Conference USA Releases 2026 Schedule With Missouri State In Second FBS Season
Missouri State's second FBS season opens Sept. 5 at Texas A&M, with Conference USA's 2026 schedule built around midweek games and a Dec. 4 title game on CBS Sports Network.
Conference USA released its full 2026 football schedule on March 12, dropping Missouri State into a second FBS campaign that opens with a road trip to College Station and closes with a conference slate packed with midweek kickoffs.
The Bears, in just their second season competing at the FBS level inside Conference USA, will open Week 1 on Sept. 5 at Texas A&M, the marquee nonconference date on their calendar. A week later, Missouri State returns home to host Lindenwood, an FCS program, on Sept. 12. That home date in the program's sophomore FBS season signals the Bears are still building out their nonconference portfolio while navigating a full league slate.
Conference play arrives in earnest in Week 6, when Missouri State hosts Delaware on a Wednesday, Oct. 10. The midweek scheduling continues the following week with a road trip to Louisiana Tech on Wednesday, Oct. 17, though that game carries a significant asterisk. The 2026 schedule still lists Louisiana Tech as a Conference USA member, but that inclusion could change depending on the outcome of ongoing legal negotiations. A comparable scenario played out in 2022, when CUSA initially released a schedule featuring Marshall, Old Dominion, and Southern Miss, only to later revise it once their departures were finalized.
The pattern of weeknight games continues with a Tuesday home contest against Sam Houston on Oct. 24, followed by a Wednesday road game at Jacksonville State on Oct. 31. Missouri State then takes its second bye of the season in Week 10 before returning Nov. 14 to host New Mexico State.
Missouri State is one of 10 confirmed returning CUSA members for 2026, joined by Delaware, FIU, Jacksonville State, Kennesaw State, Liberty, Middle Tennessee, New Mexico State, Sam Houston, and WKU. Louisiana Tech remains listed on the released schedule pending the resolution of its legal situation.
The league's marquee nonconference slate reflects the conference's ongoing push for national visibility. Beyond Missouri State at Texas A&M, the schedule includes Kennesaw State at Tennessee, New Mexico State at Florida State, Sam Houston at Texas Tech, WKU at Georgia, and Louisiana Tech at LSU, assuming that program's status is resolved.
The 2026 Conference USA Championship Game is set for Friday, Dec. 4, and will air on CBS Sports Network. Conference USA noted that the full television schedule for the 2026 season will be announced later this spring, and that all game dates remain subject to change. For Missouri State, the more pressing question before kickoff is whether that Oct. 17 date in Ruston stays on the board.
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