ESPN Independents and Others Blog

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

OVERVIEW: The WAC has produced a BCS bowl team each of the last two years and Boise State is in a position to make it a third. But WAC Commissioner Karl Benson would be the first to say that his conference is not balanced. The top teams are good, the bottom teams are bad and rarely do the two change spots year to year. Boise State has been the best team in the conference for several years and while there have been uprisings from the likes of Hawaii and some national recognition for Fresno State, it's the Broncos' conference championship to lose.

OFFENSIVE MVP: When Nevada running back Luke Lippincott went down with a season-ending knee injury, it seemed like Nevada's season would go down with it. But sophomore quarterback Colin Kaepernick didn't allow that to happen. He put the bulk of the offensive onus on himself and he has more total yards (1,716) than anyone in the conference. He also ranks second in the conference in rushing behind teammate Vai Taua.

DEFENSIVE MVP: San Jose State defensive end Carl Ihenacho is one of the WAC's most imposing defenders and he's the anchor of a San Jose State defense that ranks first in the conference and 13th in the country. Ihenacho leads the conference in sacks (6), forced fumbles (3) and tackles for loss (8). All of his sacks and tackles for loss are unassisted.

WHAT'S NEXT: As I stated earlier, this is Boise State's WAC to lose, but there are challengers out there. San Jose State and its strong defense will host the Broncos next week, likely giving Boise State its stiffest defensive challenge yet. New Mexico State and Nevada also have emerged as possible spoilers. Boise State will need to skate through the league convincingly to earn the coveted BCS spot from the tough teams in the Mountain West, but it's there for the taking.

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

OVERVIEW: The Sun Belt might not get as much recognition as some of the more prominent non-BCS conferences, but it's competitive in its own right, especially this season. Two games into conference play there are four undefeated teams and they all square off this weekend. The Florida Atlantic Owls, last year's champions and this year's coaches' pick to repeat, are out of the mix. Troy, a Sun Belt staple, is there, but challengers Arkansas State, Louisiana-Lafayette and Florida International are showing the depth and parity of this conference.

OFFENSIVE MVP: Louisiana-Lafayette quarterback Michael Desormeaux might be the best dual-threat quarterback in the country. He has more than 1,700 yards of total offense this season and more than 700 of those yards have come on the ground. His numbers are even more impressive because he's not the Ragin' Cajuns only offensive weapon. He has a potential 1,000-yard rusher with him in the backfield.

DEFENSIVE MVP: Arkansas State defensive end Alex Carrington is the most-feared pass rusher in the Sun Belt. He leads the conference in sacks with eight, ranking him third in the country. He's also gathered 28 tackles, 13 tackles for loss and a forced fumble. Carrington has five consecutive games with a sack.

WHAT'S NEXT: Although two of the top four teams will suffer losses this weekend, I wouldn't put them out of the race. The Sun Belt has one guaranteed bowl tie-in and all of these teams will be vying for that spot. Troy is the clear favorite with Florida Atlantic struggling, but Arkansas State sits atop the conference standings. Louisiana-Lafayette has the most potent offense in the conference and Florida International is the unknown. With the way these teams have played so far, and several threats in the lower half of the conference, the battle for the Belt could go down to the wire.

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

OVERVIEW: For the first half of the season, the Mountain West has proven that it is the best non-BCS conference in the country. Currently, it has more bowl-eligible teams than any other non-BCS conference. It has more ranked teams, more undefeated teams and more teams above .500 than any of its non-BCS brethren. The Mountain West has set itself up for its first BCS bowl berth since 2004 and a possible national championship should BYU have a perfect season and voters see fit to reward it.

OFFENSIVE MVP: BYU quarterback Max Hall is not only the offensive MVP of the Mountain West, but he's the midseason MVP of the entire non-BCS/Independents. Hall has been precise and accurate while leading his team to six straight wins this season. He's among the nation's best in total offense and pass efficiency and is even being mentioned as a Heisman candidate.

DEFENSIVE MVP: TCU defensive end Jerry Hughes has been a beast this year. He has 29 tackles for the Horned Frogs this season, but in the backfield is where he really excels. He has 12 tackles for loss and seven solo sacks. He also has two interceptions -- one he returned 24 yards for a touchdown -- and a safety. He is one of the reasons TCU has the best defense in the country.

WHAT'S NEXT: The Mountain West's top two teams -- BYU and Utah -- are in for some rough sailing during the final half of the season. Both will face the upper echelon of the conference before squaring off with each other at the end of the year. The Cougars and Utes have more to lose with a loss than any other team in the conference so both teams are going to get the best games from teams such as Colorado State and TCU. If they can both make it unscathed to Nov. 22, then that game will decide a BCS bid and a possible national championship berth.

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

OVERVIEW: For the first time in the past two seasons, Central Michigan is not the dominant team in the Mid-American Conference. Ball State and Western Michigan have risen to challenge of the two-time MAC champions while Akron, Bowling Green and Buffalo are trying to keep pace in the East Division. There's no question that the strength of this conference is in the West. There are four teams above .500 in conference, none are in the East. It would be surprising if all of the MAC's bowl bids didn't go to teams in the West.

OFFENSIVE MVP: Ball State running back MiQuale Lewis has been a major reason why Ball State is 7-0 halfway through the season. He's has rushed for 100 yards in each of the past six games. The only game he didn't rush for 100 was when he rushed for 95 to open the season. He has added diversity to a once pass-heavy offense.

DEFENSIVE MVP: Miami (Ohio) senior linebacker Joey Hudson has lived up to his preseason hype as he leads the RedHawks with 56 tackles. He also has nine tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, three quarterback hurries and a defended pass. He is one of the key components of a Miami (Ohio) defense that ranks second in total defense in the conference and 41st in the country.

WHAT'S NEXT: The meat of the MAC season begins this week with a clash between Central and Western Michigan for MAC West supremacy. Western Michigan currently sits atop the MAC standings, but it's played more conference games than either Central Michigan or Ball State. With half the season remaining, it's clear that the race to watch is in the West, but watch out for some of the East teams acting as spoilers. Looks like Akron and Bowling Green are going to lead the East's charge, but Buffalo, Ohio and even Temple have proven to be worthy adversaries.

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

Choosing the best of the best among the 54 teams of the non-BCS and Independents wasn't as tough as I originally thought. As I started to sit down and type, names popped into my head immediately and I went with my first instinct. Doesn't mean I'm right and it doesn't mean there won't be gripes, but to me, these are the best through the first seven weeks of the season.

The non-BCS -- as a whole -- is probably having its best season in a long time. There are still five undefeateds and we're seven weeks in. There are three viable candidates for a BCS bowl and the season is just starting to heat up with some major conference games in the next couple weeks. The way we see the non-BCS and Independents now might not be the way they're seen in the middle of December.

This is why people love college football. There are always surprises and nothing is for certain. Could anyone have honestly said that Ball State would be undefeated to this point? Or that UTEP would be the chief challenger for C-USA West? How about San Jose State and its surge through the WAC? And let's not forget what East Carolina did to start the season and its subsequent collapse.

If you think you know what's going to happen come the end of the season, chances are you're wrong. If you think you know which team will represent the non-BCS in a BCS bowl game, you might want to think again. The midway point is here, but there's a lot of football to be played. And if it's anything like the past seven weeks, we're all in for a wild ride.

Below are my top performers through the first seven weeks of the season.

Biggest surprise: Ball State

Many thought Ball State would be good this year, but no one outside of the Ball State locker room was expecting the Cardinals to start the season 7-0, their best start since starting 9-0 in 1965. Ball State has only had one other seven-win season since 1997 and that was last year when the Cardinals tapped out at 7-6. They've achieved their first-ever national ranking and last week they won their first-ever game as a ranked team. And they've done all of this without their best player -- Dante Love -- who football career was ended with a cervical spine injury on Sept. 20.

Biggest disappointment: East Carolina

After starting the season 3-0 with wins over ranked foes Virginia Tech and West Virginia, the Pirates have fallen from grace. Losers of their last three, the Pirates are in a tailspin. Coach Skip Holtz doesn't know how it started and isn't sure how to get out of it. Luckily for the Pirates, the skid has affected nonconference play more than C-USA East play. The Pirates are second in C-USA East, but the schedule doesn't get any easier.

Midseason Offensive MVP: Max Hall, QB, BYU

Max Hall is a no-brainer for the offensive MVP because no other player has been able to lead his team to the nation's longest winning streak. Hall has been phenomenal this season. He's been poised, accurate and he's been getting some Heisman mention for his efforts. But the schedule gets a little more difficult from here on out as the meat of the Mountain West schedule starts to creep up on BYU. Here's where Hall will start to earn his stripes.

Midseason Defensive MVP: Gerald McRath, LB, S. Miss

Gerald McRath has been a rock for the Southern Mississippi defense that returned just four players and has struggled with mistakes all season. He leads the team with 63 tackles -- 32 solo -- and ranks ninth in the country with 10.50 tackles per game. The numbers are amazing since, with just four starters returning, McRath could be an easy player to run away from, but McRath flies to the ball and involves himself in every play.

Top Newcomer: Kellen Moore, QB, Boise State

No newcomer has shown the poise and leadership of Boise State redshirt freshman quarterback Kellen Moore, who's led his team to a 5-0 start, including wins at Oregon and at Southern Mississippi. Moore has yet to be rattled. He stays in the pocket amidst pressure and handles it with the grace of a fifth-year senior. There's little doubt he'll be the WAC Newcomer of the Year, but I wouldn't count him out of other quarterbacking awards by season's end.

Midseason Coach of the Year: Brady Hoke, Ball State

As described above, Brady Hoke has taken his Ball State team to a place many never expected it to be at this time of the year and the Cardinals are showing no signs of stopping. He's urged the senior leadership to be strong and he's made quarterback Nate Davis and running back MiQuale Lewis into key performers and ultimately leaders. Most importantly, Hoke has held his team together through tragedy.

Bowl bound: Tulsa, UTEP, East Carolina, Marshall, Houston, Rice, Utah, BYU, TCU, Air Force, Notre Dame, Navy, Boise State, San Jose State, Fresno State, Ball State, Western Michigan, Central Michigan, Troy

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

OVERVIEW: It's taken a few weeks but most of the Independents are starting to find a rhythm in their schedules. Notre Dame, Navy and Army are all showing signs that they are better than originally thought. Notre Dame is perfect at home, but still needs a road win to prove its mettle. Navy has won three straight -- Rutgers, Wake Forest and Air Force -- and is well on its way to its sixth consecutive bowl. Army has turned a corner the past two weeks with wins over Tulane and Eastern Michigan. The only question mark is Western Kentucky, but it's holding its own considering this is its second year in the FBS.

OFFENSIVE MVP: Notre Dame quarterback Jimmy Clausen has had his ups and downs this season, but unlike last year, the ups have far outweighed the downs. Every week, Clausen gets better and last week he nearly threw for 400 yards. The one thing that's going to put him in the upper echelon of quarterbacks, though, will be limiting mistakes. He had started to improve in that area until three turnovers last week cost his team the game.

DEFENSIVE MVP: Few players among the Independents have shown as much versatility as Army sophomore linebacker/defensive end Josh McNary. McNary Leads the Black Knights with 38 tackles, five tackles for loss and four passes defended. He was asked to move to defensive line prior to the Texas A&M game because of injuries and he got his first, and only, sack of the season on his first defensive play.

WHAT'S NEXT: There are still a lot of questions about each of the Independents, and probably more about Navy and Notre Dame than any other team. Navy is a big win over Pittsburgh away from popping into the national rankings and Notre Dame is still out to prove that it's a better team than people think. Both these teams will be scratching and clawing for respect the rest of the season. As for Army and Western Kentucky, two wins by both teams is a great start and both could probably nab a couple more before season's end.

CONFERENCE USA

OVERVIEW: After East Carolina, Rice and Tulsa jumped out to a 6-0 combined start, the former two have trailed off leaving Tulsa to carry the C-USA banner for the time being. The Golden Hurricane is the only team above .500 in the conference and the only team with more than four wins (6-0). Teams such as UTEP, Houston, Marshall and Memphis are racing to make up ground in the conference as a whole, but this is Tulsa's race to lose. At the rate C-USA is going and with so much parity, it's questionable whether the conference will be able to fill all six of its bowl spots this year.

OFFENSIVE MVP: There was concern that Tulsa's offense would drop off after the graduation of Paul Smith, but senior quarterback David Johnson has been phenomenal in his first year starting. He's on pace to break all of the records Smith set last year and he's doing it with an undefeated team. He leads the country in passing efficiency and has 26 touchdowns compared to seven interceptions.

DEFENSIVE MVP: Southern Mississippi junior linebacker Gerald McRath has been the Golden Eagles most consistent defender the past couple years and that hasn't changed. He leads Conference USA with 63 tackles -- 32 solo -- and ranks ninth in the country with 10.50 tackles per game. He is the anchor of a Southern Miss defense that returned just four starters from a year ago and is in the midst of learning a new system.

WHAT'S NEXT: Through the first half of the season, the West Division appears to be the toughest side of C-USA with Tulsa in the lead and teams such as UTEP, Houston and Rice all jockeying for position behind it. The East, on the other hand, is wide open after East Carolina's recent struggles. Marshall currently sits in the lead, but I wouldn't rule East Carolina out just yet. It's going through a slide, but it's still in second in the East. Memphis, however, might be the biggest threat to the East. Although it lost to Louisville last week, it still has a lot of momentum heading into conference play.

Posted by ESPN.com's Graham Watson

We've hit the halfway point of the season and you know what that means? It's time to look back at the first half and discuss the good, the great, the bad, and the downright unappealing.

Starting Tuesday morning, I'll kick off my midseason reports of all the non-BCS conference and Independents. I'll do two conferences a day alphabetically -- one in the morning and one in the afternoon -- through Thursday.

On Tuesday: Conference USA and Independents.

On Wednesday: Mid-American Conference and Mountain West.

On Thursday: Sun Belt and Western Athletic

Also, look for an overview of the entire non-BCS on Wednesday. This will highlight the best in the group of 54 from surprise teams to coach of the year to which teams are going bowling. I'll also look at the biggest disappointments.

It's going to be a busy week, so check back often.