Ten Conference USA teams are in action this week, with nine games spread over three days. On league game is on the slate, three games will be against the American Athletic Conference and three games will be vs. the Sun Belt.
UAB will play its third straight Thursday night game when the Blazers drive downstate to meet South Alabama in Mobile for the first time (7 p.m. CT on ESPN). The UAB pass defense will be tested by a Jaguars squad that is sixth in the nation in passing offense, averaging 342.0 yards per game through the air.
In a game that was not on the schedule until this past Saturday, Middle Tennessee will now travel to UTSA (7 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network), as the Blue Raiders replace Memphis, which was unable to play due to COVID cases and quarantining. The Roadrunners have produced back-to-back C-USA Offensive Players of the Week in sophomore RB Sincere McCormick (the nation’s leading rusher) and junior QB Frank Harris (the FBS leader in rushing touchdowns).
A seven game Saturday begins at 11 am CT when Georgia State comes to Charlotte for the 49ers home opener (ESPNU). Redshirt junior LB Tyler Murray (14) and Redshirt senior S Ben DeLuca (16) combined for 30 tackles in Charlotte’s season opener and will lead the defense against a Panthers team that took nationally-ranked Louisiana-Lafayette to overtime last week.
FIU will open season number four under head coach Butch Davis when the Panthers make their first visit to Liberty (12 p.m. CT on ESPN3). FIU will feature 15 new starters as it looks to knock off a Flames team that won at WKU last Saturday.
Longtime rivals Tulane and Southern Miss meet for the 32nd time, but the first time in the regular season since 2013 when the Green Wave make the 100-mile trek up to Hattiesburg (1:30 p.m. CT on Stadium). Golden Eagles senior QB Jack Abraham is coming off a three touchdown passing performance in their conference opener last Saturday night.
UTEP will be looking to improve to 3-1 for the first time since the 2010 season when it visits Louisiana-Monroe (2:30 p.m. CT on ESPNU). Miners sophomore WR Jacob Cowing has a nation-leading 19 receptions for 275 yards (second in the FBS).
Defending C-USA Champion Florida Atlantic is scheduled open its 2020 season by hosting South Florida (6 pm CT on CBSSN). 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 as it faces the team Taggart coached from 2013-16.
Fresh off a thrilling last minute win at Southern Miss, Louisiana Tech will welcome Houston Baptist for its home opener (6 p.m. CT on ESPN3). Bulldogs freshman LB Tyler Grubbs was named the Athlon Sports Defensive National Freshman of the Week after recording 16 tackles in his collegiate debut.
North Texas will take to the road to meet Houston for the second straight season (6 pm CT on ESPN+). The Mean Green rank second in the FBS in total yards with 1,238 through their first two games.
WEEK FOUR C-USA FOOTBALL PREVIEW
UAB (1-1) at SOUTH ALABAMA (1-1)
Thursday, September 24
6:30 p.m. CT
Mobile, Alabama (Hancock Whitney Stadium)
Television: ESPN
Announcers: Matt Barrie (PxP), Mike Golic, Jr. (AN), Lauren Sisler (SL)
All-Time Series: UAB leads 1-0
Last Meeting: at UAB 35, South Alabama 3 (Sept. 21, 2019)
FAST FACTS
**UAB won the first meeting between the schools, 35-3 at Legion Field last season. Quarterback Tyler Johnston III threw three touchdowns, while RB Spencer Brown ran for two scores.
**Senior RB Spencer Brown is approaching another major milestone in his career. He is three rushing touchdowns shy of becoming the program’s record holder in that category. Brown scored his 33rd career rushing TD at Miami and is approaching Pat Green (1991-94) who currently has the school record of 35.
**With junior QB Tyler Johnston III out with an injury, redshirt freshman QB Bryson Lucero is expected to make his first start. Lucero is 11-of-21 for 138 yards and a touchdown this season.
**Redshirt senior WR Myron Mitchell set two career highs in UAB’s last contest at Miami (Fla.). Mitchell’s eight catches set a career high, while his 117 yards bested his previous career high (88) by 29 yards.
**Redshirt senior WR Austin Watkins, Jr. and redshirt senior TE Hayden Pittman each carry lengthy consecutive games with a catch streaks. Watkins’ streak currently sits at 20 games, while Pittman has notched a reception in each of his last 18 games.
**In the first two games of the season UAB has forced, as well as recovered, three fumbles. The Blazers have found their way into the end zone off each of those forced fumbles.
**This will be South Alabama’s second game against Conference USA this season. The Jaguars won at Southern Miss on Sept. 3, 32-21. This will also be the second game at USA’s brand-new Hancock Whitney Stadium.
MIDDLE TENNESSEE (0-2) at UTSA (2-0)
Friday, September 25
7 p.m. CT
San Antonio, Texas (Alamodome)
Television: CBS Sports Network
Announcers: Carter Blackburn (PxP), Aaron Murray (AN), Amanda Balionis (AN)
All-Time Series: Series Tied 1-1
Last Meeting: UTSA 45, at Middle Tennessee 25 (Nov. 5, 2016)
FAST FACTS
**Teams were not scheduled to play each other this season, but this game was added last Saturday after Memphis had to cancel its game at UTSA was canceled due to positive COVID-19 cases and the ensuing quarantine of Tiger student-athletes. Middle Tennessee had been scheduled to have a bye week.
**This will be the conference opener for both schools. Middle Tennessee has won its last two league openers and is 36-20 all-time in regular season C-USA play. As a team, the Blue Raiders are averaging 193.8 yards rushing per game as a member of C-USA.
**Senior QB Asher O’Hara has led the Blue Raiders in rushing in 12 of the last 14 games. He became just the second QB in school history to reach 1,000 yards rushing in a single-season last year, but has been held to 63 yards on 24 attempts in the first two games of 2020.
**Redshirt junior LB Cody Smith moved into the starting lineup last week vs. Troy in place of junior LB Jonathan Butler and turned in a career-best day. He posted nine tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble, which led a Blue Raiders touchdown.
**Blue Raiders senior WR Jarrin Pierce set a new career high with 11 receptions against Troy last week, going for 81 yards. The 11 catches were tied for the eighth most in program single-game history.
**Under first-year head coach Jeff Traylor, UTSA is seeking its first 3-0 start since 2017 and just the second in its 10-year history. The Roadrunners are receiving votes in this week’s AP Top 25 Poll, a program first.
**Junior QB Frank Harris accounted for 373 yards and three TDs in the 24-10 win against Stephen F. Austin last Saturday. He became the first UTSA signal caller to register two career 100-yard rushing games with 104 yards and two scores on 17 attempts and he completed 23-of-36 passes for a career-best 269 yards and a TD. Harris became the second straight UTSA player (Sophomore RB Sincere McCormick) to collect Conference USA Offensive Player of the Week honors on Monday (Sincere McCormick).
**Three weeks into the season, UTSA sophomore RB Sincere McCormick leads the FBS with 295 rushing yards. In Saturday’s 24-10 win over Stephen F. Austin, he narrowly missed his second straight 100-yard game, rushing 19 times for 98 yards, while adding four catches for 47 yards.
**The UTSA defense has a new look in 2020 with the arrival of defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix’s 3-4 front. The new alignment has resulted in havoc for opposing backfields, as the Roadrunners lead Conference USA and rank second in the country with 12.0 tackles for loss per game. Additionally, UTSA’s 4.0 sacks per contest are good for tops in the league and ninth nationally.
**UTSA defensive coordinator Tyrone Nix has family ties to Middle Tennessee. The first-year Roadrunners staffer will be coaching against his son, Ty Nix, who is a senior defensive lineman for the Blue Raiders with four tackles this season. A coaching veteran with more than 25 years of experience, Nix has been a defensive coordinator at five different schools. Those stops include Middle Tennessee, where he was DC in 2015-16 after a three-year stint as co-defensive coordinator in 2012-14.
GEORGIA STATE (1-1, 0-1 in Sun Belt) at CHARLOTTE (0-1)
Saturday, September 26
12 p.m. ET
Charlotte, North Carolina (Richardson Field)
Television: ESPNU
Announcers: Mike Couzens (PxP), Jay Walker (AN)
All-Time Series: Series Tied 1-1
Last Meeting: Georgia State 28, at Charlotte 0 (Sept. 23, 2017)
FAST FACTS
**Graduate senior RB Tre Harbison opened the game’s scoring at Appalachian State on Sept. 12 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, earning C-USA Defensive Player of the Week honors.
**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.
**Despite getting a career-high 150 yards rushing from RB Destin Coates, Georgia State fell to No. 19 Louisiana, 34-31, in overtime in their season opener last Saturday.
FIU (0-0) at LIBERTY (1-0)
Saturday, September 26
1 p.m. ET
Lynchburg, Virginia (Williams Stadium)
Television: ESPN3
Announcers: Matt Warner (PxP), Joe Jauch (AN)
All-Time Series: First Meeting
FAST FACTS
**This game marks the start of Butch Davis’ fourth season as head coach of FIU. He has taken the Panthers to a school-record three straight bowl games during his first three years.
**Senior D’Antne Demery is a preseason All-Conference USA selection. He played in all 13 Panthers games last season while starting 12 times at left tackle. Demery earned All-Conference USA Honorable Mention in 2019 after aiding an offensive line that allowed just 14 sacks on the year, which tied for the fifth-lowest in the nation and led the league.
**Senior WR Shemar Thornton is FIU’s leading returning receiver after he hauled in team highs of 51 receptions and 668 yards in 2019. He hauled in five touchdown grabs, which also led the Panthers. Thornton’s breakout game came against Old Dominion last season, as he caught six passes for 125 yards.
**The FIU secondary features twin brothers Richard Dames and Rishard Dames. The pair combined for over 100 tackles, four interceptions and 11 pass breakups last season.
**This is the second of three games for Liberty against Conference USA this season. The Flames won at WKU last Saturday, 30-24, and are scheduled to host Southern Miss on October 24. In his Liberty debut, Auburn transfer Malik Willis accounted for 301 yards of total offense (133 passing and 168 rushing) and three touchdowns in the win at WKU.
Making his debut with the Flames, Willis completed 13 of 21 passes for 133 yards and rushed for 168 yards on 21 carries.
TULANE (1-1, 0-1 in American) at SOUTHERN MISS (0-2, 0-1 in C-USA)
Saturday, September 26
1:30 p.m. CT
Hattiesburg, Mississippi (M.M. Roberts Stadium)
Television: Stadium
Announcers: Chris Hassel (PxP), A.J. Hawk (AN)
All-Time Series: Southern Miss leads 23-8
Last Meeting: Tulane 30, Southern Miss 13 (Jan. 4, 2020 – Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl)
FAST FACTS
**Longtime rivals are meeting for the second time in the calendar year of 2020. Tulane defeated Southern Miss, 30-13, in the Lockheed Martin Armed Forces Bowl on January 3.
**Golden Eagles senior QB Jack Abraham’s was 24-of-32 for 164 yards against Louisiana Tech and his three touchdown passes marked his most since having three each in consecutive games against UTEP and North Texas last season. It marked his fifth career game with five or more TD tosses.
**Senior WR Tim Jones has started the year with back-to-back 100-yard receiving games, including a career-high 160 yards on eight catches with a pair of touchdowns against Louisiana Tech, despite leaving the game late in the third quarter with an injury. It was the first two-TD receiving game of his Golden Eagle career as he scored on 74-yard and 20-yard strikes from Jack Abraham. Jones now has four career 100-yard receiving games, having caught 14 passes for an FBS-high 299 yards through the first two games. His 134 catches is just six behind Ito Smith (2014-17) from jumping into the top five for a career.
**Against Louisiana Tech last Saturday, redshirt junior DB Santrell Latham registered a career-best 14 tackles to go along with a sack for five yards, 1.5 tackles for loss and a 15-yard interception return. It was the first career interception for Latham and it came on the second play of the second half, and Southern Miss scored one play later to extend its lead to 20-10. Six of his tackles came in the final quarter.
**Southern Miss sophomore DB Malik Shorts posted a career-high 14 tackles against LA Tech. He leads the FBS with 25 tackles in two games (12.5 per outing).
**Tulane is 1-1 on the season after a pair of games that featured dramatic comebacks. Two weeks ago, the Green Wave came back from a 24-6 deficit in the third quarter to win at South Alabama, 27-24. Last Saturday, Tulane held 24-0 second-half lead over Navy only to lose by the same score.
UTEP (2-1) at LOUISIANA-MONROE (0-2, 0-1 in Sun Belt)
Saturday, September 26
2:30 p.m. CT
Monroe, Louisiana (Malone Stadium)
Television: ESPNU
Announcers: Clay Matvick (PxP), Rocky Boiman (AN)
All-Time Series: First Meeting
FAST FACTS
**UTEP will be looking to improve to 3-1 for the first time since the 2010 season.
**Sophomore WR Jacob Cowing went over the century mark for the second time in three games this season and the third time in his career in last Saturday’s win, hauling in eight receptions for 110 yards. The eight catches are a new career high, surpassing his previous total of seven. Cowing currently ranks second in the FBS with 275 yards on 19 receptions (14.4 each).
**Senior RB Joshua Fields, who ran for a total of 78 yards on 17 carries, averaged 7.3 yards on his final six rushes for 44 yards in crunch time vs. ACU. He also scored his first touchdown since the 2017 season.
**Sophomore QB Gavin Hardison shook off a slow start in the first quarter Saturday night (1-of-7 in the first quarter) to go 14-of-18 for 180 yards to finish the night. On the drive that culminated in the winning touchdown, Hardison was 5-7 passing for 64 yards including a 35-yard bomb to redshirt senior WR Justin Garrett.
**Miners sophomore DB Praise Amaewhule recorded his first sack of the season during the fourth quarter against ACU. He added a career-high two pass breakups and three tackles.
**The Miners will take on a familiar face on Saturday with former UTEP defensive coordinator Scott Stoker taking on the same role with the Warhawks. Stoker went to ULM as the LB coach following three seasons as the defensive coordinator at UTEP (2013-15). Stoker recently took over as ULM defensive coordinator on Sept. 2 after the resignation of Mike Collins.
**In his second career start, ULM sophomore QB Colby Suits completed 35-of-53 passes for 377 yards and two touchdowns in a 38-17 loss at home to Texas State last week. Suits completed throws to 11 different receivers.
SOUTH FLORIDA (1-1) at FLORIDA ATLANTIC (0-0)
Saturday, September 26
6 p.m. ET
Boca Raton, Florida (FAU Stadium)
Television: CBS Sports Network
Announcers: Rich Waltz (PxP), Aaron Taylor (AN), Jenny Dell (AN)
All-Time Series: South Florida leads 3-1
Last Meeting: Florida Atlantic 28, at South Florida 10 (Sept. 14, 2013)
FAST FACTS
**This marks the first game of the Willie Taggart era at Florida Atlantic and it comes against a team that it coached from 2013-16. 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.
**Florida Atlantic defensive coordinator Jim Leavitt was the first-ever head coach in the history of the USF football program. He coached at USF for 13 seasons and stands as the all-time winningest coach in school history with 95 victories.
**USF offensive coordinator Charlie Weis Jr. is the youngest coordinator in the nation at age 27. He was the youngest FBS coordinator ever when he was hired for the same position at Florida Atlantic in 2018 at age 24. FAU offensive coordinator Clint Trickett is 29 and ranks among the top 10 youngest coordinators in the nation.
HOUSTON BAPTIST (0-2) at LOUISIANA TECH (1-0, 1-0 in C-USA)
Saturday, September 26
6 p.m. CT
Ruston, Louisiana (Joe Aillet Stadium)
Television: ESPN3
Announcers: Lyn Rollins (PxP), Chris Mycoskie (AN)
All-Time Series: First Meeting
FAST FACTS
**Louisiana Tech has won six of seven home openers under head coach Skip Holtz.
**LA Tech overcame a 17-point deficit to take the 31-30 win over conference-rival Southern Miss last Saturday. The 17-point comeback marked the largest comeback in the Skip Holtz era and the largest since 2011 when the Bulldogs overcame a 17-point deficit at Nevada to win, 24-20.
**Graduate student QB Luke Anthony was one of eight quarterbacks to be named a Manning Award Star of the Week after throwing three second-half touchdown passes, including the game-winning four-yard pass to junior WR Griffin Hebert, to help Louisiana Tech win, 31-30 at Southern Miss. Anthony led the Bulldogs in passing against the Golden Eagles, completing 13-of-21 for 149 yards and three TDs.
**Freshman LB Tyler Grubbs was named the Athlon Sports Defensive Freshman of the Week after recording a game-high 16 tackles in his collegiate debut in the victory at Southern Miss. His 16 tackles, including four solo and one for loss, were the most by a Bulldog in a single game since Thomas McDonald had 16 at NC State in 2013.
**Senior WR Adrian Hardy registered a team-high 79 receiving yards last week at Southern Miss. He now has 2,009 receiving yards for his career, becoming the 13th Bulldog in program history to eclipse 2,000.
**Houston Baptist Senior QB Bailey Zappe has completed 69-of-111 passes for 1,047 yards, 11 touchdowns and no interceptions for the Huskies in games at North Texas and Tech this season. HBU has averaged 32.0 points in those two games.
NORTH TEXAS (1-1) at HOUSTON (0-0)
Saturday, September 26
6 p.m. CT
Houston, Texas (TDECU Stadium)
Television: ESPN+
Announcers: Tyler Denning (PxP), Stan Routt (AN)
All-Time Series: Houston leads 8-7
Last Meeting: Houston 46, at North Texas 25 (Sept. 28, 2019)
FAST FACTS
**North Texas head coach Seth Littrell and Houston head coach Dana Holgorsen have a friendly relationship that dates back to their days together in Lubbock at Texas Tech. The duo were on Mike Leach’s staff together for three seasons, when Littrell was running backs coach, while Holgorsen was co-offensive coordinator.
**North Texas ranks second in the FBS in total yards with 1,238. After opening the season with a school-record 721 yards of total offense in a 57-31 win over Houston Baptist on Sept. 5, the Mean Green generated 517 vs. SMU last Saturday. UNT has 666 yards through the air and 572 yards on the ground.
**North Texas senior WR Jaelon Darden (a Houston native) has five touchdown catches through the first two games in 2020 and leads the nation in that category. He now has 24 scoring grabs across his career in Denton, ranking second-most in program history. Darden enters this week with 166 career catches, which ranks fifth in program history. Darden caught five passes for 66 yards and two touchdowns in last week’s loss to SMU, and has 10 catches for 137 yards and five scores thus far in 2020.
**Redshirt freshman RB Oscar Adaway III ran for 104 yards on 20 carries last week against SMU, giving him two consecutive games over the century mark to start his 2020 season.
**Senior RB DeAndre Torrey now has 18 career rushing touchdowns following his one-score performance last week against SMU and is now tied with Antoinne Jimmerson (2011-15) and Mitch Maher (1991-94) for 10th in program history in career rushing touchdowns.
**Houston enters play this week after having four games either canceled or postponed through the first three weeks of the season due to CoVID-19 concerns, including last week’s scheduled games at Memphis, and the replacement game at Baylor.
