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Conference USA Football: NFL Draft and UDFA Tracker

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There were six former Conference USA football players selected in the 2022 NFL Draft. Many others signed with teams as undrafted free agents.

Conference USA football was well represented in the 2022 NFL Draft, earning six selections through seven rounds. Once the draft ended, many other players latched on with NFL teams, signing as undrafted free agents. Those players will report to training camp and compete for a spot on rosters just the same.

2022 Conference USA Football NFL  Draft Picks

3rd Round (No. 78) – DE Alex Wright, UAB – Browns
3rd Round (No. 82) – EDGE DeAngelo Malone, WKU – Falcons
4th Round (No. 134) – OL Spencer Burford, UTSA – 49ers
4th Round (No. 147) – QB Bailey Zappe, WKU – Patriots
5th Round (No. 153) – CB Tariq Woolen, UTSA – Seahawks
7th Round (No. 259) – S Nazeeh Johnson, Marshall – Chiefs

Undrafted Free Agents

Charlotte

  • SAF Jonathan Alexander – Bears

FIU

  • P Tommy Heatherly – Dolphins
  • RB D’Vonte Price – Colts
  • SAF Josh Valentine-Turner – Seahawks

FAU

  • TE Zaire Mitchell-Paden – Browns
  • LB Caliph Brice – Packers
  • WR John Mitchell – Seahawks
  • OL Desmond Noel – Bengals
  • CB Zyon Gilbert – Giants

Louisiana Tech

  • DB Elijah Hamilton – Dolphins

Marshall

  • OL Alex Mollette, Marshall – Colts

Middle Tennessee

  • LB DQ Thomas – Jets
  • SAF Reed Blankenship – Eagles

North Texas

  • RB DeAndre Torrey – Jets
  • DT Dion Novil – Rams

Old Dominion

  • LB Jordan Young – Bucs

Rice

  • DT Elijah Garcia – Rams

Southern Miss

  • TE Grayson Gunter –  Jaguars

UAB

  • TE Gerrit Price – Jaguars

UTEP

n/a

UTSA

  • LB Charles Wiley – Ravens
  • LB Clarence Hicks – Bengals
  • RB Sincere McCormick – Raiders

Old Dominion

  • TE Stone Smart – Chargers
  • LB Jordan Young – Bucs
  • OL Isaac Weaver – Chargers

Western Kentucky

  • WR Jerreth Sterns– Bucs

Additional signings could continue to trickle in over the next few days. Training camps are still weeks away. For now, it’s safe to say there will be a new crop of Conference USA football players off to make their mark on the league. Soon it will be time to find out who will stick.

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Conference USA Football 2021: Stop rate and defensive performance

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Conference USA football had some good defenses and some very bad ones in 2021. Which ones found ways to get off the field the most?

Recently published by The Athletic, stop rate is a useful tool for measuring college football defenses. Max Olson, who compiled the sat, defines stop rate as:

“a basic measurement of success: the percentage of a defense’s drives that end in punts, turnovers or a turnover on downs. This simple metric can offer a more accurate reflection of a defense’s effectiveness in today’s faster-tempo game than yards per game or even points per game.”

Although in previous years Olson had married stop rate with three-and-out rate, this year he’s placed points per drive data alongside the focal data point. Combined together, it paints a pretty compelling case when it comes to defining what elite-level defense looked like in college football this year. But what does it mean for Conference USA football, specifically?

Observations

You won’t find either UTSA or Western Kentucky in the Top 5 of Stop Rate or points per drive allowed. Both programs relied on their offenses to get the job done in 2021, but that doesn’t mean defense is dead either. UTSA’s defensive numbers are skewed upward a bit by multiple rounds against Bailey Zappe and the WKU offense. UAB, which was the runner-up in the West also was ranked in the Top 5 in Stop Rate.

The programs that failed to skirt .500 were the ones that didn’t have at least one or the other. Middle Tennessee and Old Dominions are great examples of programs that played solid defense and found just enough offensive pop at the right moments to reach the six win plateau and make a bowl game. Others like Rice, Charlotte and FIU were left on the outside looking in, largely because of mediocre to poor showings on both sides of the ball throughout the season.

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Conference USA Football 2021: Bowl Notes, Championship Game

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UTSA has won the 2021 Conference USA football championship. Now eight teams venture on to bowl season, with the first game fast approaching.

Team Opponent Bowl Time Date
MTSU Toledo Bahamas Bowl Fri. Dec. 17 11:00 a.m.
WKU App. St. Roofclaim.com Boca Raton Bowl Sat. Dec. 18 10:00 a.m.
UTEP Fresno St. PUBG Mobile New Mexico Bowl Sat. Dec. 18 1:15 p.m.
UAB BYU Radiance Technology Independence Bowl Sat. Dec. 18 2:30 p.m.
Marshall Louisiana R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl Sat. Dec. 18 8:15 p.m.
ODU Tulsa Myrtle Beach Bowl Mon. Dec. 20 1:30 p.m.
UTSA* San Diego St Tropical Smoothie Cafe Frisco Bowl Tue. Dec. 21 6:30 p.m.
North Texas Miami (OH) Frisco Football Classic Thr. Dec. 23 2:30 p.m.
*Won Conference USA Football Championship Game

Conference USA Championship results – Standings

The Conference USA Football Championship lived up to the hype, with USTA winning a thrilling rematch against a Western Kentucky team that came roaring back with a vengeance. It was one of those games that someone has to lose, you just hope it’s not the team you root for. Sincere McCormick walked away with game MVP honors, toting the rock 36 times for 204 yards and three scores.

One more ride

Seth Littrell was as good as gone halfway through the 2021 season, or at least that’s what it seemed. The Mean Grene reeled off a five-game winning streak, capping it off with a stunning upset of a ranked UTSA squad to clinch bowl eligibility. It now looks like he’ll be back next season after all.

Rice football head coach Mike Bloomgren has also earned another season. His team dropped a pair of overtime games down the stretch, before pulling out a come-from-behind victory over Louisiana Tech in their season finale.

Hitting the reset button

There will be at least two head coaching changes in Conference USA prior to the 2022 season. Louisiana Tech announced they were parting ways with Skip Holts prior to their last game, a loss to Rice. They’ve already filled the position, hiring Texas Tech offensive coordinator Sunny Cumbie.

FIU is also making a change up top, moving on from Butch Davis in a drama-filled final few weeks. They haven’t named a replacement at this time, first opting to fill the vacant Athletic Director position. They tapped former UCF deputy AD Scott Carr to take that role. He will presumably hire his own head coach.

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Conference USA Football 2021: Week 13 C-USA Roundup

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Conference USA Football was back in action this weekend. Here’s the latest from the teams on the gridiron in Week 13.

Team Week 13 Result Up Next
Charlotte at Old Dominion L, 56-34 End of Season
FAU vs MTSU L, 27-17 End of Season
FIU at Southern Miss L, 37-17 End of Season
LA Tech at Rice L, 35-31 End of Season
Marshall vs WKU L, 53-21 Bowl Eligible
MTSU at FAU W, 27-17 Bowl Eligible
North Texas vs UTSA W, 42-23 Bowl Eligible
Old Dominion vs Charlotte W, 56-34 Bowl Eligible
Rice vs LA Tech W, 35-31 End of Season
Southern Miss vs FIU W, 37-17 End of Season
UAB vs UTEP W, 42-25 Bowl Eligible
UTEP at UAB L, 42-25 Bowl Eligible
UTSA at North Texas L, 45-23 C-USA Title Game
WKU at Marshall W, 53-21 C-USA Title Game

Notable Week 13 results – Standings

Let’s go bowling

Three programs clinched bowl eligibility on the final weekend of the regular season. Old Dominion was a a favorited entering their game with Charlotte and dispatched the 49ers behind a thunderous 21-point fourth quarter. North Texas and Middle Tennessee were both underdogs. The Mean Green upset a ranked UTSA squad while Middle Tennesee won a battle of 5-6 teams, effectively ending FAU’s postseason dreams. The latter two games were some of the more surprising results of the week.

Ending on a high note

Although they won’t be going bowling, both Rice and Southern Miss ended the season with a win. The Owls rallied to knock off Louisiana Tech in what was the final game of Skip Holtz’ tenure and the first four-win season for Rice under Bloomgren. Meanwhile, Southern Miss perfected the quarterbackless offense, closing their season with successive wins over Louisiana Tech and FIU.

At least it’s over

The Conference USA reps from the state of Florida are ready to put a pair of disappointing seasons to bed. FIU wasn’t expected to be a real contender, but going 0-11 against FBS opponents was a tough blow leading to the end of the Butch Davis era. Fellow Sunshine-staters FAU fell much further. A preseason pick by some to win the East, the Owls finished 3-5 in conference play and missed out on bowl eligible entirely.

Looking ahead – Key storylines

Let’s play two

The first meeting between Western Kentucky and UTSA was arguably the game of the year in Conference USA with the Roadrunners edging the Hilltoppers 52-46. Western Kentucky has not lost since, scoring 42 points or more in six of their seven consecutive victories. UTSA entered the national polls, but slowed down, falling to North Texas to end their hopes of a perfect season. Everything is on the line in this rematch which will (hopefully) live up to the hype.

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The Roost Podcast | Ep 101 – CUSA Review with Eric Henry

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Rice football lost to UTEP, but that was one of several interesting results across Conference USA. Eric Henry joins us to debrief a wild week and weird season.

The 2021 Conference USA football season is nearing its close. Some things have been as expected like the eventual clash of UAB and UTSA in the West. Others have come out of nowhere such as Old Dominion’s late-season surge toward bowl eligibility. Matthew is joined this week by Eric Henry of Underdog Dynasty to take stock of the season and look ahead at the final week of the year.

You can find previous episodes on the podcast page. For now, give a listen to Episode 101.

Episode Notes

  • Housekeeping
    • Don’t forget to rate, review and subscribe to the podcast on your platform of choice. Every little bit helps.
    • Check out the Blue and Gray Preview Show every Wednesday at Noon, hosted by Matthew and Rice radio broadcaster JP Heath on the Rice Athletics Youtube Channel
    • 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 fall camp, practices and more.
      Become a Patron!
  • 2021 Conference USA Football Roundup
    • Butch Davis and the end of an era at FIU
    • Florida Atlantic’s struggles
    • North Texas’ recent hot streak
    • What’s at stake this weekend when Old Dominion hosts Charlotte
    • What’s next for UTSA?
    • UAB is going to be just fine
    • Marshall’s upswing
    • Can Western Kentucky earn a rematch with UTSA?
    • The state of Rice football

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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