An unofficial The American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and Independent football blog
Sun Belt representation finally struck the 2026 NFL Draft in the third round. At pick No. 84, Georgia State wide receiver Ted Hurst landed to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Hurst set a new program record for earliest draft pick in the 16-year history of the program, landing 105 picks before the previous record holder in […]
The first Bearcat is off the board at the 2026 NFL Draft. Cincinnati outside linebacker Jake Golday was selected as the 51st overall pick of the second round by the Minnesota Vikings. The earliest Bearcat chosen since 2022, Golday extends Cincinnati’s streak to 11-straight seasons with an NFL Draft pick. Before starring in the Big […]
College football is four months away and the schedules for most teams are all but set in stone. This year the FCS will again feature some notable non-conference games that will very likely determine the fates of several of its squads when the dust settles. It’s been seen several times before that early-season results can… […]
For the fourth-straight year, the American Conference did not produce a first-round NFL Draft selection. Although that streak remains in tact, the conference remains rich in talent for the six remaining rounds, similar to previous years. In 2025, the American generated six draft picks with East Carolina cornerback Shavon Revel Jr. and Tulane cornerback Caleb […]
For the first time since 2018, a UCF Knight is off the board in the first round of the NFL Draft. With the 23rd pick, the Dallas Cowboys selected UCF defensive end Malachi Lawrence. Lawrence was the fifth Big 12 player and fourth defensive end to hear his name called on the stage in Pittsburgh […]
It’s NFL Draft day. 257 players will watch their NFL dreams come to fruition from Thursday night through Saturday evening in Pittsburgh, PA, forever remembering the moment their name is called on stage. How many of those 257 will hail from the Sun Belt Conference? In 2025, the answer was one — the league’s smallest […]
Last October, a never-before-seen atmosphere was observed at North Texas. For a Friday night contest against a ranked South Florida squad, a record 31,386 spectators flocked into DATCU Stadium to make Denton, TX the capital of the college football universe for one night. A similar atmosphere was potentially on the horizon in 2027 as reigning […]
A canvas and assortment of paintbrushes inhabit Shadre Hurst’s residence. It’s a hobby the offensive guard enjoys when he’s not sealing a defender or dropping back into pass protection. Hurst spent his four previous years of college in New Orleans, and as he shifts westward on the bayou from Tulane to a new setting in […]
The dominoes in college football often fall in peculiar ways, leading to unexpected stories. Such was the case for the ultra talented Steve McNair in 1991. A star in a variety of sports at Mount Olive High School in Mississippi, McNair made himself a sought after recruit in not only the college football ranks but […]
Conference USA is flying under the radar this draft season. It was one of two FBS conferences, along with the two-team Pac-12, to generate zero selections to the 2026 NFL Combine in Indianapolis. And with the transfer portal and conference realignment impacting the conference, the CUSA is witnessing a decline in draft selections. From 2016 […]
The Rice Owls were one of the more recent college football teams to take the field, participating in the Jan. 2 Armed Forces Bowl vs. Texas State. Despite the bitter 41-10 result in Fort Worth, the bowl appearance was a stellar result for Rice in year one of the Scott Abell era. The first-year head […]
When the Rice Owls launched a coaching search in the fall of 2024, one of the objectives of the search involved implementing a unique, signature brand of football in the American Conference. Scott Abell provided that, installing his Rice gun choice scheme — a spread option attack which inflicted plenty of damage for Davidson at […]
Some of the biggest offseason news in the FCS this winter was the sudden… or seemingly sudden… departure of former Montana head coach Bobby Hacuk back in February. Hauck, who had coached the Grizzlies for 18 seasons over two different stints… decided to call it a career, at least in terms of head coaching. A […]
The Houston Cougars are fresh off a breakthrough 10-3 season under Willie Fritz. And when the wins start rolling in, that often correlates with NFL Draft success. Last year, Houston finished without a drafted player for the first time since 2015 (although first round selection Matthew Golden originally attended Houston before transferring to Texas). This […]
The 2026 NFL Draft is just a few weeks away and there will be several hundred players from around the country hoping to get their names called in Pittsburgh. Several of those players will be looking to make the extra big jump from FCS to the pros. Last season the subdivision sent eight of its […]
It is no secret that Georgia is one of football’s hotbeds. From recruiting to storied programs, the state has churned out some of the sport’s most iconic names and teams throughout the years. When you think of Georgia football, though, you almost certainly think of the heavy hitters. Kirby Smart and the Bulldogs. The Yellow […]
There is no position lonelier than a wide receiver in a service academy offense. There are many years in the not too distant past where the leading receiver at Army, Navy, or Air Force fails to attain the 250-yard threshold in an entire season. And then there’s Eli Heidenreich, a born and raised Pittsburgher who […]
An old Conference USA rivalry with plenty of lore and signature moments returns to the light. The “Moonshine Throwdown” was a victim of conference realignment, but the rivalry will now be renewed in a non-conference setting. On Monday, Mar. 30, Marshall and Western Kentucky announced a home-and-home series for 2031 and 2032. The first meeting […]
The rapper Armando Christian Pérez, colloquially known as “Pitbull” once famously uttered the words, “Me not working hard? Yeah right picture that with a Kodak.” And the Kodaks were out in full force last week, as Pitbull’s partnership with Florida International University’s football team was brought into public questioning. On March 25, David Covucci, the […]
The UFL season will get underway on Friday when with eight teams vying for the league’s third-ever championship that will take play in June. The eight squads have compiled their rosters, all of which feature an abundance of former FCS players from around the country. Here’s who will be playing where this Spring: Birmingham Stallions […]
Last year Montana State took home its first FCS national title in over four decades in one of the more dramatic football games you’ll ever see. A gutsy 35-34 overtime victory against Illinois State vaulted the Bobcats to the mountain top and now they enter the 2026 season as the odds on favorites to do […]
The big news of the FCS offseason has been the departure of North Dakota State to the FBS. With the Bison gone, the Missouri Valley Conference title race became the most intriguing one practically overnight. Gone are the days of the green and gold dominating the league and, naturally, the question of who will step […]
It didn’t take long for folks in Prairie View to realize that the Tremaine Jackson hire was a home run for their football team. In fact, it took less than a year. Jackson, who came in after leading Division II’s Valdosta State to the national championship game just one season prior, took a Panthers team […]
The Wolf of Wall Street clip where Leonardo DiCaprio’s character Jordan Belfort announces he is not leaving has become commonplace in the sports world. Travis Kelce used it to confirm his return for the 2025 NFL season. Giannis Antetokounmpo used it last month to affirm is loyalty to the Milwaukee Bucks. And now American Conference […]
On Friday, Mar. 13, the Sun Belt became the penultimate FBS conference to unveil its 2026 football schedule. The 2026 Sun Belt schedule features 14 teams, although one notable change has been made since 2025. Texas State fled to the Pac-12 and that vacancy is to be filled by Louisiana Tech no later than July […]