ConferenceUSA.com

Western Kentucky at Louisiana Tech

WKU will take its 13-game winning streak against C-USA opponents (one shy of the league record) into Ruston to face Louisiana Tech. The home team has won each of the last two matchups and the Bulldogs were the last team to defeat the Hilltoppers in league play, winning on Nov. 1, 2104. 

The game also features a matchup of the league’s two most productive receivers who happen to share the same last name. Louisiana Tech senior WR Trent Taylor and WKU senior WR Taywan Taylor rank one-two in C-USA in receiving yards per game, averaging 150.6 and 120.4 yards per game, respectively.

Those averages are third and seventh nationally. Trent Taylor is tied for the national lead in TD receptions with eight and they each are among just five FBS players with more than 600 receiving yards in 2016. Trent is second in LA Tech history for TD catches (28) and third in receiving yards (3,129), while Taywan owns WKU’s career marks for catches (188), receiving yards (3,106) and receiving touchdowns (26). Since the beginning of the 2015 season, Taywan has 16 receptions of 40 yards or longer, more than any FBS player at that distance. He also has more 100-yard receiving games than any other FBS player (12) over the last two seasons.

Southern Miss at UTSA 

Saturday’s action begins at 11 a.m. CDT when Southern Miss looks to claim a victory over a West Division foe for the third straight week when it visits UTSA. Golden Eagles senior QB Nick Mullens became the third Conference USA quarterback to throw for more than 500 yards this season when he passed for 591 in Saturday’s 44-28 win over Rice.

The 591 yards was just two shy of the C-USA record of 593, set by WKU’s Brandon Doughty in 2014. Mullens shattered Austin Davis’ previous school record of 461 yards at Rice in 2008 and he now has three of the top four passing games in school history. Mullens has now thrown for over 300 yards 15 times in his career and 400 or more yards three times. He also went over the 10,000-yard passing mark in the Rice contest (now 10,226), joining Central Michigan’s Cooper Rush as the only active passers to throw for 10,000 yards. 

Redshirt freshman LB Josiah Tauaefa, who is coming off the second-best tackle performance in program history, is leading the UTSA defense through the season’s opening four contests. Tauaefa, who racked up 15 tackles two weeks ago at Old Dominion (one shy of the school’s single-game record), has 46 in his inaugural season, including four behind the line of scrimmage. He is helping lead a Roadrunners unit that is near the top of the league in total defense and scoring defense.

Charlotte at FAU

Charlotte will play its first conference road game when the 49ers go to Florida Atlantic. Both teams are seeking their first 2016 league win. Senior DL Larry Ogunjobi is expected to make career start number 40 on Saturday as he continues to etch his name in the 49ers record books. He is the first Charlotte player to post 100 career solo tackles (103) and he has registered 38 tackles for loss in his first 39 games.  

Owls sophomore LB Azeez Al-Shaair is building on his freshman All-American season, having recorded three double-digit tackle performances on the young season. He added his first career interception last week at FIU, returning it 30 yards for a touchdown.

Marshall at North Texas

Marshall becomes the final school to begin league action when the Thundering Herd makes its first visit to North Texas. Sophomore QB Chase Litton returned to action last Saturday at Pittsburgh following a one-week absence and sparked the Thundering Herd’s offense, finishing 20-of-32 for 240 yards and two touchdowns. He has thrown a TD pass in all 14 of his collegiate games, and he has multi-TD games in 11 of 14. Litton is currently No. 4 in the nation with 321 pass yards per game, No. 20 with 12 TD passes in four outings and No. 14 in a QB efficiency rating of 169.0. 

Junior S Kishawn McClain leads an improved Mean Green defense (down nearly 18 points per game allowed) under first-year head coach Seth Littrell.  McClain, the C-USA Defensive Player of the Week two weeks ago, leads North Texas with 38 tackles and three interceptions. He has double-digit tackles and an interception in both of the Mean Green’s C-USA contests.  

FIU at UTEP

FIU will look to make it two straight victories this season and two straight wins over UTEP when the Panthers make their second-ever trip to El Paso  FIU is coming off its first victory of the 2016 season and its ability to establish a ground game was a big reason. Entering the Florida Atlantic game averaged 120 yards per game rushing, the Panthers ran for 270, its highest total since 2010 and the fifth-most in school history. Senior RB Alex Gardner led the way with 119 yards and enters this week ranked sixth in the league in rushing.

Miners sophomore DB Nik Needham is coming off one of the best games of his career, tallying a career-high eight tackles, while notching a pass breakup and a tackle for loss at Louisiana Tech. With six pass breakups on the season. Needham is tied for first in Conference USA in that department, while tied for ninth nationally. He has helped UTEP produce the No.3-ranked pass defense in the league.  

Massachusetts at Old Dominion

In non-conference play, Old Dominion aims for a third straight victory when it hosts Massachusetts. This will be the second all-time meeting between the teams and the second of three C-USA opponents that UMass will face this season. Senior QB David Washington had his best game of the season yardage wise in last week’s win at Charlotte, passing for 256 yards on 14 completions while tossing three touchdown passes. One of those TD passes went to senior WR Zach Pascal who moved into second place on the all-time ODU receiving chart with 191 catches.