michigan
Sept. 1 - South Carolina State
Sept. 10 - at Kentucky
Sept. 24 - at Michigan State
Oct. 8 - at North Carolina State

Eastern Michigan
Sept. 3 – Howard
Sept. 10 – Alabama State
Sept. 17 – at Michigan
Sept. 24 – at Penn State

Kent State
Sept. 3 – at Alabama
Sept. 10 – Louisiana
Sept. 17 – at Kansas State
Sept. 24 – South Alabama

Miami (Ohio)
Sept. 3 – at Missouri
Sept. 17 – at Minnesota
Oct. 1 – Cincinnati
Oct. 8 – Army

Northern Illinois
Sept. 3 – Army
Sept. 10 – at Kansas
Sept. 17 – Wisconsin (at Soldier Field, Chicago)
Sept. 24 – Cal Poly

Ohio
Sept. 3 – at New Mexico State
Sept. 10 – Gardner-Webb
Sept. 17 – Marshall
Sept. 24 – at Rutgers

Temple
Sept. 3 – Villanova
Sept. 17 – Penn State
Sept. 24 – at Maryland
Nov. 19 – Army

Toledo
Sept. 1 – New Hampshire
Sept. 10 – at Ohio State
Sept. 17 – Boise State
Sept. 24 – at Syracuse

Western Michigan
Sept. 3 – at Michigan
Sept. 10 – Nicholls State
Sept. 24 – at Illinois
Oct. 1 – at UConn

Let's take a look at the good and the bad for the non-AQs in Week 13.

The good: TCU completed its second straight undefeated regular season and is the flag bearer for non-AQS everywhere as the top team remaining in the BCS standings. Meanwhile, Nevada beat a Top 10 team for the first time in program history with its huge 34-31 overtime win over Boise State. But this weekend rewind would not be complete without a major hand clap for Akron and coach Rob Ianello, waiting until the very last game of the season for its first win, a 22-14 victory over Buffalo last Friday. Alex Allen posted his third straight 100-yard game, and Patrick Nicely threw for three touchdowns. The season will end without a winless team. ... FIU also made history with its first Sun Belt title and first bowl berth.

The bad: Houston, a preseason favorite to win Conference USA, ended the season on a four game losing streak and will miss a bowl game for the first time since 2004. The Cougars gave it a valiant effort, but in the end, the loss of Case Keenum was too much to overcome. The running game was never consistent, mainly because teams loaded the box and dared Houston to throw. When they did, true freshman David Piland put up a lot of yards, but also threw too many interceptions. During the four-game skid, he had 13 touchdowns to 11 interceptions. … Ohio (8-4) managed a season-low six points in a loss to Kent State with a berth in the MAC title game on the line. The Bobcats had four turnovers, 11 first downs and just 183 total yards. They had won seven straight going into the game and now await their bowl fate.

The offensive: Nine non-AQ teams scored 40 points or more this weekend, including five that scored 50-plus. Two of the wildest games were Tulsa beating Southern Miss 56-50 and Louisiana Tech beating San Jose State 45-38. In the Tulsa game, G.J. Kinne threw for 406 yards, while Southern Miss quarterback Austin Davis had 371. The two teams combined for 1,197 yards and 56 first downs. In San Jose, the two teams combined for 1,001 yards and 50 first downs. San Jose State quarterback Jordan La Secla threw for 496 yards, five touchdowns and three interceptions while Louisiana Tech running back Lennon Creer ran for 252 yards and three touchdowns.

The heartache: Boise State may be 10-1, but it’s hard to imagine anybody is more heartbroken than the Broncos today. Their dreams of playing for a national championship have been dashed, and so has any hope of playing in a BCS game. You have to feel for kicker Kyle Brotzman, who missed two field goals, including one that would have won the game.

BYU also had its hearts broken on a missed kick in the Holy War against Utah. It was a wild game in Salt Lake City, featuring seven combined turnovers. The most costly for BYU came late in the game. Leading 16-10, Brandon Bradley intercepted Jordan Wynn with about five minutes to play. But he fumbled during the return and Utah recovered. Though TV replays showed his knee was down, the ruling on the field stood. Matt Asiata ended up scoring on a 3-yard touchdown run to put the Utes ahead 17-16. BYU had a chance to win it, but Mitch Payne’s 42-yard attempt was blocked by Brandon Burton. Interestingly, BYU was involved in a highly publicized instant replay error against San Diego State earlier this season. After finding a BYU employee and alumni were working the booth in that game, the Mountain West changed its rules and no longer allows alums or school employees to work instant replay during games involving their teams.

A few more helmet stickers: UNLV freshman kick returner Marcus Sullivan set a new UNLV single-game record for kick return yards with 224 yards in a loss to San Diego State. That ranks second in conference history. … North Texas running back Lance Dunbar set a career-high and had the sixth-best rushing performance in the nation this season with 270 yards and three touchdowns in a loss to Kansas State. He scored a fourth touchdown on a 17-yard pass reception. Also in the Sun Belt, Western Kentucky running back Bobby Rainey now leads the nation in rushing with 1,649 total yards rushing.

Week 14 look ahead: Two conference championship games to look forward to: Miami (Ohio) versus Northern Illinois on Friday in the MAC and SMU versus UCF on Saturday in Conference USA. No. 17 Nevada plays Louisiana Tech, No. 11 Boise State plays Utah State and Hawaii plays UNLV. If all three win out, they share the WAC championship.

Welcome to the final edition of Winless Watch, where just one team is left looking for that first win of the season.

Akron (0-11). Streak: L 11. The Zips have come oh-so-close to winning the last two weeks, but have fallen just short against Ball State and Miami (Ohio). Now they get a winnable game to close out the season -- at home against Buffalo (2-9) on Friday. The Bulls are having their own set of struggles -- they have lost six straight. Their only win was over an FBS team -- 28-26 to Bowling Green, which missed a 40-yard field goal for the win as time expired.

The Bulls have had a tough time under first-year coach Jeff Quinn as well. Jerry Davis started the season at quarterback but wasn’t what Quinn was looking for to run the spread. Freshman Alex Zordich replaced him, but he is out with a rib injury, so Davis is back in. He has 14 touchdowns and 14 interceptions this season. The Bulls haven’t been helped by their lackluster run game, either. They have an NCAA-worst three rushing touchdowns this season.

These are two of the worst offenses in the MAC and the country. They rank in the bottom in the league in scoring, and total offense. But the Zips have shown some signs of life. They have lost their last two games by a combined 12 points, including the overtime loss to the Cardinals. Last week against Miami, they fumbled late in the game as they were driving for the winning score.

Winning teams somehow find a way to win. That is what Rob Ianello is waiting to see out of his players.

“We have to make those plays we haven’t made,” Ianello said. “We’ve lost two games in overtime and one game on the last possession and all those games you can look at a few key plays that we haven’t made and the opponent has.

“Last week, we turned it over twice. They didn’t turn it over at all. As I told our team, we’ll win when we get good enough to win. How do you get good enough? You make those plays you have to make in a close game. When you get the taste of victory then you understand what it takes, next time you get in a situation you make them again.”

My pick: Akron 21, Buffalo 17.

» Predictions: ACC | Big 12 | Big East | Big Ten | Pac-10 | SEC | Non-AQ

I lost both upset specials last week, but that was it en route to an 8-2 record. Hope this week is not full of turkeys!

With a 79-45 overall record, bring on Week 13.

No. 3 TCU 55, New Mexico 3. The Horned Frogs should have no problem against one of the worst teams in the country, and they are going to have to pour on the points and look impressive to have any shot of holding off Boise State in the BCS standings. A win would give TCU the Mountain West title outright, and the third unbeaten and untied regular season in TCU history.

No. 4 Boise State 41, No. 19 Nevada 20 (Friday). The Broncos are going to have a big challenge, yes, but this is a team that looked absolutely dominant last week in a 51-0 win over Fresno State. Nevada is better than Fresno State, and the Wolf Pack will no doubt be fired up. Colin Kaepernick has had some good games against Boise State, but has been limited in the ground game in the past two contests. The score the past two years may have been closer than the way the games went, but Boise State knows it has got to dominate this game.

No. 20 Utah 28, BYU 20. Anything can happen in rivalry games, and BYU certainly appears to have righted the ship going into the final game between the two as Mountain West members. But Utah has the edge here at quarterback with Jordan Wynn and on defense as well. The Utes needed that win over San Diego State headed into this game, and while BYU has won five of six, the last four wins have come against the worst teams in the league.

SMU 44, East Carolina 31 (Friday). SMU needs this one to clinch the West and a spot in the C-USA title game, and after watching the Pirates play defense this year, it is hard to imagine them stopping an offense that has the ability to have some balance with Kyle Padron and Zach Line. East Carolina ranks last in the country in total defense and scoring defense.

Tulsa 35, Southern Miss 33 (Friday). The Golden Eagles have won four straight road games, the most since winning five away from home during the regular season in 2003 and 2004. But Tulsa is the hotter team, having won five straight. This one features a terrific quarterback matchup between G.J. Kinne of Tulsa and Austin Davis of Southern Miss. These are two of the top scoring offenses and total offenses in C-USA. Tulsa is going to have to slow Davis down on the ground in addition to through the air.

Ohio 31, Kent State 17 (Friday). The Golden Flashes will be inspired to play in this one, the final game for coach Doug Martin, who announced his resignation effective at the end of the game. But the Bobcats have won seven straight and are the much more complete team. They are the more physical team, too. Ohio has to win this game to win the East and get to the MAC title game.

Akron 21, Buffalo 17 (Friday). You heard it here first. The Zips will get their first win of the season in the final game of the season. They have come really close the last several weeks, and coach Rob Ianello has seen vast improvement. Alex Allen is playing well, with back-to-back 100-yard rushing games in close losses to Ball State and Miami (Ohio). The Bulls, meanwhile, have lost six straight. They have scored a total of 20 points in the last two weeks -- against two of the worst teams in the MAC in Ball State and Eastern Michigan. The time is now for the Zips.

FIU 35, Arkansas State 28. The most unlikely league championship will be won in Miami. Nobody pegged FIU as the Sun Belt champion, but the Panthers have steadily improved throughout the season, and now have a pretty powerful offense to go with the best defense in the Sun Belt. That defense will face a challenge in Ryan Aplin, who leads the league in total offense. But FIU is too strong. This is a unit that had seven sacks and three interceptions in a win over Louisiana last week.

Texas Tech 34, Houston 28. The Cougars have lost three straight in their attempt to become bowl eligible and now have to rely on a victory over the Red Raiders to get to six wins. Their running game has abandoned them, and so has their defense. Houston has given up 137 points in its past three games. The final stretch of the season has simply been brutal -- they had to close against four teams that have six or more wins.

ULM 30, Louisiana 17. Louisiana has won two straight over its rivals, but ULM needs a win to become bowl eligible. The Warhawks have never made a bowl game, despite being bowl eligible twice in their history, including last season. But this could be the year that changes. Kolton Browning makes the difference in this one. He threw for a school-record five touchdowns last week, and needs 199 yards of total offense to set the ULM single-season record with 2,966 yards.

More Tuesday MACtion tonight, when Temple plays at Miami (Ohio). The RedHawks still have slim East division hopes, but I am taking Temple 24-13.

Now on to some links:

Coach Stan Parrish is reportedly out at Ball State.

Nevada has to get off to a much faster start to have a shot against Boise State.

Fresno State tries to rebound after its 51-0 loss to the Broncos.

BYU coach Bronco Mendenhall asks for more civility from fans headed into rivalry week against Utah.

Southern Miss is starting to settle back into normalcy after an emotional week.

Hawaii linebacker Aaron Brown got the first interceptions of his career.

Akron is down to one last chance to get a win.

Louisiana Tech is not looking ahead to Nevada.

Kent State players were stunned when coach Doug Martin broke the news he would resign after Friday night's game.

FAU and Middle Tennessee play with bowl eligibility hopes on the line.

Akron has had its chances to get its first win of the season the past two weeks. But when you are winless, nothing ever seems to go your way.

This time, a fumble deep inside Miami (Ohio) territory did the Zips in and they lost 19-14 on Wednesday night. Akron was able to mount a nice drive that started at its 28 with a little less than five minutes to go in the game and got down to the Miami 12. Patrick Nicely threw a pass to Jeremy LaFrance, who was hit by defensive tackle Jordain Brown. Jordan Gafford recovered at the 8 and Miami ran out the clock.

"We fought our butts off right until the very end," coach Rob Ianello said afterward. "I don't think anybody can look at our team and say we haven't improved. We've gotten good, we just haven't gotten good enough. We had our chances, we just didn't get it done, especially with the ball in our hands at the end of the game."

The loss means Akron will post its worst record since joining FBS in 1987. The team went 1-10 in 1994.

It also was the second straight week that a turnover cost the Zips late. Last week in a 37-30 overtime loss to Ball State, Nicely threw an interception on third down to end the game. In its only other close game of the season, the Zips had an extra point blocked in overtime in a 38-37 loss to FCS Gardner-Webb.

"I know it's very difficult the season we're going through right now," Ianello said. "But as I told our team, I'm proud of them. I know we're going to be a good program. I know we're going to be a good team. By the way they've battled and competed and practiced during this difficult time, that is why."

Among the bright spots for Akron: Alex Allen ran for over 100 yards for the second straight game, gaining 126 yards with two touchdowns. The defense held Miami to just 19 points, even though the RedHawks made six trips inside the red zone.

Ianello does not need to look far for inspiration or motivation. He and Miami coach Mike Haywood served as Notre Dame assistants together. Haywood went 1-11 in his first season at Miami in 2009, but this season the RedHawks have had the best turnaround in college football. Miami is now 7-4 and bowl-eligible for the first time since 2004. Earlier in the week, Ianello said what Haywood has done would hopefully "serve as a blueprint" for the Zips.

The two still talk during the season, and Haywood has given his friend some advice.

"One of the things I say ... is whatever you believe in, stick to it and good things will come,'' Haywood said. "It's the same advice [Texas coach] Mack Brown gave me. He told me that whatever course you choose to take, you're the only man sitting in that seat, so follow your gut instinct and your heart, and you will make the right decisions."

The Zips have one more shot to notch their first one at home next Friday against Buffalo (2-8), a team that has had its own share of struggles this season.

The favorites won in two MAC games last night: Toledo over Bowling Green 33-14, and Miami (Ohio) over Akron 19-14. More midweek football tonight: Air Force at UNLV. Go with the Falcons, 35-10.

Now on to some links:

TCU offensive line coach Eddie Williamson details his heart attack.

Fresno State and Boise State share a respectful rivalry.

The Bulldogs revisit their 2005 win over the Broncos.

Utah will keep recruiting in California with its move to the Pac-12 South.

The Reno Arch is turning blue in support of Nevada.

The last time Rice returned a kickoff for a touchdown -- 1984.

San Diego State is virtually locked into the Poinsettia Bowl no matter what happens in its final two games.

Improvements have fueled Tulsa's transformation on defense.

North Texas wideout Tyler Stradford has found a groove after a freak injury early in the season.