A busy afternoon slate that includes three East Division games and one West Division matchup help make up the six-game Saturday slate in week nine of C-USA Football.

2019 Week Nine Previews.(pdf)
 
West Division rivals Southern Miss and Rice start the day’s action with a Noon CT kickoff in Houston (ESPN+).  The Golden Eagles and their big play offense (11 scrimmage plays of 50 yards or longer this season) will look to get back in the win column after a tough loss at Louisiana Tech.  Rice senior RB Aston Walter is the first Owl in six seasons to post three consecutive 100-yard games.
 
WKU will take its 4-0 league record to Marshall in a key East Division matchup (2:30 pm ET on Stadium).  During their current four-game winning streak, the Hilltoppers have allowed a combined total of 34 points (8.5 per game) and have not allowed a second half touchdown in three straight.  Thundering Herd sophomore RB Brenden Knox is No. 4 nationally for rushing yards this month (423) after his career-high 220 yard game last week.
 
North Texas and Charlotte will meet on the gridiron for the first time at 3:30 pm ET on ESPN+.  Mean Green junior WR Jaelon Darden now leads C-USA with 48 receptions on the season, totaling 478 yards and a league-high seven TD catches.  With four more sacks last week, the 49ers have established a new school record with 23 on the season and their 3.29 sacks per game place them 14th in the FBS.
 
FIU is on a three-game winning streak as the Panthers head to Middle Tennessee (2:30 pm CT on NFL Network).  During the winning streak, FIU senior RB Anthony Jones has three 100-yard games and has totaled 334 rushing yards and five rushing touchdowns.  Blue Raiders junior LB DQ Thomas had seven tackles, one tackle for loss and a forced fumble last week, giving him 44 total stops, 9 TFL’s and two forced fumbles through seven games.
 
Florida Atlantic will look for its third win in Norfolk in as many tries when the Owls take on Old Dominion (3:30 pm ET on ESPN+).  Owls’ sophomore QB Chris Robison has thrown for more than 300 yards in four of the last five games, while throwing 12 touchdown passes with just two interceptions over that stretch.  Monarchs junior LB Lawrence Garner has registered double-digit tackles in four straight games and has taken over the C-USA lead with 69 stops on the season.
 
The only evening game this week will see red-hot Louisiana Tech, winners of six straight, venture west to take on UTEP (6 pm MT on ESPN3).  Junior CB Amik Robertson, the active FBS leader in career interceptions, added three more in the win over Southern Miss, giving him five this season and 14 in 33 career games.  Miners senior RB Treyvon Hughes has run for six of the squad’s nine touchdowns this season.
 
 
WEEK NINE C-USA FOOTBALL PREVIEWS
 
SOUTHERN MISS (4-3, 2-1 in C-USA) at RICE (0-7, 0-3 in C-USA)
Saturday, October 26
12 p.m. CT
Houston, Texas (Rice Stadium)
Television: ESPN+
Announcers: David Saltzman (PxP), ND Kalu (AN)
All-Time Series: Southern Miss leads 5-4
Last Meeting: at Southern Miss 40, Rice 22 (Sept. 22, 2018)
 
FAST FACTS
**Southern Miss has four straight games in the series.
**The winner of this matchup has scored 41 or more points in eight consecutive meetings.
**Southern Miss senior KR D’Michael Harris had a 100-yard kickoff return for a touchdown Saturday at Louisiana Tech.  That allowed USM to set a new school record with three kickoff return TDs this season, the most of any FBS team in 2019.  It was the second time this season a Golden Eagles player returned a kickoff 100 yards (Jaylond Adams vs. Troy) and the seventh time in the school’s history.  It also marked the second time that the Golden Eagles opened a game with a kickoff return for a touchdown in 2019 (Alcorn State).
**Freshman K Andrew Stein was 3-for-3 on field goal attempts at LA Tech (28, 46, 41), with his 46-yarder serving as his career long make.  He has converted 10-of-12 field goals this season for Southern Miss and made 21-of-22 extra points, including three last Saturday.
**Junior WR Quez Watkins registered his second-straight 100-yard receiving game and third of the year with 102 yards on six catches at LA Tech.  With eight career 100-yard showings, he trails only Sherrod Gideon (11) and Mike Thomas (9) for the most in Southern Miss history.  In just 29 games, Watkins has moved up to sixth in Golden Eagles history with 1,856 yards receiving.
**Southern Miss has registered at least one sack in each game this season, totaling 18.  Senior DB DQ Thomas leads the team after registering his third sack of the year last week.
**Rice senior RB Aston Walter ran 18 times for 109 yards and a TD at UTSA Saturday. Walter has now rushed for 100 yards in three games in a row. He is the first Owls player to run for 100 yards in three straight games since Charles Ross did it in four straight in 2013.  Walter came into the year with no career touchdowns, but has found the end zone six times in the last five games.
**Junior transfer WR Brad Rozner posted back-to-back 100 yard receiving days in his first two games at Rice Stadium (103 vs. Wake Forest, 100 vs. Baylor) and has 267 in three games on the home turf this year.  Rozner, who has scored a TD in each of the last two weeks, now has three 100-yard receiving games on the season.
**Brad Rozner and junior WR Austin Trammell became the first pair of Rice receivers to each catch nine passes in the same game in school history last Saturday at UTSA.  Rozner set career-bests with his nine receptions and 138 yards while Trammell finished with nine receptions and 75 yards to become the 13th Owl to top 100 career catches and move into a tie for 10th on the Rice career chart with 103.
**Redshirt freshman QB Wiley Green surpassed the 1,000 yard passing mark (1,008) in his eighth career game (four last season while redshirting).  He is the fastest Owl to reach 1,000 yards passing since Nick Fannuzi threw for 1,203 yards in his first seven games with Rice in 2009 after transferring from Alabama.  The Rice freshman record for passing yards is held by Randy Hertel, who threw for 1,620 yards in 1977.
 
MORE
Southern Miss Football: http://www.southernmiss.com/sports/m-footbl/smis-m-footbl-body.html
Rice Football: https://riceowls.com/index.aspx?path=football
 
 
WKU (5-2, 4-0 in C-USA) at MARSHALL (4-3, 2-1 in C-USA)
Saturday, October 26
2:30 p.m. ET
Huntington, West Virginia (Joan C. Edwards Stadium)
Broadcast: Stadium on Facebook
Announcers: Chris Hassel (PxP), A.J. Hawk (AN)
All-Time Series: Marshall leads 6-4
Last Meeting: Marshall 20, at WKU 17 (Sept. 29, 2018)
 
FAST FACTS
**Marshall has won by a touchdown or less in the last two meetings after WKU had won the first three meetings with both schools as members of Conference USA.
**Sophomore RB Brenden Knox rushed for a career-high 220 yards (the highest total in C-USA this season) and two touchdowns to lead the Thundering Herd to a crucial 36-31 win at Florida Atlantic last Friday night. He had just 10 yards on the ground before the final drive of the first half, when he gained 85 of Marshall’s 95 yards, culminating with his first touchdown. Knox’s second TD was a 17-yard scamper with 36 seconds left that gave the Herd a key road victory. Knox now has 719 rushing yards and seven TDs on the season. He also has 10 TDs in his last 10 games. 
**Senior WR Willie Johnson has 205 receiving yards on just eight receptions this year (25.6 yards per catch).  His 60-yard fourth quarter touchdown reception last week was a career long catch.
**The Marshall defense posted a season-high seven sacks last week at Florida Atlantic.  Senior LB Tyler Brown had two of the sacks, including one for a safety, for his first career multi-sack game.
**Marshall senior kicker Justin Rohrwasser made a pair of field goals last week at FAU, making him a perfect 7-for-7 this season.  He has made eight consecutive field goals dating back to the 2018 season.
**Junior P Robert LeFevre dropped four of his seven punts inside the 20-yard line and two inside the 10 in Marshall’s win at Florida Atlantic.  His 53-yard boot backed up FAU to its own four-yard line near the end of the third quarter, which set up Tyler Brown’s sack and safety on the second play of the ensuring drive.  For the season, his 12 punts downed inside the 20 yard line (with no touchbacks) is tied for first in Conference USA.
**With a win in this game, WKU would reach the six-win mark for the eighth time in the past nine seasons.  The Hilltoppers have been to five bowl games since 2012 and own a 3-2 record.
**WKU improved to 4-0 in league play with a 30-14 victory over Charlotte last week.  For the third straight game, the Hilltoppers defense did not allow a second half touchdown.  WKU is now second in C-USA and 15th nationally in total defense, allowing 287.3 yards per game.  During their current four-game winning streak, the Hilltoppers have allowed a combined total of 34 points (8.5 per game) and are second in the league and 17th nationally with an 17.9 scoring average.
**In WKU’s win over Charlotte last Saturday, junior DE DeAngelo Malone recorded two sacks (for 16 yards lost) and three quarterback hurries, to go along with five total tackles (four solo). Malone continues to lead the nation with 16.0 tackles for loss (for -90 yards) and stands atop Conference USA with 9.0 sacks on the season (tied for third in the FBS).
**WKU’s offense has not turned the ball over or committed a penalty in each of its last two games.
**Graduate senior QB Ty Storey completed 21-of-30 passes for a career-high 283 yards passing in WKU’s victory vs. Charlotte.  Storey had two touchdown passes and no interceptions, while also catching an 8-yard TD pass from senior WR Lucky Jackson.  That was the first receiving touchdown by a Hilltopper QB since Brandon Doughty vs. Florida Atlantic on Nov. 7, 2015.  Storey’s 69-yard touchdown throw to Jackson earlier in the game on a flea-flicker was the longest completion of his career.
**Senior WR Lucky Jackson caught five passes for a team-season high 141 yards and one touchdown reception last week.  He had a 69-yard touchdown catch off a WKU flea-flicker in the first quarter, his 10th career receiving touchdown and seventh career catch of 50-plus yards.  Jackson also threw an 8-yard touchdown pass to QB Ty Storey off a wide-receiver reverse handoff in the third quarter.
 
MORE
WKU Football: http://wkusports.com/index.aspx?path=football
Marshall Football: http://www.herdzone.com/sports/m-footbl/mars-m-footbl-body.html
 
 
NORTH TEXAS (3-4, 2-1 in C-USA) at CHARLOTTE (2-5, 0-3 in C-USA)
Saturday, October 26
3:30 p.m. ET
Charlotte, North Carolina (Richardson Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Bobby Rosinski (PxP), Reggie Walker (AN), Libby Clark (SL)
All-Time Series: First Meeting
 
FAST FACTS
**Charlotte is the only C-USA school that North Texas has never faced in football.
**A week after grabbing a career-high three touchdowns, North Texas junior WR Jaelon Darden followed that up with a career-best 13 catches for 125 yards and a touchdown in the Mean Green’s 33-30 win over Middle Tennessee. Darden’s 13th catch of the game took North Texas to the four yard line with four seconds remaining, setting up the game-winning field goal as time expired. Darden now leads C-USA with 48 receptions on the season, totaling 478 yards and a league-high seven TD catches.
**A week after leaving the game with a shoulder injury, senior QB Mason Fine finished 33-for-45 passing for 375 yards and a touchdown pass.  The TD pass allowed Fine to tie Mitch Maher (1991-94) for the program's lead in career touchdowns responsible for with 85.
**Sophomore LB KD Davis registered his third double-digit tackle game of the season by recording 10 in North Texas’ 33-30 win over Middle Tennessee.  He also added a tackle for loss, a sack and a quarterback hurry.  Davis ranks third in Conference USA with 64 tackles on the season.
**Sophomore K Ethan Mooney earned C-USA Special Teams Player of the Week honors after he accounted for 15 of the 21 special teams points for the Mean Green in their 33-30 win over Middle Tennessee last week.  He was a perfect 4-for-4 on field goal attempts, connecting from 26, 32, 39 and 22 yards.  The 22-yarder came as time expired to send North Texas back into the win column for the first time since week four against UTSA.  Mooney leads C-USA and is tied for fifth nationally with 13 field goals made on the season.
**Sophomore WR Victor Tucker pulled in six catches for 113 yards last week at WKU, his second 100-yard game of the season (Florida Atlantic).  Tucker had four catches of 15 or more yards – the third time this year that he has had four catches of 15 or more yards in a game.  He also became the sixth player in 49ers history to eclipse 1,000 career receiving yards. Tucker now has 1,071 receiving yards in his 18-game career.
**49ers senior RB Benny LeMay leads Conference USA in all-purpose yards (871 yards, 124.4 per game) and is second in rushing (667 yards; 95.3 per game).  At WKU, he caught a 47-yard touchdown pass – the longest TD reception of the season for the 49ers.  That was LeMay's eighth TD of the season. 
**With four more sacks last week, the 49ers have established a new school record with 23 on the season and their 3.29 sacks per game place them 14th in the FBS.
**Redshirt senior DE Alex Highsmith is now the 49ers all-time sack king. He owns school records for sacks in a game (2.0), season (7.5) and career (13.5).  With 7.5 in 2019, he ranks second in C-USA and 10^th in the FBS in sacks
**Charlotte has scored 30 touchdowns through seven games this year, already matching last year's 12-game total.  Of the 49ers 30 TDs, 28 are offensive: 14 rushing and 14 passing. 
 
MORE
North Texas Football: https://meangreensports.com/index.aspx?path=football
Charlotte Football: http://www.charlotte49ers.com/index.aspx?path=football
 
 
FIU (4-3, 2-2 in C-USA) at MIDDLE TENNESSEE (2-5, 1-2 in C-USA)
Saturday, October 26
2:30 p.m. CT
Murfreesboro, Tennessee (Floyd Stadium)
Broadcast: NFL Network
Announcers: Dave Ryan (PxP), Ben Leber (AN), Ashley Stroehlein (SL)
All-Time Series:  Middle Tennessee leads 10-4
Last Meeting: at FIU 24, Middle Tennessee 21 (Oct. 13, 2018)
 
FAST FACTS
**Middle Tennessee is 6-1 in the series in games played in Murfreesboro, with the only loss coming in 2011.
**FIU increased its winning streak to three games with a 32-17 victory over UTEP Saturday night. Leading the way during the win streak has been senior RB Anthony Jones, who has run for more than 100 yards in each of the three games.  Against UTEP this past Saturday, Jones carried 15 times for 102 yards and one score, totaling 163 yards from scrimmage.  Over the past three games, Jones has 334 rushing yards and five TDs.  He has moved up to sixth in C-USA in rushing and his nine total TDs rank fourth.
**The Panthers are the only C-USA school with two players ranked in the top 10 of the league in rushing.  While Jones is sixth with 512 yards, senior RB Napoleon Maxwell ranks 10^th with 378.  The duo have combined for 12 rushing touchdowns and 15 total TDs.
**FIU graduate senior QB James Morgan, who missed a game and a half with injury earlier this year, tossed his eighth touchdown pass of the season last week.  That allowed him to move into third place at the school record for career TD passes at 34.  Morgan, who has thrown just two interceptions in 146 attempts in 2019, reached third place in just 19 games as a Panther.
**FIU is second in C-USA in third down conversions at 44%.  The Panthers have been successful on 40 of 91 attempts this season.
**FIU leads the FBS in punt returns with a 30.9 average per return, more than nine yards per return ahead of second place Alabama.  The Panthers also top the country in punt return coverage, allowing opponents an average of -2.3 points per return.
**Sophomore QB Asher O’Hara has led the Blue Raiders in rushing all seven games this season and ranks eighth in C-USA, averaging 63.1 yards per game on the ground.  He also averages 232.4 yards per game through the air.  O’Hara has thrown 10 touchdown passes and run for more scores.
**Sophomore WR Zack Dobson made his first start of the season at North Texas and hauled in a career-high six receptions.
**Blue Raiders junior LB DQ Thomas had seven tackles, one tackle for loss and a forced fumble last week at North Texas, giving him 44 total stops, 9 TFL’s and two forced fumbles through seven games.
**Junior S Jovante Moffatt tied for the team lead in tackles with eight and had an interception against North Texas.  Over his last three games, Moffatt has 27 tackles and three interceptions.
**With three field goals against North Texas, junior K Crews Holt ran his career total to 26.  That moved him into Middle Tennessee’s top 10 for field goals made in just 23 games played.
 
MORE
FIU Football: http://www.fiusports.com/index.aspx?path=football
Middle Tennessee Football: http://www.goblueraiders.com/index.aspx?path=football
 
 
FLORIDA ATLANTIC (4-3, 2-1 in C-USA) at OLD DOMINION (1-6, 0-3 in C-USA)
Saturday, October 26
3:30 p.m. ET
Norfolk, Virginia (Foreman Field)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Ted Alexander (PxP), Andy Mashaw (AN), Doug Ripley (SL)
All-Time Series: Florida Atlantic leads 3-2
Last Meeting: at Florida Atlantic 52, Old Dominion 33
 
FAST FACTS
**Florida Atlantic has won the previous two meetings played in Norfolk.
**Florida Atlantic sophomore QB Chris Robison has thrown for more than 300 yards in four of the last five games.  He was 21-of-39 for 362 yards last Friday night in a narrow loss to Marshall.  Robison is closing in on 2,000 yards for the season (1,923) and has 13 TD passes with just three INTs.
**Junior WR D'Angelo Antoine finished with seven receptions for 111 yards against Marshall, passing the 100-yard mark for the second time this season.
Junior LB Akileis Leroy recorded his first career interception against Marshall, to go along with a career-high 10 tackles. 
**Florida Atlantic is tied for the C-USA lead with nine interceptions on the season.  Senior CB Meiko Dotson leads the way with four, while senior LB Rashad Smith has two.
**Due to injuries and inexperience, Old Dominion has started 39 different players so far this season.  The 39 different starters is tied for third-most in FBS.  Junior QB Messiah deWeaver and sophomore S Justinn Richardson were the newest starters this season, getting their first starts of the year last Saturday at UAB.
**Monarchs junior LB Lawrence Garner has registered double-digit tackles in four straight games and has taken over the C-USA lead with 69 stops on the season.  Garner had a team-high 10 tackles, a fumble recovery and a pass breakup last week at UAB.  He also moved into 10th all-time on the ODU charts with 182 tackles.
**Junior DT Juwan Ross and sophomore DE Keion White each had 1.5 tackles for loss at UAB, as ODU produced a team had a season-high 11 TFL’s.  White leads the Monarchs with 9.5 tackles for loss, while Ross is right behind with 9.0.  They rank fourth and fifth, respectively, in C-USA in that category.
**Redshirt freshman KR Blake Watson nearly had a couple more big returns at UAB, as he opened the game with a 41-yard return, and had a 28-yarder later in the first half.  Watson leads Conference USA and is eighth in FBS with a 29.1 yard return average.
**ODU senior WR Darrell Brown is coming off a career-best day at UAB, catching four passes for 64 yards.  He had just one catch all season before last Saturday.
 
MORE
Florida Atlantic Football: http://www.fausports.com/sports/m-footbl/fau-m-footbl-body.html
Old Dominion Football:  http://www.odusports.com/SportSelect.dbml?DB_OEM_ID=31100&SPID=127313&SPSID=750425&DB_OEM_ID=31100
 
 
LOUISIANA TECH (6-1, 3-0 in C-USA) at UTEP (1-5, 0-3 in C-USA)
Saturday, October 26
6 p.m. MT
El Paso, Texas (Sun Bowl)
Television: ESPN3
Announcers: Andy Morgan (PxP), Trevor Vittatoe (AN)
All-Time Series: Louisiana Tech leads 12-2-1
Last Meeting: at Louisiana Tech 31, UTEP 24 (Oct. 20, 2018)
 
FAST FACTS
**Louisiana Tech has a six-game winning streak in the series, with the streak beginning in 2013 when the Bulldogs joined Conference USA. 
**Louisiana Tech junior CB Amik Robertson was a defensive force once again during the Bulldogs 45-20 win over Southern Miss, earning C-USA Defensive Player of the Week honors and Bronko Nagurski National Defensive Player of the Week recognition.  He became the third LA Tech player and 12th player in C-USA history to intercept three passes in a game.  That increased Robertson’s INT total to a league-leading total of five this season and extended his career total to 14, most among all active FBS players. Robertson’s 16 passes defended this season are the most for any player in the FBS.
**LA Tech junior RB Justin Henderson continues to make quite an impact in his first season in a Bulldogs uniform.  For the third time in the last four games, the junior transfer topped the 100-yard mark, gaining 111 yards on 19 carries vs. Southern Miss last week.  Henderson also posted his third multiple touchdown game, scoring twice.  He now has nine TD’s over the last three games and a league-high 10 rushing scores on the season (tied for seventh nationally).  With 589 rushing yards on just 77 carries, he is averaging a league-best 7.65 yards per carry. That average is 13th nationally.
**Graduate transfer Malik Stanley had a career day at wideout in LA Tech’s win over Southern Miss on Saturday – setting new career highs in receptions (8) and yards (212).  Stanley entered Saturday’s contest with 11 receptions for 182 yards through Tech’s first six games.  With his performance, Stanley became the 14th Bulldog in program history with a 200-yard receiving performance.  The South Alabama transfer came down with all eight of his targets, averaging 26.5 yards per reception. Stanley also hauled in a crucial touchdown catch in the back of the end zone on 3rd and 5 for Tech’s first score of the day. He is just one of 12 FBS players with 200+ yards receiving in a single game this season (second in C-USA).
**UTEP enters the game ranked 12th in the nation after putting up near perfect numbers in the red zone through the first eight weeks of the season. The Miners have been successful on 17-of-18 trips inside the 20-yard line.  In six games, UTEP has nine touchdowns (8 rushing) and eight field goals for a total of 85 points put on the board in the red zone thus far.
**Senior DT Ka’Derrion Mason recorded a career-high 3.5 tackles for loss last week, including both of the Bulldogs sacks.  He also had a season-high six tackles.
**Senior RB Treyvon Hughes has rushed for six of the Miners nine touchdowns on the ground in 2019.  He has scored at least once in four of six games played.
**UTEP is averaging 41.0 rushing attempts in three home games in 2019.  The Miners ran the ball 46 times in the opener versus Houston Baptist, 47 times versus Nevada and 30 times against UTSA.  The Miners are led by senior RB Treyvon Hughes and junior RB Josh Fields, who have combined for 102 carries, 477 yards and 5 TDs at the Sun Bowl.
**Prior to the start of the season, the Miners saw two key additions to the team during fall camp, both of which are paying off midway through the campaign.  Senior CB Ykili Ross (USC) currently leads the defense with a pair of interceptions, while junior WR Devaughn Cooper (Arizona) is one of the top receivers on the team with 10 catches for 147 yards.
 
MORE
Louisiana Tech Football: http://www.latechsports.com/sports/m-footbl/latc-m-footbl-body.html
UTEP Football: http://www.utepathletics.com/index.aspx?path=football