C-USA Football: Games for Week of 9-30-17


Three division showdowns and four non-conference games make up Saturday’s slate as the season moves to week five.

FIU will become the final FBS team to play a game in its home stadium when the Panthers host Charlotte. FIU’s original home opener was moved to Birmingham due to Hurricane Irma and now the Panthers will look to move to 2-0 “at home” when they host a Charlotte team playing its league opener. Last year, FIU scored a TD in the final minute to win at Charlotte, 27-26.

The Owls will look to defeat the Blue Raiders for the first time in 10 years. Last year’s game between Middle Tennessee and Florida Atlantic set or tied a number of school and conference records as the Blue Raiders posted a 77-56 win in the highest-scoring regulation game in CUSA history.

North Texas has won three of the last four meetings against Southern Miss since joining C-USA for the 2013 season. The West Division foes will square off in Hattiesburg this year in a key matchup.

Two afternoon non-conference games are on the schedule, with Rice visiting Pittsburgh in the first meeting between the schools since 1951, and UTEP making its first-ever trip to West Point to play Army.

The evening will also see a pair of non-league tilts, with Louisiana Tech hosting South Alabama in the first meeting between the schools, and Marshall making the short trip to Cincinnati in the Thundering Herd’s final out of league game.


 
SATURDAY, SEPTEMBER 30

Rice at Pittsburgh (ACC RSN) 12 pm

UTEP at Army (CBSSN) 3:30 pm

Charlotte at FIU (beIN) 7 pm

Middle Tenn. at Fla. Atlantic (Stadium) 7 pm

North Texas at Southern Miss 7 pm

South Alabama at LA Tech (ESPN3) 7 pm

Marshall at Cincinnati (ESPN3) 7 pm

FINAL

Rice 10  Pitt 42

FINAL

UTEP 21  Army 35

Miners move to 0-5.

FINALS

FIU 30  Charlotte 29

Florida Atlantic 38  Middle Tennessee 20

North Texas 43  Southern Miss 28

Louisiana Tech 34  South Alabama 16

Marshall 38  Cincinnati 21

The Panthers avoid disaster, the Owls change history, North Texas is looking very good, La Tech starts slow but finished strong, and Marshall scores an upset.

No bad upsets and one positive one for CUSA! 2-2 OOC (W's vs. AAC and Belt, L's vs. ACC and Ind.)

Rice looks awful, maybe worst team in FBS, and FIU gave up 29 points to the same UNC-Charlotte that got shut out at home by Georgia State! Neither of them look good (too bad we don't play Rice huh!).

Hate to say it but 5 of our last 7 are gonna be battles, all winnable but still battles and we need to get the W's vs. FIU and UNC-Charlotte AND win 2 of the other 5 battles to get to a bowl. First battle this week at a injured ODU - take it Owls!

Devin Singletary has been named the Conference USA Co-Offensive Player of the Week, as announced by C-USA today. 

For the third consecutive game, Singletary broke the 100-yard plateau with 133 yards on 24 carries in the Owls’ 38-21 victory over Middle Tennessee Saturday. The sophomore averages 6.2 yards per carry on the season, but more impressively he became just the third Owl, in the program’s history, to score four rushing touchdowns in a game. His previous mark was three which he first set versus Middle Tennessee in 2016. He has repeated that mark twice in 2017.  

No doubt he deserves it.