Rice football took Louisiana Tech to the wire but couldn’t pull out the win. What else happened this weekend and what’s next for Conference USA football in Week 12?
| Team | Last Week | Result | This Week |
| Charlotte | at Marshall | L, 30-13 | vs FIU |
| FAU | vs WKU | W, 34-15 | at North Texas |
| FIU | at UTSA | W, 45-7 | at Charlotte |
| LaTech | vs Rice | W, 28-13 | at Southern Miss |
| Marshall | vs Charlotte | W, 30-13 | vs UTSA |
| MTSU | at UTEP | W, 48-32 | at Kentucky |
| North Texas | at ODU | L, 34-31 | vs FAU |
| ODU | vs North Texas | W, 34-31 | vs VMI |
| Rice | at LaTech | L, 28-13 | at LSU |
| Southern Miss | at UAB | L, 26-23 (OT) | vs LaTech |
| UAB | vs Southern Miss | W, 26-23 (OT) | at Texas A&M |
| UTEP | vs MTSU | L, 48-32 | at WKU |
| UTSA | VS FIU | L, 45-7 | vs Marshall |
| WKU | at FAU | L, 34-15 | vs UTEP |
Notable Week 10 results
Rice’s big play goes for naught
Shawn Stankavage connected with speedster Austin Walter on a 68-yard touchdown pass on the Owls’ first drive of the second half against Louisiana Tech. The score was the longest touchdown of the year for Rice and gave Rice the lead. They weren’t able to hold on, falling on the road to the Bulldogs despite incredible play in the secondary from freshman safety Prudy Calderon.
Oh my, Old Dominion
Outside of their win over Virginia Tech earlier in the season there hadn’t been too much for Old Dominion fans to celebrate this year. It took a literal miracle to beat Western Kentucky and the Monarchs hadn’t played anyone else close in nearly a month. So, of course, it makes total sense they beat North Texas at home over the weekend. Conference USA is weird.
Wake up call answered
FIU was sitting alone at the top of the Conference USA East standings entering their Week 10 game against rival FAU. Not only did the Panthers lose, they got rocked, suffering a blowout defeat and putting their hopes of a conference championship on edge. How did they respond? Thumping a subpar UTSA squad on the road by five touchdowns.
Week 12 storylines
So much for the Group of 5 game of the year
North Texas and FAU were supposed to meet in the Conference USA Championship game. FAU’s season crumbled early. North Texas started strong, but blown leads have cost the Mean Green a chance to play for the conference title. Now both teams are mired in mediocrity and this game, which many had circled in the preseason, is basically moot.
Someone’s cupcake is another person’s opportunity
Conference USA has three matchups with SEC foes in Week 12. Middle Tennessee takes on a reeling Kentucky squad that just lost to the Tennessee Volunteers, Rice gets LSU and UAB gets Texas A&M. All are heavy underdogs, but we’ve learned not to write off even the loweliest of CUSA squads off in non-conference play. Isn’t that right Virginia Tech?
Here’s your shot Western Kentucky
The Hilltoppers have one win this year — a one-score road victory against Ball State. They’ve yet to win a game on their own field and won’t get a better chance than their upcoming game against UTEP. Outside of Rice, UTEP is winless meanwhile Rice and Western Kentucky are the only two remaining teams without a CUSA win. If WKU can’t get it done this weekend they won’t this season.
