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NCAA Football

Louisana Tech Bulldogs 2013 NCAA Football Gambling Odds & Predictions

2013-14 Football Previews – (CUSA) – Bulldogs

Louisiana Tech had a very successful season in 2012, but they lost their head coach after the season.  Sonny Dykes left for California in the offseason, but Louisiana Tech was able to bring in another big name head coach. Skip Holtz did a great job at East Carolina before struggling at USF.

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NCAA Football

Rice Owls 2013 NCAA Football Gambling Odds & Predictions

2013-14 Football Previews – (CUSA) – Owls

The Rice Owls have had a very strange last few seasons. Rice went 10-3 in 2008 and it seemed like David Bailiff had the program going in the right direction. The team turned around and went 2-10 in 2009 and 4-8 in both 2010 and 2011. In 2012, the team went 7-6 and went to a bowl game again.

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NCAA Football

UTEP Miners 2013 NCAA Football Gambling Odds & Predictions

2013-14 Football Previews – (CUSA) – Miners

Expectations were high for Mike Price at UTEP, but the program just never got going under Price. He retired at the end of last season, and Sean Kugler is now the head man of the Miners football program. Kugler is a 1989 graduate of UTEP.

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NCAA Football

MTSU Blue Raiders 2013 NCAA Football Gambling Odds & Predictions

2013-14 Football Previews – (CUSA) – Blue Raiders

There is no doubt that Middle Tennessee State University will be up against a tougher class of opponents this year in Conference USA. The Sun Belt improved while MTSU was there, but Conference USA has more depth and a lot more very good offenses. The Blue Raiders will have to raise their level of play in 2013. The Blue Raiders won eight games a year ago, but weren’t invited to a bowl game. The team is still upset about that snub.

Conference USA 2013 College Football Previews: MTSU Blue Raiders (Team Link)
Head Coach: Rick Stockstill
2012 Record: 8-5
MTSU Gambling Odds to win BCS Championship: +2,000 (Part of Field)
MTSU Gambling Odds to win Conference USA East Division: +410
MTSU Gambling Odds to win Conference USA: +875

MTSU returns nine starters on the offensive side of the ball. They also return seven starters from a defense that was much improved in 2012. The defense in particular will be tested much more in this conference, and they’ll need to be ready for a heavy dose of lots of passing from just about every team in this league. How will MTSU fare in its first year in Conference USA?

Team Strengths:

Logan Kilgore is a talented senior quarterback leading the show for the Blue Raiders. Kilgore is an athletic quarterback who makes plays happen at the right time.

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He doesn’t have the huge statistics that some other quarterbacks in this conference have, but he is a great leader for this offense. Kilgore is one of those guys with the “it” factor.

Kevin Byard and Jimmy Staten give the team star power on the defense. Byard is only a sophomore, but he was amazing in his freshman season last year at strong safety. Staten is a big defensive tackle who does a great job plugging up the running lanes.

Jordan Parker was the team’s leading rusher as a freshman last year, and he could easily have a breakout season as a sophomore. [soliloquy id=”82219″]

Team Weaknesses:

MTSU doesn’t have any real play makers at the linebacker spot on the defense. Because of this, the Blue Raiders aren’t able to stop their opponent in the backfield very often or get a very good pass rush on the quarterback without committing players from their secondary. MTSU was one of the worst teams in the nation at getting sacks last year, and that will need to change if they are going to have any success in Conference USA.

The Blue Raiders offense racked up a lot of yardage last season, but they have to improve when it comes to finishing off drives. MTSU can’t continue to settle for field goals in a very high scoring conference where a lot of points will be required each week.

The cornerbacks have been beaten deep a lot in the past, and they’ll be tested even more this season. Team depth in the secondary is very poor. MTSU’s secondary is going to have to find a way to keep the plays in front of them.

2013-2014 MTSU Football Prediction: 5-7

The move to a better conference will likely be too much for this team. MTSU’s defense has a couple of stars, but there are far too many holes here for them to slow down many of the teams in this league. Kicking field goals won’t be enough this season. Look for them to fall short of a bowl bid.

2013 Blue Raiders Schedule

8/29/13 7:30 PM ET WCAR
9/7/13 12:30 PM ET @NCAR
9/14/13 TBD MEM
9/21/13 TBD @FLATL
9/27/13 9:00 PM ET @BYU
10/5/13 TBD ECAR
10/12/13 TBD @NOTEX
10/24/13 7:30 PM ET MARSH
11/2/13 1:00 PM ET @UAB
11/9/13 4:00 PM ET FLINT
11/23/13 TBD @SOMIS
11/30/13 TBD UTEP

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NCAA Football

East Carolina Pirates 2013 NCAA Football Gambling Odds & Predictions

2013-14 Football Previews – (CUSA) – Pirates

East Carolina was highly successful under Skip Holtz during his time at the school, but they have been unable to match that success since he left. Last year’s team went 8-5 and showed lots of promise. With 8 starters returning on each side of the ball, expectations are high for this squad.

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NCAA Football

Marshall Thundering Herd 2013 NCAA Football Gambling Odds & Predictions

2013-14 Football Previews – (CUSA) – Thundering Herd

Marshall went just 5-7 last year, but their explosiveness has led oddsmakers to make them co-favorites in the Conference USA East Division heading into 2013. Rakeem Cato is probably the best player in the entire conference, and he really came into his own during the 2012 season.

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NCAA Football

Tulsa Golden Hurricane 2013 NCAA Football Gambling Odds & Predictions

2013-14 Football Previews – (CUSA) – Golden Hurricane

The Tulsa Golden Hurricane have a nice history in college football. Tulsa hasn’t necessarily gotten a lot of attention because of their competition, but this is a program that just constantly puts up impressive seasons. They went 11-3 last year and won Conference USA.

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NCAA Football

2013 Conference USA: NCAA Football Gambling Predictions | Futures

2013 Conference USA Season Football Preview

Conference USA is getting bigger. The conference picked up some new teams and has now gone to an East and West division format. There are 14 teams in the conference as a whole, and each division will have seven teams.

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Cappers

Marc Lawrence’s 2009 Conference USA Football Preview

CONFERENCE USA 2009 FOOTBALL PREVIEW

Marc Lawrence • PLAYBOOK.com

The CONFERENCE USA is 12 years old and like a youngster about to enter puberty, they are breaking out all over.

Four teams from the league reached the 70-point scoring plateau in a game last year. That represented twice as many that had scored that many points in CUSA history.