2010 Conference USA Football Predictions

Below, I have made my projections on how I see both the Conference USA East and West divisions playing out. I have also made my prediction on which school I like to win the conference title game. If you’re interested in seeing which schools I’ve picked to win college football’s other conferences, be sure to check out my 2010 college football predictions. How would you like to get more bang for your buck with your college football betting this season? Start betting your college football picks at BetUS where they give our readers up to $500 in free bonus cash!

Conference USA East
1. Southern Miss Golden Eagles – Head coach Larry Fedora fully expects his Golden Eagles to make the Conference USA championship game this season, and he expects them to do it with defense. Southern Miss was solid on the defensive side of the football in 2009, ranking 4th in the conference in both scoring and total defense. With nearly the entire unit back, Coach Fedora is confident the Eagles can boast the best defense in the league in 2010.

2. UCF Knights – UCF won eight games last season with six of those wins coming in conference play. The Knights’ biggest win was a 37-32 victory over Houston. UCF does get Southern Miss at home in a game that could decide the East, but there’s reason to think the Knights might take a step back this season. Junior QB Rob Calabrese lost his starting job a season ago when he clearly wasn’t ready. If he still isn’t ready in 2010, I don’t see how the Knights can win the East.

3. Marshall Thundering Herd – The Herd are coming off a 7-6 campaign that was capped off by a Little Caesars Pizza Bowl win over Ohio. The team must adjust to new coach Doc Holliday, but I don’t foresee a drop off. The Herd boast one of the best home field advantages in all of college football, going a ridiculous 118-19 all-time at Joan C. Edwards Stadium. With six home games this season, the Herd should be in the running for another bowl game.

4. East Carolina Pirates – The Pirates are coming off their best three-year run since the mid-1970s, winning 26 games the last three years. Losing a coach like Skip Holtz, along with 28 seniors, is sure to set ECU back in 2010, however. New head coach Ruffin McNeill prefers to air it out on offense, but the Pirates don’t appear to have the personnel to make that work this season.

5. Memphis Tigers – Memphis finished just 2-10 in 2009, picking up only one win in conference action. Wins will be tough to come by again in 2010, but there is reason to believe the Tigers will show some improvement. The Tigers will lean on a veteran offensive line and a fiery young coach to find their way out of the C-USA East cellar.

6. UAB Blazers – Don’t be surprised if UAB takes a big tumble after losing QB Joe Webb. Webb did it all for the Blazers, and life without him figures to be unkind. Defensively, the Blazers are one of the very worst teams in the nation. They were ranked dead last against the pass in 2009, allowing 311.5 yards per game through the air.

Conference USA West
1. Houston Cougars – QB Case Keenum returns to lead one of the most prolific offenses in the country. Keenum threw for 5,671 yards and 44 touchdowns with only 15 interceptions in leading the nation’s No. 1 ranked offense in terms of scoring, total yards and passing. It was defense that cost the Cougars an overall C-USA title last season, giving up 38 points to ECU in the conference title game, but there is reason to believe the defense will be improved under new coordinator Brian Stewart. It’s hard to think the former Dallas Cowboys defensive coordinator won’t get more out of this unit.

2. SMU Mustangs – June Jones has been like King Midas lately, everything he has touched has turned to gold. SMU won zero games in conference play in 2007 and 2008, but Jones led the Mustangs to six wins in 2009. He appears to be turning around the SMU program just like he did the Hawaii program. I think Houston is the hands down best team in the West, but SMU will get a chance to pull off the upset at home on October 23.

3. UTEP Miners – The Miners set a school record for yardage last season, but they only managed four wins because their defense was among the worst in the country. The general consensus is that UTEP underachieved so this team should be able to improve as long as the defense can hold up on its end of the bargain. A softer schedule should help UTEP’s chances of getting back to a bowl game. UTEP should be able to get off to a 4-1 start when you consider it will have a very good chance to beat Arkansas-Pine Bluff, both New Mexico schools and Memphis. It could get off to an even better start yet when you look further down the schedule at all the winnable games following.

4. Tulsa Golden Hurricane – Tulsa took a major step back in 2009, going just 5-7. The Golden Hurricane will return to the C-USA elite soon enough, but it likely won’t happen yet. A tough schedule, which includes road games with Notre Dame, Oklahoma State, East Carolina, Houston and SMU, will likely keep the wins from piling up. With that said, I won’t be at all surprised if Tulsa can get right back in a bowl. That’s the level of respect I have for Todd Graham. But in order for the Golden Hurricane to do so, we’ll need to see the kind of running attack we have become accustomed to seeing in Tulsa.

5. Rice Owls – Rice followed up its 10-3 campaign in 2008 with a 2-10 campaign in 2009. The Owls were among both the worst offensive and defensive teams in the nation last year, but with a lot of starters coming back there is reason to believe that improvement will be on its way.

6. Tulane Green Wave – Tulane has managed only one conference win in each of the last two seasons, and it’s hard to think there will be much improvement when you consider how inexperienced the defense is. The Green Wave allowed 36.7 points per game last season. With a lot of new guys stepping in to starting spots, the defensive struggles figure to continue.

Conference USA Title Game – Houston over Southern Miss

Start beating the college football lines on a consistent basis in 2010 with the help of Jimmy Boyd’s award-winning football picks!