Rice football fell to Southern Miss in Week 4. How did the rest of the conference fare and what’s next for Conference USA football in Week 5?
| Team | Last Week | Result | This Week |
| Charlotte | at UMass | L, 49-31 | at UAB |
| FAU | at 16 UCF | L, 56-36 | at MTSU |
| FIU | at 21 Miami | L, 31-17 | vs UAPB |
| LaTech | at 6 LSU | L, 38-21 | at UNT |
| Marshall | vs NC State | L, 37-20 | at WKU |
| MTSU | OFF | — | vs FAU |
| North Texas | @ Liberty | W, 47-7 | vs LaTech |
| ODU | vs 13 Virginia Tech | W, 49-35 | at ECU |
| Rice | @ Southern Miss | L, 40-22 | @ Wake Forest |
| Southern Miss | vs Rice | W, 40-22 | at 9 Auburn |
| UAB | OFF | — | vs Charlotte |
| UTEP | OFF | — | at UTSA |
| UTSA | vs Texas State | W, 25-21 | vs UTEP |
| WKU | @ Ball State | W, 28-20 | vs Marshall |
Notable Week 3 results
Upset of the century
Old Dominion stayed playing football in 1930. Nearly a century later, the Monarchs claimed the biggest win in school history. Few gave 0-3 ODU any chance of knocking off the No. 13 Virginia Tech Hokies, even if the game was being played at S.B. Ballard Stadium.
The four-touchdown underdogs stunned the Hokies, earning their first win over a Power 5 program and their first win over a ranked team in school history. As if that wasn’t enough, they fulfilled a subtle dream they’d hinted at several years before.
When Old Dominion proposed a new stadium in 2016 they included renderings of the new designs. Tucked away in those pictures was a scoreboard that featured a win over Virginia Tech. The prophecy came true, much to the surprise of everyone, including the Monarchs.
Back in 2016, a proposal to build a new @ODUFootball stadium was approved. The rendering featured a scoreboard with the #Monarchs beating VT 35-24. I laughed at the time. They just won 49-35 #VTvsODU @OldTakesExposed pic.twitter.com/6YI674Ylzc
— Mitch Carr (@mitchcarrtv) September 22, 2018
More work to be done
Rice football entered the bye week with guarded optimism. The Owls were coming off two close losses to Houston and Hawaii. Their game against Southern Miss did not go as well as they would have liked. Rice trailed by as many as 25 points, falling by 18 on the road. This team is still developing, but they’re headed in the right direction.
Week 4 storylines
Who’s next?
Old Dominion proved that even the weaker CUSA squads can put together a special game and knock off some of college football’s best programs. Southern Miss and Rice are the next two CUSA teams to play Power 5 opponents. Rice hits the road to play Wake Forest; Southern Miss will pay a visit to No. 9 Auburn.
And then there was one
Marshall and Louisiana Tech both fell this weekend, leaving North Texas the lone unbeaten in Conference USA. The Mean Green are the only team in the conference that received votes in the most recent AP Poll and have their eyes on contending for a New Year’s Six Bowl along with fellow Group of 5 counterparts UCF and Buffalo. They’ll have a tough test next weekend against Louisiana Tech.
UTEP has to win eventually, right?
The Miners remain firmly fixed at the bottom of Conference USA. Few opportunities remain for UTEP, who has a long way to go in their rebuilding process. ESPN FPI gives them a 17.3 percent chance to defeat UTSA on the road in Week 5, their second highest odds for the remainder of the season.
