C-USA Football: Games for Week of October 2, 2021
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Thirteen Conference USA teams are in action in Week Five on Saturday, with league play kicking into gear. There are four conference games slated for Saturday, Oct. 2, in addition to five non-conference tilts, which are highlighted by Charlotte traveling to Illinois, and a pair of 3-1 teams in UAB and Liberty doing battle in Birmingham, as the Blazers open Protective Stadium. North Texas is the lone C-USA school with a bye this week.
Charlotte (3-1), fresh off a thrilling 42-39 win over Middle Tennessee, travels to Champaign to take on Illinois (1-4). The 49ers picked up a win over a power-five opponent to open the season, knocking off Duke in Week 1, and are looking to make it 2-for-2 in 2021. Reigning C-USA Offensive Player of the Week, QB Chris Reynolds, completed 25-36 passes for 339 yards, had five total touchdowns (four passing) to no interceptions. WRs Greg DeBose and Victor Tucker each had over 100 yards receiving - 114 and two touchdowns on nine catches for DuBose and 108 yards on five grabs for Tucker. Illinois, who opened the season with a win over Nebraska, have lost four straight, including a 37-30 defeat at the hands of UTSA, also in Champaign.
The 20th edition of the Shula Bowl, a battle between FIU (1-3) and Florida Atlantic (2-2) kicks off on Stadium. FIU has dropped three straight (in 2021 and the series), and despite holding a 17-point fourth quarter lead last week on the road at Central Michigan, fell 31-27 in Mount Pleasant. Florida Atlantic made a cross country trip to Colorado Springs, and fell 31-7 at Air Force. This marks the C-USA opener for both teams.
UTSA (4-0), who is receiving votes in both primary national polls, hosts UNLV (0-4) on ESPN+. The Roadrunners continue to rise, knocking off Memphis on the road 31-28 after trailing 21-0 in the first quarter. The win was the second massive road victory for UTSA in 2021 thus far (UTSA knocked off Illinois 37-30 in Week 1), and ended a 17-game home winning streak for the Tigers, dating back to 2018. UTSA K Hunter Duplessis made a game-winning 42-yard FG as time expired to push the Roadrunners to 4-0, and earned his second C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week honor of 2021. RB Sincere McCormick carried 42 times for 184 yards and three scores in the win, and was named the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose National Player of the Week. UNLV is winless in head coach Marcus Arroyo’s tenure (0-10 dating back to 2020), but the Rebels were extremely competitive last week on the road at No. 22 Fresno State, eventually falling 38-30.
Louisiana Tech (2-2) concludes its non-conference schedule Saturday afternoon, when the Bulldogs travel to take on No. 23 NC State (3-1) on ACC Network Extra/ESPN+. The Bulldogs held off a rally by North Texas and won 24-17 at home in their C-USA opener, despite being without starting QB Austin Kendall, who missed the game due to medical reasons. LA Tech raced out to a 24-0 lead against the Mean Green, and were led by RB Marcus Williams Jr., who carried 17 times for 73 yards and two scores, and LB Trey Baldwin, who recorded a team-high eight tackles, two of which were for loss. In the only previous meeting between the two teams (2013), both head coaches, Skip Holtz and Dave Doeren, were coaching in their first games at their respective schools. NC State defeated No. 9 Clemson 27-21 in double overtime at home last week and the Wolfpack was honored as the FWAA/Cheez It Bowl National Team of the Week.
\Southern Miss (1-3) travels to Houston to take on Rice (1-3) in each team’s C-USA lidlifter. The Golden Eagles lost at No. 1 Alabama 63-14 last week, and are led by freshman QB Ty Keyes. Rice picked up its first win of 2021 last week, defeating Texas Southern 48-34 in Houston. Rice RB Jordan Myers found the end zone four times last week for the Owls, carrying 26 times for 160 yards in the win. Rice entered play last week having scored just 24 points through its first three games (against Arkansas, Houston and Texas), and exploded for 48 in the win. QB Jake Constantine earned the start against Texas State, and finished 18-23 for 271 yards and a touchdown, while the rushing attack found its groove, totaling 349 yards on the ground.
UAB (3-1) is set to open its brand new 45,000 seat Protective Stadium on Saturday night when the Blazers host Liberty (3-1) in a non-conference tilt on CBS Sports Network. UAB picked up an impressive 28-21 win at Tulane, while Liberty fell 24-21 on the road at Syracuse last week. UAB raced to a 21-0 lead in New Orleans and held on for an important non-conference win. TE Gerrit Prince, who was named the Mackey Award Player of the Week after catching six passes for 65 yards and two touchdowns. RB DeWayne McBride had a big day on the ground as well, carrying 18 times for 111 yards in the win. Defensively, DL Noah Seiden recorded a pair of sacks for a Blazers unit that caused Tulane’s offensive line some trouble. Liberty boasts a top NFL prospect in QB Malik Willis, who performed well last week, completing 14-19 passes for 205 with three touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for 49 yards. The Flames are on to leg two of their Conference USA portion of the schedule (they face four C-USA schools in 2021), and defeated Old Dominion 45-17 at home on Sept. 18.
Marshall (2-2) travels to Murfreesboro to take on Middle Tennessee (1-3, 0-2 C-USA) on Saturday night. The Thundering Herd fell 31-30 on the road at Appalachian State last Thursday, and have dropped two straight. RB Rasheen Ali continued his torrid start to 2021, as the Cleveland native found the end zone two times last week. Ali became the first Marshall player to score a rushing touchdown and return a kickoff for a touchdown in the same game in the past 25 years. The redshirt freshman, who is tied as the FBS leader in rushing touchdowns now has eight through four games, and 10 total touchdowns on the young season. Middle Tennessee fell in a thriller in Charlotte, 42-39, and certainly appear to have found their new starting QB in Chase Cunningham, who threw for 379 yards and five touchdowns, and added 65-yards on the ground in his first career start.
WKU (1-2) nearly came back to beat Indiana last week in front of 25,171 at Houchens-Smith Stadium in Bowling Green, falling 33-31. The Hilltoppers take a swing at another Big Ten team, No. 17 Michigan State (4-0) in East Lansing. WKU QB Bailey Zappe has certainly been the story early for the Hilltoppers, ranking second in the FBS with 408.0 passing yards per game. Zappe has completed 87-119 passes (73.1%) for 1,224 yards with 13 touchdowns and just two interceptions. The Spartans held off Nebraska 23-20 in overtime at home last week to remain unbeaten. Michigan State RB Kenneth Walker III has paced the Spartans with 76 carries for 554 yards with five touchdowns through four games.
UTEP (3-1) hosts Old Dominion (1-3) to wrap up Saturday night for C-USA teams, as both teams open league play in El Paso. The Miners came back to knock off rival New Mexico 20-13 last week at home, while Old Dominion’s furious second half rally at home against Buffalo fell just short. ODU trailed 35-7 and scored what appeared to be a game-tying touchdown in the final minute - however a penalty pushed the extra point back, and it was eventually missed, as the Monarchs fell 35-34 in heartbreaking fashion. The Miners are off to a 3-1 start in back-to-back seasons for the first time since 1987-88. WR Jacob Cowing continues to impress in El Paso, and has 20 catches for 467 yards with four touchdowns in as many games. He had a career-high 174 yards receiving in the win over the Lobos last week. ODU QB D.J. Mack, Jr. has been a major factor on the ground for the Monarchs, with five rushing scores on the young season.
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 2
Charlotte at Illinois (Big Ten Network) 12 pm
FIU at Florida Atlantic (Stadium) 3:30 pm
UNLV at UTSA (ESPN+) 6 pm
LA Tech at No. 23 NC State (ESPN+) 6:00 pm
Southern Miss at Rice (ESPN3) 6:30 pm
Liberty at UAB (CBSSN) 7 pm
Marshall at Middle Tennessee (Stadium) 7 pm
WKU at No. 17 Mich State (Big10 NW) 7:30 pm
Old Dominion at UTEP (ESPN+) 9 pm
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UNCC 14 Illinois 24
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UNLV 17 24 UTSA
Nothing to see here, beat an 0-5 team.
LA Tech 27 No. 23 NC State 34
The Bulldogs are much better than they were forecast to be. And it's a good thing FAU doesn't play them this year.
Southern Miss 19 Rice 24
Yes, Southern Miss is in fact a dumpster 🔥
Liberty 36 UAB 12
The Flames pour water on the Blazer's Stadium opener. Hopefully they won't be ready to take it out on FAU next weekend.
Marshall 28 Middle Tennessee 34
Have said it before, and will say it again - Stock is a great Coach. Despite adversity, he seems to always have an answer.
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WKU 31 No. 17 Mich State 48
Old Dominion 21 UTEP 28
The Miners (4-1) have now eclipsed all odds they were given in total wins.
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owlmart said
CUSA is so bad.Posted On: Oct 3rd 2021, 4:31 PM #403902
Don’t worry we should be out soon. Read a CBS article saying we’re next up after the MWC schools declined an invitation
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LawOwl said
It doesn’t matter anyway. Once Cincinnati, Houston, and UCF leave to the Big 12 there isn’t going to be much of a difference between the G5 conferences. Whichever conference ends up the most compact for travel would probably be the best option for FAU.
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