Underdog Dynasty
An unofficial The American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and Independent football blog
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For the Record: CUSA has a versatile basketball player, return to Coastal, and the last home opener
Conference USA’s game notes this week delivered a basketball-to-football plot twist, a coach returning to the place that made him a star and one team that has yet to see its own home field. Shout out to the SIDs and communications staffs whose tireless work makes this column possible. This one’s for you. 1. Missouri […]
For the Record: Pac-12 has a Rodeo Champion, orange 14-yard lines, and a $100-per-catch pledge
The new Pac-12 has eight football teams, and its game notes already have more range than a Saturday viewing schedule. This week’s reading takes us from a rodeo arena to a stadium tribute to a tight end whose catches carry a little extra weight. Shout out to the SIDs and communications staffs whose tireless work […]
Week 4 in Big 12: Massive one in Morgantown, undefeated ‘Cats clash
We’ve reached Week 4, and so far, we’ve only had two conference matchups in the Big 12. Both delivered. The Arizona-BYU and Houston-Texas Tech matchups were both a tale of two halves, where the road underdog entered the break with a lead before the home favorite turned on the burners to finish. Now, we have […]
McMurphy report: James Madison, Miami (OH), UConn attempt to join American
The American Conference has several suitors for expansion, if the league chooses to go down that road. James Madison, Miami (OH), and UConn each contacted the American about potential membership, per On3 Sports’ Brett McMurphy. However, the league is not interested in expanding at this time, per McMurphy. McMurphy reported James Madison, which has been […]
Happy hour football? Previewing the American’s Friday double-header
Welcome to one of the most interesting Fridays of the college football season. May I interest you in happy hour college football? The five-game Friday slate starts with an American Conference double-header on ESPN, featuring both service academies in conference matchups. At 4 p.m. ET — yes, 4 p.m. ET — Army travels to Philadelphia […]
Liberty rolls Coastal Carolina in second half of Chadwell’s return
A standalone Thursday night college football game was a homecoming for Jamey Chadwell. The fourth-year Liberty coach spent six seasons at Coastal Carolina, including four as the head coach, turning the Chanticleers from a program acclimating to the FBS ranks into a Sun Belt power. He returned to the teal turf of Brooks Stadium for […]
2026 Week 4 Preview: Colorado State Rams @ UTSA Roadrunners
Game notes Setting the scene Last season’s matchup in Fort Collins was a wild one. It was mundane, offensive struggle of game that featured 14 punts… until the final seven minutes of action. Colorado State knotted the score at 10-10 on its first touchdown with 6:19 remaining. UTSA immediate answered with a 74-yard touchdown, and […]
2026 Week 4 Preview: Sam Houston Bearkats @ Texas Tech Red Raiders
Game notes Setting the scene It wasn’t the start to the season Texas Tech envisioned, but when it was time to make a statement, the Red Raiders delivered. Joey McGuire’s team rose to No. 11 in the AP Poll after staving off current No. 25 Houston in a Friday night thriller. Equipped with a 1-0 […]
FCS Week 4 Game of the Week: Montana Grizzlies @ UC Davis Aggies: How to Watch, Preview, Predictions
Date: Saturday, September 26 Time: 10:00 PM (ET) TV: ESPN+ The Quick Hits The Big Sky takes center stage in the FCS this week as #10 UC Davis (3-1) hosts #5 Montana (3-1). It’s a game that, albeit early, will in all likelihood knock someone out of the chase for a conference title already. Both […]
2026 Week 4 Preview: Rice Owls @ Fresno State Bulldogs
Game notes Setting the scene Do you remember where you were on Christmas Eve in 2014? Perhaps the Hawaii Bowl was on a nearby screen, where the Rice Owls handled the Fresno State Bulldogs in 30-6 fashion. That Christmas Eve marked the Rice’s most recent bowl victory and most recent winning season. The Owls are […]
2026 Week 4 Preview: Tulsa Golden Hurricane @ Arkansas Razorbacks
Game notes Setting the scene There are two remaining unbeatens in the American Conference. One is the Tulsa Golden Hurricane, which produced their first 3-0 start since 2008. Tulsa reveled in the national limelight in Week 1, upstaging an Oklahoma State team that took down No. 6 Oregon seven days later. Now the Golden Hurricane […]
For the Record: The American has an octopus, a 58-yard debut, and 3-year quest for one tackle
College football game notes are part scouting report, part record book, and occasionally a portal into a story too good to leave buried on page 36. I went through this week’s available packets from the American Conference, and the best discoveries range from an actual football octopus to a kicker whose first college field goal […]
2026 Week 4 Preview: South Florida Bulls @ Bowling Green Falcons
Game notes Setting the scene Eddie George and Brian Hartline both rose to football fame in the state of Ohio. During illustrious Ohio State careers, George won the Heisman Trophy in 1995, while Hartline won a national championship in 2007. After productive NFL careers, both former Buckeyes traded in the cleats for headsets. Hartline finally […]
2026 Week 4 Preview: Houston Cougars @ Georgia Southern Eagles
Game notes Setting the scene Just because Houston and Georgia Southern have never met before doesn’t mean there is a lack of connections between the programs. Saturday is homecoming for Houston head coach Willie Fritz. After decades of excelling at the JUCO, Division II, and FCS levels, Georgia Southern provided Fritz his first FBS head […]
2026 Week 4 Preview: Missouri State Bears @ SMU Mustangs
Game notes Setting the scene All eyes are on Casey Woods in his homecoming. Woods landed a head coaching position at Missouri State this offseason, and his work at SMU helped get him there. He spent four seasons as the Mustangs’ offensive coordinator under Rhett Lashlee, finishing top-12 nationally in scoring offense three times. “I […]
2026 Week 4 Preview: Delaware Fightin’ Blue Hens @ Virginia Cavaliers
Game notes Setting the scene Under normal traffic conditions, the drive between Newark, DE and Charlottesville, VA can be completed in under four hours. Yet, the two opponents, relatively close in proximity, have never met on the gridiron before. This is only Delaware’s second season as an FBS program, but the Fightin’ Blue Hens have […]
NAU at Montana State: Who Has More to Worry About After Lackluster Week 3?
One of the biggest games in the FCS this weekend takes place in Bozeman on Saturday night with #1 Montana State (4-0) hosting #18 Northern Arizona (3-1). As the heart of Big Sky play gets underway, though, both the Bobcats and Lumberjacks enter this primetime contest in a bit of a odd place. Despite both […]
Three takeaways from Week 3 of American Conference action
We are now roughly a quarter of the way through the 2026 regular season, and teams are beginning to separate. For the American Conference, Week 3 certainly wasn’t the league’s finest Saturday. In nine non-conference matchups against FBS opponents, American teams went 2-7, with both victories coming by one score. Florida Atlantic’s defense repeatedly came […]
Western Michigan takes down Rice, 28-21, in battle of physical ground games
The 2008 Texas Bowl showcased the first and only previous meeting between the Rice Owls and Western Michigan Broncos. There hasn’t been much shared history between the programs, but the two share several characteristics that added intrigue to Saturday night’s tilt at Rice Stadium — ground-based offenses with an affinity for controlling the clock, led […]
Shula Bowl XXIV: FAU defense repeatedly stops FIU in 16-10 win
There’s only one college football rivalry that’s defined by Roman numerals like the Super Bowl. Shula Bowl XXIV kicked off from Boca Raton on Saturday night, pitting together Florida Atlantic and FIU teams that enjoyed strong starts to their 2026 campaign. Both quarterbacks in this matchup — Caden Veltkamp and JJ Kohl — were fresh […]
UCF overcomes Barnett absence, improved Georgia State, 44-30
UCF entered the 2026 campaign fueled by renewed optimism. Head coach Scott Frost returned for his second season, which went swimmingly during his first stint with the program. He returned a bulk of the staff. And the Knights addressed one of their biggest struggles of the 2020s decade, landing an established quarterback in Alonza Barnett […]
SMU drops critical ACC matchup at Louisville, 41-31
One of the most pivotal matchups to the 2026 ACC Championship race was slated as early as Week 3. The SMU Mustangs had full reign over the Louisville Cardinals, winning each of the previous four meetings. But on Saturday in Louisville, the Cardinals made a statement in a matchup between two of the most explosive […]
FCS Week 3 Recap: Unmet Expectations
Week 3 in the FCS was a strange one to say the least. While some results panned out like most thought they might, several more did not. Even some of the heavy favorites that did end up winning did not look at all like themselves while doing so. Mix that in with another healthy amount […]
Texas State outpaces North Texas, 49-35, in shootout with 1,170 combined yards
Texas State and North Texas had only shared the field once as FBS opponents. It was the 2024 First Responder Bowl when the two teams combined for 999 yards in a 30-28 Texas State victory. Two years later, many of the players changed, as did the North Texas coaching staff, but both programs still retained […]
Cincinnati snatches final Victory Bell from Miami (OH), 35-31, in dramatic comeback
Not a living being on Planet Earth remembers the first meeting between Cincinnati and Miami (OH). The rivalry is over three decades older than the NFL. It preceded both World Wars. The Wright Brothers weren’t even in the early stages of constructing their plane when Cincinnati and Miami originated their rivalry in 1888. The two […]
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