Around the Dog Park: Give me live dragons at UAB games or give me death

General G5

• We’re looking forward to Panthers vs. Bobcat cage matches as Texas State and FIU have reached a home-and-home agreement for 2021 and 2022.
• College football teams spend thousands of dollars putting their players up in hotels before home games. Recent research shows that this may be wasted money as players tend to get better rest when sleeping at home.
• Charlotte and SMU are among the biggest movers in teams that have increased their odds to reach a bowl game this year.
• Marshall vs Boise is the G5’s top-rated broadcast through the early going of the season.

AAC

• This telling interview with Tilman Fertitta is a wild ride. Fertitta revealed a lot of details about the decision to hire and then fire Major Applewhite.
• In 2011 Tulsa and Oklahoma State played a football game that started at 12:16 am and ended after 3:30 am. This oral history is a fun read with a lot of twists.
• Tulsa is going to need to do a better job of capitalizing off of turnovers if they’re to find their way to a bowl game this year
• Heavy, heavy hypocrisy here from Manny Diaz demanding that his commitments not visit any other campuses. Keep in mind Diaz was Temple’s head coach for all of 17 days before accepting the Miami job.
• Cincinnati and Miami (OH) have really grown apart as rivals. Should the Battle for the Victory Bell continue being scheduled? Part 1 and Part 2.

C-USA

• After a failed audition at safety, Tre Siggers is back at running back for UNT and making a huge impact on the offense.
• Xavier Gaines is certainly one of the most flexible athletes in Conference USA, perhaps even the nation. Gaines has played snaps at quarterback, running back, and receiver/tight end for the Herd.
• Southern Miss wide receiver and return man Jaylond Adams has become a household name this season. Adams actually chose Troy on his signing day ceremony but ended up sending his letter of intent to USM. Adams opens up about how he struggled with the decision in this interview. Things seem to have worked out well for the fastest man in Conference USA.
• Jack Abraham has clearly improved his game which should terrify the rest of Conference USA.
• It’s great to see Middle Tennessee’s student section stepping it up this year. Conference USA could use some more raucous student sections to improve game day atmospheres.
• This look back on Lane Kiffin’s time as Tennessee’s head coach is hilarious. While Lane seems to have tamed things down recently, this piece is a great reminder of how Joey Freshwater got his reputation.
• J’Mar Smith looks to have taken a step forward as Louisiana Tech’s quarterback. That and other takeaways in this game recap.
• Ten takeaways from UNT’s close loss to Cal — namely that Mason Fine needs more time in a clean pocket.
• I agree with the Denton Record-Chronicle in that UTSA is a must win game for UNT this year after losing to SMU.
• UNT standout receiver Rico Bussey Jr. is officially “questionable” after suffering a knee injury against Cal. The Mean Green are waiting on further medical tests.
• Given the wild discrepancies in UTSA’s opponents this year it’s still hard to get a good feel for UTSA’s offense.
• LIVE DRAGONS AT UAB GAMES
• Marshall’s bye week comes at just the right time as starting running back Brenden Knox aims to heal up.

Sun Belt

• Troy lost a crazy shootout with Southern Miss but it’s easy to walk away impressed with the Trojan offense.
• Unfortunately, that Troy offense will be without running back B.J. Smith going forward, as he’s out for the season with a knee injury.
• No quarterback, no running game... Texas State’s offense looks like a big ole mess.