The 2019 Conference USA football season was the 24th season of College Football play for Conference USA (C-USA). It was played from August 29, 2019, until January 2020. Conference USA consisted of 14 members in two division as a part of the 2019 NCAA Division I FBS football season.
The conference consisted of 14 members. The Conference USA Football Championship game was played on December 7.
Preseason
Preseason Awards The conference preseason awards were released On July 15.
Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Mason Fine, Senior, QB, North Texas Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Sage Lewis Sr, Senior, LB, FIU Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year: Jonathan Cruz, Sophomore, Kicker, Charlotte
+ Offense Position Player Class Team QB Mason Fine Senior North Texas RB Spencer Brown Junior UAB RB Benny LeMay Senior Charlotte OL Levi Brown Senior Marshall OL Josh Dunlap Senior UTSA OL Derron Gatewood Senior UTEP OL Sosaia Mose Senior North Texas OL Miles Pate Senior WKU TE Harrison Bryant Senior Florida Atlantic WR Rico Bussey Jr. Senior North Texas WR Adrian Hardy Junior Louisiana Tech WR Quez Watkins Junior Southern Miss
+ Defense Position Player Class Team DL Channing Hames Senior Marshall DL LaDarius Hamilton Senior North Texas DL Alex Highsmith Senior Charlotte DL Garrett Marino Senior UAB DL DeMarrio Smith Senior Southern Miss DL Jacques Turner Junior Southern Miss LB Khalil Brooks Senior Middle Tennessee LB Sage Lewis Senior FIU LB Racheem Boothe Junior Southern Miss DB Reed Blankenship Junior Middle Tennessee DB Ky'el Hemby Junior Southern Miss DB Amik Robertson Junior Louisiana Tech DB Chris Jackson Senior Marshall
+ Specialists Position Player Class Team K Jonathan Cruz Sophomore Charlotte P Alvin Kenworthy Senior North Texas KR Brett Winnegan Senior UTSA PR Maurice Alexander Senior FIU LS Matt Beardall Senior Marshall
Media predictions The 2019 preseason media football poll was released on July 16. East Division Marshall (14 First place votes) FIU (9) Florida Atlantic Middle Tennessee WKU Old Dominion Charlotte West Division North Texas (20) Southern Miss (4) Louisiana Tech UAB (2) UTSA Rice UTEP
Head coaches Note: All stats shown are before beginning of the season Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school CUSA RecordCharlotte Will Healy 1 20–26 7–5 5–3FIU Butch Davis 3 80–52 17–9 11–5Florida Atlantic Lane Kiffin 3 51–31 16–10 28–17Louisiana Tech Skip Holtz 7 134–104 46–33 64–45Marshall Doc Holliday 10 70–46 70–46 45–27Middle Tennessee Rick Stockstill 14 87–78 87–78 65–36North Texas Seth Littrell 4 23–17 23–17 15–9Old Dominion Bobby Wilder 11 76–45 76–45 32–24Rice Mike Bloomgren 2 2–12 2–12 1–7Southern Miss Jay Hopson 4 55–33 21–16 15–9UAB Bill Clark 4 36–18 25–14 17–7UTEP Dana Dimel 2 31–50 1–11 1–7UTSA Frank Wilson 4 15–21 15–21 10–14Western Kentucky Mike Sanford Jr. 3 9–16 9–16 6–10
Rankings
Pre Wk2 Wk3 Wk4 Wk5 Wk6 Wk7 Wk8 Wk9 Wk10 Wk11 Wk12 Wk13 Wk14 Wk15 FinalCharlotte AP C CFP Not released FIU AP C CFP Not released Florida Atlantic AP RV C RV CFP Not released Louisiana Tech AP RV RV RV RV RV C RV RV RV RV RV RV CFP Not released Marshall AP C CFP Not released Middle Tennessee AP C CFP Not released North Texas AP C CFP Not released Old Dominion AP C CFP Not released Rice AP C CFP Not released Southern Miss AP C CFP Not released UAB AP RV C RV RV CFP Not released UTEP AP C CFP Not released UTSA AP C CFP Not released WKU AP C CFP Not released
+ Legend Improvement in ranking Drop in ranking Not ranked previous week No change in ranking from previous week RV Received votes but were not ranked in Top 25 of poll т Tied with team above or below also with this symbol
Schedule
Regular season Index to colors and formattingC–USA member wonC–USA member lostC–USA teams in bold
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
Conference USA Championship Game
Postseason
Bowl games
Legend C-USA Win C-USA Loss
Bowl gameDateSiteTelevisionTime (CST)C-USA teamOpponentScoreAttendance Bahamas Bowl December 20 Thomas Robinson Stadium • Nassau, Bahamas ESPN 1:00 p.m. Charlotte Buffalo 9–31 13,547 Boca Raton Bowl December 21 FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, Florida ABC 2:30 p.m. Florida Atlantic SMU 52–28 23,187 Camellia Bowl December 21 Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, Alabama ESPN 4:30 p.m. FIU Arkansas St. 26–34 16,209 New Orleans Bowl December 21 Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, Louisiana ESPN 8:00 p.m. UAB Appalachian St. 17–31 21,202 Gasparilla Bowl December 23 Raymond James Stadium • Tampa, Florida ESPN 1:30 p.m. Marshall UCF 25–48 28,987 Independence Bowl December 26 Independence Stadium • Shreveport, Louisiana ESPN 3:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Miami, FL 14–0 33,129 First Responder Bowl December 30 Gerald J. Ford Stadium • University Park, Texas ESPN 11:30 a.m. WKU WMU 23–20 13,164 Armed Forces Bowl January 4 Amon G. Carter Stadium • Fort Worth, Texas ESPN 10:30 a.m. Southern Miss Tulane 13–30 38,513
Rankings are from CFP rankings. All times Central Time Zone. C-USA teams shown in bold.
Selection of teams Bowl eligible: Florida Atlantic, Marshall, Western Kentucky, Charlotte, Florida International, UAB, Louisiana Tech, Southern Mississippi Bowl-ineligible: Middle Tennessee, Old Dominion, Rice, North Texas, UTSA, UTEP
Awards and honors
Player of the week honors
Week Offensive Defensive Special Teams Player Team Position Player Team Position Player Team Position Week 1 (Sept. 2) Jason Pirtle North Texas TE Garrett Marino UAB DL Jaylond Adams Southern Miss WR/KR/PR Week 2 (Sept. 9) Tyler Johnston III UAB QB Reed Blankenship Middle Tennessee S Cory Munson Western Kentucky PK Week 3 (Sept. 16) Quez Watkins Southern Miss WR Rashad Smith Florida Atlantic LB Jaylond Adams (2) Southern Miss WR/KR/PR Week 4 (Sept. 23) Deangelo Antoine Florida Atlantic WR Keion White Old Dominion DE Bailey Hale Louisiana Tech PK Week 5 (Sept. 30) Jack Abraham Southern Miss QB Kyle Bailey Western Kentucky LB Cory Munson (2) Western Kentucky PK Week 6 (Oct. 7) Sincere McCormick UTSA RB Jovante Moffatt Middle Tennessee S Maurice Alexander FIU WR/PR Week 7 (Oct. 14) Jack Abraham (2) Southern Miss QB Darius Hodge Marshall DL Nick Vogel UAB PK Week 8 (Oct. 21) Brenden Knox UAB RB Amik Robertson Louisiana Tech CB Ethan Mooney North Texas PK Week 9 (Oct. 28) Chris Reynolds Charlotte QB Kearon Merrell Marshall CB Justin Rohrwasser Marshall PK Week 10 (Nov. 4) Mason Fine North Texas QB Akileis Leroy Florida Atlantic LB Duron Lowe UTEP KR Week 11 (Nov. 11) Ty Storey Western Kentucky QB Devon Key Western Kentucky S Andrew Stein Southern Miss PK Week 12 (Nov. 18) Brad Rozner Rice WR Tavante Beckett Marshall LB Zac Everett Southern Miss P Week 13 (Nov. 25) Victor Tucker Charlotte WR Deangelo Malone Western Kentucky DE José Borregales FIU PK Week 14 (Dec. 1) J'Mar Smith Louisiana Tech QB Alex Highsmith Charlotte DE Robert LeFevre Marshall P
C–USA Individual Awards The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the Conference USA football coaches at the end of the season AwardPlayerSchool Player of the Year Brenden Knox, RB, RS So. MarshallOffensive Player of the Year J'Mar Smith, QB, RS Sr. Louisiana Tech Defensive Player of the Year DeAngelo Malone, DL Jr. Western Kentucky Special Teams Player of the Year Justin Rohrwasser, P/K Jr. MarshallFreshman Player of the Year Sincere McCormick, RB UTSANewcomer of the Year Ty Storey, QB Jr. Western KentuckyCoach of the Year Tyson Helton Western Kentucky
All-conference teams
Position Player Team First Team Offense WRJaelon DardenNorth TexasWRQuez WatkinsSouthern MissWRLucky JacksonWKUOLCameron ClarkCharlotteOLJunior DiazFlorida AtlanticOLBrandon WaltonFlorida AtlanticOLLevi BrownMarshallOLMiles PateWKUTEHarrison BryantFlorida AtlanticQBChris RobinsonFlorida AtlanticQBJ'Mar SmithRBBenny LeMayCharlotteRBBrenden KnoxMarshall First Team DefenseDTChanning HamesMarshallDTGarrett MarinoUABDEAlex HighsmithCharlotteDEDeAngelo MaloneWKULB Tavante BeckettMarshallLB Blaze AlldredgeRiceDBKristopher MollUABDBAmik RobertsonLouisiana TechDBChris JacksonMarshallDBD.Q. ThomasSouthern Miss First Team Special TeamsKJustin RohrwasserMarshallPJohn HaggertyWKUKRJaylord AdamsSouthern MissPRTalik KeatonMarshallLSMatt BeardallMarshall
Position Player Team Second Team Offense WRTim JonesSouthern MissWRAustin Watkins Jr.Louisiana TechWRJahcour PearsonWKUOLEthan ReedLouisiana TechOLCain MaddenMarshallOLDrake DorbeckSouthern MissOLElex WoodworthNorth TexasOLDarren GatewoodUTEPTEArmani LeviasMarshallQBMason FineNorth TexasRBJustin HendersonLouisiana TechRBGaej WalkerWKU Second Team DefenseDTCourtney WallaceLouisiana TechDTDemarrio SmithSouthern MissDTDenzel ChukwukeluUTEPDEKeion WhiteOld DominionDEJordan SmithUABLB Sage LewisFIULB Akileis LeroyFlorida AtlanticLB Omari CobbMarshallLB Lawrence GarnerOld DominionDBStantley Thomas-OliverFIUDBL'Jarius SneedLouisiana TechDBReed BlankenshipDBKaleb Ford-DementOld Dominion Second Team Special TeamsKBailey HaleLouisiana TechPChris BarnesRiceKRDeion Hair-GriffinNorth TexasPRJaylond AdamsSouthern MissLSReeves BlankenshipLouisiana TechLSJared NashWKU
*Denotes Unanimous Selection
Ref:
All Conference Honorable Mentions:
Offense: QB – Chris Reynolds, R-So., Charlotte • QB – James Morgan, Gr., FIU • QB – Jack Abraham, R-Jr., Southern Miss • RB – Anthony Jones, R-Sr., FIU • RB – Tre Siggers, R-So., North Texas • RB – De’Michael Harris Sr., Southern Miss • RB – Sincere McCormick, Fr., UTSA • OL – D’Ante Demery Jr., FIU • OL – Devontay Taylor, R-Jr., FIU • OL – Desmond Noel, R-Jr., Florida Atlantic • OL – Willie Allen, R-Jr., Louisiana Tech • OL – Drew Kirkpatrick, R-Sr., Louisiana Tech • OL – Kody Russey, R-Jr., Louisiana Tech • OL – Gewhite Stallworth, R-Sr., Louisiana Tech • OL – Will Gilchrist Jr., Middle Tennessee • OL – Robert Jones Jr., Middle Tennessee • OL – Isaac Weaver Jr., Old Dominion • OL – Shea Baker, R-So., Rice • OL – Brian Chaffin, Gr., Rice • OL – Justin Gooseberry, Gr., Rice • OL – Nick Leverett, Gr., Rice • OL – Arvin Fletcher, R-Jr., Southern Miss • OL – Colby Ragland, R-Jr., UAB • OL – Sidney Wells Jr., UAB • OL – Bobby DeHaro, R-So., UTEP • OL – Spencer Burford, So., UTSA • OL – Josh Dunlop Sr., UTSA • OL – Jordan Meredith, R-Jr., WKU • TE – John Raine Sr., Florida Atlantic • TE – Jason Pirtle, R-Jr., North Texas • TE – Carlos Strickland II Jr., UTSA • TE – Joshua Simon, Fr., WKU • WR – Victor Tucker, R-So., Charlotte • WR – Tony Gaiter IV Sr., FIU • WR – Deangelo Antoine Sr., Florida Atlantic • WR – Adrian Hardy, R-Jr., Louisiana Tech • WR – Malik Stanley, R-Sr., Louisiana Tech • WR – Jyaire Shorter, Fr., North Texas • WR – Brad Rozner Jr., Rice • WR – Austin Trammell, Jr., Rice • WR – Myron Mitchell, R-Jr., UAB
Defense: DT – Ray Ellis, Gr., Florida Atlantic • DT – Milton Williams, R-So., Louisiana Tech • DT – Dion Novil Jr., North Texas • DT – Myles Adams Sr., Rice • DT – Delmond Landry, R-Sr., Southern Miss • DT – Tony Fair, R-Jr., UAB • DT – Jaylon Haynes Jr., UTSA • DT – Jeremy Darvin, R-Jr., WKU • DT – Jaylon George, R-Sr., WKU • DE – Markees Watts, So., Charlotte • DE – Tim Bonner, R-Sr., Florida Atlantic • DE – Willie Baker, R-Jr., Louisiana Tech • DE – Darius Hodge, R-So., Marshall • DE – LaDarius Hamilton Sr., North Texas • DE – Derek Wilder Sr., Old Dominion • DE – Jacques Turner, R-Jr., Southern Miss • DE – Fitzgerald Mofor, R-Sr., UAB • DE – Eric Banks Sr., UTSA • DE – Jarrod Carter-McLin Sr., UTSA • LB – Jeff Gemmell, R-Sr., Charlotte • LB – Rashad Smith Sr., Florida Atlantic • LB – Collin Scott, R-Sr., Louisiana Tech • LB – Connor Taylor Sr., Louisiana Tech • LB – KD Davis, So., North Texas • LB – Tyreke Davis Jr., North Texas • LB – Racheem Boothe, R-Jr., Southern Miss • LB – Swayze Bozeman, Jr., Southern Miss • LB – Kyle Bailey Jr., WKU •