Conference USA Football Standings 2012: Rice making late push to jump Houston

No team is rising faster in Conference USA than the Rice Owls. The only conference team on a three-game winning streak heading into the final week of the regular season beat fellow West Division squad Southern Methodist on Saturday to move to 5-6 on the year and 3-4 in C-USA play.

Rice sits in fourth place in C-USA, but third could be within reach.

The toppling of the Mustangs, who are second place in C-USA West, wasn't taken advantage of by the third-place Houston Cougars. They lost 44-41 on Saturday after a second-half rally fell short against Marshall, and now the Cougars sit with the Owls at 3-4 in conference play.

Houston (4-7) holds the tiebreaker, but with a finale against C-USA West's leader in Tulsa this week, the Owls could very well jump the Cougars in the final standings. Rice plays the UTEP Miners, who are just 2-5 in conference action, in its final game.

Tulane sits alone at the bottom of C-USA West.

Here's a look at the full C-USA standings.