Amazingly, we have already arrived at the final regular season week in the 2019 season.  Seven league games are on Saturday’s schedule with division titles, championship game hosting and rivalry bragging rights all hanging in the balance.

2019 Week 14 Preview.(pdf)
 
For the second straight year, FIU and Marshall will finish the season against each other, this time in Huntington (12 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network).  The Panthers are coming off a big win over crosstown rival Miami that made them bowl-eligible and will be looking to guarantee a winning season with their seventh victory of 2019.  The Thundering Herd could still earn the East Division title and a spot in the 2019 Ryan C-USA Football Championship Game with a win, coupled with a Florida Atlantic loss.
 
First-year head coach Will Healy has Charlotte bowl-eligible for the first time in program history and will look to extend their school-record winning streak to five games when the 49ers visit Old Dominion (2 p.m. ET on ESPN+).  Charlotte has the league’s top rushing offense, but the Monarchs defense has been solid against the run all season (No. 4 in C-USA).
 
Separated by 100 miles, the rivalry between Middle Tennessee and WKU is the most-played among Conference USA schools.  The longtime foes will meet in Bowling Green (1 p.m. CT on ESPN+), with Blue Raiders quarterback Asher O’Hara needing 86 rushing yards to become the second C-USA QB to run for 1,000 yards in a season.  Under first-year head coach Tyson Helton, WKU has raised its win total by four games and will look for win No. 8 armed with one of the league’s top defenses.
 
Southern Miss and Florida Atlantic each enter Saturday with the possibility of qualifying for the C-USA Championship Game when they meet in Boca Raton for the first time (3:30 p.m. ET on NFL Network).  For the Owls, which have won four straight, it’s simple – win and they will host the title game for the second time in three years.  For the Golden Eagles, they need to get the road win and then get some help from UTSA against Louisiana Tech.
 
Louisiana Tech will host UTSA, looking for a win to keep its hopes alive of earning of a spot in the C-USA Championship Game (2:30 p.m. CT on ESPN+).  The Bulldogs need to snap their two-game losing streak and get help from North Texas vs. UAB in order to make its third title game appearance in six years.
 
UAB will play at North Texas, with the Blazers playing for a possible return trip to the C-USA Championship Game (3 p.m. CT on Stadium).  A UAB win, coupled with a Southern Miss loss at FAU will send Bill Clark’s bunch back to defend their title.  This matchup will mark the final game for Mean Green QB Mason Fine, who has re-written the UNT passing record book.
 
In-state rivals Rice and UTEP will wrap up their 2019 seasons with a meeting in El Paso (1 p.m. MT on ESPN3).  The improving Owls are seeking to finish the campaign on a three-game winning streak, while the Miners are hoping to finish on a high note with a second straight victory over Rice.
 
 
WEEK 14 C-USA FOOTBALL PREVIEWS
 
FIU (6-5, 3-4 in C-USA) at MARSHALL (7-4, 5-2 in C-USA)
Saturday, November 30
12 p.m. ET
Huntington, West Virginia (Joan C. Edwards Stadium)
Television: CBS Sports Network
Announcers: Jason Horowitz (PxP), Danny Kanell (AN)
All-Time Series: Marshall leads 5-2
Last Meeting: Marshall 28, at FIU 25 (Nov. 24, 2018)
 
FAST FACTS
**This is the second straight year these teams will close the regular season against each other.  Last year in Miami, Brenden Knox ran for 109 yards and Tyre Brady caught two touchdowns as Marshall posted a 28-25 victory.
**The FIU Panthers earned their first win over an ACC opponent and only the second win over a current Power-5 opponent, with an intra-city win over Miami, 30-24, at Marlins Park.  The win gives the Panthers (6-5) six wins in a season for a school-record third consecutive year, and earned them the FWAA Reveal Suits National Team of the Week honor for games of the weekend of Nov. 23.  This is the first time for FIU to earn the Team of the Week honor and the second straight year a C-USA school has been recognized (Old Dominion on Sept. 24, 2018).
** Senior RB Napoleon Maxwell and senior RB Anthony Jones (7) have combined for 15 of the team’s 20 rushing scores and have also helped FIU to its No. 3 ranking in C-USA in rushing offense at 175.8 yards per game.
**Saturday is expected to be the 23rd game in a Panthers uniform for graduate senior QB James Morgan.  Despite playing in just 22 games, Morgan is now four touchdown passes away from tying the school’s all-time mark of 42, set by Josh Padrick from 2002-06.  He has passed for 12 touchdowns this season on 164-of-282 passing and 2,037 yards, while only throwing a league-low two interceptions.
**Junior K Jose Borregales made three field goals in FIU’s 30-24 win over Miami, including two from 50 yards or longer to earn C-USA Offensive Player of the week honors.  He hit from 29, 50 and 53, with the 53-yarder tying a school record that was set by Borregales last season.  His three field goals early on helped build a 16-0 lead over Miami in the third quarter.  In addition to his field goals, Borregales was 3-for-3 on extra points and had seven kickoffs for a 60.6 average with three touchbacks.  Borregales now has 258 career points, tying FIU’s all-time mark for most points scored by a player.
**FIU’s offensive line has allowed just 13 sacks on the season, tied for first in Conference USA and 10th among all FBS teams.
**The FIU secondary has proven tough to move against this season.  The Panthers rank second in C-USA in passing defense, allowing just 186.5 yards per game through the air, which ranks 13th nationally).  FIU has allowed a league-low 11 passing touchdowns (tied for 14th in the FBS) and intercepted 11 passes (third in C-USA).
**Marshall sophomore RB Brenden Knox leads C-USA with 1,138 yards through the first 11 games, an average of 103.2 per game and has also rushed for 10 touchdowns. Knox has been even better against league foes, averaging 120.3 yards against C-USA competition with six scores in seven games. In 16 career games with the Herd, he has 1,716 yards (107.3 per game) and 14 TDs.  Knox is the 17^th player in school history to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. 
**Junior WR Willie Johnson has registered a team-high five plays of 40 yards or longer this season (only three players have more).  He is averaging 23.65 yards per catch, with 12 receptions for 279 yards and three touchdowns, including a highlight reel grab vs. Louisiana Tech last week.
**Junior LB Tavante Beckett registered a career-high 15 tackles at Charlotte last week to give him a league-best 106 stops on the season.  He has 28 tackles in the last two games and has reached double-digit stops in five games this season. 
**Senior LB Omari Cobb is tied for the league lead in tackles in conference games with 69 and is third in all games at 97, reaching double-figure stops four times.  He has also posted 7.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and one interception.
Marshall senior K Justin Rohrwasser is 16-of-18 on field goal attempts and is 30-of-31 on extra points for 78 points on the season.  His 16 field goals are tied for the league lead.
**Marshall has posted 25 of its 33 sacks in conference play.  The 25 sacks lead all C-USA teams in league action.  Sophomore DL Darius Hodge leads the way with 7.0 sacks, while senior LB Tyler Brown and senior DL Marquis Couch each have 4.5.
 
MORE
FIU Football: https://fiusports.com/sports/football
Marshall Football: https://herdzone.com/index.aspx?path=football
 
 
CHARLOTTE (6-5, 4-3 in C-USA) at OLD DOMINION (1-10, 0-7 in C-USA)
Saturday, November 30
2 p.m. ET
Norfolk, Virginia (Ballard Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Ted Alexander (PxP), Andy Mashaw (AN), Doug Ripley (SL)
All-Time Series: Old Dominion leads 3-1
Last Meeting: at Charlotte 28, Old Dominion 25 (Sept. 13, 2018)
 
FAST FACTS
**The 49ers earned their first win in the series last year in a game that was moved up to a Thursday afternoon in Charlotte due to an incoming hurricane.  Chris Reynolds was 24-of-34 for 202 yards and two touchdowns to lead the Niners, while Lala Davis ran for two TD’s for ODU.
**Charlotte posted its school-record sixth win against Marshall last Saturday to clinch bowl eligibility for the first time in school history.  The 49ers tied their high mark for C-USA wins in a season (4), with one game remaining.  The victory was a school-record fourth in a row for Charlotte.
**In its current four-game win streak, Charlotte has outscored its foes, 80-33 in the second half and allowed just three second-half points in the last two games.  
**Sophomore QB Chris Reynolds has engineered three game-winning fourth quarter touchdown drives during the four-game winning streak.  Reynolds has had at least 295 yards of total offense in each of the last four wins and has thrown a TD pass in seven straight games.  On the season, Reynolds has thrown for 2,200 yards and 19 touchdowns, while rushing for 661 yards and six scores.  His 2,681 yards of total offense ranks fourth in C-USA.
**Sophomore WR Victor Tucker was named C-USA Offensive Player of the Week after he scored a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns as Charlotte rallied past Marshall to become bowl-eligible for the first time in school history.  He also posted his fourth 100-yard receiving game of the season with five catches for 121 yards.  All four of Tucker's 100-yard receiving games have come against C-USA foes.  He scored on a five-yard end around to give the 49ers their first lead of the game and then caught an acrobatic 25-yard TD pass on fourth and 10 with 48 seconds left to seal the win.  It was Charlotte's school-record sixth win of the season.
**Redshirt senior LB Jeff Gemmell (team-high 10 tackles vs. Marshall) has led the 49ers in tackles three times during the current four-game win streak and he's had double-digit tackles each of those three.  On the season, he has 69 tackles in 10 games.  Gemmell holds the 49ers all-time record with 289 career tackles, just 11 shy of 300.  With 4.5 tackles for loss this season, Gemmell has 21.0 TFL’s in his career.
 
**Monarchs redshirt freshman WR Aaron Moore set an Old Dominion school record with 14 catches at Middle Tennessee last Saturday.  The redshirt freshman had 14 receptions for 194 yards, including a 63-yard touchdown, the longest play this year by the Monarchs.  Six of Moore’s catches went for first downs.  Coming into the game, he had eight catches on the year.
**In just his third career start, true freshman QB Hayden Wolff completed 39-of-65 passes for 321 yards and a touchdown at Middle Tennessee.  The completions and yards were each the most by a Conference USA quarterback this season. 
**ODU redshirt freshman RB Lala Davis scored four touchdowns last year as a true freshman, but only played in four games and redshirted.  This year, he has three TDs and has 325 rushing yards on 76 carries.  Davis is one of six players in the FBS to score a touchdown this year and last year as a freshman.
**Sophomore CB Kaleb Ford-Dement has recorded 13 pass breakups, setting a new ODU single-season school record and ranking third in Conference USA.  He also has two interceptions this season, giving him 15 passes defended, second-most in Conference USA.
**Junior LB Lawrence Garner had nine tackles at Middle Tennessee to give him 104 on the season, the second straight year he has posted 100 tackles.  He has recorded his sixth double-digit tackle game of the year with 12 tackles against UTSA on Nov. 9.  Garner leads Conference USA and is 20th in the FBS with 9.4 tackles per game.
**ODU sophomore DL Keion White has 16.5 more tackles for loss on the year.  The converted tight end is tied for third in C-USA and tied for sixth in FBS in TFL’s.
With his 27-yard field goal in the first half last week, junior K Nick Rice tied his own single-season record with his 15th field goal of the year.
 
MORE
Charlotte Football: https://charlotte49ers.com/sports/football
Old Dominion Football: https://odusports.com/index.aspx?path=fb
 
 
MIDDLE TENNESSEE (4-7, 3-4 in C-USA) at WKU (7-4, 5-2 in C-USA)
Saturday, November 30
2:30 p.m. CT
Bowling Green, Kentucky (Houchens Stadium)
Television: ESPN+
Announcers: Graham Doty (PxP), Brandon Doughty (AN)
All-Time Series: WKU leads 2-0
Last Meeting: at WKU 45, Southern Miss 28 (C-USA Championship - Dec. 5, 2015)
 
FAST FACTS
**Four of the last seven meetings in the series have gone into overtime and six of the last eight have been decided by one possession. 
**Last year in Murfreesboro, Middle Tennessee snapped a three-game losing streak in the series with a 29-10 victory.  The Blue Raiders generated 474 yards of total offense, RB Chaton Mobley ran for 198 yards and Crews Holt tied the school record with five field goals in the win.
**The Blue Raiders are one of just 10 teams nationally to have four different players rush for 100 or more yards in a game during the 2019 season.
**Sophomore QB Asher O’Hara needs 86 more rushing yards to reach 1,000 on the season.  He would be just the second QB in school history to reach 1,000 yards (Dwight Dasher 2009) and the third in C-USA annals.  O’Hara has led the Blue Raiders in rushing in 10 of 11 games this season and averages 83.1 yards per game.  He is third in the league in total offense (293.5 yards per game) with 17 passing touchdowns and nine rushing scores.
**Senior WR Ty Lee has hauled in at least one reception in 51 straight games which is the longest streak in MT history and is currently the longest in the nation.  His 23 career scoring receptions tie him with Richie James (2015-17) for the all-time record at MT.  Lee extended his school record for receptions with seven last week and now has 257 in his career (11th in C-USA history).
**Junior S Kylan Stribling hauled in his first career interception and returned it for a touchdown vs. Old Dominion.  His 38-yard pick-six was the first defensive score for the Blue Raiders this season. Stribling finished with a team-high 10 tackles, eight solo, one TFL and one pass breakup.
**With 10 tackles last week against ODU, senior S Jovante Moffatt ran his career total to 306. Moffatt is just the eighth player in school history to reach 300 career tackles.  He is currently seventh on the career tackles list.
**Middle Tennessee has extended its streak of consecutive red-zone scores to 21, covering the last four games.  The Blue Raiders have scored 17 touchdowns and four field goals during this three-game stretch.  Overall, MT is now 30-of-34 in red-zone chances this season.
**The Hilltoppers are bowl-eligible for the eighth time in nine years and will be seeking win No. 8.  That would mark a five-game improvement over last season’s 3-9 finish.  WKU is currently the fiofth-most improved team in the FBS.
**The Tops have eight consecutive victories on Senior Day.  The last time WKU failed to send its senior class out with a home win was a 27-26 loss to Middle Tennessee in 2010.
**WKU graduate senior QB Ty Storey was named the Manning Award National QB of the Week for his performance in WKU’s 45-19 win at Arkansas on Nov. 9.  After the Hilltoppers bye week, he returned to action at Southern Miss last Saturday and completed 20-of-30 passes for 225 yards and two touchdowns in a 28-10 win. Of his 225 yards passing, Storey had 208 of those in the first half, when he was 15-of-24 with 208 yards and both of his touchdowns as the Hilltoppers built a 21-7 lead.  Overall, Storey completed 66.7% of his passes, marking the seventh consecutive game in which he has completed at least 2/3 of his attempts.
**Over the past five games, senior WR Lucky Jackson has combined for 44 receptions for 649 yards and two touchdowns.  He had 25 receptions for 263 yards and 0 touchdowns in the first six games of the season.  For his career, Jackson has moved into third on the all-time Hilltopper charts in both receptions (184) and yards (2,422).
**Junior RB Gaej Walker has a league-high six 100-yard rushing games and is closing in on 1,000 yards for the season, needing just four more yards for 1K (996 on 212 carries).  He also leads the team with seven rushing touchdowns.
**Junior DE Deangelo Malone was named C-USA Defensive Player of the week for his performance in WKU’s 28-10 victory at Southern Miss.  Malone had two tackles for loss, including 1.5 sacks, and seven total tackles on the day.  But his biggest play of the game was forcing a fumble on a strip sack, then recovering the fumble and taking it into the end zone for a 5-yard scoop-and-score touchdown in the fourth quarter. It was WKU's first fumble return for a TD since 2014.  Earlier in the game, Malone set the Hilltoppers’ single-season record in the program’s FBS Era (since 2009) for tackles for loss. With 20 tackles for loss on the season, Malone is only the 11th defender in WKU’s 101-season history to have at least that many.  With 10.5 sacks, Malone is only the fourth defender in WKU’s 101-season history to reach double-digit quarterback takedowns in a single season.
**The WKU defense has been stellar in the second halves of games. Over the past 10 games overall, the Hilltoppers have let up only 60 second-half points.  For the season, WKU has outscored its opponents 110-to-81 in the second halves of games, and overall has forced a three-and-out on 35.8% (43-of-120) of their opponents’ drives.
**WKU is ranked second in C-USA in scoring defense (19.5 points per game) and total defense (326.2 yards per game).  This represents a significant improvement from last season, when the Hilltoppers allowed 27.8 points and 421.6 yards per game.
 
MORE
Middle Tennessee Football: https://goblueraiders.com/sports/football
WKU Football: https://wkusports.com/sports/football
 
 
RICE (2-9, 2-5 in C-USA) at UTEP (1-10, 0-7 in C-USA)
Saturday, November 30
1 p.m. MT
El Paso, Texas (Sun Bowl)
Television: ESPN3
Announcers: Andy Morgan (PxP), Trevor Vittatoe (AN)
All-Time Series: UTEP leads 14-8
Last Meeting: UTEP 34, at Rice 26 (Nov. 3, 2018)
 
FAST FACTS
**Last year in Houston, Quardraiz Wadley and Kai Locksley each ran for two scores as UTEP posted a 34-26 win.  Wiley Green passed for 313 yards and two TD’s for Rice.
**Rice will be looking to end the 2019 season with three consecutive wins for the time since the Owls wrapped the 2013 regular season with four straight wins.  The last time the Owls concluded a full season (regular and postseason) with at least three wins was in 2012, when they won their last four in the regular season and capped the year with a win over Air Force in the 2012 Armed Forces Bowl.  The last time Rice won its final two conference road games was also in 2012 as they wrapped the road schedule with wins at Tulane and UTEP.
**Rice’s win over North Texas last week was the Owls' sixth game this year decided by one score, the most games of that type since 2013.  The last time Rice played seven one-score games in a season was 1994.
**Junior WR Brad Rozner has topped 100 yards in four games this year, becoming the first Rice receiver since Jordan Taylor in 2014 to top 100 yards four times in a season. Rozner’s 751 receiving yards this year are the most for a first-year player at Rice since 1951 (first year stats on file) while his 52 receptions are second to Larry Davis, who had 54 in 1967.
**The Owls have had five games each with a 100-yard rusher (senior Aston Walter-4, senior Nahshon Ellerbee-1) and 100-yard receiver (junior Brad Rozner-4, junior Austin Trammell-1). The last time the Owls had at least four of each was in 2014.
**Rice junior LB Blaze Alldredge was credited with one tackle for loss vs. North Texas last Saturday thanks to his fourth sack of the season to increase his yearly TFL total to 18 (5th in the nation and 2nd in C-USA). His total set a school record for Rice linebackers (Larry Izzo had 17 in 1995) and ranks fourth on the Rice single-season list. Alldredge has at least one TFL in each of the last nine games. In his last 13 games dating back to last season, Alldredge has amassed 112 tackles, including 18 for loss.
**The Owls are allowing 141.9 rushing yards per game and 26.8 points per game through the 10 nine games.   Their rushing total is their best since 2014 when they gave up 152.5 per game on the ground while the scoring average is the best since they allowed 24.4 per game in 2013.
**UTEP continues to be one of the nation’s best teams when it comes to fourth down success.  Entering the final week of the regular season, the Miners top C-USA and are ranked seventh nationally in fourth down conversion percentage (.739) after successfully converting 17-of-23 fourth-down attempts. 
**Senior RB Treyvon Hughes currently leads the Miners in touchdowns with 12 rushing scores in 11 games, which ranks second in C-USA and 17th nationally.  He has scored a touchdown in all but three games this season, including scoring in six of the last seven games.
Hughes rushed 17 times for 60 yards to go over 1,000 career yards as a Miner.  He now has 252 carries for 1,040 yards in a UTEP uniform.
**Senior QB Kai Locksley set UTEP highs for pass attempts (38), pass completions (24), passing yards (358) and passing touchdowns (two) last week at New Mexico State.  The 358 passing yards were the most by a Miner quarterback since Jameill Showers threw for 365 yards at Colorado State in 2013.  Locksley’s 461 yards of total offense are the fifth-most in school history and the most since Trevor Vittatoe had a school-record 517 yards vs. Marshall in 2009.  Locksley both passed and rushed for 100 yards for the third time in a Miner uniform and for the second time this season (also happened versus Southern Miss earlier this season).
**Miners freshman WR Jacob Cowing had four catches for 65 yards and a touchdown last week.  Over the last five contests, he has averaged 76.2 yards receiving.  Cowling leads the nation’s freshmen in yards per reception at 20.6 (24 catches for 494 yards).
**Senior DB Michael Lewis posted double-digit tackles (12) for the fifth time in the last eight games.  He’ll need seven stops versus Rice to reach 100 on the season.
 
MORE
Rice Football: https://riceowls.com/sports/football
UTEP Football: http://www.utepathletics.com/index.aspx?path=football
 
 
SOUTHERN MISS (7-4, 5-2 in C-USA) at FLORIDA ATLANTIC (8-3, 6-1)
Saturday, November 30
3:30 p.m. ET
Boca Raton, Florida (FAU Stadium)
Broadcast: NFL Network
Announcers: Dan Hellie (PxP), Michael Robinson (AN), Ashley Stroehlein (SL)
All-Time Series: Florida Atlantic leads 1-0
Last Meeting: Florida Atlantic 41, at Southern Miss 7 (Nov. 16, 2013)
 
FAST FACTS
**The only previous meeting between the teams came in 2013, Florida Atlantic’s first season in C-USA.
**Southern Miss junior WR Quez Watkins averages a league-high 112.3 receiving yards per game (tied for sixth in the FBS), having posted four 100-yard games in nine played. He also averages 19.4 yards per catch (20th nationally) with 52 receptions for 1,011 yards and five touchdowns. Watkins has the most plays from scrimmage of 40+ yards (7), 50+ yards (5) and 60+ yards (4) in C-USA and is second in 30+ yard plays (11).  Watkins also became the eighth Golden Eagle to register 1,000 receiving yards in a season with his current 1,011 yards.  For his career, he moved into third place for receiving yards with 2,237, moving past DeAndre Brown (2,207 yards/2008-10) and into fourth in catches with 147, passing Ito Smith (140 catches/2014-17).
* The Southern Miss offense has produced 65 explosive plays (13 rush, 52 pass) of 20 or more yards, including 17 touchdowns of that length or longer.  Senior RB De’Michael Harris has four touchdowns of 50 or more yards this season (two rushing, one receiving, one kickoff return).
*Junior QB Jack Abraham became one of only three Southern Miss quarterbacks to throw for over 3,000 yards in a season, after producing 223 passing yards against WKU last weekend to give him a league-high 3,147 on the year.  He leads Conference USA in passing average per game (286.1) and pass efficiency (155.9) and has converted 67.9 percent of his throws.  In 2019, Abraham has had at least one touchdown pass in 10 of 11 games and threw for over 200 yards (9 times), 300 yards (4 times) and 400 yards (twice).
**Southern Miss senior OT Drake Dorbeck became the first Golden Eagle to win the prestigious Entergy Kent Hull Trophy, emblematic of the state of Mississippi’s top offensive lineman in college football.  Dorbeck was redshirted his freshman year of college but has started every game with the exception of three games his sophomore year due to injury. The previous recipients of the Hull Trophy have all gone on to play in the NFL.  They include: Gabe Jackson of MSU, Laremy Tunsil of Ole Miss, Fahn Cooper of Ole Miss, Justin Senior and Martinas Rankin of Mississippi State.
**Junior DL Jacques Turner leads the USM front four in TFL’s with 10.0, to go along with 5.0 sacks.  He has produced 4.5 of those sacks over the last four games.
**Florida Atlantic has the top scoring offense (34.1 points per game) and total offense (443.1 yards per game) in Conference USA.  That includes a 38.3 scoring average during its current four-game winning streak. 
**The Owls are second in the FBS with five 2-point conversions this season.  Only SMU (6) has more.
**Florida Atlantic senior TE Harrison Bryant has been named one of three finalists for the John Mackey Award, given to the nation’s top collegiate tight end.  Bryant ranks fifth in Conference USA in receptions (58) and second in receiving yards (890), with both figures tops among all FBS tight ends.  Bryant has posted multiple catches in each game and six games with five or more grabs, including last Saturday at UTSA when he caught a game-high 10 passes for a career-best 192 yards and his third TD of the season.
**Sophomore QB Chris Robison posted his fifth 300-yard game this season, and seventh of his Owls career in the win at UTSA last Saturday, going 27-for-41 for 336 yards and one touchdown.  He is just shy of 3,000 yards for the season (2,973), ranking third in C-USA with an average of 270.3 yards per game through the air with 19 passing touchdowns.
**Senior LB Rashad Smith also will play his final regular-season home game. Smith has done it all for the Owls' defense, leading the team in sacks as a sophomore, in interceptions as a junior, and in 2019, the senior linebacker is leading the country in fumble recoveries, with four.  Smith has registered 82 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 2.0 sacks and two interceptions this season.
**Florida Atlantic’s defense is tied for second nationally in passes intercepted (15) and third in turnovers gained (24).  The Owls are second in the FBS in turnover margin by forcing 15 more turnovers than they’ve committed (trailing only Alabama at 17).  This represents a dramatic turnaround from last season when FAU finished -7 in turnover margin.
**Senior CB Meiko Dotson has recorded an interception in each of the last two games and now leads C-USA with six picks on the season.  The six INTs place him for fourth nationally. 
 
MORE
Southern Miss Football: https://southernmiss.com/index.aspx?path=football
Florida Atlantic Football: https://fausports.com/sports/football
 
 
UTSA (4-7, 3-4 in C-USA) at LOUISIANA TECH (8-3, 5-2 in C-USA)
Saturday, November 30
2:30 p.m. CT
Ruston, Louisiana (Joe Aillet Stadium)
Television: ESPN+
Announcers: Lyn Rollins (PxP), Chris Mycoskie (AN)
All-Time Series: Louisiana Tech leads 6-1
Last Meeting: Louisiana Tech 31, at UTSA 3 (Oct. 13, 2018)
 
FAST FACTS
**Louisiana Tech carries a five-game winning streak in the series into this game.  In last year’s meeting at the Alamodome, J’Mar Smith threw for 309 yards and a touchdown to lead the Bulldogs to a 31-3 victory.
**UTSA sophomore QB Lowell Narcisse has thrown for 953 yards and seven TDs on 75-of-105 passing (71.4%) in his last five contests, with 863 of those yards and all seven scores coming in league play.  With one game left on the fall slate, he is only 53 yards shy of UTSA’s single-season record for rushing yards by a quarterback of 545 set by Dalton Sturm in 2017.
**Through 11 games, UTSA freshman RB Sincere McCormick has rushed 160 times for 864 yards and eight touchdowns, all team highs.  He is posting 78.5 rushing yards per contest, good for sixth overall in the league and first among freshmen. In fact, McCormick stands fourth among all FBS freshmen in both rushing yards and rushing yards per game.
**After appearing in just three of UTSA’s first six games, true freshman wide receiver Zakhari Franklin has burst onto the scene over the last five contests.  Entering the Oct. 19 matchup with Rice with only three receptions for 30 yards to his name, he has hauled in 30 passes for 401 yards and three touchdowns during his last five outings.
**The Roadrunners registered 10 tackles for loss against Florida Atlantic last week to give them 84 in 11 games on the season, breaking the program record of 77 set in 2016 in 13 games.  Eighteen different Roadrunners have had a hand in a TFL and UTSA now is averaging 7.6 TFL’s per game, which ranks second in C-USA and 14th nationally.
**The Louisiana Tech offense ranks in the upper echelon in C-USA in scoring offense (2nd - 33.4 PPG), rushing offense (5th - 167.9 YPG), total offense (2nd – 440.3 YPG), pass offense (4th - 272.3 YPG) and first downs (1st - 262).
**Louisiana Tech junior RB Justin Henderson has been a scoring machine in his first season as a Bulldog. He has scored at least once in seven of his last eight games and has posted six multiple touchdown games. Henderson has a league-high 15 rushing scores on the season (tied for seventh nationally). He ranks seventh in C-USA with 862 rushing yards and averages 5.90 yards per carry (third in the league).
**Redshirt freshman WR Smoke Harris leads a balanced Bulldogs receiving attack with 42 receptions this season.  He has seen action in all 11 games, while making his first career starts in each of the last two weeks in conference play
**Junior CB Amik Robertson leads all FBS players with 21 passes defended in 2019 and now has 48 in less than three full seasons.  His five interceptions are tied for the fifth-most nationally.  For his career, Robertson has secured 14 interceptions – good for fifth most in program history, and most among FBS active career leaders.  He also leads the FBS in active career pick-sixes with three.  Robertson also has posted 50 tackles, six tackles for loss and one sack. 
**The Bulldogs have now forced at least one turnover in 15 straight games, the longest active streak in the country.  They have also forced at least one turnover in 29 of their last 30 games.
**As a team, the Bulldogs have four defensive touchdowns this season (all pick sixes) and have forced 21 turnovers this season (tied for 15^th nationally). 
 
MORE
UTSA Football: https://goutsa.com/index.aspx?path=football
Louisiana Tech Football: https://latechsports.com/sports/football
 
 
UAB (8-3, 5-2 in C-USA) at NORTH TEXAS (4-7, 3-4 in C-USA)
Saturday, November 30
3 p.m. CT
Denton, Texas (Apogee Stadium)
Broadcast: Stadium
Announcers: Chris Hassel (PxP), AJ Hawk (AN)
All-Time Series:  UAB leads 3-1
Last Meeting: at UAB 29, North Texas 21 (Oct. 20, 2018)
 
FAST FACTS
**In last year’s meeting, UAB scored the game’s final 17 points to post a 29-21 victory.  Spencer Brown ran for 100 yards and three touchdowns for the Blazers, while Mason Fine threw for 336 yards and three TD’s for the Mean Green.
**UAB’s win over Louisiana Tech last Saturday improved its record to 8-3 overall and 5-2 in C-USA action. The Blazers, Southern Miss and Louisiana Tech all share a 5-2 league record and UAB can make it back to the championship game with a win over North Texas and a Southern Miss loss at Florida Atlantic.  If those two things happen, UAB would travel to Boca Raton to face Florida Atlantic for the 2019 C-USA title.
**The Blazers’ win last Saturday also gave UAB its 18th straight victory at Legion Field and extended the nation’s fourth longest active home winning streak into next season.  The victory tied the C-USA record for consecutive home wins, set by Houston from Oct. 13, 2007 to Sept. 25, 2010. 
**UAB is 27-11 overall since returning to action in 2017, including a C-USA mark of 19-5.
**After losing eight starters on a unit that finished ninth nationally in total defense a year ago, the Blazers have not missed a beat and is currently ranked No. 6 nationally in total defense (268.1). In its past two games, the Blazers are allowing just 12 points per game. Additionally, the Blazers rank 3rd nationally in third down defense (.274), 3rd in fumble recoveries (13), 5th in passing yards allowed (169.3) and 10th in sacks per game (3.27), TFL per game (7.9) and rushing yards per game (98.8).
**UAB junior LB Kristopher Moll is the only player in Conference USA to rank top 10 in tackles (5th), sacks (6th) and TFL (5th) and he is the catalyst for the nation’s sixth ranked defense.  In 10 games, Moll has 84 total tackles, 13.5 TFL, 7.0 sacks, a C-USA best four forced fumbles, six QBH, one interception, one fumble recovery and one pass breakup.
**The UAB defense held Louisiana Tech to 5-of-14 on third downs and has limited opponents to just 27.4 percent this year on third down (40-of-146).  UAB is ranked No. 3 in the FBS in third down defense.
**Redshirt freshman QB Dylan Hopkins led the Blazers to a huge home victory over Louisiana Tech and is now 2-1 as the starter after back-to-back wins.  Following the USM loss on Nov. 9, Hopkins rushed for 163 yards in a win against UTEP, and then was 11-of-21 vs. Louisiana Tech for 185 yards and a touchdown, while adding 35 rushing yards.  In replacement of an injured sophomore QB Tyler Johnston III, Hopkins has thrown for 384 yards and has rushed for 175.
**The UAB quarterbacks have found their go-to receivers in junior Austin Watkins, Jr., senior Kendall Parham and junior Myron Mitchell.  This trio has combined to haul in 1,805 of UAB’s 2,136 receiving yards (84.5 percent).  They also have scored a combined 15 touchdowns, with 13 of those coming from outside the red zone.
**North Texas senior QB Mason Fine will play his final game in a Mean Green uniform on Saturday and will leave the school owning virtually every passing record, including:  career passing yards (12,074), career completions (1,000), career passing attempts (1,589), career passing efficiency (141.76), career 300-yard passing games (18), career total plays (1,896), career Passing TDs (91) and career TDs responsible for (97).  He is the seventh C-USA player to throw for 12,000 yards and his 91 TD passes rank seventh in league annals.  This season, Fine leads C-USA and is tied for 14th nationally with 27 TD passes this season, while averaging 256.4 yards per game through the air.
**Mean Green WR Jyaire Shorter ranks second among all FBS freshmen in yards per reception at 20.55 (22 catches for 452 yards).  Of his 22 receptions, eight have gone for touchdowns.
**Junior WR Jaelon Darden has a league-high 11 touchdown receptions on the season, which includes a pair of three-TD games.  He has 66 receptions for 655 yards on the year and his 6.0 catches per game ranks third in the league.  Darden is sixth on the all-time receptions list at North Texas with 146. 
**Redshirt sophomore RB Tre Siggers is third in C-USA in rushing, averaging 92.2 yards per game.  In nine games played, the converted safety has run for 830 yards and six touchdowns.  Siggers has 15 runs of 15 or more yards this season, including four of 40 or more yards.  That is the highest number of offensive plays of 15+ yards by any Mean Green player in 2019.
**Sophomore LB KD Davis leads North Texas in tackles with 85, reaching double-figure tackles in four games.  Davis also has posted three sacks, 6.5 tackles for loss and 4.0 quarterback hurries.
 
MORE
North Texas Football: https://meangreensports.com/sports/football
UAB Football: https://uabsports.com/index.aspx?path=football