2024 Conference USA Football Preview

2024 Conference USA Football Preview

The 2024 College Football season is right around the corner! Today, we are previewing Conference USA, which has one clear favorite and plenty of question marks after. How do we think it shapes up? Without further ado, let’s dive into it!

1. Liberty

Liberty, led by Kaidon Salter, is the clear-cut favorite. It should run the CUSA table fairly easily, and if they don’t, something catastrophic has happened. Liberty’s also the presumptive favorite to earn a playoff bid, though they will need to completely dominate with one of the weakest strength-of-schedules in the FBS.

2. Western Kentucky

There’s a big drop-off between Liberty and the next-best team, which I believe to be Western Kentucky. Malachi Corley is a big loss, but I still think they have a solid receiving room with an experienced offensive line and good defense. Grabbing Texas State transfer QB TJ Finley to replace All-CUSA signal caller Austin Reed is a good get, too.

3. Jacksonville State

The Gamecocks have won nine games in each of the last two seasons, but don’t return a ton of production from last season. They will be without their top two rushers, pass catchers and six of their top eight tacklers. They will also face Liberty and Western Kentucky on the road. You have to commend Rich Rodriguez for last year’s transition, but I’m not expecting another nine-win campaign.

4. FIU

Mike MacIntyre’s squad has gone 6-10 in CUSA play in each of his first two seasons, so maybe a top-4 ranking is too bullish. But I also hate the bottom of the conference, and I think this could be MacIntyre’s best team yet in Miami, Fla., though I am worried about the Panthers’ receiving room with the loss of Kris Mitchell. They also face a more difficult schedule, which may not reflect much progress in the W-L record.

5. Sam Houston

In 2023, Sam Houston’s three wins came in their last four games, but were competitive in the middle of the season against Jacksonville State, Liberty, FIU and UTEP. I think JUCO transfer Hunter Watson can jumpstart that offense, which was abysmal last season. Sam Houston’s defense may take another step back, though.

6. UTEP

With Scotty Walden manning the ship, I’m more bullish on UTEP’s offense, which was a bottom-15 scoring nationally last year, despite losing their top four receivers and top three running backs. I’m not sure how many wins it will churn out, but they do have a very difficult non-conference schedule and will play both Liberty and WKU on the road. I think they could go on a run with the back-half of their CUSA slate, though.

7. Louisiana Tech

Sonny Cumbie’s gone 3-9 over his first two seasons in Ruston, in part due to health–or lack thereof–behind center. His two defenses have been a disaster, and you hope that the infusion of former Northern Iowa and Kent State defensive coordinator Jeremiah Johnson helps get that unit–returning a handful of starters–back to par.

8. New Mexico State

Without Jerry Kill or Diego Pavia, I’m not high on this team at all. Especially since their defense was gutted. I was also not a fan of head coach Tony Sanchez when he was at UNLV.

9. Middle Tennessee State

Another team with a brand new coach, plenty of roster turnover and zero experience in the trenches. That’s a red flag. This is a rebuilding year for first-year MTSU head coach Derek Mason, who struggled to ignite any energy in seven seasons at Vanderbilt.

10. Kennesaw State

I’m fading a first-year FBS program that went 3-6 in their last year in their last season in the FCS (Independent). They do return 16 starters, however, but have questions behind center and in the secondary.

Best Bet:

• Western Kentucky o7.5 wins (-122 on FanDuel)

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