An unofficial The American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and Independent football blog
For the first time in the month of December, The Grove was open for business. A record 68,251 patrons funneled from the iconic tailgate scene to Vaught-Hemingway Stadium, exchanging their red solo cups and barbecue for Santa hats and pom-poms at the site of the first College Football Playoff game in Ole Miss history. Oxford, […]
about 2 months ago | 0 reads
A treasure chest was on the line in Tampa, FL for the 2025 Gasparilla Bowl, and NC State plundered and pillaged its way to gold during the hunt. The Wolfpack seamlessly dominated Memphis 31-7 for the coveted postseason win, handing the Tigers’ their fourth-straight loss to end the year. Bowl streaks were snapped on both […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
It was an early wakeup call Friday morning, as Kennesaw State and Western Michigan were slated for an 11 a.m. ET kickoff at the sixth-annual Myrtle Beach Bowl — the earliest kickoff of the 2025 college football season. Western Michigan arrived to the teal “Surf Turf” of Brooks Stadium ready to seize the day, but […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Date: Saturday December 20, 2025 Time: 4:00 PM (ET) TV: ABC The Quick Hits After over a century and a quarter of playing football together, Montana and Montana State will at long last meet in the FCS playoffs and the stakes couldn’t get much higher as the two rivals will clash in the semifinals. These […]
about 2 months ago | 3 reads
Game notes Setting the scene It’s the unlikely pairing of the Ducks and Dukes. Two programs located 2,800 miles apart on opposite sides of the country are now associated with one another for a College Football Playoff matchup. The Oregon Ducks are still vying for that elusive first national championship, but the team is familiar […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Arkansas State unlocked a significant achievement Thursday night in Frisco, TX. The Red Wolves emerged victorious in the inaugural Xbox Bowl, taking down first-year FBS program Missouri State 34-28 in the first college football game played at the Ford Center inside The Star — the practice facility of the Dallas Cowboys. Immediately after Master Chief […]
about 2 months ago | 4 reads
On the day of Missouri State’s first-ever bowl game, the Bears landed their head coach for the future. SMU offensive coordinator Casey Woods was named head coach at Missouri State per multiple reports. Per ESPN’s Pete Thamel, Missouri State is finalizing a 5-year deal with Woods, who is expected to officially be announced head coach […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
The Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens, in their first year in the FBS, are already bowl champions. Delaware won the 2025 68 Ventures Bowl with a dramatic 20-13 victory over the Louisiana Ragin Cajuns, securing a monumental win for the program in Mobile, AL. The Blue Hens controlled the game early by intercepting Louisiana in the […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
Date: Saturday December 20, 2025 Time: 7:30 PM (ET) TV: ESPN2 The Quick Hits To call this semifinal a matchup of Cinderellas might be an understatement. Unseeded Illinois State takes on 12-seed Villanova in the culminations of two of the more miraculous runs the FCS playoffs have seen in quite some time. The Redbirds have […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Game notes Setting the scene So we meet again, except this time, it’s in the College Football Playoff. Ole Miss and Tulane squared off in Oxford, MS on Sept. 20, and the Rebels rolled the Green Wave in 45-10 fashion to pick up a signature non-conference win. What neither sideline understood at the time was […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
The Old Dominion Monarchs fully joined the FBS in 2014 and rapidly acclimated to the highest level of college football, producing a 10-3 record in 2016. However, through the 2024 season, that was the only winning season Old Dominion ever produced. That changed in 2025, and the program reached a new pinnacle on Wednesday night […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Bowl Season resumes Wednesday night, featuring the second of five matchups between the Sun Belt and Conference USA. The 2025 68 Ventures Bowl in Mobile, AL houses the first-ever meeting between the Louisiana Ragin’ Cajuns and Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens. The matchup between 6-6 opponents fighting for a winning season kicks off at 8:30 p.m. […]
about 2 months ago | 3 reads
It is well chronicled how intense and deeply personal the “Brawl of the Wild” rivalry between Montana and Montana State is. The top rivalry in the FCS is also arguably one of the greatest rivalries in all of college football as whole. A series that dates all the way back to the late 1800s has […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
Game notes Setting the scene Two of college football’s more under-the-radar stable programs meet for the first time ever in Tampa. NC State is bowling for the 13th time in 16 seasons. The Wolfpack receive an opportunity to claim an 8-win season for the seventh time in the last nine years under head coach Dave […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Game notes Setting the scene Achievement unlocked — new bowl game created. The Xbox Bowl debuts in Frisco, TX on Thursday night, serving as the effective replacement of the former Bahamas Bowl, which although fun for fans and viewers, was a logistical planning nightmare for ESPN Events. With Toyota Stadium under construction, this new bowl […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
The Jacksonville State Gamecocks won a second bowl game in their young FBS tenure as they overcome the Troy Trojans 17-13 in the IS4S Salute to Veterans Bowl at Cramton Stadium in Montgomery, Alabama. The game got going early with Jax State finding the end zone on their first possession, as Caden Creel found Brock […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Last Saturday head coach Mark Ferrante fought back tears in his on-field postgame interview after his Villanova team pulled off a 26-21 upset over #4 Tarleton State. The Wildcats needed a rally after falling behind 14-0 early but, after overcoming some early mistakes and weathering the storm, ’Nova prevailed. That win was the second of […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Game notes Setting the scene There is no history that connects South Florida and Old Dominion. But the two share one commonality — both teams’ last bowl games were extremely chaotic “you had to be there” moments, where any viewers knew their exact location watching the events unfold. Old Dominion squandered a 28-0 lead in […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Date: Tuesday December 16, 2025 Time: 8:00 p.m. CT TV: ESPN COACHES Charles Kelly has the Gamecocks sitting at 8-5 in his first season at Jacksonville State, falling to Kennesaw State in the Conference USA Championship 19-15. His squad will face Gerad Parker and the Troy Trojans, who are also 8-5 after dropping the Sun […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Conference USA was well represented on the 2025 Associated Press All-American teams, generating three selections from three of the 12 member schools. Louisiana Tech strong safety Jakari Foster and Western Kentucky punter Cole Maynard earned AP First Team All-American honors, while Jacksonville State running back Cam Cook warranted a nod as an AP Third Team […]
about 2 months ago | 3 reads
Only one player from the American Conference earned 2025 All-American honors from the Associated Press, and that’s No. 96 on the Navy Midshipmen. Defensive tackle Landon Robinson warranted a spot on the First Team as one of the best defensive players in the country. Robinson is no stranger to appearing as a First Team All-American, […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
The FCS playoffs are down to its final four and, once again, things did not necessarily go how many people thought they might. While the Montana schools held serve at home and handled business, the other side of the bracket continued to spring chaos. Those two road teams won and advanced, making for a semifinal […]
about 2 months ago | 3 reads
The afternoon of the second Saturday of December is reserved for a historic rivalry. Army spends its entire season preparing to beat Navy, and Navy spend its entire season preparing to beat Army. But only one of those goals can be accomplished in each calendar year. The stage was set in Baltimore, MD with over […]
about 2 months ago | 3 reads
The old adage says, “It’s hard to beat a team twice,” and so far, that statement is holding up this year. There have been seven FBS rematches — including six on conference championship weekend — and the team that lost the first meeting won the rematch five times. We saw Virginia destroy Duke in mid-November, […]
about 2 months ago | 4 reads
Game notes Army-Navy is beyond a football game. It’s a lifestyle. One Saturday afternoon is reserved every season for the two arch rivals, more associated with one another than any rivalry in college football. If you win the Army-Navy Game, your season is defined by it. If you don’t win, it’s a stain on your […]
about 2 months ago | 3 reads