An unofficial The American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and Independent football blog
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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. […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
Only two FBS head coaching vacancies remain as of the evening of Thursday, Dec. 11 — Michigan and Washington State. Coastal Carolina filled its opening Thursday by hiring Missouri State head coach Ryan Beard. Beard facilitated the Bears’ transition from the FCS to the FBS and posted a 7-5 record in the program’s debut season, […]
Date: Friday December 12, 2025 Time: 9:00 PM (ET) TV: ESPN The Quick Hits For the first time since 2009, Stephen F. Austin (11-2) finds itself in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs. A hard-fought win over Abilene Christian last week sends the Southland champion Lumberjacks up north for a date with Montana State on […]
Last Friday night presented an American Conference Championship Game matchup for the ages. For the first time since the advent of the league’s title game in 2025, it was win-and-in for the College Football Playoff. Both Tulane and North Texas received the chance to lock up a bid Friday in New Orleans, and the Green […]
The South Florida Bulls are closing in on their most successful season since 2017. USF controlled its own destiny for the College Football Playoff in the final month of the regular season, but a Nov. 15 at the hands of Navy prevented the Bulls from a path to the American Conference Championship Game. Still, it […]
Few teams have experienced a quicker rise to Division I success than Tarleton State. The Texans, once a notable force at the Division II level, made the jump to FCS back in 2020 and since then thing have really only trended skyward for the program. Last season Tarleton qualified for the playoffs in the first […]
Rice strolled off the field at Raymond James Stadium on the Saturday after Thanksgiving to wrap up an emotional night. The Owls were far from satisfied from their performance, getting decimated 52-3 by South Florida, as many of the 39 seniors honored one week prior at Rice Stadium completed their final college football game. Entering […]