For the second consecutive season, five Conference USA teams will be heading to
postseason bowl games. C-USA has produced more bowl teams than any non-BCS
conference this season and four of the league's representatives will face a
conference champion in a bowl game. Offense could be the name of the game in
several of these games with three C-USA teams and three of their opponents
ranked in the Top 15 in the nation in total offense.


BOWL GAMES

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 16
New Orleans Bowl
Memphis vs. North Texas
(ESPN 2) 7:00p

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 18
GMAC Bowl
Louisville vs. (14) Miami (Ohio)
(ESPN 2) 7:30p

TUESDAY, DECEMBER 23
PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl
(19) TCU vs. (16) Boise State
(ESPN) 7:30p

THURSDAY, DECEMBER 25
Sheraton Hawaii Bowl
Houston vs. Hawai'i
(ESPN) 8:00p

WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 31
AXA Liberty Bowl
Southern Miss vs. (25) Utah
(ESPN) 3:30p

All times Eastern.


NOTE OF CHAMPIONS
Southern Miss is the fourth team in Conference USA to post an undefeated
conference season. The Golden Eagles have accomplished the feat three of the
times (2003, 1999 and 1997) and are joined by the 1998 Tulane team. USM has now
won at least a share of four of the first eight regular season championships.
Here's a look at C-USA's year-by-year champions:

2003 Southern Miss (8-0)
2002 TCU (6-2), Cincinnati (6-2)
2001 Louisville (6-1)
2000 Louisville (6-1)
1999 Southern Miss (6-0)
1998 Tulane (6-0)
1997 Southern Miss (6-0)
1996 Houston (4-1), Southern Miss (4-1)

BOWL REGULARS
Louisville and TCU are each bowl-eligible for sixth consecutive season. Both of
these programs are among the 16 I-A programs that have played in a bowl game in
each of the last six seasons. The entire list includes:

ACC: Florida State, Georgia Tech
Big East: Miami, Virginia Tech
Big Ten: Michigan, Purdue
Big 12: Kansas State, Nebraska, Texas
C-USA: Louisville, TCU
Pac-10: Oregon
SEC: Arkansas, Florida, Georgia, Tennessee

USM IN AXA LIBERTY BOWL
Regular season champion Southern Miss will represent Conference USA in the 45th
annual AXA Liberty Bowl on December 31. The Golden Eagles will be making their
third appearance in the game. USM defeated Pittsburgh, 41-7, in the 1997 game
and downed Colorado State, 23-17, in the 1999 game. Southern Miss will face
Mountain West Conference champion Utah in the contest. Under first-year head
coach Urban Meyer, the Utes posted a 9-2 record and won their first outright
conference championship since 1957. USM has played in a bowl game six times in
the last seven years and has an all-time record of 6-7 in bowls.

LOUISVILLE BACK TO GMAC
Louisville will be making its second straight trip to Mobile, Ala., to play in
the GMAC Bowl. The Cardinals will face No. 14 Miami (Ohio), champions of the
Mid-American Conference, on December 18. U of L will be making its sixth
consecutive bowl appearance. The game features two of the top offenses in the
nation, as Miami ranks fourth in total offense (493.8 yards per game) and
Louisville ranks sixth (488.6).

TCU IN FORT WORTH
After winning 11 games for the first time since its 1938 National Championship
team accomplished the feat, No. 19 TCU accepted a bid to play in the inaugural
PlainsCapital Fort Worth Bowl. The Horned Frogs will battle No. 16 Boise State,
champions of the Western Athletic Conference. TCU is in the postseason for a
school record sixth straight year and will be playing in a first-year bowl for
the sixth time in school history. The Frogs generated 423.9 yards of offense per
game, but will have its defense tested by a Broncos team that ranked second in
the nation in scoring offense with 43.7 points per game. The PlainsCapital Fort
Worth Bowl is one of eight bowl games that will feature a pair of Top 20 teams.

HOUSTON GOES TO HAWAI'I
Houston is heading to postseason play for the first time since 1996 after it
accepted an invitation to play in the second annual Sheraton Hawaii Bowl. The
Cougars will match up with the high-scoring (33.2 ppg) University of Hawaii
Rainbow Warriors for the first time ever in the game. Houston, which averaged
33.3 points per outing, will be playing a bowl game in Hawaii for the second
time (1988 Aloha Bowl vs. Washington State). Under the direction of Art Briles,
the Cougars are one of nine teams led by first-year coaches that have reached
postseason play.

MEMPHIS TO NEW ORLEANS
After finishing with its highest win total since 1973, 8-4 Memphis has accepted
a bid to play in the New Orleans Bowl on December 16. The Tigers will face North
Texas, champions of the Sun Belt Conference for the third consecutive season, in
the first bowl game of the 2003-04 season. Memphis is one of the most improved
teams in the nation, having increased its win total by five games from the 2002
campaign. The Tigers, armed with C-USA's top passing offense, battle a North
Texas team that has won three straight Sun Belt titles.

OFFENSIVE OVERLOAD
Three of Conference USA's bowl teams and three of the teams that they will be
playing rank among the top 15 in Division I-A in total offense. The GMAC and
Sheraton Hawaii Bowls each feature a pair of teams ranked among this group.

NCAA TOTAL OFFENSE
1. Texas Tech 584.6 ypg
2. Minnesota 501.4 ypg
3. Bowling Green 498.5 ypg
4. Miami (Ohio) 493.8 ypg
5. Boise State 489.8 ypg
6. Louisville 488.6 ypg
8. Hawaii 476.4 ypg
14. Houston 453.4 ypg
15. Memphis 453.1 ypg

BIG IMPROVEMENT
Memphis has increased its win total by five games from last season, tied for the
second-largest increase in league history. It also ranks as the fourth-best
increase in Division I-A this season, Here's a look at the biggest improvements:

MOST IMPROVED 2003 I-A TEAMS
School 2002 2003 Gain
Tulsa 1-11 8-4 +7.0
Navy 2-10 8-4 +6.0
MEMPHIS 3-9 8-4 +5.0
Miami (Ohio) 7-5 12-1 +4.5
Kansas 2-10 6-6 +4.0
Michigan State 4-8 8-4 +4.0
Rutgers 1-11 5-7 +4.0
Utah 5-6 9-2 +4.0

MOST IMPROVED C-USA WON-LOST RECORD
6 Louisville (1-10 in 1997; 7-5 in 1998)
5 Memphis (3-9 in 2002; 8-4 in 2003)
5 Houston (0-11 in 2001: 5-7 in 2002)
5 Tulane (2-9 in 1996; 7-4 in 1997)

FOUR FOR EIGHT
For the first time in Conference USA's eight seasons, four different teams have
won at least eight games in a season. TCU has reached the 10-win mark for the
second straight season and third time in four years. Southern Miss has at least
eight wins for the fifth time in eight years. Louisville has reached the
eight-win mark for the third time in four years and Memphis has won eight games
for the first time since 1973.

FOUR OUT OF EIGHT
Southern Miss has won at least a share of four Conference USA championships
since 1996. Only three schools in Division I-A (Florida State, Marshall and
Miami (Fla.)) have won more regular season conference titles over that span.
Here's a look at the schools with the most league titles over that period:

7 Florida State (ACC)
6 Marshall (Mid-American)
5 Miami (Fla.) (Big East)
4 Southern Miss (C-USA)
4 Colorado State (WAC/Mountain West)


C-USA AWARDS

COACH OF THE YEAR
Jeff Bower, Southern Miss

OFFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
DeAngelo Williams, RB, Memphis

DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Rod Davis, LB, Southern Miss

SPECIAL TEAMS PLAYER OF THE YEAR
Nick Browne, K, TCU

FRESHMAN OF THE YEAR
Kevin Kolb, QB, Houston


FIRST TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OFFENSE
QB - Stephan LeFors, Jr., Louisville
RB- Mewelde Moore, Sr., Tulane
RB- DeAngelo Williams, So., Memphis
OL- Anthony Alabi, Jr., TCU
OL- Rex Hadnot, Sr., Houston
OL- Jeremy Parquet, Sr., Southern Miss
OL- Brian Rimpf, Sr., East Carolina
OL- Kyle Takavitz, Jr., Cincinnati
TE- Ronnie Ghent, Sr., Louisville
WR- Brandon Middleton, Sr., Houston
WR- J.R. Russell, Jr., Louisville
WR- Roydell Williams, Jr., Tulane

DEFENSE
DL- Trent Cole, Jr., Cincinnati
DL- Terrell Paul, Sr., Southern Miss
DL- Chad Pugh, Sr., TCU
Dl- Bo Schobel, Sr., TCU
LB- Michael Boley, Jr., Southern Miss
LB- Rod Davis, Sr., Southern Miss
LB- Zac Woodfin, Jr., UAB
DB- Greg Brooks, Sr., Southern Miss
DB- Etric Pruitt, Sr., Southern Miss
DB- J.R. Reed, Sr., USF
DB- Wesley Smith, So., Memphis

SPECIAL TEAMS
PK- Nick Browne, Sr., TCU
P- Ryan Dougherty, Fr., East Carolina
KR- John Eubanks, So., Southern Miss
PR- Marvin Young, Jr., Southern Miss


SECOND TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OFFENSE
QB - J.P. Losman, Sr., Tulane
RB- Robert Merrill, Fr., TCU
RB- Marvin Townes, Jr., East Carolina
OL- Jim Hicks, Sr., Southern Miss
OL- Chase Johnson, Jr., TCU
OL- Travis Leffew, So., Louisville
OL- Matt Mattox, Sr., Houston
OL- Jason Spitz, So., Louisville
TE- Terrell Bowden, Sr., Southern Miss
WR- Maurice Avery, So., Memphis
WR- Terrance Copper, Jr., East Carolina
WR- Reggie Harrell, Jr., TCU

DEFENSE
DL- Joe Clay, Jr., Houston
DL- Andre Frazier, Jr., Cincinnati
DL- Marcus Jones, Jr., Louisville
DL- Eric Taylor, Sr., Memphis
LB- Maurice Jones, Sr., USF
LB- Chris Moore, So., East Carolina
LB- Coot Terry, Sr., Memphis
DB- Tra Boger, Jr., Tulane
DB- Daven Holly, Jr., Cincinnati
DB- Zach Norton, Sr., Cincinnati
DB- Mark Walker, Jr., TCU

SPECIAL TEAMS
PK- Nick Hayes, Jr., UAB
P- Chris Beckman, Fr., Tulane
KR- J.R. Reed, Sr., USF


THIRD TEAM ALL-CONFERENCE
OFFENSE
QB- Kevin Kolb, Fr., Houston
RB- Anthony Evans, So., Houston
RB- Eric Shelton, So., Louisville
OL- Gene Frederic, Jr., Memphis
OL- Chris McGee, So., Tulane
OL- Jeremy Rone, Jr., Memphis
OL- Derrick Sarosi, Jr., USF
OL- Chris White, Jr., Southern Miss
OL- Doug White, Sr., East Carolina
TE- Jonathan Pritchett, Sr., Houston
WR- Aaron Alexander, Jr., Army
WR- Roddy White, Jr., UAB
WR- Marvin Young, Jr., Southern Miss

DEFENSE
DL- Ronald Jones, Sr., Southern Miss
DL- Robert Pollard, Sr., TCU
DL- Eric Scott, Jr., Southern Miss
DL- Lee Roy Selmon, Sr., USF
LB- Derrick Ballard, Sr., Memphis
LB- Jamar Enzor, Jr., Cincinnati
LB- Robert McCune, Jr., Louisville
DB- Marvin Godbolt, Jr., TCU
DB- Sean Lucas, So., Tulane
DB- Alex Ray, Sr., Southern Miss
DB- Kevin Verpaele, Sr., USF
DB- Scott Vogel, Jr., Memphis

SPECIAL TEAMS
KR- William White, Jr., Army
PR- Cory Rodgers, Fr., TCU


ALL-FRESHMAN TEAM

OFFENSE
QB - Kevin Kolb, Houston
RB- Michael Bush, Louisville
RB- Robert Merrill, TCU
OL- Blake Butler, Memphis
OL- Travis Cooley, Southern Miss
OL- Renardo Foster, Louisville
OL- Derek Rogers, Tulane
OL- Herbert Taylor, TCU
TE- Josh Coffman, East Carolina
WR- Leonard Gibson, Houston
WR- Cory Rodgers, TCU

DEFENSE
DL- Greg Casnave, Southern Miss
DL- Billy Harrison, Tulane
DL- Marquay Love, Houston
DL- Jermaine McElveen, UAB
LB- Kelvin Johnson, Tulane
LB- Wade Koehl, Houston
LB- Stephen Nicholas, USF
DB- William Gay, Louisville
DB- Erode Jean, East Carolina
DB- Israel Route, Tulane
DB- Ricky Wilson, Houston

SPECIAL TEAMS
PK- Darren McCaleb, Southern Miss
P- Ryan Dougherty, East Carolina
KR- Ricky Wilson, Houston
PR- Cory Rodgers, TCU


BOBBY ROSS NAMED HEAD COACH AT ARMY
On Dec. 9, Bobby Ross was named head coach at Army. Ross compiled a 94-76-2
(.552) in 15 seasons as head coach at The Citadel (1973-77), Maryland (1982-86)
and Georgia Tech (1987-91). He guided the Yellow Jackets to an 11-0-1 record and
shared the national championship with Colorado in 1990. During nearly nine
seasons at the helm of the San Diego Chargers (1992-96) and Detroit Lions
(1997-2000), Ross authored a 77-68 overall record (.531). His clubs reached the
playoffs in three of his five years in San Diego, guiding the Chargers to their
only American Football Conference title and Super Bowl appearance in 1994. He
also led the Lions to a pair of playoff showings, serving in the dual role of
head coach and vice president for football operations.

C-USA ALL-AMERICANS
Several C-USA players have earned All-American or Freshman All-American honors.
Here's a look at those players (as of Dec. 10):

ALL-AMERICANS

FWAA
First Team
K Nick Browne, TCU

SI.COM
Honorable Mention
WR Brandon Middleton, Houston
DE Bo Schobel, TCU
LB Rod Davis, Southern Miss
LB Chris Moore, East Carolina
S J.R. Reed, USF
K Nick Browne, TCU

SPORTING NEWS
Second Team
LB Rod Davis, Southern Miss
K Nick Browne, TCU



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