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Underdog Dynasty

An unofficial The American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and Independent football blog

Latest Entries

Four Games that will Decide the Missouri Valley in 2026

The big news of the FCS offseason has been the departure of North Dakota State to the FBS. With the Bison gone, the Missouri Valley Conference title race became the most intriguing one practically overnight. Gone are the days of the green and gold dominating the league and, naturally, the question of who will step […]

Prairie View A&M Looks to Build on Terrific 2025 Season

It didn’t take long for folks in Prairie View to realize that the Tremaine Jackson hire was a home run for their football team. In fact, it took less than a year. Jackson, who came in after leading Division II’s Valdosta State to the national championship game just one season prior, took a Panthers team […]

Tim Pernetti remains American commissioner after NFLPA interest

The Wolf of Wall Street clip where Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Jordan Belfort announces he is not leaving has become commonplace in the sports world. Travis Kelce used it to confirm his return for the 2025 NFL season. Giannis Antetokounmpo used it last month to affirm is loyalty to the Milwaukee Bucks. And now American Conference […]

Sun Belt 2026 schedule release: Dates, notes, and trivia

On Friday, Mar. 13, the Sun Belt became the penultimate FBS conference to unveil its 2026 football schedule. The 2026 Sun Belt schedule features 14 teams, although one notable change has been made since 2025. Texas State fled to the Pac-12 and that vacancy is to be filled by Louisiana Tech no later than July […]

FCS Throwbacks: Kupp Leads EWU in Gallant Effort vs. Oregon

There aren’t many people out there these days who don’t know about Cooper Kupp. The Los Angeles Rams star turned Seattle Seahawk in a two-time Super Bowl champion and just wrapped up his ninth season in what has been an illustrious NFL career. He has made himself a household name for those who are any […]

CUSA and Sun Belt begin custody battle over Louisiana Tech

The Louisiana Tech Bulldogs are currently scheduled to play 20 American football games next year from Sept. 5 through Nov. 28. Twenty. This won’t be the case when schedules are finalized, but Louisiana Tech finds itself in a heated custody battle between the Conference USA and Sun Belt. The Bulldogs have belonged to the CUSA […]

Jacksonville State and North Dakota State to play Week 0 matchup

As recently as 2022, Jacksonville State and North Dakota State were members of the FCS. In 2026, the recent FBS additions will open against each other in a Week 0 showdown. The non-conference matchup between the rising Conference USA power and the former FCS dynasty-turned Mountain West member is slated for Saturday, Aug. 26, 2026 […]

UTEP 2026 inaugural Mountain West schedule unveiled

The UTEP Miners are currently the longest tenured member of Conference USA, playing 25-straight seasons in the league from 2005 through 2025. However, those two decades of stability are finally exchanged for a new horizon on July 1, 2026 when UTEP joins the Mountain West Conference. UTEP is one of three new entrants to the […]

The Ten Most Likely FCS-over-FBS Upsets of 2026

FCS teams will play their FBS counterparts a whopping 125 times this fall and, as always, several of the subdivision’s teams could have their big brothers on the ropes. Several of the top tier teams hit the road early this year to take a swing at the big boys who are paying them handsomely to […]

2026 NFL Combine: American Conference results

Four American Conference players received invites to the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine in Indianapolis. The Combine is now officially wrapped up, as drills were completed at Lucas Oil Stadium from Feb. 26 through Mar. 1. With Memphis, Navy, and UTSA as the represented programs, here’s a rundown of how four 2026 NFL Draft hopefuls performed […]

NFL

What Will an NDSU-less FCS Look Like?

The sun is dawning on a new era in the FCS, one that will look drastically different simply because one team will no longer be around. At long last, after years of clamoring from every fanbase (even their own) to leave, it has finally happened. North Dakota State is gone. The Bison are on the […]

Memphis offseason rundown: Who’s back, who’s gone, and what’s next?

The Memphis Tigers know stability. The streak now stands at 12-straight seasons finishing .500+. Ten of those seasons featured at least 8 wins. Five of those seasons featured at least 10 wins. And although Memphis still awaits its first conference championship since 2019, the Tigers are always guaranteed to be in the conversation. But during […]

SMU’s eventful February: Jerryworld, coaching changes, Combine

February is one of the slowest times of the college football calendar. Sure there are schedule releases, but it’s the month devoid of games, spring football, fall camp, NFL Combine or Draft activities, and it’s roughly six to seven months from the next kickoff. But February 2026 has been quite an eventful time to be […]

Breaking down Texas State’s inaugural Pac-12 schedule

The Pac-12 has now expanded as far eastward as San Marcos, TX. The conference resurrected from the makeshift 2-team Oregon State/Washington State pairing to a full 8-team league for the 2026 season, restoring the FBS to 10 complete conferences. The eighth and final member to meet the 8-team minimum the league needed was Texas State, […]

Four American Conference players receive 2026 NFL Combine invites

The National Championship is in the books. Super Bowl LX is cemented in history. Now it’s time for college football and the NFL to merge over the next several months as draft preparation enters full swing. Earlier this week, the NFL released a list of 319 draft hopefuls invited to the 2026 NFL Scouting Combine. […]

South Florida 2026 transfer portal: Top gains/losses

A coaching change in the modern era of college football essentially guarantees a hard reset of the roster. The South Florida Bulls recently manufactured their best season since 2017, finishing 9-4 and lingering in the rankings throughout the year. However, the success came with a cost as third-year head coach Alex Golesh was hired away […]

12 Former FCS Players to Play in Super Bowl LX

The big game is just four days away and, as the Seahawks and Patriots get set to do battle in the 60th edition of the Super Bowl, several schools from across college football at all levels will be represented in Santa Clara this weekend. Of that vast spread, the FCS (and specifically the Big Sky […]

Analyzing East Carolina’s 2026 transfer portal gains/losses

The East Carolina Pirates are fresh off one of their best stretches in recent memory, faring 14-5 since promoting Blake Harrell to head coach in October 2024. Over that span, ECU has claimed two Military Bowl victories over ACC opponents, downing rival NC State in a 2024 thriller and defending its crown as heavy underdogs […]

James’ Return to ISU Could Open New Approach to Portal for FCS Teams

It’s not very often that a former FCS star comes back to the program he originally called home after leaving for the next level. On Saturday, though, it happened for Idaho State and standout receiver Chedon James. James, who left the Bengals after the 2023 season, is now officially back in Pocatello after trying his […]

Three FCS Standouts to Play in 2026 Senior Bowl

With the East-West Shrine Bowl in the books, NFL scouts will now turn their attention to the biggest senior showcase game of the offseason this weekend in Mobile with the Senior Bowl. This year the FCS will only have three players represented in the contest but they are arguably three of the classification’s best. Here’s […]

More FCS Quarterbacks are Staying Put and Passing on the FBS

One of the biggest issues FCS football faces today is the constant allure the next level has to its best and brightest stars. The transfer portal and NIL has only exacerbated that ongoing enticement and it’s made it extremely difficult for many programs to remain competitive on a yearly basis. Every year when the season […]

SMU Mustangs 2026 schedule release, notes, and trivia

The SMU Mustangs are ready for year three of ACC membership. The first two years went swimmingly, as the Mustangs compiled a 14-2 conference record — better than all other 16 teams in the ACC over that timespan. They qualified for the 2024 ACC Championship Game, the 2024 College Football Playoff, and were less than […]

NFL

Five Former FCS Players to Partake in 2026 East-West Shrine Bowl

The college football season may be over for most, but it isn’t for a select group of players hoping to take their game to the next level. It’s now officially showcase season with a handful of all-star games slated to take place over the next few weeks leading into the NFL Scouting Combine. One of […]