Granted, there aren't many household names. And the odds of the average
fan recognizing Memphis running back DeAngelo Williams in a crowd are pretty
slim even on Beale Street.
But just because the uniforms aren't Georgia red or Michigan blue doesn't
mean the offensive talent generously scattered throughout Conference USA
should be camouflaged by school colors.
From ineffable passers to flamboyant backs and receivers, C-USA has a
surplus of offensive weapons, which should make it one of the
highest-scoring leagues in 2004.
Memphis coach Tommy West boasts one of the conference's more dangerous
arsenals, and has made offense a priority since he inherited the job
following the 2000 season.
"That's what we felt like three years ago we had to do to ever have a
chance at winning this league," West said. "We felt like we had to have an
offensive team that could score a lot of points.
"Again, I'm a defensive guy who wants to play defense, control the ball,
don't turn it over, punt it, play the kicking game. You know, all those
things that sound good. But that's not what's won this league."
So much for the old adage that defense wins championships.
"I don't really agree with that," West said. "Never have in this
conference, and I'm a defensive guy by heart.
"To win this league, you're going to have one or two games where you're
going to have to outscore somebody. That's just the nature of this
conference. I think that's the key who can keep their quarterback healthy
and who wins the games when they have to outscore 'em."
C-USA certainly has more than its fair share of top-flight QBs. All
totaled, there are nine returning starters under center, five of whom are
found on the watch list for the Davey O'Brien Award.
Among the candidates is multi-dimensional Louisville quarterback Stefan
LeFors, the reigning first team All-C-USA field general.
"He's real efficient," Cardinals coach Bobby Petrino said. "He does what
you coach him to do. He's got the ability to make plays when things aren't
there, and he's a real competitor. I think that helps him as much as
anything."
The big question is whether or not that is enough to keep his job. With
USA Today high school offensive player-of-the-year Brian Brohm joining the
Cardinals, LeFors may not be the best QB on campus.
Regardless of which QB takes the snaps in the Derby City, he will have
plenty of collaborators to look to for points production. Receivers J.R.
Russell and Joshua Tinch have pro potential. Running back Eric Shelton and
athlete Michael Bush are NFL locks.
"We should be a good offensive football team," Petrino said. "We've got
the experience you need.
"We'll have the competition in practice, so that we get better every day
we go out in practice. And we should have fairly good depth. I'm a little
bit concerned about our offensive line depth-wise."
While much of the ink has gone to the league's quarterbacks, C-USA will
be plenty deep at tailback as well. Joining Williams and Shelton in the
upper tier are the duos from East Carolina Art Brown and Marvin Townes
and Texas Christian Lonta Hobbs and Robert Merril.
But the class of C-USA would have to be Williams, the preseason offensive
player-of-the-year.
"He's so versatile, he can do so many things," Petrino said. "Not only
running the football, but catching the football. He's very difficult to
stop.
"He can do all the things you ask a running back to do. He can cut. He's
got power. He's built low to the ground, so he's difficult to tackle. He
also is good at running out of tackles."
With a talent pool deeper than the Atlantic, C-USA clubs should be pretty
adept at running up the score this fall.
The ACC recently made headlines with its support of a rule that would
grant five years of eligibility in college football.
The sentiment among C-USA coaches was a consensus they agree.
"I'm for it," East Carolina coach John Thompson said. "I think it helps
in so many ways. I think it helps in retention and I think it helps in
graduation. What can be wrong with that?
"It also takes so much pressure off those guys in that some of them
aren't ready to play, but you never know until you put them out there, test
them a little bit, let them get a little bit of action and see if that can
help your team."
Thompson said the five-year rule would benefit programs on multiple
levels, including graduation rates and injuries.
Though C-USA hasn't taken an official stance on the issue, league
commissioner Britton Banowsky likes the idea.
"The statistics show that most regular students graduate in closer to
five years, anyway," Banowsky said. "So why hold these student-athletes to
higher standard?"
"They're eligibility track is a five-year track. The idea of red-shirting
students just for red-shirting them is flawed. ...If a kid can play and
wants to play and wants to go to school, then I don't see a real down side
to it."
Most of C-USA's bowl tie-ins will expire following next season. The
AutoZone Liberty Bowl is an exception in that it has an extension option
that it exercises on an annual basis.
Banowksy expects the relationship with the league's flagship bowl to
continue.
"They were really a founding piece of the league," Banowsky said last
week in Memphis. "They stood up as the bowl partner at the very beginning
and I think it's been a mutually rewarding arrangement.
"Southern Miss brought over 10,000 fans last year. It was an awesome,
awesome environment. I think we are in it for the long haul with the Liberty
Bowl, but they've got a new title sponsor, and they're going to have some
say."
The C-USA boss went on to say he feels confident the conference will
maintain four-to-five bowl tie-ins for the foreseeable future.
