Three things we learned from Conference USA in Week Six

Conference USA West has no clear favorite

After dubbing Conference USA West a three-team race last week after North Texas’ upset victory over Southern Miss, things went haywire. Fresh off a bye week, the Roadrunners stumbled at home to Southern Miss. Missing key players at receiver, Louisiana Tech looked to be on the verge of remaining undefeated against UAB, only to have Jonathan Barnes’ game-winning field goal blocked. The standings now look like this:

Picked to win C-USA West, La Tech has to play North Texas, Southern Miss and UTSA all at home. North Texas has UTSA this week but will play a much improved FAU team on the road. The Blazers still have to go to UTSA and Southern Miss. Southern Miss has to go at La Tech and will host UAB, but their season finale at Marshall will be tough.

In one week C-USA West went from a three-team race to being a free for all. Cross-over games against C-USA East teams are really going to become a factor down the stretch. North Texas is in the driver’s seat right now to win C-USA West and could really create some separation with a win over UTSA.

The Blazers have a clear path to bowl eligibility

In one of the biggest wins in school history, UAB’s victory over the Bulldogs has fans thinking about bowling. At 3-2, this is UAB’s remaining schedule: Middle Tennessee, at Charlotte, at Southern Miss, Rice, at UTSA, at Florida, UTEP.

All the Blazers have to do is beat the three worst teams in Conference USA, and they will become one of the greatest stories in college football history. No pressure Bill Clark.

UAB’s special teams saved the day against Tech but it was the offensive line that got them there, as they allowed only one sack and paved the way for Spencer Brown to rush for 165 yards and a touchdown.

FAU has the best rushing offense in the conference as Lane Kiffin quietly has the Owls playing to their potential

Photo by Dylan Buell/Getty Images

The debate as to who is the best running back in the conference is a good one. Between Ito Smith, Jeffery Wilson and Devin “Motor” Singletary, all three running backs are outstanding and will soon be playing in the NFL.

While I would still give the nod to Wilson, there is no debate as to who has the best rushing offense in C-USA. Despite still being a one-dimensional team, the Owls torched Old Dominion for 453 rushing yards in their 58-28 victory.

FAU is averaging 258.7 yards per ground, the best in Conference USA. The Owls have averaged a staggering 352.5 yards in their two conference games. Motor has 686 rushing yards (8th highest in the country) and Gregory Howell Jr. has 403 rushing yards this season. Jason Driskel has 158 yards and Kerrith Whyte Jr. has 178 yards. All four are averaging over 5.0 yards per carry. I’d say that’s pretty good.

The potential was there for last year’s team to take a step forward but injuries on the offensive line were costly. This year the Owls have had the same starting offensive line combination for every game and the results speak for themselves. As long as that unit remains healthy the Owls are going to be tough to stop.

FAU is currently 3-3 overall and 2-0 during conference play. The Owls will enter their bye week atop the C-USA East standings.