NCAA Football Conference Usa

If Central Florida's maligned pass defense is looking for motivation, well, here it is: The last time Case Keenum did not throw a touchdown pass was on Nov. 10, 2007, in a 56-7 defeat at Tulsa.

So it can be done.

Keenum's aerial show visits the Sunshine State on Saturday, when No. 12 Houston meets UCF in a key Conference USA showdown in Orlando. Better yet, it's also another great opportunity for Keenum, who has thrown for more than 1,000 yards in his past two games alone, to impress Heisman Trophy voters. That's if Keenum cares.

"I don't know what the Heisman voters are thinking," Keenum said.

"My goal right now is to beat UCF. My goal is not to win the Heisman or break records. Any individual award is a team award. If you're not being successful and winning games, those team accolades are not going to come your way."

HOUSTON -- Already today we've found out Miami and Florida State aren't quite back as much as we believed and Cal isn't quite the threat we thought.

Could there be another back-to-reality moment coming tonight with the 17th-ranked University of Houston Cougars host Texas Tech in a heavily anticipated matchup of high-powered offense. The Cougars, of the Conference-USA became BCS buster candidates two weeks ago when they went into Stillwater, Okla. as an unranked team and left with a stunning 45-35 win over then No.5 Oklahoma State.

Follow after the jump for the rest of Terrance Harris' live blog from Houston.

HOUSTON -- Reclined way back with his feet kicked up on a table in the Houston Cougars' film room Tuesday and answering questions in a philosophical yet aloof way, Dana Holgorsen was channeling his inner Mike Leach without even realizing it.

The voice, the demeanor and delivery were all Leach -- albeit a younger, less clean-shaven Leach.

"I sat in the same room as him for many, many years," Holgorsen, the Cougars second-year offensive coordinator said when reminded of the similarity. "All of that stuff rubbed off, I guess."

HOUSTON -- It seems every football season there is the push to find the ultimate BCS buster.

And there have been some good ones to crash the "Members Only" party for the big boys of college football. The interesting thing is the club of little guys capable of breaking through has been even more exclusive than the club entry they seek.

Boise State. Utah. Hawaii. TCU.

Every week during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.

Championship! -- Texas Tech coach Mike Leach gets credit for taking on the NFL's accepted wisdom when it comes to quarterbacks, and now there's some interesting data out there that found its way to ESPN college football writer Bruce Feldman's blog via former coach Jim Donnan. Its an interesting look into the surprisingly vast offensive divide between college football and the manufactured entertainment that is the NFL.

Every week during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.

U've Been Bad -- It seemed dormant for a while with the mediocrity coming from Tallahassee and Coral Gables, but perhaps rivalry football in Florida is back. A University of Miami commit was kicked out of a Florida-run football camp last week for supposedly flashing Miami's famous "The U" hand signal after several drills. Its unraveled into a he-said he-said drama concerning Florida's handling of his alleged actions, and his right as a paying participant.

Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.

You Can't Be Bad All of the Time -- First-year Tennessee football coach Lane Kiffin has built up a tremendous amount of antagonism this offseason. There's nobody to blame but himself, of course, but sometimes you have to give the Devil his due. For all his transgressions, try not to read too much into the story that Tennessee has been witness to 11 player departures. Wherever possible in college athletics, you want to look out for the best interest of the athletes but healthy, successful coaching transitions at big-time football programs almost require a good dose of roster turnover. Whether he's handled it right is up for debate but the raw numbers themselves should not be an indictment of Kiffin.

Every Monday during college football's endless offseason, The FanHouse Walk will put last week's stories to bed and deliver the essentials to bridge that agonizing space between now and September.

Was He Even Alive Then? -- Tennessee coach Lane Kiffin dove back to the pre-disco era in describing his football team after a recent scrimmage. "I feel like we're in the '60s right now with our offense. We've got to run the ball and throw play-action right now. That's about all we can do. It's pretty scary right now."

Mercifully football has moved beyond '60s era mundanity, but Tennessee fans might welcome '60s results as the Vols snagged two SEC championships over the decade.

The most intriguing pro prospect in college football, Rice's James Casey, has declared for the NFL draft. And if you've never heard of Casey and you're not sure why he's the nation's most intriguing pro prospect, let us count the ways:

1. He's 24 years old.
2. He only played two years of college football.
3. He's a ridiculously good all-around athlete, having spent four years as a minor league baseball player and one season as a javelin thrower on Rice's track team.
4. He was so versatile at Rice that he started his first spring practice at safety, then got moved to defensive end, and also lined up at quarterback, wide receiver, tight end, fullback and running back. Oh, and he also played special teams.

And it's that last one that is the most interesting of all, because we really have no idea what position the 6-foot-4, 235-pound Casey will play in the NFL. After setting a Conference USA single-season record for catches with 111 last year, one would assume he'll play wide receiver or tight end, but that's not necessarily the case.

The beginning of the end. It's the time for bittersweet feelings. Finally some college football after a couple weeks of nothingness (no offense to the 1-AA and D-II and D-III playoffs).

At the same time, it is a countdown to the end of it all. When all there can be are obsessing over recruits and signing day, ridiculous speculation about who will be the team to beat in 2009, and spring games. As Lucy Van Pelt would remind us, "Try not to think about it, five cents please."

The bowls kicked off before lunchtime with Wake Forest beating Navy, 29-19. In case you need a reminder (all times Eastern):

New Mexico Bowl, Colorado St. - Fresno St., 2:30 pm, ESPN

magicJack St. Petersburg Bowl, Memphis - South Florida, 4:30 pm, ESPN2

Pioneer Las Vegas Bowl, Arizona - BYU, 8 pm, ESPN

We couldn't bring ourselves to spend the entire day liveblogging away. Instead, we will be liveblogging during the Las Vegas Bowl starting around 8 pm. A chance to discuss the game in progress, look back on the other three games and look ahead to games in the coming days.