Rice football fell at home to UAB in Week 7. How did the rest of the conference fare and what’s next for Conference USA football in Week 9?
| Team | Last Week | Result | This Week |
| Charlotte | at MTSU | L, 21-13 | vs Southern Miss |
| FAU | at Marshall | L, 31-7 | vs LaTech |
| FIU | vs Rice | W, 36-17 | at WKU |
| LaTech | vs UTEP | W, 31-24 | at FAU |
| Marshall | vs FAU | W, 31-7 | — OFF — |
| MTSU | vs Charlotte | W, 21-13 | at ODU |
| North Texas | at UAB | L, 29-21 | vs Rice |
| ODU | at WKU | W, 37-34 | vs MTSU |
| Rice | at FIU | L, 36-17 | at North Texas |
| Southern Miss | vs UTSA | W, 27-17 | at Charlotte |
| UAB | vs North Texas | W, 29-21 | at UTEP |
| UTEP | at LaTech | L, 31-24 | vs UAB |
| UTSA | at Southern Miss | L, 27-17 | — OFF — |
| WKU | vs ODU | L, 37-34 | vs FIU |
Notable Week 8 results
All aboard the Blazers’ train
UAB has become one of the best stories in college football. Two years ago they had no football team, now they’ve clinched their second consecutive bowl trip and their best start in program history. The job that head coach Bill Clark has done in Birmingham is outstanding, including their latest big win over a North Texas team that was the favorite to win the division entering the season. Now it’s UAB out in front and nobody has been able to stand in their way.
Western Kentucky is bad, but their luck couldn’t be worse
The tragedy that befell the Hilltoppers in Week 7 has to be seen to be believed — and even then, you still might not believe it. WKU was in position to force overtime against Old Dominion, instead, they allowed a game-winning field goal at the buzzer in the most befuddling of circumstances.
OK, FINE. Here's the full breakdown of how ODU beat WKU in the weirdest of circumstances pic.twitter.com/SKkzjaYJqp
— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) October 21, 2018
Rice is alive
Things were looking pretty bleak for the Owls who seemed to have lost their momentum completely. After an encouraging start to the year the Owls were shutout against UAB in Week 7. They responded with an inspiring performance against FIU, leading the Panthers on the road after the first quarter. They weren’t able to hold on to win, but the insertion of redshirt sophomore quarterback Evan Marshman has this team believing in themselves again.
Week 9 storylines
Last chance
One CUSA team that is trending in decidedly the wrong direction is FAU. The Owls have all but squandered any hopes of winning the East and will be fretting their bowl aspirations soon if they can’t turn things around. They’re 3-4 entering Week 9 with a home game against a dangerous Louisiana Tech team. If the Owls can’t bounce back they might be staying home this winter.
Can Old Dominion get on a roll?
Barring whatever exactly happened against WKU, Old Dominion would still be looking for their first conference win against Middle Tennessee. They were gifted a win against WKU, but the offensive production was a positive step. If the Monarchs can keep that side of the ball rolling they’ll be able to contend down the stretch. That starts against Middle Tennessee.
UTEP isn’t bad?
UTEP is 0-7. It’s hard to put too much stock in a team that has yet to win a game, but the Miners have come precariously close more times than they’d like. One of their last four games has been decided by more than seven points and each of their conference games have been winnable. Knocking off UAB is unlikely, but they’re playing well enough that a win on Saturday is absolutely on the table.