Rice may have benefited the most, football-wise, from the 2005 radical realignment of Conference USA.

The Owls, who play host to Marshall on Nov. 22, were battered for years in the Southwest Conference. When that league fell apart, they were exiled to the wilderness that is the Western Athletic Conference and didn't exactly set that circuit ablaze.

The small private school in Houston, much better known for its baseball program, went from 1961 to 2006 without playing in a bowl game. Now, it is bowl-eligible for the second time in three years.

Rice (6-3, 5-1) hit the six-victory mark in typical Owls fashion, outgunning Texas-El Paso 49-44. James Casey caught 12 passes for 142 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another, earning him C-USA offensive player-of-the-week honors.

"The amazing thing is that we are not playing great defense, but the attitude and chemistry of this football team, there is nobody complaining," said coach David Bailiff. "The offense just tightens their own chin strap and buttons it up and they go and score 49 points."

The Owls' 5-1 conference start is their best conference mark since 1960 in the SWC. They tangle with Army this week and get a week off before the Thundering Herd comes to town.

Quarterback Chase Clement and receiver Jarrett Dillard keep clicking off the milestones. For instance, Dillard became C-USA's all-time receiving yardage leader with 3,776 yards, passing the 3,770 by Houston's Vincent Marshall (2003-06). Clement and Dillard have hooked up for an NCAA-record 46 touchdowns, and Clement is responsible for 105 career TDs, one short of the league record set by Houston's Kevin Kolb.

But Casey, a 24-year-old sophomore who formerly pitched in the Chicago White Sox organization, is getting more dangerous by the game. He leads the league in receptions (79) and is 4 yards short of Dillard's team-high 949.

"What I was amazed about on Saturday when we went by a 4-by-1 set was that they still held two people over Dillard," Bailiff said. "They are not going to give him the one-on-one that you would think you would get in that formation. They are just not going to do it and that's what's allowing James Casey to do what he's doing."

It's true that a 6-6 record guarantees nothing. In fact, NCAA rules state that all teams with seven or more victories are granted preference, with 6-6 teams taken only if a conference has a vacancy in its contracted bowls.

That said, Rice and any other C-USA team reaching six victories should be safe. The league has six guaranteed bowl slots this year, and from all indications will have trouble filling them with eligible teams.

Tulsa (8-1, 5-0) has long since clinched a spot. Rice is in and East Carolina (5-3, 3-1) is a victory away.

After that, it's an uphill scramble. Only Southern Methodist (1-8, 0-5) and Alabama-Birmingham (2-7, 1-4) are out, but three other teams are at the "Hail Mary" stage - Central Florida (2-6, 1-3), Southern Mississippi (3-6, 1-4) and Tulane (2-6, 1-3). UTEP (3-5, 3-2) is a long shot to finish 3-1 in its final four games.

Memphis (4-5, 2-3) needs to finish 2-1, but all those games are against sub-.500 foes. Marshall (4-4, 3-1) and Houston (4-4, 3-1) must split their final four games, and both must play Tulsa and Rice. The Cougars have one advantage - their longest trip left is a cross-town bus ride to Rice.

Rice may have benefited the most, football-wise, from the 2005 radical realignment of Conference USA.

The Owls, who play host to Marshall on Nov. 22, were battered for years in the Southwest Conference. When that league fell apart, they were exiled to the wilderness that is the Western Athletic Conference and didn't exactly set that circuit ablaze.

The small private school in Houston, much better known for its baseball program, went from 1961 to 2006 without playing in a bowl game. Now, it is bowl-eligible for the second time in three years.

Rice (6-3, 5-1) hit the six-victory mark in typical Owls fashion, outgunning Texas-El Paso 49-44. James Casey caught 12 passes for 142 yards and three touchdowns and ran for another, earning him C-USA offensive player-of-the-week honors.

"The amazing thing is that we are not playing great defense, but the attitude and chemistry of this football team, there is nobody complaining," said coach David Bailiff. "The offense just tightens their own chin strap and buttons it up and they go and score 49 points."

The Owls' 5-1 conference start is their best conference mark since 1960 in the SWC. They tangle with Army this week and get a week off before the Thundering Herd comes to town.

Quarterback Chase Clement and receiver Jarrett Dillard keep clicking off the milestones. For instance, Dillard became C-USA's all-time receiving yardage leader with 3,776 yards, passing the 3,770 by Houston's Vincent Marshall (2003-06). Clement and Dillard have hooked up for an NCAA-record 46 touchdowns, and Clement is responsible for 105 career TDs, one short of the league record set by Houston's Kevin Kolb.

But Casey, a 24-year-old sophomore who formerly pitched in the Chicago White Sox organization, is getting more dangerous by the game. He leads the league in receptions (79) and is 4 yards short of Dillard's team-high 949.

"What I was amazed about on Saturday when we went by a 4-by-1 set was that they still held two people over Dillard," Bailiff said. "They are not going to give him the one-on-one that you would think you would get in that formation. They are just not going to do it and that's what's allowing James Casey to do what he's doing."

It's true that a 6-6 record guarantees nothing. In fact, NCAA rules state that all teams with seven or more victories are granted preference, with 6-6 teams taken only if a conference has a vacancy in its contracted bowls.

That said, Rice and any other C-USA team reaching six victories should be safe. The league has six guaranteed bowl slots this year, and from all indications will have trouble filling them with eligible teams.

Tulsa (8-1, 5-0) has long since clinched a spot. Rice is in and East Carolina (5-3, 3-1) is a victory away.

After that, it's an uphill scramble. Only Southern Methodist (1-8, 0-5) and Alabama-Birmingham (2-7, 1-4) are out, but three other teams are at the "Hail Mary" stage - Central Florida (2-6, 1-3), Southern Mississippi (3-6, 1-4) and Tulane (2-6, 1-3). UTEP (3-5, 3-2) is a long shot to finish 3-1 in its final four games.

Memphis (4-5, 2-3) needs to finish 2-1, but all those games are against sub-.500 foes. Marshall (4-4, 3-1) and Houston (4-4, 3-1) must split their final four games, and both must play Tulsa and Rice. The Cougars have one advantage - their longest trip left is a cross-town bus ride to Rice.

Marshall coach Mark Snyder has expressed joy that the Southern Miss game is in the rear-view mirror, with a Herd win no less. He figured the Golden Eagles' newfangled offense was going to explode on somebody.

That came last week and the victim was UAB. The 70-14 score probably sent a few Herd fans into a Maalox-chugging binge. That score was accumulated in three quarters, after the Eagles bolted to a 49-7 halftime lead.

Austin Davis ran for five touchdowns and threw a 60-yard scoring pass to DeAndre Brown. It was Brown's 10th touchdown, tops among the nation's freshmen.

No, Tulsa won't come to Marshall in the Nov. 29 season finale 11-0 and looking to impress voters in a battle for a BCS bowl. The Golden Hurricane stubbed its toe against the only big-name school on its schedule, falling 30-23 to Arkansas.

Tulsa moved the ball well enough on the Razorbacks, gaining 528 total yards. Three turnovers helped keep the Hurricane to its lowest scoring total of the season.

But as a last-play pass fell incomplete in the end zone, it was a kickoff return that ultimately ruined Tulsa. The Hurricane had knotted the score at 23 late in the third quarter, but Dennis Johnson took the subsequent kickoff 96 yards.

"That kickoff return killed us," said Tulsa coach Todd Graham. "It was the difference in the game. If you would have told me at halftime that we would not give up an offensive touchdown in the second half, I would have liked our chances to win."

Around the league

Reach Doug Smock at 348-5130 or dougsm...@wvgazette.com.