Conference USA, which usually can be counted on for a big upset or two against major conference opponents, did not deliver this season. In fact, the young league's performance against quality non-conference opponents of any kind was a major disappointment for a conference trying desperately to step up in stature.

Conference USA's Best

MVP To the victor goes the spoils. ECU's Leonard Henry was one of the top runners in the nation. Tulane's Mewelde Moore may be the league's most talented player. But Louisville QB Dave Ragone wins football games. When his favorite target, wideout Deion Branch, was out for most of three games, Ragone used his legs when he had to and nursed along a young receiving corps to guide the Cardinals to a 10-2 record and an unprecedented second straight outright league title. Coach of the Year Louisville coach John L. Smith and the Cards seemed to steamroll through the conference schedule at times, it was a struggle. Figuring in an injury to starting wideout Damien Dorsey, Smith didn't have his entire starting offensive unit in tact for any C-USA game. Still, the Cards found a way to win and continued the defensive improvement begun a year ago. Smith won C-USA coach of the year last season, and the job he did this year was better. But give a strong nod to Cincinnati's Rick Minter, who blended a new assistant coaching staff with a true freshman quarterback to lead the Bearcats to a second-place finish. Biggest Surprise Cincinnati showed that they were going to be a serious C-USA player by giving Purdue a tough game in a 19-14 loss in the season opener. They beat Army, Tulane, UAB and Houston to get off to a 4-0 conference start, but couldn't deliver against the big boys, losing to Louisville and ECU. Biggest Disappointment Pick one. TCU was less-than fearsome in its C-USA debut, though the Horned Frogs put it all together in one memorable drubbing of Louisville the day after Thanksgiving. Tulane failed to put it together despite a potent offense. Houston went winless. But more than any one team, the league's failure to win a game against Top 50 competition out of the conference looms as a major disappointment.

Louisville's win over Colorado State stands alone as the only true quality non-conference win in the entire league, though Southern Miss still has a shot at Alabama. Louisville managed to separate itself from the rest of the conference by winning games it was supposed to win -- a season-ending stumble at TCU notwithstanding.

The Cards locked up a Liberty Bowl berth with a 39-34 win at East Carolina on Nov. 15. The rest of the conference still is fighting to hash out the C-USA bowl picture, with East Carolina, Cincinnati, Southern Miss and UAB the leading contenders for the league's three remaining bowl spots in the GMAC Bowl, the galleryfurniture.com Bowl and the Motor City Bowl.

Army
The Black Knights climbed out of the C-USA basement, winning a pair of conference games against Tulane and Houston. They may still be asking what might have been if they could have pulled out their season opener, which Cincinnati won 24-21 with a game-winning TD on its last drive.

With the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks on New York City and the Pentagon, heightened campus security and the U.S. Military in action in Afghanistan, it has been an emotional season at West Point leading up to Saturday's Army-Navy game, which figures to receive special attention this season.

The Black Knights continue to remake themselves in Todd Berry's one-back offensive system, with quarterback Chad Jenkins leading the way.

MVP: Senior wide receiver Omari Thompson has been one of the best all-purpose players in school history, with 3,298 all-purpose yards.

Biggest Disappointment: A 26-19 loss to Buffalo in a game that Army was favored to win.

Did You Know: Army is looking forward to the Army-Navy game's move back to Philadelphia this season. Army has won nine of the past 11 meetings there.

Cincinnati
The emergence of true freshman quarterback Gino Guidugli kept the Bearcats out of rebuilding mode and put them squarely into the league's upper division.

Guidugli, who was pressed into action by injuries in game two, directed three fourth-quarter comebacks for victories and showed every bit of the promise that coaches had for him when he became the school's most celebrated recruit. The defense was adequate but needs to improve -- the Bearcats went winless when scoring fewer than 24 points. But Guidugli, senior wideout LaDaris Vann, a solid offensive line and strong (if not consistent) efforts from running backs Ray Jackson and Demarco McCleskey made the Bearcats the surprise story of C-USA.

A win in their season finale against Louisiana-Monroe should land the Bearcats a bowl slot.

MVP: Guidugli, whose emergence could propel the program to new heights.

Biggest Disappointment: The Bearcats' failure to come up with a win over either Louisville or East Carolina. Both games were at home and both were contests the Bearcats had a chance to win. They took a lead against Louisville, and saw a comeback bid against ECU fall just short.

Did You Know: Cincinnati is guaranteed its second straight second-place finish in C-USA.

East Carolina
The Pirates had heartbreakers in both conference and non-conference play. The preseason pick to win their first C-USA championship by most preseason publications, they stumbled in their opener against Wake Forest, and lost their long-awaited showdown with instate rival North Carolina.

Despite a 2-3 start, the Pirates remained unbeaten in C-USA play until a big Thursday night loss at home to Louisville on Nov. 15, in which they squandered a two-touchdown lead in the second half. That was followed by a season-ending loss to Southern Miss, leaving the Pirates to sweat out their bowl fate.

Senior running back Leonard Henry emerged as one of the nation's top running backs, averaging better than seven yards per carry on the season. Senior quarterback David Garrard played well enough to earn a shot at the NFL, but still isn't a polished product.

MVP: Henry used his combination of speed, strength and smarts to rip off some huge runs. If anything, he didn't get the ball enough in an offense that placed a premium on the downfield pass.

Biggest Disappointment: The loss to Louisville. ECU had the lead and the momentum before an ESPN audience at home, but some uncharacteristic turnovers and a big special teams letdown let Louisville run off with the C-USA title.

Did You Know: ECU blew big leads in each of its last four games. It managed to hold on against Cincinnati and TCU, it didn't against Louisville or Southern Miss. Still, ECU is one of only 13 Division I-A programs that has now posted eight straight winning seasons.

Houston
The Cougars have lost 14 straight dating back to last season, and will need to pull of a near-miracle at Georgia to avoid going 0-11.

They haven't truly come close to a win this season, with inexperience being the main factor. Head coach Dana Dimel has put together an offense capable of moving the ball, but the nation's 97th-ranked rushing defense has been too porous to give the offense a chance.

MVP: Senior wide receiver Orlando Iglesias is second all-time at the school with 216 catches and has caught a pass in 42 straight games, the longest current streak in Division I-A.

Biggest Disappointment: In a winless season, how do you choose?

Did You Know: Houston is in danger of posting the first winless season in school and C-USA history.

Louisville
The Cards opened with three straight wins and entered the Top 25 only to be shocked back into reality in a 34-10 loss at eventual Big Ten champion Illinois. They regrouped behind a steadily improving defense to win their next seven games, despite a ground game that struggled for most of the season and a host of injuries on offense. Consecutive wins over Colorado State, Southern Miss and Cincinnati were the keys to the Cards putting together their most successful regular season in history. They climbed to No. 17 nationally before stumbling at TCU in their season finale with a bowl bid and the outright conference title already locked up.

Ragone's grit and determination set the tone for the Cards as he threw for 23 TDs and just seven interceptions, including a stretch of 117 straight passes without being picked off. Sophomore defensive end Dewayne White emerged as one of the top defensive players in C-USA and senior wide receiver Deion Branch proved the catalyst to the Cards offense, accounting for nearly 40 percent of the team's passing yards.

MVP: Ragone, for his leadership and toughness.

Biggest Disappointment: The season's finish. The loss at TCU bumped the Cards back seven spots in the national rankings and took some luster off of a wildly successful season.

Did You Know: The Cardinals 19-5 record over the past two seasons is the winningest 2-year stretch in the history of the program.

Memphis
They aren't feeling to satisfied in Memphis, but there's no doubt the program is on the upswing. Under first-year coach Tommy West, the Tiger offense woke up and the defense continued its solid success.

Memphis finished the season 5-6, 3-4 in C-USA play, but lost two close conference games, including a 36-34 heartbreaker in the season finale in which Cincinnati's Guidugli came up with a big completion on a fourth-and-27 play to keep the eventual game-winning drive alive.

Three straight losses to East Carolina, UAB and Tennessee late in the year kept the Tigers from being bowl eligible after a 4-2 start that included quality wins over South Florida and Southern Miss.

West may have found his quarterback of the future in freshman Danny Wimprine, who passed for 1,329 yards and 14 touchdowns with just four interceptions in nine games. And with West at the helm, the defense will continue to be strong.

MVP: Junior cornerback Glenn Sumter is preparing for a shot at the next level. Following in the footsteps of former Tiger secondary stars who went to the NFL (Eric Harris, Ken Irvin, Jerome Woods, Mike McKenzie), Sumter set a new school record for tackles by a defensive back with 137 this season. His 90 solo tackles is the fourth-best total in school history and he picked off a team-best six passes.

Biggest Disappointment: The season-ending loss to Cincinnati after letting the Bearcats escape from a fourth-and-long situation. Those kids of losses make for long offseasons.

Did You Know: The Tigers final two C-USA losses, to UAB and Cincinnati, were by a total of five points.

Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles may have had the nation's strangest schedule, playing just six games in the season's first two months. They still, in fact, have two games left and a chance to put themselves into a fifth straight bowl.

But that comes only after some early struggles. After beating UAB 3-0 to open league play, their C-USA invincibility was destroyed in back-to-back losses to Memphis and Louisville. After rebounding with a win over Houston, they lost big at Penn State before winning two straight.

The defense was again among the best units in the nation, while on offense senior quarterback Jeff Kelly has led a late-season resurgence. The Eagles managed just 278 yards of offense in their first five games, including just 60.4 yards per game on the ground. They have gained better than 400 yards in each of their past four games.

MVP: LB Roy Magee, a senior who has been a part of three straight bowl teams, anchored the Eagles' outstanding defense.

Biggest Disappointment: The 1-2 conference start, and the loss of star running back Derrick Nix to a kidney ailment before the season even started.

Did You Know: The Golden Eagles have been bowl eligible in each of the past eight seasons.

TCU
The beginning of the post-Dennis Francione/LaDainian Tomlinson era proved to be a struggle at times for the Horned Frogs. Losing star quarterback Casey Printers for the better part of three games in the middle of conference play didn't help.

But their stirring win over league champion Louisville, 37-22, in their home finale gives the Frogs something to build on, and they still have a chance to become bowl eligible with a win at Southern Miss on Dec. 7.

TCU played Nebraska tough in a 21-7 loss to open the season, but three games later lost to Division I-AA Northwestern (La.) State.

Their traditionally tough defense never quite materialized, and an early-season 38-22 loss to Tulane put them in a hole in their first season of C-USA competition.

MVP: Printers. When he was on, the Frogs won.

Biggest Disappointment: Two words -- Northeast Louisiana.

Did You Know: TCU offensive lineman Victor Payne, the Frogs' only senior lineman, can become the fourth member of the 2000 "big uglies" front to be drafted into the NFL.

Tulane
With wonderful offensive weapons like senior quarterback Patrick Ramsey and sophomore running back Mewelde Moore, Tulane still couldn't accomplish much because it fielded one of the nation's worst defenses.

The first game was an omen -- a 70-35 loss to Brigham Young. The Green Wave's defensive struggles led coach Chris Scelfo to dismiss defensive coordinator Pete McGinnis after the season.

Tulane gave up 51.5 points per game in losing its first four before beating Division I-AA Southern for its first win. The Wave's only other win came against TCU.

Tulane continued to have one of C-USA's top offenses, with Ramsey rewriting much of the school record book and Moore finishing among the nation's top rushers. But defense will be the theme of the offseason.

MVP: Moore had seven 100-yard rushing games and led the nation in all-purpose yards as one of Ramsey's favorite receiving targets.

Biggest Disappointment: Defense, defense, defense.

Did You Know: Ramsey broke 29 school records and threw a TD pass in every game he played except his last one -- a 59-6 loss to Southern Miss.

UAB
After a slow start, the Blazers have come on strong to enter bowl contention with four straight wins.

Their senior dominated defense, as expected, has been one of the best units in the country, ranking No. 4 overall. But a couple of early-season missteps put UAB in a hole. Three straight losses to Southern Miss, Central Florida and Cincinnati dashed the Blazers' conference championship bids in September and early October, though they have stormed back against weaker conference competition in November.

The Blazers are still waiting for their first bowl invitation. Attendance of less than 20,000 at home games won't hurt, but they could build their case with a win at Pittsburgh to close out the season.

MVP: Senior defensive end Bryan Thomas needs just one more sack to break the C-USA career record and is a legitimate NFL prospect.

Biggest Disappointment: Their early-season three-game losing streak that stopped any talk of a championship season for the Blazers, who had the advantage of not facing either Louisville or Southern Miss in conference play.

Did You Know: The Blazers are 4-0 with junior Thomas Cox starting at quarterback this season and 6-0 with Cox as a starter for his career.

Eric Crawford covers Conference USA for the Louisville Courier Journal.