The 2018 Conference USA football season is the 23rd season of Conference USA football and part of the 2018 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began on August 25 and concluded on November 24. This marked the fourth season since the 2014 realignment that took place in 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season which added the 14 member Charlotte from the Atlantic 10 Conference. C-USA is a "Group of Five" conference under the College Football Playoff format along with the American Athletic Conference, the Mid–American Conference, the Mountain West Conference and the Sun Belt Conference. The entire schedule was released on January 23.
The conference consisted of 14 members. The C-USA Football Championship game was played on December 1.
Preseason Preseason awards The conference preseason awards were released on July 16.
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Devin Singletary, Junior, RB, Florida Atlantic Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Azeez Al-Shaair, Senior, LB, Florida Atlantic Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year: Parker Shaunfield, Senior, K, Southern Miss
+ Offense Position Player Class Team QB Mason Fine JuniorNorth Texas QB Brent Stockstill SeniorMiddle Tennessee WR Tyre Brady SeniorMarshall WR Jalen Guyton SeniorNorth Texas WR Ty Lee JuniorMiddle Tennessee WR Teddy Veal SeniorLouisiana Tech RB Spencer Brown SophomoreUAB RB Devin Singletary JuniorFlorida Atlantic OL Reggie Bain SeniorFlorida Atlantic OL Chandler Brewer SeniorMiddle Tennessee OL Jordan Budwig SeniorFIU OL Levi Brown JuniorMarshall OL O'Shea Dugas SeniorLouisiana Tech TE Harrison Bryant JuniorFlorida Atlantic
+ Defense Position Player Class Team DL Jaylon Ferguson SophomoreLouisiana Tech DL Fermin Silva SeniorFIU DL Kevin Strong Jr. SeniorUTSA DL Oshane Ximines SeniorOld Dominion LB Azeez Al-Shaair SeniorFlorida Atlantic LB Khalil Brooks JuniorMiddle Tennessee LB Josiah Tauaefa JuniorUTSA LB Chase Hancock SeniorMarshall DB Ben DeLuca JuniorCharlotte DB Malik Gant JuniorMarshall DB Shelton Lewis SeniorFlorida Atlantic DB Amik Robertson SophomoreLouisiana Tech DB Jalen Young SeniorFlorida Atlantic
+ Specialists Position Player Class Team P Jack Fox SeniorRice K Parker Shaunfield SeniorSouthern Miss KR Isaiah Harper SeniorOld Dominion PR Darrell Brown JuniorOld Dominion LS Matt Beardall JuniorMarshall
Media predictions The 2018 preseason media football poll was released on July 17. East Division Florida Atlantic (22 first-place votes) Marshall (4) Middle Tennessee FIU Western Kentucky Old Dominion Charlotte West Division North Texas (18) Louisiana Tech (4) UAB (3) Southern Miss (1) UTSA T6. Rice T6. UTEP
Head coaches Note: All stats shown are before the beginning of the season. Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school CUSA recordCharlotte Brad Lambert 6 17–41 17–41 4–20FIU Butch Davis 2 71–48 8–5 5–3Florida Atlantic Lane Kiffin 2 46–24 11–3 8–0Louisiana Tech Skip Holtz 6 126–99 38–28 26–14Marshall Doc Holliday 9 61–42 61–42 39–25Middle Tennessee Rick Stockstill 13 79–72 79–72 26–14North Texas Seth Littrell 3 14–13 14–13 10–6Old Dominion Bobby Wilder 10 72–37 72–37 17–15Rice Mike Bloomgren 1 0–0 0–0 0–0Southern Miss Jay Hopson 3 47–28 15–11 10–6UAB Bill Clark 3 25–15 14–11 10–6UTEP Dana Dimel 1 30–39 0–0 0–0UTSA Frank Wilson 3 12–12 12–12 8–8Western Kentucky Mike Sanford Jr. 2 6–7 6–7 4–4
Schedule Regular season Index to colors and formattingC-USA member wonC-USA member lostC-USA teams in bold
Week Zero
Week One
Week Two
Week Three
Week Four
Week Five
Week Six
Week Seven
Week Eight
Week Nine
Week Ten
Week Eleven
Week Twelve
Week Thirteen
Week Fourteen
This game was added after both teams lost a game due to being canceled by Hurricane Florence. Virginia Tech was to play East Carolina while Marshall was to play South Carolina.
Conference USA Championship Game
Postseason Bowl games
Legend C-USA win C-USA loss
Bowls based on contractual tie-ins. Actual bowls attended by C-USA members may vary and will be announced following the regular season. Bowl gameDateSiteTelevisionTime (EST)C-USA TeamOpponentScoreAttendanceNew Mexico BowlDecember 15Dreamstyle Stadium • Albuquerque, NMESPN2:00 p.m.North TexasUtah State13–5225,387New Orleans BowlDecember 15Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, LAESPN9:00 p.m.Middle TennesseeAppalachian State13–4523,942Boca Raton BowlDecember 18FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FLESPN7:00 p.m.UABNorthern Illinois37–1322,614Gasparilla BowlDecember 20Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, FLESPN8:00 p.m.MarshallSouth Florida38–2014,135Bahamas BowlDecember 21Thomas Robinson Stadium • Nassau, BahamasESPN12:30 p.m.FIUToledo35–3213,510Hawaii BowlDecember 22Aloha Stadium • Honolulu, HIESPN10:30 p.m.Louisiana TechHawaii31–1430,911
Awards and honors Individual awards
All conference teams
+First team Position Player Class Team First team offense QB Brent Stockstill Gr. Middle Tennessee RB Devin Singletary Jr. Florida Atlantic Spencer Brown So. UAB WR Tyre Brady RSr. Marshall Rico Bussey Jr. North Texas Quez Watkins So. Southern Miss TE Harrison Bryant Jr. Florida Atlantic OL Reggie Bain RSr. Florida Atlantic O’Shea Dugas Sr. Louisiana Tech Levi Brown RJr. Marshall Chandler Brewer Sr. Middle Tennessee Justice Powers Sr. UABFirst Team defense DL Alex Highsmith RJr. Charlotte Jaylon Ferguson RSr. Louisiana Tech LaDarius Hamilton Jr. North Texas Oshane Ximines Sr. Old Dominion Jacques Turner RJr. Southern Miss LB Sage Lewis RJr. FIU Darius Harris RSr. Middle Tennessee EJ Ejiya RSr. North Texas DB Amik Robertson So. Louisiana Tech Malik Gant RJr. Marshall Reed Blankenship So. Middle Tennessee Kemon Hall Sr. North TexasFirst Team Special Teams PK Cole Hedlund Gr. North Texas P Jack Fox Sr. Rice RT Isaiah Harper Sr. Old Dominion Maurice Alexander RJr. FIU ST Matt Beardall Jr. Marshall
Non-conference records
Power Five conferences Power 5 ConferencesRecordACC1–3 Big Ten0–2 Big 120–3 Pac-120–1 SEC1–10 Power 5 Total2–19
Group of Five conferences Group of 5 ConferencesRecordAmerican2–3 Mountain West2–3MAC2–0 Sun Belt2–4 Group of 5 Total8–10
FBS independents FBS IndependentsRecordFBS Independents2–3
FCS conferences FCS OpponentsRecordFootball Championship Subdivision11–2
Home game attendance TeamStadiumCapacityGame 1Game 2Game 3Game 4Game 5Game 6Game 7Total Average% of CapacityCharlotteJerry Richardson Stadium15,3149,24019,151 †8,20411,6108,68713,37161,02310,17166.4%FIURiccardo Silva Stadium20,00017,08214,69514,93716,00213,74118,478 †14,862109,79715,68578.4%Florida AtlanticFAU Stadium29,41924,101 †19,01718,20514,94814,40011,638102,30917,05258.0%Louisiana TechJoe Aillet Stadium28,56222,926 †18,98318,97215,28311,45987,62317,52561.4%MarshallJoan C. Edwards Stadium38,22724,30432,349 †25,97923,82519,41818,502144,37724,06362.9%Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium30,78816,22717,29923,825 †16,61714,41188,37917,67657.4%North TexasApogee Stadium30,85029,51918,53830,105 †18,25225,37918,338140,13123,35575.7%Old DominionForeman Field20,11819,24320,532 †20,11819,72518,06220,118117,79819,63397.6%RiceRice Stadium47,00020,05026,390 †19,17018,91618,42018,083121,02920,17242.9%Southern MissM. M. Roberts Stadium36,00029,176 †19,57920,15921,25920,37519,142129,69021,61560.0%UABLegion Field71,59427,124 †21,99125,39528,01417,60525,618145,74724,29133.9%UTEPSun Bowl Stadium51,50017,27119,412 †12,80910,7879,69014,96284,93114,15527.5%UTSAAlamodome65,00042,071 †29,20520,17620,05716,87419,874148,25724,71038.0%WKUHouchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium22,11315,17820,176 †13,26915,1386,22169,98213,99663.3% Bold – Exceed capacity †Season High
Weekly Awards +Players of the WeekDateOffense DefenseSpecial TeamsSept 3 Mason Fine, QB, North TexasJames Jackson, S, Louisiana TechQuez Watkins, PR, Southern Miss.Sept 10Chris Robison, QB, Florida AtlanticRashad Smith, LB, Florida AtlanticJonathan Cruz, K, CharlotteSept 17Mason Fine, QB, North TexasNate Brooks, CB, North TexasKeegan Brewer, PR, North TexasSept 22Blake LaRussa, QB, Old DominionOshane Ximines, DE, Old DominionJared Sacket, K, UTSASept 29Tyre Brady, WR, MarshallBrent Stockstill, QB, Middle TennesseeJaylon Ferguson, DE, Louisiana TechBailey Hale, K, Louisiana TechOct 6Brent Stockstill, QB, Middle TennesseeJovante Moffatt, S, Middle TennesseeKerrith Whyte, KR, Florida AtlanticOct 13Tyler King, RB, MarshallXavier Ubosi, WR, UABJuwan Foggie, LB, CharlotteJosé Borregales, K, FIUOct 20Spencer Brown, RB, UABMalik Thompson, DL, MarshallIsaiah Harper, KR, Old DominionOct 27DeAndre Torrey, RB, North TexasReed Blankenship, S, Middle TennesseeJonathan Cruz, K, CharlotteNov 3Devin Singletary, RB, Florida AtlanticAlex Highsmith, DE, CharlotteCrews Holt, K, Middle TennesseeNov 10Brent Stockstill, QB, Middle TennesseeTre’ Crawford, LB, UABNick Rice, K, Old DominionNov 17DeAndre Torrey, RB, North TexasSage Lewis, LB, FIUOmari Cobb, LB, MarshallIsaiah Harper, KR, Old DominionNov 24Juma Otoviano, RB, RiceDQ Thomas, LB, Middle TennesseeJonathan Cruz, K, Charlotte
References