C-USA Football: Games for Week of October 9, 2021


Twelve Conference USA teams are in action in Week Six, with league play in full swing with five conference games. Additionally, two C-USA teams are slated for non-conference tilts, as Middle Tennessee travels to Lynchburg, Virginia, to take on Liberty and North Texas makes the trip to Columbia, Missouri, to take on SEC foe Missouri. Charlotte travels to FIU in C-USA play on Friday night, while Florida Atlantic heads to Birmingham to take on UAB at Protective Stadium. WKU opens conference play by hosting 5-0 UTSA on Saturday night in Bowling Green. Louisiana Tech and Rice both have byes this week.

Charlotte (3-2, 1-0 C-USA), who fell 24-14 at Illinois last week, travels to Miami to take on FIU (1-4, 0-1 C-USA) on Friday night. The 49ers led 14-10 at halftime but were unable to hold on and pick up their second win over a Power 5 opponent this season. Charlotte is seeking its first-ever 2-0 start in C-USA play. FIU fell last week 58-21 at Florida Atlantic, after getting shut out in the second half against the Owls. QB Max Bortenschlager leads the nation in yards per completion (18.24), for a big-play Panthers offense. One of his primary targets, WR Tyrese Chambers also leads the FBS in yards per reception (27.71).

Old Dominion (1-4, 0-1 C-USA) comes into this week after a second consecutive loss, both of which were one score games. The Monarchs led UTEP in the fourth quarter 21-20, but ultimately fell 28-21 in El Paso. Both teams are in search of their first 2021 C-USA win, as Marshall dropped a one-score game on the road at Middle Tennessee last week, 34-28 Marshall has dropped three straight since starting 2-0, including a loss at Middle Tennessee last week, 34-28. The Herd turned the ball over six times en route to its third straight defeat and will have to address their turnovers issues (15 turnovers in five games) to get back on track

The Liberty Flames (4-1) play host to another C-USA foe in Middle Tennessee (2-3) on Saturday afternoon. Middle Tennessee picked up a huge conference win over Marshall last week, forcing six turnovers, the most a Blue Raiders team has caused since 2018 (seven). S Reed Blankenship, who earned C-USA Defensive Player of the Week, recorded seven tackles, forced a fumble and recovered two more, one of which he brought back 100-yards for a touchdowns in the win over Marshall. Middle Tennessee will have its hands full with Liberty QB Malik Willis, who is thought of by some as the top signal-caller in the 2022 NFL Draft class. Liberty was a rude houseguest for UAB’s grand opening of Protective Stadium, beating the Blazers 36-12 in Birmingham. Willis threw for 287 yards and led the Flames in rushing with 144 yards and totaled three touchdowns in the win (two on the ground).

Florida Atlantic (3-2, 1-0 C-USA), makes the journey to Birmingham to take on UAB (3-2, 1-0 C-USA) on Stadium. FAU exploded for 58 points and 704 yards of total offense last week at home against rival FIU to open conference play with a bang. UAB opened its brand new 45,000 seat home, Protective Stadium, last week against Liberty, but were beaten 36-12 by the Flames. The Blazers look to bounce back, and build off their league-opening performance back on Sept. 18, when they beat North Texas 40-6 in Denton. Both teams enter the contest at 3-2 overall and 1-0 in C-USA play. This game features the two teams who have won the last four C-USA Championships, as FAU captured the league title in 2017 and 2019, while UAB won the league in 2018 and 2020. These two teams have led the way among C-USA programs, as UAB has won 37 games and FAU 35 since 2017.

North Texas (1-3), fresh off its bye week, travels to take on SEC foe Missouri (2-3). The Mean Green have dropped three straight since winning their season-opener back on Sept. 4. They fell 24-17 at Louisiana Tech their last time out and are looking to bounce back on a big stage. QB Austin Aune is listed as the Mean Green’s starter, as head coach Seth Littrell continues to search for a spark from his signal-callers. Mean Green RB DeAndre Torrey ranks third in the FBS in rushing yards per game (129.0) through four games. Missouri was blown out at home last week by Tennessee, 62-24. Missouri is one of just nine teams in the country that has scored in every trip to the red zone this season. The Tigers have 15 touchdowns and two field goals in their 17 trips to the red zone.

UTEP (4-1, 1-0 C-USA) is off to its best start since 2010, and has the opportunity to pull within one game of bowl eligibility when the Miners travel to Hattiesburg Saturday night to take on Southern Miss (1-4, 0-1 C-USA). UTEP came from behind to beat Old Dominion last week, 28-21, while Southern Miss’ valiant comeback effort fell just short at Rice (24-19). UTEP has seen a monster season from WR Jacob Cowing, who is among the nation’s leaders in receiving and kept his torrid pace up in last week’s C-USA win over Old Dominion. Cowing caught four passes for 118 yards to help lift the Miners to 4-1 on the season. The Maricopa, Arizona, native has 24 catches for 585 yards (24.4 yards per reception) with four touchdowns in five appearances. Southern Miss has had a rash of injuries to its quarterbacks and will be starting freshman Jake Lange, who came on for Ty Keyes early last week. The Jackson, Mississippi native completed 23-37 passes for 304 yards with one touchdown and three interceptions last week against Rice.

UTSA (5-0, 1-0 C-USA) is one of just 17 unbeaten teams in the FBS, and is receiving votes in both the Associated Press Top 25 (10 votes) and the USA Today Coaches Poll (13 votes) for the second straight week. The Roadrunners have a stiff test in the form of one of the most prolific offenses in the country when they travel to Bowling Green, Kentucky, to battle WKU (1-3) on Stadium. UTSA held off UNLV at home last week 24-17, while WKU fell on the road at No. 17 Michigan State, 48-31. C-USA Offensive Player of the Week, QB Bailey Zappe, threw for 488 yards with three scores in East Lansing, while WR Jerreth Sterns caught 17 passes for 186 yards and a touchdown in a losing effort. Zappe was named to the Maxwell Award Watch List, while Sterns was added to the Biletnikoff Award Watch List earlier this week.


FRIDAY, OCTOBER 8

Charlotte at FIU (CBSSN)                        7 pm


SATURDAY, OCTOBER 9

Old Dominion at Marshall (CBSSN/FB)      2 pm
Florida Atlantic at UAB (Stadium)             3:30 pm
Middle Tennessee at Liberty (ESPN3)        3:30 pm
North Texas at Missouri (SEC Network)     4 pm
UTSA at WKU (Stadium)                          7 pm
UTEP at Southern Miss (ESPN3)               7 pm

FINAL:

Charlotte 45  FIU 33

Panthers' QB Max Bortenschlager tosses a 449 yard 4 TD performance in the loss, but the defense can't keep the 49'ers off the field on 3rd (7-14) or 4th down (2-2).

They also manage just 72 yards on 29 carries on the ground.

FINAL:

ODU 13  Marshall 20 OT

The Herd (+21 point favorites) score the game tying touchdown with :33 seconds left to play.

They would keep the Monarchs off the board in overtime.

FINAL:

FAU 14   UAB 31

FAU Football vs UAB Team Box Score 10-9-21 - FAU Owl's Nest

FINAL:

MTSU 13  Liberty 41

Liberty to the AAC anyone?

FINAL:

North Texas 35  Missouri 48

The Mean Green outscore the Tigers 28-17 in the second half but can't quite close the gap.

Still, a solid performance against SEC competition on the road.

FINAL:

UTSA 52 at WKU 46

In a pair of firsts for the Roadrunners, they move to 6-0 for the first time in program history and also defeat WKU at home for the first time.

They are now just two games off of odds for total wins (8) with six left to play.

Despite their record of 1-4, the Hilltoppers look to be a serious challenge lying in wait for FAU. QB Bailey Zappe had 523 yards through the air in the loss.

FINAL:

UTEP 26  Southern Miss 13

The Miners are also a team that is exceeding expectations this far, now holding a 5-1 mark while being forecast to win just three overall and one in league play.

They gashed the Golden Eagles for a 6.8 YPC mark on the ground while holding them to just .5 YPC overall. Southern Miss gave the ball to former Owl commit Frank Gore Jr., who netted 43 yards off of 16 carries.

QB Jake Long was 20-of-31 for 239 yards passing, but was sacked five times.

UTEP only attempted 17 passes, however netted 18.1 yards per catch.

Following an evening where he completed 28-38 passes for 349 yards and six passing touchdowns, 51 rushing yards and a 23-yard receiving touchdown at WKU, UTSA QB Frank Harris was named C-USA Offensive Player of the Week. UAB DE Alex Wright took home Defensive Player of the Week honors following a huge performance in a conference win over Florida Atlantic, tallying eight tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and two forced fumbles. Charlotte KR Shadrick Byrd was named C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week after returning a pair of kickoffs for 60 and 57 yards, respectively at FIU in a win. The 2021 C-USA Players of the Week awards are presented by Surf & Turf Golf and are voted on by a panel of the league’s media.

Harris’ record-setting night helped lead UTSA to a 52-46 win over WKU on Saturday night in Bowling Green. Harris completed 28-38 passes for a career-best 349 yards and a school-record six touchdowns — tied for second-most in a game by an FBS player this year — as the Roadrunners racked up a season-high 564 yards of offense. Harris also caught a 23-yard touchdown pass, giving him seven total scores in the game (tied-third most in C-USA history), and he rushed for 51 yards on nine carries to help send UTSA to the first 6-0 start in school history. The Schertz Clemens High School product now has thrown for 1,475 yards and 12 TDs on 127-182 passing this season and his 69.8% completion percentage stands 11th in the FBS. Harris also set a UTSA single-game record for total offense with 400 yards.

Wright set career highs in tackles (8), tackles for loss (3.0) sacks (2.0) and forced two fumbles, one of which UAB recovered at the FAU 15-yard line as the Blazers defeated the Owls 31-14. Wright led a dominant defensive charge that held the high-powered FAU offense to just 291 total yards. Overall, UAB had eight sacks, 11 TFL and four takeaways in the Blazers’ first win in their new home, Protective Stadium.

Byrd set up a pair of 49ers scores with two long kick-off returns in the 49ers win at FIU on Friday. Byrd had returns of 60 and 57 yards as Charlotte twice opened up drives in FIU territory, which was key for the 49ers as each kick returns followed FIU scores. Byrd totaled 117 yards on his two returns (and added a team-high 80 rushing yards) as the 49ers excelled on special teams on their way to a 2-0 start in C-USA play and a 4-2 start overall, which equals the best start in program history.

C-USA Media Relations

Rick said

FINAL:

MTSU 13  Liberty 41

Liberty to the AAC anyone?

Posted On: Oct 9th 2021, 7:27 PM #404080

Lynchberg, Va, really? Plus a religious and political agenda. But ya never know