WEEK 1 SCHEDULE
THURSDAY, AUGUST 28
Jax State at UCF (ESPN+) 6 p.m.
Delaware State at Delaware (ESPN+) 6 p.m.
FRIDAY, AUGUST 29
Kennesaw State at Wake Forest (ACCN) 6 p.m.
Bethune-Cookman at FIU (ESPN+) 6 p.m.
UNLV at Sam Houston (CBSSN) 8:30 p.m.
SATURDAY, AUGUST 30
Maine at Liberty (ESPN+) 3 p.m.
Austin Peay at MTSU (ESPN+) 6 p.m.
North Alabama at WKU (ESPN+) 6 p.m.
UTEP at Utah State (CBSSN) 6:30 p.m.
Southeastern at LA Tech (ESPN+) 6:30 p.m.
Missouri State at USC (BTN) 6:30 p.m.
Bryant at NM State (ESPN+) 8 p.m
PLAYERS OF THE WEEK
Offensive Player of the Week – Maverick McIvor, WKU McIvor led the WKU (1-0, 1-0 CUSA) offense in the 41-24 season-opening win over Sam Houston on Saturday. The quarterback accounted for four touchdowns in his Hilltopper debut. He threw for 401 yards and three touchdowns on 33-51 passing and added a 4-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to help close out the Week Zero win. McIvor’s touchdown passes were 26 yards to Matthew Henry, 9 yards to K.D. Hutchinson and 22 yards to Marvis Parrish. McIvor completed eight passes of 15+ yards and had six completions of 20+ yards in the win. He was also named the EastWest Shrine Bowl Monday Morning Quarterback.
Defensive Player of the Week – Jaylen Lewis, WKU Lewis helped lead a solid defensive effort in WKU’s season-opening 41-24 victory over Sam Houston on Saturday. The transfer safety posted four tackles in the game, including two solo stops. He also recorded an interception in the fourth quarter that helped the Hilltoppers close out the Week Zero conference win.
Special Teams Player of the Week – Cole Maynard, WKU Maynard made a statement with a booming 71-yard punt in WKU’s season-opening 41-24 win over Sam Houston on Saturday. The 71-yard boot was the first 70-plus yarder a Hilltopper punter has recorded since the 2012 season, and the kick was downed at the Sam Houston four-yard line. Maynard, who was included on the Ray Guy Award Preseason Watch List prior to the season opener, finished the night with five punts totaling 250 yards – an average of 50 yards per punt – with two traveling 50-plus yards.
QUICK HITTERS
GROUND-POUND GAMECOCKS – Jacksonville State has rushed for multiple touchdowns in 11 consecutive games, the longest active streak in the FBS. The longest such streak in Conference USA history is a 14-game run by TCU spanning 2003 and 2004. Last season, both Liberty and Jacksonville State had a game with at least 400 rushing yards against an FBS team. Only six other FBS schools had such a game in 2024 with CUSA joining the AAC as the only conferences with multiple teams (Army & South Florida).
HIGH-FLYING HILLTOPPERS – Since the beginning of the 2021 season, WKU has thrown for 18,960 yards, more than 2000 more than any other FBS team in that time (Ohio State – 16536). The Hilltoppers’ 337.4 passing yards per game over that span also lead the FBS (USC – 315.4).
