An unofficial The American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and Independent football blog
Jacksonville State won the conference crown last December, sitting atop Conference USA in its second year of FBS membership. The Gamecocks lost head coach Rich Rodriguez and nearly their entire starting lineup, but with Charles Kelly at the helm with a horde of newcomers, the program’s winning tradition remains alive. Jacksonville State improved to 4-0 […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
One of the highest profile FCS coaching hires went down in Norfolk over the offseason as the Spartans brought in Michael Vick to turn their fortunes around. While that acquisition drew much of the attention over the last several months, though, it seems as though the other big coaching change in the MEAC… the one […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Game notes Setting the scene This Halloween, make sure to stop by Historic Rice Stadium if you want a great treat. The No. 25 Memphis Tigers (7-1, 3-1 American) stroll into town, reclaiming a spot back in the College Football Playoff race after an inspiring comeback to knock off South Florida. Memphis eyes its first […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Game notes Setting the scene The UTSA Roadrunners have never lost a home conference game under head coach Jeff Traylor. UTSA is 21-0 in the confines of the Alamodome against league peers in the 2020s and 23-0 if you count its 2021 and 2022 Conference USA Championship Games played in the venue. Defending that perfect […]
3 months ago | 2 reads
Oct. 28 marked the final Tuesday night showcase for “Fun Belt” and “Weekday CUSA” before Midweek MACtion takes over November weeknights. Both the Sun Belt and Conference USA had its top contenders — by overall and conference record — competing in the midweek slate. James Madison traveled to San Marcos for a Sun Belt showdown […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Weekday CUSA, you served us well. You kept college football afloat on Tuesdays and Wednesdays (and even some Thursdays and Fridays) throughout the month of October, showcasing 12 teams in the spotlight that may not have reveled as much in the spotlight otherwise. We were treated to overtime thrillers between WKU vs. Louisiana Tech and […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Tragic news struck the Houston Cougars football program Saturday morning as strength and conditioning coach Kurt Hester passed away at age 61. “Kurt Hester was an unbelievably important person in our football program, and I’ve been with him for a while,” Houston head coach Willie Fritz said. “He’s the best strength and conditioning coach I’ve […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Sometimes it takes years to establish a winning culture and identity. But with the right coaching hire, those aspirations can come to fruition immediately. The Temple Owls were cycling through endless 3-9 seasons, repeating the same record in 2021, 2022, 2023, and 2024 without an end in sight. This offseason, Temple hired known program-builder K.C. […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
There were five games in the Sun Belt Conference over the weekend as 10 of the teams battled against each other as the season rapidly approaches its final month of the regular season. It all started on Thursday night when South Alabama defeated Georgia State in Atlanta 38-31 as the Panthers scored 14 points in […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
The Week 10 AP Poll was issued Sunday afternoon, and a familiar face reappeared. The Memphis Tigers (7-1, 3-1 American) secured the final spot at No. 25, reemerging in the rankings after a one-week checkout. Just seven days after a stunning loss to UAB as 23.5-point favorites, Memphis rebounded with a statement victory, storming back […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
To the outside viewer, Saturday’s Patriot League contest between Lehigh and Fordham may not have been much to watch. The Mountain Hawks kept on rolling through their undefeated season, easily dispatching the Rams 27-6. Fordham is now 1-7 and has no hope of reaching the playoffs this year. All of that, though, can take a […]
3 months ago | 1 read
There are six remaining undefeated teams in the FBS, and one of them resides in Annapolis, MD. The Navy Midshipmen are 7-0 for the fifth time in program history as the 2025 season joins the hallowed ranks of 7-0 starts from years past — 1926, 1934, 1960, and 1978. Navy tied a program record with […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
For the first time since joining the Big 12, the Houston Cougars are accompanied by a number next to their name. Houston (7-1, 4-1 Big 12) checks in at No. 22 in the AP Poll after a wire-to-wire 24-16 road victory at Arizona State, which held a No. 24 ranking at the time of the […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
SMU’s transition to the ACC had been seamless. The Mustangs jumped from the American Conference to the Atlantic Coast Conference without requiring an acclimation period. They rattled off an 8-0 record in year one to qualify for the ACC Championship Game and then started year two 3-0, remaining unblemished against their new conference peers. All […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
October ball has officially come to an end for most everyone now and that means there’s less than a month left before the FCS Playoff Committee comes together to decide who plays on and who doesn’t. Week 9 around the subdivision had some surprises and some very expected results. With just four weeks of regular […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
There was no question what was going to happen when the ball entered the hands of No. 10 in the blue uniform. It was Quinton Jackson’s day, and nothing was going to stop him. Rice relied on its feature tailback to bring home an upset victory, and he delivered. On the second play of double-overtime, […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
The Memphis Tigers had it all — an undefeated record, the longest win streak in the country, and a clear path to an elusive College Football Playoff appearance. Then, one of the most stunning results of the college football season deterred the Tigers’ trajectory. As 23.5-point favorites, they were upended by UAB on a crunch-time […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
The Houston Cougars’ 2025 season was off to a spectacular start. They generated six victories in their first seven tries, clinching early bowl eligibility en route to their best start since 2021. However, one important box was left unchecked on Houston’s stellar résumé, preventing the Cougars from crashing the rankings for the first time since […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Friday night was one for the history books for North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker. The redshirt freshman already enjoyed a stellar beginning to his first season as a collegiate starter. But Friday night’s 54-20 win over Charlotte rewrote records. Mestemaker fired for a school-record 608 yards and four touchdowns in the dominant road victory, connecting […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
College GameDay is en route to Nashville, TN for a top 15 matchup between College Football Playoff hopefuls Missouri and Vanderbilt. Another top 15 matchup graces the schedule, as Oklahoma and Ole Miss compete in a battle of 6-1 teams vying to qualify for their first-ever SEC Championship Game. And of course, you can’t forget […]
3 months ago | 3 reads
Game notes Setting the scene Before 2023, the Rice Owls and UConn Huskies never met each other on the gridiron. Now the current and the former American Conference members battle in non-conference action for the third-straight October. Both matchups went in the Huskies’ favor as Jim Mora Jr. and Co. generated back-to-back 7-point wins over […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Game notes Setting the scene Memphis and South Florida fans envisioned this as the American Conference’s premier matchup. The College GameDay buses were potentially on their way to Memphis for the first time since 2019 in anticipation of this ranked vs. ranked matchup with conference title and College Football Playoff stakes. What was slated to […]
3 months ago | 0 reads
Date: Saturday October 25, 2025 Time: 8:00 PM (ET) TV: ESPN2/ESPNU The Quick Hits One of the biggest games in the FCS is back and, once again, it will have the country as a whole watching. #1 North Dakota State (7-0) rolls into Brookings with a head of steam, having won 11 straight games dating […]
3 months ago | 1 read
Game notes Setting the scene Saturday night introduces a new Big 12 matchup. Three years ago, the Houston Cougars and Arizona State Sun Devils would have been American Conference vs. Pac-12, but the recent transplants now share the same league, and it’s a league in which they’re thriving. Houston is bowl eligible at 6-1, emerging […]
3 months ago | 1 read
The FCS to FBS transition isn’t supposed to be easy. Even in an era where the transfer portal grants these programs additional assistance and resources, many newcomers struggle out of the gate before finding their footing. Not Delaware or Missouri State. Wednesday night Weekday CUSA showcased both of the FBS’s 2025 newcomers on a national […]
3 months ago | 0 reads