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Underdog Dynasty

https://www.underdogdynasty.com/ | 308 entries published

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

Latest Entries

Blake Horvath’s 174 rushing yards, 4 TD keep Navy unbeaten

There are six remaining undefeated teams in the FBS, and one of them resides in Annapolis, MD. The Navy Midshipmen are 7-0 for the fifth time in program history as the 2025 season joins the hallowed ranks of 7-0 starts from years past — 1926, 1934, 1960, and 1978. Navy tied a program record with […]

4 months ago | 0 reads

Houston cracks AP Top 25, earns highest ranking since 2021

For the first time since joining the Big 12, the Houston Cougars are accompanied by a number next to their name. Houston (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) checks in at No. 22 in the AP Poll after a wire-to-wire 24-16 road victory at Arizona State, which held a No. 24 ranking at the time of the […]

4 months ago | 0 reads

SMU drops first-ever ACC game in 13-12 heartbreaker at Wake Forest

SMU’s transition to the ACC had been seamless. The Mustangs jumped from the American Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference without requiring an acclimation period. They rattled off an 8-0 record in year one to qualify for the ACC Championship Game and then started year two 3-0, remaining unblemished against their new conference peers. All […]

4 months ago | 0 reads

FCS Football: The Sunday After – Overreactions to Week 9

October ball has officially come to an end for most everyone now and that means there’s less than a month left before the FCS Playoff Committee comes together to decide who plays on and who doesn’t. Week 9 around the subdivision had some surprises and some very expected results. With just four weeks of regular […]

4 months ago | 0 reads

Memphis shows resolve, stuns South Florida 34-31

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 […]

4 months ago | 0 reads

Houston fends off Arizona State 24-16 for ranked road win

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 […]

4 months ago | 0 reads

Drew Mestemaker delivers historic 608 yards in 54-20 win over Charlotte

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 […]

4 months ago | 0 reads

2025 Week 9 Preview: UConn Huskies @ Rice Owls

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 […]

4 months ago | 1 read

2025 Week 9 Preview: South Florida Bulls @ Memphis Tigers

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 […]

4 months ago | 0 reads

2025 Week 9 Preview: Houston Cougars @ Arizona State Sun Devils

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 […]

4 months ago | 3 reads

Wednesday CUSA Roundup: Delaware and Missouri State both above .500

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 […]

4 months ago | 1 read

2025 Week 9 Preview: North Texas Mean Green @ Charlotte 49ers

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 […]

4 months ago | 2 reads

Tuesday CUSA Roundup: Kennesaw State rolls, WKU bowls

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 […]

4 months ago | 5 reads

Tulane unveils new unique City Edition uniforms

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 […]

4 months ago | 2 reads

Sac State Gets its “Prove It” Chance vs. Montana on National TV

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 […]

4 months ago | 5 reads

Weekday CUSA Previews: 2025 Week 9

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 […]

4 months ago | 1 read

The Ins and Outs of the 2025 Dakota Marker

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 […]

NFL

5 months ago | 2 reads

Temple blows past Charlotte 49-14, claims winningest season in six years

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 […]

5 months ago | 1 read

North Texas gets back on track, eviscerates UTSA 55-17

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 […]

5 months ago | 2 reads

Houston WR Stephon Johnson Jr. confirms he is out for season

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 […]

5 months ago | 2 reads

FCS Football: The Sunday After – Overreactions to Week 8

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 […]

5 months ago | 3 reads

SMU exacts revenge on Clemson 35-24, remains perfect in ACC play

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 […]

5 months ago | 1 read