Week One Conference Notes

DALLAS – Following a Week Zero debut for the 2026 Conference USA football season, the action rolls on in week one with all 10 teams in action in non-conference play.
 
The slate begins with two games kicking off at 6 p.m. CT on Thursday with Delaware hosting Merrimack and Kennesaw State welcoming West Georgia.
 
Three games will be highlighted on linear television, including Liberty at James Madison (ESPNU), Missouri State at No. 8 Texas A&M (ESPN) and WKU at Nevada (CBS Sports Network).
 
MERRIMACK (0-1) AT DELAWARE (0-0)
Date: Thursday, Sept. 3
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Newark, Del. (Delaware Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Scott Klatzkin (PxP), Pat Devlin (Analyst)
All-Time Series: First meeting
 
WEST GEORGIA (0-1) AT KENNESAW STATE (0-0)
Date: Thursday, Sept. 3
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Kennesaw, Ga. (Fifth Third Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Nolan Alexander (PxP), Caleb O’Neal (Analyst), Matthew Downing (Analyst), Lexi Bowden (Reporter)
All-Time Series: First meeting
 
LIBERTY (0-0) AT JAMES MADISON (0-0)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 5
Time: 11 a.m. CT
Location: Harrisonburg, Va. (Bridgeforth Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPNU
Announcers: Cooper Boardman (PxP), Craig Haubert (Analyst)
All-Time Series: James Madison leads 13-6
 
MISSOURI STATE (0-0) AT NO. 8 TEXAS A&M (0-0)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 5
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: College Station, Texas (Kyle Field)
Broadcast: ESPN
Announcers: Lowell Galindo (PxP), Kirk Morrison (Analyst), Dawn Davenport (Reporter)
All-Time Series: First meeting
 
FIU (0-0) AT SOUTH FLORIDA (0-0)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 5
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Tampa, Fla. (Raymond James Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: AJ Ricketts (PxP), Patrick Murray (Analyst), Maria Trivelpiece (Reporter)
All-Time Series: South Florida leads 2-0
 
EASTERN KENTUCKY (0-1) AT JAX STATE (0-0)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 5
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Jacksonville, Ala. (AmFirst Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Eli Gold (PxP), Jeff Burger (Analyst), Erica Schoeman (Reporter)
All-Time Series: Jax State leads 11-8
 
SAM HOUSTON (0-0) AT TROY (0-0)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 5
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Troy, Ala. (Veterans Memorial Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Will Kollmeyer (PxP), Ben Stanfield (Analyst), Rosie Langello (Reporter)
All-Time Series: Troy leads 7-0-1
 
MURRAY STATE (0-1) AT MTSU (0-0)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 5
Time: 6 p.m. CT
Location: Murfreesboro, Tenn. (Johnny “Red” Floyd Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Jake Rose (PxP), Jeremy Kellem (Analyst), Jill Jelnick (Reporter)
All-Time Series: MTSU leads 38-30-3
 
MERCYHURST (0-1) AT NM STATE (0-1)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 5
Time: 8 p.m. CT
Location: Las Cruces, N.M. (Aggie Memorial Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: MJ Newsom (PxP), Danny Knee (Analyst), Mando “The Monster” Medina (Reporter)
All-Time Series: First meeting
 
WKU (0-0) AT NEVADA (0-0)
Date: Saturday, Sept. 5
Time: 9:30 p.m. CT
Location: Reno, Nev. (Mackay Stadium)
Broadcast: CBS Sports Network
Announcers: Rich Waltz (PxP), Adam Breneman (Analyst), Jordan Giorgio (Sideline)
All-Time Series: WKU leads 1-0
 
HIGH PRAISE FOR MINICUCCI
Delaware quarterback Nick Minicucci enters 2026 as the Preseason Offensive Player of the Year after leading CUSA and ranking in the top 10 nationally in completions (5th, 322), passing yards (6th, 3,683) and total offense (8th, 3,918) on his way to Second Team All-CUSA honors. He finished the season as one of only two FBS players to eclipse 3,500 passing yards and 10 rushing touchdowns. Minicucci was named to the preseason watch lists for the Davey O’Brien Award, Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award, Manning Award, Maxwell Award and Walter Camp Player of the Year Award - all honoring the best player or quarterback in the nation.
 
WINNING WITH WILLIE
FIU reached new heights in year one under Willie Simmons, winning the most games in overall play (7) and Conference USA play (5) since 2018, reaching a bowl game for the first time since 2019 and defeating rival Florida Atlantic for the first time since 2016. The Panthers closed the regular season on a four-game winning streak, which included victories over Liberty and Jax State, to secure a berth in the SERVPRO First Responder Bowl. Following the historic 2025 campaign, FIU received a program-record 14 All-CUSA selections. Finishing the season at 7-6 overall, Simmons has now had a winning season in all nine of his seasons as a head coach.
 
COCKS’ CONTINUITY
Jax State has won nine games and made a bowl game in each of its three seasons at the FBS level, most recently capping off a 9-4 campaign in year one under Charles Kelly with a 17-13 win over in-state rival Troy in the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl. The Gamecocks are one of just 14 FBS teams to win nine games in each of the last three seasons and one of five Group of Six conference teams to do so, joining Tulane, Ohio, UNLV and James Madison.
 
OWLS ASCENSION
First-year head coach Jerry Mack engineered one of the greatest single-season turnarounds in the nation last season as Kennesaw State saw an eight-win improvement from 2024 to 2025 (2-10 to 10-4), marking the largest by a CUSA team since Florida Atlantic in 2017. Mack played a vital role in his team’s success from the sideline as the Owls won a nation-best six one-possession games, including five versus CUSA foes.
 
REKINDLE THE FLAMES
Liberty, which ranked top five nationally in rushing offense in its first two seasons in CUSA, saw a drop-off in 2025 while still ranking 26th nationally with 194 yards per game. The Flames retooled its backfield with a number of portal additions to reposition itself among the nation’s elite rushing offenses. Liberty brought in Kanye Udoh, who rushed 179 times for 1,117 yards and 10 touchdowns with Army in 2024 before transferring to Arizona State, and Kam Davis, who saw playing time in 13 games at Florida State before arriving in Lynchburg.
 
ROMAN’S REIGN
MTSU quarterback Roman Gagliano enters 2026 as the undisputed QB1 for the Blue Raiders after earning starts in the final three games of 2025 and completing 70-118 passes for 911 yards, six touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed 33 times for 182 yards and a pair of scores. Gagliano led MTSU to a pair of wins over Sam Houston and NM State to leave fans with confidence for his potential this season.
 
MO STATE MOMENTUM
With a 7-6 campaign in its FBS debut season, Missouri State recorded back-to-back winning seasons for the first time since the Bears tallied four-straight winning seasons from 1989-92. First-year head coach Casey Woods will look to build on that foundation with a history of successful programs that includes serving on the staff for Auburn’s 2010 national championship, a record setting UAB team that won its first ever CUSA Championship in 2018 and most recently serving as offensive coordinator at SMU, which won its first conference championship since 1984 and qualified for the 2024 College Football Playoff.
 
TREY THRIVES ON THIRD
In his NM State debut, quarterback Trey Hedden completed 10-13 passes for 158 yards on third downs and secured eight first downs on passes in a hard-fought loss at Florida State. Facing an average third-down distance of nine yards on the night, he didn’t shy away from taking shots, averaging 12.1 yards per attempt on his third-down throws. The Aggies converted on 10-17 third-down tries for the game.
 
BEARKAT BENCHMARK
Sam Houston has recorded winning seasons in 14 of its last 16 seasons, with the two outliers coming in its 2023 FBS debut season in which they lost five one-score games and last season - the first under Phil Longo in which they did not play a true home game the entire season while Bowers Stadium underwent major renovations. The Bearkats look to return to their winning ways with a sense of normalcy in year two under Longo and a sense of comfort back in the confines of Bowers Stadium in 2026.
 
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.