1. UTSA They're probably not the best team in the conference, but they've played one game and it was a road win at a P5 program, so live it up, Roadrunners!
2. Middle Tennessee See UTSA but with a loss to Vandy. P5 scalps are hard to come by, and getting one allows you to cut the line in these here rankings.
3. Western Kentucky They're still Western Kentucky and you expect them to figure things out in time to be in the CUSA East race, but the first two games have been ... troubling.
4. Marshall Sure, they lost to N.C. State, but they're showing signs that the miasma of last season may be lifting. A low-key contender that may become high-key by the end of the OOC schedule.
5. Louisiana Tech Hey, it could have been worse. It could have been a safety.
6. Old Dominion Two ugly, ugly wins against an FCS and a poor FBS independent do not portend well for back-to-back games against ACC schools (one of which is ranked).
7. Southern Miss Did what you gotta do against overmatched competition — win early, get the backups some run and don't get anyone maimed.
8. Rice If the CUSA season ended today, the Owls would be the indisputable No. 1 team!
9. Florida Atlantic Held their own at Wisconsin; with Bethune-Cookman and Buffalo on the horizon, we'll see if progress equals wins.
10. North Texas It was a good game in the first quarter at least?
11. Charlotte Eastern Michigan was sneaky tough. Kansas State wasn't sneaky at all.
12. UAB Was respectable for the most part in their first game against an FBS program since the relaunch.
13. FIU A late score allowed the Panthers to survive, but even accounting for the late change in venue, a seven-point win against an FCS doesn't exactly inspire confidence.
14. UTEP Getting smacked down at Oklahoma doesn't mean that much. Getting smacked down at home to Rice does.