College football realignment this summer reminded me of a middle school cafeteria – no loyalty, just jockeying for the prime lunch spot. And it will lead to some sensational matchups each year in college football betting.
Oklahoma and Texas are leaving for the SEC, prompting the Big 12 to invite three schools from the American Athletic Conference – Houston, Cincinnati, and UCF. The AAC turned around and grabbed six schools from Conference USA – Charlotte, Florida Atlantic, North Texas, Rice, UAB, and UTSA.
Luckily, C-USA was already scheduled to add Liberty, New Mexico State, Jacksonville State, and Sam Houston State to the conference next season.
Conference USA Expansion
C-USA lost the fight to keep Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Mississippi, who all bolted for the Sun Belt Conference. The five remaining schools, Western Kentucky, Florida International, Louisiana Tech, Middle Tennessee, and UTEP, will be joined by FBS schools Liberty and New Mexico State, as well as FCS programs Jacksonville State and Sam Houston State.
2023 Conference USA Football Teams
Florida International
UConn defeated Florida International 33-12 last Saturday, handing the Panthers their third loss of the season. FIU started strong but was eventually overpowered by a Jim Mora-coached Huskies team that looks better and better each week. The Panthers out-gained the Huskies 409 to 402 but committed three turnovers on the day.
UConn’s defense has now only allowed two touchdowns in their past two games. In those games, senior defensive back Tre Wortham has been tremendous, netting three picks, which puts him in a tie for eighth in the country. FIU quarterback Grayson James finished 28 of 43 for 256 yards to go along with two interceptions.
Lexington Joseph led the run game for the Panthers, finishing with seven carries for 103 yards and one touchdown, averaging 14.7 yards per carry.
Jacksonville State
Bye Week.
Liberty
The Flames earned their third win in a row with a 42-24 victory over UMass Saturday afternoon at McGuirk Alumni Stadium.
The Flames outgained the Minutemen 453-233, finishing with an impressive 194 rushing yards and four rushing touchdowns led by Dae Dae Hunter, who racked up 78 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown.
Liberty quarterback Johnathan Bennett regularly connected with Demario Douglas, who posted his fifth career 100-yard receiving game and second of the season, leading the receivers with four catches for 134 yards and a touchdown.
Louisiana Tech
The Bulldogs won their first C-USA game of the season, defeating UTEP 41-31 Saturday night. Louisana Tech started strong, scoring on four of its first five drives of the game. But the Miners pushed back against the Bulldogs’ defense in the second half, breaking through several times to make it a one-score game with just 10 minutes left in the contest.
On the next drive, Lousiana Tech rallied and executed a four-play, 87-yard touchdown drive that culminated with a 15-yard touchdown pass from quarterback Parker McNeil to Smoke Harris and a successful two-point conversion pass to Tre Harris. Four minutes later, kicker Buck Buchanan nailed a 52-yard field goal to essentially put the game away.
Middle Tennessee
UAB took down Middle Tennessee 41-14 in Birmingham Saturday afternoon. The Blue Raiders never found their footing, falling behind 21-7 in the first quarter.
MTSU’s defense never woke up, allowing 174 first-half rushing yards and 265 first-half passing yards. Jaylin Lane and Darius Bracy had touchdowns for the Blue Raiders.
MTSU falls to 0-2 in C-USA and 3-3 overall.
New Mexico State
Bye week.
Sam Houston State
Bye week.
UTEP
UTEP fell 41-31 to Louisiana Tech Saturday night.
The Miners are now 3-4 and 1-2 in Conference USA. They will be home for three straight games now.
Western Kentucky
The Hilltoppers fell 31-28 to UTSA Saturday night in the Alamodome. They put up 481 yards offensively, including 373 through the air.
Sophomore wide receiver Malachi Corley had a career day with 11 catches for 131 yards, and redshirt senior Daewood Davis joined him in the 100-plus yard club, notching 120 yards off of eight grabs and a touchdown.
Western Kentucky pulled within three points early in the fourth quarter after trailing heading into the second half, but a failed onside kick after the score halted the WKU’s momentum.
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