Doc Holliday and the Marshall Thundering Herd took a nice step forward in 2011. The Thundering Herd loaded up the schedule and managed to go 6-6 in the regular season and then win in the St. Petersburg Bowl against FIU. Marshal finished 7-6 even though they had to play the 16th toughest schedule in the nation.
Ruffin McNeill’s goal was to take Skip Holtz’s success and move it to the next level at East Carolina. In his first two years that hasn’t worked out. The defense has been awful and the offense has been one-dimensional. The Pirates have gone 5-7 in consecutive seasons, and the fan base expects more.
Tulsa has largely flown under the radar over the last few years, but this is a very successful football program. The Golden Hurricane have won at least 8 games in all but one year since 2005. Bill Blankenship kept the tradition going in his first year with the program in 2011.
June Jones has turned around the SMU program nicely, and now the goals and expectations are much higher for the Mustangs. Texas transfer Garrett Gilbert will be eligible at quarterback at this year, and many people believe the Mustangs should have a powerful offense in 2012.
Southern Miss may have started the 2011 season with an ugly loss at Marshall in week two, but the Golden Eagles ended the season on an extreme high by thrashing Houston in the Conference USA Championship game and then winning the Hawaii Bowl.
