Bowl Grades For Every Team, Conference: How Did Everyone Do? – Page 5

Conference USA Bowl Grades

Conference USA Bowl Grade: B

Conference USA Straight Up: 3-3
Conference USA Against The Spread: 3-3

It’s not like the conference had to play out of its comfort zone. There weren’t any games against Power Five programs.

Here’s the problem. In a fight for the soul of the Group of Five, optics matter a wee bit when it comes to what Conference USA is now compared to the new and improved Sun Belt. The Conference USA champion lost to the Sun Belt champion, and Conference USA lost to its ex as it got run over by Frank Gore Jr. and Southern Miss.

However, WKU whacked a strong South Alabama, North Texas hung around with Mountain West champ Boise State, and Middle Tennessee slipped by San Diego State.

Middle Tennessee Bowl Grade: B+

EasyPost Hawaii Bowl
Prediction: San Diego State 23, Middle Tennessee 13
Line: San Diego State -6.5, o/u: 48.5
Final Score: Middle Tennessee 25, San Diego State 23
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Middle Tennessee won a bowl game without an offensive line. San Diego State totally dominated the battle on the lines, so what saved the Blue Raiders in this? The same thing that got them through all year long – takeaways. That’s how you pull off a bowl game despite gaining just 170 yards of total offense – five turnovers. It might not have been beautiful, but Hawaii good, walk-off field goal for a Hawaii Bowl win all good.

North Texas Bowl Grade: A-

Frisco Bowl
Prediction: Boise State 38, North Texas 20
Line: Boise State -10.5, o/u: 59.5
Final Score: Boise State 35, North Texas 32
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Yeah, the Mean Green lost. They should’ve been obliterated. The Mountain West runner-up should’ve been able to run at will on the Conference USA runner-up, use its great defense to lock this down early, and it all should’ve been a delightful scrimmage against a team without its head coach. North Texas was overmatched to begin with, but it hung in there for a full 60 minutes.

Rice Bowl Grade: B-

LendingTree Bowl
Prediction: Southern Miss 26, Rice 20
Line: Southern Miss -6.5, o/u: 45.5
Final Score: Southern Miss 38, Rice 24
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

The final score won’t be kind to the performance in the LendingTree Bowl, and all that anyone will ever remember is Frank Gore Jr. and his 329 rushing yards, but Rice was up 24-17 with 20 minutes to play, The D allowed 21 unanswered points punctuated by a Gore dash, but considering it was a five-win team in a bowl game, it wasn’t bad.

UAB Bowl Grade: B

HomeTown Lenders Bahamas Bowl
Prediction: UAB 31, Miami University 20
Line: UAB -11.5, o/u: 45.5
Final Score: UAB 24, Miami University 20
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Considering all the things swirling with the coaching change to Trent Dilfer, and the emotional transition that’s coming, UAB got out alive – even if it was a double-digit favorite. Miami University made it a fight, but the somewhat disappointing season closed out with a terrific drive to push through and take the lead, and the D held on for dear life at the very end. It was a winning campaign, and UAB is still getting rid of the coach who helped make it happen.

UTSA Bowl Grade: C

Duluth Trading Cure Bowl
Prediction: UTSA 30, Troy 27
Line: UTSA -2.5, o/u: 56.5
Final Score: Troy 18, UTSA 12
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

Troy might have brought a killer defense to the Bahamas, but UTSA was the Conference USA Champion for a reason. The offense that was so good all year managed just 12 first half points – just one touchdown – the defense held the Trojans to 153 yards, and … five turnovers and nine penalties. The O came up with yards, and then screwed it up allowing 18 unanswered points in the wildly disappointing loss.

WKU Bowl Grade: A+

R+L Carriers New Orleans Bowl
Prediction: South Alabama 35, WKU 30
Line: South Alabama -4, o/u: 57.5
Final Score: WKU 44, South Alabama 23
What Happened, Player of the Game, Fun Stats, What it Means

This might have been the most underappreciated bowl win of the season. South Alabama was brilliant all year, lost two games – including to UCLA – by the skin of its teeth, and it got housed rough out of the gate as WKU ripped off a 31-3 lead at halftime. Everything clicked, everything worked, and the program came up with something special.

NEXT: Independent Bowl Grades

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