Around the Dog Park: Playoff expansion could come sooner than we expect

General G5

• Here is a list of the gifts that each player receives when their team competes in a bowl game.
• Rick Fox has stepped down from his position as the head coach of the Drake Bulldogs.
• Former Louisiana Head Coach Mark Hudspeth is heading to Austin Peay to replace Will Healy.
• A few Underdogs appear on ESPN’s list of the 15 best college football games of the 2018 season.
• Athletic Director support for a College Football Playoff expansion seems to be growing. But it could be the Big 10/Big 12/Pac 12 getting snubbed that moves the needle more than UCF being left out.
• Here’s a break down of the history and purpose of the Cure Bowl as Tulane and Louisiana prepare to meet each other in Florida.
• Don’t let the national media tell you that the G5 bowls don’t matter.

AAC

• The AAC is preparing for their next TV deal. The conference could pursue a grant of rights which would increase each school’s payout.. at the loss of conference mobility.
• Stewart Mandel argues that now is the time for the Big XII to add UCF to its conference.
• Obviously UCF vs. LSU is key but we ranked all of the AAC’s bowl game match ups this postseason.

C-USA

• North Texas has added a commitment from a defensive end that chose the Mean Green over Colorado State.
• Here are five things UNT fans should know about their bowl opponent, the Utah State Aggies.
• With Seth Littrell staying in Denton, the Mean Green are set to close out what may be their strongest recruiting class in program history.
• In a reoccurring trend for the Rice Owls, four Owls will seek graduate transfers this offseason.
• An excellent new podcast series explores behind the scenes of the UAB football shutdown.

Sun Belt

• Appalachian State is footing the bill for 200 students to attend the New Orleans Bowl against Middle Tennessee.
• Georgia Southern alumnus and country music star Cole Swindell is chartering a bus to take Georgia Southern students to the Eagle’s bowl game in Montgomery.