2026 College Football Preview: Conference USA

Photo by Jason Clark from Getty Images

In the modern era of college football, you kind of have an idea of who the top teams will be in the power conferences.

But in the smaller conferences, with constant portal raiding and coaches moving around, it’s a little harder to figure out who will be top dog.

And never is that more true than with Conference USA.

Before last season, I discussed how Kennesaw State questionably fired their coach, and if their jump to FBS was possibly a mistake.

And then, they went out and won the conference championship.

So who knows what will happen this year.

Better Luck Next Year

New Mexico State Aggies

Tony Sanchez is 7-17 in his tenure there, the fanbase has lost interest in the team, and they don’t have good funding in the revenue share era of college football.

It’s sad, and I wish it wasn’t the case, but I simply can not see a path towards a bowl game in the Tony Sanchez era.

Maybe with any coach in this era, frankly.

But hey, their in state rivals found immediate success with a new head coach, so maybe it is possible.

Missouri State Bears

I thought Missouri State was going to be bad for a while in FBS.

But I was wrong.

Missouri State went 6-6, and because there weren’t enough bowl eligible teams, their “first season in FBS postseason ban” (which is just the dumbest rule) was lifted and they were able to go bowling.

The issue is, their coach Ryan Beard, and all of the good players from that team, are now at Coastal Carolina.

So they have to start from scratch once again with first time head coach Casey Woods, who was previously the offensive coordinator at SMU.

Now, SMU has had an excellent offense in his time there, so that’s not a bad hire.

But it’s a first time head coach, it’s a brand new squad built from the portal, and their quarterback option is Skyler Locklear from UTEP, who hasn’t had the greatest time in college football.

Conference USA isn’t a tough conference, so if this all hits, the Bears can win and make some noise.

But it does seem like a tall order for year one.

Sam Houston State Bearkats

KC Keeler ain’t walking back through that door.

And until he does, or someone with his pedigree does, Sam Houston State ain’t getting near a bowl.

Phil Longo, a coach who likes a fast paced offense, did go out and get speedy, athletic guys on offense like WR Kyan Berry-Johnson from NC State, and that should fit more of the style of play that Longo wants, and QB Landyn Locke returns, which means Longo knows what he can and can’t do with him offensively, but the team just isn’t good enough.

Middle Tennessee Blue Raiders

If I had to pick one team to go the Kennesaw State route and be terrible one year before somehow winning the conference the next year, MTSU would be my pick.

Derek Mason is far from a bad coach, and they found something with young QB Roman Gagliano, who returns again.

But that’s all it is.

A wacky prediction.

Until I actually see Mason succeed at MTSU, I can’t expect anything at all.

Bowl Game Bound

Florida International Panthers

It was never going to happen, because G6 schools don’t ever get the same recognition as the big boys, but Willie Simmons could have easily been a coach of the year finalist for getting FIU to 7 wins last year in his first year on the job.

Only two coaches have ever been able to get the Panthers to go bowling.

Mario Cristobal, who climbed the ranks to Miami and made the title game last year, and Butch Davis, who had a very good career before he joined Florida International.

But then, it all went downhill, missing out on a bowl for five straight seasons.

In stepped Willie Simmons from Florida A&M, and a boatload of new transfers to try and succeed immediately at FIU.

And it worked out pretty well.

Now, he has to do it again, with former App State QB JJ Kohl, a brand new offensive line, and essentially a brand new defense.

But it worked once.

Why couldn’t it work again?

Dark Horses

Delaware Blue Hens

I thought Delaware was set up well for the jump to FBS last year, and they did not let me down, going 7-6 and winning a bowl game.

Ryan Carty is going into his 5th year, has the foundation set, and knows what he needs to succeed at Delaware.

And this season, he gets some continuity, with Nick Minicucci returning after a great year at Delaware last year, and Sean Wilson returning at receiver.

In a conference with not a ton of top level teams, a great coach and a great QB could go quite a long way.

Delaware should be knocking on the door.

Kennesaw State Owls

The team of the year.

Just one year after a horrendous 2-10 season in their first year in FBS, Kennesaw State hired Jerry Mack and jumped all the way to 11 wins and a Conference USA Title.

Now, Coach Mack has to do it again, losing Amari Odom and 8 other starters from last years offense.

Replacing Odom is former Syracuse QB Rickie Collins, who did not do well when replacing injured QB Steve Angeli, but maybe a change of scenery, and a little easier competition, can help him find his form.

And even if it doesn’t, Kennesaw State’s defense returns a ton of starters to help keep the Owls in games if the offense sputters.

I trust in Jerry Mack.

Western Kentucky Hilltoppers

Western Kentucky is always going to be in the hunt.

The Hilltoppers have won at least 8 games in each of the past 5 years, and they’ve done so on the back of their high powered offenses.

There’s just a few problems.

One, despite being in the hunt, they haven’t actually won a conference title in that time frame.

And two, you need a good offense to succeed in this system.

And head coach Tyson Helton has earned the benefit of the doubt to think this offense, completely full of transfers, will still be good.

But it is still an offense full of transfers.

They’re Power 4 transfers like Brock Glenn from Florida State and Zion Taylor from Georgia Tech, but they are still transfers.

I believe WKU can get 8 wins once again.

The question is, will that be enough?

Jacksonville State Gamecocks

When a G6 school goes through a coaching change, or high transfer turnover, it’s natural for the team to take a step back.

And I guess, technically, Jax State did after Rich Rod left, having an 8-4 regular season one year after they were 9-3.

But that’s all it was. A one game difference. And that’s despite loads of transfers leaving along with it.

But Charles Kelly will have to do it again, losing offensive coordinator Clint Trickett to Maryland, offensive line coach Rick Trickett to West Virginia, as well as star running back Cam Cook to the Mountaineers.

But quarterback Caden Creel returns after a great Freshman season, as does a hefty majority of the offensive line.

So even though they’ve lost some coaching and the leading yardage back in the sport, there’s no reason to think the Gamecocks won’t come back and be successful again.

The Favorites

Liberty Flames

Look, this is the revenue era of college football.

In this sport right now, cash is king.

And there is one clear cut school that invests the most into their football program, and it’s Liberty.

Has that always panned out? No, not so much.

Two years ago, they suffered tough losses to Kennesaw State, Jax State, and Sam Houston State, and last year was just a completely unmitigated disaster, going 4-8 and missing a bowl entirely.

But three of those losses were overtime losses, and Jamey Chadwell didn’t mess around this offseason, making changes to the offensive and defensive coordinator spots, bringing in two transfer QBs to compete with Ethan Vasko for the top dog, as well as a fully new secondary from the portal.

Those pieces need to hit in a big way if Liberty wants to win the Conference USA title like they did in 2023.

At the end of the day, I think they’ll hit, and I think they’ll get it done.