C-USA MAKES A NAME FOR ITSELF

To find the hottest young conference in Division I-A football, get off the “L” at State and Lake, walk toward the Chicago River and ride the elevator to the sixth floor of 35 E. Wacker Drive.

There, with a sweeping view of the Chicago River in the heart of Big Ten territory, sits the headquarters of Conference USA. It was born four years ago primarily as a basketball league featuring such high-profile members as DePaul and Marquette. But it slowly has become a presence on the football field.

Don’t think so? Ask then-No. 9 Wisconsin, which lost to Cincinnati. Ask then-No. 9 Miami (Fla.), which lost to East Carolina. Ask then-No. 7 Tennessee, which needed a last-gasp touchdown pass to escape Memphis.

“It has been one of our goals to make our football as viable and as good as our basketball has been,” Commissioner Mike Slive said this week. “We thought that many of these institutions had outstanding traditions in football. It’s proven to be true. There has been consistent improvement. We’re just better and better every year.”

They might soon be bigger too. League presidents will discuss expansion at an Oct. 11 board meeting. Texas Christian, Southern Methodist and South Florida are said to be merger candidates.

C-USA has 12 basketball-playing members and nine in football. With campuses flung from the Hudson River Valley to the Gulf of Mexico to the western shores of Lake Michigan, Conference USA is aptly named. But while it has performed well in basketball, it has struggled for respect in football. In the league’s debut 1996 season, the bowls snubbed 8-3 Southern Mississippi. Last year Tulane went 12-0 but didn’t qualify for a Bowl Championship Series slot.

But that is changing this year. Consider:

– East Carolina has defeated Miami, West Virginia and South Carolina and risen to No. 19 in this week’s AP (media) rankings. If the Pirates run the table, their victories over major-conference opponents might boost them into the top six of the BCS standings.

East Carolina coach Steve Logan said he senses the league’s image is changing among the national media.

“For instance, in 1996 East Carolina beat Miami in the Orange Bowl, (reporters said), `I guess Miami must have a bad team,’ ” Logan said. “The Conference USA football teams have finally come together and given you guys a handle. When Cincinnati beats Wisconsin, you can say, `Hey, you know what, there’s another Conference USA team that can play with anybody in the country.”

– Memphis lost to Ole Miss, Mississippi State and Tennessee by a total of seven points.

Southern Miss held then-No. 4 Nebraska eight first downs in a 20-13 loss at Lincoln. A week later the Golden Eagles did not give up an offensive touchdown in a 23-6 loss at No. 5 Texas A & M.

“It seems like people look down their nose at us, but we’ve been a pretty good football program for a long time,” Southern Mississippi coach Jeff Bower said.

– Conference USA schools are 2-6 against nonconference foes that were ranked at kickoff. That might not sound impressive, but it is more victories than the SEC (0-1), Pac-10 (0-4), Big 12 (0-2) and Big East (1-5) have against Top 25 teams combined.

– Three C-USA schools–Louisville, East Carolina and Houston–have built new stadiums or upgraded their facilities. With growing fan bases, C-USA teams no longer have to face major nonconference opponents exclusively on the road for big paydays.

East Carolina this year came to the end of a contract that sent the Pirates into Columbia to meet South Carolina seven times in 10 years.

“The reason it was signed was so East Carolina could go down to South Carolina and get beat and get $250,000,” Logan said.

The bad news for South Carolina: East Carolina took a victory home with its paycheck four of the last five visits.

With seating in Dowdy-Ficklen Stadium increased to 50,000, the Pirates will accept only home-and-home arrangements in the future, Logan said.

Southern Miss also has had trouble finding opponents willing to visit Hattiesburg. Indeed the state’s two SEC teams want nothing to do with the Golden Eagles.

“(Mississippi) State and Ole Miss refuse to play us,” Bower said. “We’ll play ’em in a parking lot any ol’ time.”

Slive likes to hear that sort of talk. He has encouraged C-USA members to upgrade their schedules and most have done it. The results are beginning to make headlines.

“I think that’s all you can ask–to be in a position to be a factor nationally,” Slive said.

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Volun-tears: The budding scandal at Tennessee is the latest example of a discouraging trend in major-college football. A school wins a mythical national title then suffers actual off-the-field problems. In this decade, Washington, Miami, Florida State and Alabama drew NCAA probation after finishing No. 1 and Nebraska was beset by criminal incidents after winning the 1994 national title.

The Tennessee scandal involves charges of academic fraud and a possible coverup. The school has suspended four players while sifting accusations that four tutors might have performed schoolwork for football players as far back as 1995.

The NCAA has shown little tolerance of academic fraud; Miami and Texas Tech both were banned from postseason play and ordered to forfeit scholarships after the NCAA found them guilty of major violations involving academics.

One question can’t be answered yet. If Tennessee used ineligible players, the league could have its 1998 Southeastern Conference title erased. But because the NCAA doesn’t recognize a Division I-A football champion, the Vols presumably would keep their first national title since 1951.

Payton’s place: With Miami’s James Jackson sidelined by injuries, look for Jarrett Payton, son of former Bear great Walter Payton, to split tailback duties with fellow freshman Clinton Portis.

“The upside on Jarrett is going to be phenomenal,” Hurricanes coach Butch Davis said. “With more playing time and more practice time, you’ll see him continue to emerge.”

Fourth and inches: The University of Chicago got out of major-college football 60 years ago. But a vestige of the school’s presence as a national powerhouse lives on at Virginia Tech, whose official colors are Chicago maroon and burnt orange. . . . Nebraska has limited three of its four opponents to less than 200 yards of total offense. Missouri gained only 25 yards in 32 carries in the Cornhuskers’ 40-10 rout at Columbia. “We’re going out each Saturday and dominating offenses,” rover Mike Brown said.

Purdue hasn’t been to the Rose Bowl since the 1966 season. Oregon State last went in 1964. But the Boilermakers and Beavers can take huge steps toward Pasadena this weekend against Michigan and Southern Cal, respectively. SC’s Rose Bowl hopes are in jeopardy with quarterback Carson Palmer out six to eight weeks with a broken right collarbone. His replacement is Mike Van Raaphorst, whose brother, Jeff, led Arizona State to the 1987 Rose Bowl and was the MVP of the Sun Devils’ 22-15 victory over Michigan.