2012 Conference USA Football Standings: SMU in second place

The SMU Mustangs may only be 4-4 overall, but at 3-1 in Conference USA, the Mustangs control their own destiny to win the West Division and reach the conference championship game. SMU closes the regular season against Tulsa (7-1, 5-0), who leads the Mustangs by 1.5 games.

The Mustangs would need to reach the regular-season finale without another loss, and their next game against Central Florida (6-2, 4-0) appears to be the toughest game remaining until then. The Mustangs also have games against hapless Southern Miss (0-8, 0-4) and mediocre Rice (3-6,1-4).

Central Florida leads the East Division and already holds a tiebreaker over second place East Carolina, thanks to a 40-20 head-to-head victory earlier in the season. SMU's only CUSA loss came at the hands of Tulane (2-6, 2-2), who is likely out of the conference championship picture.

SMU still needs two victories to be eligible for a bowl game in addition to reaching the conference title game.