ConferenceUSA.com

UTSA GETS OFFENSIVE

UTSA established several school offensive records in Saturday’s 55-32 win over Southern Miss.

• The 55 points were the most that the Roadrunners ever had scored in a conference game and against an FBS opponent. It took UTSA just 47 plays to score its 55 points.
• UTSA racked up 272 total yards (116 rush/156 pass) in the first quarter, which marked the most yards in one quarter in program history.
• The Roadrunners finished with a school-record 532 yards (program-record 339 rush/193 pass).
• Senior RB Jarveon Williams ripped off a school-record 92-yard run late in the fourth quarter to help seal the victory. It was one of four plays of 70 yards or longer on the day and those represented four of the 13 longest plays in school history.

TAYLOR MADE

Louisiana Tech senior WR Trent Taylor and WKU senior WR Taywan Taylor rank 1-2 in Conference USA in receiving yards per game, averaging 143.5 and 112.2 yards per game, respectively. Those averages are third and 11th nationally. Trent Taylor is tied for the national lead in receptions with 66 and TD receptions with eight and they each are among just five FBS players with more than 600 receiving yards in 2016.

DYNAMIC DUOS

Conference USA has two of the top five receiving duos in the FBS in terms of receptions in pairs from LA Tech and WKU. Here are the leaders:

1.  Zay Jones (84), Quay Johnson (34) – 118, East Carolina
2.  Trent Taylor (66), Carlos Henderson (30) – 96, LA Tech
3.  Amba Etta-Tawo (51), Ervin Philips (42) – 93, Syracuse
4.  Chad Hansen (59), Melquise Stovall (24) – 83, Cal
5.  Taywan Taylor (42), Nicholas Harris (36) – 78, WKU

WE LOVE THE 80’S AND THE 50'S TOO

Southern Miss junior WR Allenzae Staggers and WKU senior WR Nicholas Norris are the only FBS receivers to have multiple receptions of 80 yards or longer in 2016. C-USA has three of the top players in  the FBS in producing pass plays of 50 yards or longer over the past two seasons:

Number of 50+ Yard Receptions since 2015
Name, School                            2015    2016    Total
Shelton Gibson, West Virginia       6          4          10
Taywan Taylor, WKU                    8          2          10
Carlos Henderson, LA Tech        5          3          8
Nicholas Norris, WKU                  6          2          8
Cody Thompson, Toledo                3          5          8
James Washington, Okla. St          5          3          8

Also, Taywan Taylor has an FBS-leading 16 receptions of 40 yards or longer in the last two seasons.

49ERS GET FIRST CONFERENCE 'W'

In his first start, sophomore QB Hasaan Klugh threw three touchdowns going 14-of-17 with 223 yards and added a rushing score as Charlotte held on to defeat Florida Atlantic, 28-23, for their first Conference USA victory. Senior WR Austin Duke finished the day as Klugh’s top target, reeling in six catches for 111 yards to eclipse 3,000 career yards, while posting his 11th career 100-plus outing.

Senior RB Kalif Phillips ran for more than 100 yards for the third time this season, gaining a season-high 132 yards on 23 carries. Freshman DB Ben DeLuca had a career-high 14 tackles (seven solo), in addition to a third quarter interception that led to a TD. Senior DL Larry Ogunjobi had 10 stops, including 2.5 tackles for loss.

FIU PANTHERS GO TWO FOR TWO WITH NEW COACH

FIU turned in its best offensive performance of the season in a 35-21 victory at UTEP Saturday night, generating 499 yards of total offense to post its second straight win. Senior RB Alex Gardner ran for 141 yards to give him four 100-plus yard rushing games this season and sophomore QB Anthony Jones ran for 128 yards to give FIU two or more 100-yard rushers in the same game for just the second time in program history (2010 vs. Troy).

Junior QB Alex McGough finished 21-of-31 for 241 yards and a season-high three touchdown passes. Sophomore WR Thomas Owens reeled in seven receptions for 125 yards with two TD catches.

FAU THROWN BY MATTHEW

Florida Atlantic lost to Charlotte, 28-23, in a game that was moved to Sunday due to Hurricane Matthew. Junior RB Greg Howell became the first Owl to rush for three touchdowns in a game since Alfred Morris did it in 2011.

Howell also tacked on an even 100 yards on the ground for his third 100-yard rushing game this season. Sophomore WR Kalib Woods led the receiving corps with 105 yards on 11 catches, becoming the first FAU receiver to grab double-digit catches since Lucky Whitehead recorded 11 against Marshall in 2014. Sophomore S Jalen Young led the defense with 12 tackles, while senior DL Trey Hendrickson tallied two sacks and three tackles for loss, bringing his career-record sack total to 23.

MARSHALL THUNDERED DOWN SOUTH

The Thundering Herd dropped their conference opener at North Texas on Saturday, 38-21. Sophomore WR Michael Clark registered his seond straight 100-yard game, grabbing eight passes for 122 yards. Sophomore QB Chase Litton was 20-of-42 for 258 yards and two touchdowns.

Litton recorded his first collegiate rushing touchdown in the first quarter and found junior TE Ryan Yurachek for a passing TD in the third quarter. Sophomore RB Keion Davis had a 99-yard kickoff return for a TD on the first kickoff return of his collegiate career. Senior DL Gary Thompson had 2.5 of Marshall’s six sacks on the night after the team entered the game with seven in four games.

NO MIDDLING FOR MIDDLE TENNESSEE 

Middle Tennessee is 4-1, its best start since 2001, following a 30-13 win at North Texas on Oct. 1. Through five games this season under new offensive coordinator Tony Franklin, the Blue Raiders are averaging 528 yards per game (first in C-USA) and 37.6 points per game (third in C-USA, 37th in the nation).

Both of those are better than the averages they finished with last year. Sophomore QB Brent Stockstill is averaging 331.4 yards per game with 15 TD passes, while senior RB I’Tavius Mathers is running for 114.6 rushing yards a contest and has eight rushing scores. The Middle Tennessee offensive line has allowed just four sacks, tops in C-USA.

OLD DOMINION DOMINATES

Old Dominion posted a season-high 522 total yards of offense in a 36-16 victory over Massachusetts, the Monarchs third straight victory. Sophomore RB Jeremy Cox ran 24 times for a career-high 162 yards, while scoring a pair of TDs for the third straight game. Junior RB Ray Lawry returned to action and added 88 yards and a touchdown on the ground as ODU ran for 274 yards. Lawry’s third quarter TD was the 30th of his career, tying him for the school record with Thomas DeMarco. Senior QB David Washington completed 20 of his 35 pass attempts for 248 yards and one TD. With three field goals, freshman K Brad Davis had his first career multi-field goal game, including a career-long 38-yarder.

HILLTOPPERS TOPPED 

The Hilltoppers had their 13-game winning streak against C-USA opponents (one shy of the league record) snapped with a 55-52 loss at Louisiana Tech, the last place they lost a conference game (2014). Senior WR Nicholas Norris scored three TDs for the second straight week, catching 10 passes for 108 yards.

He moved into 2nd in WKU history with 2,333 yards, 4th with 154 receptions and 5th with 20 TDs. Senior QB Mike White had career highs in attempts (50), completions (36) and TDs (5), while passing for 340 yards – the 2nd-most of the season. Senior WR Taywan Taylor had his first multiple-TD game of the season. Senior LB Keith Brown led WKU in tackles for the fourth straight game, notching 11 stops.

BULLDOGS BULLISH OVER WKU

Louisiana Tech defeated WKU, 55-52 on Thursday night, the fourth time in the last three years the Bulldogs have scored at least 55 points at home, including twice over the Hilltoppers. Senior QB Ryan Higgins was 33-of-45 passing for 454 yards and a career-high five touchdowns. In the last 17 quarters, Higgins has thrown 15 touchdowns with zero interceptions.

Junior WR Carlos Henderson scored on three of his first four receptions and finished with eight catches for a career-high 232 yards. It markes only the second time in program history LA Tech has had multiple WRs with 200-yard receiving games in the same season (senior WR Trent Taylor). Taylor had 13 receptions for 108 yards in the game. Sophomore RB Jarred Craft caught two TD passes and ran for another for his first career three-TD game. Senior K Jonathan Barnes connected on a 54-yard field goal, the longest by a LA Tech player since 1991 and third-longest in school history.

NORTH TEXAS MEANS BUSINESS

The Mean Green evened their record at 3-3 with a 38-21 victory over Marshall Saturday night, North Texas’ first win over the Herd. Junior RB Jeffrey Wilson ran for 188 of the team’s 272 rushing yards on 26 attempts. He scored two touchdowns, including a 72-yard run in the third quarter that gave the Mean Green the lead for good.

With nine TDs on the year, Wilson is tied for third nationally. True freshman WR Tyler Wilson caught the first TD pass of his career when he pulled in an 11-yard toss from freshman QB Mason Fine in the third quarter. Sophomore LB Brandon Garner had a career night starting in place of senior Fred Scott, setting career highs in tackles (seven), sacks (2.0) and tackles for loss. North Texas had a season-high five sacks. Junior CB Eric Jenkins, making his first career start, had an interception that he returned 52 yards for a TD late in the fourth quarter.

OWLS STILL LOOKING FOR LUCK

The Owls dropped a 44-28 decision at Southern Miss on October 1. Sophomore RB Samuel Stewart rushed 19 times for a career-high 132 yards and two touchdowns. He also caught five passes for 14 yards and a touchdown. It was Stewart’s second career multi-touchdown game, as he had two scores at Texas last year. Junior QB Tyler Stehling was 14-of-18 for 100 yards and two touchdowns, his first career multi-touchdown game. Senior WR Zach Wright caught three passes for 34 yards and a TD. With 34 yards, Wright passed 1,000 for his career. He now has 1,026 career yards. Junior LB Emmanuel Ellerbee led the team with 10 tackles, his third double-digit tackle game of the year. Ellerbee also recorded one and a half sacks. He now has two and a half on the year.

SOUTHERN MISSED CHANCES

The Golden Eagles dropped their first C-USA game of the season at UTSA, 55-32. The offense tallied 557 yards, the fourth-such 500-plus instance this season and  Southern Miss has scored 30 points or more in each game in 2016. Senior QB Nick Mullens threw for 370 yards and three touchdowns, completing 24-of-47 attempts. rushed for 94 yards and a touchdown on 18 carries. Junior RB Ito Smith added 22 yards on three catches, giving him 116 total yards.

He has scored at least once in 11 consecutive games. Smith, who finished with 94 yards on 20 carries, moved into 10th place on the Southern Miss career rushing with 2,375 yards, Senior WR D.J. Thompson registered a 35-yard TD reception in the second quarter to notch his four receiving score of the year and his third game in a row.

CAUTION: MINERS PLAYING

UTEP dropped a 35-21 decision to FIU Saturday night. Senior RB Aaron Jones rushed eight times for 73 yards and two scores, including a 49-yard run in the first quarter. Jones tallied his seventh-career multiple rushing touchdown game and 10th overall game of scoring multiple TDs.

Senior WR Cole Freytag recorded a career-best five receptions for 68 yards. Freytag also hauled in a 12-yard TD pass in the fourth quarter, his second score in 2016. Juniior LB Alvin Jones tallied a career-high 16 tackles, surpassing his high of 12 stops. It was Jones’s seventh-career multiple-tackle game. Sophomore DB Nik Needham registered two pass breakups, giving him eight on the season to lead the team.

ROADRUNNING UP THE SCORE

UTSA rushed for a school-record 339 yards en route to a 55-32 victory against Southern Miss on Saturday. The Roadrunners averaged 11.3 yards per play, also a new program standard, and scored their most points against both an FBS and conference opponent.

Sophomore RB Jalen Rhodes carried 14 times for a career-high 165 yards and a school-record-tying three touchdowns to become the third Roadrunner to score three times on the ground in a game. Senior RB Jarveon Williams added 122 yards on 15 totes, including the longest play in program history, a 92-yarder in the final stanza that helped seal the victory. UTSA recorded four of the 13 longest plays in school annals on the day. Junior QB Dalton Sturm had one of the most efficient outings of his career, as he completed 10-of-12 attempts for 193 yards and a score.