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News Nuggets, 09.29.04
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Compiled from staff reports and electronic dispatches

C-USA standings, scoreboard, schedule & TV

              Conference     Overall
              W  L  Pct.   W  L  Pct.   Pts  Opp
Louisville    1  0 1.000   3  0 1.000   114   21
Southern Miss 1  0 1.000   2  0 1.000    53   31
UAB           1  0 1.000   2  1  .667    98   76
South Florida 1  0 1.000   2  1  .667    69   85
Cincinnati    1  0 1.000   2  2  .500    82   91
Houston       1  0 1.000   1  3  .250    55   94
Memphis       0  1  .000   3  1  .750    100  69
TCU           0  1  .000   2  2  .500    171 160
Tulane        0  1  .000   1  2  .333     68  81
East Carolina 0  1  .000   0  3  .000     59 111
Army          0  2  .000   0  3  .000     45 127

THURSDAY, SEPT. 23:
Miami (FL) 38, Houston 13 (ESPN)

SATURDAY, SEPT. 25:
Cincinnati 24, East Carolina 19
Connecticut 40, Army 3
Louisville 34, North Carolina 0
South Florida 45, TCU 44 (OT)
UAB 35, Memphis 28
Southern Miss 32, Tulane 14

SATURDAY, OCT. 2
UAB at Cincinnati, 7:00 PM
East Carolina at Louisville, 3:00 PM
Houston at Memphis, 6:30 PM
TCU at Army, 1:00PM
Southern Miss at South Florida, 6:00 PM

Compiled from data from Conference USA.

Associated Press college football poll

The Top 25 teams in The Associated Press college football poll, with first-place votes in parentheses, records through Sept. 25, total points based on 25 points for a first-place vote through one point for a 25th-place vote, and previous ranking:

[Conference USA team, including future members, and Carolinas teams in bold. ECU opponents in red.]

Record Pts Pvs
 1. Southern Cal (46) 4-0 1,605 1
 2. Oklahoma (18) 3-0 1,570 2
 3. Georgia (1) 3-0 1,452 3
 4. Miami 3-0 1,435 4
 5. Texas 3-0 1,365 5
 6. West Virginia 4-0 1,176 6
 7. Ohio State 3-0 1,113 7
 8. Auburn 4-0 1,093 9
 9. Florida State 2-1 1,074 8
10. California 2-0 1,033 10
10. Tennessee 3-0 1,033 11
12. Virginia 4-0 927 12
13. LSU 3-1 842 13
14. Utah 4-0 764 14
15. Purdue 3-0 669 15
16. Florida 2-1 654 16
17. Fresno State 3-0 531 17
18. Minnesota 4-0 501 19
19. Michigan 3-1 498 18
20. Wisconsin 4-0 380 20
21. Arizona State 4-0 293 22
22. Louisville 3-0 265 24
23. Boise State 4-0 264 21
24. Maryland 3-1 212 23
25. Oklahoma State 3-0 135 25

Others receiving votes: Notre Dame 121, Arkansas 26, Kansas State 24, Southern Miss 23, Colorado 20, Missouri 11, Stanford 10, N.C. State 2, South Carolina 2, Navy 1, Texas Tech 1.

Herd trying to head off worst start in decades

HUNTINGTON, WV — With two months left in the regular season, Marshall and Miami (OH) have reason to believe their postseason prospects will be determined Wednesday night.

The RedHawks-Thundering Herd game has decided the East Division winner of the Mid-American Conference every year since the league went to two divisions in 1997. The loser has not only been left out of the MAC title game, but also failed to get a bowl bid.

"This is the tone-setter," Marshall quarterback Stan Hill said. "You've got to go out there and let this conference know that we came to win the championship. This is the game to do it."

With many memorable moments in this brief but heated rivalry, Marshall is hoping to avoid a low point. A loss in their conference opener against the RedHawks (2-2, 1-0) would give the Thundering Herd their first 0-4 start in 35 years.

"How we did the first three games — 3-0, 1-2, 2-1, 0-3, whatever — is really immaterial because the league is starting," Marshall coach Bob Pruett said. "And for us to get to a bowl game, we've got to get to the championship game."

Marshall's record is due in large part to its tough non-conference schedule. The Herd's losses are by a combined 15 points to Troy, No. 7 Ohio State and No. 3 Georgia.

"We know we'll see a different Marshall team," Miami coach Terry Hoeppner said. "The players know it's a must-win if we're going to control our own destiny."

This will be the teams' final meeting before Marshall heads off to Conference USA next season.

The series, led by Marshall 5-2 since it rejoined the league in '97, has featured three current NFL starting quarterbacks — Miami's Ben Roethlisberger and Marshall's Chad Pennington and Byron Leftwich.

Roethlisberger stayed calm through fierce wind gusts last year as Miami won 45-6 to end Marshall's six-year reign as MAC East champs. In 2001, Marshall running back Brandon Carey outdid both Leftwich and Roethlisberger by throwing a pair of touchdown passes.

But maybe the oddest occurrence came two years ago, the last time the schools 184 miles apart met in Huntington.

Hill got his first career start in place of the injured Leftwich, throwing four TD passes and scoring on a 1-yard run with 5 seconds left to lift the Thundering Herd to a 36-34 win. Moments later, police led Miami defensive coordinator Jon Wauford off the field in handcuffs.

Wauford allegedly knocked a fan to the ground in the postgame crowd surge. The fan was hospitalized briefly with a concussion. Wauford later resigned and a misdemeanor battery charge was dropped.

Hill's rally in 2002 is one of the bright spots of an up-and-down career. He missed the second half of the 2003 season — including the Miami game — with a knee injury as Marshall failed to secure a postseason berth of any kind for the first time since 1990.

He's only thrown two TD passes so far this season, while Miami's Josh Betts leads the conference with 1,099 yards passing and nine touchdowns against five interceptions.

"Our margin for error in this game is not very big," Pruett said. "This is truly two teams that are evenly matched. The one that makes the most mistakes usually is the one that will come up on the short end of the stick."

News Nuggets are compiled periodically from staff, ECU, Conference USA and its member schools, and from Associated Press and other reports. Copyright 2004 Bonesville.net and other publishers. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.

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