C-USA Top 5: The worst week EVER

Congratulations Conference USA, you just had your worst week ever.

This weekly C-USA Top 5 blog is typically intended to rank the top teams in C-USA, but it can't be ignored how badly the league's members represented themselves a week ago.

All the bad mojo started Friday night when the Rice band made an ill-advised attempt at making fun of Baylor's Title IX issues surrounding the football program's sexual-assault scandal. The band formed an “IX” and made the shape of a star for Kenneth Starr, Baylor's former president.

The Rice band has a history of trolling opponents, but it stepped over the line on a sensitive topic.

Final score: Baylor 38, Rice 10.

Later that night, UTSA put a scare into Arizona State, but fell short 32-28. It was another case of a C-USA team coming up just shy against a Power 5 program.

On Saturday, it got worse.

Western Kentucky held off Miami-Ohio on the road, 31-24, and Middle Tennessee picked up a 41-21 road win over another MAC opponent, Bowling Green.

The good news ended there.

Humbled Herd: Akron thoroughly embarrassed Marshall on its home field by the score of 65-38.

The Thundering Herd (1-1) was again considered a candidate to compete for a C-USA title this season, but that seems unlikely at the moment.

Terrible Owls: Kansas State ran roughshod over FAU 63-7 in Manhattan, Kansas.

FAU (1-2) has consistently fallen short of expectations on the football field since joining C-USA. This year's squad may be the worst yet.

FIU blues: UMass topped Florida International 21-13.

FIU (0-3) always seems to make the keep the score respectable for about two or three quarters, but eventually relents to the inevitable.

Woeful 49ers: Eastern Michigan cruised to a 37-19 win at Charlotte Saturday. The Eagles led 34-6 after three quarters.

Charlotte (1-2) is possibly the worst team in all of FBS. It's going to be a long road to relevance for the 49ers.

Defenseless Bulldogs: Louisiana Tech (1-2) gave up 666 yards of offense in a 59-45 loss at Texas Tech.

After showing signs of promise in a 21-20 loss in the opener at Arkansas, it's back to the drawing board on defense for Louisiana Tech.

AWOL Miners: Army demolished UTEP 66-14 with 600 yards of offense.

Army (3-0) is a much improved football team, but this result may have been the most stunning of them all. UTEP was thought to be a team on the rise to start the season.

Gator bait: North Texas didn't put up much of a fight in a 32-0 loss at Florida.

North Texas (1-2) hoped to have an improved offense this season under first-year head coach Seth Littrell, but the Mean Green managed a pitiful 53 yards of offense Saturday.

ODU stumbles: North Carolina State made it look easy in a 49-22 win over the Monarchs.

ODU has been close to breaking through as a bowl team, but it's hard to see six wins this season.

USM setback: Troy held off Southern Miss 37-31 in Hattiesburg, handing USM its first loss.

Southern Miss (2-1) is certainly one of the better teams in the conference, but it has yet to play up to its potential this season. Even in the 44-35 win at Kentucky in the season opener, USM stumbled around in the first half. Troy was the better football team Saturday.

Mercifully, here is your C-USA Top 5:

1. Western Kentucky (2-1): The Hilltoppers move up one spot this week after avoiding a major letdown at Miami-Ohio. WKU is a seven-point favorite over Vanderbilt in Bowling Green on Saturday.

2. Southern Miss (2-1): The Golden Eagles have yet to play a complete game this season. They travel to El Pass as a 10-point favorite.

3. Louisiana Tech (1-2): Even though the Bulldogs have a losing record, they're still going to be a handful in conference play. They travel to MTSU Saturday.

4. Middle Tennessee (2-1): The Blue Raiders are still unproven with a couple of wins over poor competition. We'll find out more against La. Tech on Saturday.

5. Marshall (1-1): I had to put somebody here. On Saturday, Marshall hosts No. 3 Louisville. If Saturday's score against Akron is any indication, the Cardinals may win by 130 points.

This story was originally published September 21, 2016 at 2:46 PM.