This week in CUSA – Looking ahead at Week 2

Rice football fell to Houston in the Bayou Bucket. How did the rest of the conference fare and what’s next for the Conference USA football in Week 2?

TeamLast WeekResultThis Week
FAUOklahomaL, 63-14vs Air Force
RiceHoustonL, 45-27at Hawaii
MarshallMiami (OH)W, 35-28vs E Kentucy
ODULibertyL, 52-10vs FIU
CharlotteFordhamW, 34-10vs App State
Louisiana TechSouth AlabamaW, 30-26vs Southern
FIUIndianaL, 38-28at ODU
Southern MissJacksonville StW, 55- 7vs ULM
North TexasSMUW, 46-23vs Incarnate Word
UTEPNorthern ArizonaL, 30-10at UNLV
Middle TennesseeVanderbiltL, 35- 7vs Tenn-Martin
UTSAArizona StL, 49- 7vs Baylor
UABSavannah StW, 52-0at Coastal Carolina

Notable Week 1 results

Rice — Bayou Buckets stays with the Houston Cougars

Rice football fell to Houston in a wild shootout at South Main. The Owls were able to hang around in large part because of a strong performance by their wide receivers and quarterback Shawn Stankavage.

FAU — No upset in Norman

FAU was a trendy upset pick entering the week but this one was all Oklahoma from the start. Star running back Devin Singletary was held to 69 yards and one touchdown on 18 carries as the Sooners cruised to an easy victory behind a strong performance from Kyler Murray.

UTEP – Miners’ rebuild already behind schedule

UTEP odds to win their season opener sat at relatively a coin flip entering their game against Northern Arizona. After going winless last season, this was their chance to rediscover the win column. Not only did it not happen, UTEP was never really close. It could be another long season in El Paso.

Week 2 storylines

First CUSA matchup on deck

FIU hosts Old Dominion in the first Conference USA conference game of the season. Both programs started the season with a loss, but FIU’s close loss to Indiana looks much more favorable to the beatdown the Monarchs suffered at the hands of newly minted FBS squad, Liberty. FIU is currently a 2-point home favorite.

Power Play

UTSA made a bold scheduling decision. The Roadrunners are the only CUSA team to play back to back Power 5 teams to open to the season. UTSA was blown out by Arizona State last weekend, making their odds against Baylor less than favorable. But you can’t win the game if you don’t play it? Right UCF?

Can North Texas stay fine?

North Texas quarterback Mason Fine continues to receiver murmurs of praise from the national football media. The Mean Green’s gunslinger is coming off a 444-yard, three touchdown game and could be in for a bigger game on Saturday against Incarnate Word.