Conference USA Football Standings 2012: Rice Begins League Schedule With Frustrating Loss

Sep 22, 2012; College Station, TX, USA; Rice Owls quarterback Taylor McHargue (16) throws a pass against the Marshall Thundering Herd in the first quarter at Rice Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Brett Davis-US PRESSWIRE

Marshall picked up its first C-USA victory on Saturday over Rice, and joins East Carolina and Tulsa with conference wins on its resume.

Unable to come out ahead in Saturday's epic double overtime thriller with Marshall, the Rice Owls opened their 2012 Conference USA slate with a defeat to fall immediately to the bottom of the West division.

The Owls joined the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles and Tulane Green Wave as the only teams in the conference to already drop a league game, as teams get fully prepared to enter the heart of conference play this weekend. Sitting atop the East standings alongside Marshall sits East Carolina Pirates, who dealt Southern Miss a 10-point loss in Week 3.

Already 0-3 on the young season, the Houston Cougars will face Rice this weekend after getting the week off following a 37-6 shellacking at the hands of UCLA. The Cougars continue to be humbled by opponents in 2012 after finishing 13-1 overall last year, and could face a Rice team hungry for revenge after last season's 73-34 final score.

Here are the updated C-USA standings after four weeks of action:

C-USA East	Team	Conf. Rec (Overall)
1	East Carolina	1-0 (2-2)
2	Marshall	1-0 (2-2)
3	UCF	0-0 (2-1)
4	UAB	0-0 (0-3)
5	Memphis	0-0 (0-4)
6	Southern Miss	0-1 (0-3)

C-USA West	Team	Conf. Rec (Overall)
1	Tulsa	1-0 (3-1)
2	Southern Methodist	0-0 (1-2)
3	UTEP	0-0 (1-3)
4	Houston	0-0 (0-3)
5	Rice	0-1 (1-3)
6	Tulane	0-1 (0-3)

Head over to SB Nation's college football hub for more news and analysis from around the league, and be sure to stay with SB Nation Houston for more Conference USA coverage throughout the season.