CUSA Season Grades

 2022 CUSA Season Grades

Charlotte

Preseason Rating: 51

Final Rating: 45.5

Charlotte’s low expectations entering 2021 illustrated how optimism fades each year more losses than wins are recorded. Midway through the season, following a 1-7 start, Charlotte fired Will Healy. Healy got the 49ers to their first bowl game several years ago, but the ride had gone downhill each subsequent season. Conference USA is not the toughest league in FBS, but Charlotte was unable to truly compete in it. Frankly, Healy’s firing could have come after FCS William & Mary easily defeated Charlotte in Week 2. The final straw came after losing to lowly FIU. The 49ers responded by upsetting Rice on the road the very next week. Teams rated in the 40s are on the verge of being in the basement of FBS. Charlotte is certainly there. The fact they won a few games is the only thing keeping them a slight notch above the worst of the worst. 2022 was only a few losses from being a worst case scenario season for Charlotte. Therefore, one grade up from failing is appropriate. 

2022 Grade: D

Florida International

Preseason Rating: 43.5 

Final Rating: 36.5

Florida State has a long way to go. The fact this team won four games is stunning. The lack of any defense through much of the season led to competent teams racking up points. It took a two point conversion for a win over FCS Bryant. Zero wins against FBS opponents appeared a strong possibility following a 73-0 loss to Western Kentucky. Yet, FIU managed to beat lowly New Mexico State the very next week. Two additional victories over Charlotte and Louisiana Tech kept bowl eligibility alive. However, those who bothered to pay attention knew any postseason hopes were pipe dreams. While Mike McIntyre had nearly nothing to work with entering this season, the fact he got this team to our total wins is somewhat of an accomplishment. But, each win was against terrible competition. Some of the drubbings FIU took warranted the abysmally low rating. FIU remains in the basement of FBS entering next season.

2022 Grade: D

Florida Atlantic

Preseason Rating: 51.5 

Final Rating: 54.5

Florida Atlantic finally realized its ceiling was too low under Willie Taggart. Taggart’s reputation is much better than it should be. He is not a very good coach and has lowered standards at each program he has been a head coach. FAU was still capable of winning a good number of games but did not reach bowl eligibility. They were often favored against better teams and would lose outright. My rating was likely too low at the start of the season because Taggart’s poor coaching weighed down the roster’s talent. FAU’s best win was against UAB. That, a close loss to Purdue, and an overtime loss against Western Kentucky at the end of the year helped move the rating up a field goal, which is where it likely should have been all season. 

2022 Grade: C

Louisiana Tech

Preseason Rating: 51.5 

Final Rating: 49

Year one for Sonny Cumbie was tough. Louisiana Tech needed a new coach for a reason; the program was not living up to relatively high standards. The Bulldogs regularly played in the better CUSA bowls, making one each year from 2014 to 2020. Apparently one bad season for Skip Holtz in 2021 was enough to have him dismissed. One poor season turned into a second abysmal one. At almost no point this season was Louisiana Tech a logical bet. Their number rose a blip following a win over Middle Tennessee, but no other good wins occurred. Cumbie has his work cut out for himself. 

2022 Grade: F

Middle Tennessee State

Preseason Rating: 54 

Final Rating: 55

Middle Tennessee is one of the few programs in CUSA with long term stability. Thus, rating the Blue Raiders requires little work and thought. Rick Stockstill has been head coach at MTSU since 2016. He possesses over 100 wins and has been to ten bowl games. The program is dependable and you know what you will get out of this team. Bettors benefit most when a program lacks serious volatility. A bowl win over Mountain West member San Diego State was a nice cherry on top of a satisfactory season in Murfreesboro. 

2022 Grade: B

North Texas

Preseason Rating: 59

Final Rating: 60.5

North Texas had no definitively bad losses, played in the CUSA Championship, and made a bowl game. Yet, Seth Litrell was fired as the school’s head football coach. There is probably more to the firing than meets the eye. However, North Texas will likely suffer in the short term without Litrell. The season went fairly well and could have been far worse. 

2022 Grade: B

Rice

Preseason Rating: 49.5 

Final Rating: 53.5

Rice feasted as an underdog this season. The Owls won a few games outright and covered numerous times when getting points. Mike Bloomgren is a solid coach with a roster that is not nearly as talented as those he is competing against. Losses to worse teams stung as much as the upset wins felt good. Still, Bloomgren wins enough games to remain out of the basement of college football. He is not afraid of creative gameplans that make games messy for better teams. A disappointing bowl loss to former CUSA member Southern Miss was a tough way to end the year, but getting to  a bowl exceeded expectations. 

2022 Grade: C

UAB

Preseason Rating: 65 

Final Rating: 63

Losing a good long time coach is tough for any program. UAB lost one of the game's best minds and best men when Bill Clark retired during the offseason due to personal health issues. The loss was massive and affected UAB’s power rating more than any other change in college football before the season. However, UAB managed to have a solid season with interim Bryant Vincent. A three game losing streak in the middle of the season and failing to reach the CUSA Championship game demonstrated how much Clark added in value to the program. Overall, 2022 was a success considering the loss of Clark.

2022 Grade: B+ 

UTEP

Preseason Rating: 60.5 

Final Rating: 54.5

A returning quarterback and a solid coach, plus coming off a season in which a bowl was reached, generally equals a nice season better than the last. Unfortunately for UTEP, that was not the case in 2022. Dana Dimel is a solid coach but his team regressed this season. The Miners returned their quarterback and he garnered attention from those following CUSA football. Yet, the Miners failed to come close to preseason expectations. A nice underdog home win over Boise State cashed easily, but more wins against the spread were rare. The offense never got going and some losses were to inferior teams. UTEP will need massive improvements if they want to escape where they’ve been the last six years or so. 

2022 Grade: C-

UTSA

Preseason Rating: 65.5 

Final Rating: 68

Winning a conference championship is the main goal of most teams who do not have any shot at reaching the CFP. Nothing short of extreme historic dominance would warrant even the slightest CFP consideration for a winner of this conference. Such Perspicacity serves coaches well when planning for the long term. UTSA’s Jeff Traylor is most surely astute enough to plan accordingly. UTSA has ruled CUSA the last several years. A solid run game and an experienced quarterback led to easy and numerous wins. Only teams from better conferences were able to defeat UTSA. This year’s team was pretty much in the same ballpark as last years. The Roadrunners’ rating went up by almost a field goal over the season but never reached last year’s number. Still, a conference championship, numerous covers as favorites, and a bowl appearance made the year close to a success. This program is serious; one of these days the runners are going to take down a P5. Just wait.

2022 Grade: A-

Western Kentucky

Preseason Rating: 58.5 

Final Rating: 67

Generally losing an all time quarterback results in a step back for the programs not considered blue bloods. New recruits have less of a chance at being nearly as good following someone who put up gaudy numbers, especially when those numbers resulted in multiple NCAA records. Bailey Zappe was a phenom in 2021 at Western Kentucky. Losing him to the NFL was a big blow to the Hilltoppers entering this season. Yet, Western Ketnucky was nearly as good this season. Their rating slowly ticked upwards all year long and the Tops only suffered one bad loss. By then end of the season this team was a solid bet weekly. Tyson Helton is doing a tremendous job. Hopefully, WKU is able to hold on to him long enough to make a run at a CUSA championship. Losing a star passer and still managing to contend for a conference championship is no small feat.

2022 Grade: B+