2010 College Football Predictions: Conference USA

FROM: http://machorhino.com/?p=16609

If you like offense, Conference USA is for you. It’s stocked with great offensive players. You’ve got great passing attacks in Houston and SMU, yet Central Florida has a solid defense this year that will help them win a lot of games.

This is a league that is trying to build off a good year last year and hopes to beat some more BCS schools this season.

Here’s how we see teams finishing this year in the conference.

EAST

1. Central Florida (7-1)

The Knights will be led by an outstanding defense that should keep them in every game they play, and anything less than 10 wins this season should be a disappointment.

2. Southern Miss (6-2)

Times have changed at USM, as they now boast a high-powered offense instead of the stingy defense they were known for a decade ago. Improvement in their secondary could help get them to nine wins this year, but that'll only be good enough for second place in their division.

3. East Carolina (5-3)

The two-time defending champions lost head coach Skip Holtz and have had to transition to new schemes on offense and defense under Ruffin McNeill. They’ve still got some talent, but a tough non-conference schedule will make it a difficult rebuilding season.

4. UAB (5-3)

They lost the C-USA Offensive Player of the Year in QB Joe Webb. A defense that returns nearly intact will help get them to a bowl game. With such a tough division though, it’s going to be tough to climb to the top this year.

5. Marshall (4-4)

This is a team that’ll be better than its record shows. A brutal non-conference schedule will get them off to a slow start, and difficult road tests in the league will keep the Herd out of the postseason this year.

6. Memphis (1-7)

Coming off a 2-10 season, they replaced their coach, and this will be a year full of change. They have a line that returns all five starters but don't have many playmakers on the offense. The defense will have to improve if they hope to win more than two games this year.

WEST

1. Houston (8-0)

The Cougars have one of the best offenses in the country, led by Case Keenum, who’ll continue to shred defenses. They hope they can get their defense to step up so they don’t have to win a shootout each week. The defense won’t be good enough to help them get a BCS bid though.

2. SMU (6-2)

June Jones is building a winner there. He’ll see progress in year two and set up a big season next year. Look out for this team though. Jones is getting some talent to go with his great system, so things are looking up for the ponies.

3. Tulsa (3-5)

Tulsa should have a great offense and might be able to make a bowl game if it can pull off an upset at Oklahoma State or at Notre Dame. Otherwise it’s still a year of building back the program.

4. UTEP (2-6)

Mike Price needs to get things going back in the right direction this season. If he plans to do so, he’ll need to ride one of the best runners in the country in Donald Buckram. Their defense was 110th last season and was a big reason they only won four games. It will need to have a huge improvement this year to even think about a bowl game.

5. Tulane (1-7)

The Green Wave is making changes on offense to try to keep up and improve on their 115th-ranked offense from last season. Tulane has a lot of holes to fill, and a three-win season would be a surprise.

6. Rice (0-8)

Rice will need to improve the running game and just doesn’t have the firepower on offense to hang with most of the other teams in the conference. Unfortunately they play Tulane on the road, and that’s their best shot at a win in C-USA.

Champion: Houston Cougars

Player of the Year: Case Keenum (QB, Houston)

Coach of the Year: June Jones (SMU)

Top Five Games

1. Central Florida at Houston (November 5)

This should be a preview of the C-USA championship. Both could ride in undefeated and set up one of the biggest games in conference history.

2. Houston at SMU (October 23)

This is a potential upset. June Jones will have SMU ready to go into this high-scoring affair and try to get the biggest win this program has seen in decades. I set the over/under at 85 for this game.

3. Houston at UCLA (September 18)

Houston is hoping to make a BCS game, and the only chance they have is to win a high-profile game against a big time program. The Cougars will face an improved Bruin team that could wreck their season.

4. Southern Miss at Central Florida (November 13)

Southern Miss will try to challenge for the East division title this year, and that means they’ve got to win this game. UCF should be able to hold them down for another season though.

5. Kansas at Southern Miss (September 17)

Another potential upset and chance for the conference to get some national recognition on a nationally televised Friday night game. KU has a new coach in just his third game with his new team, and this would be a huge opportunity for USM and C-USA.