Week 0 has finally arrived and will feature some great matchups including Group of Five programs.
With only two G5 conferences represented this weekend — Conference USA and the Mountain West — there will be a lot of eyes on the few games being played. And even with the limited action, there are still a few storylines to keep an eye on.
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CUSA Action Starts Early
We don’t have to wait long to enjoy an important conference game. Sam Houston will visit Western Kentucky for a 7 p.m. ET kickoff that will be televised on CBS Sports Network.
College football betting odds have WKU as a 10-point favorite as the Hilltoppers aim to make another run to a CUSA title game appearance.
The Bearkats will look to build on last year’s solid season where they finished 10-3 and 6-2 in league play. Their only two CUSA losses came to WKU and Jacksonville State.
WKU is 2-1 all-time against SHSU, including 2-0 since the Bearkats joined CUSA in 2023.
New G5 Gunslingers?
We’ve seen what new WKU quarterback Maverick McIvor is capable of when commanding an offense. McIvor had a lot of success in the FCS where he was under center for Abilene Christian the past three seasons. Last year, he passed for 3,828 yards and 30 touchdowns and was a first-team All-UAC selection.
The graduate QB will look to continue the lineage of dynamic arms that WKU has had over the last few years.
While it shouldn’t be much of a surprise of what to expect from McIvor, we’ve only been briefly introduced to Hawaii QB Micah Alejado.
The redshirt freshman appeared in four games last season but didn’t start until the final game of the regular season against New Mexico. He quickly proved why he was such a highly touted prospect out of prep powerhouse Bishop Gorman High School.
Alejado set freshman single-game passing records for both yards (469) and touchdowns (five) against New Mexico and added 54 yards on the ground. The lefty signal caller was the only FBS player to have 450-plus pass yards and 50-plus rush yards in a game in 2024.
I’m eager to see what Alejado will do this week against Stanford, what he’s able to accomplish in a full season, and how successful Hawaii’s offense can be. If he isn’t already, he may become one of the most exciting players to watch in college football.
Head Coaches Debut With New Teams
Out of the five G5 teams that will be playing this weekend, three of them will have coaches making their debut with their respective programs.
Dan Mullen will enter his first season as UNLV’s head coach after spending the past few years working for ESPN as a broadcaster. His last year coaching was in 2021 when he went 5-6 in his fourth and final season at Florida.
Matt Entz will be another MW coach making his debut with his new squad in Week 0 as Fresno State visits Kansas. Entz spent last season as assistant head coach for defense and linebackers coach at USC and was the head coach for North Dakota State from 2019-2023 where he won two FCS championships and compiled a 60-11 record.
Sam Houston will also have a new coach leading the charge with Phil Longo entering his first season with the Bearkats. Longo was the offensive coordinator for SHSU from 2014-16 and has since served as the OC for Ole Miss, North Carolina, and Wisconsin. His only head coaching stint came in 2004-05 when he coached La Salle to a combined 7-14 record over two seasons.
What To Expect From Sam Houston’s Offense
It would surprise me if Hunter Watson doesn’t start for the Bearkats. But it’s worth noting that he doesn’t exactly fit the Longo air-raid style of offense, and there hasn’t formally been a starting QB named for the Bearkats with Mabrey Mettauer also in the mix. Watson is more of a dual-threat guy, so it’ll be interesting to see how the two adapt to each other’s styles.
Mettauer came over from Wisconsin with Longo and seems like more of a fit for what Longo likes to do offensively. He also has a big-time arm. I don’t expect Mettauer to start, but perhaps he’ll take a few snaps this weekend — and maybe has earned some snaps — if there truly is a QB race.
