In fairness to CCS this is an exceptionally young team and this is Charlie's MO-he has never blown teams out, just won. I remember everyone on this board complaining back in 2012 when Louisville just kept winning, heck B.J. Daniels rallied back the team in the 4th quarter-only for USF to lose at the end. We complained that we lost those games, while CCS"s teams just won. They kept winning-all the way to beating on Florida in the Sugar Bowl in a 10-2 season.
The team is not good enough yet to win the conference. That said, if Boyce coming back this week or next to help plug the hole in the middle of the line, I think we will see the team get much better defensively as he will likely command a double team. The OL will eventually turn the corner. While Houston and UCF are truly dangerous teams I'd argue Cincy and Temple are toss ups-Cincy has faced a similarly weak record, and if our run defense improves they will struggle mightily, and Temple has been up and down all year. Both are cold weather games, though, and that could cause problems.
Whether we beat UCF and Houston depends on how well our offensive line plays. I understand Mayes has been injured which is why they shifted him over to TE, but they should look for ways to incorporate that six man front going forward anyway. Ed Oliver will command a triple team and given how much teams like to load the box against us, Salomon, McCants, and Wilcox could see single coverage. I think it's beyond a shadow of a doubt that we won't throw to the RB.