Conference USA Football 2022: Week 7 Roundup

Conference USA Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 7.

TeamWeek 7ResultUp Next
Charlotteat UABL, 34-20vs FIU
FAUvs RiceW, 17-14at UTEP
FIUvs UTSAL, 30-10at Charlotte
LA Techat North TexasL, 47-27vs Rice
MTSUvs WKUL, 35-17— OFF —
North Texasvs LA TechW, 47-27at UTSA
Riceat FAUL, 17-14at LA Tech
UABvs CharlotteW, 34-20at WKU
UTEP— OFF — —vs FAU
UTSAvs FIUW, 30-10vs North Texas
WKUat MTSUW, 35-17vs UAB

Notable Week 7 results – Standings

And then there were two

There are two unbeaten teams remaining in conference play: UTSA, which prognosticators tabbed as the favorite in the preseason, and North Texas, which has quietly climbed to 3-0. The Mean Green have yet to play the Roadrunners or fellow conference powers UAB or WKU, but they’ve won the games on their schedule, setting things up for an interesting second half in Denton.

Owl on Owl slugfest

Rice had a chance to remain in the unbeaten club, but allowed 17 unanswered points to FAU on the road, spoiling their return from a bye week. Credit to FAU, who didn’t turn the ball over and found a way to grind out a tough win.

Murky middle

Conference USA football always feels like a wide-open race and the 2022 season is no exception. Six teams sit with one game of .500 as the calendar moves into late October and that includes perennial favorite UAB, which survived a scare from Charlotte on Saturday. More answers will materialize in the weeks to come, but it’s safe to say that No. 3 through No. 8 is a mess right now.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Digging out of the bottom

Sitting comfortably outside the top competitors in the conference, FIU and Charlotte meet in Week 8 in a meaningful game for both teams. The winner climbs out of the basement in the conference standings and interrupts a tough skid with more challenging opponents looming. Loser remains in search of their first conference win as the season starts to wind down.

Proving time

Both Western Kentucky and UAB have a conference loss already. And while two losses won’t eliminate either from a conference title game spot, it would make the road much more difficult. Winning this coming Saturday would be the easiest way to get back into the race and catch up with the frontrunners.

Postseason progress point

Meanwhile, in the middle of the pack, Rice travels to Louisiana Tech in a game that seems critical for both squad’s bowl aspirations. Rice enters with three wins. Louisiana Tech has two. The math to get to six gets more challenging without a win in this game, with several games remaining against some of Conference USA’s best looming for each team down the stretch.