This week, Conference USA featured a full Saturday slate, as the regular season’s end draws near. Jacksonville State took down Kennesaw State at home to take over first place in the conference, while MTSU lost to Western Kentucky for the seventh year in a row and took sole possession of last place in the league.
University of Texas El Paso (2-8, 1-5 CUSA) 24, Missouri State (7-3, 5-1 CUSA) 38
Saturday’s slate of Conference USA games started off with Missouri State holding out versus UTEP. The Bears’ offense was firing on all cylinders in the first half, scoring on every offensive possession, putting them up 24-7 at the half. UTEP turned it around in the second half, scoring 17 unanswered points, which included a blocked punt returned for a touchdown, to make the score 24-24 at the end of the third quarter. The Bears’ offense found their groove again in the fourth quarter, adding another pair of touchdowns on their way to a 38-24 win over UTEP.
MO State quarterback Jacob Clark: 30-of-39 for 330 yards and four touchdowns.
MO State running back Shomari Lawrence 25 carries for 109 yards and one touchdown.
MO State defensive lineman DJ Wesolak: seven tackles and two and a half sacks.
Middle Tennessee State (1-9, 0-6 CUSA) 26, Western Kentucky University (8-2, 6-1 CUSA) 42
Western Kentucky took care of business at home versus Middle Tennessee, in a game that was much closer than the scoreboard suggested. The Hilltoppers went up 14-0 early and by halftime held a 21-10 lead. The Blue Raiders came out of the half strong after Roman Gagliano found Myles Butler for a 52– yard touchdown. However, after an exchange of touchdowns made it 28-23, the Hilltoppers began to pull away. The Hilltoppers finished the game out scoring the Blue Raiders 14-3 in the fourth quarter to beat MTSU 42-26. WKU extended its winning streak in the rivalry to seven, and currently sits second in the conference behind Jacksonville State.
WKU wide receiver Matthew Henry: seven receptions for 135 yards and one touchdown.
MTSU quarterback Roman Gagliano: 25-of-42 for 389 yards, two touchdowns and 14 carries for 82 rushing yards.
MTSU wide receiver Myles Butler: seven receptions for 105 yards and one touchdown.
Liberty (4-6, 3-3 CUSA) 27, Florida International (5-5, 3-3 CUSA) 34
Coming off a big win over Middle Tennessee, Florida International won in overtime in an absolute thriller versus Liberty. Liberty looked good offensively in the first half scoring touchdowns on three of four drives in the first half, leading FIU 21-17 at the half. The second half was all FIU though, as the Panthers held Liberty to just six points in the second half. Liberty ended the fourth quarter with a last– second field goal to force overtime. FIU started with the ball in overtime, and with a seven-yard touchdown catch from Maguire Anderson the Panthers went up 34-27. On Liberty’s lone overtime possession, FIU defensive–back Mister Clark, picked off Liberty quarterback Ethan Vasko to seal the deal for the Panthers and move FIU to 5-5 on the year and 3-3 in the conference.
FIU quarterback Joe Pesansky: 24-of-34 for 206 yards and two touchdowns.
FIU defensive back Mister Clark: three tackles and one game-winning interception.
Liberty running-back Evan Dickens: 28 carries for 106 yards and a touchdown.
New Mexico State University (3-7, 1-5 CUSA) 9, No. 23 Tennessee (7-3, 3-3 SEC) 42
In a late season “guarantee game the Volunteers and Joey Aguilar struggled early offensively, with Aguilar throwing two interceptions in the first half. The Aggies’ defense held the Volunteers to just 21 points in the first half, but their offense had its own struggles, punting on most of its drives in the first half, as well as turning it over once. The second half got off to a better start for the Aggies but stalled once again in the fourth quarter. Not scoring a single point in the last quarter of the game.
NMSU safety Bernock Iya: seven tackles and one interception.
Tennessee wide receiver Braylon Staley: five receptions for 58 yards and one touchdown.
Tennessee defensive back William Wright: two tackles and a 35-yard pick-six.
Delaware (5-5, 3-4 CUSA) 23, Sam Houston (2-8, 1-5 CUSA) 26
With the regular season nearing its end, Sam Houston was desperate to break its five-game conference losing streak versus Delaware, in another game that ended up being an absolute thriller. The first quarter was a defensive slug fest that saw six consecutive punts, but the Blue Hens got a touchdown to end the quarter, going up 7-0. The Bearkats started the second quarter off with another punt, but later forced a fumble to swing momentum in their favor, entering halftime tied with the Blue Hens 10-10. The start of the second half was a complete turnaround for the Bearkats, as they outscored the Blue Hens 13-0 in the third quarter. However, the Blue Hens clawed their way back into the contest with a touchdown to make the score 26-23 in favor of Sam Houston. The Blue Hens elected to attempt an onside kick, which worked in their favor as they recovered and got one more chance at winning or at least tying the game with just over two minutes left. Delaware drove into field goal range and lined up for the game tying kick, where Blue Hens kicker Nate Reed missed from 36 yards out. With the upset over the Blue Hens, the Bearkats snapped their five-game conference losing streak.
Delaware wide receiver Sean Wilson: nine receptions for 162 yards.
Sam Houston running back Landan Brown: 10 carries for 109 yards and two touchdowns.
Sam Houston linebacker Antavious Fish: 10 total tackles (six solo) and a sack.
Kennesaw State (7-3, 5-1 CUSA) 26, Jacksonville State (7-3, 6-0 CUSA) 35
The last game of conference play of the day was a game for first place in the conference. Going into this game, both Jacksonville State and Kennesaw State were undefeated in the conference. The Gamecocks mostly controlled this game defensively with four interceptions helping the offense go up 22-10 at the half, but the Owls tried to make their way back into the game, but it was too little too late, with the final 35-26 Gamecocks. With the win, the Gamecocks moved to 7-3 overall and 6-0 in the conference.
Jax State running back Cam Cook: 27 carries for 132 yards and one touchdown.
Jax State wide receiver Deondre Johnson: two receptions for 112 yards and one touchdown.
Jax State safety Caleb Nix: 11 totals tackles, (eight solo) and two interceptions.
Louisiana Tech (5-5, 3-3 CUSA) 3, Washington State (5-5, 0-1 PAC-12) 28
The last game for Conference USA saw Louisiana Tech travel to Washington to take on an out-of-conference opponent in Washington State. The Bulldogs’ defense held its own against a talented Cougars team ,that earlier in the season nearly upset Ole Miss. The Bulldogs’ defense held the Cougars to just 28 points in the contest. However, the Bulldogs’ offense could not gain any momentum, and the lack of offensive production led to a 28-3 Washington State win over LA Tech.
WAZZU quarterback Zevi Eckhaus: 17-for-25 for 146 yards and one touchdown.
WAZZU running back Joshua Meredith: Five carries for 70 yards and one touchdown.
WAZZU cornerback Colby Humphrey: Five Total tackles (four solo) and one interception.
CUSA offensive leaders (As of Nov. 17, 2025)
Passing: UD quarterback Nick Minicucci: 3,056 passing yards, 18 touchdowns
Rushing: Jax State running back Cam Cook: 1,306 rushing yards, 13 touchdowns
Receiving: UD wide receiver Sean Wilson: 714 receiving yards, two touchdowns
Updated CUSA standings heading into Week 13
- Jax State (7-3, 6-0 CUSA)
- WKU (8-2, 6-1 CUSA)
- Kennesaw State (7-3, 5-1 CUSA)
- Mo State (7-3, 5-1 CUSA)
- LA Tech (5-5, 3-3 CUSA)
- FIU (5-5, 3-3 CUSA)
- Liberty (4-6, 3-3 CUSA)
- Delaware (5-5, 3-4 CUSA)
- NM State (3-7, 1-5 CUSA)
- UTEP (2-8, 1-5 CUSA)
- Sam Houston (2-8, 1-5 CUSA)
- MTSU (1-9, 0-6 CUSA)
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