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Conference USA Football 2022: Week 0 Roundup

August 28, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

Conference USA Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 0.

Team Week 0 Result Up Next
Charlotte vs FAU L,43-13 vs William & Mary
FAU at Charlotte W, 43-13 at Ohio
FIU — OFF —  — vs Bryant
LA Tech — OFF —  — at Missouri
MTSU — OFF —  — at James Madison
North Texas at UTEP W, 31-13 vs SMU
Rice — OFF —  — at USC
UAB — OFF —  — vs Alabama A&M
UTEP vs North Texas L,31-13 at Oklahoma
UTSA — OFF —  — vs Houston
WKU vs Austin Peay W, 38-27 at Hawaii

Notable Week 0 results – Standings

WKU survives

When the fourth quarter began in Bowling Green this past Saturday, WKU was nursing a one-point lead against an FCS squad. The Tops turned stepped on the gas, forced some turnovers and got more touchdowns from quarterback Austin Reed to put things away, but it wasn’t the comfortable opener they might have been hoping for.

FAU pummels Charlotte

Charlotte quarterback Chris Reynolds was knocked out of this game early on. By the time he was able to re-enter the game at the start of the second half, Charlotte trailed 26-7. Outside of a few highlight reel plays by Charlotte wideout Grant Dubose, this was all FAU all day. Five different Owls scored touchdowns, including defensive back Justin McKithen. Dubose’s second touchdown was incredible, though.

.@_gdubose with the #SCTop10 grab around the defender! 😱@CharlotteFTBL x #CUSAFB pic.twitter.com/P5fKI2lCmi

— Conference USA (@ConferenceUSA) August 28, 2022

UTEP fizzles against North Texas

Much was made of the Miners’ expectations entering the 2022 season. Perennial cellar dwellars, the program was picked to finish in the middle of the pack this year and opened the season with a sell-out home crowd against fellow middle-ranked North Texas. The Mean Green marched up and down the field and stifled the UTEP offense for much of the night. It still might be a good year in El Paso, but this wasn’t a performance anyone will look kindly upon in the future.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Lonestar Showdowns

Conference USA will host a pair of Lonestar-sized rivalry games to kick off the 2022 season. UTSA hosts AAC favorite Houston (2:30 PM CT) at the Alamodome while North Texas welcomes crosstown rival SMU (6:30 PM CT) to Denton. Both of these games should be worth tuning into for those that have the chance.

Heavy underdogs take their shots

Paycheck games will always be a part of Conference USA football schedules. Week 1 features three such games. Rice travels to USC, Louisiana Tech plays at Missouri and UTEP visits Oklahoma. C-USA always seems to manage a P5 upset at least once throughout the year. All of these project to be long shots, but crazier things have happened.

Early season tune-ups

On the other end of the spectrum, UAB will ease into its 2022 campaign with a tune-up game against Alabama A&M and Charlotte will play their second game of the season against William and Mary. Middle Tennesee also draws an FCS team in Week 1, but the transitioning James Madison is a much more challenging opponent.

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

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

Top Twitter follows for Rice football and Conference USA Football for 2022 season

August 19, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

The 2022 Rice Football season is around the corner. If you’re tracking with the Owls or Conference USA on Twitter, here are a handful of accounts you’ll want to follow.

The Roost

The Roost
Follow @AtTheRoost
The Roost Podcast
Follow @TheRoostPod
The Roost Podcast co-host Carter Spires
Follow @jcarterspires

University-sponsored and coaching staff

Rice Athletics
Follow @RiceAthleticsConference USA Football
Rice Football
Follow @RiceFootball
Rice Football Recruiting
Follow @RiceOwlsFB
Rice Owls Equipment
Follow @RiceOwlsEQ

Football Staff

Mike Bloomgren – Head coach
Follow @MBloom11
Marques Tuiasosopo – OC, Quarterbacks
Follow @therealTUI
Mike Kershaw – Wide receivers
Follow @CoachMKershaw
Jim Jackson – Tight ends
Follow @CoachJimJackson
Sanders Davis – Offensive line
Follow @SandersDavis
CJ Anderson – Running backs
Follow @CJAndersonb22
Cedric Calhoun – Defensive line
Follow @stackcreatures
Collin Spencer – Safeties
Follow @RU_CoachSpencer
Gerard Wilcher – Cornerbacks
Follow @coachGRock
Brian Smith – DC, Linebackers
Follow @Coachblsmith
Chris Monfiletto – Special teams
Follow @Coach_Mono
Marco Regalado – Director of Recruiting
Follow @CoachRegalado

Conference USA

CUSA | @CUSAbbs, @TheG5Beat, @cusaReport

Charlotte | @hunter_bailey45, @_agent49, @TheFirst49

FAU | @FAU_Owls_Nest, @Owls247, @MarinelliShane, @JackWhidden3, @TheKevinFielder, @Florida_Owl, @ShulaBowlPod, @JakeElman97

FIU | @EricCHenry_, @chiapanther, @ShulaBowlPod

Louisiana Tech | @BleedTechBlue, @LaTechReport, @gotechplsdntdie, @latechsportsctl

North Texas | @meangreennation, @BrettVito, @gomeangreen, @MeanGreen247

2022 Conference USA Football Season Preview

MTSU | @GoMiddle, @GoMiddle_Matt, @100MilesOfHate

UAB | @DudleyDoWriteAL, @UABDailyDragon, @BlazerTalk, @DragonsDenEFEL, @Charmillionaire, @UABSlant, @johncduncan 

UTEP | @adrian_broaddus, @BretBloomquist

UTSA | @JaredUTSA, @RivalsJavi, @AlamoAudible, @MeepMeepNation, @RowdyTalk, @UTSAInsiders, @StephenWhit89, @GregLuca, @theJJPerez

Western Kentucky | @Moffstradamus, @TheTowelRackWKU, @100MilesOfHate

Have any other recommendations? There are plenty of more people doing good work on social media, whether that be on Twitter or somewhere else. Leave other accounts folks should follow in the comments.

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

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  • Rice Football Recruiting: Khary Crump’s path to the Owls

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

The Roost Podcast | Ep 120 – ’22 Charlotte Football Preview with Hunter Bailey

August 11, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

Hunter Bailey from the Charlotte Observer joins the show this week to wrap up our conference preview series with a deep dive on Charlotte football.

The last of several Conference USA opponent previews is in the books. Hunter Bailey joins us this week to help us understand Charlotte football. The 49ers took a nosedive at the end of the 2021 season and hit the reset button on the defense. Can they turn things around? The answers to that big question and more are on the show.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 120.

Follow @TheRoostPod

Episode Notes

Announcements

Rice football fall camp has begun. Check out our season preview content for the Owls when you subscribe on Patreon and get access to camp reports and more.

The 2022 Conference USA Football Season Preview is available for purchase. Getthe inside scoop on every C-USA team. You can get more information here.

2022 Conference USA Football Season Preview

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 updates from spring practices and more. Your support matters and makes The Roost better.
    Become a Patron!

Interview — Charlotte Football with Hunter Bailey

  • What hope is there for the Charlotte defense?
  • A talented, but unproven defensive line will be asked to step up
  • The official launch of the Grant Dubose hype train
  • Can the offense compensate for the defense?
  • Where does Chris Reynolds fit among C-USA quarterbacks?
  • 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.

Recent Posts
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR David Kasemervisz commits to Owls
  • Hickson gem propels Rice Baseball to series win over Charlotte
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR Artis Cole commits to Owls
  • Rice Football Recruiting: Khary Crump’s path to the Owls

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

Conference USA and the Transfer Portal: Navigating college football’s new reality

August 8, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

The Transfer Portal remains a hot-button topic in college sports and its impact on Conference USA has not gone unnoticed.

“In three or four years we’ll have this thing figured out and it will make college football better.”

Despite recent conversations concerning the removal of the one-time transfer exemption, Western Kentucky head coach Tyson Helton offered no hesitation when he voiced his support of the Transfer Portal and the opportunity for players to explore new opportunities for themselves. His sentiments were echoed by peers during the 2022 Conference USA Media Day, reinforcing another reality that Helton framed in a rather honest fashion: “It’s just a part of the college football world we live in now.”

The Transfer Portal became the centerpiece of the national conversation when it was formalized in the fall of 2018. Since then, debates and controversy have followed regarding its implementation and its future.

Years later, not only is the Portal here to stay, it’s become an integral part of how rosters are built throughout college football and has permeated all of Conference USA.

In many ways, Western Kentucky has become the poster child of this new world order. They scooped up Bailey Zappe from Houston Baptist and he led them to a conference championship game appearance on his way to becoming an NFL Draft selection. One year later, WKU has added reigning college football passing yard leader Jarrett Doege and rising Florida A&M passer Austin Reid, among others.

Why the Transfer Portal?

It hasn’t just been Western Kentucky taking advantage of this new avenue for roster building. Programs across Conference USA have followed suit, including coaches making their first run at building a team from the studs up like first-year headman at Louisiana Tech, Sonny Cumbie.

One of Cumbie’s first priorities upon taking the head coaching job at Louisiana Tech was identifying a quarterback to run his air raid offense. Rather than train up a new face, Cumbie went to the Portal, from which he secured commitments from Texas Tech transfer Parker McNeill and TCU transfer Matthew Downing. Both had played for Cumbie before at his prior coaching stops and both had extensive experience with his offensive scheme.

“The thing that is so valuable that they bring is the amount of practice reps, the amount of experience they have in our offense,” Cumbie said of his incoming quarterback duo, adding that “both guys were in situations where they played behind really exceptional quarterbacks and they never had their opportunity be a starter on a consistent basis.”

How does it really work?

For Cumbie, the Transfer Portal expedited the learning curve at the most important position on the field. And the way both McNeill and Downing made it to Ruston wasn’t a coincidence either. Cumbie’s previous connection was integral to his success in adding both players. And while there is some element of the powerhouse programs making their selections from the “best of the rest”, relationships still matter in the Portal world.

North Texas head coach Seth Littrell said it best. “This is still a people business. I think it always has been a people business. Yes. it’s coaching and playing and it’s a sport, but you have to build those great relationships.”

Like Cumbie, Helton had previously recruited Doege when he had transferred from Bowling Green to West Virginia. He didn’t have to start that relationship from scratch this offseason.

More: Updates from Conference USA Media Days

The same was true for former Notre Dame safety Litchfield Ajavon, whose first offer out of high school came from then Michigan assistant Brian Smith, who is now the defensive coordinator at Rice. It was no coincidence that Ajavon ended up in South Main after deciding to leave South Bend.

Another recruiting staffer estimated that the vast majority, more than 80 percent, of the most recent class of transfer players had a preexisting relationship with at least one person on staff prior to their recruitment from the Transfer Portal.

In reality, the Transfer Portal might not be as Wild, Wild West as it may have first appeared. If anything, it’s proof of Littrell’s initial supposition. College football is a people business and the Transfer Portal has just extended the relevant timeframe of those relationships beyond the high school years.

Not without its challenges

Throughout media day, the feeling throughout the room regarding the Portal was overwhelmingly positive. “The Transfer Portal has been really good to us. We’ve gotten some really, really good players and some incredible people,” said Charlotte head coach Will Healy. But with the admission of the Portal’s good came a reckoning. The Portal has its challenges too.

Healy is a young coach that wears his heart on his sleeve. It wasn’t long after he lauded the benefits of the transfer system before the mood in the room turned suddenly somber and he moved on to the hardships the Portal leaves behind.

“Each and every year you want a guy to feel like by coming back into your program that you can provide for him at your institution what they need to have a chance to be successful. And when we can’t provide that, it crushes me. We’ve had guys leave. It crushes me.”

Healy remained resolute in his support of the players and their right to explore opportunities in their best interests, but his words hinted at a new challenge brought on by the new environment,

It wasn’t that long ago that a coach would recruit a player coming out of high school and that was that. Once a player was on campus, they stuck around. That’s not always the case anymore. Coaches have to recruit their own roster in much the same way they sought after the same individuals as recruits. Even then, you can’t win over everyone.

Boots on the ground

Although it’s easier to speak of this phenomenon in generalities, the reality of what the Transfer Portal looks like at this level of college football can be seen most clearly through the lens of individuals. North Texas linebacker KD Davis being perhaps one of the most timely and relevant examples.

A team captain, Davis earned first-team all-conference accolades during the 2021 season, his fourth at the school. Widely regarded as one of the best players on the team, Davis was set to return to Denton for his fifth and final year of eligibility through the summer, right up until June 23. That’s when Davis decided to put his name in the Transfer Portal.

What happened next sent shockwaves throughout the south. Davis reportedly took visits to Ole Miss and Texas A&M, meanwhile, he stayed connected to North Texas head coach Seth Littrell and weighed his options. Ultimately he decided to come back for one more year with the Mean Green.

For Davis, the Portal was his mechanism to ensure that he was doing all he could to maximize his exposure in his final year of collegiate eligibility. When it came to his future, he was adamant he would leave no stone unturned.

Although the process wasn’t without strain on Littrell, he said the right things while sitting alongside his star defender during a media breakout session. “He earned the right to be able to make sure this was obviously exactly what was in his best interest for his future.”

The grass isn’t always greener

When asked about his experience Davis began with a cliche; “The grass isn’t always greener on the other side.” Then he elaborated.

“You can get the same amount of exposure and things at that level that you can here in Conference USA.” he said. “Everything you want to achieve, everything you want to do, we have the right coaching staff and the right players here at North Texas.”

Not everyone comes back like Davis. And his evaluation of his own future is unique to himself. But the optionality created by the Portal is at the crux of what makes it such a hot-button topic in today’s national landscape. The Portal has its shortcomings, but its intentions were good. Players now have agency over their own college football journeys.

Like Helton mused, someday, hopefully soon, “we’ll have this thing figured out.” In the meantime, it’s going to be messy. But it’s that messy reality that was endorsed and echoed throughout the concourses of Globe Life Field, spoken by players and coaches alike.

The Transfer Portal brings a lot of good to college athletics. It’s just going to take some time to figure out.

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

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

The Roost Podcast | Ep 119 – ’22 CUSA Football Preview with Eric Henry

August 5, 2022 By Matthew Bartlett

It’s preseason preview time at The Roost Podcast. We continue this week with a big picture look at all of Conference USA football with Eric Henry.

There was a lot to unpack from Conference USA Football media days and who better to dig into the weeds than friend of the pod, Eric Henry from Underdog Dynasty. He joins the show this week to sift through fact and fiction from the conference meetings and we close out the show with a new game.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 119.

Follow @TheRoostPod

Episode Notes

Announcements

Rice football fall camp has begun. Check out our season preview content for the Owls when you subscribe on Patreon and get access to camp reports and more.

The 2022 Conference USA Football Season Preview is available for purchase. Getthe inside scoop on every C-USA team. You can get more information here.

2022 Conference USA Football Season Preview

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 updates from practices and more. Your support matters and makes The Roost better.
    Become a Patron!

Interview — Conference USA Football with Eric Henry

  • What we learned from Conference USA Media Days
  • Reactions on WKU, FIU, UAB and more
  • We debuted a new game: Make Your Case and argued for and against…
    • UTSA repeating as conference champs
    • LA Tech going bowling in 2022
    • Someone other than WKU being the best of the “East”
    • A non-QB wins C-USA Player of the Year Honors
    • North Texas making the title game?
    • Conference USA notched another Power 5 upset
    • A resolution to the Rice football quarterback conundrum

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.

Recent Posts
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR David Kasemervisz commits to Owls
  • Hickson gem propels Rice Baseball to series win over Charlotte
  • Rice Football Recruiting: WR Artis Cole commits to Owls
  • Rice Football Recruiting: Khary Crump’s path to the Owls

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

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