2026 Conference USA Preview & Predictions | College Football Preseason |CFB Countdown

The Conference USA Preview is officially here and will be our G6 grand finale. We are predicting big success for a couple of programs that have yet to achieve their true potential, but that is about to end. 2025 Conference USA Recap : Kennesaw State staged a dramatic turnaround to claim the 2025 Conference USA title in a 12-team league that added Delaware and Missouri State (both transitioning from FCS). via Wiki The Owls, under first-year head coach Jerry Mack after a 2-10 debut FBS season in 2024, finished 7-1 in conference play (tied with Jacksonville State) and 10-4 overall. They edged regular-season co-leader Jacksonville State 19-15 in the December 5 championship game at AmFirst Stadium, with quarterback Amari Odom leading a late rally after the Gamecocks had erased a fourth-quarter deficit. via sports-reference.com Western Kentucky (6-2, 9-4 overall) finished third, followed by a tight group of Louisiana Tech, FIU, and Missouri State (all 5-3). Delaware went 4-4 in its first CUSA season, while Liberty, New Mexico State, Middle Tennessee, Sam Houston, and UTEP rounded out the standings near the bottom. No CUSA team cracked the AP rankings. via sports-reference.com The conference sent a strong contingent of seven teams to bowls—the most since 2021—with mixed results: Western Kentucky, Louisiana Tech, Jacksonville State, and Delaware notched wins, while champion Kennesaw State suffered a heavy loss in the Myrtle Beach Bowl and others fell short. Overall, the league posted a 72-81 record and ranked near the bottom nationally in strength metrics, but Kennesaw’s rapid rise and the competitive top half provided the season’s clearest storyline. 2026 Conference USA Predictions : Delaware 8-4 Last season was not a fluke. QB Nick Minicucci and the Blue Hens turned many of our heads in their inaugural FBS campaign FIU 5-7 Jax State 10-2 Jax State is loaded and bring back QB Caden Creel who’s very talented and really fun to watch Kennesaw State 9-3 We’re expecting a big season for the Owls QB Landon Varnes is a diamond in the rough Liberty 10-2 Jaylen Henderson or Deshawn Purdie? Kanye Udoh is poised for a big season for Liberty MTSU 3-9 Missouri State 2-10 New Mexico State 4-8 Sam Houston 1-11 WKU 10-2 Can the Hilltoppers get in the Conference USA winner’s circle? Good QB play has always been synonymous with WKU. If they can stay steady this could be their year. #CollegeFootball #CollegeFootballNews #CFB #ConferenceUSA #ConferenceUSAFootball #LibertyFootball #wku #wkufootball #jaxstate #jaxstatefootball #kennesawstate