Home Conferences FBS 2026 season

The weekly grind · 2026

Conference USA

Coaching Premium League

Liberty holds the Conference USA lead heading into this week's games.

Conference USA is more top-heavy than deep. Liberty gives the league punch, but the middle tier falls away faster than the top leagues.

#10Overall

#10In FBS

+16.4Conference strength

+21.0Upper strength

10Teams

0Top-25 teams

Conference USA, at a glance.

Top 10 by power rating — 2026 season, through the latest games.

Team Record Power

Liberty

7-1 +24.5

Jacksonville State

6-2 +19.7

Delaware

4-4 +19.3

Western Kentucky

3-5 +16.6

Kennesaw State

2-6 +13.5

Missouri State

3-5 +13.5

Florida International

3-5 +13.4

Middle Tennessee

4-4 +11.7

New Mexico State

3-5 +11.2

Sam Houston

1-7 +9.8

Power snapshot Projected 2026 standing

Coaching Premium League

North Texas went 12-2 in 2025 with a recruiting class ranked #112 nationally. Old Dominion went 10-3 with a #102 class. UTSA finished at SP+ #26 with a #107 recruiting rank. The top three teams in Conference USA all carry coaching premiums above +80 — which means the coaches in this conference are collectively doing more with less than nearly any other league in FBS. Meanwhile UTEP went 2-10 with the #70 recruiting class.

0 top-25 teams.

The depth argument for this conference rests on how many credible opponents are clustered behind the leader. A wide talent spread separates the haves from the have-nots.

Where things stand right now.

Liberty holds the Conference USA lead heading into this week's games.

Tools Matchup simulator Compare teams Playoff forecast Style map Head to head Power map

The Best Story in C-USA

North Texas Went 12-2 With the 112th Recruiting Class

North Texas’s coaching premium is +100 — the gap between their #112 recruiting rank and their #12 SP+ rating. Twelve wins in 2025 from a program in Denton, Texas that competes for recruits in the shadow of Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, TCU, and Baylor. No transfer portal intervention, no sudden spike in NIL budget: just a coaching staff that turns players other programs passed over into a team that wins twelve games. If Conference USA gets talked about nationally, this is why.

Why it matters →

The Co-Leader

Old Dominion’s 10-3 Season Matches the North Texas Story

Old Dominion went 10-3 in 2025 with a recruiting class ranked #102 nationally — a +91 coaching premium that makes them the second-best overperformer in the conference. The program that started as an FCS power in Norfolk, Virginia and made the move to FBS in 2012 has spent more than a decade proving it belongs. Ten wins in 2025 is the most compelling argument they’ve made yet.

Why it matters →

The Other Side

UTEP Recruited at #70 and Went 2-10

UTEP’s coaching gap is -51: a #70 recruiting class — the conference’s best after Rice’s #70 match — produced a 2-10 season. Charlotte went 1-11. Middle Tennessee went 3-9 with a #98 class. The bottom of Conference USA is a study in what happens when G5 programs recruit well enough to create expectations but can’t close the gap on the field. Every win by North Texas and Old Dominion lands differently when you know this is the same conference.

Why it matters →

Active arcs

Developing5wk ago

Arkansas State defeats Kennesaw State 17-14 in defensive battle

Can Arkansas State maintain its defensive dominance in future games?

Kennesaw State

Developing9mo ago

Jacksonville State schedules series with San Jose State for 2026

How will Jacksonville State perform in their upcoming series against San Jose State?

Jacksonville State

Developing3mo ago

Liberty coach Chadwell returns as team dominates Coastal Carolina in second half

Can Liberty sustain this strong performance under Chadwell's leadership?

Liberty

Developing8wk ago

Gramatica kicks 4 FGs, USF gives new head coach Hartline a 19-9 win over Florida

Can USF’s defense continue to carry the team under Brian Hartline’s leadership?

Florida International

Developing7wk ago

Virginia Sets Primetime Kickoff for Sept. 26 Game Against Delaware

Will Delaware's team be ready for Virginia's primetime challenge?

Delaware

All arcs →

Fan pulse Last 30 days · 1,095 mentions

16% positive 51% neutral 33% negative

Jacksonville State

453

↓ negative

Kennesaw State

200

→ neutral

Delaware

103

↓ negative

Florida International

↑ positive

New Mexico State

→ neutral

Sam Houston

↓ negative

Fan confidence by FBS percentile

Where each Conference USA program stands nationally in fan sentiment (100th = most positive in FBS, 0 = least). Conference median: 68th percentile. The label is the band (Bullish, Leaning, Mixed, Souring); the number after it is the change in percentile points since the prior week.

Bullish+34

Bullish0

Bullish+8

Bullish+9

Leaning+6

Leaning+13

Leaning+16

Florida International

Leaning-3

Middle Tennessee

Leaning+14

Delaware

Souring+5

Most volatile: Sam Houston

Fan confidence has swung 95 percentile points in the last 8 weeks — currently at the 73rd percentile nationally.

The coaching premium

Recruiting class rank vs. SP+ performance — where coaches add or subtract value

Above line = coaching premium

Below line = underperforming

Gap = recruiting rank minus SP+ rank

Positive gap means the coaching staff won more than the recruiting class predicted. Data: Conference USA teams, 10 programs.

Standings

2026 season, in progress — sorted by power rating. The tag beside a team is its long-run program standing.

#	Team	Record	Power	Resume
1	Liberty Regional Program I#84▲	7-1	+24.5	+93.4
2	Jacksonville State Regional Program III#96	6-2	+19.7	+75.0
3	Delaware Regional Program IV#120	4-4	+19.3	+39.4
4	Western Kentucky Regional Program II#90▼	3-5	+16.6	+25.2
5	Kennesaw State Regional Program V#125	2-6	+13.5	+65.8
6	Missouri State Regional Program V#128	3-5	+13.5	+67.5
7	Florida International Regional Program V#124	3-5	+13.4	+63.4
8	Middle Tennessee Regional Program IV#123	4-4	+11.7	+69.7
9	New Mexico State Regional Program VI#135	3-5	+11.2	+62.1
10	Sam Houston Regional Program V#127	1-7	+9.8	+44.5

Projected standings · Conference USA · 2026

Win projection

Odds of winning at least N conference games from current power ratings — full slate played out, not locked to results. Avg = expected wins; W-L = most-likely record.

#	Team	W-L	Pwr	Avg	≥8	≥7	≥6	≥5	≥4	≥3	≥2	≥1
Favorites
1	Liberty	6-2	+9.1	5.9	8	32	63	86	97	99	✓	✓
2	Jacksonville State	5-3	+4.4	5.1	2	14	39	68	88	97	✓	✓
Challengers
3	Delaware	5-3	+4.0	4.7	1	9	29	57	81	94	99	✓
4	Western Kentucky	4-4	+1.3	4.2		4	18	43	70	90	98	✓
5	Kennesaw State	3-5	−1.8	3.5		2	8	24	51	77	93	99
The field
6	Florida International	4-4	−1.9	3.7		1	8	26	55	81	95	99
7	Missouri State	3-5	−1.9	3.5		1	7	24	51	78	94	99
8	Middle Tennessee	3-5	−3.6	3.3		1	5	18	42	71	91	99
Rebuilding
9	New Mexico State	3-5	−4.1	3.1		1	4	16	38	66	88	98
10	Sam Houston	3-5	−5.6	3.0			3	13	35	64	88	98

How they play

Six advanced-stat dimensions per team, ranked against all 134 FBS programs, 2026 season. Every column reads higher-is-better. Click a column to sort.

ScoringConvertsBig playsDefensePacePass rate

Team	Scoring	Converts	Big plays	Defense	Pace	Pass rate	Identity
Liberty	+0.24	49.9%	+1.15	+0.05	62.9	34.4%	Efficient offense
Jacksonville State	+0.19	46.9%	+1.21	−0.06	61.6	43.2%	Balanced
Delaware	+0.13	41.6%	+1.26	−0.13	66.1	52.5%	Balanced
Western Kentucky	+0.03	37.9%	+1.26	−0.15	72.8	50.2%	Can't sustain drives
Kennesaw State	+0.08	42.3%	+1.12	−0.11	63.4	50.9%	No explosive plays
Missouri State	+0.09	39.6%	+1.24	−0.21	62.5	47.2%	Defense is the problem
Florida International	+0.04	39.8%	+1.14	−0.06	67.5	50.7%	No explosive plays
Middle Tennessee	+0.08	39.2%	+1.27	−0.16	62.1	52.3%	Balanced
New Mexico State	−0.01	39.8%	+1.27	−0.06	63.5	47.8%	Balanced
Sam Houston	−0.03	35.7%	+1.36	−0.09	63.1	55.2%	Can't sustain drives

Identity is the single dimension where a team is most above or below the FBS average (pace, defense, big plays, or converting drives) — "Balanced" means nothing stands out either way. CFBD 2026 advanced stats, excludes garbage time.

Top players

Conference USA's highest CFB Zeitgeist Scores, 2026 season so far.

#	Player	Team	National
1	Isaiah MyersWR	Missouri State	#6 of 465
2	Antonio MartinRB	Middle Tennessee	#6 of 330
3	Trace ScottIDL	Delaware	#11 of 300
4	Gabe PetersonEDGE	New Mexico State	#26 of 405
5	Blake MatthewsLB	Delaware	#32 of 567
6	Sone AupiuLB	New Mexico State	#37 of 567
7	Nicolas SessionsS	New Mexico State	#29 of 537
8	Jared LloydLB	Missouri State	#43 of 567
9	Tony Newsome Jr.CB	Western Kentucky	#31 of 344
10	Caleb NixS	Jacksonville State	#35 of 537

Where Conference USA stands nationally

Conference strength, as a round-robin adjusted power rating.

1 SEC SEC

+24.4

2 B10 Big Ten

+23.3

3 IND FBS Independents

+21.7

4 B12 Big 12

+21.5

5 P12 Pac-12

+20.8

6 ACC ACC

+20.5

7 AAC American Athletic

+18.3

8 SB Sun Belt

+17.3

9 MW Mountain West

+16.5

10 CUSA Conference USA

+16.4

Conference USA title odds

Best available American odds · sportsbook consensus.

#	Team	Odds
1	Liberty	−370
2	Jacksonville State	+320
3	Western Kentucky	+400
4	Delaware	+590
5	Kennesaw State	+650
6	Florida International	+850
7	New Mexico State	+1600
8	Missouri State	+3300
9	Middle Tennessee	+5500
10	Sam Houston	+6000