2021 Conference USA football season

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2021 Conference USA football season
LeagueNCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision
SportFootball
DurationAugust 28, 2021 to December 23, 2021
Number of teams14
2022 NFL Draft
Top draft pickDE Alex Wright, UAB
Picked byCleveland Browns, 78th overall
Regular season
East championsWestern Kentucky
West championsUTSA
Conference USA Championship Game
ChampionsUTSA
  Runners-upWestern Kentucky
Finals MVPSincere McCormick, UTSA
Seasons
2021 Conference USA football standings
Conf Overall
Team   W   L     W   L  
East Division
Western Kentucky xy   7 – 1     9 – 5  
Marshall   5 – 3     7 – 6  
Old Dominion   5 – 3     6 – 7  
Middle Tennessee   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Florida Atlantic   3 – 5     5 – 7  
Charlotte   3 – 5     5 – 7  
FIU   0 – 8     1 – 11  
West Division
UTSA xy$   7 – 1     12 – 2  
UAB   6 – 2     9 – 4  
North Texas   5 – 3     6 – 7  
UTEP   4 – 4     7 – 6  
Rice   3 – 5     4 – 8  
Southern Miss   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Louisiana Tech   2 – 6     3 – 9  
Championship: UTSA 49, Western Kentucky 41
  • $ – Conference champion
  • x – Division champion/co-champions
  • y – Championship game participant

The 2021 Conference USA football season was the 26th season of college football play for Conference USA (C-USA). The season started on August 28, 2021 and ended on December 23, 2021.[1] The conference consisted of 14 members in two divisions. It was part of the 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football season.

Previous season[edit]

Main article: 2020 Conference USA football season

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, Old Dominion did not play the 2020 season, leaving the conference with 13 participating teams.[2] The rest of the conference played the full season, with some games postponed or cancelled for reasons relating to the pandemic. The Marshall Thundering Herd won the East Division, while the UAB Blazers won the West Division. In the 2020 Conference USA Football Championship Game, the Blazers defeated the Thundering Herd 22–13.

Preseason[edit]

Preseason Media Poll[edit]

The Preseason Media Poll was released on July 19. Marshall was voted the favorite to win the East Division, while UAB was voted favorite for the West Division.[3]

Preseason player awards[edit]

Preseason player awards were announced on July 20.[4]

  • Offensive Player of the Year: Sincere McCormick (Junior, UTSA runningback)
  • Defensive Player of the Year: DeAngelo Malone (Senior, Western Kentucky defensive back)
  • Special Teams Player of the Year: Lucas Dean (Junior, UTSA punter)

Preseason awards[edit]

The following list contains C-USA players who were included on preseason watch lists for national awards.

Award Head coach/Player School Position Link
Maxwell Award Chris Reynolds Charlotte QB [5]
Grant Wells Marshall QB
Frank Gore Jr. Southern Miss RB
Sincere McCormick UTSA RB
Bednarik Award Tyler Grubbs Louisiana Tech LB [6]
Reed Blankenship Middle Tennessee S
Kris Moll UAB LB
Praise Amaewhule UTEP DE
Rashad Wisdom UTSA S
DeAngelo Malone Western Kentucky DE
Davey O'Brien Award Frank Harris UTSA QB [7]
Grant Wells Marshall QB
Doak Walker Award Frank Gore Jr. Southern Miss RB [8]
DeWayne McBride UAB RB
Sincere McCormick UTSA RB
Fred Biletnikoff Award Jacob Cowing UTEP WR [9]
Zakhari Franklin UTSA WR
Bradley Rozner Rice WR
John Mackey Award Joshua Simon Western Kentucky TE [10]
Hayden Pittman UAB TE
Leroy Watson UTSA TE
Rimington Trophy Alex Salguero Marshall C [11]
Outland Trophy Spencer Burford UTSA OT [12]
Colby Ragland UAB OT
Sidney Wells UAB OT
Bronko Nagurski Trophy Jamare Edwards Marshall DT [13]
Tyler Grubbs Louisiana Tech LB
DeAngelo Malone Western Kentucky DE
Kris Moll UAB LB
Dion Novil North Texas DT
Lou Groza Award Jacob Barnes Louisiana Tech K [14]
Hunter Duplessis UTSA K
Brayden Narveson Western Kentucky K
Matt Quinn UAB K
Paul Hornung Award Jacob Adams Louisiana Tech FB [15]
Jake Bailey Rice WR
Jermaine Brown Jr. UAB RB
DeAndre Torrey North Texas RB
Wuerffel Trophy Peter Agabe Charlotte LB [16]
Joshua Mate Louisiana Tech OL
Reeves Blankenship Louisiana Tech LS
Alex Mollette Marshall OL
Reed Blankeship Middle Tennessee S
Jordan Young Old Dominion LB
Ikenna Enechukwu Rice DL
Colby Ragland UAB OL
Hunter Duplessis UTSA K
Walter Camp Award Sincere McCormick UTSA RB [17]
Manning Award Frank Harris UTSA QB [18]
Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award Deion Hankins UTEP RB [19]
Sincere McCormick UTSA RB
Jordan Myers Rice TE
Bailey Zappe Western Kentucky QB
Ray Guy Award Bernardo Rodriguez North Texas P [20]
Cesar Barajas Louisiana Tech P
Jacob Barnes Louisiana Tech K
John Haggerty Western Kentucky P
Kyle Greenwell UAB P
Kyle Ulbrich Middle Tennessee P
Lucas Dean UTSA P
Matthew Hayball Florida Atlantic P
Tommy Heatherly FIU P
Polynesian College Football Player Of The Year Award Ahofitu Maka UTSA OL [21]
Manase Mose North Texas OL
Johnny Unitas Golden Arm Award Luke Anthony Louisiana Tech QB [22]
Bailey Hockman Middle Tennessee QB
Tyler Johnston III UAB QB
Chris Reynolds Charlotte QB

Head coaches[edit]

Doc Holliday was released from the Head Coach position at Marshall after 11 seasons with the program. He was replaced by Charles Huff, who had previously been the running backs coach at Alabama.[23]

Will Hall took over as the new permanent Head Coach at Southern Miss, filling the vacancy left after Jay Hopson had resigned one game into the previous season.[24]

Note: All stats shown are before the start of the 2021 season.

Team Head coach Years at school Overall record Record at school CUSA Record
Charlotte Will Healy 3 22–31 9–10 7–5
FIU Butch Davis 4 86–64 23-21 14–13
Florida Atlantic Willie Taggart 2 61–66 5–4 4–2
Louisiana Tech Skip Holtz 9 149–112 61–41 41–21
Marshall Charles Huff 1 0–0 0–0 0–0
Middle Tennessee Rick Stockstill 16 94–92 94–92 71–45
North Texas Seth Littrell 6 31–31 31–31 21–18
Old Dominion Ricky Rahne 2 0–0 0–0 0–0
Rice Mike Bloomgren 4 7–23 7–23 6–15
Southern Miss Will Hall 1 56–20 0–0 0–0
UAB Bill Clark 6 51–26 40–22 26–10
UTEP Dana Dimel 4 35–66 5–27 1–19
UTSA Jeff Traylor 2 7–5 7–5 5–2
Western Kentucky Tyson Helton 3 14–11 14–11 10–5

Post-season changes[edit]

  • On November 10, Butch Davis announced that he would not return to FIU after the school declined to extend his contract.[25]
  • On November 26, Louisiana Tech announced that they were firing head coach Skip Holtz. Holtz was allowed to coach the final game of the season before being dismissed immediately after.[26] The school announced on November 30 that Texas Tech offensive coordinator Sonny Cumbie would take over as the new head coach.[27]

Rankings[edit]

Main article: 2021 NCAA Division I FBS football rankings
  Pre Wk
1		 Wk
2		 Wk
3		 Wk
4		 Wk
5		 Wk
6		 Wk
7		 Wk
8		 Wk
9		 Wk
10		 Wk
11		 Wk
12		 Wk
13		 Wk
14		 Final
Charlotte AP
C RV
CFP Not released
FIU AP
C
CFP Not released
Florida Atlantic AP
C
CFP Not released
Louisiana Tech AP RV
C
CFP Not released
Marshall AP
C RV RV RV
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 RV RV
C RV RV
CFP Not released
UTEP AP
C
CFP Not released
UTSA AP RV RV RV 24 23 16 15 15 15 RV 24 RV
C RV RV RV RV RV 25 22 18 16 18 20 RV 25 RV
CFP Not released 23 22 22
Western Kentucky 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[edit]

Index to colors and formatting
C-USA member won
C-USA member lost
C-USA teams in bold

All times Eastern time.

Week 0[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
August 28 9:30 p.m. UTEP New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM (Battle of I-10) BZAZ/FloSports W 30–3   19,034
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 1[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 1 7:30 p.m. UAB No. 10 (FCS) Jacksonville State Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL ESPN W 31–0   9,122
September 2 7:00 p.m. LIU FIU Riccardo Silva Stadium • Miami, FL ESPN3 W 48–10    
September 2 8:00 p.m. UT Martin Western Kentucky Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY ESPN+ W 59–21   16,236
September 3 7:00 p.m. Old Dominion Wake Forest Truist Field • Winston-Salem, NC ACCN L 10–42   25,673
September 3 7:00 p.m. Duke Charlotte Jerry Richardson Stadium • Charlotte, NC CBSSN W 31–28   14,125
September 4 2:00 p.m. Rice Arkansas Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR ESPN+/SECN+ L 17–38   64,065
September 4 3:30 p.m. Marshall Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD CBSSN W 49–7   30,131
September 4 4:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Mississippi State Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS ESPNU L 34–35   44,669
September 4 7:00 p.m. No. 13 (FCS) Monmouth Middle Tennessee Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN ESPN3 W 50–15   15,017
September 4 7:30 p.m. Florida Atlantic No. 13 Florida Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL SECN L 14–35   86,840
September 4 7:30 p.m. Northwestern State North Texas Apogee Stadium • Denton, TX ESPN3 W 44–14   18,716
September 4 7:30 p.m. UTSA Illinois Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL BTN W 37–30   33,906
September 4 8:00 p.m. Southern Miss South Alabama Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL ESPN+ L 7–31   20,156
September 4 9:00 p.m. Bethune–Cookman UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX ESPN3 W 38–28   14,554
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 2[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 10 9:30 p.m. UTEP Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID FS1 L 13–54   35,518
September 11 11:30 a.m. Western Kentucky Army Michie Stadium • West Point, NY CBSSN L 35–38   25,989
September 11 2:00 p.m. Middle Tennessee No. 19 Virginia Tech Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA ACCNX L 14–35   53,680
September 11 3:30 p.m. UAB No. 2 Georgia Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA ESPN2 L 7–56   92,746
September 11 3:30 p.m. Georgia Southern Florida Atlantic FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL Stadium W 38–6   17,736
September 11 6:00 p.m. Gardner–Webb Charlotte Jerry Richardson Stadium • Charlotte, NC ESPN3 W 38–10   12,274
September 11 6:00 p.m. Lamar UTSA Alamodome • San Antonio, TX ESPN+ W 54–0   16,229
September 11 6:30 p.m. Houston Rice Rice Stadium • Houston, TX (rivalry) CBSSN L 7–44   26,253
September 11 6:30 p.m. North Carolina Central Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV ESPN+ W 44–10   24,521
September 11 7:00 p.m. North Texas SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX (Safeway Bowl) ESPN+ L 12–35   29,121
September 11 7:00 p.m. No. 13 (FCS) Southeastern Louisiana Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA ESPN3 W 45–42   15,328
September 11 7:00 p.m. Texas State FIU Riccardo Silva Stadium • Miami, FL ESPN+ L 17–23 OT   
September 11 7:00 p.m. Hampton Old Dominion S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA ESPN3 W 47–7   18,363
September 11 7:00 p.m. Grambling State Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS ESPN3 W 37–0   25,235
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 3[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 18 3:30 p.m. SMU Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA CBSSN L 37–39   15,329
September 18 6:00 p.m. East Carolina Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV (rivalry) Facebook L 38–42   24,833
September 18 6:00 p.m. Fordham Florida Atlantic FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL ESPN3 W 45–14   17,132
September 18 6:00 p.m. Old Dominion Liberty Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA ESPN3 L 17–45   18,471
September 18 6:00 p.m. Middle Tennessee UTSA Alamodome • San Antonio, Texas ESPN+  UTSA 27–13   16,202
September 18 7:00 p.m. Charlotte Georgia State Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA ESPN+ L 9–20   12,978
September 18 7:00 p.m. FIU Texas Tech Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, TX ESPN+ L 21–54   50,118
September 18 7:00 p.m. Troy Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, Mississippi ESPN+ L 9–21   24,242
September 18 7:30 p.m. UAB North Texas Apogee Stadium • Denton, TX Stadium  UAB 40–6   17,731
September 18 8:00 p.m. Rice Texas Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX (rivalry) LHN L 0–58   91,978
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 4[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
September 23 7:30 p.m. Marshall Appalachian State Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC ESPN L 30–31   28,377
September 24 6:30 p.m. Middle Tennessee Charlotte Jerry Richardson Stadium • Charlotte, NC CBSSN  CHAR 42–39   11,076
September 25 12:00 p.m. FIU Central Michigan Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI ESPN+ L 27–31   30,255
September 25 3:30 p.m. UTSA Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN ESPNU W 31–28   29,264
September 25 6:00 p.m. Buffalo Old Dominion S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA ESPN+ L 34–35    
September 25 6:30 p.m. Texas Southern Rice Rice Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN3 W 48–34   18,326
September 25 7:00 p.m. North Texas Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA Stadium  LT 24–17   15,488
September 25 7:30 p.m. Southern Miss No. 1 Alabama Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL SECN L 14–63   100,077
September 25 8:00 p.m. Florida Atlantic Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Springs, CO FS2 L 7–31   19,763
September 25 8:00 p.m. UAB Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA ESPN+ W 28–21   16,023
September 25 8:00 p.m. Indiana Western Kentucky Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY CBSSN L 31–33   25,171
September 25 9:00 p.m. New Mexico UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX ESPN+ W 20–13   15,069
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 5[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 2 12:00 p.m. Charlotte Illinois Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL BTN L 14–24   30,559
October 2 3:30 p.m. FIU Florida Atlantic FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL (Shula Bowl) Stadium  FAU 58–21   24,726
October 2 6:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech No. 23 NC State Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC ACCN/ESPN+ L 27–34   51,064
October 2 6:00 p.m. UNLV UTSA Alamodome • San Antonio, TX ESPN+ W 24–17   20,154
October 2 6:30 p.m. Southern Miss Rice Rice Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN3  RICE 24–19   16,031
October 2 7:00 p.m. Liberty UAB Protective Stadium • Birmingham, AL CBSSN L 12–36   37,167
October 2 7:00 p.m. Marshall Middle Tennessee Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN Stadium  MTSU 34–28   15,806
October 2 7:30 p.m. Western Kentucky No. 17 Michigan State Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI BTN L 31–48   70,075
October 2 9:00 p.m. Old Dominion UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX ESPN+  UTEP 28–21   11,025
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 6[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 8 7:00 p.m. Charlotte FIU Riccardo Silva Stadium • Miami, FL CBSSN  CHAR 45–33    
October 9 2:00 p.m. Old Dominion Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV Facebook  MU 20–13 OT  24,172
October 9 3:30 p.m. Florida Atlantic UAB Protective Stadium • Birmingham, AL Stadium  UAB 31–14   25,191
October 9 3:30 p.m. Middle Tennessee Liberty Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA ESPN3 L 13–41   19,935
October 9 4:00 p.m. North Texas Missouri Faurot Field • Columbia, MO SECN L 35–48   46,985
October 9 7:00 p.m. UTEP Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS ESPN3  UTEP 26–13   26,049
October 9 7:00 p.m. UTSA Western Kentucky Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY Stadium  UTSA 52–46   15,243
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 7[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 15 7:00 p.m. Marshall North Texas Apogee Stadium • Denton, TX CBSSN  MU 49–21   13,123
October 16 3:30 p.m. UAB Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS Stadium  UAB 34–0   21,514
October 16 3:30 p.m. Western Kentucky Old Dominion S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA ESPN3  WKU 43–20   16,418
October 16 6:00 p.m. Rice UTSA Alamodome • San Antonio, TX ESPN+  UTSA 45–0   27,515
October 16 9:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX ESPN+  UTEP 19–3   18,468
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 8[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 21 7:30 p.m. Florida Atlantic Charlotte Jerry Richardson Stadium • Charlotte, NC CBSSN  FAU 38-9   13,017
October 22 6:00 p.m. Middle Tennessee UConn Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT CBSSN W 44–13   10,698
October 23 3:30 p.m. Rice UAB Protective Stadium • Birmingham, AL ESPN+  RICE 30–24   24,845
October 23 4:00 p.m. Liberty North Texas Apogee Stadium • Denton, TX ESPN+ L 26–35   13,454
October 23 7:00 p.m. No. 24 UTSA Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA Stadium  UTSA 45–16   18,314
October 23 7:00 p.m. Western Kentucky FIU Riccardo Silva Stadium • Miami, Florida ESPN+  WKU 34–19    
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 9[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
October 30 2:00 p.m. North Texas Rice Rice Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN3  UNT 30–24 OT  17,354
October 30 3:30 p.m. FIU Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV Stadium  MU 38–0   18,466
October 30 3:30 p.m. Louisiana Tech Old Dominion S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA CBSSN  ODU 23–20   13,309
October 30 3:30 p.m. Southern Miss Middle Tennessee Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN ESPN+  MTSU 35–10   10,721
October 30 4:00 p.m. Charlotte Western Kentucky Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY ESPN+  WKU 45–13   16,763
October 30 6:00 p.m. UTEP Florida Atlantic FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL ESPN+  FAU 28–25   16,432
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 10[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 6 12:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech UAB Protective Stadium • Birmingham, AL CBSSN  UAB 52–38   21,261
November 6 3:00 p.m. North Texas Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS ESPN+  UNT 38–14   22,478
November 6 3:30 p.m. Middle Tennessee Western Kentucky Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY (100 Miles of Hate) Stadium  WKU 48–21   15,022
November 6 3:30 p.m. Rice Charlotte Jerry Richardson Stadium • Charlotte, NC ESPN+  CHAR 31–24 OT  16,050
November 6 6:00 p.m. Marshall Florida Atlantic FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL Facebook  MU 28–13   21,803
November 6 7:00 p.m. Old Dominion FIU Riccardo Silva Stadium • Miami, FL ESPN3  ODU 47–24   0
November 6 10:15 p.m. No. 16 UTSA UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX ESPN2  UTSA 44–23   31,658
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 11[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 13 2:00 p.m. Western Kentucky Rice Rice Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN+  WKU 42–21   17,883
November 13 3:30 p.m. Charlotte Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA Stadium  LT 42–32   14,068
November 13 3:30 p.m. FIU Middle Tennessee Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN ESPN3  MTSU 50–10   10,606
November 13 3:30 p.m. Florida Atlantic Old Dominion S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA ESPN+  ODU 30–16   13,634
November 13 3:30 p.m. Southern Miss No. 15 UTSA Alamodome • San Antonio, TX ESPN+  UTSA 27–17   30,105
November 13 3:30 p.m. UAB Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV CBSSN  UAB 21–14   19,329
November 13 4:00 p.m. UTEP North Texas Apogee Stadium • Denton, TX ESPN+  UNT 20–17   20,056
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 12[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 19 8:00 p.m. Southern Miss Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA (Rivalry in Dixie) CBSSN  USM 35–19   10,410
November 20 12:00 p.m. Florida Atlantic Western Kentucky Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY Stadium  WKU 52–17   10,477
November 20 3:30 p.m. Marshall Charlotte Jerry Richardson Stadium • Charlotte, NC Stadium  MU 49–28   13,211
November 20 3:30 p.m. Old Dominion Middle Tennessee Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN ESPN+  ODU 24–17   9,606
November 20 3:30 p.m. UAB No. 15 UTSA Alamodome • San Antonio, TX ESPN+  UTSA 34–31   35,147
November 20 4:00 p.m. Rice UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX ESPN+  UTEP 38–28   10,097
November 20 7:00 p.m. North Texas FIU Riccardo Silva Stadium • Miami, FL ESPN3  UNT 49–7    
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Week 13[edit]

Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
November 26 2:00 p.m. UTEP UAB Protective Stadium • Birmingham, AL ESPN+  UAB 42–25   19,683
November 27 1:00 p.m. Louisiana Tech Rice Rice Stadium • Houston, TX ESPN+  RICE 35–31    
November 27 2:00 p.m. Charlotte Old Dominion S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA ESPN+  ODU 56–34   15,874
November 27 2:00 p.m. No. 15 UTSA North Texas Apogee Stadium • Denton, TX ESPN+  UNT 45–23   16,933
November 27 3:00 p.m. FIU Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS ESPN+  USM 37–17   20,041
November 27 3:30 p.m. Western Kentucky Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV CBSSN  WKU 53–21   19,134
November 27 7:00 p.m. Middle Tennessee Florida Atlantic FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL Stadium  MTSU 27–17   15,127
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Conference USA Championship Game[edit]

See also: 2021 Conference USA Football Championship Game
Date Time Visiting team Home team Site TV Result Attendance
December 3 7:00 p.m. Western Kentucky UTSA Alamodome • San Antonio, TX CBSSN  UTSA 49–41   41,148
#Rankings from AP Poll released prior to game. All times are in Eastern Time.

Postseason[edit]

Bowl Games[edit]

See also: 2021–22 NCAA football bowl games
Legend
  C-USA Win
  C-USA Loss
Bowl game Date Site Television Time (EST) C-USA team Opponent Score Attendance
Bahamas Bowl December 17 Thomas Robinson Stadium • Nassau, Bahamas ESPN 12:00 p.m. Middle Tennessee Toledo W 31–24 13,596
Boca Raton Bowl December 18 FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL ESPN 11:00 a.m. Western Kentucky Appalachian State W 59–38 15,429
New Mexico Bowl December 18 University Stadium • Albuquerque, NM ESPN 2:15 p.m. UTEP Fresno State L 24–31 16,422
Independence Bowl December 18 Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA ABC 3:30 p.m. UAB No. 13 BYU W 31–28 26,276
New Orleans Bowl December 18 Caesars Superdome • New Orleans, LA ESPN 9:15 p.m. Marshall No. 23 Louisiana L 21–36 21,642
Myrtle Beach Bowl December 20 Brooks Stadium • Conway, SC ESPN 2:30 p.m. Old Dominion Tulsa L 17–30 6,557
Frisco Bowl December 21 Toyota Stadium • Frisco, TX ESPN 7:30 p.m. UTSA San Diego State L 24–38 15,801
Frisco Football Classic December 23 Toyota Stadium • Frisco, TX ESPN 3:30 p.m. North Texas Miami (OH) L 14–27 11,721

Conference USA records vs other conferences[edit]

2021–2022 records against non-conference foes:

Power Conferences 5 Record
ACC 1–3
Big Ten 1–3
Big 12 0–2
Pac-12 0–0
BYU/Notre Dame 0–0
SEC 0–6
Power 5 Total 2–14
Other FBS Conferences Record
American 3–4
Independents (Excluding Notre Dame and BYU) 2–5
MAC 0–2
Mountain West 2–2
Sun Belt 1–5
Other FBS Total 8–18
FCS Opponents Record
Football Championship Subdivision 14–0
Total Non-Conference Record 24–32

Conference USA vs Power 5 matchups[edit]

This is a list of games C-USA has scheduled versus power conference teams (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, Pac-12, BYU, Notre Dame and SEC). All rankings are from the current AP Poll at the time of the game.


Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score
September 3 ACC Old Dominion Wake Forest Truist Field • Winston-Salem, NC L 10–42
September 3 ACC Duke Charlotte Jerry Richardson Stadium • Charlotte, NC W 31–28
September 4 SEC Rice Arkansas Donald W. Reynolds Razorback Stadium • Fayetteville, AR L 17–38
September 4 SEC Louisiana Tech Mississippi State Davis Wade Stadium • Starkville, MS L 34–35
September 4 SEC Florida Atlantic No. 13 Florida Ben Hill Griffin Stadium • Gainesville, FL L 14–35
September 4 Big Ten UTSA Illinois Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL W 37–30
September 11 ACC Middle Tennessee No. 19 Virginia Tech Lane Stadium • Blacksburg, VA L 14–35
September 11 SEC UAB No. 2 Georgia Sanford Stadium • Athens, GA L 7–56
September 18 Big 12 FIU Texas Tech Jones AT&T Stadium • Lubbock, TX L 21–54
September 18 Big 12 Rice Texas Darrell K Royal–Texas Memorial Stadium • Austin, TX L 0–58
September 25 Big Ten Indiana Western Kentucky Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY L 31–33
September 25 SEC Southern Miss No. 1 Alabama Bryant–Denny Stadium • Tuscaloosa, AL L 14–63
October 2 Big Ten Western Kentucky No. 17 Michigan State Spartan Stadium • East Lansing, MI L 31–48
October 2 ACC Louisiana Tech No. 23 NC State Carter–Finley Stadium • Raleigh, NC L 27–34
October 2 Big Ten Charlotte Illinois Memorial Stadium • Champaign, IL L 14–24
October 9 SEC North Texas Missouri Farout Field • Columbia, MO L 35–48

Conference USA vs Group of Five matchups[edit]

The following games include C-USA teams competing against teams from the American, MAC, Mountain West, or Sun Belt.

Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score
September 4 American Marshall Navy Navy–Marine Corps Memorial Stadium • Annapolis, MD W 49–7
September 4 Sun Belt Southern Miss South Alabama Hancock Whitney Stadium • Mobile, AL L 7–31
September 10 Mountain West UTEP Boise State Albertsons Stadium • Boise, ID L 13–54
September 11 Sun Belt Georgia Southern Florida Atlantic FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL W 38–6
September 11 American Houston Rice Rice Stadium • Houston, TX L 7–44
September 11 American North Texas SMU Gerald J. Ford Stadium • Dallas, TX L 12–35
September 11 Sun Belt Texas State FIU Riccardo Silva Stadium • Miami, FL L 17–23 OT
September 18 American SMU Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA L 37–39
September 18 American East Carolina Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV L 38–42
September 18 Sun Belt Charlotte Georgia State Center Parc Stadium • Atlanta, GA L 9–20
September 18 Sun Belt Troy Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS L 9–21
September 23 Sun Belt Marshall Appalachian State Kidd Brewer Stadium • Boone, NC L 30–31
September 25 MAC Buffalo Old Dominion S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA L 34–35
September 25 Mountain West New Mexico UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX W 20–13
September 25 MAC FIU Central Michigan Kelly/Shorts Stadium • Mount Pleasant, MI L 27–31
September 25 American UAB Tulane Yulman Stadium • New Orleans, LA W 28–21
September 25 American UTSA Memphis Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium • Memphis, TN W 31–28
September 25 Mountain West Florida Atlantic Air Force Falcon Stadium • Colorado Spring, CO L 7–31
October 2 Mountain West UNLV UTSA Alamodome • San Antonio, TX W 24–17

Conference USA vs FBS independents matchups[edit]

The following games include C-USA teams competing against FBS Independents, which includes Army, Liberty, New Mexico State, UConn, or UMass.

Date Conference Visitor Home Site Score
August 28 Independent UTEP New Mexico State Aggie Memorial Stadium • Las Cruces, NM W 30–3
September 11 Independent Western Kentucky Army Michie Stadium • West Point, NY L 35–38
September 18 Independent Old Dominion Liberty Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA L 17–45
October 2 Independent Liberty UAB Protective Stadium • Birmingham, AL L 12–36
October 9 Independent Middle Tennessee Liberty Williams Stadium • Lynchburg, VA L 13–41
October 22 Independent Middle Tennessee UConn Rentschler Field • East Hartford, CT W 44–13
October 23 Independent Liberty North Texas Apogee Stadium • Denton, TX L 26–35

Conference USA vs FCS matchups[edit]

Date Visitor Home Site Score
September 1 UAB Jacksonville State Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL W 31–0
September 2 LIU FIU Riccardo Silva Stadium • Miami, FL W 48–10
September 2 UT Martin Western Kentucky Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium • Bowling Green, KY W 59–21
September 4 Monmouth Middle Tennessee Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium • Murfreesboro, TN W 50–15
September 4 Northwestern State North Texas Apogee Stadium • Denton, TX W 44–14
September 4 Bethune–Cookman UTEP Sun Bowl • El Paso, TX W 38–28
September 11 Gardner–Webb Charlotte Jerry Richardson Stadium • Charlotte, NC W 38–10
September 11 Lamar UTSA Alamodome • San Antonio, TX W 54–0
September 11 North Carolina Central Marshall Joan C. Edwards Stadium • Huntington, WV W 44–10
September 11 Southeastern Louisiana Louisiana Tech Joe Aillet Stadium • Ruston, LA W 45–42
September 11 Hampton Old Dominion S.B. Ballard Stadium • Norfolk, VA W 47–7
September 11 Grambling State Southern Miss M. M. Roberts Stadium • Hattiesburg, MS W 37–0
September 18 Fordham Florida Atlantic FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL W 45–14
September 25 Texas Southern Rice Rice Stadium • Houston, TX W 48–34

Awards and honors[edit]

Player of the week honors[edit]

Week Offensive Defensive Special Teams
Player Team Position Player Team Position Player Team Position
Week 0 (August 30)[28] Jacob Cowing UTEP WR Dy'Vonne Inyang UTEP S Gavin Baechle UTEP K
Week 1 (September 6)[29] Chris Reynolds Charlotte QB Eli Neal Marshall LB Hunter Duplessis UTSA K
Week 2 (September 13)[30] Bailey Zappe
N'Kosi Perry 		Western Kentucky
Florida Atlantic 		QB
QB 		BeeJay Williamson Louisiana Tech DB Sheldon Jones UTSA PR
Week 3 (September 20)[31] Gerrit Prince UAB TE Trumane Bell II UTSA DL Kyle Greenwell UAB P
Week 4 (September 27)[32] Chris Reynolds (2) Charlotte QB Clarence Hicks
A.J. Brathwaite 		UTSA
Western Kentucky 		LB
S 		Hunter Duplessis (2) UTSA K
Week 5 (October 4)[33] Bailey Zappe (2) Western Kentucky QB Reed Blankenship Middle Tennessee S Cameron Harrell Southern Miss KR
Week 6 (October 11)[34] Frank Harris UTSA QB Alex Wright UAB DE Shadrick Byrd Charlotte KR
Week 7 (October 18)[35] Jerreth Sterns Western Kentucky WR Jadrian Taylor UTEP DE Grayson Cash UAB S
Week 8 (October 25)[36] Wiley Green Rice QB Gabe Taylor Rice S Brayden Narveson Western Kentucky K
Week 9 (November 1)[37] Bailey Zappe (3) Western Kentucky QB DQ Thomas Middle Tennessee LB Nick Rice Old Dominion K
Week 10 (November 8)[38] DeWayne McBride UAB RB Beanie Bishop Western Kentucky DB Jayden Harrison Marshall KR
Week 11 (November 15)[39] Bailey Zappe (4) Western Kentucky QB Jason Henderson Old Dominion LB R'Tarriun Johnson Old Dominion S
Week 12 (November 22)[40] Frank Harris (2) UTSA QB Clarence Hicks (2) UTSA LB Hunter Duplessis (3) UTSA K
Week 13 (November 29)[41] Ali Jennings Old Dominion WR DeAngelo Malone Western Kentucky DE Brayden Narveson (2) Western Kentucky K

Conference USA Individual Awards[edit]

The following individuals received postseason honors as voted by the Conference USA football coaches at the end of the season.[42][43]

Award Player School
Player of the Year Bailey Zappe, QB, Grad. Western Kentucky
Offensive Player of the Year Sincere McCormick, RB, So. UTSA
Defensive Player of the Year DeAngelo Malone, DE, Sr. Western Kentucky
Special Teams Player of the Year Tommy Heatherly, P, Sr. FIU
Freshman Player of the Year Elijah Spencer, WR Charlotte
Newcomer of the Year Jerreth Sterns, WR, Jr. Western Kentucky
Coach of the Year Jeff Traylor UTSA

All-Conference Teams[edit]

The following players were selected as part of the Conference USA's All-Conference Teams.[44]

All-Americans[edit]

For the complete All-America selections, see 2021 College Football All-America Team.

The 2021 College Football All-America Teams are composed of the following College Football All-American first teams chosen by the following selector organizations: Associated Press (AP), Football Writers Association of America (FWAA), American Football Coaches Association (AFCA), Walter Camp Foundation (WCFF), The Sporting News (TSN), Sports Illustrated (SI), USA Today (USAT) ESPN, CBS Sports (CBS), FOX Sports (FOX) College Football News (CFN), Bleacher Report (BR), Scout.com, Phil Steele (PS), SB Nation (SB), Athlon Sports, Pro Football Focus (PFF) and Yahoo! Sports (Yahoo!).

Currently, the NCAA compiles consensus all-America teams in the sports of Division I-FBS football and Division I men's basketball using a point system computed from All-America teams named by coaches associations or media sources. The system consists of three points for a first-team honor, two points for second-team honor, and one point for third-team honor. Honorable mention and fourth team or lower recognitions are not accorded any points. Football consensus teams are compiled by position and the player accumulating the most points at each position is named first team consensus all-American. Currently, the NCAA recognizes All-Americans selected by the AP, AFCA, FWAA, TSN, and the WCFF to determine Consensus and Unanimous All-Americans. Any player named to the First Team by all five of the NCAA-recognized selectors is deemed a Unanimous All-American.

Position Player School Selector Unanimous Consensus
Second Team All-Americans
WR Jerreth Sterns Western Kentucky AP, FWAA, USAT
RB Sincere McCormick UTSA CBS, FWAA, USAT
Position Player School Selector Unanimous Consensus
Third Team All-Americans
RB Sincere McCormick UTSA AP

NFL Draft[edit]

The following list includes all C-USA players who were drafted in the 2022 NFL Draft.

Player Position School Draft
Round 		Round
Pick 		Overall
Pick 		Team
Alex Wright DE UAB 3 14 78 Cleveland Browns
DeAngelo Malone LB Western Kentucky 3 18 82 Atlanta Falcons
Spencer Burford OT UTSA 4 29 134 San Francisco 49ers
Bailey Zappe QB Western Kentucky 4 32 137 New England Patriots
Tariq Woolen CB UTSA 5 10 153 Seattle Seahawks
Nazeeh Johnson S Marshall 7 38 259 Kansas City Chiefs

References[edit]

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  6. ^ "2021 Bednarik Award Watch List – Maxwell Football Club". July 19, 2021.
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  11. ^ "Rimington Trophy Press Release". July 23, 2021. Retrieved July 23, 2021.
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  18. ^ "Allstate Sugar Bowl announces Manning Award Watch List". August 5, 2021. Retrieved August 5, 2021.
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  26. ^ Jeyarajah, Shehan (November 26, 2021). "Louisiana Tech fires Skip Holtz: Bulldogs opt for coaching change after nine years amid 3-8 season". CBS Sports. Retrieved November 26, 2021.
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