Football Regular Season Wraps Up with Five-Game Conference USA Slate

Saturday marks the 101^st meeting of the Battle of I-10 but just the first edition for UTEP’s Scotty Walden and NM State’s Tony Sanchez as head coaches of their respective institutions.

Source: Conference USA

DALLAS – Five league contests in week fourteen will conclude the 2024 regular season and determine Jax State’s opponent in the 2024 CUSA Championship Game. The Gamecocks secured the right to host the game with last week’s results and will host either Liberty, Sam Houston or WKU in the title game at 6 p.m. CT on Friday, Dec. 6, at AmFirst Stadium.

LIBERTY (8-2, 5-2 CUSA) AT SAM HOUSTON (8-3, 5-2 CUSA)
Date: Friday, Nov. 29
Time: 2:30 p.m. CT
Location: Huntsville, Texas (Elliott T. Bowers Stadium)
Broadcast: CBS Sports Network
Announcers: Alex Del Barrio (PxP), Taylor McHargue (Analyst)
All-Time Series: Liberty leads 1-0

Both the Flames and the Bearkats are still in contention for the remaining spot in the CUSA Championship Game with Liberty needing just a win and Sam Houston requiring a win and a Jax State win over WKU. The matchup pits two teams that rank in the top 25 in both rushing offense and time of possession, so controlling the ball will surely be key to the victors. The Flames have averaged 355.7 yards per game on the ground during their three-game winning streak, and the Bearkats have rallied behind their defense over the second half of the season with significant improvements in points allowed, tackles for loss, sacks and turnovers forced in the last six games.

JAX STATE (8-3, 7-0 CUSA) AT WKU (7-4, 5-2 CUSA)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 30
Time: 3 p.m. CT
Location: Bowling Green, Ky. (Houchens Industries – L.T. Smith Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPNU
Announcers: Matt Schumacker (PxP), Dustin Fox (Analyst)
All-Time Series: WKU leads 4-2

The other pivotal matchup in the CUSA Championship Game race features the undefeated Gamecocks going into Bowling Green to take on WKU, which needs a win and a Sam Houston win over Liberty to set up a rematch with Jax State in next week’s title game. The Gamecocks and Tops enter with much different offenses as Jax State ranks third nationally in rushing (260.0), while WKU leads CUSA and ranks 29^th in passing offense (267.4). The Tops have allowed nearly 320 rushing yards per game in their last three games, while the Gamecocks have surrendered 273.7 passing yards per game in their three games against some of the league’s best quarterbacks.

MTSU (3-8, 2-5 CUSA) AT FIU (3-8, 2-5 CUSA)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 30
Time: 1 p.m. CT
Location: Miami, Fla. (Pitbull Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Corey Brooks (PxP), Zach Letson (Analyst)
All-Time Series: MTSU leads 14-5

One of the more one-sided series in Conference USA in recent years, the Blue Raiders enter with a five-game winning streak over the Panthers and a 14-5 edge overall. This year’s meeting pits two of the hottest quarterbacks over the last three weeks as MTSU’s Nicholas Vattiato has averaged 259.7 yards per game with six total touchdowns, and FIU’s Keyone Jenkins has averaged 266.7 yards per game with nine touchdowns and just one interception. However, the Panthers lead CUSA and rank eighth nationally in passing yards allowed (172.6). In two games against a pair of the better passing offenses in the league, FIU limited them to 189.5 yards per game.

KENNESAW STATE (2-9, 2-5 CUSA) AT LA TECH (4-7, 3-4 CUSA)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 30
Time: 3 p.m. CT
Location: Ruston, La. (Joe Aillet Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Lyn Rollins (PxP), Chris Mycoskie (Analyst), Madison Kaufman (Reporter)
All-Time Series: First meeting

The Owls head into their first meeting with the Bulldogs coming off a thrilling, 27-26 victory over FIU, which was also their third-straight one-possession game. The Bulldogs are coming out of a vicious four-game stretch in which they went 1-3 against three of the league’s top four teams and an SEC foe in Arkansas. Kennesaw State’s offense has found its grove in the last five games with 24 points and nearly 300 yards per game, compared to just 13 points and 228 yards per game in the first six contests. LA Tech has depended on a stout defense that ranks in the top 40 nationally in third down conversion defense (.340), passing defense (190.4) and rushing defense (125.7).

UTEP (2-9, 2-5 CUSA) AT NM STATE (3-8, 2-5 CUSA)
Date: Saturday, Nov. 30
Time: 3 p.m. CT
Location: Las Cruces, N.M. (Aggie Memorial Stadium)
Broadcast: ESPN+
Announcers: Adam Young (PxP), Danny Knee (Analyst)
All-Time Series: UTEP leads 59-39-2

Saturday marks the 101^st meeting of the Battle of I-10 but just the first edition for UTEP’s Scotty Walden and NM State’s Tony Sanchez as head coaches of their respective institutions. The Aggies return home fresh off their first road victory of the season – a 36-21 victory over MTSU – in which the offense was firing on all cylinders. The Miners will look to slow the NM State offense with a dominant front seven that leads CUSA and ranks in the top 35 in FBS in both sacks (2.55) and tackles for loss (6.9).

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Levi Gwaltney

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