Search the Community

For the first and only time this season Saturday's schedule is made up of seven C-USA league games. Six of the seven will take place in the afternoon and six of the seven will be televised. Four of the matchups will be the first meeting between schools. The day's action begins with UTSA visiting Marshall (2 p.m. EDT on Time Warner Texas). The Roadrunners will be looking to make it two straight wins on the road in conference play, but will have to do it against a Thundering Herd team that tops C-USA in total offense and total defense. Florida Atlantic and UAB met as non-conference foes for four straight years from 2008-11 and after a one-year absence they meet again. This year's game is at Legion Field, where the teams have split the first two meetings at the historic venue, and is available on the C-USA Digital Network. An East Division showdown between East Carolina and Middle Tennessee will take place at 2:30 p.m. CDT on FSN. The teams enter Saturday sitting atop the division with 1-0 league records as they meet for the first time. There will be lots of green in the Mercedes-Benz Superdome when North Texas makes its first visit to play Tulane. The Mean Green are familiar with the Superdome, having played in four New Orleans Bowls. This will be the first conference game for North Texas as members of C-USA and Fox College Sports will carry the game live beginning at 2:30 p.m. CDT. Another West Division battle will take place at 2:30 p.m. CDT when Rice goes to Tulsa. The Owls will be out to avenge a tough 28-24 defeat in Tulsa last season in the conference opener for the Golden Hurricane. This game can be seen on CBS Sports Network. FIU and Southern Miss will match up for the first time in the conference opener for both teams in Hattiesburg, Miss. The Panthers had a bye last week, while the Golden Eagles finished a challenging three-game road trip at Boise State. The only night game of the week takes place in El Paso, where UTEP hosts Louisiana Tech in a West Division showdown. Both teams enter the game at 0-1 in league play, so a win is key for staying in the divisional race. This game will be seen on CBS Sports Network at 6:30 p.m. CDT. NORTH TEXAS MEAN GREEN North Texas was idle last week. On Sept. 21, the Mean Green were tied at 21-21 in the third quarter before No. 9 Georgia pulled away for a 45-21 victory. Senior QB Derek Thompson was 21-of-36 for 202 yards and a touchdown, his ninth consecutive game with at least one TD pass. Senior WR Brelan Chancellor returned a kickoff 99 yards for a touchdown, the third TD return of his career. It was the first kickoff return for a TD by NT since Chancellor did it against Kansas State in 2010. Senior LB Will Wright has recorded an interception each of his last two outings. TULANE GREEN WAVE Tulane improved to 3-2 with a 31-14 win at Louisiana-Monroe. The Green Wave offense pounded out a season-high 253 rushing yards and the defense forced five turnovers courtesy of three fumble recoveries and a pair of interceptions. Tulane's defense also registered a season-high five sacks. Senior RB Orleans Darkwa led the running attack with 118 yards and a score on 17 carries while junior FB Robert Kelley had 76 yards and a TD on 16 totes. It was Darkwa's eighth career 100-yard game, but first since Nov. 10, 2011. Senior K Cairo Santos nailed a 56-yard field goal to open the scoring. It was his second kick of 50-plus this season and the fourth of his career. Santos is 4-of-5 from 50-plus for his career. READ MORE: http://www.conferenceusa.com/sports/m-footbl/spec-rel/093013aaf.html