Week 11 Conference Notes
 
DALLAS – Liberty and Jacksonville State can each punch their ticket to the 2026 CUSA Football Championship Game with a win this weekend, setting the stage for a high-stakes slate in week 11. The Flames host MTSU at 2:30 p.m. CT on CBS Sports Network, while the Gamecocks will take on WKU at the same time on ESPN+.
 
The remainder of the week 11 schedule includes Sam Houston hosting Kennesaw State, who has kept its bowl hopes alive with back-to-back wins, and a pair of matchups of teams with identical records also fighting for bowl contention in New Mexico State at Missouri State (3-6, 2-3 CUSA) and FIU at Delaware (4-5, 2-3 CUSA).
 
KENNESAW STATE (3-6, 2-3 CUSA) AT SAM HOUSTON (1-8, 0-5 CUSA)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 14
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Location: Huntsville, Texas (Elliott T. Bowers Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Jason Metko (PxP), Jorge Vargas (Analyst)
All-Time Series: Sam Houston leads 3-0
 
NM STATE (3-6, 2-3 CUSA) AT MISSOURI STATE (3-6, 2-3 CUSA)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 14
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Location: Springfield, Mo. (Robert W. Plaster Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Don West (PxP), Tom Mast (Analyst), Cierra Clark (Reporter)
All-Time Series: Missouri State leads 1-0
 
FIU (4-5, 2-3 CUSA) AT DELAWARE (4-5, 2-3 CUSA)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 14
Time: 2 p.m. CT
Location: Newark, Del. (Delaware Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Scott Klatzkin (PxP), Pat Devlin (Analyst)
All-Time Series: Delaware leads 1-0
 
MTSU (5-4, 3-2 CUSA) AT LIBERTY (8-1, 5-0 CUSA)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 14
Time: 2:30 p.m. CT
Location: Lynchburg, Va. (Williams Stadium)
Broadcast: CBS Sports Network
Announcers: Jack Gordon (PxP), Taylor McHargue (Analyst)
All-Time Series: Liberty leads 3-1
 
JAX STATE (7-2, 5-0 CUSA) AT WKU (3-6, 2-3 CUSA)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 14
Time: 2:30 p.m. CT
Location: Bowling Green, Ky. (Houchens Industries – L.T. Smith Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Jeff Hem (PxP), Terry Obee (Analyst)
All-Time Series: WKU leads 5-4
 
GO DEEP
Conference USA accounts for four of the top 15 pass-catchers in most yards per reception - the most of any FBS conference. The group is led by Missouri State’s Isaiah Myers (20.46), followed by Sam Houston’s Tim Burns Jr. (12th, 20.38), Liberty’s Makai Jackson (14th, 20.06) and Jax State’s Deondre Johnson (15th, 20.00). Additionally, Delaware ranks fourth among FBS programs in passes over 20 yards with 45. The Fightin’ Blue Hens, along with Sam Houston, rank among the top 20 in passes over 30 yards.
 
MINICUCCI MAKES HIS MARK
After missing Delaware’s first two CUSA games, quarterback Nick Minicucci returned to the field in a big way with back-to-back outings that netted him CUSA Offensive Player of the Week and Davey O’Brien Award Great 8 honors. In the Fightin’ Blue Hens’ last three games, he has completed 87-121 (71.9%) of his passes for an average of 349 yards per game and 11 touchdowns while rushing for another score on the ground. Minicucci is coming off back-to-back 400-yard outings in road contests at WKU and at Kennesaw State. He’s already back in the mix among national leaders, ranking in the top 30 in completions per game (20.86), passing efficiency (155.9), passing touchdowns (16), passing yards per game (269.3), yards per completion (12.91) and points responsible for per game (15.7). His 11 games with at least 300 passing yards since the start of last season are second only to Oklahoma State’s Drew Mestemaker.
 
GROUND-POUND GAMECOCKS
Jacksonville State has rushed for a touchdown in 67 consecutive games, a streak that started immediately after a loss at Kennesaw State on October 2, 2021. It’s 23 games longer than the next-longest active streak across all FBS and FCS programs (Montana State, 44). Quarterback Caden Creel paces the team with 88.9 rushing yards per game, which ranks 20th among all FBS players and fourth among quarterbacks. He has rushed for 300 yards in the last two games alone, including exploding for 213 yards in the shutout win over New Mexico State on Oct. 28, which marked a career-high, a program record by a quarterback and just one yard shy of the CUSA record for rushing yards by a quarterback.
 
COLLINS’ CRISP COMPLETIONS
Kennesaw State quarterback Rickie Collins leads CUSA and ranks 12th n FBS in completion percentage (.699). On the year, he has completed 165-236 passes. Collins has been efficient early and often, completing 39-50 (78.0%) of passes in the opening quarter, which ranks seventh among all FBS quarterbacks.
 
FLAMES IN ELITE COMPANY
Liberty is one of just 12 teams since 1996 to win seven-straight games by 16+ points and hold five-straight conference opponents to 14 or fewer points in the same season. Among the 12 teams are four CFP/BCS national champions, four additional CFP/BCS participants and a 2010 TCU team that won that year’s Rose Bowl. The remaining two teams, 2024 Army and 2002 Boise State, were 12-win teams that appeared in the final AP Top 25.
 
LOGAN’S LONG-RANGE LEG
MTSU punter Ashton Logan leads CUSA and ranks third in FBS in punting (48.8), having booted 44 balls for 2,147 yards. His longest punt of 76 yards came at Kansas and is tied for the third-longest punt of the season thus far. Logan has been a magician at pinning the opponent back with 10 of his 13 punts being downed inside the 20 during the last five games. His 20 punts of 50 yards or more are second nationally, behind only Virginia’s Daniel Sparks (21). Logan has recorded three games in which he averaged more than 50 yards per punt, including a season-best 53.20 average on five punts against Delaware.
 
MYERS’ MONSTER GAMES
Missouri State wide receiver Isaiah Myers leads CUSA and ranks in the top 15 in FBS in receiving yards per game (104.6) and receiving touchdowns (8). He has tallied four games with at least 130 receiving yards. No CUSA player has had five or more games with 130 receiving yards in a single season since 2021 (WKU’s Jerreth Sterns, seven; UTEP’s Jacob Cowing, five). Myers is the sole FBS leader in receptions of 30+ yards (14) and second in catches of 20+ (19).
 
CATCH HIM IF YOU CAN
New Mexico State running back James Jones leads CUSA and ranks in the top 30 in FBS in all purpose (110.44) and rushing yards per game (104.4). During the month of October, he averaged 133.50 yards per game, which ranked seventh among FBS running backs. Jones is tied for eighth in FBS in runs of 20+ yards (10) and tied for 13th in runs of 10+ yards (24).
 
BURNS BURNING COVERAGE
Sam Houston wide receiver Tim Burns Jr. ranks 12th in FBS in yards per reception (20.38), having brought in 21 passes for 428 yards. Through the last three games, he’s averaging 21.6 yards per catch with 216 yards on just 10 receptions. His four receptions of at least 40 yards are tied for 14th in FBS, while he’s tied for eighth in catches of 50 yards (3) and 60 yards (2).
 
TOPPER TRADITION
WKU is one of just 10 FBS programs and three Group of Six schools (Memphis, Louisiana) to play in a bowl game in each of the last seven years. WKU is one of only 10 FBS programs in the nation with 8+ wins in each of the last five seasons and has participated in 12 bowl games over the last 14 seasons, winning eight after claiming the 2025 New Orleans Bowl. Since the start of the CFP era in 2014, only Georgia and Minnesota (nine each) have more bowl wins than WKU’s eight, which are tied with Alabama, Ohio State and Wisconsin.