Football returned to West Point last Saturday for the first time since the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and the Army football team did its part for the morale of its branch by beating Houston 28-14 to end a seven-game losing streak.

"We feel our responsibility as football players is to go out and play football -- for the fans, for the Corps, for the Army," co-captain Clint Dodson said after the game. "We're a rallying point. I've been getting e-mails from people all over the world saying 'We are looking at you guys and looking up to you."'

The game was played just one day before U.S. military forces began air strikes against terrorist and military sites in Afghanistan, and with troops in harm's way and the nation on a heightened state of alert, security at West Point will be even stiffer than usual when the Black Knights play host to East Carolina on Saturday.

	“	We feel our responsibility as football players is to go out and play football -- for the fans, for the Corps, for the Army. We're a rallying point. I've been getting e-mails from people all over the world saying 'We are looking at you guys and looking up to you.' ”
		— Army co-captain Clint Dodson

The U.S. Military Academy is an official military installation, and as such maintains strict security even during normal operations. But fans will notice even more measures at games now. They must present a photo ID to gain entrance to the campus, and all fans must pass through metal detectors to get into Michie Stadium.

Military Police also will conduct random searches of vehicles.

"Fans will notice some extra measures," Army sports information director Bob Beretta said. "But for the teams, it will be business as usual."

That is a theme that is taken seriously at West Point, where cadets are drilled in maintaining a high level of performance regardless of the circumstance. The Black Knights were the only C-USA team to not alter their practice schedule in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks.

And now, after their best performance of the season against Houston last week, they have some momentum to build on heading into Saturday's visit from East Carolina.

Army second-year head coach Todd Berry was an offensive coordinator for four seasons under ECU coach Steve Logan in Greenville, N.C. The two are good friends and bring similar styles to the contest.

"Coach Berry has gotten a lot of things done, as far as putting his stamp on things, from last year to this year," Logan said. "I think it's real obvious, offensively, that his players understand what it is he's trying to accomplish. They're really expressing the offense in a great fashion. They are very, very competitive on that side of the ball. The two games that got out of hand on them were simply a product of turnovers. When they haven't turned the ball over, they've been up and down the field."

Berry has acknowledged that coaching at Army during times like the nation has experienced over the past month is something of a unique experience. He said he was particularly moved when "Taps" was played in memory of the victims of the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks before last Saturday's game. Beretta said New York Gov. George Pataki gave an emotional four-minute tribute to New York City's police and firefighters at halftime.

"I don't think anyone ever considers themselves a football player first," Berry said in a piece on the Sept. 11 attacks released by Army's sports information office. "There's certainly a higher mission here. That's well-recognized among the players and coaches. They understand that when they graduate their service may be required.

"Everyone has concerns. It's not just our players that are graduating, but everyone was touched by this. Our guys might take a little more interest to what is going on world-wide, but in the same sense they are mentally prepared for those things a little better than the average student around the country for what happened. . . . I believe very strongly that these people are prepared to do their duty. I don't have any questions about that."

On the field, Berry is beginning to get even more leadership from seniors like tight end Clint Dodson, defensive end David McCracken, center Dustin Plumadore and wide receiver Omari Thompson. Junior running back Josh Holden established career highs for rushing attempts (23), rushing yards (155) and rushing touchdowns (two) in last Saturday's win. It was the second time he has rushed for over 100 yards in Army's three conference games this season.

In East Carolina, the Knights will face one of C-USA's best rushing teams. With a 24-21 loss to rival North Carolina last Saturday, the Pirates lost two straight for the first time since 1998. Senior fullback Leonard Henry posted his fourth consecutive 100-yard game, carrying 18 times for 105 yards in the loss. His 8.73 yards per carry average trails only BYU's Luke Staley among the nation's running backs.

The Pirates are 17-for-17 in the red zone this season, scoring 11 touchdowns and kicking six field goals. ECU's average scoring drive this season has been 63.5 yards in only 1:57.

For the second straight week, however, the Pirates lost a receiver to a major injury. Starting flanker Aaron Harris suffered a broken leg at UNC on Saturday, joining junior Torey Morris on the injured list. Morris, the No.2 split end, fractured a foot in a loss at Syracuse.

Logan said he expects his team to bounce back quickly from its loss to the Tar Heels, despite its heartbreaking nature. The Pirates were victimized by a fumble at the end of an 82-yard kickoff return, just strides from the end zone, and had a touchdown called back after a holding call. At 1-0 in C-USA, Logan said the team's quest for its first C-USA title is very much alive, and provides plenty of motivation.

Around Conference USA

Cincinnati
True freshman quarterback Gino Guidugli played his first home game last Saturday against a perfect foil: the Tulane defense. The result tied a school record, as Guidugli passed for four touchdowns in a 46-33 win over the Green Wave. Guidugli completed 22 of 33 passes for 312 yards. ... The Bearcats now lead C-USA at 2-0 in conference play and have won five straight C-USA games dating back to the end of last season. ... Next Cincinnati will visit UAB, where it hasn't played since 1996. ... After weeks of worry over the team's running game, head coach Rick Minter got 227 ground yards against a struggling Tulane defense. The Bearcats' 539 yards of offense was the most ever under Minter. ... Junior DE Antwan Peek served a one-game suspension for receiving improper NCAA benefits on Saturday. In his place, walk-on freshman Andre Frazier recorded a career-high 10 tackles with three tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble. ... Cincinnati leads the nation in punting with an average of 42.96 net yards per punt.

Houston
The Cougars lost their eighth straight in a 28-14 setback to Army, despite 367 passing yards from QB Kelly Robertson. . . . Robertson completed passes to 10 different receivers, including junior RB Joffrey Reynolds, who caught a team-high seven passes. Reynolds also rushed for 101 yards, his second career 100-yard rushing day. . . . Junior S Hanik Milligan registered his third game with 20 or more tackles this season, making 20 stops (13 solo) against Army to raise his season total to 83 in four games. . . . The Cougars play host to Memphis on Saturday. They have won the last two meetings and are 5-1 in games played in Houston. . . . Houston won last year's game, 33-30, in triple overtime.

Louisville
The Cardinals are facing a major C-USA showdown with Southern Miss next Tuesday, and they go into the game off of their best defensive effort of the season in a 7-2 win over Colorado State last Thursday. ... It was Louisville's lowest score in a win in 21 years, and the lowest-scoring game ever at Papa John's Cardinal Stadium. ... Louisville coach John L. Smith has had teams score in single digits only twice in his 9-plus seasons as a head coach. Of the often-ugly effort, Smith said: "What happened Thursday was that we saw some growth on defense that we really needed to take place for this team to have a chance to win a championship." ... Sophomore DE Dewayne White led the defensive charge with 12 tackles (nine solo), recording four tackles for loss and a pair of sacks. One of his sacks forced a fumble that led to Louisville's only score of the night, a seven-yard pass from Dave Ragone to Zek Parker. ... True freshman RB Lionel Gates, who spent the two days leading up to the game in a Louisville hospital being treated for tonsillitis, will not have the tonsils removed until after the season, according to Smith. ... Junior S Curry Burns picked off his fourth pass of the season against CSU. U of L has forced a league-high 17 turnovers (third in the nation), recovering nine fumbles and intercepting eight passes.

Memphis
Memphis snapped a seven-game losing streak to Southern Miss on Saturday, defeating the Golden Eagles, 22-17. The Tigers defense forced USM into five turnovers, including four interceptions. ... The Memphis defense limited USM to just 60 rushing yards on 34 carries. ... Hardest to believe fact of the week? Coming into Saturday's game, Memphis had never scored a touchdown on Southern Miss in C-USA play. That ended on a first-quarter TD run by Dante Brown. ... This week, the Tigers will try to snap a two-game losing streak to Houston. ... Starting QB Travis Anglin did not play in the second half against Southern Miss after aggravating a sprained shoulder. He is questionable for Saturday's game. ... If Anglin cannot play, redshirt freshman Danny Wimprine will continue to fill in. ... Kickoff for the Tigers Oct. 27 game at UAB has been moved to 2 p.m. ET from 8 p.m.

Southern Miss
The Golden Eagles had just three turnovers total in their first three games, but gave it away five times in a 22-17 loss at Memphis, leading to 19 of the Tigers' 22 points. ... Senior QB Jeff Kelly had thrown 59 straight passes without an interception before throwing four INTs on Saturday. ... USM's defense allowed a total of just 182 yards, including only 79 on the ground. The Golden Eagles are now second in the nation in total defense, allowing 223.8 yards per game. ... The Eagles will be looking for revenge against Louisville next Tuesday. The Cardinals 46-28 blowout win in Hattiesburg last season was the first USM conference loss ever at home. ... Sophomore Etric Pruitt blocked two punts on Saturday, both of which led to Southern Miss touchdowns. ... Senior K Brant Hanna extended his streak of consecutive PATs made to 55 with a pair against Memphis.

TCU
Coming off an open date, TCU will look to take care of business at Tulane. ... It will be the fifth time in the first six games of the season that the Frogs will be on the road. They are 3-1 away from Amopn G. Carter Stadium so far in 2001, with the loss coming at No. 4 Nebraska, 21-7 in the season-opener. ... Tulane enters the game averaging a league-leading 460.3 yards of offense per game, while TCU's defense is allowing just 283.8 yards per game. ... After facing Tulane this week and Army next week, the Horned Frogs will finish C-USA play with a gauntlet of four games against East Carolina, UAB, Louisville and Southern Miss.

Tulane
Tulane keeps struggling, but sophomore RB Mewelde Moore keeps running. In a 46-33 loss last Saturday at Cincinnati, Moore ran for a school-record 249 yards and established a new C-USA record with 336 all-purpose yards. ... C-USA stat of the week: Moore's total of 932 rushing yards in six games this season is the fourth-highest total in school history and is better than all but one player (Army's Michael Wallace) had in C-USA had all of last season. ... With 253 yards passing at Cincinnati, senior QB Patrick Ramsey moved into second place on Tulane's all-time passing list with 7,889 career yards. His first quarter TD pass to freshman Bobby Hoover extended his nation-leading streak of consecutive games with at least one TD pass to 27. ... The Green Wave host Houston on Saturday, their fourth home outing in five games. They've yet to win a road game in conference play under coach Chris Scelfo, going 0-7 outside of New Orleans.

UAB
Blazers coach Watson Brown is scrambling to find some answers after his offense failed to fire for a second straight week in a 24-7 loss at UCF. ... UAB extended its streak of not allowing a touchdown to 11 quarters before UCF reached the end zone in the third quarter. ... The Blazer offense has floundered away from home, leading to their 0-3 road record. UAB has scored just 14 points in three road games, compared with 96 points in two games at Legion Field. ... UAB returns home this week for a meeting with C-USA rival Cincinnati. ... The Blazer defense remains strong. Senior DE Bryan Thomas posted his conference-leading sixth sack of the year on Saturday. With 27 career sacks, he needs just two to tie the school record. ... The Blazers rank second in C-USA in total defense (259.4 yards per game), rushing defense (59.2 yards per game) and scoring defense (14.4 points per game).

Eric Crawford covers Conference USA for the Louisville Courier-Journal.