Conference USA media day is Tuesday, July 22, and when the 12 league members, including newcomers Delaware and Missouri State, descend on the PGA of America Headquarters in Frisco, Texas, “Talking Season” for the league officially kicks off.
As we await the CUSA media day, we release our predicted order of finish from ASOR. The Conference apparently won’t be releasing a preseason media poll this year but instead moving to something called a “Bowl Confidence Index” to rank teams based on preseason bowl predictions, similar to what the Big 12 did.
CUSA PREDICTED ORDER OF FINISH
1. Liberty
It’s hard not to predict the Flames at the top of the league. Look around the country and you will be hard-pressed to find someone not picking the Flames as the preseason favorites in CUSA, and that’s in spite of the 4th place finish last year and numerous question marks on this year’s team. There’s many reasons for this beginning with head coach Jamey Chadwell who is a proven winner. He hasn’t lost more than three games in the regular season in the past five seasons with four straight first or second conference finishes before last year’s blip. Add in the resources Liberty pumps into the program and a very favorable league schedule (not playing WKU and getting JSU with a new staff early) and the Flames seem to be the preseason favorite every year in CUSA.
2. Western Kentucky
Just like Liberty, Western Kentucky is a typical pick to finish near the top of CUSA in the revamped league over these past few seasons. It’s also very understandable. Under head coach Tyson Helton, the Hilltoppers have finished in the top 2 of the league in three of the past four seasons and haven’t finished below 4th in his six seasons while making a bowl game each year. Helton and WKU always seems to figure it out at the quarterback position regardless of who is there and typically have a strong offense. They will look to get back to the CUSA Championship game for a second straight year.
3. Jacksonville State
The Gamecocks got off to a slow start last season, dropping their first three games. They would quickly rebound to win eight straight, including a 31-21 decision at Liberty. Jax State would go on to defeat Western Kentucky, 52-12, in the CUSA Championship before falling to Ohio, 30-27, in the Cure Bowl to finish the season at 9-5 overall and 7-1 in CUSA. Following the season, Rich Rodriguez left JSU to return as head coach at West Virginia. The Gamecocks have hired Charles Kelly who is taking over in his first time being a head coach. The long-time defensive assistant was co-Defensive Coordinator at Auburn for the 2024 season and has also spent time previously at Colorado, Alabama, Tennessee, and Florida State. The Gamecocks should have some talent to stay near the top half of the league, but there are question marks about this team and program moving forward in the post-Rich Rod era.
4. UTEP
The Miners are entering their final season in Conference USA, and they will certainly be looking to put a stamp on their time in the league. Under first year head coach Scotty Walden last year, UTEP was 3-9 on the season and 3-5 in conference play. They did show some improvement late in the year, winning their last two CUSA games and three of their last five with the two losses coming by one score. Liberty defeated the Miners, 28-10, in Lynchburg on Sept. 14 last season. They could make a surge up the league standings this fall similar to what Sam Houston did a year ago. Malachi Nelson, a former five-star in the Class of 2023, began his career at USC and was at Boise State last year before transferring to UTEP. If he can win the job and live up to the hype, the Miners could certainly compete in the upper half of the league.
5. FIU
After three straight 4-8 seasons, Mike MacIntyre is out as head coach and Willie Simmons has taken over. Simmons inherits an FIU team that was also 3-5 in CUSA play, but their record may be worse than they were. The Panthers lost to Liberty, 31-24, in overtime at Williams Stadium. They had four other losses by three points or less. FIU was very close to achieving bowl eligibility. Simmons comes in after spending the 2024 season as the running backs coach at Duke. Prior to that he was the head coach at Florida A&M for six years, compiling an impressive 45-13 overall record and 34-5 conference record. The former starting quarterback at Clemson, Simmons was the head coach at Prairie View A&M for three years prior to his time at FAMU. He has never had a losing season as a head coach. Keyone Jenkins is back at quarterback after a brief stint in the transfer portal before Simmons convinced him to return. Jenkins is one of the more experienced quarterbacks in the league with nearly 5,000 passing yards in two seasons at FIU. The Panthers could be a sneaky good team in CUSA this season.
6. Delaware
After a long and storied tenure in the FCS, the Delaware Blue Hens will compete in the FBS for the first time in 2025. Delaware is coming off a 9-2 season where they were 6-2 in the CAA. Ryan Carty is entering his fourth season as the head coach at his alma mater where he played quarterback. In his first three seasons, Delaware has gone 26-11 overall and 16-8 in conference while advancing to the second round of the FCS Playoffs in each of his first two years they were eligible. It wouldn’t be shocking to see the Blue Hens competing near the top of CUSA quickly.
7. Louisiana Tech
Sonny Cumbie is likely coaching for his job this season after three straight losing records. LA Tech did make it to the Independence Bowl after Marshall withdrew from the game due to a large number of players entering the transfer portal. The Bulldogs lost to Army, 27-6, to finish the year at 5-8. They suffered three overtime losses and finished 4-4 in CUSA.
8. Middle Tennessee
Head coach Derek Mason is only the 4th head coach in the last 44 years at Middle Tennessee as he took over a year ago from long time head coach Rick Stockstill. Mason is a former head coach at Vanderbilt where he guided them to two bowl games. Last year they finished 3-9 overall and 2-6 in conference play. They have a veteran quarterback in Nick Vattiato (how does he still have eligibility?) who could help vault them up the standings some this year, especially as they enter a second year under their head coach.
9. New Mexico State
In his first year as head coach at New Mexico State, Tony Sanchez posted a 3-9 record and 2-6 mark in conference play. Sanchez has never had a winning record as a head coach also including his time at UNLV. Will they return to the level of success seen under Jerry Kill or return to being one of the worst teams in the FBS?
10. Missouri State
Third year head coach Ryan Beard saw great improvement after a 4-7 2023 campaign to an 8-4 mark last year. The Bears were 6-2 in the Missouri Valley Football Conference, the top FCS conference in the country. Their losses last year? #1 North Dakota State, #3 South Dakota State, #3 Montana, and FBS Ball State (42-34). The Bears face the second toughest schedule in CUSA this year, drawing all the top teams in the league and not facing fellow CUSA and FBS newcomer Delaware. Their first three games as an FBS are tough as they open at USC and Marshall before hosting SMU. They do return one of the top quarterbacks in all of FCS last season in Jacob Clark who was first-team All-MVFC while completing 69.7% of his passes for 3,604 yards with 26 touchdowns, and 6 interceptions.
11. Sam Houston
After a resurgence in their second year in the FBS and CUSA last year where the Bearkats were in contention for the CUSA Title until the end of the season, Sam Houston head coach KC Keeler left for Temple and they have just seven returning starters. It looks like a rebuilding year for first year head coach Phil Longo, and Sam Houston will be playing their home games an hour away from campus at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston due to renovations at Bowers Stadium.
12. Kennesaw State
The Owls went on to finish their first year at the FBS level and in CUSA at 2-10 overall and 2-6 in conference play. They also fired the only head coach their program had ever known, Brian Bohannon, and hired Jerry Mack. He comes to Kennesaw after one year as the running backs coach for the Jacksonville Jaguars. He previously held the same position for the University of Tennessee. Mack was North Carolina Central’s head coach from 2014-2017 where he compiled a 31-15 overall record and 26-6 MEAC record, posting a winning season all four years.
