An unofficial The American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and Independent football blog
There was no question what was going to happen when the ball entered the hands of No. 10 in the blue uniform. It was Quinton Jackson’s day, and nothing was going to stop him. Rice relied on its feature tailback to bring home an upset victory, and he delivered. On the second play of double-overtime, […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
The Memphis Tigers had it all — an undefeated record, the longest win streak in the country, and a clear path to an elusive College Football Playoff appearance. Then, one of the most stunning results of the college football season deterred the Tigers’ trajectory. As 23.5-point favorites, they were upended by UAB on a crunch-time […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
The Houston Cougars’ 2025 season was off to a spectacular start. They generated six victories in their first seven tries, clinching early bowl eligibility en route to their best start since 2021. However, one important box was left unchecked on Houston’s stellar résumé, preventing the Cougars from crashing the rankings for the first time since […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Friday night was one for the history books for North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker. The redshirt freshman already enjoyed a stellar beginning to his first season as a collegiate starter. But Friday night’s 54-20 win over Charlotte rewrote records. Mestemaker fired for a school-record 608 yards and four touchdowns in the dominant road victory, connecting […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
College GameDay is en route to Nashville, TN for a top 15 matchup between College Football Playoff hopefuls Missouri and Vanderbilt. Another top 15 matchup graces the schedule, as Oklahoma and Ole Miss compete in a battle of 6-1 teams vying to qualify for their first-ever SEC Championship Game. And of course, you can’t forget […]
3 months ago | 3 reads
Game notes Setting the scene Before 2023, the Rice Owls and UConn Huskies never met each other on the gridiron. Now the current and the former American Conference members battle in non-conference action for the third-straight October. Both matchups went in the Huskies’ favor as Jim Mora Jr. and Co. generated back-to-back 7-point wins over […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Game notes Setting the scene Memphis and South Florida fans envisioned this as the American Conference’s premier matchup. The College GameDay buses were potentially on their way to Memphis for the first time since 2019 in anticipation of this ranked vs. ranked matchup with conference title and College Football Playoff stakes. What was slated to […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Date: Saturday October 25, 2025 Time: 8:00 PM (ET) TV: ESPN2/ESPNU The Quick Hits One of the biggest games in the FCS is back and, once again, it will have the country as a whole watching. #1 North Dakota State (7-0) rolls into Brookings with a head of steam, having won 11 straight games dating […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Game notes Setting the scene Saturday night introduces a new Big 12 matchup. Three years ago, the Houston Cougars and Arizona State Sun Devils would have been American Conference vs. Pac-12, but the recent transplants now share the same league, and it’s a league in which they’re thriving. Houston is bowl eligible at 6-1, emerging […]
3 months ago | 1 read
The FCS to FBS transition isn’t supposed to be easy. Even in an era where the transfer portal grants these programs additional assistance and resources, many newcomers struggle out of the gate before finding their footing. Not Delaware or Missouri State. Wednesday night Weekday CUSA showcased both of the FBS’s 2025 newcomers on a national […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Game notes Setting the scene Charlotte and North Texas both got the call to transition from Conference USA to the American Conference in 2023. Neither program attained bowl eligibility in years one or two, but there is a vast separation in year three trajectories. North Texas (6-1, 2-1 American) is eyeing a conference title and […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Oct. 21 wasn’t just any Weekday CUSA Tuesday. It was separation Tuesday, pitting hopeful Conference USA contenders against one another to determine what the league pecking order might look like. Games kicked off in Miami, FL and Ruston, LA, but the winners hailed from Kennesaw, GA and Bowling Green, KY in the CUSA double-header: Now […]
3 months ago | 4 reads
It started with Nike and the NBA, then it made its way to the MLB, and now the trend is commencing at the college football ranks — City Edition uniforms. These alternate uniforms don’t traditionally utilize team colors but rather incorporate elements of the city the team plays in. The Tulane Green Wave unveiled their City […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Over the past year, Sacramento State has been anything but bashful about its current place among its FCS peers and it’s perceived place in the FBS for that matter. From boldly laying out plans for a re-imagined venue in the hopes of joining the Pac 12 to applying for the FBS as an independent and […]
3 months ago | 2 reads
We’re in the thick of October, and Weekday CUSA is still going strong. The prior week provided us a masterclass from the nation’s leading rusher Cam Cook, UTEP’s first FBS victory of the year, a down-to-the-wire finish in Lynchburg, and a stunning upset crafted by the FIU Panthers. What Weekday CUSA has truly shown us […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
It’s that week again. The one that most every fan in both of the Dakotas have had circled on their calendars since last year. The one where a large rock means a whole lot more than the two state abbreviations that are etched into its sides. A game that has so often been the deciding factor in championship […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Temple head coach K.C. Keeler built a valuable reputation at the FCS level, claiming national championships at Delaware and Sam Houston prior to their recent promotions to the FBS. He continued to work his magic as Sam Houston made the difficult transition between the subdivisions in 2023. By year, Keeler led the Bearkats to a […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Something special is in the air in Denton, TX. The record crowd of 31,386 in Week 7’s Friday night matchup against ranked South Florida could sense it, and that’s why people are flocking in droves to DATCU Stadium this year to support this program. While an unfortunate string of five turnovers prevented North Texas from […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
The Houston Cougars are off to their best start since 2021, clinching bowl eligibility Saturday after a walk-off 31-28 victory over Arizona. However, Houston will be without one of its starting wide receivers for the remainder of this promising season. Stephon “Boogie” Johnson Jr. confirmed on Instagram that he would miss the remainder of the […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
For most FCS teams there is just one October game left, which is a wild thing to think about. The season is well into its latter half and the Week 8 slate further separated the wills and the will nots for 2025. Although there wasn’t a ton of surprises over the weekend, there were some […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
The SMU Mustangs had never lost a conference matchup since joining the ACC, entering Saturday a spotless 10-0. But the Mustangs weren’t completely spotless against their peers in the new league. On Dec. 7, 2024 SMU competed in the ACC Championship Game, storming back from a 31-14 fourth quarter deficit to knot the game at […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Last Sunday, UAB fired third-year head coach Trent Dilfer after compiling a 9-21 record as the Blazers’ frontman. During his tenure, he never won a single road game and only defeated one opponent that qualified for bowl eligibility. Offensive coordinator Alex Mortensen claimed interim head coach duties, and his job was merely to keep the […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Tulane appeared destined to fall into the service academy trap. In the previous 10 years, there was nothing more dangerous than an American Conference contender running into an option-based service academy. 2015 Memphis, 2016 Houston, 2022 UCF, and 2024 Memphis were all ranked or high-profile teams that watched American title hopes dissipate thanks to losses […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Houston needed a feeling out period to adjust to Big 12 football. The Cougars commenced their tenure in the new conference with back-to-back 4-8 seasons, looking for a spark to reignite the program. With three seconds remaining in a deadlocked 28-28 ballgame, all of the trials and tribulations of acclimating to the Big 12 stood […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Game notes Setting the scene One year ago, Houston and Arizona met on a November Friday night in Tucson as their disappointing seasons neared a conclusion. The Cougars and Wildcats, both in their first two years of Big 12 membership, struggled to acclimate to the league and posted identical 4-8 records. But 2025 is a […]
3 months ago | 0 reads