Around C-USA Week 7: Jax State survives as Missouri State wins at the horn
Jax State stays unbeaten in C-USA, Missouri State wins on the final snap and Middle Tennessee survives Delaware. Plus, WKU’s defensive breakthrough and the players reshaping the league’s rotations.
By Mark Taylor · Published
Around the Conferences continues with Conference USA, part of CFBDepth’s new weekly series covering every FBS conference. Each installment looks beyond the results to examine the performances, personnel developments and turning points shaping the weeks ahead.
Three of C-USA’s four Week 7 games came down to three points. Jacksonville State needed another late kick from Garrison Rippa, Missouri State used every second of its final possession, and Middle Tennessee answered Delaware with a 93-yard touchdown drive. Western Kentucky provided the exception, keeping Sam Houston out of the end zone throughout a 16–3 road win.
The week also supplied several useful personnel developments. Henry Belin IV delivered in his first Missouri State start, Tyler Bell set a Delaware freshman passing record in his first start, and WKU’s freshmen continued to contribute across all three phases.
Jax State finds another late answer against FIU
Jacksonville State 27, FIU 24
Jacksonville State’s fourth consecutive victory required another closing drive from Caden Creel and another successful late kick from Garrison Rippa. The Gamecocks moved to 5–2 overall and 3–0 in C-USA after Rippa’s 26-yard field goal with 44 seconds remaining broke a 24–24 tie.
Creel’s 34-yard completion to Ronnel Johnson on third down was the crucial gain on the 82-yard winning possession. FIU still drove into range for a tying attempt, but Robert Czeremcha’s 49-yard kick missed to the right as time expired.
The Gamecocks had established their lead through the passing game. Creel found tight end Luke Gilbert for a 38-yard touchdown and Deondre Johnson for a 36-yard score, helping build a 17–7 advantage. Creel finished with 214 passing yards and two touchdowns, plus a team-high 95 rushing yards. Deondre Johnson supplied 93 receiving yards on three catches.
FIU repeatedly answered. JJ Kohl threw for 278 yards and two touchdowns without an interception, with Maguire Anderson catching eight passes for 133 yards. Anderson’s touchdowns covered 50 and 30 yards, and Devonte Lyons’ eight-yard run tied the game at 24 late in the third quarter.
The Panthers finished with more total yards, a longer time of possession and no turnovers, but several lost opportunities narrowed the value of those advantages. Czeremcha also missed from 38 yards before halftime. A failed fake punt early in the third quarter gave Jax State a short field, and 12 penalties cost FIU 100 yards.
That failed fake punt led to a four-yard touchdown by Justus Savage, who supplied 44 rushing yards on seven carries in his season debut after working through injuries. With Cedric Kouemi and Jalen Likely unavailable, Savage’s contribution gave the Gamecocks another back to use alongside Kristian Lando. It was meaningful production in a depleted group, without establishing how the carries will divide once everyone is available.
FIU left the game at 3–3 overall and 1–1 in conference play. Kohl and Anderson had given the Panthers enough passing production to recover from an early deficit. The missed kicks, failed special-teams gamble and inability to stop Jax State’s final drive left them without the result to match it.
Middle Tennessee finishes the drive Delaware could not stop
Middle Tennessee 33, Delaware 30
Middle Tennessee’s most important possession began at its own seven-yard line with the Blue Raiders trailing 30–26. Ten plays later, Roman Gagliano found Neo Clifton for a 14-yard touchdown with 3:06 remaining, delivering the final lead change in a game that had seven.
The drive followed an equally important defensive response. Delaware had recovered a fumbled kickoff return at the MTSU 26, with a chance to extend its four-point advantage. Korey Smith’s sack helped the Blue Raiders escape that short field without allowing another score. Gagliano then led the longest scoring drive of Derek Mason’s tenure.
Gagliano finished with 291 passing yards, three touchdown throws and a rushing score. Clifton caught four passes for 64 yards and two touchdowns, while tight end Koraun Perdue had four catches for 103 yards. Perdue’s 80-yard touchdown on the first play of the second half immediately erased Delaware’s 16–12 halftime lead.
The defense supplied five sacks and the last major play. Freshman safety Bryce Williams intercepted Tyler Bell with 1:51 remaining, and MTSU closed out its first conference victory. Smith finished with 10 tackles, while Ashton Taylor added 1.5 sacks. Safety Christofer Noble also made his first start of the season after a preseason injury, returning to a secondary that had to handle a productive Delaware passing game.
Bell gave the Blue Hens plenty to build on in his first career start in place of injured Nick Minicucci. The freshman completed 22 of 36 passes for 306 yards and two touchdowns, setting Delaware’s freshman single-game passing record. He also caught a 15-yard touchdown pass from receiver Bryson Graves.
Donovan Lewis contributed six catches for 83 yards, and Josh Humes’ first reception as a Blue Hen became a 33-yard touchdown. Kaderris Roberts scored twice, including the 23-yard reception that gave Delaware its fourth-quarter lead.
The Blue Hens’ 13 penalties for 101 yards were costly in such a narrow game. An intentional-grounding call in the end zone produced a safety, an ineligible-receiver penalty erased a touchdown, and an unsportsmanlike-conduct penalty on Ryan Carty added 15 yards during MTSU’s winning drive. Delaware also had an extra point blocked.
Middle Tennessee exited Week 7 at 3–3 overall, 1–1 in C-USA and 3–0 at home. Delaware fell to 2–4 and 0–2. Bell gave Delaware productive quarterback play in Minicucci’s absence, but the Blue Hens needed cleaner execution around him to turn that performance into a win.
Belin and Missouri State use the entire final possession
Missouri State 24, Kennesaw State 21
Missouri State took possession with 6:06 remaining and never gave Kennesaw State another offensive snap. A 13-play, 72-yard drive ended with Yousef Obeid’s 22-yard field goal as time expired, giving Casey Woods his first FBS victory as the Bears’ head coach.
Henry Belin IV made the most of his first Missouri State start, completing 28 of 39 passes for 300 yards and two touchdowns. Isaiah Myers caught seven passes for 135 yards, including both touchdown throws and a 32-yard reception on the winning possession.
Connor Lair also had a substantial role in the finish. His five-yard catch on third-and-four sustained the final drive, and he added the rushing yards that moved Missouri State into short field-goal range. Lair finished with 65 rushing yards on 17 carries and 19 receiving yards, handling five touches on the last possession.
Obeid made all three of his field-goal attempts. His early kicks had kept Missouri State ahead while the offense struggled to finish opportunities near the goal line. The Bears were stopped on fourth-and-goal at the two and later on fourth-and-one at the Kennesaw State 26. The Owls then covered 74 yards in 40 seconds, with Rickie Collins finding Dylan Gary for a touchdown on the final play of the half to take a 7–6 lead.
Kennesaw State continued answering in the second half. Collins scored on a nine-yard run, and Boogie Woods III’s one-yard touchdown tied the game at 21. Collins finished with 260 passing yards and 25 rushing yards, while Gary tied the program record with 10 catches for 135 yards. Javon Rogers added six receptions for 79 yards.
The passing production did not erase every offensive limitation. Kennesaw State rushed for 77 yards as a team and converted three of 12 third downs. Its scoring drives kept the game competitive, but Missouri State finished with a 421–337 edge in total offense and sustained the possession that decided it.
The Bears also received eight catches for 77 yards from Jmariyae Robinson, who became the program’s career receptions leader with 155. Belin’s first start, Lair’s increased workload and the production from Myers and Robinson gave Missouri State a clear set of contributors in the win.
Missouri State improved to 2–4 overall and 1–1 in C-USA. Kennesaw State fell to 1–5 and 0–2 despite another productive night from Collins and Gary. The Owls’ final tying drive accomplished its purpose; the defense could not provide another possession.
WKU’s freshmen help turn defense into a road win
Western Kentucky 16, Sam Houston 3
WKU established the terms of this game early. The Hilltoppers forced a three-and-out on Sam Houston’s opening possession, then drove 65 yards for a touchdown on Brock Glenn’s 23-yard pass to tight end Coleson Arends. It would be the only touchdown either team scored.
The defense made that enough. WKU allowed 177 total yards, including just 65 on the ground, and shut out the Bearkats in the second half. True freshman linebacker Westen Ard finished with 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, 1.5 sacks and a pass breakup.
Ard was one of several young players contributing to the result. Freshman kicker Karl Campbell made field goals from 35, 39 and 33 yards, moving to eight makes in eight attempts for the season. Jonathan Stafford Jr. caught five passes for 37 yards, extending his streak to five consecutive games with at least five receptions.
Tony Newsome Jr.’s fourth-quarter interception and 22-yard return helped set up Campbell’s final field goal. It was Newsome’s second interception in as many games, and it gave WKU additional separation in a game its offense had not put away.
Glenn remained heavily involved in both parts of the attack, throwing for 127 yards and a touchdown while carrying 22 times for 54 yards. WKU finished with 144 rushing yards and 132 passing yards. The Hilltoppers protected the ball and accepted points from their kicker when drives stalled, allowing the defense to keep working with a lead.
For Sam Houston, the defensive effort was much better than the offensive return. The Bearkats held WKU to 276 yards, and linebacker Dean Ford recorded 12 tackles. MJ Dowdy rushed for 55 yards on 14 carries, while Chris Reed caught three passes for 51 yards. Those contributions did not provide enough sustained movement to generate a touchdown.
Landyn Locke finished with 112 passing yards and an interception, and Sam Houston committed 10 penalties for 100 yards. After also failing to score a touchdown against Liberty the previous week, the Bearkats left this game at 1–5 overall and 0–2 in conference play.
WKU improved to 3–4 and 2–1, winning its second consecutive conference game. The result also gave Tyson Helton his 60th victory in his 100th game leading the program. Ard, Campbell and Stafford each supplied a different part of that win, giving the Hilltoppers tangible production from their freshman class.
Where Week 7 left the race
Jacksonville State finished the week at 3–0 in conference play, with idle Liberty at 2–0. WKU’s second consecutive win moved the Hilltoppers to 2–1, while Middle Tennessee and Missouri State each collected their first conference victory.
The four games showed why the league’s next stretch remains difficult to separate. FIU produced enough offense to challenge Jax State throughout. Delaware received a record-setting quarterback debut and still lost. Kennesaw State repeatedly answered Missouri State’s touchdowns before running out of possessions.
The next round began October 20, with the remaining games sending New Mexico State to Sam Houston on October 21 and Liberty to Kennesaw State on October 22. WKU returns against Delaware on October 27, while Jax State’s next game is at New Mexico State on October 28. Those breaks give the Hilltoppers and Gamecocks time to recover before resuming their pursuit of the two championship-game spots.
