ESPN College Football

It’s amazing, but we’re just a couple of months from the start of fall camps. And that means were just a couple months away from lighting some fires under various coaches' seats to get them to win now or else.

But why wait?

I thought I‘d assess the temperature of the various coaches in my leagues to see where they stand heading into 2010 and what they need to do to ensure their employment in 2011.

Needs to win right away

Mike Price, UTEP: Price has become a bit of a fixture in this particular position on the hot seat list. He was given a vote of confidence at the end of last year, but that was because he still has players such as quarterback Trevor Vittatoe and running back Donald Buckram on his roster. But they’re gone after this season, so Price needs to make something out of this year or else.

Neil Callaway, UAB: Callaway is 11-25 in his three seasons as UAB’s head coach and the Blazers have not won more than five games in any of his seasons. In all fairness, Callaway did have to deal with scholarship losses thanks to NCAA APR sanctions that came down prior to his arrival. But with Joe Webb gone and the team looking for an offensive spark this year, the administration and fans could get antsy.

Seat could get toasty midseason

David Bailiff, Rice: I honestly think Bailiff has nothing to fear, but last season’s 2-10 campaign was pretty brutal, especially after the 10-3 season in 2008. But Bailiff has some key transfers this season, including running back Sam McGuffie, who could end up being the best player in the conference. Another 10-win season might be a stretch, but the Owls should get into bowl contention.

Bob Toledo, Tulane: Toledo took a tough job four years ago as Tulane was still rebuilding from Hurricane Katrina and was displaced because of other hurricanes. He also has to deal with a tough academic standard, which often hampers recruiting. Still, Tulane has some fertile recruiting ground with Louisiana and Texas and should be better than its 3-9 record a year ago.

Chillin’ in a lounge chair

Kevin Sumlin, Houston: Sumlin’s Cougars provided some thrills last year with wins over Oklahoma State, Texas Tech and Mississippi State en route to a 10-win season, but they struggled at the end of the season and failed to win the conference title or the bowl game. Still, Sumlin’s coaching job in just two years has made him one of the hottest up-and-comers, and Houston will want to hold onto him as long as it can.

June Jones, SMU: Jones has started SMU on the road back to prominence, which has its administration and fan base in a frenzy. The school bumped up his salary last year and the expectations for a nine or 10-win season, a division title and possible league title are high. Jones won’t be chastised if they don’t achieve all of those goals, but he has to continue to show improvement.

George O’Leary, UCF: Remember when folks were calling for O’Leary’s job? Yeah, those days are gone and now many think the Knights could be the team to beat in the East Division and perhaps the conference. The defense has been stout, but the Knights need to show some progress on offense to live up to the expectations.

Todd Graham, Tulsa: I think it’s fair to call last year’s 5-7 finish a fluke. Graham acknowledged that he underestimated the loss of some of his seniors after the 2008 season and the lack of depth on the offensive line. However, Tulsa doesn’t lose much offense from a year ago, and if the O-line and quarterback G.J. Kinne can progress, the Golden Hurricane could be right back in the conference title hunt.

Larry Fedora, Southern Miss: Fedora missed an East Division title by five points last season and those five points were the theme that drove the Golden Eagles this spring. Southern Miss will once again be at the top of the East Division and will probably battle UCF for the division title. Fedora has kept the bowl streak alive, but now it’s time to push his squad forward.

New coach, jury is still out

Ruffin McNeill, East Carolina: McNeill took over a team that lost 28 seniors from last year and he’s installing a new offense and defense. Now, it’s tough to rule out the back-to-back conference champions, but it’s hard to see this as anything but a rebuilding year.

Larry Porter, Memphis: Porter is another coach who lost several key contributors. He’s breaking in a new quarterback and a new running back in a new system. He has a little more pressure on him to build quickly with possible expansion looming, but it will take some time to get this team back in contention.

UAB and Florida Atlantic has moved their 2010 season opener to Thursday, Sept. 2.

The game was originally scheduled for Sept. 4.

The last time UAB opened a season with a non-Saturday game was in 2001 when the Blazers defeated Montana State at home.

I’m a joiner and this morning I saw that the other bloggers were writing about the teams from their conferences that had the best chance of going bowling this year. So, I thought I’d join in.

Obviously, I have more conferences, so I’ll break this down over a few posts throughout the rest of the week. I’ll go in alphabetical order, so let’s start with Conference USA.

C-USA announced last month that it will have six guaranteed bowl spots and an agreement with the new Dallas Football Classic to participate in that game should be the Big Ten or Big 12 be unable to provide a team. The Liberty Bowl takes the conference champion and then teams are dispersed with the help of the league office.

I’m not going to pick the exact bowls but rather the teams I think will be bowling at the end of the year.

COUNT ON IT

• Southern Miss: The Golden Eagles have missed the postseason just once this decade, so there’s no reason to think they’re going to slip now. Yes, there are questions on the offensive line, but this team should be challenging for a conference title by the end of the season.
• Central Florida: The Knights rebounded from a tough 2008 to nearly play in the conference title game in 2009. This year, the defense looks stout and the offense seems to have found a quarterback in Rob Calabrese that can help expand their game. Running back is a huge question mark with Brynn Harvey out for nonconference play, but several other options seemed to step up during the spring.
• Houston: The Cougars seemed to hit a wall at the end of last season, but with nearly everyone returning from that team, they’ll be the favorites to win C-USA West in the fall. The question will be whether they learned from last year’s mistakes to put themselves in better bowl position this year.
• SMU: Dare I say that SMU is back? The Mustangs will be young again, but I think coach June Jones has found something in quarterback Kyle Padron and the Mustangs will once again be in a bowl hunt. I think the ‘Stangs have the best chance to give Houston a run for the West Division.
• Tulsa: The Golden Hurricane had a down year in 2009, but I think that was an aberration. Coach Todd Graham acknowledged he underestimated the loss of some players heading into last year, but with most of the 2009 squad returning for 2010, he feels confident his team can rebound. Much of Tulsa’s success will depend on the offensive line, which was really shaky a year ago.

MOST LIKELY

• UTEP: The Miners have the talent to make a bowl game, especially with quarterback Trevor Vittatoe and running back Donald Buckram back, but the consistency is something that needs to come along. The Miners have a new defensive coordinator, which should alleviate the need to get into shootouts with opponents.
• Marshall: It’s hard to say what a team will look like with a new coach and several of the top offensive weapons gone, but coach Doc Holliday does have some gems on his roster that could get this team to six wins. However, the nonconference schedule is a bear and the Herd has to play at Southern Miss, ECU and SMU.

OUTSIDE SHOT

• East Carolina: The Pirates lost more starters to graduation than any other team in the country. Combine that with trying to learn a new offensive and defensive system and it seems like a rebuilding year.
• Rice: Last year was a tough transition for Rice after losing almost all of its offense from 2008. This year should be better with some new quarterback choices, experience and running back Sam McGuffie available to play. The Owls could easily go 2-2 during nonconference play and have SMU and Houston at home, but there’s a tough road stretch during late October and early November that will get them a bowl berth.

WAIT 'TIL NEXT YEAR

• Memphis: New head coach Larry Porter inherited a lot of potential, but it won’t be easy to put that together in a year. There are a lot of questions for this Memphis team, especially at running back, the position that carried the offense a year ago.
• UAB: Quarterback Joe Webb was the Blazers’ all-everything player a year ago and now that he’s gone, no one has stepped up to fill that gap. Coach Neil Callaway has been looking for players to help out for the past few years and has had little luck finding someone to emerge. That will continue as the Blazers struggle in 2010.
• Tulane: I thought the Green Wave would be better in 2009, but that didn’t happen and I don’t have a lot of confidence for 2010. They lose top players Jeremy Williams and Andre Anderson and are still looking for consistent play from both sides of the ball.

Army coach Rich Ellerson thinks his team made progress this spring and is eager to see if it can carry through to the fall.

BYU running back Harvey Unga is working toward sharpening his blocking skills.

UNLV coach Bobby Hauck still remembers the lessons he learned while visiting troops in Iraq.

Former BYU quarterback Max Hall disputes claims that Tim Tebow never offered a prayer before the Wonderlic test at the NFL Combine.

UTEP’s new linebackers coach Robert Rodriguez helps the new defensive scheme take shape.

Finding a replacement for four-year center Jake Seitz has not been an easy task for UAB.

The Sporting News did a nice Q&A with Houston quarterback Case Keenum.

Receiver Tyler Mason tries to make a name for himself at Middle Tennessee.

A lot of rebuilding projects get underway this week as another round of teams begin spring football. New coaches such as Ruffin McNeill and Rob Ianello will get their first glimpses of their teams on the field, while other coaches such as Todd Dodge, Bob Toledo and Mike Locksley try to put their teams on track.

Here’s a look at this week’s spring starts and the biggest issues each teams faces:

East Carolina, March 22

Biggest issue: With several senior lettermen gone, new head coach Ruffin McNeill is basically starting from scratch, but he does have a good foundation upon which to build. The Pirates will spend the spring transitioning from a pro-style offense to a spread under the direction of new offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley.

Tulane, March 22

Biggest issue: There are several issues Tulane has to deal with the spring, but the biggest will be replacing the production of running back Andre Anderson. Anderson accounted for 80 percent of the team’s rushing yards and scored eight of the team’s 10 rushing touchdowns.

Idaho, March 23

Biggest issue: The Idaho offense was quite good last season, but the defense cost it some games. The defense allowed 433.23 yards per game and 36 points per game. It returns 11 players with starting experience, which should help. The Vandals also have to replace four starters on the offensive line.

New Mexico, March 23

Biggest issue: With three-year starter Donovan Porterie gone, sophomore B.R. Holbrook and juniors Tate Smith and Brad Gruner will compete for the starting quarterback spot. However, the winner of that competition will have to fend off top recruits Tarean Austin and Stump Godfrey in the fall.

Northern Illinois, March 23

Biggest issue: Starting quarterback Chandler Harnish will miss spring football, which opens up the quarterback position. A.J. Hill, DeMarcus Grady, Jordan Lynch will be vying for time, but a lot will be expected from junior college transfer Casey Weston in the fall.

North Texas, March 23

Biggest issue: This is a pivotal season for Dodge and his staff, and the key to turning the Mean Green’s fortunes around is getting the defense to play better. North Texas allowed 412.33 yards and 35.58 points per game last season, and also averaged just one sack per game.

Utah State, March 23

Biggest issue: With running back Robert Turbin sidelined with a knee injury, the Aggies will have to find a running back to fill his shoes. Turbin accounted for almost 60 percent of the team’s rushing yardage.

Akron, March 24

Biggest issue: Ianello enters his first spring, and the top priority will be to find playmakers on offense. Akron, which hasn’t had a winning season since 2005, averaged just 19.25 points per game last season.

Ball State, March 24

Biggest issue: The Cardinals will look to replicate the type of offense they had during their 12-win season in 2008. Last season the run game was OK, but the passing game struggled. All of the quarterbacks are healthy this spring and running back MiQuale Lewis returns for a sixth season.

TCU, March 24

Biggest issue: The Horned Frogs didn’t lose much from last season’s 12-win team, but they did lose their top defensive performers in defensive end Jerry Hughes and linebacker Daryl Washington. Replacing those players, as well as adding depth in the secondary, will be the focus this spring.

UAB, March 24

Biggest issue: David Isabelle has the unenviable task of replacing do-it-all quarterback Joe Webb, who was essentially all of the Blazers' offense for the past two seasons. Isabelle does bring a strong arm as well as rushing ability to the quarterbacking position, which might help other players get involved in the offense.

Colorado State, March 25

Biggest issue: The Rams will once again look for a new starting quarterback this spring, and all eyes will be on early enrollee Pete Thomas, who is the favorite to win the job. Senior Jon Eastman, junior T.J. Borcky and redshirt freshman Nico Ranieri also will compete for the starting role.

UTEP, March 25

Biggest issue: Former UNLV defensive line coach Andre Patterson takes over as the defensive coordinator, and he’ll do away with the 3-3-5 defense installed by Osia Lewis. The Miners have consistently been bad on defense, which has stopped them from competing for the C-USA West title. But if Patterson can get the defense moving in the right direction, the Miners become a dangerous team.

Houston, March 27

Biggest issue: New defensive coordinator Brian Stewart inherits a young group with a lot of talent and will need to show some sort of defensive turnaround this spring. The defense was part of the reason the Cougars didn’t cap the perfect season they started.

ESPN has released its television schedule for Conference USA games this season.

The schedule features 10 games on the ESPN family of networks beginning with the Sept. 4 opener between Texas and Rice at 3:30 ET.

Central Florida leads all Conference USA teams with three appearances on ESPN and ESPN2. The Knights will host UAB on ESPN on Oct. 6, play at Marshall on Oct. 13 and at Houston on Nov. 5.

Houston, Marshall and SMU each have two appearances on the ESPN family of networks.

Eleven C-USA teams will make at least one appearance in 2010.

Here’s the current schedule of C-USA games airing on ESPN networks in 2010:

UAB hasn’t been to a bowl game since 2004 and though they were close last year, they didn’t have enough weapons to sustain any consistency.

Departed quarterback Joe Webb was everything offensively for the Blazers. He led the team in passing, rushing and total offense. He accounted for 32 of the team’s 39 touchdowns. Picking up his slack will not be easy.

Here’s a look at the strongest and weakest positions for the Blazers heading into spring football:

Strongest position: Wide receiver

Key returners: Senior Frantrell Forrest (34 catches, 558 yards, nine touchdowns), senior Jeffery Anderson (26 catches, 398 yards, five touchdowns), junior Nick Adams (15 catches, 277 yards, one touchdown), senior Roddell Carter (14 catches, 225, one touchdown)

Key departures: Mark Ferrell (23 catches, 320 yards, one touchdown)

The skinny: The Blazers return four of their top five receivers this season. And while the passing game ranked 83^rd in the country with just 196 yards per game, it wasn’t because the receivers couldn’t catch. The offense was geared around the playmaking ability of quarterback Joe Webb and most of the playmaking was done with his feet. With Webb gone and David Isabelle, a more proficient passer, in, the wide receiving corps should be a lot more effective.

Weakest position(s): Secondary and linebackers

Key returners: Junior cornerback Marquis Coleman (26 tackles, three interceptions), senior strong safety Hiram Atwater (89 tackles, two tackles for loss), junior cornerback Terrell Springs (68 tackles, 10 passes defended), junior corner back Andre Hicks (34 tackles, one interception), sophomore middle linebacker Marvin Burdette (43 tackles, one sack), junior weakside linebacker Lamanski Ware (71 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss), sophomore strongside Greg Irvin (16 tackles)

Key departures: Free safety Brandon Carlisle (57 tackles, nine passes defended)

The skinny: The UAB secondary was the worst in the country allowing 311.50 yards per game, but it didn’t get a whole lot from a young linebacking corps. Hiram Atwater and Terrell Springs led the team in tackles, which means there were a lot of missed assignments all over the field. This group loses just one player, so it has a chance to grow and bond, but it’s going to take some work to catch the Blazers up with the rest of the conference.

Here's a breakdown of three issues facing each program heading into the spring:

Central Florida Knights
Spring practice starts: March 19
Spring game: April 17

What to watch:

• The Knights will need to develop offensive line talent after allowing 2.54 sacks per game and failing to block for a rushing offense that ranked 82nd in the country. The Knights return all but two offensive linemen and have one coming in the spring.
• The quarterback battle will heat up with early enrollee Jeffrey Godfrey, who already has impressed coach George O’Leary. Godfrey will compete against Rob Calabrese for the starting role.
• The Knights will have to find replacements for three key members of the defensive line -- DE Jarvis Geathers, RT Torrell Troup, LT Travis Timmons. The defense was the main reason the Knights finished 8-5 and won their final five games.

East Carolina Pirates
Spring practice starts: March 22
Spring game: April 17

What to watch:

• With a new coach, a new system, and a crop of new starters, East Carolina will have its work cut out for it this spring. New head coach Ruffin McNeill needs to replace 15 players with starting experience, which won’t be easy with just a month to work.
• The most underrated positions the Pirates have to fill are punter and kicker. All-American Matt Dodge is gone as is kicker Ben Hartman, who set the school record for career scoring. Finding replacements for those two is a top priority.
• New offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley will be implement Texas Tech’s offensive system with just two scholarship quarterbacks and a team that relied on its running game. Riley is confident he can install all of his spread offense this fall, but there’s no telling how quickly the Pirates will pick it up.

Houston Cougars
Spring practice starts: March 27
Spring game: April 24

What to watch:

• The one thing that really kept Houston from an undefeated season was its defense. Brian Stewart, who was named the defensive coordinator in January, inherits a young team with a lot of talent, but he has some work to do to catch the defense up to the offense by September.
• Quarterback Case Keenum returns for his senior season, but his center, Carl Barnett, does not. Barnett started 39 games, so Keenum will have to establish a good rapport with his new center this spring. Blake Sargent, who was the backup last year, appears to be the front-runner.
• Even though the Cougars did not lose many starters on offense, coach Kevin Sumlin will look for more athletic players to rotate into the mix. Last season, 19 players had at least one catch and 12 had double-digit catches.

(Read full post)

Central Florida and Kent State will be two of just six FBS schools to have multiple starters in the year’s NFL Pro Bowl.

Denver Broncos wide receiver Brandon Marshall and Philadelphia Eagles cornerback Asante Samuel will represent the Knights, and Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker James Harrison, Cleveland Browns kick returner Joshua Cribbs both played for the Golden Flashes.

Miami (5), California (3), Texas (2), NC State (2) are the only other schools will multiple starters in the game.

Overall, the non-automatic qualifying conferences will have 17 players in the Pro Bowl this weekend in Miami.

Below is a list of the non-AQ players involved in the game:

CONFERENCE USA

AFC

QB David Garrard, JAX, (East Carolina)
RB Chris Johnson, TEN, (East Carolina)
WR Brandon Marshall, DEN, (UCF)


NFC

QB Brett Favre, MIN, (Southern Miss)
RB DeAngelo Williams, CAR, (Memphis)
WR Roddy White, ATL, (UAB)
CB Asante Samuel, PHI, (UCF)
LS Jon Dorenbos, PHI, (UTEP)

MOUNTAIN WEST

AFC

ST Kassim Osgood, SD, (San Diego State)

NFC

ST Heath Farwell, MIN, (San Diego State)

MID-AMERICAN CONFERENCE

AFC

TE Antonio Gates, SD (Kent State)

LB James Harrison, PITT (Kent State)

KR Joshua Cribbs, CLE (Kent State)

SUN BELT

NFC

DE DeMarcus Ware, DAL (Troy)

WESTERN ATHLETIC CONFERENCE

AFC

OT Ryan Clady, DEN, (Boise State)
OG Logan Mankins, NE, (Fresno State)


NFC

SS Quintin Mikell, PHI, (Boise State)

Senior Bowl practices are well underway and several players from the nonautomatic qualifying schools are trying to wow NFL scouts during this pivotal time leading up to the game on Saturday.

Todd McShay, Steve Muench and Kevin Weidl of ESPN’s Scouts. Inc already have been gushing about the play of Idaho offensive lineman Mike Iupati and have noted that Arkansas State defensive lineman Alex Carrington also has done well this week. Comments also have been made about the play of former UAB quarterback Joe Webb, who is trying to make his NFL mark as a receiver.

Conversely, the Scouts Inc. trio has been less than kind to Fresno State running back Lonyae Miller and Utah offensive lineman Zane Beadles.

Other players such as Central Michigan quarterback Dan LeFevour, TCU linebacker Daryl Washington and Boise State defensive back Kyle Wilson are already highly thought of and are using the week to improve their draft position.

However, it’s a long week and it’s not how you start, but how you finish, and this is just the first step toward playing on Sundays.

Below is a list of non-AQ players who will be participating in the Senior Bowl in Mobile, Ala., on Saturday:

NORTH

Zane Beadles, OL, Utah

Alex Carrington, DL, Arkansas State

Justin Cole, DL, San Jose State

Mike Iupati, OL, Idaho

Dan LeFevour, QB, Central Michigan

Lonyae Miller, RB, Fresno State

Koa Misi, LB, Utah

D’Anthony Smith, DL, Louisiana Tech

Daryl Washington, LB, TCU

Kyle Wilson, DB, Boise State

SOUTH

Matt Dodge, P, East Carolina

Brandon Lang, DL, Troy

Cameron Sheffield, LB, Troy

Joe Webb, WR, UAB

Jeremy Williams, WR, Tulane

C.J. Wilson, DL, East Carolina

UAB senior quarterback Joe Webb finished the 2009 season as the only quarterback to pass for 2,000 yards and rush for 1,000 yards in consecutive seasons.

Former Missouri quarterback Brad Smith is the only other player to put up those numbers in two seasons, but they were not accomplished in back-to-back years (2002 and 2005).

Webb finished the season with 2,229 passing yards and 1,427 rushing yards this season. He ranked No. 3 in the country in total offense and accounted to 32 total touchdowns.

Last season, Webb finished with 2,367 passing yards and 1,021 rushing yards.

During his final game, Webb finished with 137 rushing yards against Central Florida. Had he rushed for 68 more yards, he would have broken the single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback. Webb’s 1,427 rushing yards is the third-highest total in NCAA history (Air Force's Beau Morgan is No. 1 at 1,494 in 1996, and Northern Illinois' Stacey Robinson is second at 1,443 in 1989).

What’s most impressive about Webb’s numbers is that he had just 25 career starts at quarterback at UAB and had 2,453 rushing yards in those starts, an average of 98.1. He finished with 5,771 passing yards for his career.

Miguel Graham, CB, Akron: Had two interceptions, including one he returned 62 yards for a touchdown at the end of the half in a 28-21 win over Eastern Michigan.

Theo Scott, QB, Ohio: Completed 80.9 percent of his passes for 324 yards and three touchdowns and rushed for 69 yards and two scores in a 35-17 win over Temple that sent the Bobcats to the MAC championship.

Ian Watts, K, Wyoming: Hit a 33-yard field goal with 1:27 remaining to give the Cowboys a 17-16 win over Colorado State and earn them a bowl berth.

Curtis Steele, RB, Memphis: Closed out the season with 19 carries for 232 yards and four touchdowns in a 33-30 loss to Tulsa, which had allowed just five rushing touchdowns all season. The four touchdowns tied a school record.

C.J. Wilson, DE, East Carolina: Blocked an extra point and ran it 75 yards for the winning two-point conversion in a 25-20 win over Southern Miss to capture the C-USA East championship.

Trevor Vittatoe, QB, UTEP: Threw for 517 yards and five touchdowns in a 52-21 win over Marshall.

Shawnbrey McNeal, RB, SMU: Rushed for 147 yards and two touchdowns, including the game-winning score with just over five minutes remaining.

TCU defense: Held New Mexico to 172 total yards, the Lobos second-lowest output of the season by a yard, and had four interceptions, including two returned for touchdowns.

Brynn Harvey, RB, Central Florida: Rushed for 130 yards, including a 25-yard touchdown, and went over the 1,000-yard mark this season.

Houston offense: It was hard picking out just one player, so the entire offense gets the sticker for amassing 684 points and 10 touchdowns in a 7314 win over rival Rice.

Andrew George, TE, BYU: Caught a 25-yard touchdown pass from Max Hall in overtime to defeat rival Utah 26-23 in the Holy War.

Robert Turbin, RB, Utah State: Accounted for 183 total yards and five touchdowns in the 52-49 win over Idaho. The touchdowns were a single-game school record.

Bryant Moniz, QB Hawaii: Completed 72 percent of his passes for 366 yards and three touchdowns in a 24-17 upset win against Navy.

HONORABLE MENTION

TCU: Notched its first undefeated regular season since 1938 to earn its second Mountain West Conference title and first BCS bowl berth.

Charlie Todd, DB, Ball State: Returned a punt 87 yards for a touchdown in the fourth quarter to score the game-winning points in a 22-17 win over Western Michigan.

Willie Geter, RB, Bowling Green: Had 114 yards and three touchdowns in a 38-24 win over Toledo that likely secured the Falcons a bowl berth.

Kevin Fitzpatrick, K, Tulsa: Made four field goals, including a 37-yarder in overtime, to give Tulsa a 33-30 win over Memphis in the season finale.

Joe Webb, QB, UAB: Accounted for 459 yards, including 137 rushing, and four touchdowns in a 34-27 loss to Central Florida.

Jeff Moturi, WR, UTEP: Had seven catches for 178 yards and a touchdown in a 52-21 win over Marshall.

Bobby Rainey, RB, Western Kentucky: Had 15 rushes for 144 yards in a 29-23 loss to Florida Atlantic.

Joe Phillips, K, Utah: Made five field goals, including a 49-yarder with 29 seconds remaining to force overtime against BYU.

Shawn Southward, RB, Troy: Rushed for 152 yards and two touchdowns on 15 carries in a 48-31 win over Louisiana-Lafayette.

Diondre Borel, QB, Utah State: Threw for 369 yards and four touchdowns in a 52-49 shootout against Idaho.

Conference races continue to be on the line this week and some teams will be eliminated. There are keys games in the MAC and Conference USA that will start to reveal potential champions.

Rough week last week with a 6-4 finish, which brings my season total to 79-33.

Let's see what we have this week:

Temple 29, Kent State 24: Two weeks ago this game could have meant the MAC East title, but with two losses, Kent State needs Temple to lose out to have any chance at that. The Golden Flashes have had two weeks to prepare, but Temple has won eight straight and seems to be charmed.

Northern Illinois 28, Ohio 24: This is a huge game in the MAC because both of these teams need to win out to win their respective divisions. These teams are evenly matched, but Northern Illinois’ running game has carried it most of the season and will continue to do so this week.

BYU 28, Air Force 17: We’ll see if BYU’s lackluster effort against New Mexico last week was more about the opponent than BYU. This game will be Air Force’s last chance to try and pop into the top tier of the conference standings. Beating BYU would prove that it’s among the conference’s elite teams and the Falcons will need to rely on their defense to get it done.

East Carolina 30, UAB 27: UAB is one win away from bowl eligibility, but East Carolina is trying to maintain its lead in the East Division in Conference USA. The ECU defense is one of the best in the conference and UAB quarterback Joe Webb will face a stiff challenge to carry his team to victory.

Marshall 31, SMU 28: On the road with a possibility to win the conference title is a recipe for disaster for SMU. I’m not saying that SMU isn’t good enough to win this game, we know that’s not true, but there’s a lot on the line and this is uncharted territory for the Mustangs. Also, Marshall needs this game for bowl eligibility and maybe to save its coach’s job. They Herd will be driven to win.

Colorado State 31, New Mexico 10: Colorado State has had two weeks to work out whatever problems it’s had during conference play and that time will put the Rams back on track against a struggling New Mexico team. The Lobos did play well last week, but that was a heartbreaking loss and they’re running out of chances to get their first win since Oct. 18, 2008.

Louisiana-Monroe 24, Louisiana-Lafayette 23: The battle for Louisiana has high stakes as the Ragin’ Cajuns are playing for bowl eligibility and the Warhawks are playing for that seventh win that could make them an at-large team. The Warhawks will be looking for a measure of payback after last year’s 44-35 loss.

Southern Miss 34, Tulsa 28: Southern Miss is still in the hunt for the Conference USA East title, but it has to win out to earn that spot. Tulsa has lost five straight and most have been because of timely turnovers or fourth-quarter comebacks. The Golden Hurricane is still fighting for bowl eligibility, but this is going to be a tough one on the road.

Bowling Green 30, Akron 24: Bowling Green needs just one more win to become bowl eligible, which is something that seemed like an uphill battle a few weeks ago. While six wins doesn’t guarantee the Falcons a bowl, it does put them in a position for a seventh win to end the regular season. Akron isn’t playing for much and was waxed by Temple last week. The Zips will have a tough time keeping up with receiver Freddie Barnes.

Boise State 44, Utah State 24: There’s always the possibility of looking ahead to Nevada, which could come back and bite the Broncos against an underrated Utah State team. However, that probably won’t happen. Utah State could make it interesting with playmakers such as Robert Turbin and Diondre Borel, but overall, the Aggies are overmatched.

1. Light at the end of the tunnel: TCU players say they can see the light at the end of the tunnel, but they better hope that light isn’t a train in Laramie this weekend. TCU lost to Wyoming the last time it traveled to Laramie and Texas struggled there earlier this year. TCU is obviously the better team in this game, but it’ll have to play like it to come away unscathed.

2. Don’t look ahead: Both Boise State and Nevada have games against teams with losing records this weekend and it would be easy to look ahead to next week’s game between the two schools that will ultimately decide the conference title. The game won’t matter much, though, if one team falters this weekend.

3. MAC elimination game: Ohio and Northern Illinois will be playing in an elimination game this weekend. Both teams need to win to stay in the hunt for their respective division title races. This game will end the divisional title dreams for one team and the Huskies and Bobcats are so close statistically that it’s too close to call.

4. Hot seat is warming: UTEP’s AD came out and said coach Mike Price is safe, but that’s the only AD of the possible coaches on the hot seat to talk about their coach’s future. North Texas’ Todd Dodge, Akron’s JD Brookhart and even Marshall’s Mark Snyder all need to win this weekend to give themselves some peace come Monday.

5. Back in the saddle: It’s almost unfathomable that Houston could win 10 games this season and not play for its conference title, but that’s the reality the Cougars are facing after losing to UCF last week. They need to win and have SMU trip up against Marshall to have any shot of getting back in the conference race.

6. Sun Belt history: The Sun Belt Conference has been around since 2001, and if Louisiana-Monroe wins this weekend, it will be the first time the conference has had three teams with seven or more wins. If that happens, it looks like all three teams will be bowl bound.

7. Running out of chances: This weekend might be New Mexico’s last chance to notch a win this season. The Lobos host Colorado State, which has not won a league game and has lost seven consecutive games. If the Lobos don’t get this one, their last opportunity will be against a possibly undefeated TCU team.

8. Winning streaks abound: Four non-AQ teams are in the top 10 in winning streaks both overall and within their respective conferences. TCU and Boise State are behind Florida and Texas, respectively, and then Temple, which has won eight consecutive games, comes in seventh. Nevada, which has won seven straight, comes in ninth.

9. C-USA East still up for grabs: Four teams still have a shot at the Conference USA East title with East Carolina leading the pack and Southern Miss, UCF and UAB falling in line behind the Pirates with 4-2 conference records. Of the group, Southern Miss has the best chance to overtake the Pirates because the two teams play each other next week.

10. Odd man out: Three MAC teams could get bowl eligible this weekend, but with four MAC teams with seven or more wins already and just three guaranteed bowl berths to go around, there are going to be several disappointed MAC teams this year. The goal would be to get to seven wins and become an attractive at-large, but that means winning out.

Departing UNLV coach Mike Sanford said there’s wasn’t enough institutional support for him to be successful at UNLV.

After the bye week, Colorado State is focused on snapping their losing streak and ending the season on a high note.

UAB has had late-season collapses in the past and it’s hoping to reverse that trend.

Conference USA races in both the East and West divisions are going down to the wire this year.

Tulsa’s struggles in the fourth quarter have put it in a tough spot in terms of bowl eligibility.

One of the benefits of Idaho’s newfound success is a better recruiting pool and better recruits.

Utah State would like to model its program after Boise State, but it also would like to beat it on Friday.