The 2025 season is right around the corner and that means college football analysts around the country are making their preseason predictions. Phil Steele‘s CUSA order of finish prediction has a few surprises but not so at the top with Liberty being expected to repeat as conference champions.

Here’s the full breakdown of Phil Steele’s projections.

1. Liberty

Find a preseason prediction that doesn’t have the Flames in the #1 spot in the CUSA, there certainly aren’t many. Of course, championships are won on the field and not on paper. Phil Steele predicts Liberty, behind third year head coach Jamey Chadwell to get back to the top of CUSA and win the conference championship.

2. Louisiana Tech

Certainly the surprise in Phil Steel’s CUSA projections. 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.

3. 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.

4. Middle Tennessee

Under second year head coach Derek Mason, MTSU is one of the more experienced teams in the country and will look to improve on last year’s 3-9 record.  Nick Vattiato is back yet again at quarterback, probably the most experienced returning QB in the league.

t-5. 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. The Aggies have many questions marks entering 2025 as they hope to get back towards the top of CUSA like they were under previous head coach Jerry Kill.

t-5. 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.

t-7. Jax 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.

t-7. 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.

9. Sam Houston

The Bearkats were the biggest turnaround team not just in CUSA but also in the country as they finished in third place and won 10 games. Long time head coach KC Keeler has departed and Phil Longo has taken over the reigns. Sam Houston’s stadium is undergoing renovations and they will play their home games about 45 minutes away from campus and have just seven returning starters.

t-10. 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.

t-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). How quickly will they adjust to playing at the FBS level and in Conference USA?

t-10. 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 last year. 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.