Conference USA television lineup

Conference USA has announced its updated television schedule for the 2007 football season. The schedule features more than 50 games to be nationally or regionally, a new league record. National games will be-televised on CSTV, ESPN, ESPN 2, Fox Sports Net and the NFL Network. Included are a number of unopposed windows that provide tremendous exposure to C-USA, as well as several exciting league match-ups, and many challenging non-conference contests.

This season marks the third year of C-USA's partnership with CSTV: College Sports Television. CSTV and Conference USA signed a six-year initial term in 2005 that includes significant national and regional exposure for football, men's and women's basketball and other C-USA sports. CSTV, the fastest growing independent cable network, has agreements with distributors that serve more than 65 million households nationwide. It deals with the top six distributors - Comcast, DirecTV, Time Warner, Charter, Cox and Adelphia, among others.

Conference USA will also be featured on ESPN and its family of networks, having at least 19 regular season contests televised this fall, including 10 games as part of its contract with the network and additional non-conference games that have been selected by the network through agreements with other conferences. The third annual Conference USA Championship Game will be televised by ESPN or ESPN 2 on Saturday, December 1.

"We are very pleased to have so many of our football games on television and distributed to our fans throughout the nation," said Conference USA Commissioner Britton Banowsky. "We are looking forward to a great conference race this fall and we're glad that people around the country will be able to watch so many of our games."

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UTEP preview

After opening the last two seasons to great expectations, UTEP enters 2007 as a mystery team.

When the Miners launch their 90th season of football at home against New Mexico on Sept. 1, they will not only have a new quarterback under center, but a quarterback who will be making his first collegiate start as well.

Gone are record-setting signal-caller Jordan Palmer and wide receiver Johnnie Lee Higgins, Jr., along with 25 other seniors who were largely responsible for UTEP winning 21 games over the last three years.

Fresh faces will be prevalent on both sides of the ball in 2007. The defense, in particular, will be overhauled with only three starters coming back.

The Miners' offensive line returns virtually intact, and UTEP has a talented nucleus of returning skill players including tight ends Jamar Hunt and Jake Sears, wide receiver Joe West and running backs Donald Buckram, Marcus Thomas and Jason Williams.

The defense is expected to receive a major boost from the return of linebacker Jeremy Jones, who missed most of the 2006 season with a broken leg. Jones was a second team All-Conference USA selection in 2005, when he led the Miners with 130 tackles and 14.5 tackles for losses. UTEP also has one of the nation's top free safeties in Quintin Demps.

UTEP finished 5-7 last season. If the Miners are to contend for their third bowl bid in four years this fall, they will need to upgrade their ground game. UTEP ranked 116th out of 119 Division I-A schools last season, averaging 57.6 yards rushing per game.

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UCF preview

The 2007 football season will be a historic one for the UCF Knights as the team moves on campus to play its home games for the first time in school history. After 28 seasons at the Florida Citrus Bowl, the Knights will open Bright House Networks Stadium on Sept. 15 against national-power Texas in a game to be televised at 3:30 p.m. on ESPN2. With 19 starters returning, including nine on defense and eight on offense, UCF will look to make its first season at the 45,000-seat venue a special one.

The catalyst for the offense will be the run game and featured back Kevin Smith enters his junior season with 2,112 rushing yards and a spot on the preseason Conference USA first-team. His rushing total through his first two seasons was the most by a sophomore in UCF history. The steadying force for the defense will be a veteran secondary that features four returning starters who are all members of the junior class. Strong safety Sha'reff Rashad led the team with four interceptions and 10 pass break-ups in 2006 and will help anchor the secondary along with free safety Jason Venson and cornerbacks Joe Burnett and Johnnell Neal. The quartet has combined for 78 starts in their, respective, UCF careers. Neal is the lone member of the foursome to start all 25 games over the past two seasons.

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UAB preview

It remains to be seen whether the UAB Blazers will improve on their disappointing 3-9 season of last fall. After all, the Blazers lost seven starters on both sides of the ball, and a senior class that numbered nearly 30 players in 2006. But those who have observed closely in the months since Neil Callaway was named UAB's head coach last December have seen a new air of enthusiasm over the program. It started with a demanding offseason strength and conditioning program and continued through spring practice.

Callaway made it clear early to his players the expectations he and his staff would have when it came to their level of commitment on and off the field.

"We want to create a mindset of how we want to do things and I think we're off to a good start," said Callaway. "We're not where we want to be, but I think we've got a good start on things."

Instilling a dedicated work ethic and a discipline were at the top of the list of priorities for Callaway and his staff.

He knew he had to start spring practice with some form of a depth chart, but he also made it clear everyone was starting over and the field for playing time was a level one.

"Everybody is starting with a clean slate," Callaway said after one of the team's first practices. "Our philosophy will always be that the best guys are going to start, and if you're good enough to play, you're going to play. It doesn't matter whether you're a freshman or a senior."

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Tulsa preview

Some things change. Some things remain the same. A new coaching staff is the most obvious difference for the Tulsa Golden Hurricane.

The other most notable change in 2007 will occur on the offensive side of the ball with the "no-huddle spread" offense, while Tulsa's 3-3-5 defense remains the same from a year ago when the Hurricane led Conference USA in total defense, allowing its opponents just 296 yard per game.

This seasons Hurricane team is led by first-year Head Coach Todd Graham. It may be his first season as head coach, but he's a familiar face to Tulsa players. Graham helped rejuvenate the Tulsa program as defensive coordinator fro 2003-2005, when the Hurricane made two bowl game appearances in three years.

Graham inherits 36 lettermen and 11 starters to a team that finished with an overall 8-5 record and its third bowl game in four seasons.

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Tulane preview

Holy Toledo! This often-used phrase will perhaps take on a new meaning this season in New Orleans as Bob Toledo begins his first season as the head coach of the Tulane Green Wave football program. Toledo's vision and energy have created a new wave of excitement not only in the New Orleans community, but with Tulane alumni throughout the country since his arrival to the Tulane campus on December 11, 2006.

Toledo brings more than 30 years of collegiate coaching experience to the Green Wave football team, including head coaching stints at UCLA, Pacific, Cal Riverside, and distinguished credentials from Texas A&M, USC, New Mexico and Oregon. He has coached in 13 bowl games, including seven of the traditional New Year's Day bowls, and has developed players into Heisman Trophy finalists, Outland Trophy winners, All-Americans, national champions and NFL Hall of Famers during his collegiate coaching career.

As Tulane begins its 113th season of football, the expectations for the 2007 squad are high and the Green Wave will feature an exciting team that will have an offense capable of a smash-mouth running game or the finesse of the West Coast passing attack. Regardless of its philosophy, Tulane should be a much improved unit on all three phases and will keep fans on the edge of their seats with plenty of gadget plays and trickery.

A total of 48 letterwinners (22 on the offensive side, 24 on defense and two specialists) return for the Green Wave, including 15 starters with five on offense, eight on defense and two specialists. On the roster this season are a total of 30 players who have seen time as regular starters or have been part time starters during their career.

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SMU preview

The 2006 season showcased a bright future for SMU Football. The Mustangs upped their win total for the third straight season, posted their highest win total in a decade and reached bowl-eligibility all while featuring a slew of talented young players.

SMU student-athletes filled a Conference USA-high six spots on the All-Freshman team and also took two spots on The Sporting News' Freshman All-America squad. Quarterback Justin Willis and wide receiver Emmanuel Sanders each set new school records in various categories and Willis was named the C-USA Freshman of the Year by numerous outlets. Willis and Sanders combine with 2005 honorees DeMyron Martin and Jessie Henderson to give SMU four former frosh All-Americans on its 2007 roster.

SMU continues to win off the field as well, as the Mustangs received the American Football Coaches Association's 2006 Academic Achievement Award after the school recorded a 100 percent graduation rate.

As the 2007 season draws near, SMU coaches, players and fans alike are filled with anticipation and hopes of a Conference USA championship and the Mustangs' first bowl berth in 23 years.

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Southern Miss preview

Prior to the 2006 season, there were a number of questions that the Southern Miss Golden Eagles needed to answer.

On offense, there were some personnel concerns after losing some key players in the skill positions, primarily the loss of three-year starting quarterback, Dustin Almond.

The losses were even greater on the defensive side of the ball, as the team needed to fill key spots vacated by the departed seniors, including Conference USA player of the Year, Kevis Coley, and twin brother, Trevis, and standout defensive back, John Eubanks.

With that in mind, it was most likely wishful thinking to imagine that the Golden Eagles would finish as the East Division champions in Conference USA.

And after a luke-warm 4-4 start, the likelihood of Southern Miss continuing the streak of 13-straight winning seasons and another postseason appearance seemed to be slipping.

But the Golden Eagles turned things around at the right time, winning the final four regular season games to earn a spot in the title game. After losing the championship to Houston, Southern Miss responded with a decisive 28-7 victory over Ohio in the GMAC Bowl.

When it was all said and done, the team finished with a 9-5 record and won its third-straight bowl game, extending the respective streaks in the process. For the team to finish the way it did, after the start that it had, there is a lot to build on entering the 2007 campaign.

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Rice preview

The Rice Owls soared to heights, both individually and collectively, in 2006 that no one dared to predict as they entered the season.

Led by the individual heroics of wide receiver Jarett Dillard, who vaulted from unknown to All-American thanks to leading the nation with 21 touchdown catches, Rice won its final six games, three on the final offensive play of the game, to finish second in the C-USA West and earn a date to play Troy in the R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl.

The Owls head into the 2007 season faced not only with the task of building on the momentum created last season, but also with the challenge of meshing with a new coaching staff and a change in defensive scheme, as David Bailiff takes over the reigns and brings with him the change to a 4-2-5 defensive alignment.

Normally, such challenges would have been substantially addressed during Spring Practice, but Bailiff's staff never got the chance to fully evaluate all the returning talent, since a number missed the spring period recuperating from injuries. Only 53 of the 65 players were able to participate in the bulk of drills, leaving the depth chart assignments heading into the fall up for major renovations, thanks to a fully healed returning squad and a talented 23-man freshman class that will likely be asked to step up into several key roles.

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Memphis preview

Optimism fills the air as the Tigers are gearing up for the 2007 season. That optimism is fueled by the way head coach Tommy West's squad emerged in the final three games of the 2006 season as well as by the tremendous energy and enthusiasm that was clearly noticeable during the spring.

"I made some decisions last year that set this football team back," said West. "I made those decisions so that we can ultimately get to where we want to get to. This team never blinked an eye and never questioned the decision. They have bought in, 100 percent.

"I was really impressed at how our football team responded through a difficult year," added West. "They continued to improve each week, to the point that I thought they were a good team at the end of the year. We fought through a tough situation and became a good team out of it."

The 2007 season will feature six new coaches which West often cited during spring practice for their energy and enthusiasm on the field. He is quick to call this staff the best recruiting staff that he has ever had at Memphis and feels this program is clearly "headed in the right direction from a recruiting and coaching standpoint."

"I thought this team had a great attitude this spring," West said. "I think this team has a little bit of a chip on their shoulder because of what they went through, and I believe we all will be better because of it."

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Marshall preview

Marshall University has shown signs of improvement in each of the last two seasons under head coach Mark Snyder and 2007 offers the potential for further growth as the Thundering Herd welcomes back a solid corps of veterans from last season's 5-7 squad that won four of its last six games.

Marshall's offense features plenty of veterans and talent despite the early departure of NFL draft pick Ahmad Bradshaw. Last season, the Herd relied heavily on the talented junior running back who rushed for 1,523 yards and 21 touchdowns en route to earning first-team All-Conference USA honors.

The Thundering Herd offense returns eight starters including one of the nation's top centers in senior Doug Legursky, an explosive tight end in sophomore Cody Slate, a senior quarterback in Bernard Morris and a veteran corps of wide receivers. With these fixtures in place, Marshall's offense has the potential to be a force in 2007.

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Houston preview

Can history repeat itself in 2007?

University of Houston head football coach Art Briles sure hopes so.

Now entering his fifth season at the helm of the Cougar program and coming off an epic 2006 campaign, Briles looks to guide Houston to another Conference USA title and make history in the process. The Cougars have won back-to-back league titles only twice - the 1956-57 Missouri Valley Conference and the 1978-79 Southwest Conference crowns - so bringing home the C-USA hardware again in 2007 is history-making in itself. Plus, no C-USA team has repeated as league champs since Louisville won consecutive titles in 2000-01.

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East Carolina preview

After a return to the postseason in his second year at East Carolina, head coach Skip Holtz has his aim set on building the Pirates' program, not just another winning team.

A challenging schedule will be the primary roadblock between ECU and a second consecutive postseason appearance, but Holtz has said since his arrival he would feel more comfortable when the team began featuring products of his own recruiting efforts.

The time is now, starting at quarterback, where Holtz signee Rob Kass will shoulder the responsibility of replacing program mainstay James Pinkney.

ECU's attempt at a second straight winning season -- the Pirates finished 7-6 in 2006 after a loss to South Florida in the Papajohns.com Bowl -- will begin with a daunting trip to Virginia Tech and also includes a non-conference tilt at West Virginia and a pair of home contests against in-state rivals North Carolina and NC State.

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