CUSA Week 2

I forgot the details of my vote from last week. I submitted my ballot while travelling back home from Denton so it was a little difficult to remember the second tier order. Here are the Miner Rush rankings from last week and how MGN will vote this week.

Here is last week’s recap.

Last week:

1. WKU
2. SoMiss
3. MTSU
4. LaTech
5. Marshall
6. UTEP
7. ODU
8. FAU
9. Rice
10. FIU
11. UTSA
12. NT
13. Charlotte

My ballot:

1. WKU
2. So Miss
3. LaTech
4. MTSU
5. Marshall
6. UTEP
7. ODU
8. FAU
9. FIU
10. North Texas
11. UTSA
12. Charlotte
13. Rice

My rationale:

WKU played the best team in the nation and made Saban say

I don’t know that I’ve ever been this disappointed after winning a game, maybe ever. We have lots of work to do.

Sure, he was talking about his own team’s preparation and how they overlooked WKU but Bama is far and away the best team and WKU was blown out respectably.

Southern Miss is 2-0 v Kentucky and Savannah State. They face their first real test next week vs Troy, a squad that took #2 Clemson to the wire.

LaTech gets boosted by Arkansas playing well vs #15 TCU. MTSU drops a bit after Vandy put them in their place.

Marshall looked good but FCS competition does not tell us much. UTEP availed themselves well against a Texas team that is for real. Aaron Jones put up more numbers and I do not see anyone in CUSA stopping him.

I am probably giving too much credit to the Florida schools but we have not learned much from their schedules. We might learn more about Florida Atlantic before Florida International in the coming weeks. I am keeping them here based mostly on how I think they will fare in CUSA.

North Texas has looked inconsistent on offense but has a 300+ yard passing game and a 300+ yard rush game. So maybe not so inconsistent. The defense is prone to big plays both for and against. QB situation is concerning.

UTSA was unimpressive against FCS in week one, and the lines got obliterated by a CSU Ram team that looked bad in week one. There is time to figure it out but right now I can only confidently bet on UTSA to beat the teams below it in this power ranking.

Charlotte looks better after seeing Louisville scorch Syracuse on Friday. Rice has not looked good in two losses. They take on Baylor before NT on the 24th. Then the scores will really change.