Marshall Football: This Week in C-USA 10/6/13

Now that Marshall is firmly entrenched in league play, we are going to take a weekly look at Conference USA football, reviewing last Saturday's results while also previewing this weeks important match-ups. 

Last Weeks Results
UTSA 10 - Marshall 34
FAU 37 - UAB 23
Rice 30 - Tulsa 27 OT
ECU 24 - MTSU 17
N.Texas 21 - Tulane 24
FIU 24 - USM 23
La.Tech 38 - UTEP 35

East Standings
1) ECU: 4-1, 2-0
2) Marshall: 3-2, 1-0
3) FIU: 1-4, 1-0
4) MTSU: 3-3, 1-1
5) FAU: 2-4, 1-3
6) UAB: 1-4, 0-1
7) USM: 0-5, 0-1

East Division Game of the Week

East Carolina's 24-17 win at Middle Tennessee kept the Pirates atop C-USA's East division. Quarterback Shane Carden lead ECU with 365 yards and a touchdown. In total, the Pirates offense accumulated 511 yards. ECU's defense also did a nice job, limiting the Blue Raiders to 334 yards of total offense while causing two turnovers.

Game to Watch Next Week

Marshall travels to Boca Raton Florida to take on FAU. The Owls got a much needed win at UAB on Saturday, taking down the Blazers 37-23. After missing the teams loss at Rice, FAU quarterback Jaquez Johnson returned against UAB and accumulated 404 yards of total offense

Marshall won its first C-USA game of the year, beating UTSA 34-10 on Saturday. The Thundering Herd needs a victory next week to keep pace with ECU in the East division standings.

West Standings
1) Tulane: 4-2, 2-0
2) Rice: 3-2, 2-0
3) La.Tech: 2-4, 1-1
4) UTSA: 2-4, 1-1
5) N.Texas: 2-3, 0-1
6) Tulsa: 1-4, 0-1
7) UTEP: 1-4, 0-2

West Division Game of the Week

Saturday might have signaled an official shift of power in the West division as Rice traveled to Tulsa and took down the Golden Hurricanes 30-27 in overtime. The Owls defense was the star, forcing three Tulsa turnovers.

Game to Watch Next Week

In a game that features the leaders of C-USA's East and West divisions , ECU spends its second week in a row on the road, this time at Tulane.

Behind a defense that has caused 18 turnovers, Tulane's enjoyed a resurgent season There offense has not been spectacular but, Green Wave quarterback Nick Montana is an effective game manager, completing 55.7% of his passes for 1,116 yards and 10 touchdowns.