Conference USA football has 11 teams spanning nine states, from Tampa (USF) to Fort Worth, Texas (TCU) to West Point, N.Y. (Army).
The league is entering its eighth season, but because it has operated outside the sphere of the BCS - it is regarded along with the Mountain West as the best non-BCS league - it remains behind the big six conferences in the public's consciousness.
USF has been in C-USA for all sports since the beginning but is just starting in football this fall. The following should help acclimate fans to USF's new league:
SIX (OR EIGHT) C-USA PLAYERS TO WATCH IN 2003:
1. Southern Miss linebacker Rod Davis, a senior, is the league's top player, a vicious tackler and top contender for the Butkus Award. Many expected him to declare for the draft after leading C-USA in sacks (11) and tackles (168) last season. (USF is at Southern Miss on Oct. 25.)
2. In two seasons, Cincinnati quarterback Gino Guidugli, a junior, has passed for 6,116 yards and 38 touchdowns, including four 300-yard games as a sophomore. (USF hosts Cincinnati on Oct. 31.)
3. TCU sophomore running back Lonta Hobbs, a sophomore, averaged 6.6 yards a carry as a freshman (157 attempts, 1,029 yards) and rushed for 12 touchdowns. (USF hosts TCU on Oct. 10.)
4a. Tulane quarterback J.P. Losman, a senior, considered a top-flight NFL prospect, threw for 2,468 yards and 19 touchdowns as a junior.
4b. Tulane running back Mewelde Moore, a senior, eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing for the second straight season and added 52 catches for 545 yards. (USF does not play Tulane.)
5. Memphis sophomore running back DeAngelo Williams, like Hobbs, averaged 6.6 yards a carry as a freshman. He finished with 684 yards despite missing time to injury. (USF is at Memphis at Nov. 29.)
6a. Louisville return specialist Broderick Clark, a sophomore, averaged 28.9 yards on kickoff returns with two touchdowns.
6b. The Cardinals have added Florida State transfer running back, Eric Shelton, a former blue chip recruit and punishing 245-pounder who brings monster expectations. (USF hosts Louisville on Oct. 4.)
TOUGHEST VENUE: Southern Miss' M.M. Roberts Stadium, a.k.a. The Rock, isn't the biggest (capacity 33,000). But the Golden Eagles are stifling at home, including 20-5 during the past five seasons. But Raymond James Stadium could usurp The Rock. USF has won 19 in a row at home, the nation's second-longest streak behind Miami (22).
SACKMASTERS: Since the start of the 2000 season, Louisville leads the nation with 132 sacks. TCU is third (117) and Southern Miss ninth (107).
DEE-FENSE!: Southern Miss placed five on the 11-player preseason all-Conference USA defensive team: Davis, defensive end Terrell Paul, linebacker Michael Boley, cornerback Greg Brooks and safety Etric Pruitt. All are seniors except Boley, a junior. Since the start of the 1999 season, Southern Miss' defense has allowed the fewest touchdowns in the nation, 69, well ahead of runners-up Oklahoma and Kansas State (81).
BOWL TIE-INS: C-USA has five.
The league champion plays in the Dec. 31 Liberty Bowl (in Memphis) against the Mountain West champion.
The GMAC Bowl (Mobile, Ala.), to be played Dec. 18, has its pick of the remaining C-USA bowl-eligible teams and matches up with the Mid-American Conference champion.
The final three are the Hawaii (Dec. 25), New Orleans (Dec. 16) and Fort Worth (Dec. 23.) bowls. The next three best teams in the C-USA standings that are bowl eligible will go to these bowls. The league will determine which teams go to which bowl.
USF'S C-USA "LEGACY:" The Bulls are 5-2 against C-USA teams.
In 2000, a year before USF joined Division I-A, USF lost 41-7 at league power Southern Miss. Early in 2001, USF fell to 0-2 against C-USA in a down-to-the-final-play 17-9 loss at Memphis.
The Bulls have won five in a row since, whacking Houston 45-6 late in 2001 and last season beating Southern Miss (16-13), East Carolina (46-30), Memphis (31-28) and Houston (32-14).
QB PIPELINE: C-USA has churned out top-flight quarterbacks. Tulane's Shaun King was a second-round choice of the Bucs in 1999, and the Green Wave's Patrick Ramsey was the last pick of the first round in 2002 and is slated to start this season for the Redskins. Other drafted quarterbacks include Louisville's Chris Redman (third round, Ravens, 2000) and Dave Ragone (third round, Texans, 2003) and East Carolina's Dave Garrard (fourth round, Jacksonville, 2002).
AND USF'S LEAGUE RIVAL IS . . .: UAB's history reads like USF's. The Blazers began playing in 1991, reached Division I-AA in 1993, reached I-A in 1996 and joined C-USA in 1999. The Birmingham, Ala., school also is the closest league team geographically to Tampa. Therefore, it makes perfect sense that USF's biggest C-USA rival will be ... Southern Miss.
There is no spark between USF and UAB - at least not yet. Their first game is Nov. 22 at Raymond James Stadium. But there's enough friction between the Bulls and Golden Eagles to ignite a bonfire.
Southern Miss was a proponent of delaying USF's C-USA membership until 2003, and in 2000, the Golden Eagles mauled fourth-year USF 41-7 in Hattiesburg. Last season, the Bulls had the rematch circled on their calendars. In a fierce game, USF held on 16-13 as Southern Miss missed a field goal on the final play. Circle Oct. 25 on the calendar this season, and let the rivalry escalate.
MARQUEE TEAM: Three teams could claim to be the best C-USA program:
1. Southern Miss has the best conference record at 34-11, but it has not been the top team during the past few seasons. 2. Louisville won the C-USA title in 2000 and 2001, going 12-2 in league play during that span and 20-5 overall.
3. TCU, which joined C-USA in 2001, captured the league title last season and finished 10-2 overall, including a 17-3 Liberty Bowl victory against Colorado State. TCU finished last season ranked No. 23. STUDS: Besides the bevy of quarterbacks, among the NFL players C-USA has produced are Jets defensive end Bryan Thomas (UAB), Patriots running back Antowain Smith (Houston), Bucs defensive end Dewayne White (Louisville), Dolphins cornerbacks Patrick Surtain (Southern Miss) and Sam Madison (Louisville), Packers cornerback Mike McKenzie (Memphis), Jets safety Sam Garnes (Cincinnati) and Eagles receiver Todd Pinskton (Southern Miss). Running back LaDainian Tomlinson played for TCU before it joined the league.
