2017 Conference USA football season
Sports season
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2017 Conference USA football season was the 22nd season of Conference USA football and part of the 2017 NCAA Division I FBS football season. The season began on August 26 with Rice facing Stanford in Sydney, Australia.[1] This season was the third season for C-USA under realignment that took place in 2014, which added the 14th 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.
| 2017 Conference USA football season | |
|---|---|
.svg){kind=logo} | |
| League | NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision |
| Sport | Football |
| Duration | August 26, 2017 through December 27, 2017 |
| Teams | 14 |
| TV partner(s) | ESPN, CBS Sports Network, Stadium, beIN Sports, CUSA.tv, FloSports |
| 2018 NFL Draft | |
| Top draft pick | DE Marcus Davenport, UTSA |
| Picked by | New Orleans Saints, 14th overall |
| Regular season | |
| Season MVP | RB Devin Singletary, FAU |
| East champions | Florida Atlantic |
| West champions | North Texas |
| Championship Game | |
| Champions | Florida Atlantic |
| Runners-up | North Texas |
| Finals MVP | WR Kalib Woods, FAU |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| East Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Florida Atlantic x$ | 8 | – | 0 | 11 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| FIU | 5 | – | 3 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Marshall | 4 | – | 4 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Middle Tennessee | 4 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Western Kentucky | 4 | – | 4 | 6 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Old Dominion | 3 | – | 5 | 5 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Charlotte | 1 | – | 7 | 1 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| West Division | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| North Texas x | 7 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Southern Miss | 6 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UAB | 6 | – | 2 | 8 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Louisiana Tech | 4 | – | 4 | 7 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTSA | 3 | – | 5 | 6 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Rice | 1 | – | 7 | 1 | – | 11 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| UTEP | 0 | – | 8 | 0 | – | 12 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Championship: Florida Atlantic 41, North Texas 17 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The C-USA consisted of 14 members: Charlotte, FIU, Florida Atlantic, Louisiana Tech, Marshall, Middle Tennessee, North Texas, Old Dominion, Rice, Southern Miss, UAB, UTEP, UTSA, and Western Kentucky; and was divided into the East and West divisions. UAB began play for the first time since 2014, after the Blazer football program was dropped from competition.[2]
Preseason
Media predictions
The 2017 preseason media football poll was released on July 18.[3] Western Kentucky was picked to win its third straight East Division title, while Louisiana Tech was picked to repeat as West Division champion.
East Division
|
West Division
|
Preseason awards
The conference preseason awards were released on July 17.[4] WKU senior QB Mike White was selected as the C-USA Offensive Player of the Year. Rice senior LB Emmanuel Ellerbee was selected the Defensive Player of the Year, and WKU senior KR Kylen Towner was selected Special Teams Player of the Year honors
| Position | Player | Class | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| QB | Mike White | Senior | Western Kentucky |
| WR | Richie James | Junior | Middle Tennessee |
| WR | Jonathan Duhart | Senior | Old Dominion |
| WR | Allenzae Staggers | Senior | Southern Miss |
| RB | Ray Lawry | Senior | Old Dominion |
| RB | Ito Smith | Senior | Southern Miss |
| OL | O’Shea Dugas | Junior | Louisiana Tech |
| OL | Will Hernandez | Senior | UTEP |
| OL | Trey Martin | Senior | Rice |
| OL | Austin Pratt | Senior | UTSA |
| OL | Brandon Ray | Senior | Western Kentucky |
| TE | Ryan Yurachek | Senior | Marshall |
| Position | Player | Class | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| DL | Marcus Davenport | Senior | UTSA |
| DL | Jaylon Ferguson | Sophomore | Louisiana Tech |
| DL | Chris Johnson | Senior | Western Kentucky |
| DL | Oshane Ximines | Senior | Old Dominion |
| LB | Emmanuel Ellerbee | Senior | Rice |
| LB | Alvin Jones | Senior | UTEP |
| LB | Josiah Tauaefa | Sophomore | UTSA |
| LB | Anthony Wint | Senior | FIU |
| DB | Brandon Addison | Senior | Old Dominion |
| DB | Nate Brooks | Junior | North Texas |
| DB | Joe Brown | Senior | Western Kentucky |
| DB | Kishawn McClain | Senior | North Texas |
| Position | Player | Class | Team |
|---|---|---|---|
| P | Jake Collins | Junior | Western Kentucky |
| K | Canon Rooker | Senior | Middle Tennessee |
| KR | Kylen Towner | Senior | Western Kentucky |
| PR | Nacarius Fant | Senior | Western Kentucky |
| LS | Matt Bayliss | Senior | UTSA |
- Preseason Offensive Player of the Year: Mike White, Senior, QB, WKU
- Preseason Defensive Player of the Year: Emmanuel Ellerbee, Senior, LB, Rice
- Preseason Special Teams Player of the Year: Kylen Towner, Senior, KR, WKU
Head coaches
Three Conference USA teams hired new head coaches for the 2017 season. All three were in the East Division, and all three were replacing coaches who had spent at least three seasons at their respective schools.
- FIU hired Butch Davis to replace Ron Turner, who was fired after going 0–4 with the panthers.[5] Ron Cooper was promoted as interim head coach after the fire until the hire of Davis. Davis is coming from a break from coaching football from 2011 to 2016. He was the head coach for many teams in college such as North Carolina and teams in NFL. Littrell was hired on November 14, 2016.[6]
- Florida Atlantic hired Lane Kiffin to replace Charlie Partridge, who was fired after leading the Owls to a 9–27 record during his three-year tenure at Florida Atlantic.[7] Kiffin spent three years prior to Florida Atlantic at Alabama as an offensive coordinator under the head coach, Nick Saban. Lane was hired on December 12, 2016.[8]
- Western Kentucky hired Mike Sanford Jr. to replace Jeff Brohm, who resigned on December 5, 2016, to become the head coach at Purdue. Sanford was a quarterback coach and an offensive coordinator at Notre Dame for two seasons. Sanford was hired on December 14, 2016.
Note: All stats shown are before the beginning of the season.
| Team | Head coach | Years at school | Overall record | Record at school | CUSA record |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | Brad Lambert | 5 | 16–30 | 16–30 | 3–13 |
| FIU | Butch Davis | 1 | 63–43 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Florida Atlantic | Lane Kiffin | 1 | 35–21 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
| Louisiana Tech | Skip Holtz | 5 | 119–93 | 31–22 | 22–10 |
| Marshall | Doc Holliday | 8 | 53–37 | 53–37 | 35–21 |
| Middle Tennessee | Rick Stockstill | 12 | 72–66 | 72–66 | 22–10 |
| North Texas | Seth Littrell | 2 | 5–8 | 5–8 | 3–5 |
| Old Dominion | Bobby Wilder | 9 | 67–30 | 67–30 | 14–10 |
| Rice | David Bailiff | 11 | 77–84 | 56–69 | 39–41 |
| Southern Miss | Jay Hopson | 2 | 39–23 | 7–6 | 4–4 |
| UAB | Bill Clark | 2 | 17–10 | 6–6 | 4–4 |
| UTEP | Sean Kugler | 5 | 18–31 | 18–31 | 11–21 |
| UTSA | Frank Wilson | 2 | 6–7 | 6–7 | 5–3 |
| Western Kentucky | Mike Sanford Jr. | 1 | 0–0 | 0–0 | 0–0 |
Records against FBS conferences
|
Regular season
|
Post season
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Postseason
Postseason awards
- Most Valuable Player: Devin Singletary, RB, Florida Atlantic[9]
- Offensive Player of the Year: Mason Fine, QB, North Texas[9]
- Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Davenport, DE, UTSA[9]
- Special Teams Player of the Year: Isaiah Harper, KR, Old Dominion[9]
- Coach of the Year: Bill Clark, UAB[10]
- Freshman of the Year: Spencer Brown, RB, UAB[9]
- Newcomer of the Year: Jalen Guyton, WR, sophomore, North Texas & Teddy Veal, WR, junior, Louisiana Tech[9]
All-Conference Teams
|
|
| |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
Bowl games
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| CUSA win | |
| CUSA loss | |
(Rankings from final CFP Poll; All times Eastern)
| Date | Time | Bowl Game | Site | TV | CUSA Team | Opponent | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| December 16, 2017 | 1:00 p.m. | New Orleans Bowl | Mercedes-Benz Superdome • New Orleans, LA | ESPN | North Texas | Troy | 50–30 |
| December 16, 2017 | 2:30 p.m. | AutoNation Cure Bowl | Camping World Stadium • Orlando, FL | CBSSN | Western Kentucky | Georgia State | 27–17 |
| December 16, 2017 | 4:30 p.m. | New Mexico Bowl | Dreamstyle Stadium • Albuquerque, NM | ESPN | Marshall | Colorado State | 31–28 |
| December 16, 2017 | 8:00 p.m. | Camellia Bowl | Cramton Bowl • Montgomery, AL | ESPN | Middle Tennessee | Arkansas State | 35–30 |
| December 19, 2017 | 7:00 p.m. | Boca Raton Bowl | FAU Stadium • Boca Raton, FL | ESPN | Florida Atlantic | Akron | 50–3 |
| December 20, 2017 | 7:00 p.m. | Frisco Bowl | Toyota Stadium • Frisco, TX | ESPN | Louisiana Tech | SMU | 51–10 |
| December 21, 2017 | 8:00 p.m. | Gasparilla Bowl | Tropicana Field • St. Petersburg, FL | ESPN | FIU | Temple | 28–3 |
| December 22, 2017 | 12:30 p.m. | Bahamas Bowl | Thomas Robinson Stadium • Nassau, Bahamas | ESPN | UAB | Ohio | 41–6 |
| December 27, 2017 | 1:30 p.m. | Independence Bowl | Independence Stadium • Shreveport, LA | ESPN | Southern Miss | Florida State | 42–13 |
Home game attendance
| Team | Stadium | Capacity | Game 1 | Game 2 | Game 3 | Game 4 | Game 5 | Game 6 | Game 7 | Total | Average | % of Capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Charlotte | Jerry Richardson Stadium | 15,314 | 18,651 | 11,029 | 10,584 | 11,889 | 10,937 | 8,330 | — | 71,420 | 11,903 | 77.73% |
| FIU | FIU Stadium | 20,000 | 5,017† | 15,348 | 16,433 | 18,874 | 17,127 | 16,199 | 14,004 | 103,002 | 14,715 | 73.57% |
| Florida Atlantic | FAU Stadium | 29,419 | 28,481 | 16,743 | 12,913 | 13,277 | 15,880 | 24,116 | 14,258 ‡ | 125,668 | 17,953 | 61.02% |
| Louisiana Tech | Joe Aillet Stadium | 28,562 | 24,002 | 28,100 | 22,013 | 17,815 | 18,504 | 16,511 | 15,651 | 142,596 | 20,371 | 71.32% |
| Marshall | Joan C. Edwards Stadium | 38,227 | 22,463 | 24,044 | 26,097 | 19,966 | 19,516 | 18,361 | 130,447 | 21,741 | 56.87% | |
| Middle Tennessee | Johnny "Red" Floyd Stadium | 30788 | 26717 | 16523 | 15527 | 13412 | 11411 | 10128 | — | 93,718 | 15,620 | 50.73% |
| North Texas | Apogee Stadium | 30,850 | 19,592 | 20,142 | 23,068 | 18,872 | 26,108 | 26,392 | — | 134,174 | 22,362 | 72.49% |
| Old Dominion | Foreman Field | 20,118 | 20,118 | 20,118 | 20,118 | 20,118 | 20,118 | 20,118 | — | 120,708 | 20,118 | 100.00% |
| Rice | Rice Stadium | 47,000 | 18,932 | 21,766 | 19,992 | 18,124 | 17,956 | — | — | 96,770 | 19,354 | 41.18% |
| Southern Miss | M. M. Roberts Stadium | 36,000 | 22,761 | 24,337 | 21,907 | 21,970 | 19,101 | 20,189 | — | 130,265 | 21,711 | 60.31% |
| UAB | Legion Field | 71,594 | 45,212 | 21,789 | 27,213 | 25,309 | 21,224 | 12,505 | — | 153,252 | 25,542 | 35.68% |
| UTEP | Sun Bowl Stadium | 51,500 | 19,136 | 22,133 | 20,418 | 19,456 | 16,597 | — | — | 97,740 | 19,548 | 37.96% |
| UTSA | Alamodome | 65,000 | 25,093 | 23,517 | 25,270 | 20,076 | 20,148 | — | — | 114,104 | 22,821 | 35.11% |
| WKU | Houchens Industries–L. T. Smith Stadium | 22,113 | 18,614 | 16,223 | 17,590 | 16,754 | 12,441 | 12,612 | — | 94,234 | 15,706 | 71.02% |
†Played at Legion Field in Birmingham, AL [12]
‡ Conference Championship Game