DALLAS – FIU’s Devonte Lyons, Robert Czeremcha and Zaire Flournoy, along with Kennesaw State’s Jaiden Grimes and MTSU’s Ziyon Butler, earned CUSA Player of the Week honors for week 10. The weekly awards are voted on by a panel of the league’s media.
 
Offensive Player of the Week – Devonte Lyons, FIU – So. – RB – St. Augustine, Fla.
Lyons racked up 217 rushing yards and two touchdowns, averaging 9.0 yards per carry for the Panthers (4-5, 2-3 CUSA) in a 23-20 win over Missouri State on Saturday. His 217 rushing yards are the third-most in a single game in program history and marked the second-most in a game in FBS this week. Lyons ripped off rushes of 56, 30 and 39 yards in the game and added a 12-yard reception. He’s the first FIU running back with 200+ rushing yards in a game since 2005 and the most in a game since 2004. Lyons combined for 238 all-purpose yards with two catches for 21 yards.
 
Defensive Player of the Week – Jaiden Grimes, Kennesaw State – Jr. – DL – Marietta, Ga.
Against the top passing team in the conference, Grimes wreaked havoc at the line of scrimmage to help the Owls (3-6, 2-3 CUSA) defeat Delaware, 42-40, on Saturday. He recorded a whopping five quarterback hurries, a solo sack, a forced fumble and three tackles on the day. Nobody applied more total QB pressures in Conference USA than Grimes’ seven on the day, according to Pro Football Focus. His seven pressures ranked tied for third in Group of Six behind Andrew Zock (Toledo) and Ethan Stuhlsatz (Wyoming) with eight. Grimes’ seven pressures ranked tied for ninth nationally. 
 
Special Teams Player of the Week – Robert Czeremcha, FIU – So. – K – Miami, Fla.
Czeremcha knocked in the game-winning field goal as time expired to lead the Panthers to a 23-20 home win over Missouri State on Saturday. It marked FIU's first-game winning walk-off field goal since 2012. He also kicked a go-ahead field goal from 42 yards with 1:55 left in the fourth quarter. On the night, Czeremcha, made three field goals and went 2-2 on extra point attempts.
 
Freshman of the Week – Ziyon Butler, MTSU – Fr. – WR – Jacksonville, Fla.
Butler turned in a breakout game in the Blue Raiders’ (5-4, 3-2 CUSA) 51-42 rivalry win over WKU, snapping a seven-game losing streak in the 100 Miles of Hate series. He hauled in six passes for 129 yards and a touchdown, and it was the most receiving yards by a Blue Raider this season and the most overall since Omari Kelly had 239 yards against WKU in 2024. The 129 yards receiving also went down as the most by a freshman at MTSU since Richie James had 198 yards against FAU in 2015. Butler brought in a 65-yard TD grab from Roman Gagliano.
 
Offensive Lineman of the Week – Zaire Flournoy, FIU – Sr. – RG – Douglasville, Ga.
Flournoy anchored an offensive line unit which led the FIU rushing attack to 270 total rushing yards, averaging 6.3 yards per carry in a 23-20 win over Missouri State. He aided Devonte Lyons to 217 rushing yards, the third-most in a game in program history and the most since 2004 as he averaged 9.0 yards per carry and had three rushes of 30+ yards. Flournoy paced the way for FIU's rushing attack to four explosive rushes of 25+ yards in the win. FIU's 270 team rushing yards are its most this season and the 13th-most in a single game in program history.
 
2026 Weekly Award Winners
 
Offensive Players of the Week
A31     Trey Hedden, NM State
S7      Jamill Williams, Jax State
S14     JJ Kohl, FIU
S21     Sean Wilson, Delaware
S28     Caden Creel, Jax State
O5      James Jones, NM State
O12    Caden Creel, Jax State
O19    Roman Gagliano, MTSU
O26    Nick Minicucci, Delaware
N2      Nick Minicucci, Delaware
N9      Devonte Lyons, FIU
 
Defensive Players of the Week
A31     Gabe Peterson, NM State
S7      Nick Session, NM State
S14     Elisha Baldridge, FIU
S21     Jackson Lowe, MTSU
S28     Ronald Moore Jr., Liberty
O5      Aidan Vaughan, Liberty
O12    Tywon Christopher, Kennesaw State
O19    Jared Lloyd, Missouri State
O26    Jawarren Corbin, Delaware
N2      Tywon Christopher, Kennesaw State
N9      Jaiden Grimes, Kennesaw State
 
Special Teams Players of the Week
A31     Conor Donaghy, Jax State
S7      Triston Morgan, Kennesaw State
S14     Dominic Bourgeois, MTSU
S21     Caleb Nix, Jax State
S28     Garrison Rippa, Jax State
O5      Chase Reeves, Liberty
O12    Robert Czeremcha, FIU
O19    Yousef Obeid, Missouri State
O26    Dominic Bourgeois, MTSU
N2      Davis Bryson, Kennesaw State
N9      Robert Czeremcha, FIU
 
Freshmen of the Week
A31     Carson Su’esu’e, NM State
S7      Kevin Moore, Delaware
S14     Felix Visser, FIU
S21     Tristan Lyles, Jax State
S28     Jonathan Stafford Jr., WKU
O5      Jonathan Stafford Jr., WKU
O12    Jonathan Stafford Jr., WKU
O19    Tyler Bell, Delaware
O26    Xavier Rucker, NM State
N2      Kevin Moore, Delaware
N9      Ziyon Butler, MTSU
 
Offensive Linemen of the Week
A31     Ma’kyi Lee, NM State
S7      Lance Johnson, Jax State
S14     Zaire Flournoy, FIU
S21     Reese Tripp, MTSU
S28     D.J. Geth, Liberty
O5      Alex Birchmeier, Liberty
O12    D.J. Geth, Liberty
O19    Ryan Walker, Jax State
O26    Steven Demboski, Delaware
N2      Lance Johnson, Jax State
N9      Zaire Flournoy, FIU