Home Conferences FBS 2026 season

Conference USA

Coaching Premium League

North Texas finished 12-2 with the 112th recruiting class. Can they earn the kind of committee respect that turns that record into a New Year's Six bid — or does Conference USA's bottom tier (Charlotte went 1-11, UTEP went 2-10) cap how far any program here can climb in the selection room?

Conference USA is outperforming its raw power profile. The league body of work is stronger than the market would expect.

#10overall

#10in FBS

+3.6RR50

+7.3upper strength

10teams

0top-25 teams

Conference USA, at a glance.

Top 10 by power rating — last season final records.

Team Power Record RR50

Liberty

0-0 +7.8

Jacksonville State

0-0 +6.7

Western Kentucky

0-0 +4.6

Delaware

0-0 +3.4

Kennesaw State

0-0 +3.2

Florida International

0-0 +2.4

Missouri State

0-0 +1.6

Middle Tennessee

0-0 -1.5

Sam Houston

0-0 -1.8

New Mexico State

0-0 -2.7

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. The gap between the top and bottom is narrow — a sign of genuine parity.

The question heading into 2026.

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 our read

Active5wk ago

Notre Dame lands 5-star OL Albert Simien over Texas A&M

How will these commitments impact Notre Dame’s future roster and competitiveness?

Sam Houston

Developing2wk ago

Liberty Coach Jamey Chadwell Feels Best Since 2023 Despite Ongoing Medical Recov

How will Chadwell's medical condition affect Liberty's performance this season?

Liberty

Developing2wk ago

A Renovated Stadium, More Resources and Continuity Have Sam Houston Believing in

Will SMU's shift from relevance to championship pursuit align with Sam Houston's turnaround efforts?

Sam Houston

Developing6mo 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

All arcs →

Fan pulse Last 30 days · 250 mentions

15% positive 72% neutral 13% negative

Kennesaw State

→ neutral

Florida International

→ neutral

Sam Houston

↑ positive

Liberty

→ neutral

Jacksonville State

↓ negative

New Mexico State

↑ positive

Fan confidence — FBS percentile

Where each Conference USA program stands nationally in fan sentiment (100th = most positive in FBS, 0 = least). Conference median: 66th percentile.

Bullish+41

Bullish+4

Bullish-20

Bullish-6

Bullish–

Florida International

Mixed-4

Mixed+8

Mixed-6

Souring-12

Souring–

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 final — sorted by power rating. Stature tag = interim Zeitgeist calibration (medium confidence).

#	Team	Record	RR50	Resume
1	Liberty Regional Program II#91	0-0	+7.8	+81.0
2	Jacksonville State Regional Program III#97	0-0	+6.7	+76.1
3	Western Kentucky Regional Program II#87	0-0	+4.6	+71.3
4	Delaware Regional Program V#124	0-0	+3.4	+68.5
5	Kennesaw State Regional Program IV#121	0-0	+3.2	+66.8
6	Florida International Regional Program V#123	0-0	+2.4	+64.4
7	Missouri State Regional Program V#129	0-0	+1.6	+60.6
8	Middle Tennessee Regional Program IV#118	0-0	-1.5	+44.6
9	Sam Houston Regional Program V#126	0-0	-1.8	+42.2
10	New Mexico State Regional Program VI#135	0-0	-2.7	+36.3

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	5–3	+5.4	5.2	3	16	42	71	90	98	✓	✓
2	Jacksonville State	5–3	+4.4	5.0	2	13	37	65	87	97	✓	✓
Challengers
3	Western Kentucky	5–3	+2.2	4.5	1	7	23	49	76	92	98	✓
4	Delaware	4–4	+1.0	4.1		4	16	39	67	88	97	✓
5	Kennesaw State	4–4	+0.8	4.1		4	15	38	65	87	97	✓
The Field
6	Florida International	4–4	+0.0	4.1		3	14	37	66	87	97	✓
7	Missouri State	4–4	-0.7	3.8		2	10	29	57	82	95	99
8	Middle Tennessee	3–5	-3.8	3.2		1	5	17	41	69	90	99
Rebuilding
9	Sam Houston	3–5	-4.2	3.2		1	4	16	40	69	90	99
10	New Mexico State	3–5	-5.0	3.0		1	3	13	34	63	86	98

How they play

Six advanced-stat dimensions per team, ranked against all 134 FBS programs, 2025 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	+0.16	43.1%	+1.20	-0.19	68.0	38.7%	Balanced
Jacksonville State	+0.19	43.9%	+1.27	-0.15	69.6	33.6%	Balanced
Western Kentucky	+0.17	43.4%	+1.21	-0.10	69.8	54.5%	Balanced
Delaware	+0.19	43.2%	+1.30	-0.22	73.0	57.0%	Balanced
Kennesaw State	+0.16	40.8%	+1.37	-0.18	68.8	43.9%	Big-play offense
Florida International	+0.16	40.8%	+1.33	-0.16	70.3	46.9%	Balanced
Missouri State	+0.17	39.4%	+1.49	-0.24	65.1	51.4%	Big-play offense
Middle Tennessee	+0.15	41.8%	+1.26	-0.21	67.8	61.4%	Balanced
Sam Houston	-0.01	35.5%	+1.26	-0.26	63.2	51.2%	Can't sustain drives
New Mexico State	+0.03	36.1%	+1.29	-0.10	69.0	57.0%	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 2025 advanced stats, excludes garbage time.

Top players

Conference USA's highest CFB Index Scores, 2025 season.

#	Player	Team	National
1	Jakari FosterS	Louisiana Tech	#4 of 544
2	Elijah HillEDGE	Kennesaw State	#12 of 420
3	Damonte SmithIDL	Middle Tennessee	#9 of 330
4	Mister ClarkCB	Florida International	#12 of 364
5	Cam CookRB	Jacksonville State	#5 of 326
6	Kadarion JohnsonIDL	UTEP	#11 of 330
7	Naeten MitchellS	New Mexico State	#12 of 544
8	Jacob FieldsS	Louisiana Tech	#17 of 544
9	Sifa LeotaLB	Louisiana Tech	#40 of 583
10	Walker O'SteenLB	Jacksonville State	#41 of 583

Where Conference USA stands nationally

Conference strength by RR50 (round-robin adjusted power).

1 SEC SEC

+11.4

2 B10 Big Ten

+10.1

3 IND FBS Independents

+9.4

4 B12 Big 12

+8.3

5 ACC ACC

+8.2

6 P12 Pac-12

+5.3

7 AAC American Athletic

+5.3

8 MW Mountain West

+4.0

9 SB Sun Belt

+3.7

10 CUSA Conference USA

+3.6

Conference USA title odds

Best available American odds · sportsbook consensus.

#	Team	Odds
1	Liberty	+250
2	Western Kentucky	+280
3	Jacksonville State	+450
4	Delaware	+590
5	Kennesaw State	+700
6	Florida International	+820
7	New Mexico State	+1500
8	Missouri State	+1800
9	Middle Tennessee	+2500
10	Sam Houston	+5000