Conference USA is well known for its midweek games. After it became a national hit, the name “Weekday CUSA” was born. It includes Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday games televised nationally.
What makes the conference so interesting is its unpredictability. The last time a team won back-to-back league titles was in 2021 and 2022, when the UTSA Roadrunners pulled off the feat. The last time a team made the championship game in back-to-back years was Jacksonville State.
“Every week, anybody can beat anyone,” FIU coach Willie Simmons said. “It’s about the team that prepares the best, gives themselves the best chance to win and we got to make sure that us. Make sure we are not beating ourselves, and like I always say, making it FIU versus the opponent, not FIU versus FIU and the opponent. We do that; we give ourselves a chance in every game, but I expect this season to be much like other seasons; it’s going to be a dogfight.”
Since the inception of this method, FIU is 3-8, with wins over Sam Houston State (2023), New Mexico State (2024) and Western Kentucky (2025). Of those eight losses, three of them were by one score.
Offensively, FIU ranks first in total offense, averaging 418.0 yards per game. That has been thanks to quarterback JJ Kohl, who has FIU ranked second in passing offense, just behind Landyn Locke and the Sam Houston State Bearkats.
The downside is that FIU averages 124.0 rushing yards per game, the third-worst mark in the conference. For reference, Liberty leads the conference with 189.8 rushing yards per game.
“I think they’re trying to replicate or duplicate Kejon Owens’s production,” Simmons said. “You can’t do that as a player. You have to play within yourself and play within your style. … I tell the team since day one, throw your fastball. We gotta trust our fastball, and for the running backs we have, their fastball is squaring up to the line of scrimmage, making one cut, getting vertical and running through arm tackles. Oftentimes this season, you’ve seen them running through the line of scrimmage and they’re trying to make guys miss that are coming from the side. That’s not effective as a running back.”
On top of the struggles rushing the football, FIU ranks dead last in scoring offense, averaging 18.0 points per game. Only once has FIU been able to surpass 20 points only once this season. Every other team in the conference is averaging over 20 points per game.
For Simmons and his staff, it comes down to finishing drives. Much of it comes down to self-inflicted negatives, also known as penalties. FIU has been penalized 27 times in four games, seventh in Conference USA.
“We just stall out in critical moments,” Simmons said.
Defensively, it is a much different story. They have the best total defense in the conference, surrendering 246.3 yards per game. FIU also has the conference’s top rushing defense, allowing 81.5 rushing yards per game. That also ranks 12th nationally.
FIU has had an up-and-down run against the pass. They are fourth in the conference, allowing 164.8 passing yards per game.
Conference USA is the conference of unknowns, but the Panthers currently find themselves as one of the favorites to either make the championship game or even win it.
