No other way to slice it. This was a rough weekend for me as a sports fan. After the shellacking that the Pittsburgh Steelers endured at the hands of the Patriots today, that would be bad enough alone to ruin my sports weekend. However, after a 34-17 meltdown in Boca Raton yesterday, things are pretty rough right now.

That said, the sky hasn't fallen on Tulane yet, as disappointing as Saturday turned out to be. Tulane is still off to its best start in-conference since the otherworldly 1998 season at 4-1. Moreover, they have two great opportunities coming up in UT San Antonio and UTEP before the final dance with the Rice Owls.

Here are the Power Rankings for Conference USA: Week 11. I'll attach last week's rank, in addition to each team's record, for you reference. Weigh in below in the comments or on Twitter @fearthewaveblog.
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14. Southern Mississippi (0-8 Record // 0-4 in CUSA // L to Marshall) [14th]
Notes: Dumpster fire. It shouldn't count as a win unless you put up 50+ on the Golden Eagles this season.

13. Florida International (1-7 Record // 0-3 in CUSA // L to ECU) [12th]

12. UTEP (1-6 Record // 0-4 in CUSA // L to Texas A&M) [13th]
Notes: Moving UTEP up one spot because the Miners played a first quarter of competitive football against a vastly superior team, before Johnny Manziel decided to shift into gear. That was the end of that.

11. UAB (2-6 Record // 1-3 in CUSA // L to MTSU) [11th]
Notes: Played a close game against Middle Tennessee State University, but a good loss won't be good enough to jumpstart their season.

10. Tulsa (2-6 Record // 1-3 in CUSA // L to UTSA) [9th]
Notes: Tulsa's stock continues to freefall. The Golden Hurricanes, one year removed from playing the conference championship, took a beating at the hands of UT San Antonio. This officially is a lost year for the Oklahoma squad.

9. Louisiana Tech (3-5 Record // 2-2 in CUSA // Bye) [8th]

8. Middle Tennessee State (5-4 Record // 3-2 in Conference // W against UAB) [6th]
Notes: Downgrading MTSU after a win doesn't make a lot of sense. However, they showed their vulnerability against UAB, and a couple of other squads produced more firepower in Week 10.

7. Florida Atlantic University (3-6 Record // 2-4 in CUSA // W against Tulane) [10th]
Notes: Bumping FAU after taking down conference-leader Tulane in a convincing fashion. After facing national humiliation at the hands of their coaching staff, this team found a way to get fired up and protect their Homecoming. The FAU Owls could still claw their way into bowl eligibility, especially with a weak schedule in front of them.

6. UT San Antonio (4-5 Record // 3-2 in CUSA // W against Tulsa) [7th]
Notes: UTSA's stock continues to rise. This week, they laid a smackdown on Tulsa's home field that effectively ended the Golden Hurricanes' season. UTSA is working their way into bowl eligibility, and you can expect that they will be fired up for a home matchup against Tulane this weekend.

5. Marshall (5-3 Record // 3-1 in CUSA // W against USM) [5th]

4. Tulane (6-3 Record // 4-1 in CUSA // L against FAU) [2nd]
Notes: At this level, the top five teams are very tightly bunched, reflecting the final five in both divisions. Here's the deal. The Green Wave is absolutely still in position to control its own destiny over the next three games. The key variable will be Coach CJ's ability to figure out this offense and produce a stable passing game. Without that, UTSA will be a trap game, and Rice could become very challenging as well.

3. Rice (6-3 Record // 4-1 in CUSA // L against UNT) [1st]
Notes: Rice is still ahead of the Green Wave because, simply put, they played better ball on the road against UNT. The Owls still have a great shot to win the conference, as victories against Louisiana Tech and UAB will 100% give Rice a "win-and-you're-in" scenario in the final week of the regular season.

2. UNT (6-3 Record // 4-1 in CUSA // W against Rice) [4th]
Notes: The Mean Green look hungry. The biggest factor working against them is that they would lose the tiebreaker with Tulane due to a head-to-head loss earlier this year. So for that reason, expect the fans in Denton to be pulling hard for the Green Wave's opponents in this final stretch.

1. ECU (6-2 Record // 4-1 in CUSA // W against FIU) [3rd]
Notes: Remember that outlive, outlast, outplay slogan that "Survivor" used to use? That pretty much describes the Pirates' placement this week. They are continuing to take care of business, and they control their own destiny to win the East Division. A final matchup with Marshall could determine the divisional champion if the Thundering Herd remain error free over the next two weeks.

At this moment, the University of North Texas is leading the 4-0 Rice Owls in the fourth quarter. While I have learned not to speculate at such moments, it did spark my interest in clarifying Conference USA's tiebreaker formula to determine the divisional champions.

As we all know, in Conference USA West, we currently have the following setup:
1. Tulane: 4-0 in CUSA and 6-2 Overall
1. Rice: 4-0 in CUSA and 6-2 Overall
3. North Texas: 3-1 in CUSA* and 5-3 Overall
* indicates that UNT has already lost to Tulane. More on that.

Now the perplexing thing is that Conference USA does not seem to have an official post establishing their formula for tiebreakers. Here's their "Format" site for 2013, which provides no mention of tiebreakers for the division.

I keep reminding myself that it's the last year for us... Anyway, from what I gathered while cross-referencing past seasons as well as several C-USA message boards, here's the "Fear the Wave somewhat official tiebreaker" for Conference USA football's divisions.

1. The best record in Conference USA-play will advance.
2. If tied, the head-to-head matchup decides who advances
3. If still tied, divisional record would be the next measure (which is weird, as teams in the same division will play each other each year)

So there you have it. Let's say that hypothetically, a school in Denton, TX (3-1) was playing a school in Houston, TX (4-0). That Denton teams wins, making each team 4-1. Then, the Denton U would then control the tiebreaker over Houston.

Now let's say there is an additional team from Louisiana, in this example. They are 4-0 and have not played Houston, but they have already beaten Denton. In other words, they control the tiebreaker with Denton but would lose to Houston if both had the same record in-conference and Houston handed Louisiana its only loss (7-1 and 7-1, Houston advances).

However, if Houston lost to Denton and one additional game, Louisiana would still advance even if it lost to Houston (Louisiana 7-1, Denton 7-1*, Houston 6-2).

Now, for any of these scenarios, let's say that both East and West divisions produced a tied in-conference record. If both teams were 7-1, let's say, the order would be the following to determine the Conference USA Championship host:

1. Record in-conference
2. Head-to-head record, if available
3. Highest ranking under the BCS ranking model

That format is confirmed here by CSTV.

So what does that all mean? It would be stellar if Tulane can win them all coming down the line. But if nothing else, the team absolutely controls its own fate in this final stretch of the season.

**UPDATE on the Results of UNT vs. Rice: 

#1
— Lorenzo Doss (@Lorenzo_Doss) November 1, 2013

Conference USA is beginning to see the contenders and pretenders divide as we move into the late part of the season.

For reference, here is our last set of Power Rankings. Short Story: Rice and Tulane are currently surging, while Marshall and Tulsa saw their stock fall. ECU and Marshall are now tied in the East division heading into the conference race.
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14. Southern Mississippi (0-7 Record // 0-3 in Conference // L to UNT) [14th] 
Notes: USM's 2013 campaign continues to sink deeper and deeper. Last week, they were blown out by an angry East Carolina program, and they followed this week with a stomping at the hands of UNT. The team's only hope to avoid a winless year may be Nov. 16th's home matchup with Florida Atlantic.

13. UTEP (1-6 Record // 0-4 in Conference // L to Rice) [12th]

12. Florida International (1-6 Record // 1-2 in Conference // L to LT) [13th]

11. UAB (2-5 Record // 1-2 in Conference // L to UT-SA) [10th] 
Notes: UAB has been one of those teams that I've been curious about. However, after trailing at halftime 38-10 to UT San Antonio, it became overwhelmingly clear that UAB is headed for a hopeless 2013 season.

10. Florida Atlantic (2-6 Record // 1-4 in Conference // L to Auburn) [12th] 
Notes: Florida Atlantic had the "honor" of playing one of those late season cupcake non-conference games beloved by the SEC. Auburn handed FAU a 45-10 beatdown, not unexpectedly. FAU will look to refocus for an in-conference home game against Tulane.

9. Tulsa (2-5 Record // 1-2 in Conference // L to Tulane) [6th]
Notes: Tulsa had never lost to Tulane in the history of Conference USA. In fact, the last Green Wave victory over the Golden Hurricanes was in 1968. Richard Nixon defeated Humphrey in the Presidential election that fall. It's been a while. Tulsa is now unable to defend its conference championship with a 1-2 record.

8. Louisiana Tech (3-5 Record // 2-2 in Conference // W @ FIU) [7th]

7. UT San Antonio (3-5 Record // 2-2 in Conference // W against UAB) [9th]
Notes: Nothing special to say about San Antonio's Roadrunners. They picked up a big win over a bad UAB team, but they have dropped games to both Marshall and Rice pretty heavily. UTSA doesn't have the strength or the record to contend this year.

6. Middle Tennessee State (4-4 Record // 2-2 in Conference // W against Marshall) [8th] 

5. Marshall (4-3 Record // 2-1 in Conference // L @ MTSU) [1st] 
Notes: Marshall took a damning road loss against Middle Tennessee State, a team that has struggled with consistency throughout 2013. The damage is substantial, as they forfeited their one game lead in the Conference USA East division. East Carolina will have an equal change to duke it out for a trip to the conference championship.

4. North Texas (5-3 Record // 3-1 in Conference // W @ Southern Miss) [5th] 
Notes: UNT took care of business by smoking a terrible Southern Miss team. That said, their 3-1 record in conference leaves the Mean Green on the outside looking in. In the West division, both Tulane and Rice hold 4-0 records at this point without many opportunities to falter ahead.

3. East Carolina (5-2 Record // 3-1 in Conference // Bye) [4th] 

2. Tulane (6-2 Record // 4-0 in Conference // W against Tulsa) [2nd] 
Notes: Objectively the strongest the program has been since 2002. Getting the Tulsa monkey off of the Green Wave's back (wave?) is a huge step in the right direction. That said, the offense is still shaky until the Nick Montana injury is fully resolved. Luckily, Devin Powell continues to put in his best effort, and the team is 2-0 without Montana under center.

1. Rice (6-2 Record // 4-0 in Conference // W against UTEP [3rd] 
Notes: Rice's season has equaled Tulane's thus far. The deciding factor in this week's ranking? Rice throttled UTEP 45-7, playing lockdown defense and firing on all cylinders on offense. At this stage of the season, the West division is a two horse race, and all signs point to the regular season finale between Rice and Tulane as a can't miss game.

Thoughts on the Week 10 Power Rankings? Sound off on Twitter @fearthewaveblog.

Here are your Conference USA Power Rankings going into Week 8 of the college football season.

For reference, here is last week's rankings. I have listed each team's record, conference record, result, and last week's position in brackets.

Sound off in the comments or to @fearthewaveblog on Twitter.
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Week 8 Power Rankings: 

14. Southern Mississippi (0-6 Record // 0-1 in Conference // Bye) [14th]

13. Florida International (1-5 Record // 1-1 in Conference // L to UAB) [13th]

Notes: Florida International didn't show a sign of life this week against UAB, another Conference USA bottom feeder this year. That dropped their in-conference record to 1-1, and they likely will continue to fall going into the tougher conference matchups.

12. UTEP (1-5 Record // 0-3 in Conference // L to Tulsa) [12th]

11. Florida Atlantic (2-5 Record // 1-4 in Conference // L against Marshall) [10th]

Notes: You have to hand it to Florida Atlantic. They have a drubbing next week when they head to #24 Auburn, and the early season has not been good to FAU. That said, they almost slipped by a much stronger Marshall team in a 24-23 loss this weekend. FAU is ahead of the bottom of the pack, but not by much. They have already dug themselves into a deep conference hole, and the squad is effectively eliminated from contending this year.

10. UAB (2-4 Record // 1-1 in Conference // W against FIU) [11th]

Notes: UAB picked up a Conference USA victory against Florida International, but that won't do enough to move the Dragons in front of the the middle of the conference pack. They will continue to lag toward the bottom unless the team picks up the pace in the late season.

9. UT San Antonio (2-4 Record // 1-1 in Conference // L against Rice) [9th] 

8. Middle Tennessee State (3-4 Record // 1-2 in Conference // L against UNT) [5th]

Notes: In a week without a lot of movement, MTSU is the biggest stock dropping. They were slammed last weekend on a road trip to Denton, TX. A UNT team reeling from a Tulane loss took care of business. MTSU has not competed against any solid competition and continues to falter against the middle and bottom of the conference.

7.  Louisiana Tech (2-4 Record // 1-1 in Conference // W against UTEP) [8th]

6. Tulsa (2-4 Record // 1-1 in Conference // Bye) [7th]

5. North Texas (3-3 Record // 1-1 in Conference // W against MTSU) [6th]

Notes: UNT came back from a loss to Tulane in the fourth quarter by taking care of business against MTSU. The bad news is that Rice and Tulane are both undefeated in conference, so the Mean Green cannot afford another loss.

4. East Carolina (4-2 Record // 1-1 in Conference // L against Tulane) [2nd] 

Notes: ECU has churned out conference championship-level competition over the years, but a triple overtime thriller pushed the Pirates a game back in their division. Marshall is the key barrier for ECU to return to the conference title game. Fortunately, they will have a matchup with bottom dweller USM next week to recover from their New Orleans trip.

3. Rice (4-2 Record // 3-0 in Conference // W against UTSA) [3rd] 

Notes: Rice is 3-0 and tied for the division of Tulane. Comparing their schedules, the final game of the regular season could very well determine the division champion when the Owls face off against the Green Wave. That game will be in Houston this season.

2. Tulane (5-2 Record // 3-0 in Conference // W against ECU) [4th]

Notes: Coach Curtis Johnson picked up his first signature win on Saturday when Tulane held on to win an enormous game in three overtimes. The game was the longest in Green Wave history, and it was highlighted by Lou Groza award-winner Cairo Santos' five field goals (including the game winner). Tulane heads into the bye week in the driver's seat for their division.

1. Marshall (4-2 Record // 2-0 in Conference // W against FAU) [1st] 

Notes: The Thundering Herd retain their top spot after sneaking past a much weaker Florida Atlantic team. That said, they have taken care of business so far in the conference. More importantly, they have the strongest-looking game on the schedule, having taken ranked Virginia Tech to three overtimes before ultimately losing. Marshall has ability, and, thanks to Tulane, a one game lead over perennial power ECU.