THE RFC MYC: Pacific 12/Mountain West Conferences (FBS Group Of Five)

Mountain West Conference (FBS Group Of Five)

Overview: Say goodbye to the Mountain West Conference as many fans know it after the 2025 season.

That's because six of its current programs- Boise State, Colorado State, Fresno State, San Diego State, and Utah State- have chosen to join Oregon State and Washington State in the new-look Pac-12 Conference in time for the 2026 season. That move came after most of its members left for the Big 12 and Big Ten Conferences, respectively, before the 2024 season.

As this article was being posted, Texas State was frequently mentioned as the leading candidate to join the Pac-12 as the eighth football-playing member. Current NCAA rules require that conferences have at least eight schools playing football to be considered a full-time conference at the FBS level.

On the Mountain West Conference side of the conference realignment equation, Northern Illinois will join the league as a football-only member, moving from the Mid-American Conference, while UTEP and Hawai'i will leave Conference USA and the Big West Conference, respectively, to join the MWC full-time. All of these moves will happen before the 2026 season.

In the meantime, expect a wide-open race in the Mountain West Conference this fall, with multiple challengers, including UNLV, to challenge Boise State for the championship. At the same time, Oregon State and Washington State hope to contend for bowl eligibility.

2025 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to find the schedules)

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is unavailable, the team still needs to submit its schedule for the 2025 season. The link (s) will appear in each blog post when the team's schedule is submitted. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and more.

Final 2024 Mountain West Conference Football Standings

2025 Mountain West Conference Composite Schedule

Air Force

Boise State* 

Colorado State*

Fresno State*

Hawai'i

New Mexico

Nevada

Oregon State*

San Diego State*

San Jose State

UNLV

Utah State

Washington State*

Wyoming

*-Current/Future Members of the Pac-12 Conference.


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THE RFC MYC: Mid-American Conference (FBS Group Of Five)

Mid-American Conference (FBS Group Of Five)

Overview: With Tim Albin out and Brian Smith in as head coach, the Ohio University Bobcats will face a tremendous challenge in defending their first Mid-American Conference championship since 1968.

Ohio, which finished the 2024 season at 11-3 overall and 7-1 in MAC action, will open the 2025 season facing three straight opponents from Power Four Conferences. After opening the season at Rutgers, the Bobcats will host West Virginia for their home opener before hitting the road again to face defending CFP national champion Ohio State in the third game of the season.

Other challengers to Ohio's throne this fall include Miami (Ohio) (9-5, 7-1), Buffalo (9-4, 6-2), and Bowling Green (7-6, 6-2). Also, changes to the MAC's membership include the arrival of Massachusetts in 2025 and the departure of Northern Illinois to the Mountain West Conference in 2026. 

2025 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access the schedules)


NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule isn't highlighted, that team did not submit its schedule for the 2025 season. The link (s) will appear in each blog post when the team's schedule is submitted. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and more.

Final 2024 Mid-American Conference Football Standings

2025 Mid-American Conference Composite Schedule

Akron

Ball State

Bowling Green

Buffalo

Central Michigan

Eastern Michigan

Kent State

Northern Illinois

Miami (Ohio)

Ohio

Toledo

Western Michigan

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THE RFC MYC: Conference USA (FBS Group Of Five)

Conference USA (FBS Group Of Five)

Overview: The Jacksonville State University Gamecocks (9-5 overall and 7-1 in Conference USA in 2024) will look to defend their first-ever Conference USA crown, as Rich Rodriguez leaves to take the West Virginia job. Charles Kelly will step up to replace Rodriguez in hopes of leading Jax State to back-to-back titles.

Elsewhere in C-USA, the Sam Houston State University Bearkats hope to build on their 10-3 record from a year ago, playing their home games at Shell Energy Stadium in Houston this season, Western Kentucky hopes to rebound after losing back-to-back games to finish 8-6, while Liberty is in the same situation after an 8-4 finish. Kennesaw State also gets a new head coach in Jerry Mack, who replaces Brian Bohannon after struggling to a 2-10 mark in their inaugural FBS season.

Finally, Conference USA will get two new teams from the FCS level going into this fall, as the University of Delaware Blue Hens and the Missouri State University Bears join the fold after long stints in the CAA and MVFC, respectively. Neither team will be bowl-eligible this season.

2025 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access the schedules)

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule is not highlighted, the team has not submitted its schedule for the 2025 season. The link (s) will appear in each blog post when the team's schedule is submitted. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and much more.


Final 2024 Conference USA Football Standings

Delaware*

FIU

Jacksonville State

Kennesaw State

Liberty

Louisiana Tech

Middle Tennessee State

Missouri State*

New Mexico State

Sam Houston State

UTEP

Western Kentucky

*-The program is transitioning from the FCS to the FBS level and is ineligible for postseason play.

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THE RFC MYC: 2025 Debut-American Athletic Conference

 Editor's Note: Welcome to the 2025 debut of the "RFC MYC", with the "MYC" initials standing for "Mark Your Calendars". The purpose of the previews at the Real Football Central blog is to present the schedules of every college football team outside of the so-called "Power Four" conferences (ACC, Big 10, Big 12, and SEC), throughout the mid-to-late spring, as well as the summer of 2024. As to what the "Group of Five" conferences are, they currently consist of the following conferences:

American Athletic Conference (AAC)

Conference USA (C-USA)

Mid-American Conference (MAC)

Mountain West Conference (MWC)

Sun Belt Conference (SBC)

So, once again, what are we waiting for? Let's get started.

American Athletic Conference (FBS Group Of Five)

Overview: As they enter their second season in the American Athletic Conference, the Army Black Knights hope to win back-to-back championships. But the squad that finished the 2024 season at 12-2 overall, and unbeaten in AAC action at 8-0 will get plenty of challengers for the crown, with Memphis (11-2, 6-2), Tulane (9-5, 7-1), and Navy (10-3, 6-2), among others. Oh, and the Black Knights ended their storybook season with a convincing win over Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl, as well. The victory over the Bulldogs gave Army its first 12-win season in program history.

2025 Schedules (Teams listed in alphabetical order, click the links below to access the schedules)

NOTE: If the link to the team's schedule isn't highlighted, the team still needs to submit its schedule for the 2024 season. When the team's schedule is submitted, the link (s) will appear in each blog post. Also, please visit the RFC blog at realfootballcentral.blogspot.com for schedules, schedule updates, preseason previews, and more.

Final 2024 American Athletic Conference Football Standings

2025 American Athletic Conference Composite Schedule

Army

Charlotte

East Carolina

Florida Atlantic

Memphis

Navy 

North Texas

Rice

Temple

Tulane

Tulsa

UAB

USF

UTSA

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College Football 2024-2025: The Final Wrap-Up

Starting with the FCS National Championship Game on Monday, January 7, 2025, the #1 Montana State University Bobcats' quest to win their first national championship since 1984 fell by the wayside, as the North Dakota State University Bison pulled off the upset over the previously unbeaten Bobcats 35-32. It was NDSU's 10th national championship in the last 14 years. 

North Dakota State finished the 2024-2025 season at 14-2 overall with the win, while Montana State's season ended at 15-1. 

Read the recap of the game, from the NDSU perspective, by clicking here. 

For the Montana State point of view, please click here.

Also, here's a quick moment to recognize the other "national champions" below the FBS level:

Celebration Bowl: Jackson State

NCAA Division II: Ferris State

NCAA Division III: North Central

NAIA: Grand View

And now, the final overall prediction totals for the 2023-2024 college football season:

FBS Group Of Five Bowl Predictions Special: 6-6 (.500)

FCS Semifinal and Small College National Championship Games: 4-2 (.667)

FCS and NCAA Division III National Championship Games: 1-1 (.500)

Final Overall Record: 867-408 (.680)

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Quickie Predictions for the FCS and NCAA Division III National Championship Games 2024-2025

(The projected winners are marked in RED, followed by the projected final score, listed below. Additionally, the overall won-lost records of the participating teams are marked in parentheses.)

Sunday, January 5

Stagg Bowl-NCAA Division III National Championship Game at Shell Energy Stadium, Houston

North Central (14-0) 31, Mount Union (14-0) 30

Monday, January 6

FCS National Championship Game at Toyota Stadium, Frisco, Texas

Montana State (15-0) 35, North Dakota State (13-2) 21

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1990 Liberty Bowl

(Video courtesy of ESPN.)

The latest "RFC Postseason's Greetings" post takes us back to Thursday, December 27, 1990. That was when the Air Force Academy Falcons faced Ohio State in the Liberty Bowl at Memphis, Tennessee. Before an announced crowd of 39,262 spectators, Air Force knocked off the then #24 Buckeyes 23-11 to finish the 1990 season at 7-5. 

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RFC Postseason's Greetings: Northwest Missouri State vs. Grand Valley State-2007 NCAA Division II National Semifinal

(Video courtesy of ESPN.)

The "RFC Postseason's Greetings series continues by taking a look back at an NCAA Division II national semifinal game that was played on Saturday, December 8, 2007, between the Grand Valley State University Lakers from Allendale, Michigan, and the Northwest Missouri State University Bearcats from Maryville, Missouri.

The Bearcats advanced to the national championship with a 34-16 win over the Lakers, in a contest where GVSU held a 13-10 lead at halftime. But Northwest caught fire in the second half, outscoring the Lakers 24-3 over the final 60 minutes of playing time to end Grand Valley's 40-game winning streak.

However, Northwest Missouri State's quest to win another national championship ended in defeat. Valdosta State won only its second-ever title after the Blazers beat the Bearcats 25-20 in the national title game the following week. Northwest Missouri State ended its 2007 season at 12-2 overall.

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RFC Postseason's Greetings: 1968 Tangerine Bowl-Richmond vs. Ohio

 

(Video courtesy of the University of Richmond.)

Editor's Note: Welcome back to another season of memories on the "RFC Postseason's Greetings" series on the Real Football Central blog. From now until the FCS national championship game on January 6, 2025, there will be at least one video covering a postseason game, whether it's a playoff or bowl game, involving a current team from the FBS Group of Five Conferences, the FCS, NCAA Division II, NCAA Division III, or the NAIA. So, without any further ado, here's the first post below.

Today's "RFC Postseason's Greetings " installment takes us back to December 27, 1968. That was when the Mid-American Conference champion Ohio University Bobcats faced the Southern Conference champion University of Richmond Spiders in the Tangerine Bowl at what is now Camping World Stadium in Orlando, Florida. 

In a high-scoring contest, the Spiders handed the Bobcats their first and only loss of the 1968 season, pulling off the 49-42 upset win. Richmond finished its campaign at 8-3 overall with the win, while Ohio finished its season at 10-1 overall and #20 in the final Associated Press poll. 

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RFC Weekly Predictions: Week Of December 21, 2024-FCS/NCAA Division III Semifinal And Small College Championship Game Predictions

Last Week: 12-1 (.923)

This Year:  856-399 (.682)

KEY: Projected winners are marked in RED.

Editor's Note: All games listed will be played on Saturday, December 21, 2024.

FCS Semifinals

Interactive Bracket

South Dakota State (12-2) at North Dakota State (12-2)

South Dakota (12-2) at Montana State (14-0)

NCAA Division II Championship Game at McKinney, Texas

 

Ferris State (13-1) vs. Valdosta State (13-0)

NCAA Division III Semifinals

Johns Hopkins (12-1) at Mount Union (13-0)

Susquehanna (12-1) at North Central (13-0)

NAIA Championship Game at Durham, N.C.

Keiser (Fla.)-(12-0) vs. Grand View (13-0)

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RFC Weekly Predictions: Week Of December 14, 2024-Celebration Bowl, FCS, And Small College Football Playoff Predictions

Last Week: 20-12 (.625)

This Year: 844-398 (.674)

KEY: Projected winners are marked in RED.

FCS Quarterfinals

Interactive Bracket

Friday, December 13 (9 pm EST/8 pm CST/7 pm MST/6 pm PST on ESPN.)

Idaho (10-3) at Montana State (13-0)

Saturday, December 14

Incarnate Word (11-2) at South Dakota State (11-2)

UC Davis (11-2) at South Dakota (10-2)

Mercer (11-2) at North Dakota State (11-2)

NCAA Division II Semifinals

Saturday, December 14

Minnesota State (11-3) at Valdosta State (12-0)

Slippery Rock (12-1) at Ferris State (12-1)

NCAA Division III Quarterfinals

Saturday, December 14

Mount Union (12-0) at Salisbury (12-0)

Bethel (Minn.)-(11-2) at Susquehanna (11-1)

Mary Hardin-Baylor (9-3) at Johns Hopkins (11-1)

Springfield (12-0) at North Central (12-0)

NAIA Semifinals

Saturday, December 14

Benedictine (Kan.)-(11-2) at Keiser (11-0)

Morningside (12-1) at Grand View (12-0)

Celebration Bowl at Mercedes Benz Stadium-Atlanta

Saturday, December 14

Jackson State (11-2) vs. South Carolina State (9-2)

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