Over the weekend, six Conference USA teams took the stage on college football's landscape, each competing in non-conference action. Here are the highlights and results below:
Marshall 59 - Eastern Kentucky 0
-Marshall opened up the 2020 campaign against FCS foe Eastern Kentucky as they boat raced the Colonels, 59-0.
-Freshman quarterback Grant Wells set the Marshall record for most passing yards in a Herd QB's debut (307), breaking the record originally held by Stan Hill with 292. Wells also tossed for four scores in the first half, including a 42-yard strike to Jaron Woodyard just before half.
-Preseason First Team C-USA linebacker Tavante Beckett was a one man wrecking crew for the Herd's front 7 as he recorded 8 total tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss and was in on a sack as well.
-Marshall's shutout of EKU was the first time they held an opponent scoreless since they blanked Kent State 21-0 in 2017.
Army 42 - Middle Tennessee 0
-Army defended their home turf from the MTSU Blue Raiders by blanking them 42-0 in Michie Stadium.
-The Black Knights dominated MTSU with their triple option attack, piling up 340 yards and five scores on 62 carries between 10 different players.
-MTSU Junior quarterback Asher O'Hara struggled mightily, going 9 of 14 for just 46 yards and two interceptions before being pulled in the second half.
-The Blue Raiders turned the ball over four times which Army capitalized on, scoring 21 points off of those Blue Raider turnovers.
North Texas 57 - Houston Baptist 31
-The Mean Green set a school record for total yardage in a game (721 total yards) as they lit up Houston Baptist for a 57-31 win to open the 2020 season.
-NT Sophomore quarterback Jason Bean accounted for four touchdowns in his debut, three on the ground and one through the air to go with his 265 total yards of offense.
-NT Freshman running back Oscar Adaway III also had a big debut, rushing for 118 yards and two scores (35 and 47 yard runs) on only five carries.
-Houston Baptist Senior quarterback Bailey Zappe, one of the better signal callers in the FCS, posted big numbers as well going 39 of 62 for 480 yards and a trio of TD passes.
UTEP 24 - Stephen F. Austin 14
-After falling behind 14-3 early in the second quarter, the UTEP Miners rallied back with 21 unanswered points for a hard fought 24-14 win over the Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks on Saturday night.
-UTEP's Deion Hankins had a big night on the ground with 17 attempts for 113 yards and a pair of scores that ended up being the difference on the scoreboard.
-The Miner's Jacob Cowing stepped up big in the pass catching department as he hauled in seven balls for 116 yards to account for over 50% of the team's total receiving yards.
South Alabama 32 - Southern Miss 21
- The Golden Eagles were 13 point favorites heading into Thursday night's game and lost to the Jaguars 32-21
- Jack Abraham was 22-32 passing for 314 yards for Southern Miss. Tim Jones added six catches for 139 yards.
- Frank Gore, Jr. (yes, his father is still playing for the Jets) had 32 yards rushing for Southern Miss.
- South Alabama's Desmond Trotter threw for 299 yards and the Jaguars had two 100-yard receivers in Jalen Tolbert (169) and Jalen Wayne (101).
UAB 45 - Central Arkansas 35
- UAB had 461 yards of total offense on their way to a 45-35 win over Central Arkansas. Spencer Brown led the Blazers with 127 yards on 24 carries while tight end Gerritt Price hauled in two touchdown catches.
- Blazers QB Tyler Johnston was 17 of 25 for 143 yards and two touchdowns.
- UAB held an always tough Central Arkansas squad to 293 yards and created three turnovers.
