Conference USA reported on its Web site, and assistant commisssioner Russ Anderson told me, that C-USA supplies a team for the EagleBank Bowl in 2010 and 2012. But the EagleBank Bowl says Army gets the first crack at 2012, with C-USA in a backup role.

That seems picky now, especially with Army’s struggles on the field. But that is a potentially large issue down the road. In any event, I expect all sides in these bowl agreements to be clear and on the same page. My merry voice is on Anderson’s voicemail, asking for an explanation.

BTW, worst MU bowl scenario for this season (besides finishing 5-7 and getting skunked): A cold, rainy late December day at Washington, losing to Duke.

The same five, Liberty to the champ and other to the Hawaii, St. Pete, New Orleans and Fort Worth games, in no particular order. Add in the EagleBank Bowl in 2010 and 2012, and the new game in the Cotton Bowl in 2011 and 2013, with back-up agreements in the “off” years, so to speak.

‘Tis good to hang onto the Liberty, in my humble opinion.

From my report card on the UAB game, I wrote:

“I really, really, really wanted the Herd to try a few plays and a long field goal at the end of the first half, for one overriding reason: Those guys need the experience. At some point, they may need to score a field goal in 20 seconds to win a game.”

So at UCF, Marshall gets the ball at its 45-yard line with 17 seconds and 2 timeouts. I have personally seen Craig Ratanamorn hit a 60-yard field goal, so the Herd wasn’t that far from taking the shot, and had several plays to do it in. But no, we see some desperate shots that weren’t effective at all.

(I will have to admit: You were watching closer than I was. I had an end-of-game deadline to meet. Of course, I also assumed there was no way in hell the Herd was coming back.)

Anyway, I think we have (again) witnessed MU’s inexplicable refusal to emphasize the 2-minute offense. I will leave logical conclusions to the readership.

OFFENSE: C-
293 total yards, 4 sacks and 2 really, really painful turnovers add up to a tough performance, any way you slice it. But let’s look at the Herd’s first possession after going up 20-7, when it had to start from the 1. Thinking it over, the 3 penalties (one negated a roughing the passer, another a long bomb) did as much as anything to keep the Herd from reversing field position. Pass protection went downhill as the game went on.

DEFENSE: D
This was an “A” after three quarters. Brett Hodges went 8-of-13 for 105 in the 4th quarter and looked like a stud against the blitz. 4th downs were very disappointing.

SPECIAL TEAMS: B
Ashton Hall’s field goal return was the game-turner for the longest time. Whitehead uncorked a 57-yard punt, his best-looking effort of the season. Ratanamorn hit his field goals and made a tackle. The pooch kickoff just wasn’t a smart call.

QUARTERBACKING: D
BA showed too much of the jitters early and had a really bad pick in the end zone. But he should have gotten a TD on the flea flicker to Chuck Walker and had another huge bomb to Aaron Dobson wiped out. With all that, he’s got to hang onto the ball with 2 minutes left, no matter what.

COACHING: F
First off, thanks to the e-mailers who told me of some of the ESPN analysis. I had an end-of-game deadline to meet, which made this game an insufferable blur.

I’m not in the mood to go down the laundry list of failings, so I will narrow it down to two. First, I hate pooch kickoffs in the first place, and I really hate them now. Second, how do you call a timeout on your goal line with 26 seconds left, and the offense having no timeouts, and getting smoked by the play call that badly?

OVERALL: F
This is Akron ‘04 all over again, only with better weather. If this team wins another game, I’ll be mildly surprised and impressed.

In case this comes into play, the five lowest-scoring Conference USA league games since realignment. (And if you find me in error, just yell… I did this on the plane to Orlando today…)
2008– UAB 15, UCF 0
2006– Tulane 10, UAB 9
2008– Southern Miss 17, UCF 6
2008– Southern Miss 21, ECU 3
2006– Tulsa 20, Southern Miss 6

As you may know, I’m tracking the ACC bowl picture for at least two reasons — who will end up in the EagleBank Bowl, and whether the league can fill nine spots (and therefore, the GMAC Bowl). North Carolina’s upset of Virginia Tech ruined the Hokies’ BCS chances, but helped the league as far as the lower bids.

NC became 5-3 with the win, but keep in in mind the Heels need to win 7. That’s because they bloody well tries to conquer the ol’ Southern Conference, beating two such teams. NC State also beat two FCS teams, so the ‘Pack needs 7. Duke tried to go that route, but lost to Richmond. Oddly, that means the Blue Devils only need to win 6 and don’t giggle, it could happen.

Sorry for losing 30 seconds of your life, but that might come into play at the end of November… somehow.

At this early juncture, one C-USA team is provisionally bowl eligible, but at least two others will be, as per scheduling (Marshall plays Southern Miss; ECU plays Southern Miss).

I might project the league after games of Nov. 7, more likely Nov. 14. I can make some guesses, such as UCF and SMU hitting six wins, but there are a few too many variables out there.

East Division
–East Carolina 4-1, 5-3 all, Va Tech, at Tulsa, UAB, So Miss.
–Southern Miss 3-1, 5-3 all, at Houston, off, at MU, Tulsa, at ECU
–Marshall 3-1, 5-3 all, at UCF (Sunday), off, So Miss, SMU, at UTEP
–UAB 2-2, 2-5 all, at UTEP, Fla Atlantic, at Memphis, at ECU, UCF
– UCF 2-2, 4-3 all, MU (Sunday), at Texas, Houston, Tulane, at UAB
– Memphis 1-3, 2-5 all, ECU (Tuesday), at Tenn., UAB, at Houston, at Tulsa

West Division
–Houston 2-1, 6-1 all, So Miss, at Tulsa, at UCF, Memphis, Rice
– Tulsa 2-1, 4-3 all, SMU, Houston, ECU, at So Miss, Memphis
– SMU 2-1, 3-4 all, at Tulsa, Rice, UTEP, at MU, Tulane
– UTEP 2-1, 3-4 all, UAB, at Tulane, at SMU, at Rice, MU
Tulane and Rice are 0-4, and will settle that score Nov. 14, if you care.

First, the big, big picture: The number of teams at .500 or above has been reduced from 81 to 76, for the 68 available bowl spots. Eight teams are at break-even, down from 17 last week.

The EagleBank Bowl is closer to coming into play, after Army lost to Rutgers. The Black Knights are 3-5 with games left against Air Force, North Texas, VMI and Navy. Have fun getting three wins out of that.

The Texas Bowl still looks unlikely to come into play. Navy is 6-2, but needs another win since it plays a 13-game schedule. The slate: Temple, at Notre Dame, Delaware, at Hawaii, Army. On the other side, the Big 12 still has 10 teams at or above .500, with 8 (probably 9) bowls to fill.

The ACC is down to 8 teams under .500 for now so again, keep the GMAC Bowl’s ACC No. 9 spot in mind.

Conference USA has six teams at 4-3 or better, none at even .500. SMU and UTEP are 3-4, UAB, Memphis and Tulane are at 2-5 and Rice is toast at 0-8. But not rice toast.

Here’s a quick recap of the C-USA standings, with future opponents in order:

East Division
–East Carolina 3-1, 4-3 all, at Memphis (Tuesday), Va Tech, at Tulsa, UAB, So Miss.
–Southern Miss 3-1, 5-3 all, at Houston, off, at MU, Tulsa, at ECU
–Marshall 3-1, 5-3 all, at UCF (Sunday), off, So Miss, SMU, at UTEP
–UAB 2-2, 2-5 all, at UTEP, Fla Atlantic, at Memphis, at ECU, UCF
– UCF 2-2, 4-3 all, MU (Sunday), at Texas, Houston, Tulane, at UAB
– Memphis 1-3, 2-5 all, ECU (Tuesday), at Tenn., UAB, at Houston, at Tulsa

West Division
–Houston 2-1, 6-1 all, So Miss, at Tulsa, at UCF, Memphis, Rice
– Tulsa 2-1, 4-3 all, SMU, Houston, ECU, at So Miss, Memphis
– SMU 2-1, 3-4 all, at Tulsa, Rice, UTEP, at MU, Tulane
– UTEP 2-1, 3-4 all, UAB, at Tulane, at SMU, at Rice, MU
Tulane and Rice are 0-4, and will settle that score Nov. 14, if you care.

With all that, Marshall has one simple mission: Just win, baby… Once, at the very least.

OFFENSE: A-
Did pretty much what it wanted to, pass or run. Didn’t have a negative-yardage down until play no. 64 from scrimmage. Take a tick off for not punching it in on fourth-and-goal from the 1.

DEFENSE: A-
The total yardage hit 432, but seldom do you see so many useless yards. Much of Joe Webb’s damage came on improvisation. Third downs were awesome, 2-for-12, and fourth downs were even better, 0-for-3. Two trips to the red zone, one touchdown and a missed field goal. Pass defense struggled in the first half, but that can happen when you stay in man coverage almost exclusively.

SPECIAL TEAMS: A-
Kickoff coverage was a concern, as the Blazers found the 40 a time or two. But Craig Ratanamorn hit two field goals, including a 43-yarder into the wind, and how about Kase Whitehead going 54 and 51 into the wind? Love Ashton Hall’s burial of a punt returner, too.

QUARTERBACKING: A-
BA accepted some blame for the fourth-down stop, figuring he should have checked to the other direction. If you’ve ever been around him, you’re not surprised. Considering the wind, he threw pretty doggone well.

COACHING: B+
I really, really, really wanted the Herd to try a few plays and a long field goal at the end of the first half, for one overriding reason: Those guys need the experience. At some point, they may need to score a field goal in 20 seconds to win a game.

On the other hand, I fully support switching from pass-heavy to run-heavy after halftime because, well, IT WORKED. What kind of a prima donna do you have to be to rag on a 19-play, 89-yard touchdown drive that eats up 9 minutes and puts you up three scores?

And finally, kudos for leaving the “racehorse” in the barn.

OVERALL: A-
I qualify the Herd’s performance with this: No opponent on the rest of the schedule will commit 15 penalties for 135 yards. (Right?) But what are you going to do, decline them all?

You put the game away after 3 quarters, climb into a first-place tie and get one win from provisional bowl eligibility with four left. A good day at the ballyard, even if only 18,878 saw it.

Much to pick at here… The Herd gets 297 total yards in the first half, yet has just 17 points to show for it. Up here in the pressbox, we are really second-guessing the decision to pack it in for halftime… The Herd had one timeout, has a kicker who can boot it 60 and the winds is at its back. … And UAB gets the ball to start the second half. You’ve got to take a shot.

UAB has 270 total yards, believe it or not, but only has a missed FG and a TD to show for it — the latter in the two-minute drill (have we heard that one before?). D.J. Wingate probably should have disrupted that TD pass — he turned around at the exact wrong moment, it appeared. … As expected, this is not a very good crowd.

BA is 20-of-30 for 252 yards, and could easily double it. He’s getting protection and UAB’s pass defense is not very good, except for Hiram Atwater. Webb has rushed for 48 yards, passed for 151.