Conference USA turned out to be a little more exciting last year than expected.
The league welcomed two new squads in Sam Houston and Jacksonville State, and both programs seemed to play exciting games each week. Jax State was one of the biggest surprises of the FBS.
College football betting odds will likely have Liberty as the strong favorite to repeat as conference champs once those odds are released, but for now, we can take a look at how their schedule aligns with the rest of the league.
Here are some noteworthy items from CUSA’s composite schedule.
Welcome, Kennesaw State!
In the Owls’ first season as a member of CUSA, things aren’t going to start off light. KSU gets UTSA in Week 1 and then hosts Louisiana. It will also have to face Liberty and Western Kentucky in back-to-back weeks later in the season.
It’ll be a lot of fun seeing how the Owls adapt to this conference after spending a year as an Independent.
How Many Games Will Liberty Win?
It’s possible the Flames go undefeated in conference play again, but will they go undefeated overall? They’ll face Campbell and East Carolina in Weeks 1 and 4 — which is separated by two league games. But Week 5 might be the biggest game on their schedule when they visit App State. It’s certainly the toughest.
Liberty also has another easy non-conference game against what should be a lowly UMass squad late in the season before facing WKU in Week 13.
MTSU With Tough Early Slate
The Blue Raiders probably have the toughest schedule in the league. Weeks 2-5 will be a brutal stretch as they visit Ole Miss, host WKU and Duke, and then visit Memphis. MTSU also has a three-week stretch where it will play Jax State, UTEP, and WKU.
It will be an uphill climb for a team that finished below expectations in 2023.
WKU’s Season Decided Late
Speaking of a team that finished below expectations, the Hilltoppers were the favorite to win the conference entering last season but struggled against conference foes. They were one of the most underachieving teams in the country.
There’s a chance for them to redeem themselves this year, and I believe Tyson Helton will have WKU competing for another conference championship. If that’s the case, they’ll more than likely need to go 4-0 in the final four weeks of the season against New Mexico State, LA Tech, Liberty, and Jax State. This will be a very intriguing month for this squad.
The Hilltoppers also travel to Alabama to start the season and will host Toledo in Week 4 before visiting Boston College.
Weekday Hoopla
Weeks 7-10 will feature all weekday games besides one game on Saturday, Nov. 2. That will be MTSU at UTEP. Weeks 8 and 9 will see Tuesday and Wednesday games while Week 7 will be Wednesday and Thursday games.
There’s nothing like getting off of work only to be able to watch some college football, and I’m glad CUSA is giving us more of those opportunities. It’s also great to get more eyes on the league, which proved to have its own brand of excitement in 2023.
Power Five Opponents
There are nine total Power Five games between a Power Five and CUSA program this year. The only one of these with the P5 team on the road is when MTSU hosts Duke. An odd matchup is LA Tech visiting Arkansas in Week 13 following back-to-back games against Jax State and WKU.
I don’t know if there will be any upsets in these games, but who says Jax State can’t beat Louisville on the road in Week 2?
