# 2017 Conference USA football season

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. 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.
C-USA consists 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 is divided into the East and West divisions. UAB will begin play for the first time since 2014, after the Blazer football program was dropped from competition.

## Preseason
### Media predictions

The 2017 preseason media football poll was released on July 18. Western Kentucky was picked to win its third straight East Division title, while Louisiana Tech was picked to repeat as West Division champion.

### Preseason awards

The conference preseason awards were released on July 17. 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
Offense :
| 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 |
Defense :
| 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 |
Specialists :
| 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. 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.
* 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. 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.
* 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

| Power 5 conferences | Record |
| ACC | 1–4 |
| Big Ten | 0–4 |
| Big 12 | 1–2 |
| Pac-12 | 0–2 |
| SEC | 0–7 |
| Power 5 Total | 2–19 |
| Other FBS conferences | Record |
| American | 2–4 |
| Independents | 3–2 |
| MAC | 4–3 |
| Mountain West | 0–0 |
| Sun Belt | 4–2 |
| Other FBS Total | 13–11 |
| FCS Opponents | Record |
| Football Championship Subdivision | 9–1 |
| Total non-conference record | 24–31 |
| Other FBS conferences | Record |
| ACC | 0–1 |
| American | 1–1 |
| MAC | 1–1 |
| Mountain West | 1–0 |
| Sun Belt | 1–2 |
| Total bowl record | 4–5 |

## Postseason
### Postseason awards

* Most Valuable Player: Devin Singletary, RB, Florida Atlantic
* Offensive Player of the Year: Mason Fine, QB, North Texas
* Defensive Player of the Year: Marcus Davenport, DE, UTSA
* Special Teams Player of the Year: Isaiah Harper, KR, Old Dominion
* Coach of the Year: Bill Clark, UAB
* Freshman of the Year: Spencer Brown, RB, UAB
* Newcomer of the Year: Jalen Guyton, WR, sophomore, North Texas & Teddy Veal, WR, junior, Louisiana Tech

### All-Conference Teams

| Position | Player | Team |
| First Team Offense |||
| QB | Mason Fine | North Texas |
| RB | Devin Singletary | Florida Atlantic |
| RB | Ito Smith | Southern Miss |
| WR | Thomas Owens | FIU |
| WR | Tyre Brady | Marshall |
| WR | Korey Robertson | Southern Miss |
| TE | Ryan Yurachek | Marshall |
| OL | Reggie Bain | Florida Atlantic |
| OL | Roman Fernandez | Florida Atlantic |
| OL | Antonyo Woods | Florida Atlantic |
| OL | Will Hernandez | UTEP |
| OL | Brandon Ray | Western Kentucky |
| First Team Defense |||
| DL | Jaylon Ferguson | Louisiana Tech |
| DL | Oshane Ximines | Old Dominion |
| DL | Brian Womac | Rice |
| DL | Marcus Davenport | UTSA |
| LB | Azeez Al-Shaair | Florida Atlantic |
| LB | Emmanuel Ellerbee | Rice |
| LB | Joel Iyiegbuniwe | Western Kentucky |
| DB | Jalen Young | Florida Atlantic |
| DB | Shelton Lewis | Florida Atlantic |
| DB | Secdrick Cooper | Louisiana Tech |
| DB | Darious Williams | UAB |
| First Team Special Teams |||
| P | Kaare Vedvik | Marshall |
| K | Parker Shaunfield | Southern Miss |
| KR | Isaiah Harper | Old Dominion |
| PR | Darrell Brown | Old Dominion |
| LS | Cameron Linck | Louisiana Tech |
| Position | Player | Team |
| Second Team Offense |||
| QB | Mike White | Western Kentucky |
| RB | Jeffery Wilson | North Texas |
| RB | Spencer Brown | UAB |
| WR | Teddy Veal | Louisiana Tech |
| WR | Ty Lee | Middle Tennessee |
| WR | Jalen Guyton | North Texas |
| TE | Harrison Bryant | Florida Atlantic |
| OL | Jordan Budwig | FIU |
| OL | O'Shea Dugas | Louisiana Tech |
| OL | Levi Brown | Marshall |
| OL | Devin Farrior | Southern Miss |
| OL | Chris Schleuger | UAB |
| Second Team Defense |||
| DL | Fermin Silva | FIU |
| DL | Ryan Bee | Marshall |
| DL | Xavier Thigpen | Southern Miss |
| DL | Kevin Strong | UTSA |
| LB | Anthony Wint | FIU |
| LB | Chase Hancock | Marshall |
| LB | Khalil Brooks | Middle Tennessee |
| DB | Brad Muhammad | FIU |
| DB | Amik Robertson | Louisiana Tech |
| DB | Malik Gant | Marshall |
| DB | Curtis Mikell | Southern Miss |
| Second Team Special Teams |||
| P | Jack Fox | Rice |
| K | Trevor Moore | North Texas |
| KR | Keion Davis | Marshall |
| PR | Austin Trammell | Rice |
| LS | Matt Bayliss | UTSA |
| Position | Player | Team |
| Honorable Mention Offense |||
| QB | Alex McGough | FIU |
| QB | Jason Driskel | Florida Atlantic |
| QB | Brent Stockstill | Middle Tennessee |
| QB | A. J. Erdely | UAB |
| RB | Alex Gardner | FIU |
| RB | Gregory Howell | Florida Atlantic |
| RB | Jarred Craft | Louisiana Tech |
| RB | Boston Scott | Louisiana Tech |
| RB | Ray Lawry | Old Dominion |
| WR | Rashid Bonnette | Louisiana Tech |
| WR | Marcel Williams | Marshall |
| WR | Michael Lawrence | North Texas |
| WR | Austin Walter | Rice |
| WR | Allenzae Staggers | Southern Miss |
| WR | Andre Wilson | UAB |
| WR | Nacarius Fant | Western Kentucky |
| WR | Lucky Jackson | Western Kentucky |
| TE | Pharoah McKever | FIU |
| TE | Kam McKnight | Louisiana Tech |
| TE | Deon Yelder | Western Kentucky |
| OL | Nate Davis | Charlotte |
| OL | Eugene German | Charlotte |
| OL | Joshua Outlaw | Louisiana Tech |
| OL | Ethan Reed | Louisiana Tech |
| OL | Robert Behanan | Middle Tennessee |
| OL | Chandler Brewer | Middle Tennessee |
| OL | T. J. Henson | North Texas |
| OL | Sosaia Mose | North Texas |
| OL | Jordan Murray | North Texas |
| OL | Elex Woodworth | North Texas |
| OL | Nick Clarke | Old Dominion |
| OL | Isaac Weaver | Old Dominion |
| OL | Calvin Anderson | Rice |
| OL | Trey Martin | Rice |
| OL | Drake Dorbeck | Southern Miss |
| OL | Arvin Fletcher | Southern Miss |
| OL | James Davis | UAB |

### 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
‡ Conference Championship Game