An unofficial The American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and Independent football blog
Arkansas State’s three-year starting quarterback will play his final season of college football elsewhere. Jaylen Raynor transferred to Iowa State, as first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Raynor joins an Iowa State program undergoing its first head coaching change in a decade. With Matt Campbell off to Penn State, Raynor joins a Cyclone squad fronted […]
about 2 months ago | 1 read
Old Dominion quarterback Colton Joseph has signed a deal to transfer to Wisconsin. The news was first reported by ESPN’s Pete Thamel. Joseph won Sun Belt Offensive Player of the Year honors, as a key component of Old Dominion’s best season as a member of the FBS. The dual-threat quarterback fired for 2,624 passing yards, […]
about 2 months ago | 2 reads
Last time the SMU Mustangs won a bowl game, the year was 2012 and its league was Conference USA. That was 13 years and two conference ago, and much has changed within the program, which is rapidly evolving into one of the powers of the Atlantic Coast Conference. Despite the disappointment of barely missing out […]
2 months ago | 2 reads
From Roger Staubach to Keenan Reynolds, Navy football owns extremely proud history and tradition. The program is home to a plethora of iconic moments, yet one moment for the ages transpired as recently as Saturday evening in Memphis, TN. By pummeling former American Conference foe Cincinnati 35-13 in the Liberty Bowl, Navy tied a program […]
2 months ago | 2 reads
When the Texas State Bobcats drew their first-ever bowl bid in December 2023, the shelves of the facilities in San Marcos were empty, in desperate need of new decor. Fast-forward 25 months later, and Texas State more than populated that once-empty trophy case. In year three of the GJ Kinne era, the Bobcats won a […]
2 months ago | 2 reads
Rice senior safety Daveon Hook woke up Friday morning preparing for his final collegiate game to solidify a four-year run with his university. But with 1:16 remaining in the third quarter of the Owls’ 41-10 loss to Texas State in the Armed Forces Bowl, a terrifying moment unfolded. Hook collided with a Texas State blocker […]
2 months ago | 2 reads
Date: Monday January 5, 2026 Time: 7:30 PM (ET) TV: ESPN The Quick Hits Montana State and Illinois State have never met on the gridiron but that will all change on Monday night on the FCS’s grandest stage. The Redbirds and Bobcats will duke it out in Nashville and when the dust settles, someone will […]
2 months ago | 1 read
Game notes Setting the scene Old American Conference rivals meet again in an American Conference venue. The Navy Midshipmen (10-2, 7-1 American) and Cincinnati Bearcats (7-5, 5-4 Big 12) reunite in Memphis, concluding their seasons in one of the few post-New Year’s bowl games. Navy can seal its third 11-win season in program history, putting […]
2 months ago | 2 reads
Game notes Setting the scene And so we meet again. The Rice Owls and Texas State Bobcats collided for the first time as FBS opponents in the 2023 First Responder Bowl. Texas State waltzed away with a 45-21 victory to secure its first-ever bowl win in its first-ever bowl appearance. Two years later, the rematch […]
2 months ago | 0 reads
Game notes Setting the scene The 2025 college football season is coming to a close. When the Holiday Bowl is complete Friday night, there are only three games left on the docket. So it’s time to cherish our waning moments of this great sport until August 2026 rolls around. And the 2025 Holiday Bowl presents […]
2 months ago | 1 read
Monday night will be a historical one for the FCS on many fronts. For the first time ever, the national title game will take place in Nashville with 2-seed Montana State squaring off with Illinois State for all the marbles. The championship has not been played in the state of Tennessee since 2009 when Montana […]
2 months ago | 1 read
Louisiana Tech only had to drive 70 miles on Tuesday afternoon to win their first bowl game in six years as they scored 17 points in the fourth quarter to defeat Coastal Carolina 23-14 in the 2025 Radiance Technologies Independence Bowl. The first quarter was a sloppy one as each team missed a pair of […]
2 months ago | 1 read
The North Texas Mean Green wrapped up their best season in program history, shattering a school record in wins during a 12-2 campaign. North Texas qualified for the American Conference championship, stood one win away from the College Football Playoff, prevailed in the New Mexico Bowl, and will likely draw a season-ending ranking in the […]
2 months ago | 1 read
There has never been a postseason run in the FCS quite like the one Illinois State has strung together over the last month. One of the last four teams into this year’s tournament, the Redbirds have handled business over seeded opponents on the road four times to reach the championship game in Nashville next Monday […]
2 months ago | 1 read
One of the most dangerous positions to be in as a college football team? Facing a Jeff Monken-led Army team in a bowl game. The Black Knights have thrived in the postseason under the 12th-year head coach, and that remained the case Saturday afternoon at Fenway Park in Boston. Former independent and current American Conference […]
2 months ago | 1 read
The North Texas Mean Green completed their 109th season Saturday evening in Albuquerque, NM. Not a single one of the previous 108 seasons featured more triumphs than the iconic 2025 campaign. North Texas secured a historic 12th victory in the New Mexico Bowl, sliding past San Diego State 49-47 in the highest-scoring bowl game of […]
2 months ago | 1 read
Last December, the East Carolina Pirates reveled in their moment in Annapolis. With under two minutes remaining against in-state rival NC State, former running back Rahjai Harris scampered 86 yards down the field to secure a 26-21 signature Military Bowl victory for the program, right after Blake Harrell was promoted from interim to full-time head […]
2 months ago | 0 reads
The hometown team finally took the stage in the hometown bowl. It had been 18 years since the Houston Cougars punched a ticket to the Texas Bowl — an era that was two conferences and several head coaching regimes ago. But for the first time under Willie Fritz and for the first time with the […]
2 months ago | 6 reads
Game notes Setting the scene Houston and LSU are two of the biggest fanbases residing in the nation’s 4th-largest city, making the 2025 Texas Bowl a perfect crowd matchup. It also pits together two teams that haven’t squared off in a quarter of a century. The Houston Cougars (9-3, 6-3 Big 12) enjoyed a spectacular […]
2 months ago | 1 read
In the 2025 First Responder Bowl, the game was all about response. The UTSA Roadrunners stared down an immediate 14-0 deficit to the FIU Panthers, as their streak of winning seasons stood in peril. But UTSA rebounded in calm and collected fashion in Dallas, piling on 38 unanswered points in an eventual 57-20 victory over […]
2 months ago | 1 read
Replacing a quarterback is never easy. Replacing one that won the Walter Payton Award is especially difficult. That is the job that Montana State head coach Brent Vigen and his staff were tasked with, though, entering this season. Tommy Mellott was a household name in Bozeman by the time he graduated and rightfully so. Mellott, […]
2 months ago | 2 reads
Game notes Setting the scene The New Mexico Bowl features a battle of clashing styles, involving two of college football’s most improved teams. North Texas (11-2, 7-1 American) aims to build on its winningest season of all-time with its high-flying No. 1 ranked scoring offense, while San Diego State (9-3, 6-2 Mountain West) provides its […]
2 months ago | 1 read
Game notes Setting the scene The Military Bowl welcomes the reigning champions back to Annapolis. Last December, East Carolina won a heated rivalry over NC State, prevailing 26-21 on an unforgettable 86-yard scamper by Rahjai Harris in the final two minutes. This year, the Pirates posted an even better regular season record — their best […]
2 months ago | 1 read
When the FCS championship game goes down on January 5 it will not necessarily be between a pair of teams that many thought it might be at the beginning of the season. No North Dakota State. No South Dakota State. Instead it will be another team from the Missouri Valley Conference… a team that didn’t […]
2 months ago | 3 reads
Game notes Setting the scene Old Conference USA foes reunite in Dallas for a post-Christmas showdown. The FIU Panthers (7-5, 5-3 CUSA) concluded their regular season in scorching fashion, rattling off four-straight wins including one over Jacksonville State to secure their first winning season in seven years. Year one of the Willie Simmons era was […]
2 months ago | 2 reads