USF's path to the American Conference championship game seemed closed after the Bulls lost at Navy. While they technically had a pulse in the race, it looked like too many things had to go in their favor to keep their title hopes alive.
But Bulls fans were given at least a little bit of hope Tuesday when North Texas coach Eric Morris surprisingly announced that he had taken the Oklahoma State job. That development assured that USF will do some scoreboard watching starting on Thursday
.Depending how things go, USF could take the field against Rice knowing a win could put them in the title game.
According to the American Conference website, here's what has to happen for the Bulls to advance to the championship game.
First, USF has to beat Rice. The Bulls are favored by 27.5 points Saturday night at Raymond James Stadium.
Assuming the Bulls hold serve, they then need two of the three teams with 6-1 conference records to lose.
1. Navy at Memphis, 7:30 p.m. Thursday on ESPN. The Tigers are 5.5-point favorites.
2. Temple at North Texas, 3:30 p.m. Friday on ESPN. This is the wild card. The Mean Green is favored by 19.5 points, but how will they react to the news that their coach is leaving as soon as their season is done? Morris said he won't go to Stillwater until the North Texas season is over, but the news out of Denton, Texas is bound to be a distraction.
3. East Carolina at Florida Atlantic, noon, Saturday on ESPN+, Even if the Pirates win, they probably couldn't overtake USF in tie-breaking procedures.
4. Charlotte at Tulane, 7:30 p.m. No way the Green Wave loses that one.
Tulane is the likely host for the conference championship game. The odds aren't great that USF will make the trip to New Orleans, but they're at least a little bit better than they were when the week began.