Preseason Week 1 in Conference USA’s East Division

East Carolina – Offensive lineman Drew Gentry is sidelined indefinitely with a knee injury.  Kenneth Freeman has been added to the squad to replace Gentry…Defensive back Desi Brown (shoulder) and offensive lineman Doug Polochak (shoulder), who was expected to start at left guard, have sat out three consecutive days of practice…Saturday’s scrimmage will help clear up lock jams at running back, wide receiver, linebacker and on both lines, where starting nods are on the line…

Marshall – The Herd is still looking for leading receiver Aaron Dobson to return from a hamstring injury that’s plagued him for most of spring practice and has held him out of fall practice so far. Dobson was the team’s leading receiver with 44 catches for 689 yards last year…Four quarterbacks, Eddie Sullivan A.J. Graham, Rakeem Cato and Blake Frohnapel, are fighting for the starting nod. It looks like Cato is the leader tho…

Memphis – The Tigers might be looking to freshmen to help them often this year.  Three rookie running backs, Joe Price, Carl Harris and Artaves Gibson, are all vying for time behind starter Jerrell Rhodes…Wake Forest transfer Skylar Jones, JC transfer Andy Summerlin, Will Gilchrist and true freshman Taylor Reed are fighting to be the starting quarterback.  Summerlin has the edge but none of the four is very experienced…OL Ronald Leary and WR Marcus Rucker were the only two returning players to have started every Tiger game in 2010…

Southern MissTray Becton-martin, who was signed as a wide receiver in February, has made a nice transition to cornerback early in camp and the coaching staff is looking for him to be able to contribute right away…Coach Larry Fedora said he’s been impressed with some of the freshman wide receivers, offensive and defensive lineman…The team held their first scrimmage of the preseason and Kendrick Hardy led all rushers with 62 yards on seven carries including a long touchdown run of nearly 60 yards. Desmond Johnson added 52 yards on 10 carries…Austin Davis was 17-of-28 for 180 yards with two touchdowns

UAB – Freshmen Darrin Reaves and Bashr Coles are both pushing for a spot in the running back rotation…Shaquille Roberson is still waiting to be cleared academically by the NCAA…Tight end Kennard Backman, a true freshman, has looked really good and the Blazers feel may have a chance to playing a big role this year…

UCF – The Knights held their first scrimmage and had some players put up impressive stats.  On a day where the defense was out to shine, backup quarterback Blake Bortles put together a nice stat line, completing 14-of-21 passes for 173 yards, including one touchdown and interception each…Starting quarterback Jeff Godfrey was seven-of-12 for 88 yards…Six receivers caught three balls each…Latavius Murray led the running game with 69 yards on 13 carries…On defense, Deion Green has 1.5 sacks, while Barry Snider, Toby Jackson and Darius Nall had one each

Potential ACC Upsets Part 2

Miami – Potential upset: Week three vs. Kansas State

Don’t look now, but the Wildcats are bringing in some very talented players.  They’ve brought in Chris Harper and Bryce Brown, two highly regarded transfers, in the past year.  The Big 12 media members think so highly of Brown that they named him to the Preseason All Big 12 Team, without ever playing a down in Manhattan.  Continue reading

>Beef O’Brady’s Bowl Preview

>Southern Miss vs. Louisville

Southern Miss will play in its ninth straight postseason game, while Louisville is making their first bowl since their 2007 Orange Bowl appearance.  The Cardinals improved from 65th to 12th in the FBS with 304.7 yards allowed per game, but will face a Southern Miss offense that ranks 15th in the FBS with 37.6 points and 458.2 yards per game.

Louisville will possibly go with three quarterbacks in the bowl game, as Justin Burke will start, but Adam Froman and Will Stein might also play.  The one good thing for the Cardinal offense is that running back Bilal Powell is going to play.  Coming off of an all-conference selection this season, he has rushed for 1,330 yards and 10 touchdowns.  His 1,330 yards ranked second in the conference behind Uconn’s Jordan Todman, who rushed for 1,574 yards this season.

Unlike the Cardinals, Southern Miss relies on its offense to win games.  Seven of 12 games saw them score at least 40 points, while three more saw them score 31 points or more.  Their 38 ppg is good for 15th in the country.  Quarterback Austin Davis has thrown for 3,898 yards and 18 touchdowns, while also rushing for over 400 yards and a team-high 10 touchdowns.  Junior Kelvin Bolden has made quite a splash in his collegiate debut, having caught 41 balls for 667 yards and six touchdowns.