UPCOMING GAMES (ALL TIMES CT)THURSDAY, OCTOBER 21
Florida Atlantic at Charlotte (CBSSN) 6:30 pm
FRIDAY, OCTOBER 22
Middle Tennessee at UConn (CBSSN) 5 pm
SATURDAY, OCTOBER 23
Rice at UAB (ESPN+) 2:30 pm
Liberty at North Texas (ESPN+) 3 pm
No. 24 UTSA at LA Tech (Stadium) 6 pm
WKU at FIU (ESPN+) 6 pm
QUICK HITTERS
A LOOK AT WEEK EIGHT
Ten Conference USA teams are in action in Week Eight, with all four games as conference matchups, and two non-conference tilts. Charlotte hosts Florida Atlantic on Thursday night on CBS Sports Network to kick off the week, and Middle Tennessee hits the
road Friday night to take on UConn in Storrs, Connecticut, also on CBS Sports Network. No. 24 UTSA takes the field for the first time as a ranked program when they travel to Ruston to take on Louisiana Tech in a big West Division clash on Saturday night. Marshall, Old Dominion, Southern Miss and UTEP all have byes this week.
A key East Division matchup kicks off the Week Eight slate for C-USA when Florida Atlantic (3-3, 1-1 C-USA) travels to take on Charlotte (4-2, 2-0 C-USA) on CBS Sports Network on Thursday night at 6:30 p.m. CT. FAU is coming off a bye week, and fell 31-14 at UAB the last time out. QB N’Kosi Perry leads the Owls’ offense into Charlotte to battle the 49ers, who are the lone unbeaten team in the East Division. Charlotte was also on a bye last week, and won its last time out at FIU, defeating the Panthers 45-33. QB Chris Reynolds and co. have put up an average of 43.5 points per game in conference play thus far.
Middle Tennessee (2-4) travels to battle UConn (1-7) in a Friday night tilt on CBS Sports Network, kicking off at 5 p.m. CT from Storrs, Connecticut. The Blue Raiders were off last week and fell 41-13 at Liberty. Middle Tennessee has forced 18 turnovers, which ranks second in the FBS, behind only No. 13 Iowa (20). UConn is coming off its first win since 2019, knocking off Yale 21-15 last week.
UAB (5-2, 3-0 C-USA) is one of three teams in the West Division at 3-0, and the Blazers put their perfect home record on the line when they host Rice (2-4, 1-1 C-USA) to kick off Saturday’s slate of C-USA games at 2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+. The Blazers recorded their second shutout of the season with a 34-0 win at Southern Miss last week in Hattiesburg. The Blazers held Southern Miss to just 107 yards of total offense in the dominant win. Rice, was held to just 102 yards of total offense in a 45-0 loss at UTSA last week.
North Texas (1-5) concludes its non-conference schedule Saturday afternoon on ESPN+ at 3 p.m. CT in Denton when the Mean Green welcome Liberty (5-2). UNT fell 49-21 last week against Marshall at home, and trailed 42-7 at the half. RB DeAndre Torrey was the lone bright spot for the Mean Green, carrying 20 times for 179 yards and two scores in a losing effort. Liberty was upset in a big way last week on the road at Louisiana-Monroe, falling 31-28. The Flames are 3-0 thus far this season against C-USA foes, having already knocked off Old Dominion, UAB and Middle Tennessee.
No. 24 UTSA (7-0, 3-0 C-USA) hits the road this week to battle West Division foe Louisiana Tech (2-4, 1-1 C-USA) at 6 p.m. CT on Stadium. The Roadrunners dominated Rice, 45-0 on homecoming last week, suffocating the Owls defensively. UTSA intercepted a pair of passes and brought them back for scores and allowed just 102 yards of total offense. RB Sincere McCormick outgained the entire Owls team, rushing for 117 yards on 13 carries in the win – his fifth game over 100-yards rushing on the season.
WKU (2-4, 1-1 C-USA) travels to Miami to take on FIU (1-5, 0-2 C-USA) at 6 p.m. CT on ESPN+. The Hilltoppers handled Old Dominion 43-20 last week after racing out to a 30-3 halftime advantage in Norfolk. C-USA Offensive Player of the Week, WR Jerreth Sterns, continued his torrid start to the 2021 campaign – hauling in 13 catches for a career-high 221 yards and a touchdown. QB Bailey Zappe, the nation’s leading passer, completed 37-54 passes for 397 yards and five more touchdowns, pushing his season total to 26, which is tied for the national lead
(SMU’s Tanner Mordecai). FIU had a bye last week, and enters play having lost five straight, including a 45-33 loss at home against Charlotte their last time out. QB Max Bortenschlager and WR Tyrese Chambers lead a potent aerial attack, but the Panthers have struggled to stop opponents, especially in CUSA play. FIU has allowed an average of 52.5 points per game in league contests.
UTSA IS RANKED FOR FIRST TIME
UTSA has broken into the top-25 in each of the major polls this week, a first for the young program. The Roadrunners rank No. 24 in the Associated Press Top 25 and No. 25 in the USA Today AFCA Coaches Poll. The Roadrunners are the first C-USA team to be ranked in 2021, and the first since Marshall was up No. 15 in December of 2020, also when the Herd was 7-0.
NO. 24 UTSA IMPROVES TO 7-0
UTSA improved to 7-0 with a 45-0 homecoming win over Rice Saturday night at the Alamodome. It marked the Roadrunners’ second shutout in program history, both of which have come this season (vs. Lamar in Week 2). UTSA held Rice to just 102 yards of total offense and brought two interceptions back for touchdowns. WR Joshua Cephus caught a pair of touchdown passes from QB Frank Harris and RB Sincere McCormick ran for 117 yards on just 13 carries.
UTEP SHUTS DOWN LA TECH TO BE- COME BOWL ELIGIBLE
The UTEP Miners knocked off Louisiana Tech 19-3 Saturday night to improve to 6-1 in El Paso. It marked the first time the Miners are bowl eligible since 2014. The Miners defense, which entered play allowing just 22.0 points per game, held LA Tech to three, and
forced three turnovers in the win. DE Jadrian Taylor recorded 3.5 sacks, while WR Jacob Cowing caught nine passes for 166 yards for UTEP, his 10th 100-yard receiving game of his career.
UAB POSTS SECOND SHUTOUT OF ‘21
UAB shut out Southern Miss 34-0 Saturday, the Blazers’ second shutout of the season (Jacksonville State in Week 1). On the flip side, Southern Miss was shut out for the first time since the 2014 season opener at Mississippi State. UAB held the Golden Eagles to just 107 yards of total offense in the dominant performance that lifted the Blazers to 3-0 in conference play, and 5-2 overall.
ZAPPE LEADS WKU TO FIRST C-USA W
WKU picked up its first conference win of the season, 43-20, at Old Dominion on Saturday afternoon, paced by its dynamic duo offensively. QB Bailey Zappe completed 36-54 for 397 yards with five touchdowns to just one interception. WR Jerreth Sterns kept his incredible season rolling, hauling in 13 catches for 221 yards and a touchdown in the win.
WELLS’ HIGH FIVE
Marshall QB Grant Wells totaled five touchdowns (three on the ground) in the win for the Thundering Herd in Denton over North Texas Friday night. He also completed 24-32 passes for 323 yards in the victory to help lift Marshall to 2-1 in C-USA play and 4-3 overall. Wells entered play ranking seventh in the FBS in passing yards per game (332.0).
ZAPPE CONTINUES TO CHUCK IT
WKU QB Bailey Zappe, who leads the nation in passing yards per game (438.7), was fantastic again last week for the HIlltoppers as they picked up their first conference win over Old Dominion. Zappe completed 36-54 passes for 397 yards and five touchdowns with just one interception. Zappe has completed 69.7% of his passes (207-297) for 2,632 yards with 26 touchdowns and just four interceptions. He also has a rushing touchdown on the season. Zappe has surpassed the 350-yard passing mark in all six games this year for WKU.
Opponent Passing Yds PassingTDs
9/2 vs. UT-Martin 424 (28-35) 7
9/11 at Army 435 (28-40) 3
9/25 vs. Indiana 365 (31-44) 3
10/2 at Michigan State 488 (46-64) 3
10/9 vs. UTSA 523 (38-60) 5
10/16 at Old Dominion 397 (36-54) 5
JERRETH STERNS STAYS HOT
WKU WR Jerreth Sterns is the FBS leader in several categories entering Week Eight. The former Houston Baptist wideout is the national leader in receiving yards per game (161.0) and in receptions per game (11.7). Sterns has caught 69 passes (leads in the FBS) for 966 yards (leads in the FBS) and eight touchdowns (fourth in the FBS) in six games in 2021. He hauled in 13 passes for a career-high 221 yards and a touchdown last week in a win at Old Dominion. Sterns has caught 46 passes for 602 yards and four scores in his past three games.
AERIAL ASSAULT IN C-USA
Conference USA has been the home of some of the most prolific passing attacks in the FBS through the first half of the 2021 season. Three C-USA quarterbacks rank in the top-12 nationally in passing yardage per game – WKU’s Bailey Zappe leads the FBS (438.7), Marshall’s Grant Wells is seventh (330.7), and FIU’s Max Bortenschlager is 11th (305.7). Additionally, four C-USA signal-callers rank inside the top-20 nationally in passing touchdowns – Zappe is tied for the lead in the FBS (26), Charlotte’s Chris Reynolds is 12th (15), Bortenschlager and UTSA’s Frank Harris are tied for 17th (14). Zappe (69.7%) and Harris (69.2%) rank 10th and 13th, respectively in completion percentage among FBS quarterbacks as well. C-USA quarterbacks also rank 1-2 nationally in yards per completion – Bortenschlager (19.51) and UTEP’s Gavin Hardison (17.01).
