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Conference USA Football 2021: Week 3 C-USA Roundup

September 19, 2021 By Matthew Bartlett

Conference USA Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 3.

Team Week 3 Result Week 4
Charlotte at Georgia St L, 20-9 vs MTSU
FAU vs Fordham W, 45-14 at Air Force
FIU at Texas Tech L 54-21 at Central Michigan
LA Tech vs SMU L, 39-37 vs North Texas
Marshall vs East Carolina L, 42-28 at App St.
MTSU at UTSA L 27-13 at Charlotte
North Texas vs UAB L, 6-40 at LA Tech
Old Dominion at Liberty L, 45-17 vs Buffalo
Rice at Texas L, 58-0 vs Texas Southern
Southern Miss vs Troy L, 21-9 at Alabama
UAB at North Texas W, 40-6 at Tulane
UTEP — OFF —  — vs New Mexico
UTSA vs MTSU W, 27-13 — OFF —
WKU — OFF —  — vs Indiana

Notable Week 3 results – Standings

Heartbreak for some

No team has seemingly cup up short in one score games as often as the Louisiana Tech Bulldogs in recent years. Skip Holtz and Co. lost on the final possession of the game against SMU:

AS CALLED ON SMU RADIO: https://t.co/1oK4Q9rOQx

— Timothy Burke (@bubbaprog) September 18, 2021

Marshall also lost a second half lead, falling to East Carolina who scored 21 unanswered points in the fourth quarter to complete the comeback.

The cream of the crop

Meanwhile, UTSA and UAB have looked every bit as advertised. With a brief interruption to be drubbed by national power Georgia, UAB resumed their collision course with UTSA for the top of C-USA West, blasting North Texas in a game that felt more one-sided than the final score indicated. UTSA did their part too, jumping out to an early lead over Middle Tennessee and coasting home.

Struggle bus

While the top of the conference looks as good as advertised, the bifurcation between the elite and the rest could not be more clear. As UTSA and UAB roll over their foes, this weekend saw programs like Rice, Charlotte, Southern Miss, Old Dominion and FIU lose by multiple scores. Not all of those teams were expected to win those games, but many could have put up a better fight than they did.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Sacrificial lamb

Conference USA owns two Power 5 upsets through three weeks of the 2021 season. They’ll have one opportunity in Week 4, but the odds aren’t very favorable. Southern Miss, who fell to South Alabama 31-7 in their opening game, visits Alabama proper next weekend. Good luck Golden Eagles, you’ll need it.

Upset alert

As far as upsets go, Western Kentucky has an intriguing matchup against an Indiana team that looked particularly mortal in losses to Iowa and Cincinnati. Marshall and Appalachian State could be another interesting showdown.

Creeping into conference play

There were two conference matchups in Week 2. That number inches up to three games in Week 3. The bulk of the conference action is right around the corner, but a few teams like North Texas and Middle Tennesee will get a couple of opportunities to put their best foot forward before the rest of the league catches up.

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Filed Under: Archive, Football Tagged With: Conference USA, Conference USA football

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