Underdog Dynasty
An unofficial The American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and Independent football blog
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Jax State makes late FG, FIU misses in 27-24 Weekday CUSA thriller
Garrison Rippa has become a Weekday CUSA legend. Last week against Kennesaw State, the redshirt junior kicker sunk a go-ahead 33-yard field goal with 52 seconds remaining to allow Jacksonville State to prevail in a CUSA Championship Game rematch. Once again, Rippa was called to the stage to deliver the closing duties, and he delivered. […]
2026 Week 7 Preview: Virginia Cavaliers @ SMU Mustangs
Game notes Setting the scene SMU (4-1, 2-1 ACC) returns from its bye week, still supplemented with a No. 24 ranking beside its name. The Mustangs already dropped a conference matchup — just their third since joining the ACC in 2024 — but that doesn’t necessarily put them behind in the standings. All 17 ACC […]
Predicting the FCS Playoffs: October Edition
The 2026 FCS season is already half over, or at least the regular season is. As October nears its midway point, the playoff typically gets clearer. While it has in some ways this year, it has also gotten more muddy in some aspects also. Chaos has not been at a premium in the subdivision this […]
2026 Week 7 Preview: East Carolina Pirates @ UAB Blazers
Game notes Setting the scene East Carolina and UAB have shared the American Conference for each of the last four seasons. Somehow, this is the first meeting between the programs since 2013. They met regularly in the late 2000s and early 2010s in Conference USA, and ECU dominated the series. The Pirates have won seven […]
Weekday CUSA Previews: 2026 Week 7
We’re in our third week of Weekday CUSA, and we’ve finally made it to Tuesday nights. Last week, Weekday CUSA presented a Wednesday night thriller between Jacksonville State and Kennesaw State in a 2025 Conference USA title game rematch, but the other three matchups featured lopsided finishes. On paper, several thrillers could be on the […]
Coastal Carolina unveils colorful 90s-themed jerseys for Week 7 Friday matchup
Coastal Carolina is known for being unique in the college football landscape as the only FBS program that incorporates teal into its color scheme. But the Chanticleers are taking their uniqueness to another level with their Week 7 uniforms. Coastal Carolina unveiled colorful 90s-themed jerseys for its upcoming Friday night home matchup against Appalachian State. […]
Mud slides, rivalries, and wild finishes: Reviewing Week 6 in the Sun Belt
Week 6 was the Sun Belt’s most dramatic week yet. The chaos started well before Saturday, as the league had two nationally televised weeknight showcases. On Tuesday, Troy’s offense exploded for 55 points on Southern Miss, scoring its most against FBS competition since 2019 behind Goose Crowder’s career day. Then on Thursday, South Alabama outpaced […]
James Madison admitted to American Conference
The college football ecosystem was stable for once, with no pending conference realignment moves from July 1 through October 11. That changed October 12. The James Madison Dukes applied to and were accepted as a member of the American Conference. They will join the league no later than July 1, 2028. The American Conference Board […]
Takeaways from Week 6’s Weekday CUSA matchups
This year, we get 61 consecutive days of FBS or NFL football from Oct. 1 through Nov. 30, and Weekday CUSA is largely to thank for it. Conference USA is in its fourth season of showcasing weekday games, and Week 6 featured the first 4-game Weekday CUSA slate of 2026: Wednesday, October 7 Thursday, October […]
Gutierrez leads Navy to 20 unanswered to take down Tulsa, 34-26
In 2024 and 2025, the Navy Midshipmen posted an aggregate record of 21-5. But the 2026 trajectory was shitfing in the opposite trajectory. Navy found itself in Annapolis trailing 26-14 in the middle of the third quarter, staring down its fourth consecutive loss and third-straight conference defeat. Jackson Gutierrez was not going to let that […]
FCS Week 6 Recap: More Upheaval
As the season hits its midpoint, the postseason picture is as crowded and unclear as its ever been. It was another week of upsets, unexpected results and all around craziness in the FCS. A lot of the top dogs didn’t play in Week 6 but for the ones that did it didn’t necessarily go well. […]
Oklahoma State pulls ahead in fourth quarter, defeats UCF 42-28
Oklahoma State had defeated 14 of the other 15 Big 12 teams at one point in its history. But there was one team that was consistently a thorn in the Cowboys’ side over the past several years — the UCF Knights. UCF defeated Oklahoma State in Orlando last November on a game-winning field goal. Even […]
Memphis dominates UAB in second half, reclaims The Bones
Teams bring out their best when a 94-pound bronze rack of barbecue ribs is on the line. The Battle for the Bones features one of the most unique rivalry trophies in college football, and it’s one that was in UAB’s possession prior to Saturday. In Alex Mortensen’s first game as an interim coach, the Blazers […]
ECU turns on burners in second half, handles Rice 28-12
The East Carolina Pirates were in search of an offensive spark. Down every offensive starter from 2025 and their coordinator, the Pirates struggled moving the ball during the first three weeks of the season. In Week 4 against FCS competition, ECU made a change at quarterback to Emory Williams which sparked the unit. And the […]
Hellums’ 223 rush yards, Jones’ FG lift Army past Tulane, 20-17
Army and one-score games. The two are an inseparable pair. Prior to Saturday, nine of the Black Knights’ last 10 FBS matchups were decided by one-score and eight of the last nine were decided by four points or fewer. Thus, Saturday’s matchup against Tulane was going to come down to which team could execute in […]
Overmyer’s 4 TD ties FBS record; Houston makes 35-16 statement at Kansas State
Last time Houston rolled into in Manhattan, KS in 2023, it returned home with a 41-0 loss. Saturday was the ultimate measure of how much this program has grown in three years. Houston didn’t simply roll into the Little Apple and escape with a win. The Cougars steamrolled Kansas State from start to finish, ransacking […]
2026 Week 6 Preview: Tulane Green Wave @ Army Black Knights
Game notes Setting the scene Even before sharing the American Conference, Army and Tulane were famliar opponents, squaring off 19 times from 1996 through 2020. The Black Knights then joined the American in 2024 and instantly ran the league, rattling off an 8-0 conference record before handling Tulane in the conference championship game. That was […]
South Alabama is unstoppable on Thursdays in the Applewhite era
If South Alabama is playing on a Thursday night, the scoreboard operator becomes the busiest person in the building. South Alabama (4-2, 2-0 Sun Belt) continued its stellar start to the 2026 campaign, toppling Arkansas State 56-49 in the highest-scoring game of the season. The 105 combined points were also the most in an FBS […]
2026 Week 6 Preview: UCF Knights @ Oklahoma State Cowboys
Game notes Setting the scene There is just one Big 12 opponent Oklahoma State has never defeated before. UCF is still searching for its first winning season as a Big 12 member, but the Knights have thrived against Oklahoma State since joining the league. In 2023, UCF decimated a Big 12 Championship-bound Cowboys team 42-3 […]
Peterson’s hat trick lifts UTSA past South Florida 31-24 in Thursday night thriller
The UTSA Roadrunners win in the Alamodome. It’s just a fact of life. Head coach Jeff Traylor entered Thursday night’s marquee matchup in the American Conference with a 25-1 record against conference opponents in the Alamodome. But his Roadrunners found themselves in unfamiliar territory against South Florida: trailing in the fourth quarter in their beloved […]
FCS Week 6 Game of the Week: Tarleton State Texans @ Austin Peay Governors: How to Watch, Preview, Predictions
Date: Saturday, October 10 Time: 7:00 PM (ET) TV: ESPN+ The Quick Hits The UAC championship may very well come down to what happens on Saturday evening in Clarksville, Tennessee. #9 Austin Peay hosts #3 Tarleton State in a contest that, although it falls in the middle of the season, is one that will have […]
For the Record: The American has a 100-lb rib trophy, a one-tackle mission, and a family reunion in the secondary
College football will find a reason to put just about anything on a trophy. A bell. An axe. A bucket. The American has a nearly 100-pound bronze rack of ribs. Which feels appropriate for a conference whose Week 6 game notes also include a linebacker barbecue, two sets of brothers in the same secondary and […]
For the Record: The Sun Belt has unfinished business, a championship reunion, and 39 letters of trouble
The Sun Belt has reached the part of the season where the calendar starts getting creative. Tuesday football. Thursday football. Saturday football with enough history attached to require its own luggage. This week, Louisiana Tech and Louisiana are renewing a rivalry that has been sitting on the shelf since 2015. App State is welcoming back […]
2026 Week 6 Preview: Rice Owls @ East Carolina Pirates
Game notes Setting the scene 2026 marks the 13th year Rice and East Carolina have shared a conference together. Yet, this is only the programs’ sixth matchup and second meeting since 2010. Rice and ECU don’t share too much history, and the Owls haven’t made the trek to Greenville since 2009 — the year the Pirates […]
2026 Week 6 Battle for the Bones Preview: UAB Blazers @ Memphis Tigers
Game notes Setting the scene There are rivalry trophies, and then there is a 94-pound rack of ribs. The bronze trophy, introduced in 2006, is a nod to the barbecue reputations of Memphis and Birmingham, birthing the name “Battle for the Bones” to the rivalry. The trophy resurfaced earlier this decade after Memphis and UAB […]
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