An unofficial The American, Conference USA, Sun Belt, and Independent football blog
The Illinois State Redbirds knew their season was coming to an end one way or another on Monday evening, an honor that Brock Spack’s team awarded itself for an unbelievable playoff run. Winners of four straight road contests in the postseason, ISU earned its way into the FCS championship game where it faced off with […]
There never has been… or maybe never will be… an FCS championship game like the one that played out in Nashville on Monday evening. 60 minutes was not quite enough time needed to crown Montana State the champion but, thanks to a blocked PAT and a fourth down touchdown throw in overtime, the Bobcats took […]
The UTSA Roadrunners’ offense will be under new direction in 2026. Head coach Jeff Traylor hired Western Kentucky offensive coordinator Rick Bowie to the same position in San Antonio. Bowie replaces Justin Burke, who was an inaugural member on Traylor’s staff in 2020 and spent the last three seasons as offensive coordinator. With Burke off […]
Alex Bauman woke up the morning of Jan. 2, 2023 knowing it was a day of opportunity. The lightly-recruited true freshman spent the majority of the 2022 campaign as Tulane’s third-string tight end. Despite a lack of significant playing time, he was a member of a special run for the program. Bauman corralled five receptions […]
East Carolina Katin Houser announced his intent to enter the transfer portal back in December. On Sunday, Jan. 4, his whereabouts for the 2026 season were confirmed. Houser is heading back to the Big Ten, officially committing to Illinois. Houser originally launched his college career at Michigan State where he took a redshirt in 2022 […]
The 2025 James Madison Dukes made history. In just their fourth year of FBS membership, they won 12 games, claimed their first-ever Sun Belt Conference championship, and crashed the College Football Playoff party — becoming the first Sun Belt team to qualify in the event’s 12-year history. The quarterback that spearheaded that run is now […]
Willie Fritz may be entering year three with the Houston Cougars, but his connections from his old stomping grounds are still strong. On Sunday, two days after the transfer portal opened, Houston landed two former Tulane stars that played under Fritz in New Orleans — running back Makhi Hughes and guard Shadre Hurst. Both Hughes […]
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 […]
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, […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]
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 […]