Conference USA title hopes are on the line Tuesday when the Delaware Blue Hens visit the Western Kentucky Hilltoppers in Bowling Green, Kentucky. Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. ET on CBS Sports Network. With Liberty and Jacksonville State both 3-0 in league play, Delaware (1-2 CUSA) and Western Kentucky (2-1) face what amounts to an elimination game for the conference championship berth.
Quarterback Storylines
Delaware's offense revolves around senior quarterback Nick Minicucci, the 2026 CUSA Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. In 2025 he led the conference with 3,683 passing yards and 3,918 yards of total offense. After missing three games — during which the Blue Hens lost all three and scored just 47 points — Minicucci returned last Tuesday to throw five touchdown passes and run for another score in a 61-38 rout of Missouri State. The performance tied a school record for touchdown passes and moved him to third on Delaware's all-time career passing touchdowns list with 48.
Western Kentucky counters with Florida State transfer Brock Glenn, who made his first start in a 16-3 win at Sam Houston on October 14. Glenn threw for 127 yards and a touchdown while adding 22 carries for 54 yards, becoming the first CUSA player since 2020 with 30-plus pass attempts and 22-plus rushing attempts in a single game. Sophomore Rodney Tisdale Jr., the early-season starter, has missed the past two games with an ankle injury.
Defensive Returns and Trends
The Hilltoppers' defense gets a significant boost with the return of three graduate-senior starters: linebacker Jaylen Wester and defensive linemen Mackavelli Malotumau and Rylen Su'a-Filo. The trio missed two games amid an NCAA eligibility dispute but were cleared last week. Since Week 4, WKU has allowed just 14.3 points per game (second in CUSA) and surrendered only one touchdown in its last two games combined.
Delaware's defense, by contrast, ranks at or near the bottom of CUSA and outside the national top 100 in scoring (28.4 PPG), total (396.4 YPG) and pass defense (270.3 YPG). The Blue Hens have given up at least 30 points in four straight games, tied for the longest active streak in the FBS, and have recorded only two sacks in their past two outings despite leading the conference with 18 on the season.
Historical and Venue Factors
This is the fourth all-time meeting; Delaware leads the series 2-1 but lost last year 27-24 in Newark. The Blue Hens have not played in Bowling Green since 1981 and have lost seven consecutive road games, the longest streak in CUSA, while going 1-8 away as an FBS program. CUSA teams are a combined 7-29 on the road this season, the worst mark among FBS conferences. Western Kentucky, meanwhile, has won 13 of its last 15 at Houchens-Smith Stadium, including four straight this year, averaging 43.0 points per home game and a 19.0-point average margin of victory.
Weather for Tuesday evening calls for partly cloudy skies turning cloudy overnight with a low near 49 degrees and light winds.
