A romp around Conference USA:

Memphis at Arkansas State: With a little bit more room to manuever, thanks to the NCAA kickoff rule change moving the ball back to the 30, ASU’s Brandon Thompkins is a threat. For the latest on the Tigers, click here.

Southern Miss at Boise State: The Golden Eagles will have a tough time getting past Boise State’s best offensive lineman.

LSU at Tulane: Look for the Tigers to be wearing something different in the Superdome on Saturday. The Green Wave celebrated the 1970 team last Saturday.

UTEP at SMU: Defensive injuries are wreaking havoc with the Miners.

East Carolina at Houston: It won’t make a difference in this game, but the Cougars are celebrating getting a commitment from a top Texas prep QB.
Meanwhile, Pirates coach Skip Holtz said his team found out a lot about itself in getting trampled by West Virginia.

UAB at Tulsa: Tulsa has put Friday night’s 41-point loss to Oklahoma in the rear-view mirror and is focused on C-USA foe UAB.

Louisiana-Lafayette at UCF: The opponent is winless. The Knights are coming off a great showing against Memphis. George O’Leary isn’t worried about his team being overconfident.

In case you want to read more about Conference USA games over the weekend …

WEST VIRGINIA 48, EAST CAROLINA 7: How bad was it for the Pirates’ defense? West Virginia only had to punt once.

TEXAS 58, RICE 14: It was a tough day for the Rice Owls, as well, as the Longhorns remembered they were supposed to be a dominant team.

HOUSTON 38, COLORADO STATE 27: The Cougars not only got a win, they found a quarterback in Case Keenum.

TULANE 35, SOUTHEAST LOUISIANA 27: It wasn’t easy, but the Green Wave won and may have found that it’s forte is giving the ball to Matt Forte, who rushed for 5 touchdowns and a C-USA record 303 yards on the ground.

CINCINNATI 40, MARSHALL 14: The Thundering Herd has said the right things and practiced well. But those things aren’t paying off in victories.

TCU 21, SMU 7: Neither team was exactly cooking, but TCU took the Iron Skillet with a victory over the Mustangs.

UTEP 52, TEXAS SOUTHERN 12: A solid victory will help the Miners forget two earlier losses this season.

UCF 56, MEMPHIS 20: And in case you missed it …

A look at what the hometown papers wrote about Conference USA games over the weekend:

TEXAS 35, CENTRAL FLORIDA 32: With Memphis heading in this weekend, the Knights are thinking back to what might have been against the Longhorns.

UAB 22, ALCORN STATE 0: The Blazers got in the end zone only once and had to settle for five field goals.

SOUTHERN MISS 28, EAST CAROLINA 21: Penalties plagued the Pirates against the Golden Eagles. As for USM, coach Jeff Bower had to order his offense to put on the brakes near the end of the game.

HOUSTON 34, TULANE 10: The Cougars started conference play well, but left some points out on the field. Down New Orleans way, it was a lack of speed that did in the Green Wave.

TEXAS TECH 59, RICE 24: The Owls could do nothing to stop Tech wideout Michael Crabtree.

ARKANSAS STATE 45, SMU 28: Where was the defense, Mustang fans want to know?

NEW MEXICO STATE 29, UTEP 24: The Miners fell prey to a poor second half and NMSU’s strong passing attack.

NEW HAMPSHIRE 48, MARSHALL 35: This isn’t a good sign for the Thundering Herd.

TULSA 55, BRIGHAM YOUNG 47: Watch out for the Hurricane. The offense is making some big noise.

UAB: San Diego native Jacob Tauanuu got an early sign that UAB would be the best place to display his football talents.

SOUTHERN MISS: Last year’s game against East Carolina came down to a play in the end zone that the Golden Eagles won’t soon forget.

TULANE: Quarterback Scott Elliott sustained a sprained foot against Mississippi State last week, but appears ready to go for the Green Wave’s conference game against Houston.

EAST CAROLINA: If running back Chris Johnson is coming your way, don’t blink. He’s so fast that he might be gone when you look again.

MARSHALL: The foe is “just” a Division 1-AA New Hampshire team. But with an 0-2 start, Marshall players know better than to look ahead.

HOUSTON: Sebastian Vollmer is a big dude, at 6-8 and 290 pounds. But a back problem left him in pain on the sidelines last year. He’s making a mark in the Cougars’ offensive line this year.

RICE: Expect a wide-open game when the spread offense of Texas Tech meets the spread offense of Rice.

UTEP: Record-setting quarterback Jordan Palmer is gone, but the Miners have been a model of efficiency without him.

TULSA: When the Hurricane take on Brigham Young, both sidelines will be controlled by defensive minds.

SOUTHERN MISS: The Eagles’ revamped offensive line drew mixed reviews in the season-opening victory over Tennessee-Martin. The team gained more than 300 yards rushing, but had trouble protecting the quarterback.

SMU: Some preseason prognosticators predicted big things for the Mustangs. But, as Dallas Morning News columnist Kevin Sherrington notes, those big things didn’t translate to a big crowd in the stands against Texas Tech, or a good result on the field.

RICE: Even though his receivers dropped several passes, Owls quarterback Chase Clement says the only person responsible in Rice’s 16-14 loss to Nicholls State is … himself.

UAB: A bright spot in the Blazers’ 55-18 loss to Michigan State on Saturday was the play of linebacker Mike Tashman, who had seven tackles, two tackles for loss and one forced fumble.
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Greetings on a gorgeous Saturday afternoon, and welcome to Memphis-Ole Miss at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium. My job, directly from my living room couch, will be to bring a live blog about the game as it’s presented on TV. Feel free to comment as we go along.

It’s about 15 minutes before the telecast begins — CSS is showing the show it taped last night from the Liberty Bowl parking lot — and I wanted to share a funny story. Thursday night at the U of Memphis campus Holiday Inn, I attended the Tiger auction to raise money for the athletic department. Ran into Tommy West and we exchanged pleasantries for a minute. I told him, “Tommy, my Saturday morning golf group has an opening this week. Wanna play at 7:22 a.m.?” Tommy laughed, then started counting the hours. “Let’s see, 7:22, 8:22, 9:22, 10 … no, maybe I’d better not.” We both got a good chuckle. He didn’t play this morning (kinda wish I hadn’t either, based on the number of swings I took), so he should be well rested for the big opener.

So with that, welcome to the game. It’s quiet here in the living room. Comcast-willing, we’ll spend the rest of the day writing about the game. Kickoff coming soon.
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CENTRAL FLORIDA: George O’Leary begins his fourth year for the Knights. Year one was a winless disaster. Year two brought about a bowl game. Year three saw a backslide. What’s in store year four?

UAB: It will be tough enough for the Blazers to open the season on the road against Big 10 foe Michigan State. It will be tougher without playmaker Will Dunbar, a starting safety who was suspended for the opener by new coach Neil Callaway.

EAST CAROLINA: Ditto for the Pirates, who may be without starting quarterback Rob Kass, who was arrested over the weekend with a reported blood alcohol content of .019, twice the legal limit in North Carolina. Skip Holtz has not made a public announcement of his decision on how to punish Kass before the Pirates’ first game against Virginia Tech on Saturday.

MARSHALL: It’s not like the Thundering Herd have an easy opening task either. Marshall will visit Miami. The challenge has some Florida natives excited.

HOUSTON: Kevin Kolb, the 2006 Conference USA player of the year, is gone. Who replaces him under center for the Cougars? It’s anybody’s guess, but it will be Art Briles’ decision.

RICE: Under Ken Hatfield, the Owl’s defense worked against the Owls’ option offense daily in practice. Hatfield’s gone, a passing offense is in place. But the Rice defense will need to remember those practices when it tangles with Nicholls State.