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The Roost Podcast | Ep 83 – Realignment and Rice Football with Shehan Jeyarajah

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We take a brief pause in our Conference USA previews to discuss the latest realignment rumors and talk Rice Football with DCTF’s Shehan Jeyarajah.

Shortly before hitting the record button for this week’s podcast, the news broke that Texas and Oklahoma had approached the SEC about joining the conference. Fittingly enough, we’d already scheduled time with Dave Campbell’s Texas Football’s Shehan Jeyarajah. We start off with the pressing news before getting into the upcoming Rice Football season, major storylines across the state of Texas college football and more.

Be sure to stick around for some Conference USA sleepers that Shehan thinks could have big years. You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 83.

Episode Notes

  • Housekeeping
    • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
    • Please support us on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes our debriefing series on spring football, recruiting news and more.
      Become a Patron!
    • Pick up your copy of the Rice Football or Conference USA Season Preview today or as it’s been called by others, The Bible for Conference USA!
  • Shehan Jeyarajah joins the show — Shehan dives into the latest realignment carousel before sharing his thoughts on the 2021 Rice Football season, including:
    • What to make of the Texas-to-the-SEC news
    • Who’s the third best program in the state of Texas right now?
    • Conference USA storylines and media days
    • His take on the upside of Rice football in 2021
    • Under-the-radar players to watch in Conference USA

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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Conference USA Football Media Days 2021: Live Blog

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The 2021 Conference USA Football media days have arrived. Bookmark this post for updates throughout the week regarding releases, quotes and more.

There’s already a lot to unpack from Conference USA Football Media Days. The full releases can be found on the league website, this thread is for the big rocks and some up-to-date analysis and reaction from the week.

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Take a test drive of our exclusive insights into media days and stick around for fall camp and more.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 82 – Previewing UAB Football with Evan Dudley

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Evan Dudley of AL.com joins us this week to preview the 2021 UAB football season as we continue in our preseason Conference USA previews.

August is right around the corner as we march on through our preview of the 2021 Rice football season and the Owls’ opponents. This week we’re joined by Evan Dudley who covers UAB football with AL.com. He gives us his take on the Blazers and helps preview their 2021 season. UAB persevered through a choppy 2020 season but still managed to secure a conference championship despite their many challenges. Can they provide an encore performance in 2021?

Be sure to stick around for the lightning round and check out his answers to a selection of UAB and Conference USA related topics. You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 82.

Episode Notes

  • Housekeeping
    • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
    • Please support us on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes our debriefing series on spring football, recruiting news and more.
      Become a Patron!
    • Pick up your copy of the Rice Football or Conference USA Season Preview today or as it’s been called by others, The Bible for Conference USA!
  • Evan Dudley joins the show — Evan shares his insight on UAB football’s hard-fought 2020 season and the outlook for the Blazers in 2021, including:
    • UAB’s path to a conference championship in 2020
    • The Komodo Dragon question
    • Expectations for 2021
    • Loki and the Marvel Cinematic Universe
    • The Lightning Round

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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Conference USA Football: Breaking down C-USA Championship Odds

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The 2021 Conference USA Football Championship race is going to be wide open again this year. Who are the best bets to take home the crown?

First, the obligatory disclaimer —  The Roost is not a gambling site and is not advocating that anyone place any bets, just providing information. With that said, the odds markets are interesting right now regarding the 2021 Conference USA football championship. We’re using the latest odds from ATS.io.

In layman’s terms, +100 Odds equate to a 50 percent implied probably. When putting that into context here, Marshall’s +253 odds to win Conference USA means odds markets given the Thundering Herd a 28.3 percent chance of winning the title. On the other side of the chart, UTEP is +10,000 to win the conference, essentially a 1.0 percent chance.

In practice, positive numbers indicate how much a better would win if he placed a $100 bet. Wagering a Benjamin Franklin on UTEP could pay off handsomely in 2021 was somehow the Miners’ year.

Everyone else is somewhere in between and can be bucketed into a few groups.

The Favorites | Marshall (+253), UAB (+270), UTSA (+350)

UAB and UTSA finished No. 1 and No. 2 in the West last year. Marshall won the East. All three teams return deep and talented rosters, making it hard to decipher who’s odds are the best. As interesting of a bet as UTSA is, the Roadrunners played eight one-score games last year and don’t carry the same level of cache as the Blazers or the Thundering Herd. At +350, they’re not getting a newcomer discount. UAB and Marshall are the safer picks here.

The Subtle Values | FAU (+800), WKU (+933)

The next rung of teams provides longer odds, but more value if things break the right way. Coincidentally enough, both teams have strong defenses and are looking for an answer at quarterback. WKU brings in highly touted HBU transfer Bailey Zappe. If he lives up to expectations and Marshall stumbles at all, it wouldn’t take too much imagination to see the Hilltoppers in the Championship Game.

The Most Intriguing Bets | Rice (+1566), Southern Miss (+1933)

Southern Miss is breaking in a new head coach and a new quarterback, but the roster is more talented than their forgotten 2020 season might lead others to believe. That said, it’s hard to not consider Rice the best value on the board. The Owls are projected to have one of the best defenses in Conference USA and add transfer quarterback Luke McCaffrey. If he can give them a jolt, the defense could carry this team all the way to the Championship Game. If you’re going beyond the top three, Rice is a great value.

The Longshots | Louisiana Tech (+2866),  North Texas (+2933), Old Dominion (+2933)

These three teams have a combined three Conference USA Football Championship Game appearances in their collective histories. Mason Fine has since departed North Texas and Louisiana Tech hasn’t broken through under Skip Holtz and Old Dominion is breaking in a new coach after not playing football last fall. Out of this trio, Tech’s experience makes it the only reasonable long shot to take.

The No Shots | MTSU (+3200), Charlotte (+3200), FIU (+3766), UTEP (+10000)

It’s rare for any team that finished below .500 the season prior to making the jump to conference champion. While that bar might be somewhat easier to reach in Conference USA than the SEC, it’s still not a good bet to happen. Unless you’re seeking a novelty souvenir ticket, none of these four teams has a realistic route to a championship. For many, getting back to .500 isn’t even guaranteed.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 81 – Previewing UTEP Football with Adrian Broaddus

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Adrian Broaddus of ESPN El Paso joins us this week to preview the 2021 UTEP football season as we continue in our Conference USA previews.

We’re nearing the halfway point of the summer as we continue to preview the 2021 Rice football season. This week we’re joined by Adrian Broaddus who covers UTEP football with ESPN EL Paso. He gives us his take on the Miners and helps preview their 2021 season. Like everyone else, UTEP had a bumpy 2020. But could 2021 be the year the Miners finally put it all together?

Be sure to stick around for the lightning round and check out his answers to a selection of UTEP and Conference USA related topics. You can always find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 81.

Episode Notes

  • Housekeeping
    • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
    • Please support us on Patreon. Be the first to get the inside scoop on what’s going on with Rice football and stick around for even further analysis. That includes our debriefing series on spring football, recruiting news and more.
      Become a Patron!
    • Pick up your copy of the Rice Football or Conference USA Season Preview today or as Adrian dubbed it, The Bible for Conference USA!
  • Adrian Broaddus joins the show — Adrian shares his insight on UTEP football’s wild 2020 season and the outlook for the Miners in 2021, including:
    • Dana Dimel’s coaching trajectory
    • UTEP’s potential sneaky two-way star
    • The outlook for the offense under Gavin Hardison
    • Expectations for the 2021 campaign
    • The Lightning Round

Where can you find us?

Download and subscribe to The Roost Podcast on any of your favorite podcast providers. The show is available on iTunes, GooglePlay, Google Podcasts, Spotify, Stitcher, TuneIn and PodBean. Please consider leaving a review wherever you listen.

Subscribe on Patreon for exclusive Rice football recruiting updates, practice notes and more.

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