USA Football Signs Another Defensive Lineman For 2014 Class
The South Alabama football program announced that they have signed Dondre Chanet to a National Letter-of-Intent on Monday. Chanet will enroll at USA in the fall.
Chanet is a 6’1″, 315-pound defensive lineman from Hutchison (KS) Community College and will join the Jaguars with two seasons of eligibility remaining. He brings the Jaguars 2014 recruiting class up to 22 student-athletes.
Last fall he was a second-team All-Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference selection after recording 33 tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss, one forced fumble, one recovered fumble and one pass break up. He recorded a season-best seven tackles, including one for a loss, against nationally ranked Butler (KS) CC.
He also recorded six tackles and a fumble recovery against Independence (KS) CC. He also helped his team defeat Dakota College at Bottineau 57-0 in the Salt Lake City Bowl to end the season ranked 17th in the final National Junior College Athletic Association poll.
He is the third JuCo defensive lineman to sign with South Alabama. They are filling big shoes left when a number of defensivie lineman graduated, some from the first-ever freshman recruiting class to sign with South Alabama.
The Jags finished 6-6 overall and 4-3 in Conference play in their first season as a full FBS member and fifth season of football ever.
USA Hires Mike Adams To Coach Linebackers
Former South Carolina State defensive coordinator/linebackers coach Mike Adams will join the USA staff and coach linebackers. | Photo: scsuathletics.com
All but the official announcement has been released, but head coach Joey Jones has hired Mike Adams to fill one of the remaining positions on his staff.
Adams, the former defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at South Carolina State will reportedly coach linebackers at South Alabama.
Adams joined the Bulldogs in 2006 as a defensive backs coach for two seasons before being promoted to defensive coordinator and changed his assignment to the linebackers.
While at SC State, his defense was regularly considered one of the best units in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference and the FCS ranks. He helped lead the team to MEAC championships in 2008 and 2009 and a share of the championship in 2010.
Adams began his coaching career at his alma mater Ball State in 1997 as a student assistant working with the linebackers. He was then an assistant coach at St. Joseph’s (Indiana) where he coached several positions. In 1998 he coached wide receivers and running backs, then in 1999 he moved to the defensive side coaching defensive backs for two seasons.
After the 2000 season he accepted a position at West Georgia where he spent five seasons as a defesive backs and special teams coach prior to SC State.
Adams graduated from Ball State in 1998 with a bachelor’s in sports administration.
His 2010 defensive unit at SC State finished in the top five in several defensive statistical categories. They finished first in the nation in total defense, rushing defense and passing defense. They finished second in the nation in scoring defense, sacks per game, Pass Efficiency Defense and 1st downs allowed. They finished fifth in 3rd down conversions and sixth in the nation in tackles for loss.
He coached the defensive player of the year for the MEAC, had one player named to the 1st Team All-Conference honors and five named 2nd Team All-Conference.
In an interview with WNSP, it was mentioned he had a recommendation from Senior Bowl Executive Director Phil Savage.
Welcome Coach Adams!
Director Of Video Rumored For Position At BYU
It is being rumored that South Alabama video director Errol Seaver has accepted the same position at BYU. This has not been confirmed yet. He has been the director of football video at South Alabama for the past three seasons.
Robby Brown Set To Join Football Staff
Robby Brown, former assistant head coach, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Valdosta State is reportedly joining the USA Football staff as running backs coach. | Photo by Gary Hardamon – NSU Photographic Services nsudemons.com
According to the Shreveport Times, former Northwestern State offensive coordinator Robby Brown has tendered his resignation to join head coach Joey Jones’ staff as the running backs coach. If he is indeed going to be the running backs coach, this would signal another shift in responsibilities on the staff. But that will only be known for certain when the hire is officially announced.
Brown has an impressive resume.
Last season, NSU ranked 43rd in passing offense (234.6 yards per game) and 55th in total offense (390.4 yards per game) while setting a number of offensive records.
Previously he coached at Valdosta State who won the NCAA Division II national championship in 2012. As offensive coordinator, his offense averaged 469 yards and 40 points per game.
He also served as offensive coordinator at Henderson State in 2008 and Southwest Baptist in 2007 prior to joining Valdosta State from 2009-2012.
At Valdosta State, the offense ranked 13th nationally in total offense and 9th nationally in scoring in 2012. His offense led the Gulf South Conference in all major offensive statistics and his quarterback earned Division II All-Region honors.
His offense in 2010 ranked 25th nationally in total offense with 418 yards per game and 12th in passing with 286 yards per game while one of his receivers set the GSC career receptions reocrd.
His records continue to mount. In 2007 at Southwest Baptist, Brown’s players set 29 school records, six Missouri Intercollegiate Athletic Association marks and two national records. Flanker Nick Smart broke the NCAA All-Divisions record with 143 receptions and was an All-American.
In 2008 at Henderson State, his offense ranked third in Division II in passing with 330 yards per game and 18th in total offense with 448 yards per game. They set 12 school records including points per game (32.8) and yards per game. He had an All-American and two All-GSC selections including a receiver who ranked second nationally with 121 yards per game. Meanwhile his quarterbacks ranked sixth nationally in passing yards per game with 321.
He played quarterback at Georgia Tech under coach Chan Gailey as the Yellow Jackets won the 2002 Humanitarian Bowl and the 2004 Champs Sports Bowl as he played in the final series both years. He previously played at Georgia Military College and was a standout at Union County High in Blairsville, Georgia where he was a four-year letterwinner and was the team MVP and captain. He also played baseball and basketball and attended Hargrove Military Academy for one year.
He began his coaching career in 2005 at Troy under head coach Larry Blakeney. In 2006 offensive coordinator Tony Franklin and Neal Brown joined the staff and helped the Trojans win the 2006 Sun Belt Conference championship and a huge offensive performance during the season.
Brown, 33, is a 1999 graduate of Union County High and earned a bachelor of history, technology and society from Georgia Tech in 2004 and a master’s degree in sports and fitness management from Troy in 2007.
USA Announces Hiring Of Tim Bowens As New Wide Receivers Coach
USA announced the hiring of former Samford University wide receivers coach Tim Bowens as the Jaguars next Wide Receivers coach. | Photo: http://thebowensbunch.blogspot.com
South Alabama head football coach Joey Jones announced that he has filled one of the openings on his staff on Monday.
Tim Bowens was hired to fill the vacant wide receivers position. Bowens spent the last two seasons at Samford where he helped the 2013 team become the first in school history to earn a berth in the NCAA FCS playoffs since 1992.
Samford led the Southern Conference last season in both passing yards per game (292.8) and total yards per game (415.6) while three of his receivers were among the top six in receiving yards per game.
Kelsey Pope caught 68 passes for 789 yards to earn first-team all-conference honors from the conference coaches and the media. He also ended the season as the school’s all-time career record holder with 250 catches. Karel Hamilton was voted first-team Freshman All-American and tot he conference’s All-Freshman team after a 38 reception, 657 yard season with seven touchdowns.
The Bulldogs claimed a share of their first Southern Conference title since joining the league in 2008 and their first top-20 finish in both The Sports Network and coaches’ polls by going 8-5 overall and 6-2 in conference play.
Bowens also coached wide receivers at UAB for five years where he helped Frantrell Forrest become the second place on the Blazers’ All-Time receptions list. Prior to his stint at UAB, he was the receivers coach at Alabama in 2006, the final year in a four year span with the school where he also served in the roles of assistant director of operations and director of high school/NFL relations.
He played wide receiver at Alabama from 1996-1999 and earned a spot on the Academic All-SEC team his senior year. He helped the Crimson Tide to three bowl games and a pair of appearances in the SEC Championship game. They had a pair of 10-win seasons and twice won the SEC West Division title. In his senior season the Crimson Tide defeated Florida in the SEC Championship game and went on to play in the Orange Bowl.
After his playing career, he served as a student assistant on the Tide staff in the spring of 2000, when he earned his degree. The next two seasons he was the offensive coordinator at Coffee (AL) High School before becomign head coach at Tanner (AL) High School. He was named the Limestone County Coach of the Year in 2002.
Bowens is the half brother of South Alabama defensive ends and outside linebackers coach Freddie Roach.
“I’ve known Coach Jones for some time, I’ve known his sons as well, and appreciate the job he has done from the high school to the collegiate level. I’ve been able to follow his career, and was able to visit with him years ago as well,” Bowens said. “I’m looking forward to coaching in a great conference and to being at a university where things are on the rise. And I’m excited about where this program is going. If you look back five, six years ago, you can see the changes that have taken place and how it has taken humongous steps. To be able to come to a program that is really taking off speaks volumes.”
“Tim is as good of a person that I know,” Jones said. “He’s a very experienced guy, having coached at Alabama, UAB and Samford. Everybody I talked to about Tim has the utmost respect for his coaching ability and him as a person. Of course, I’ve known him for years so this was an easy hire for me.”
Jones still has two open positions on his staff to fill. Bryant Vincent, quarterbacks coach, left for an offensive coordinator position at UAB and Kevin Sherrer, defensive backs and defensive coordinator, left for a coaching position at the University of Georgia. Travis Pearson was promoted to defensive coordinator. Coach Jones is currently interviewing for both the quarterbacks and defensive backs coaching positions.
Spring football practice is scheduled to being on Monday, March 10
Official Football Signing Day List
Here is the list of signees that will be joining the Jaguar Nation. Their names were released today by head coach Joey Jones and his staff.
Dallas Davis is a 6’2″ 195-pound dual-threat quarterback from Panama City, Florida. He is rated as a two-star recruit by 247SportsComposite index and by the 247Sports rankings. He was an honorable mention selection to the All-State team and a first-team All-District last season after throwing for 3,765 yards and 40 touchdowns.
Jeremy Reaves is a 6’0″ 175-pound cornerback from Pensacola Catholic school in Pensacola, Florida. He is listed as running a 4.45 40 and received recruiting interest from Arizona, Florida Atlantic, Mississippi State or Missouri. He was selected as an honorable mention All-State player last season.
Corliss Waitman is listed as a 6’1″ 170-pound punter from Milton Florida. He is rated a three star recruit by 247Sports Composite rankings and is rated a two-star by 247 Sports. He was also offered by Alabama A&M and had interests from Maryland, Memphis and Middle Tennessee State. He was rated as the fifth best punter in the nation by 247Sports.
CJ Johnson is a 6’1″ 200-pound Safety/Outside Linebacker from Douglas, Georgia. He played at Colquitt County high school under Rush Propst. Defensive coordinator Travis Pearson came from Colquitt last year to coach linebackers under Kevin Sherrer and Pearson was one of his recruiters. Johnson is rated a three-star recruit by the 247Sports Composite rankings and a two-star by 247 Sports. Johnson is rated as a three-star recruit by ESPN.com at Safety. He was received offers from Arkansas, NC State, Ole Miss, UCF and well as being recruited by Georgia Tech and Mississippi State.
Malcolm Buggs is a 5’10” 183-pound safety from Opelika, Alabama. He is rated as a three-star recruit by 247Sports Composite rankings and ESPN.com and as a two-start by 247Sports. He is listed as running a 4.4 40. He was offered by Georgia Tech and was also recruited by Auburn, Oregon State and Vanderbilt.
Claude Garrett is a 6’3″ 215-pound wide receiver from Wahpeton, North Dakota from the North Dakota State College of Science. He is rated as a two-star recruit by both the 247Sports Composite index and the 247Sports rankings. In addition to USA, he was also recruited by Arkansas State, BYU, Illinois and Kansas. Last season in route to be named to the First-Team All-Midwest Football Conference he hauled in 53 passes for 772 yards and four touchdowns.
Bryson Johnson is a 6’3″ 285-pound defensive tackle from Wahpeton, North Dakota from the North Dakota State College of Science. He is rated as a two-star recruit by both the 247Sports Composite and the 247Sports rankings. He was also offered by Texas State, Tennessee State, Northern Illinois and was recruited by Cincinnati. He was a second-team All-Midwest Conference selection as a sophomore with 59 total tackles.
Marice Fluellen is a 6′ 175-pound cornerback from Dothan, Alabama. He is rated as a two-star recruit by the 247Sports Composite and 247Sports ratings. Also Scout and Rivals both have him as two-star as well. He also received offers from Furman, Memphis and South Dakota State as well as recruiting interest from Indiana, Kentucky, Mississippi State, Missouri, Purdue, Southern Miss, Tennessee and Texas State. He finished the season with 47 tackles and nine passes broken up while being rated as one of the top 100 recruits in the state by 247Sports.
Christopher Wilkerson is a 6’2″ 175-pound Safety from Bessemer City High School in Bessemer, Alabama. He is rated as a two-star recruit by 247Sports Composite and 247Sports rankings. In addition to USA, he had interest from Chattanooga, Kentucky and Middle Tennessee State. He is listed as running a 4.5 40. He was ranked among the top 75 recruits in the state by 247Sports.
Noah Fisher is a 6’5″ 245-pound offensive tackle from Decatur, Georgia. Fisher is rated as a two-star by both the 247Sports Composite and 247Sports rankings. He wasn named honorable mention for the All-State team, he was also first-team All-Region and All-County.
Caleb Butler is a 6’4″ 240-pound weak-side defensive end/inside linebacker from Enterprise, Alabama. Butler is a two-star 247Sports Composite index as well as the 247Sports ranking. In addition to USA, Bulter also received offers from Alabama State, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State and UAB. Butler recorded 108 tackles, 11 quarterback hurries and three forced fumbles in his senior season en route to being named to the First-Team All-State selection.
Chason Milner is a 6’4″ 220-pound outer linebacker from Spanish Fort, Alabama. He is rated as a two-star recruity by 247Sports Composite index ranking as well as a 247Sports. He was also offered by Old Dominion, Furman, Tulane and UAB. He also had interest from Appalachian State, Arkansas State, Auburn, Cincinnati, Louisiana Tech, Louisiana-Lafayette, Minnesota, Northern Illinois and Vanderbilt. Milner was primed for a big senior season before a knee injury sidelined him for most of the season. He helped lead the Toros to back-to-back 5A State championships.
Corbin Finlayson is a 6’4″ 300-pound offensive guard from Palm Beach Gardens, Florida. He is rated as a two-star recruit by 247Sports Composite index and 247Sports. He was also offered by James Madison.
Joshua Smith is a 6’3″ 200-pound tight end/athlete from Chiefland, Florida. He is rated as a two-star recruit by both 247Sports Composite index and the 247Sports rankings. In only one season at Cascade High School he was an All-Western Conference selection as both a quarterback and defensive back.
Nigel Green is a 6′ 185-pound safety from Flowood, Mississippi through Northest Rankin high school and Mississippi Gulf Coast. He is a two-start rating by Scout.com. He finished fourth on the team with 41 total tackles as he helped Mississippi Gulf Coast CC to a ninth place ranking in the final NJCAA rakings.
Carson Sharp is a long snapper from Gulf Breeze High School. Sharp will be a preferred walkon.
Curtis Williams is a 6’5″ 310-pound offensive tackle from Hialeah, Florida. He is not rated by the rating sites but the coaches speak very highly of him and he was kept very quiet until he was signed by the Jaguars. Led his team to a 9-1 record and a seventh place ranking in the final NJCAA rakings.
National Signing Day 2014 Is Here
National Signing Day 2014 is upon us. As the National Letter-of-Intents are faxed in today, Jaguar fans will notice that this class is focused on defense. Particularly they have focused on defensive linemen and defensive backs to fill needs. But they did not turn their backs on offensive players who could also help the team in the future.
The Jaguar offense will have eight starters back on offense, including offensive lineman Melvin Meggs who missed the entire season with a knee injury.
The South Alabama staff like where they stand with this class. They seems to have hit on some very good players, but just like other schools, they may have missed out on some players they were hoping to sign.
Quarterback Kilton Anderson, who verbally committed to the Jaguars a while back, has since flipped and is expected to sign with Fresno State instead. Defensive back Shaq Jones flipped to Louisville and coach Bobby Petrino though he is reportedly still talking to other schools including Georgia. Defensive lineman Jalen Harvey has verbally committed to Syracuse in the past few days.
Hopefully the only surprises that South Alabama has today are good ones by picking up some good student-athletes they may not have expected.
Look to our twitter account for updates throughout the day. This evening we will have a review all of the Jaguar signees that are announced this evening by the University.
South Alabama Sports Weekend Roundup
Football
As National Signing Day approaches on Wednesday, head coach Joey Jones announced that Travis Pearson will be promoted to the defensive coordinator position that was vacated by Kevin Sherrer after he left to take a position at the University of Georgia under defensive coordinator and longtime friend Jeremy Pruitt.
“Travis is a great football coach and a great person,” Jones said. “He was here with us last season and part of a defense I like running, so I think the carryover with his knowledge of our system will be very helpful in maintaining what we’ve done through the next few years. I’m real excited about having him in this role.”
“He’s in the same boat that Kevin Sherrer was in,” Jones continued. “Kevin hadn’t been a defensive coordinator at the collegiate level, he hadn’t “coached” in college, but I knew he was a great football coach. And I know Travis Pearson is a great football coach. The players love him, they have a high level of respect for Coach Pearson and so do I.”
In his first season as part of the USA defensive staff, Pearson helped the Jaguar defense finish second in the Sun Belt Conference in passing yards (224.6 ypg), total defense (384.3 ypg) and scoring defense (25.2 ppg). While coaching the linebackers, he helped Enrique Williams earn second-team all-conference honors after the senior led the team with 105 total tackles, with 7.5 of them being tackles for loss. He also helped Maleki Harris post a career-high 63 tackles and 8.5 tackles for loss and seven passes broken up.
The Jags look to improve on their 6-6 overall record and 4-3 record in Sun Belt play last season. They lost five games by seven points or less, four of them came by a total of five points.
Coach Jones has three positions to fill on his staff: a defensive assistant to potentially coach the secondary if Pearson continues his work with the linebackers, a quarterbacks coach to fill Bryant Vincent’s position as he left for the offensive coordinator position at UAB, and a wide receivers coach to fill Jerry Mack’s position who left the staff for a head coaching position at North Carolina Central University.
Men’s Basketball
South Alabama rallied from a deficit of as much as 12 points to take the lead late in the game against Arkansas-Little Rock on Saturday. But it was not enough to get the win as the Jags fell 62-58.
Early in the second half, the Jags were down 32-22 before a three-pointer by Ken Williams which was followed by a three-pointer by Augustine Rubit after a Trojan turnover would cut the lead to four points with 16:44 left in the game.
A short time later Antoine Allen and Ken Williams would combine for back-to-back three-pointers cutting the lead to 38-36. A layup by Josh Hagins would seperate the two 3-pointers from another by Antoine Allen that would further cut the Trojan lead to one point at 40-39 with 13:24 left.
USA would take their first lead of the game a short time later when Allen would sink both free throws with 12:51 left in the game.
The Jags would take a 54-51 with 3:18 left in the game on an Antoine Allen layup, but Hagins sparked a 6-0 rally to retake the lead over the Jaguars.
USA was forced to foul late in the game and would get within one-point on a Mychal Ammons dunk with 15.7 left in the game. UALR would make one of two at the free throw line to set up the Jaguars final possession of the game.
A floater by Allen in the lane would only hit the front of the rim, just short of it’s mark. Hagins would add on the final two points of the game with 0.9 seconds left for the final score 62-58.
Antoine Allen and Augustine Rubit both scored 14 points to lead the Jaguars in scoring. Rubit would finish just short of a double-double with nine rebounds. Ken Williams was the only other Jaguar in double figures scoring with 10.
With the loss, the Jags fall to 7-14 overall and 1-7 in conference play. UALR speeps the season series as they improved to 12-10 overall and 7-3 in conference play.
The Jags travel to Atlanta to play Georgia State in a game that was rescheduled from Thursday due to weather.
Currently the Jags are in the basement of the Sun Belt Conference standings at 10th place. The Sun Belt Conference Tournament will feature the top 8 teams, which is still within the Jaguars grasp. Texas State, currently the 8th place team, is 6-15 overall and 2-6 in Conference play. Troy is in 9th place with an overall record of 7-14 and a conference record of 2-7.
Women’s Basketball
The lady Jaguars held on the defeat UALR 61-56 on Saturday. Meghan Dunn scored eight of the final 12 points for the Jaguars to hold on for the win.
Dunn finished with 17 points and her eighth double-figure game of the season. She was a perfect 6-for-6 from the charity stripe and 5-of-12 from the floor while also adding four assists.
Breanna Hall led the Jags with 19 points as she finished just two points shy of tying her career high. She has hit double-figures in her last four games and hit 10-of-11 free throws.
The entire team went 22-of-26 from the free throw line.
The Lady Jaguars improved to 7-12 overall and 5-4 in Sun Belt play. UALR fell to 10-10 overall and 5-5 in conference play.
USA will travel to in-state rival Troy on Thursday for a 5:15pm tipoff.
Quarterbacks Coach Bryant Vincent To Be Named Offensive Coordinator At UAB
Quarterbacks coach Bryant Vincent during preseason camp in 2012. Vincent accepted the offensive coordinator position at UAB under head coach Bill Clark, formerly the USA defensive coordinator.
South Alabama takes another hit to the coaching staff as AL.com reports that quarterbacks coach Bryant Vincent has accepted the offensive coordinator position at UAB under head coach Bill Clark.
Vincent has served as an assistant coach for the Jaguars for the last three seasons and has been coaching the quarterbacks for the last two seasons. Prior to USA he was the head coach at Spanish Fort high school for four seasons where he won the 2010 Class 5A state championship. He coached one season at Greenville prior to that and has a 49-16 record as a head coach in the high school ranks. He was also n assistant coach at Charles Henderson, Spain Park and Hart County (KY) high schools.
Senior quarterback Ross Metheny completed 62% of his passes last season for 2,622 yards, 15 touchdowns and seven interceptions under Vincent’s tutelage.
This is the third assistant lost this offseason from head coach Joey Jones’ staff. Wide receivers coach Jerry Mack was named the head coach at North Carolina Central University, defensive coordinator Kevin Sherrer left to be a defensive assistant coach under longtime friend and University of Georgia defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt.
His loss comes as a very tough time for the Jaguars as it is just over a week from National Signing Day and the staff is now down three recruiters in a key period.
Duwan Walker and Chuck Dunn, who both coached at South Alabama at some point, are expected to join him at UAB to further deepen the ties between the two schools.
“First of all, he’s a great man and a great coach and he did an excellent job at South Alabama these last three years,” South Alabama head coach Joey Jones told AL.com. “We wish him the best. He deserves to call plays and I think that’s what he wanted to do and they’ve got a good one in him.”
Sun Belt Conference Finishes First Among Non-AQ In Revenue
In the final year of the BCS era, the Sun Belt Conference finished first among the Non-AQ conferences in revenue.
The Mid-American Conference just missed out on a BCS bowl and that cost them $6 million, which would have put them ahead of the pack.
The Sun Belt led the Non-AQ conferences such as Conference USA, MAC and the Mountain West, with $4 million in BCS revenue. The MAC missed out on coming out on top with the undefeated Northern Illinois lost in the MAC championship game to miss out on an almost certain BCS birth. Then the conference went 0-5 in bowl games.
The revenue from the Non-AQ conferences were: Sun Belt $4 Million, Mountain West $3.4 Million, Conference USA $2.8 Million and the MAC with $2.28 Million.
Performance-Based revenue totally $6 millin was divided by shares. By finishing first, the Sun Belt got four shares and the Mountain West got three, and so forth.
The big five power conferences (Big Ten, Big 12, Pac 12, ACC and SEC) will split 71.5% of the approximately $400 million in revenue in the first year of the college playoff’s 12-year deal.
The American Athletic Conference will drop down to the Non-AQ status and will split approximately $86.5 million in revenue from the new playoff’s. That is up from the maximum $28 million in the BCS.
As such, the Sun Belt will see a 10-fold increase in revenue which will mean an increase from about $100,000 per team to $1 million per team.
Beginning next season the highest ranked of those 59 schools, as decided by the selection committee, will receive an automatic berth in one of the four playoff bowls below the two national semifinals.
Revenue standings were kept by averaging the rank of each of the schools in the six BCS computers. The Sun Belt was first with an average team rank of 77.39. The top team was Louisiana-Lafayette which averaged 52.5 in the computers, up from 66th after defeating Tulane in the New Orleans Bowl. Co-champion Arkansas State finished 55.66 after jumping from 73 in the average computer ranking with their win over Ball State in the GoDaddy Bowl.
Next season the Sun Belt Conference membership changes significantly. Western Kentucky will move the Conference USA while former FCS powerhouses Georgia Southern and Appalachian State join the Sun Belt along with independents Idaho and New Mexico State.
While the two Sun Belt teams were not the highest ranked teams in the BCS computers, the conference’s overall ranking was higher than the other conferences. The top five from the non-BCS conferences were: Fresno State 32.2, Northern Illinois 36.5, East Carolina 46.2, Rice 47.3 and Utah State 50.2.