DALLAS – League play opens this Saturday night when Louisiana Tech visits Southern Miss and eight non-conference games are on the schedule, making for a busy Saturday in Conference USA.
WKU will kick off the Saturday action at 11 am CT (ESPNU) when it hosts Liberty in the first meeting between the schools. In last week’s opener at Louisville, Hilltoppers senior DE DeAngelo Malone showed why he was named Preseason C-USA Defensive Player of the Year, totaling eight tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss, one sack and one forced fumble.
Appalachian State will play its second straight C-USA foe when the Mountaineers visit Marshall (12:30 pm CT on CBSSN). The Thundering Herd, who were idle last week following a 59-0 season-opening win over Eastern Kentucky, will look to keep the offense going against App St., while slowing down a Mountaineers ground game that piled up 308 yards in last week’s win over Charlotte.
After playing the wildest game of the young college football season in last week’s 51-48 double-overtime win at Texas State, UTSA welcomes Stephen F. Austin for its home opener (2 pm CT on ESPN3). Junior QB Frank Harris returned to the Roadrunners starting lineup and led the team to 499 total yards and accounted for four touchdowns (three rushing) in the win.
Charlotte plays its second straight road game, this time visiting in-state foe North Carolina for the first meeting between the schools (2:30 p.m. CT on ACC Regional Networks). Senior Ben DeLuca (16 tackles and a forced fumble last Saturday) and the rest of the 49ers’ secondary will be challenged by the talented Tar Heels sophomore QB Sam Howell.
Defending C-USA Champion Florida Atlantic will open its 2020 season playing at Georgia Southern (2:30 pm CT on ESPN). The game will mark the debut of Willie Taggart as the Owls head coach as new-look FAU will have a lot of fresh faces in starting positions this fall.
Middle Tennessee returns to action with its home opener, renewing an old rivalry with Troy (3 pm CT on ESPN2. This will be the 21st time the teams have met, but the first since 2012, when both schools were members of the Sun Belt Conference.
SMU and North Texas will meet for the seventh consecutive season, this time in Denton (5 pm CT on CBS Sports Network). Both schools did not play last week after posting victories in week one. The Mean Green’s win included a school record 721 yards of total offense and 57 points vs. Houston Baptist.
Coming off a 10-win season, Louisiana Tech will make its 2020 debut when it visits Southern Miss Saturday night to open league play (6:30 pm CT on ESPN2). The Bulldogs will be breaking in a new quarterback following the graduation of three-year starter J’Mar Smith. The Golden Eagles will begin a new era with interim head coach Scotty Walden making his debut leading the USM squad.
UTEP will seek a second straight win at the Sun Bowl when the Miners meet Abilene Christian (8 pm CT on ESPN3). Miners sophomore WR Jacob Cowing leads C-USA and ranks third nationally with 11 catches for 165 yards through two games.
WEEK THREE C-USA FOOTBALL PREVIEW
LIBERTY (0-0) at WKU (0-1)
Saturday, September 19
11 a.m. CT
Bowling Green, Kentucky (Houchens Stadium)
Television: ESPNU
Announcers: Clay Matvick (PxP), Rocky Boiman (AN)
All-Time Series: Liberty leads 2-0
Last Meeting: Liberty 23, at WKU 14 (Oct. 24, 1996)
FAST FACTS
**WKU senior DB Omari Alexander filled up the defensive stat sheet Saturday night at Louisville. In addition to his five tackles, he had one TFL and his first career interception. Alexander also blocked a punt and recovered the ball at the Cardinal 4-yard line to set up a Hilltoppers touchdown.
**Senior De DeAngelo Malone tied for the team lead with eight total tackles (seven solo) in the Hilltoppers’ game against Louisville. He led the squad with 3.5 tackles for loss for 8 negative yards, while also recording WKU’s lone sack of the game and forcing a fumble on the play. Malone’s 3.5 tackles for loss are currently tied for the FBS lead with two other players.
• WKU recorded 10 tackles for loss as a team at Louisville, which was more than the Hilltoppers had in any game last season. In all, nine different WKU defenders had at least 0.5 tackles for loss.
**Graduate transfer QB Tyrrell Pigrome started a game for the fifth consecutive season when he opened as WKU’s signal-caller at Louisville. At Maryland, he was the first quarterback to start a game in four different seasons since Vic Turyn in 1945-48. Pigrome threw for 129 yards and a touchdown, while rushing a team-high 68 yards on 17 carries.
**WKU senior John Haggerty was named the Ray Guy Award Punter of the Week for his performance against Louisville. In Saturday’s matchup with the Cardinals, Haggerty punted five times for a total of 231 yards, equaling out to a gross average of 46.2 yards per punt. Only one of his punts were returned, for a total of seven yards, which put his net average at 44.8 yards per punt. Haggerty’s longest punt of the night was a 55-yarder, and three of his five punts were either downed or fair caught inside the 20 yard line.
**This is the first of three games for Liberty against Conference USA this season. The Flames are scheduled to host FIU on September 26 and Southern Miss on October 24.
MORE
Liberty Football: https://www.liberty.edu/flames/index.cfm?PID=36964&teamID=9
WKU Football: https://wkusports.com/sports/football
APPALACHIAN STATE (1-0) at MARSHALL (1-0)
Saturday, September 19
1:30 p.m. ET
Huntington, West Virginia (Joan C. Edwards Stadium)
Television: CBS
Announcers: Rich Waltz (PxP), Aaron Murray (AN), Sherree Burruss (AN)
All-Time Series: Appalachian State leads 14-8
Last Meeting: at Marshall 50, Appalachian State 17 (Aug. 31, 2002)
FAST FACTS
**In his first collegiate start, redshirt freshman Grant Wells earned C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors on Sept. 7. He set a program record for the most passing yards in a quarterback’s debut, igniting Marshall to a 59-0 win against Eastern Kentucky. Wells completed his first eight passes and finished his debut 16-for-23 passing for 307 yards, four touchdowns and zero interceptions.
**Marshall had 13 different players catch passes against Eastern Kentucky, including five that scored touchdowns. Sophomore WR Broc Thompson caught five passes for 67 yards to lead the team in receptions vs. EKU, while sophomore WR Talik Keaton paced the team with 68 receiving yards.
**In the season opener, redshirt senior LB Tavante Beckett posted a game-high eight tackles to go with 1.5 tackles for loss and a half sack in leading a shutout effort by the Thundering Herd defense. His sack was a big one as it came on fourth and 6 at the Marshall 33 and shut down a drive by the Colonels. Beckett had another big stop on fourth and 1 at the EKU 44 in the second quarter.
Both plays led directly to touchdowns by the Thundering Herd offensive unit.
**In the season-opening shutout over Eastern Kentucky, Marshall’s defense allowed just seven first downs (its fewest since a 2005 game against SMU) and 166 total yards (fewest since 137 vs. UTSA in 2018).
**Appalachian State comes to Huntington having won 20 of their last 21 games following last week’s 35-20 victory over Charlotte. The Mountaineers ran for 308 yards against the 49ers with Marcus Williams, Jr. (117) and Camerun Peoples (102) each rushing for more than 100 yards.
MORE
Appalachian State Football: https://appstatesports.com/sports/football
Marshall Football: http://www.herdzone.com/sports/m-footbl/mars-m-footbl-body.html
STEPHEN F. AUSTIN (0-1) at UTSA (1-0)
Saturday, September 19
2 p.m. CT
San Antonio, Texas (Alamodome)
Television: ESPN3
Announcers: Lincoln Rose (PxP), LaDarrin McLane (AN)
All-Time Series: First Meeting
FAST FACTS
**2019 C-USA Freshman of Year Sincere McCormick opened his sophomore year in spectacular fashion on Saturday, helping UTSA to a wild 51-48 double-overtime win at Texas State and earning C-USA Offensive Player of the Week honors. He carried 29 times for a school-record 197 rushing yards and reached the end zone once. The 197 rushing yards are the most by any FBS player in 2020.
**Senior K Hunter Duplessis was named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week after he extended his consecutive field goals made streak to 12 with a perfect 3-for-3 day, including the game-winner in the second overtime of UTSA’s 51-48 victory at Texas State. The senior from San Antonio split the uprights from 27 yards in the second quarter and 42 yards midway through the fourth before drilling a 29-yarder to seal the win on the final possession of the second extra period. Duplessis also was 6 for 6 on extra points, extending his stretch of successful PATs to 31.
**Junior QB Frank Harris was named as one of the Manning Award Stars of the Week and the Davey O’Brien Great 8 performers following the victory over Texas State. He rushed for three touchdowns in the win, his first three career rushing scores. Harris finished with 169 yards passing on 23-of-31 passes with one touchdown and also rushed 11 times for 51 yards and three TDs.
**Sophomore S Rashad Wisdom registered a career high-tying 10 tackles and returned an interception 81 yards for a touchdown in the win at Texas State. The sophomore safety’s 10 tackles included 1.5 behind the line of scrimmage and six solo stops, and his pick six, which gave the Roadrunners a 41-28 lead late in the fourth quarter, was the second of his young career.
**The Roadrunners finished with 499 yards of total offense in the season opener, its best performance since collecting 569 yards in the 2017 win at Texas State. UTSA rushed for 330 yards as a team, the third-best rushing performance in UTSA history.
**This is the second straight non-conference game for SFA against a C-USA school, as the Lumberjacks lost at UTEP on Sept. 5, 24-14. Although the Southland Conference postponed football to the spring, the Lumberjacks are currently scheduled to play a seven-game fall non-conference schedule.
MORE
Stephen F. Austin Football: https://sfajacks.com/sports/football
UTSA Football: https://goutsa.com/index.aspx?path=football
CHARLOTTE (0-1) at NORTH CAROLINA (1-0)
Saturday, September 19
3:30 p.m. ET
Chapel Hill, North Carolina (Kenan Stadium)
Television: ACC Regional Sports Network
Announcers: Tom Werme (PxP), James Bates (AN), Abby Labar (AN)
All-Time Series: First Meeting
FAST FACTS
**Graduate senior RB Tre Harbison opened the game’s scoring at Appalachian State with a 14-yard TD run in the first quarter. The transfer from Northern Illinois finished with 87 rushing yards (101 total yards) on 17 carries.
**Redshirt junior LB Tyler Murray posted double-digit tackles and played a role in three key turnovers as Charlotte battled Appalachian State. Murray recovered a fumble to thwart an App State scoring drive at the Charlotte one-yard line on their first possession of the game. His third-quarter interception stopped another drive into the red zone and he forced fumble at the Mountaineers 20-yard line gave Charlotte a chance to tie midway through the fourth quarter. The transfer from Troy finished the game with 14 tackles, 1.0 TFL, a FR, a FF and an INT in his 49ers debut.
**Redshirt senior S Ben DeLuca returned to the lineup after a redshirt season in 2019 and registered a team-high 16 tackles. He also forced a fumble at the goal line on App State’s first possession (recovered by Tyler Murray), adding to his school-record with his 8th forced fumble. With 281 career tackles, he is second all-time at Charlotte and now 25 tackles shy of the 49ers all-time record (306, Jeff Gemmell).
**Senior KR Aaron McAllister broke a school-record with a 97-yard kickoff return at Appalachian State last Saturday. It was McAllister’s first career kickoff return for a touchdown, the 49ers fourth kickoff return for a TD in school history and the first since 2015. The previous record was a 96-yard return by Mikel Hunter during the 49ers inaugural season of 2013.
**After throwing for 3,641 yards, 38 touchdowns and only seven interceptions to earn freshman All-American honors in 2019, North Carolina sophomore QB Sam Howell opened the 2020 season by going 25-of-34 for 295 yards with one touchdown and two interceptions in a 31-6 win vs. Syracuse last week. Junior RB Javonte Williams rushed for three touchdowns in the fourth quarter to seal the victory.
MORE
Charlotte Football: https://charlotte49ers.com/sports/football
North Carolina Football: https://goheels.com/sports/football
FLORIDA ATLANTIC (0-0) at GEORGIA SOUTHERN (1-0)
Saturday, September 19
3:30 p.m. ET
Statesboro, Georgia (Edwin Jackson Memorial Stadium)
Television: ESPN
Announcers: Dave Fleming (PxP), Rod Gilmore (AN), Lecricia Harris (AN)
All-Time Series: First Meeting
FAST FACTS
**This marks the first game of the Willie Taggart era at Florida Atlantic. A Florida native, Taggart is considered one of the best offensive minds in the country and has proven to be very successful on the recruiting trail. Taggart comes to FAU after serving as head coach at Florida State for two seasons, Oregon for one season and South Florida and his alma mater, WKU, to begin his head coaching career.
**Florida Atlantic returns its top five rushers from last season, including four running backs. Junior Malcolm Davidson topped the group with 711 yards and a team-best nine touchdowns, while redshirt senior James Charles ran for 423 yards and five TDs and sophomore Larry McCammon III added 324 yards and seven scores in just nine games.
**Senior OL Desmond Noel was named to the preseason All-Conference USA team. Noel joined the Owls’ offensive line two weeks into the 2019 campaign and made an immediate impact, contributing to FAU’s win over Charlotte and then starting the next nine games. He was part of a line that provided protection for 6,280 yards of offense, made up of 3,956 through the air and 2,324 yards on the ground.
**Sophomore P Matt Hayball is on the preseason watch list for the Ray Guy Award. In his redshirt freshman campaign, the native of Australia tallied 68 punts for a total of 2,958 yards, an average of 43.60 yards per punt. Hayball’s longest boot was for 77 yards, and nearly one-third of his punts were downed inside the 20, while just four were touchbacks.
**Despite having 33 players sidelined, Georgia Southern opened its season last Saturday with a home victory over Campbell, 27-26. Shai Werts rushed for 155 yards and scored the go-ahead touchdown on a 41-yard scamper down the sideline with 6:42 to play, capping a 6-play, 95-yard drive in which the redshirt senior quarterback had rushed for 74 yards.
MORE
Florida Atlantic Football: https://fausports.com/sports/football
Georgia Southern Football: https://gseagles.com/sports/football
TROY (0-0) at MIDDLE TENNESSEE (0-1)
Saturday, September 19
3 p.m. CT
Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Floyd Stadium)
Television: ESPN2
Announcers: Dave Neal (PxP), Jay Walker (AN)
All-Time Series: Middle Tennessee leads 12-8
Last Meeting: at Middle Tennessee 24, Troy 21 (Nov. 24, 2012)
FAST FACTS
**This will be the 21st time the teams have met, but the first since 2012, when both schools were members of the Sun Belt Conference. It also marks the front end of a rare home-and-home series in the same season. Middle Tennessee is scheduled to travel to Troy on Nov. 21.
**Middle Tennessee has won six of its last seven home openers.
**Senior LB DQ Thomas has done an excellent job during his career of distrupting opponent offenses. He currently ranks in the top 10 all-time at Middle Tennessee in both sacks and tackles for loss. Thomas owns 12.0 sacks to rank 8th all-time and needs one more to move into 7th and two more to tie for 6th. He is 9th in tackles for loss with 29.0 and needs two more to surpass Jamari Lattimore for 8th place.
**Senior all-conference S Reed Blankenship was back on the field in the season-opener at Army after suffering a season-ending injury against North Texas and missing the last five games last season. Blankenship led MT with eight tackles on the day, including one tackle for loss. He now has 250 tackles in his Blue Raiders career.
**Former Southern Miss assistant Chip Lindsey begins his second season as head coach at Troy. The Trojans welcome back 19 starters (9 offense, 7 defense, 3 special teams) from last year’s team.
MORE
Troy Football: https://troytrojans.com/sports/football
Middle Tennessee Football: http://www.goblueraiders.com/index.aspx?path=football
SMU (1-0) at NORTH TEXAS (1-0)
Saturday, September 19
5 p.m. CT
Denton, Texas (Apogee Stadium)
Television: CBS Sports Network
Announcers: Carter Blackburn (PxP), Aaron Taylor (AN), Jenny Dell (AN)
All-Time Series: SMU leads 32-6-1
Last Meeting: at SMU 49, North Texas 27 (Sept. 7, 2019)
FAST FACTS
** Teams are meeting for the seventh consecutive season, with North Texas having won the last meeting in Denton, 46-23 in 2018. In last year’s meeting in Dallas, RB Tre Siggers burst onto the scene with a career-high 164 yards and a touchdown for the Mean Green.
**North Texas rolled up a school-record 721 yards of total offense in the season-opening 57-31 win over Houston Baptist on Sept. 5. The Mean Green became just the seventh FBS team in the CFP era (since 2014) with at least 360 passing and 360 rushing yards in a single game.
**Redshirt sophomore QB Jason Bean started the game and was 11-for-18 through the air with 217 yards and three touchdowns, while also adding a 37-yard touchdown run. Sophomore QB Austin Aune came in and finished the night 6-of-11 passing for 111 yards and a touchdown.
**Senior WR Jaelon Darden opened the season with five grabs for 71 yards and three touchdowns, his third career three score game. With 22 career touchdown receptions, he has moved into a tie for third place on the program’s all-time list with David Brown (1991-94)
**Mean Green junior LB KD Davis was named Conference USA Defensive Player of the Week following his performance in the Mean Green’s season-opening win over Houston Baptist. Davis recorded a team-high nine tackles (seven solo and two assisted tackles), a sack, a tackle for loss and two quarterback hurries in the victory. He anchored a defense during its first game under new defensive coordinator Clint Bowen, allowing just 89 yards on the ground during the course of the game.
**SMU won its opener, 31-24 at Texas State on Sept. 5. Shane Buechele threw for 367 yards and a touchdown, while T.J. McDaniel ran for 130 yards and a score for the Mustangs.
MORE
SMU Football: https://smumustangs.com/sports/football
North Texas Football: http://www.meangreensports.com/sports/m-footbl/ntex-m-footbl-body.html
LOUISIANA TECH (0-0) at SOUTHERN MISS (0-1)
Saturday, September 19
6:30 p.m. CT
Hattiesburg, Mississippi (M.M. Roberts Stadium)
Television: ESPN2
Announcers: Dave Pasch (PxP), Mike Golic (AN), Lauren Sisler (AN)
All-Time Series: Southern Miss leads 35-16-1
Last Meeting: at Louisiana Tech 45, Southern Miss 30 (Oct. 19, 2019)
FAST FACTS
**This is the second most-played series in Conference USA, as the teams will be meeting for the 52nd time. Louisiana Tech’s 45-30 win in Ruston last year snapped a four-year winning streak by Southern Miss. Justin Henderson ran for 111 yards and two scores, while Amik Robertson intercepted three passes to lead the Bulldogs to victory.
**Saturday’s game marks the latest start for Louisiana Tech football since 1978 when the season opener was on Sept. 16, against Chattanooga.
**Senior running back Justin Henderson is coming off a 1,000-yard rushing season after carrying the ball 188 times for 1,062 yards and 15 touchdowns. Henderson was the 13th Bulldog in program history to run for 1,000 yards, and he finished the 2019 season ranked 13th in the nation in rushing touchdowns (15) and 19th in total touchdowns (16).
**Senior C Kody Russey earned preseason all-Conference USA honors after bolstering an offensive line in 2019 that among C-USA teams, ranked second in scoring offense (32.5 PPG), fourth in rushing (168.4 YPG) and second in total offense (436.8 YPG). He is joined on the line by returning starter Willie Allen, a senior that started all 13 games last season, and seven total letterwinners.
**Junior DL Milton Williams and senior LB Ezekiel Barnett led LA Tech in sacks and quarterback hurries in the 2019 season. Williams had 5.5 sacks for 31 yards and Barnett had 4.0 sacks for 19 yards, while both recorded six quarterback hurries.
**Southern Miss interim coach Scotty Walden makes his Golden Eagles debut against Louisiana Tech, marking the first time Southern Miss will have an interim coach during a regular season. The 30-year old Walden is in his fourth season at USM, including his second year as co-offensive coordinator, as well as wide receivers coach. He came to Hattiesburg after spending a season as the head football coach at Division III East Texas Baptist University. ETBU compiled a 7-3 record under Walden and led the country in scoring offense at 49.9 points per game, while finishing second in total offense (564.3 yards per game) and sixth in passing offense (365.3 yards per game).
**Golden Eagles senior QB Jack Abraham topped the 300-yard mark in passing for the eighth time in his career in the season opener vs. South Alabama, going 22-of-32 passing for 314 yards. Abraham, who transferred from Louisiana Tech, is 1-1 vs. his former team, completing 73 percent (50-of-69) of his passes for 522 yards and two touchdowns.
**After leading Southern Miss with 73 catches last season, senior WR Tim Jones grabbed six passes for 139 yards in the season opener. He also had a 37-yard kickoff return to finish with 176 total yards.
**Making just his third career start, redshirt sophomore SS Malik Shorts registered a career-high 11 tackles vs. South Alabama. He also had one tackle for loss.
MORE
Louisiana Tech Football: https://latechsports.com/sports/football
Southern Miss Football: http://www.southernmiss.com/sports/m-footbl/smis-m-footbl-body.html
ABILENE CHRISTIAN (0-0) at UTEP (1-1)
Saturday, September 19
7 p.m. MT
El Paso, Texas (Sun Bowl)
Television: ESPN3
Announcers: Erik Elken (PxP), Trevor Vittatoe (AN)
All-Time Series: Abilene Christian leads 3-2
Last Meeting: Abilene Christian 28, at UTEP 22 (Nov. 14, 1959)
FAST FACTS
**UTEP will be looking to post a 2-0 record at home for the first time since the 2010 season. That year, the Miners opened the campaign with a 31-10 victory over UAPB and followed up with a 42-10 win over New Mexico State two weeks later. UTEP went on to post a 5-1 record in games played at the Sun Bowl.
**Sophomore WR Jacob Cowing currently leads C-USA and is ranked third in the nation in receiving after a fast start to the 2020 season. Cowing leads the Miners with 11 catches for 165 yards in two games. The Arizona native is averaging 15.0 yards per catch and 82.5 yards per game.
**Sophomore QB Gavin Hardison enters this week ranked 5th among FBS quarterbacks in total passing yards. Through two games, Hardison is 29-of-55 passing for 353 yards and a touchdown. His 353 passing yards in two games also ranks first among Conference USA quarterbacks.
**Junior CB Dennis Barnes is off to a good start to the 2020 season, tying for the team lead in tackles with 11, while adding 1.5 tackles for loss and one forced fumble.
**This will be the first of eight games currently scheduled for Abilene Christian. Though the Southland Conference will not play football this fall, the Wildcats elected to play a fall non-conference slate.
