by Conference USA enters 2026 as one of the more wide-open conferences in the Group of Five, with three legitimate contenders at the top and a jumbled middle class that could shuffle fast depending on quarterback play and portal fits. Here’s how the conference shakes out, along with a projected conference record for every team.
1. Jacksonville State (7-1)
Charles Kelly and the Gamecocks have positioned themselves as the team to beat. Jacksonville State has reached back-to-back conference championship games (winning the conference in 2024) and brought in enough talent through the portal to make it three in a row. Caden Creel gives them confidence at the quarterback position with it being his second season starting for the Gamecocks, and 6’8 target Deondre Johnson as one of the most feared deep threats in the conference hauling in 24 yards per catch last season with 30 receptions. The Gamecocks also have a legitimate weapon at kicker with Garrison Rippa, the kind of guy who can steal a win in a close game.
The roster looks a lot different than a year ago. Jacksonville State lost a lot of production but also brought in a strong transfer class to offset it. On offense, tight ends coach Taylor Housewright was promoted to offensive coordinator this offseason after Clint Trickett left to become Maryland’s offensive coordinator, taking over a ground game that put up close to 3,500 yards a season ago. If Jacksonville State can win games on the road, they’re the clear favorite to win the conference.
2. Western Kentucky (7-1)
Tyson Helton’s group has as much talent as anyone in the conference, but the offensive line is the swing factor. Western Kentucky lost significant production up front and will lean on quarterback Rodney Tisdale Jr. to elevate whatever protection he gets. If the line can hold up, the Hilltoppers have the pieces to win the league outright.
Non-conference play won’t do them any favors. After opening at Nevada, Western Kentucky travels to Georgia and then Indiana in back-to-back weeks in September, a brutal stretch that could beat the team down before conference play even starts. If things go south early, Tisdale isn’t the only option under center. Florida State transfer Brock Glenn is in the mix to make that step up if needed. Wideout KD Hutchinson is back after a team high 66 receptions for 618 yards last season, giving Tisdale a safety blanket when needed. The good news is their CUSA schedule is back loaded, closing at home vs Jacksonville State, away at Liberty, and home vs Kennesaw State. This gives them a lot of time after Georgia and Indiana to show what they’re worth before the toughest conference games on the schedule.
3. Liberty (7-1)
Liberty is the best rebound candidate in the country. Jamie Chadwell inherits a team with one of the easiest schedules in all of college football. With strong depth at running back, it should allow the Flames to lean on the ground game while whoever wins the three-man quarterback competition between Ethan Vasko who spent last season in Lynchburg, Wake Forest Transfer Deshawn Purdie, and West Virginia transfer Jaylon Henderson learns the offense.
The bigger question is defense. Liberty struggled to generate pressure last season, and that must change for the Flames if they want to hang with Jacksonville State and Western Kentucky at the top. Chadwell brought in new defensive coordinator Shawn Quinn and hired Cory Peoples away from Georgia Tech to help lead the secondary, which shows the urgency to fix things after their first losing season in two decades for the Flames. Through the spring, Purdie appeared to have the edge in the quarterback race taking the bulk of the first team reps, although nothing has been set in stone. Liberty opens the season on the road against a brand-new James Madison team. If we see the Flames defense improve against the Dukes, Liberty’s schedule alone makes them dangerous.
4. Kennesaw State (5-3)
The defending conference champions have to answer a huge question at quarterback. Is Rickie Collins the guy for them? After stepping up when Steve Angeli suffered a season ending left Achilles’ tear vs Clemson in September of last year, saying he was bad is an understatement. In 7 games, he threw 10 interceptions with a 53% completion rate with only 6 touchdowns. Now with Angeli back for Syracuse, Collins was forced to transfer and found himself at Kennesaw State. Jerry Mack, who took Kennesaw State from two wins to a conference title in his very first year on campus, is banking on Collins putting together a much better version of the erratic play he showed for the Orange last season.
Tackling is a huge problem for this defense despite having CUSA’s preseason Defensive Player of the Year Baron Hopson after his 138 tackle season. Winning the league as an underdog last year buys Kennesaw State some benefit of the doubt, but replicating that run with lots of new transfers and a shaky quarterback room will be a tall ask in this conference.
5. Florida International (5-3)
FIU is the wild card of the middle tier. The Panthers lost both quarterbacks from a season ago, along with their leading rusher and most of the receiving core. That’s about as much turnover as a program can get offensively. JJ Kohl steps in at quarterback, but this team’s ceiling is going to be set almost entirely by how well the offensive line plays in front of him.
Kohl, a 6’7 passer who spent time at Iowa State before a stop at Appalachian State, threw for 1,462 yards and 12 touchdowns while only throwing two interceptions last season and gives FIU a much bigger arm than they’ve had in recent years. Head Coach Willie Simmons enters year two after guiding the Panthers to a 7-6 record and their first bowl trip since 2019. Even with so much roster turnover to work through, Simmons has rebuilt programs before, and there’s enough raw talent here to be competitive. With the amount on losses on offense, FIU is a tough team to project with confidence.
6. Delaware (4-4)
Delaware’s transition into the FBS has gone about as smoothly as possible, with a bowl win in year one and 62% returning production heading into 2026. Nick Minicucci returns at quarterback to lead an offense that should have the continuity most CUSA teams could only wish to have.
Minicucci threw for 3,683 yards and 23 touchdowns in 2025, sixth most passing yards in the entire FBS after taking over for Zach Marker who got injured only five minutes into the season in 2025. Minicucci was rewarded this offseason by being named the CUSA’s Preseason Offensive Player of the Year. Head Coach Ryan Carty is 23-4 at home since taking over the program. The issues are on the other side of the ball. Delaware had to replace a lot defensively and hasn’t made the moves to take a real step forward with this defense, which caps how high this team can climb in a conference with legitimate depth up top.
7. New Mexico State (3-5)
New Mexico State was the worst rushing team in the country a season ago, and fixing that was the number one priority this offseason. Delaware State transfer James Jones arrives as the new lead back, and the Aggies also brought in a wave of new offensive linemen to try and open running lanes that weren’t there in 2025.
Jones averaged an astonishing 9.8 yards per carry last season, and head coach Tony Sanchez has already called him a potential difference maker. Furman transfer Trey Hedden recently won the quarterback battle, he threw for almost 3,000 yards and 17 touchdowns last season with the Paladins. The only problem is the interceptions, Hedden threw 13 of them including three in back-to-back games in the middle of last season. The defense forced 24 takeaways last season despite the offensive struggles. Until that ground game proves itself, New Mexico State is going to need its defense to carry the load and keep games close.
8. Middle Tennessee State (1-7)
Roman Gagliano returns at quarterback for the Blue Raiders, he’s not a true dual threat, but he’s deceptively quick and can extend plays when the protection breaks down. He took over as a redshirt freshman late last season when Nicholas Vattiato went down and helped Middle Tennessee State win two of their final three games, putting up 911 passing yards over that stretch. This is widely considered a make or break third season for head coach Derek Mason.
The much bigger concern is a pass defense that was among the worst in the country last season. Until that unit shows real improvement, the Blue Raiders are going to be in a lot of shootouts they can’t win.
9. Missouri State (1-7)
Almost the entire roster followed the previous head coach Ryan Beard to Coastal Carolina, leaving Missouri State to essentially start over. A quarterback competition between UTEP transfer Skyler Locklear and Duke transfer Henry Belin IV will decide who leads the offense. New head coach Casey Woods arrives after four years as SMU’s offensive coordinator, and the schedule doesn’t do him any favors early.
Missouri State opens at Texas A&M and later travels to Dallas to face his old SMU team. Conference USA media members gave the Bears roughly a one in three chance at reaching a bowl game. This is a team that needs unproven players to develop fast, and that kind of dependency means a rough first year for the new look roster.
10. Sam Houston (0-8)
Sam Houston is working with a nearly entirely new roster under head coach Phil Longo and just two returning starters on defense, a unit that finished dead last nationally in yards allowed a season ago at nearly 484 yards per game. Landyn Locke, who completed just half his throws with four touchdowns and four interceptions in limited action last year, has the inside track at quarterback, with DJ Bailey pushing him after an encouraging spring.
Houston/Colorado/Arizona State transfer running back Alton McCaskill is also back after a modest 2025 in Huntsville and will need a much bigger role behind an offensive line getting an influx of transfers. Without more proven pieces on defense, it’s hard to see Sam Houston being competitive in conference play in 2026.
