The Daily News Journal’s Cecil Joyce and the News Star’s Emely Hernandez broke down the outlook for Conference USA football in 2022.
Below are predicted order of finish, who will win the conference title game and why:
Joyce’s predicted order of finish
1. USTA
2. UAB
3. Western Kentucky
4. MTSU
5. UTEP
6. Florida Atlantic
7. North Texas
8. Charlotte
9. Rice
10. Louisiana Tech
11. Florida International
Hernandez’s predicted order of finish
1. UTSA
2. UAB
3. Western Kentucky
4. North Texas
5. Florida Atlantic
6. UTEP
7. Charlotte
8. MTSU
9. Louisiana Tech
10. Rice
11. Florida International
Championship prediction
Joyce: UTSA 31, UAB 26
Hernandez: UTSA 35, UAB 28
Why USTA?
Hernandez: Behind sixth-year quarterback Frank Harris and third-year head coach Jeff Taylor, the Roadrunners have a well-established culture. Last season, Harris was responsible for 566 rushing yards for six TDs and 3,177 passing yards for 27 TDs to establish eight new UTSA single-season records. Returning to the offensive alongside Harris are handful of wide receivers to facilitate a strong passing core.
Joyce: The Roadrunners lost the league’s top running back in Sincere McCormick but have plenty of weapons back from last year’s 12-2 squad, including all-conference quarterback Frank Harris and his top three receivers in Joshua Cephus, Zakhari Franklin and De’Corian Clark). If UTSA can effectively reboot the defense, another title is well within grasp. With that said, UTSA and UAB are both very good, and you could almost flip a coin…
