ConferenceUSA.com

WKU at FAU

The only afternoon contest features WKU at Florida Atlantic. The defending conference champion Hilltoppers find themselves back in first place in the East Division following last week’s 59-24 win over Old Dominion and a win will make them bowl-eligible for the sixth consecutive season. The Owls won the last meeting the two teams played in Boca Raton, and FAU will look to shake a streak of four straight losses by less than a touchdown.

WKU senior WR Taywan Taylor needs just seven yards to become the first player in school history to have multiple 1,000-yard receiving seasons. Last week he had 10 receptions for 124 yards with three touchdowns, becoming just the second player in Hilltopper history (Porter Williams) with multiple games of 3+ TD catches in a career. Senior DL Trey Hendrickson has added to his FAU career record for sacks with five this season, tying him for second in Conference USA. That gives him 25 in his career, just two shy of moving into C-USA’s all-time top 10.  Hendrickson has 28 total tackles, 8.5 tackles for loss, seven quarterback hurries and has blocked three kicks on the season.

Middle Tennessee at FIU

Middle Tennessee has won three of the last four meetings with FIU as the Blue Raiders return to conference play with a trip to Miami. Middle Tennessee’s high-powered offense scored 51 in a win at SEC member Missouri last Saturday and averages 40.3 points per game. Senior RB I’Tavius Mathers has now rushed for 100 or more yards in five straight games, which equals second-longest stretch in school history. He has scored 12 of the team’s last 22 touchdowns and ranks third nationally in scoring.  Mathers is just 60 yards shy of joining the 1,000-yard club at Middle Tennessee. Mathers would be the first Blue Raider to top 1,000 yards in a season at MT since QB Dwight Dasher in 2009 but the first running back since Dwone Hicks in 2002. 

Sophomore WR Thomas Owens has been on a tear for the Panthers lately. After catching nine passes for 132 yards and one touchdown in the first five games of the season, he has caught 26 balls for 369 yards and four scores over the last three outings.

Rice at LA Tech

Louisiana Tech has won four straight games and will look to finish October perfect when it hosts Rice in Ruston. The Bulldogs have won the last two seasons over the Owls, who are coming off a wild 65-44 win last week in non-conference play. Earlier this week, LA Tech senior S Xavier Woods was named a semifinalist for the Jim Thorpe Award. Woods leads the Bulldog defense with four interceptions this season for 45 yards, while the senior has totaled 53 total tackles, including 3.5 tackles for loss. Woods' fourth interception of the season this past weekend at FIU was the 13th of his career, which ranks fifth all-time in Louisiana Tech history. 

In last week’s win, Rice senior QB Tyler Stehling joined Tommy Kramer, Chase Clement and Nick Fanuzzi as the only Owls’ quarterbacks to top 400 yards passing in a game and his 407 yards were the fourth-best in school history. Stehling also threw five touchdowns (one shy of the school record) as five different Owls caught TD passes.

Marshall at Southern Miss
 
Marshall heads to Hattiesburg carrying a five-game winning streak over Southern Miss. The Thundering Herd will look to get back on track against a Golden Eagles team that has won five conference games in a row at M.M. Roberts Stadium. A pair of Marshall receivers set a career high for catches last Saturday, as junior WR Deon-Tay McManus finished with seven receptions, topping the six he had last season at Charlotte, while senior WR Josh Knight had 10 grabs, which is one better than the nine he had last week against Florida Atlantic. Knight has a team-high 35 receptions on the season. 

Southern Miss senior QB Nick Mullens has thrown for 10,756 yards in three-plus seasons as the Golden Eagles’ starter and needs 136 more yards to surpass Austin Davis (2008-11) as the school’s all-time leader.  His career 268.9 yards per game passing currently ranks as the best for that category by any Golden Eagle QB and he has thrown for 300 or more yards a school-record 15 times.

North Texas at UTSA

An important West Division matchup takes place in San Antonio where North Texas meets up with UTSA as first-year coaches Seth Littrell and Frank Wilson are showing much improvement in their initial year with their programs. The Mean Green has won its last two games and carries a 4-3 overall mark into this contest with a Roadrunners team that fell last week at home in a league-record five overtimes to UTEP. North Texas junior RB Jeffrey Wilson continued his outstanding 2016 season with 160 rushing yards and three touchdowns in a 35-18 win at Army last Saturday. The Black Knights were ranked second in the FBS in rushing defense entering the game, allowing just 99 yards per game.  

In the Mean Green’s four victories, Wilson is averaging 147 yards per game while scoring 10 of his 12 touchdowns (fifth-most in the FBS).  UTSA has seen a total of 20 first-time starters (11 defense/nine offense) take the field in the opening seven games of the season and that figure ranks fourth in the country (Bowling Green and Iowa lead with 23, while Missouri has 22). Among the Runners newcomers are LB Josiah Tauaefa, the nation’s leading tackler among freshman with 75 and junior WR Josh Stewart, UTSA’s leading receiver with 356 receiving yards on just 15 receptions (fourth nationally in yards per catch at 23.7).

Old Dominion at UTEP

Old Dominion and UTEP have split their first two meetings as the Monarchs head to the Sun Bowl on Saturday night. The Miners are fresh off a win in the longest game in C-USA history, a 52-49 triumph at UTSA, while the Monarchs are seeking win number five. While ODU senior WR Zach Pascal has moved into second place in ODU history in career receiving yards with 2,765, sophomore WR Travis Fulgham has emerged as a big play threat in the Monarchs’ passing game. He had a 53-yard touchdown grab last week, his third-straight game with a score and his second 50+ yard TD catch of the season.  

UTEP sophomore QB Ryan Metz was recognized as one of the Manning Award eight national "Stars of the Week" following his performance in the dramatic win at UTSA.  Metz tied his career best with three touchdown passes, including the game-winning score to sophomore WR Warren Redix in the fifth overtime.  He finished with 211 yards on 15-of-23 passing and engineered drives of 75, 65, 97 and 85 yards in regulation.