Week 2 is officially in the books. The second full week of the 2025 college football season was certainly an interesting one for Conference USA. There were a total of 11 matchups, including one conference bout between the league’s last two champions — Jacksonville State and Liberty. The 11-game slate was nearly devoid of FCS buy games as well, with only UTEP collecting a check from the lower division.
In the 10 non-conference matchups, the league produced a 3-7 record, earning two wins over FBS competition. Here is the full CUSA scoreboard for Week 2:
- Penn State 34, FIU 0
- Indiana 56, Kennesaw State 9
- Jacksonville State 34, Liberty 24
- Colorado 31, Delaware 7
- Wisconsin 42, Middle Tennessee 10
- Missouri State 21, Marshall 20
- LSU 23, Louisiana Tech 7
- Toledo 45, WKU 21
- New Mexico State 21, Tulsa 14
- UTEP 42, UT Martin (FCS) 17
- Hawaii 37, Sam Houston 20
New Mexico State is the only CUSA team to clear its schedule thus far, securing a late-night win over Tulsa for its first 2-0 start since 2014. Now, let’s get to what we learned this week:
FIU, LA Tech defenses are built for it
FIU and Louisiana Tech entered their Week 2 matchups as respective 41.5 and 37.5 point underdogs to projected national title contenders. FIU traveled to No. 2 Penn State for a noon matchup and Louisiana Tech headed south to No. 2 LSU for a night game. While the Panthers and Bulldogs combined to lose their matchups 57-7, plenty of promise was shown on the defensive side of the ball in hostile environments.
FIU failed to notch a single point after two first half failures inside the Penn State 25. Still, the Panthers prevented Penn State from subbing its starters out of the game by playing four quarters of commanding defense. Penn State entered the first half with just 10 points as FIU forced two turnovers on downs and a three-and-out in a stellar start. With four minutes remaining in the game, Penn State only entered the end zone twice and led 20-0, but two garbage time touchdowns quickly augmented the Nittany Lions’ lead to 34-0 at the end. Inside linebacker Johnny Chaney Jr. led the charge with nine tackles and a sack, while Mister Clark broke up three passes including one to produce a fourth down stop. FIU didn’t allow a single touchdown to its FCS opponent in Week 1, and this unit has shown plenty of excellence on tape which could pay off in CUSA play.
Louisiana Tech similarly surrendered 10 first half points in Death Valley. The Bulldogs established from the get-go that it wouldn’t be an easy night for Garrett Nussmeier and the LSU offense. Michael Richard intercepted Nussmeier on the opening drive of the contest, and then the Bulldogs held LSU to a missed 51-yard field goal attempt on the next series. Louisiana Tech couldn’t generate enough offense itself to hang with the No. 3 team in the country, but the Tigers only managed two touchdowns in Baton Rouge. The Bulldogs were aggressive at the line of scrimmage, tallying three sacks and eight tackles for loss in the 23-7 finish. Outside linebacker Mekhi Mason left his mark in SEC country, totaling 11 tackles, 1.5 tackles for loss, and one sack to make LSU scratch and claw four quarters for a victory. Louisiana Tech’s defense pitched a Week 1 shutout against its FCS opponent, so this performance also bodes well for what is to come.
Jax State remains a contender
Only five conference matchups have transpired this season, and one was a Saturday CUSA showdown between the league’s 2023 champ and its 2024 champ. Liberty and Jacksonville State met in the eye of a storm as the contest was interrupted by an 80-minute weather delay. But on both sides of delay, Jacksonville State proved it’s here to stay in the conference’s upper echelon.
Jax State commandingly won the CUSA Championship Game last December with a 52-12 thrashing of WKU. However, the Gamecocks suffered a significant offseason exodus, losing head coach Rich Rodriguez to West Virginia and nearly all of their starters. Head coach Charles Kelly arrived after a stint as Auburn’s defensive coordinator and he rebuilt the roster with over 50 new additions. Kelly’s revamped roster impressed in the opener (which also featured a lengthy weather delay), possessing the ball on the UCF 36-yard line in a tie game with under 100 seconds remaining. UCF prevailed, but nearly knocking off the Knights in Orlando clearly inspired this team’s potential.
Jax State ran all over the Flames on Saturday, generating a collective 343 rushing yards and four touchdowns on a 7.1 average in a performance which looked awfully reminiscent of the 2024 Gamecock offense. TCU transfer Cam Cook is a perfect replacement to Tre Stewart who tallied 1,638 yards and 25 touchdowns a season ago. Cook led the Gamecocks with 195 yards and a pair of scores, while quarterback Gavin Wimsatt and secondary back Andrew Paul combined for 145 — each breaking a 40+ yard scamper. The defense retained its identity as well with four sacks and a 2-0 victory in the turnover battle. Even though the coaching staff and on-field personnel changed, Jax State’s team branding looks awfully similar to last year. These first two weeks prove the Gamecocks aren’t going anywhere in 2025.
WKU defense prone to allowing explosives
Western Kentucky was included in a handful of teams entering Week 2 with a perfect 2-0 mark — joining Iowa State, Kansas, and UNLV in that regarded. WKU dominated its first two opponents at home, disposing of Sam Houston in 41-27 fashion and FCS opponent North Alabama in a 55-6 blowout.
However, the Hilltoppers were severely challenged at Toledo, committing two immediate turnovers to fall into a 14-0 hole. Although those giveaways were a major factor in WKU’s 45-21 defeat — a game which it trailed 45-7 after three quarters — Toledo’s explosive plays were just as lethal. The Hilltoppers yielded a pair of 70+ yard touchdowns to Rocket skill position players as Chip Trayanum took a pitch out 75 yards and Junior Vandeross III burned WKU coverage for a 71-yard score. WKU’s defense surrendered 508 yards of offense including 307 in the run game at 7.3 yards per carry.
Given the offense’s firepower with Maverick McIvor and a talented batch of receivers, WKU looks the part of a CUSA contender. However, the defense must limit these significant gains in order to return to the conference title stage. This issue showed in Week 0 as Sam Houston broke free for two 50+ yard runs, which fueled the Bearkats’ only touchdown drives that evening. WKU’s defense can thrive playing a shell style to prevent such explosive gains. Of Toledo’s six touchdowns Saturday night, only two occurred on drives spanning more than three plays, showing WKU’s defense has been sharp at preventing slower, methodical drives.
Missouri State is no pushover in year one
The FCS to FBS transition is often challenging. Ask Kennesaw State which suffered through a 2-10 campaign in 2024, or Sam Houston which saw an 0-8 start in 2023 before a 3-9 finish.
Missouri State made the difficult transition this season along with Delaware. The Bears didn’t start their FBS tenure in inspiring fashion, taking a 73-13 shellacking at USC — the only 60-point FBS defeat of the young season. Missouri State faced another challenge in Week 2, traveling to Joan C. Edwards Stadium to battle reigning Sun Belt champion Marshall. Although a drastically different team than last year’s 10-3 squad, the Thundering Herd still entered this matchup as 8.5-point favorites.
Missouri State led for a grand total of two minutes and 50 seconds in the first half before Marshall took control of the game. At the 9:08 mark of the third quarter, the Thundering Herd completed a 20-0 run to have a 13-point advantage on the new CUSA arrival. However, Missouri State unleashed a heavy dose of quarterback Jacob Clark who finished with 359 passing yards and three touchdowns. Clark fired one score in the middle of the third quarter and another with roughly two minutes remaining as the Bears erased a double-digit deficit for their first victory as an FBS program — a feat that occurred much quicker than many may have predicted. Riding on the momentum of a monumental win, Missouri State makes its FBS home debut next week vs. an SMU team fresh off a College Football Playoff appearance.
