Underdog Dynasty
An unofficial The American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and Independent football blog
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2026 American Preseason Previews: Tulsa Golden Hurricane
2025 record: 4-8 (1-7 American) 2025 postseason: did not qualify “Tulsa football is back. We’re not gonna be on the third page of the paper anymore.” These were the celebratory words uttered by Tulsa head coach Tre Lamb in his ESPN postgame interview on the night of Sept. 19, 2025. In his fourth game as […]
FCS Throwbacks: Jacksonville State and SEMO Run to FCS Record
Sometimes the extraordinary ends up happening on a very ordinary day and such is certainly the case with college football. In fact, most of the time, it’s the seemingly run-of-the-mill afternoons where fans, players and coaches in the building aren’t expecting something record breaking to happen when it actually does. Illinois fullback Howard Griffith ran […]
Highlights from Commissioner Keith Gill at Sun Belt Media Days
Sun Belt Media Days kicked off from New Orleans, LA on Wednesday, July 15. Commissioner Keith Gill took to the podium Wednesday to discuss hot topics in the Sun Belt, which is celebrating its 50th anniversary as a conference. Topics included the addition of Louisiana Tech, the Protect College Sports Act, and College Football Playoff […]
Why SMU named its recovery center after current QB Kevin Jennings
Walk through any college campus, and you’ll find a name attached to most buildings. Most are named in the honor of distinguished alumni, generous donors, or legendary athletes and coaches that shaped the school’s athletics. And then there’s one facility at SMU named after the team’s current starting quarterback — the Kevin Jennings Recovery Center. […]
2026 American Preseason Previews: Tulane Green Wave
2025 record: 11-3 (7-1 American) 2025 postseason: defeated North Texas in American Championship Game, 34-21; lost to Ole Miss in College Football Playoff First Round, 41-10 It was the dynasty nobody saw coming at the turn of the 2020s decade. Tulane is now the face of the American Conference, having qualified for the league’s title […]
“Pancake With Us”: Cincinnati wants to prove it has the best o-line in college football
College football season is around the corner, and schools across the country are launching Heisman Trophy campaigns to garner attention for their star quarterbacks and running backs. Meanwhile, the Cincinnati Bearcats have a different strategy in mind. They’re stocking up on pancake batter. With three returning starters from one of the country’s top offensive lines […]
2026 Sun Belt coaches poll, Preseason All-Sun Belt Teams revealed
Sun Belt Media Days will be held in New Orleans on July 15-16. Two days before the gathering of the 14 programs in the Big Easy, the Sun Belt revealed its preseason coaches poll, preseason award winners, and preseason all-conference teams: Preseason Coaches Poll East Division West Division James Madison was selected to repeat as […]
2026 American Preseason Previews: Temple Owls
2025 record: 5-7 (3-5 American) 2025 postseason: did not qualify Temple was a fixture in Bowl Season throughout the 2010s, and as a result, they became a hotbed for coaching hires. Al Golden departed Temple for Miami (FL), Steve Addazio for Boston College, Matt Rhule for Baylor, and Geoff Collins for Georgia Tech. But times […]
2026 Big 12 Media Day Storylines: Cincinnati Bearcats
In the early 2020s, the Cincinnati Bearcats were a premier power in college football. They concocted an undefeated regular season in 2020 and fell one field goal short of perfection. In 2021, they took a step further and became the only American Conference team to qualify for the College Football Playoff in the 4-team era. […]
2026 Big 12 Media Day Storylines: UCF Knights
The UCF Knights were a defining power of the American Conference. However, as members of the Big 12 Conference, UCF’s place among the college football hierarchy has shifted. The Knights are cycling through three-straight sub-.500 seasons, still trying to recapture the successes of yesteryear. To accelerate that progress, UCF turned back to the same head […]
2026 Big 12 Media Day Storylines: Houston Cougars
No Big 12 team changed its perception more over the last 365 days than the Houston Cougars. Houston joined the Big 12 in 2023 and spent the first two years cycling through 4-8 records, positioned near the cellar of the conference. But in the second year of the Willie Fritz era, the trajectory dramatically changed. […]
Inside the great North Texas migration to Stillwater
Caleb Hawkins took a moment to soak it all in. Exactly one year ago, his most recent football game had been at North Rock Creek High School in Shawnee, OK. He was a true freshman running back eager to capitalize on his lone FBS offer at North Texas, hoping to find a lick of playing […]
UDD’s Top 20 FCS Defensive Players for 2026
Now that we’ve taken a look at the Top 20 coaches and special teamers in the FCS it’s time to shift the focus to the defensive side of the ball. There is no shortage of star-studded talent on defenses across the subdivision this season, even with a whole slew of big names moving on from […]
Projecting Every FCS Starting QB for 2026
The dog days of summer roll on and college football fans are starved for content. This year we decided to try something a little different with our starting quarterback projections. It’s one thing to take a look at it conference-by-conference (which we have done also). But how about the FCS as a whole? Based on […]
Stockstill, Singletary added to CUSA Hall of Fame
Conference USA established its own Hall of Fame in 2019, and every July, the fraternity expands. This year, the conference added five storied athletes to its Hall of Fame. The class of 2026 is as follows: Singletary and Stockstill are the 10th and 11th football selections to be added to the CUSA Hall of Fame. […]
2026 Preseason All-Big 12 Team revealed
Welcome to July. It’s the final month of the offseason before college football kicks off. It’s the time of the year for conference media days and preseason recognitions, all while we wait for Aug. 29 to arrive. The Big 12 Conference will be the first league to host its media days, transpiring in Frisco, TX […]
2026 American Preseason Previews: South Florida Bulls
2025 record: 9-4 (6-2 American) 2025 postseason: lost to Old Dominion in Cure Bowl, 24-10 When Alex Golesh first onboarded as South Florida’s head football coach in 2023, the Bulls owned the longest losing streak in the country to FBS opponents. Not only did Golesh lift the program out of the cellar, he made them […]
UDD’s Top 20 FCS Specialists for 2026
The 2026 FCS season is just eight short (or agonizingly long, depending on how you look at it) weeks away and now that July is officially here, it’s time to do what we here at Underdog Dynasty like to always do to pass the summer days away until kickoff; rank things. Last week we clocked […]
2026 American Preseason Previews: Rice Owls
2025 record: 5-8 (2-6 American) 2025 postseason: lost to Texas State in Armed Forces Bowl, 41-10 2025 represented a major rebrand for Rice football. After years of running a pro-style offense, the Owls made a unique coaching hire in Scott Abell and shifted to an option scheme known as the “Rice gun choice.” The fullbacks […]
New Mexico State unveils new Adidas uniforms for 2026
We’re in the homestretch of the college football offseason. And with the calendar flipping from June to July, that means uniform reveals are on the way. New Mexico State launched its new uniforms on July 1, the same day the athletic department officially switched outfitters from Under Armour to Adidas. The Aggies’ 5-year contract with […]
FCS Membership Changes and Notes for 2026
July 1 is one of the most important dates on the college football calendar. All the realignment moves become pen-and-ink official and this year there are plenty to take note of, especially in the FCS. From new programs to departing bluebloods and a whole bunch of swapping of conferences, here’s all the ins and outs […]
What FBS teams change conferences on July 1, 2026?
Happy July 1! This date often comes with significant meaning in the realm of college sports, as it marks the end of one year’s athletic calendar and the start of the next. In the 2020s, the arrival of July 1 has become especially impactful due to the decade’s non-stop conference realignment. On this day each […]
Remembering Chris Johnson’s legendary career at East Carolina
Tragic news shattered the football community Monday morning. Former NFL running back Chris Johnson revealed on ABC’s “Good Morning America” that he was diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis, commonly known as ALS. The ALS Association defines ALS as a “fatal neurodegenerative disease that gradually takes away a person’s ability to walk, speak, swallow, and eventually […]
2026 American Preseason Previews: North Texas Mean Green
2025 record: 12-2 (7-1 American) 2025 postseason: lost to Tulane in American Championship Game, 34-21; defeated San Diego State in New Mexico Bowl, 49-47 The 2025 season was essentially a fever dream in Denton, TX. North Texas set a new program record with 12 wins behind the most electrifying offense in the country, which averaged […]
2026 American Preseason Previews: Navy Midshipmen
2025 record: 11-2 (7-1 American) 2025 postseason: defeated Cincinnati in Liberty Bowl, 35-13 Welcome to the golden era of Navy football. While the transfer portal resets the American Conference’s top rosters each offseason, the Midshipmen are as the conference’s beacon of stability. And this stability is showing up in the standings. Navy finished 10-3 in […]
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