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The big 2014 Conference USA football preview, from FIU to Marshall
Watch a lot of C-USA football? Well, you should this year, because this league has fun teams and outstanding players all throughout, along with a new face or two.
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April 2, 2014
LA Tech looks for new life
After an awful first season as Louisiana Tech's head coach, Skip Holtz looks to some new blood on defense (on both the field and sideline) and in the receiving corps to liven up a team didn't have much life in 2013.
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April 1, 2014
Marshall is the C-USA's top dog
The offense could be a legitimate top-25 unit, the defense should be aggressive and fun, and wow, is the schedule cake. Marshall's 2014 season could be one for the ages. In fact, it would almost be disappointing if it wasn't.
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March 31, 2014
Southern Miss still picking up the pieces
Southern Miss lost 25 games in five years, then lost 23 in two. The Golden Eagles are officially starting from scratch, and while improvement is almost guaranteed, Todd Monken's squad has a ways to go.
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March 28, 2014
UTSA is loaded (and let's hear it for Larry Coker)
UTSA boasts 38 seniors on its 2014 squad. The ambitious Roadrunners have come a long way in an incredibly short amount of time, and with experience and continuity galore, they could be the team to beat in the Conference USA West.
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March 27, 2014
North Texas tries to do it again
North Texas took a significant step forward in 2013, Dan McCarney's third year in charge. The Mean Green will have to account for quite a few departed difference-makers this fall but should have enough pieces remaining to reach another bowl in 2014.
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March 26, 2014
WKU's trajectory post-Petrino
Western Kentucky has either improved or held steady for most of the last five years. The Hilltoppers move to Conference USA with a new coach and a rebuilt defense; the 2014 season will represent quite a test of that improvement.
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March 25, 2014
MTSU's two big questions
Following a disastrous 2011 season, Rick Stockstill has put together back-to-back eight-win seasons at Middle Tennessee. A third straight is within reach if MTSU can avoid too much of a drop-off at quarterback and on the offensive line.
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March 24, 2014
Rice looks for new stars
A year and a half ago, it looked like David Bailiff's time at Rice was just about over. But the Owls have won 15 of 19 games and are the defending Conference USA champions. Can they make changes in the backfield and make a run at a second title?
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March 21, 2014
FIU completely fell apart
FIU has fallen apart quickly, but there is no quick way to rebound from the level of ineptitude the Golden Panthers showed last fall. In Ron Turner's second year, the goal simply has to be planting the seeds for competence in 2015 or 2016.
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March 20, 2014
FAU is close to thriving
Despite coaching turmoil, and despite about five straight years of increasingly bad football, Florida Atlantic is close to competing for the Conference USA title. Can ace recruiter Charlie Partridge prove his coaching bona fides in 2014?
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March 19, 2014
A second first year for UTEP
Head coach Sean Kugler's first year at UTEP was doomed by poor depth, experience, size, and health. But hey, other than that, it went pretty well!
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March 18, 2014
UAB goes local
UAB's 2013 season was an outright disaster, fraught with horrific attendance and a defense patched together with duct tape. With health, depth, and a new, local coach, however, the Blazers might find a sliver of hope in 2014.
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March 17, 2014
ODU won't struggle to score
In the seven years since Bobby Wilder was hired to built ODU's football program from scratch (literally), he has aimed high and reached even higher. With reasonable defensive competence, his Monarchs could immediately challenge in C-USA.