Around the Dog Park: It’s Us Versus Vegas

General G5 Football

• Athlon Sports has released their FCS preseason top 25. North Dakota State and James Madison come in at first and second place, respectively.
• SMU, UTSA, and Coastal Carolina are the Underdog representatives on Bleacher Report’s list of the teams that might be biggest surprises of 2017.
• Many of the best backfields in the country reside among the Underdog ranks.
• The graduate transfer rule has become one of the most student athlete-friendly developments in the NCAA so of course they’re looking to tweak the rule.
• Our staff debated the best G5 head coaching jobs in Louisiana. The overwhelming majority of our readers voted for Louisiana Tech.

AAC

• Congratulations to Navy, they’re one of the fanbases most appreciative of their head coach.
• The Midshipmen are however losing arguably their best player as safety Alohi Gilman has decided to transfer out of the Academy.
• Houston has added two intriguing out-of-conference games to their future schedules.
• Let’s be real — SMU legend Eric Dickerson belongs in the College Football Hall of Fame.

C-USA

• Here are our guesses on how each C-USA West team will perform relative to Vegas’ expectations. We also did the same for each school in the East.
• Conference USA has released their initial TV schedule. C-USA fans will become very familiar with the new Stadium network.
• UTSA has been one of the clear losers in this year’s release of the C-USA TV schedule. Despite reaching their first bowl game in 2016 and being a dark horse candidate to win the Western division of the conference the Roadrunners will be hard to find on TV this fall.
• A pair of JUCO defensive linemen who were set to join UNT’s roster failed to qualify academically.
• Get to know the five best running backs of all time for the Mean Green.
• UNT has also announced a two game series with Houston.
• It’s clear Middle Tennessee quarterback Brent Stockstill will follow in his dad’s footsteps to a successful coaching career. With Tony Franklin on vacation for his daughter’s wedding Brent stepped in to call plays for the Blue Raiders this spring.
• Former Marshall linebacker Andre O’Neal is carving out a new career on stage.
• If the Thundering Herd are to get back on track this season it will likely be thanks to C.J. Reavis’ play and leadership.
• Louisiana Tech’s 2018 game against LSU has moved dates.

Sun Belt

• We gave our thoughts on each Sun Belt West team’s win totals vs Vegas predictions... as well as for the Eastern division.
• Troy landed a big win on the recruiting trail after securing the commitment of a local three-star defensive tackle.
• Georgia State has revealed the official logo for Georgia State Stadium.