Conference USA: Week 6 In Review

This Saturday in C-USA football was incredibly exciting.  It is the only Saturday this season that featured seven conference games and these teams delivered with hard fought wins.  Five of the seven games were decided by a possession or less with one game heading in to overtime and another ending in a game-winning drive.  Here are the highlights:

Rice 30, Tulsa 27

Four quarters was not enough to decide who was the better team in this contest, as the game spilled into overtime.

Rice‘s Taylor McHargue threw two touchdowns in this game, including a game-winning touchdown in overtime.  Tulsa had battled back from behind to carry the game into an extra quarter.

Tulsa was able to erase a 24-10 halftime deficit in the second half.  A 36-yard field goal by Carl Salazar would send the game into OT.   Rice’s run game was shutdown by Tulsa who allowed them to only rush 167 yards on 48 carries.  They still managed to walk away with the victory.

Rice securing this win puts then that much closer to over taking the C-USA West Division leader Tulane who are ahead by one game.

Tulane 24, North Texas 21

Tulane kept their control of the C-USA West Division by winning a close game against North Texas.

It was Cairo Santos who will be heralded as the game’s hero for Tulane.  He kicked a 27-yard field goals as the clock hit zero to give Tulane the win over North Texas.

Another notable occurence, other than the close win for Tulane, was a 62-yard blocked field goal that was returned for a touchdown by Derrick Strozier.   It was the first time in Tulane’s  history such a play occurred.

East Carolina 24, Middle Tennessee 17

Heading into this game Middle Tennessee and East Carolina were the two best teams (record-wise) in the C-USA East.  East Carolina walked away with the close victory.

Middle Tennessee had the chance to win.  However, Logan Kilgore was intercepted by Damon Magazu and East Carolina were able to convert on third down three times to run the clock down and secure the victory.

The close game may be a loss for the Blue Raiders, but they have proven they can hang with the best teams in the C-USA.

Games to Look Forward to Next Week

East Carolina @ Tulane 

East Carolina leads in the standing in the C-USA East, while Tulane leads in the West and they will clash this Saturday in a game that will determine the absolute favorite for winning the C-USA Championship this year.

Middle Tennessee @ North Texas

The Blue Raiders will attempt to bounce back from their loss to East Carolina, as well as stay in the Championship picture with a win over North Texas.  North Texas proved they are feisty team this past weekend when they pushed Tulane to the limit. Both these scrappy teams will be attempting to prove they still belong in the Championship picture.

Rice @UTSA 

Rice will continue its pursuit of taking Tulane’s No. 1 West division spot with a game against UTSA.  This should be an easy victory for Rice who could overtake Tulane in the standings if  the Green Wave falls to East Carolina.