College Gridiron Boss

Early Prediction on Clemson

2008-10-13T12:29:00.002-05:00

The next head coach at Clemson will be Will Muschamp.

Tommy Bowden Fired

2008-10-13T11:27:00.002-05:00

Many knew this day would come, but maybe not so abruptly. Tommy Bowden is out as Clemson's head coach and assistant head coach/wide recievers coach Dabo Swinney has taken over as interim field boss for the Tigers. Clemson came into the season with lofty expectations and great talent, but has underperformed from their first game to their last.

Clemson more than likely won't name a full time replacement for Bowden until season's end, but if Tommy Tubberville gets the axe at Auburn, he could be the front runner for the Clemson job.

Week 7: Stat Book Notes

2008-10-12T19:43:00.002-05:00

>Vanderbilt was held to 107 total yards and 45 rushing yards against Mississippi State. MSU had previously allowed 438 rushing yards in their 38-7 loss to Georgia Tech.

>Army did not complete a pass on only three attempts in their win over Eastern Michigan. They ran for 341 yards on 59 carries (5.8 ypc). Clearly the Black Knights have fully committed to their option based running attack.

>Tennessee ran only 45 plays against Georgia.

>Georgia Tech was held to 1.7 ypc and 79 rushing yards against Gardner-Webb. They were only 3 of 10 passing. They needed a block field goal at the end of regulation to beat Gardner-Webb. A huge reason for the offensive ineffectiveness was that they were playing with their third string QB, a senior making his first career start who is 6-4, 235 lbs. He struggled making options reads and pitching.

>Northwestern ran 93 plays and out gained Sparty 459-297. Tyrell Sutton out rushed Javon Ringer 139-124. C.J. Bacher threw 61 passes, including 2 ints. Northwestern fumbled a kickoff that led to a 16 yard FG drive. Bacher then threw his first INT, leading to a 34 yard TD drive for MSU. Northwestern threatened to close the gap to 17-14 late in the first half, but Bacher threw an INT in the endzone. MSU then went on an 80 yard TD drive making it a 24-7 halftime score. The two played to a 13-13 second half with Northwestern ending the game on the MSU 6 yard line.

>Miami FL held UCF to 78 total yards.

>Stanford went to QB Alex Loukas for their final drive. He led them on a 62 yard TD drive for the 24-23 upset. He ran five times for 39 yards. Loukas won the tennis doubles state title for Deerfield HS (IL). He chose Stanford over Purdue.

>There were two big 4th quarters in the MAC that led to come back wins. Bowling Green scored 23 fourth quarter points for a 37-33 win over Akron. Western Michigan scored 22 fourth quarter points to beat Buffalo 34-28 in OT.

>True freshman quarterback Robert Griffin went 21 for 24 for 278 yards in beating Iowa State 38-10.

>Very uncharacteristically, Hawaii ran for 177 yards on 40 carries in beating Louisiana Tech 24-14.

Reaction to the Tony Franklin Firing

2008-10-08T21:54:00.003-05:00

Let's be very clear about two things. Auburn's offense this season has been very bad and Tony Franklin was not allowed to install his full system. While the Tigers have run the spread, it is far from being the same offense that Franklin ran at Troy. Find an excellent explanation here.

For whatever reason, Tuberville did not allow Franklin to install his offense. The two obviously couldn't coexist and therefore the move will likely benefit both parties. Just what the source of consternation was will be the subject of many rumors for the coming weeks and maybe years.

One theory is that Franklin may have some personality issues. He was effectively blackballed after his Kentucky tenure due to his willingness to divulge information regarding recruiting violation that occurred while he was there. This is the second time that an off the field conflict has left Franklin in an awkward situation. That being said, greater coincidences have definitely occurred.

Franklin may have been in a very difficult situation. He wasn't able to bring in any of his own assistants and Tuberville hasn't always gotten along with everybody. Also, the huge amounts of press he garnished over the offseason could have rubbed his fellow coaches the wrong way.

Moving forward, given Franklin's lack of opportunity in install his full system, the jury is still out on how good of a coordinator he is. What will his next move be? Will he find a situation that allows for him to put in his full offense and find success? Or will he continue to be hampered by off the field conflicts?

Ripper Ramblings

2008-09-24T20:13:00.003-05:00

Big 12 North. The division hit rock bottom when the regular season ended with Colorado being trounced 70-3 by Texas in the 2005 Big 12 Championship Game. It concluded a season that saw the North go 7-11 against their South Division counterparts. Only one team finished ranked, Nebraska at 24. It was six mediocre teams. Nebraska finished with the best record at 8-4 and Kansas State finished with the worst record at 5-6, mainly due to mediocrity cannibalizing itself. Flash forward to 2008 and only two coaches remain, Missouri's Gary Pinkel and Kansas' Mark Mangino. New blood has breathed life into the Division with the hiring of Dan Hawkins, Ron Prince, Bo Pelini, and Gene Chizik. Gunslinging QBs are abound in Chase Daniels, Josh Freeman, Todd Reesing, and Cody Hawkins. Four teams are currently undefeated. What a difference three years can make.

Washington. Ty Willingham's days are obviously numbered. Perhaps the most intriguing rumor has Washington throwing a lot of cash to bring Gary Pinkel back to Seattle to restore the once proud program. Pinkel spent 12 years as a Washington assistant. Historically, Washington has been the best challenger to USC in the Pac 10. Hiring Pinkel would likely make that be the case again.

Bowling? Not so easy. In this day and age where 68 teams will play in bowls, many people like to diminish the accomplishment that qualifying for a bowl is. Well, take a look at the list of schools that are in danger of not qualifying for a bowl and it should make programs like Boston College, Purdue, Georgia Tech, and Texas Tech happy that they have been going to bowls regularly. All of these historically top tier programs could end up home for the holidays: Florida State, Texas A&M, Syracuse, Michigan, UCLA, Washington, and Arkansas.

Passing in the night. One interesting game this weekend that will be little more than just a score at the bottom of the screen during the Alabama/Georgia game is Duke/Virginia. A year ago Duke won one game and Virginia played in the Gator Bowl. In under a year Duke has risen to being a 7 point favorite over the Wahoos and both programs appear to be headed in absolutely opposite directions.

Clock Rules. Much of the discussions concerning the new clock rules have been flawed. While its accurate that the number of plays is slightly down due to new clock rules, the wrong rule is getting blamed. Most people point to the new 40 second play clock as the reason for the drop in plays. However, that rule has little impact on the length of game, but simply provides more consistency in how a game is time. In my mind an improvement. The reason for the decrease in the number of plays has everything to do with the fact that the game clock now restarts after out-of-bounds plays once the ball is whistled ready for play.

Ranking the Conferences Week 4

2008-09-23T14:54:00.007-05:00

After 4 weeks of football, and the majority of the out of conference season under our belt, it's beginning to become clear who the top conferences are in college football this season. Here we'll rank the conferences up through the first 4 weeks.

1. Big 12........Surprise, surprise. The idea that the Big 12 and not the SEC could be the dominant conference this season is just starting to gain momentum. The conference as a whole has posted a 33-8 record in out of conference play. The most notable victories for the conference include Colorado's overtime victory over West Virginia last Thursday, Missouri's season opening victory over Illinois, and Oklahoma humbling both Washington and Cincinnati this season. The conference's top 3 teams (Missouri, Oklahoma, and Texas) is superior to the top 3 of any other conference.

Kansas suffered a rough loss at the hands of South Florida on the road earlier in the season, but they are still a force in the national picture. Texas Tech and Oklahoma State, though unproven, continue to put up huge offensive numbers and could be very good. To give a good indication on how far the Big 12 has come this season you need not look further than the Baylor Bears. The notorious doormat of the conference beat up on the Pac 10's worst team Washington State by 28 points and took reigning Big East champion, UCONN, to the wire in Storrs just last weekend. It hasn't been all roses however for the conference as Texas A&M has looked pathetic under Mike Sherman, and Kansas State looked very bad on the road vs Louisville last week.

2. SEC....... The conference remains dominant, but they have had games that lead others to believe that they aren't necessarily a notch above the rest of the college football world. The conference has posted a 25-4 record out of conference with Mississippi State accounting for half the conference's losses. The most impressive out of conference performances put on display thus far have been the opening weekend coming out party for Nick Saban's Tide when they held Clemson to zero yards rushing in a 34-10 blowout and last weekend's Georgia thrashing over Arizona State in the desert. As in most SEC seasons it remains a major crap shoot as to what teams will hold up for the course of the season. As of now Florida, Alabama, Georgia, and LSU seem to be the class of the conference.

Beyond that, many programs have looked shaky. Tennessee dropped their opening weekend game to a bad UCLA team. The following game UCLA got blown out by BYU in Provo 59-0. Auburn has been overly disappointing this season following last week's loss to LSU. Perhaps the biggest question mark about the conference comes from the 3-2 Auburn victory over Mississippi State. At first many SEC fans can write that final off to "the depth of the SEC". The following week, however, Mississippi State got throttled by Georgia Tech from the ACC 38-7. Despite the question marks, the SEC remains a very powerful conference due it's competitive advantage in coaches.

3. Big 10........ After the top two conferences there's a significant drop off before the 3rd best conference, the Big 10. The conference has been fortunate to dodge the embarrassing loss that in recent years has plagued them. Schools such as Minnesota and Northwestern have remained unbeaten unlike the year before where they were knocked off by North Dakota State and Duke respectively. So far the Big 10 is 31-8 on the year. The only teams to beat the Big 10, however has been: Pitt, Cal, USC, Missouri, Oregon, Ball State, Utah, and Notre Dame. With the exception of Notre Dame all these teams are very competitive and none of the losses were upsets with the exception of the two Michigan losses (Utah, ND).

Penn State looks like they could be playing for the national championship this season and Wisconsin looks very strong thus far. The perennial powerhouses have dipped with Ohio State getting blown out by USC, and Michigan feeling the pains of a coaching transition.

4. Mountain West......... The conference is refusing to be ignored this season. It has three teams in the top 25 which is one less than the ACC, Big East, and Pac 10 combined. BYU, Utah, and TCU all have the ability to be BCS busters this season. BYU has shown to be the cream of the crop after their 59-0 annihilation of UCLA after the Bruins knocked off Tennessee their previous game. Utah posted the most impressive victory of the season when they knocked off Michigan in the Big House week 1. TCU has outscored opponents (Stanford, S.A. Austin, SMU, N. Mexico) 172- 31. They will be tested this weekend when they square off against Oklahoma in Norman.

The surprise of the conference however has been UNLV who has knocked off Arizona State and Iowa State both from BCS conferences. It will be a shame if the conference doesn't get a team a BCS at large bid even if they have a loss on their record.

5. ACC.......... At first it seemed the conference would be battling the Big East for the worst BCS conference, but they have slowly but surely improved over the course of the past couple weeks. The crown jewel of the conference has been Wake Forest who is 3-0 and has knocked off Mississippi, Baylor, and Florida State to start the season. Wake Forest, however, is the only unbeaten school in the conference.

Clemson was humiliated by Alabama on neutral soil in the first week and has played nobody significant since. Maryland nearly lost to Deleware and then got knocked off by Middle Tennessee State the following week before pulling a shocking upset over Cal in week 3. The high point of the conference thus far has been the improvement of Georgia Tech, Miami, and Duke through 4 weeks. Georgia Tech could easily be sitting undefeated if it weren't for their loss to Virginia Tech in Blacksburgh. The Hokies had an embarrassing opening week loss to ECU, but will get a chance to redeem themselves when they square off with Nebraska in Lincoln on Saturday.

6. Pac 10......... The Pac 10 looked very strong to start the season, but has faltered ever since. The one exception to this is USC who has steamrolled Virginia and Ohio State in their first 2 games of the season. They should be playing for a national title assuming they don't lose to Stanford again. Cal seemed to be destroying the competition before they dropped a humiliating game to Maryland. Oregon State got shellacked by Penn State in Happy Valley45-14.

Oregon has fallen on hard luck with the loss of their first, second, and third string quarterbacks. Their injuries finally caught up to them when Boise State knocked off the Ducks in Eugene last weekend. The most disappointing team in the conference thus far has been Arizona State who not only got destroyed by Georgia last weekend, but also dropped a game to UNLV the previous week.

7. Big East........... For the years following the departure of Boston College, Virginia Tech, and Miami from the conference, the Big East remained surprisingly competitive. Fueled by quality coaching, the Big East quietly knocked off major opponents and remained one of the stronger conferences in the nation. Their time may now be up. Almost every team from the conference looks worse this year than in 2008. The departure of Rich Rodriguez has shown it's immediate effects on West Virginia as they have dropped back to back games to ECU and Colorado. This was the year Pittsburgh was supposed to finally be the top team in the conference, but they lost their opener to Bowling Green from the MAC.

Rutger's love affair with Greg Schiano may be waning as the Scarlet Knights have started the year 0-3 with losses to Fresno State, North Carolina, and Navy. Syracuse is the worst BCS conference team in America. They're 1-3 with losses to Akron, Penn State, and Northwestern and their only victory coming against Northeastern. The two undefeated teams in the conference have looked shaky at best with UCONN almost losing to Temple and Baylor in their 4-0 start and South Florida needing overtime to beat UCF. To the Bulls credit they did knock off a strong Kansas team at home, and will more than likely be the Big East's champ.

CFB Week 4 Hangover

2008-09-21T14:52:00.003-05:00

Another fantastic weekend of college football is in the books, and there's a lot to digest.

There are 2 definite front runners for the Heisman Trophy: Knowshon Moreno and Chase Daniel. Moreno is hands down the best running back in college football, and he shows up in the big games. Daniel has put up staggering numbers on a weekly basis, but he's yet to dive into the Big 12 schedule. The key to both their campaigns will ultimately be the success of their teams.
Phil Fulmer's seat is getting toasty hot. Tennessee was embarrassed on the national stage when they were upset by a bad UCLA team, and Fulmer's inability to solve Florida may be the nail in the coffin. Tennessee is a team with all the talent in the world, but has consistently underperformed in recent years.
Penn State is a team to be reckoned with. The spread HD is destroying the competition. They'll have by far their biggest teast of the year when Illinois comes to Happy Valley this weekend. As of now Penn State seems to be the class of the Big 10.
Finally it would seem that West Virginia fans are getting the message that the rest of the college football world has been telling them for a long time: "Bill Stewart was a bad hire." Stewart legitimately lost that game for West Virginia on Thursday. His clock management on the final drive cost the Mountaineers any legitimate hope of a final scoring opportunity before halftime. Rich Rodriguez is what made West Virginia tick, Stewart was simply a coach on his staff.
What does Georgia Tech's 38-7 blowout of Mississippi State say about the SEC? Certainly it doesn't say much about last week's 3-2 Auburn win over Mississippi State.
It's becoming more and more clear that the downfall of the Big East is already underway. Rodriguez's departure has hit West Viriginia faster than anticipated, Rutgers has now lost to Fresno State and Navy, UCONN was taken to the wire at home by arguably the worst team in the Big 12, and Pittsburgh squeaked out a win against a middle of the road in the Big 10 Iowa team.

Phenom's Phriday Thoughts: Week 3

2008-09-12T10:37:00.003-05:00

Iowa's 2005 Class
Back when they signed their letters of intent, Iowa's 2005 class was hailed as one of the best in the country, particularly because of the talent they raided from Illinois. However, looking back the Illinois talent may be a significant reason why Iowa has struggled recently. Defensive tackle Ryan Bain transferred to Akron, offensive lineman Dan Doering is still struggling to find both his health and his spot in the lineup, and Dace Richardson and Anthony Moeaki both have suffered serious injuries. That made the benching of Jake Christensen this week the disappointing capper to Iowa's dream haul in 2005. Ironically, starting offensive tackle Kyle Callaway was also an Illinoisan in that class, but he was much lower rated than his more publicized bretheren. All of that said, Iowa has a chance to start out 3-0 and build some momentum going into a very important Big Ten season.

Paul Wulff
Everyone knew that hiring Wulff would be a risk, but few thought that Washington State would start out so poorly. After being picked apart at home by Oklahoma State, the Cougars suffered a historic 66-3 home loss to Cal this past week. All of a sudden this week's game against Baylor looks like a must win, if only to keep Wulff's head above water in Pullman. If Wazzou cannot bring itself back to respectability, it may be a painfully short stay for Wulff at his alma mater.

Rutgers
It was hard to watch the Butch Davis/Greg Schiano matchup on Thursday and not marvel at how far ahead UNC seemed of Rutgers. Many years this would have been expected, but this year it was an extremely surprising result. Rutgers has begun the year in shambles. While starting 0-2 against Fresno State and UNC may not seem devastating, the way they looked in addition to the controversy surrounding funding for their stadium renovation will lead some to speculate whether Schiano is much longer for Piscataway. At the very least, he must be wondering whether or not he should have taken a higher profile job in the past two offseasons. Rutgers NEEDS to turn it around for its program's sake, and soon.

Week 2: Ripper Ramblings

2008-09-10T20:01:00.005-05:00

Early Season Carousel. Just two weeks in the season and the coaching carousel is already spinning, and its spinning in a direction many wouldn't have expected before the season. Not to say its all unexpected. Greg Robinson should start looking into setting up a forwarding address. Ty Willingham, despite a nice effort against BYU, needs to pull some upsets or he'll be packing. Brent Guy's days must be numbered at Utah State. However, some guys who were expected to be safe aren't. Ralph Friedgen at Maryland has played his way onto the hot seat. The same can be said about the Old Ball Coach. On the other hand, Mike Stoops looks to have a squad that can do some damage in the Pac 10 and will likely pull through the bowl or bust proposition placed on him.

Notre Dame. Charlie Weis got off to a very dubious fourth year in South Bend. All the talk about a big turn around and a run at double digit wins seem to be very far fetched. The offense, specifically the running game, seemed to make little progress from 2007. The head scratchier is why was there so much positive talk? Most of that talk comes from sports writers who's product is in much more demand when Notre Dame is hot, that could have something to do with it. The one oddity is that there has been very little grumbling from alums and boosters about doing something about the coaching situation. If things continue to look like '07, it would be hard to justify not making a change, especially when there is such an obvious candidate.

Skip Holtz. As a high school senior at Fayetteville High School in Arkansas Louis Leo Holtz Jr. applied and was denied admission to Notre Dame. Undeterred, he enrolled at Holy Cross Junior College in South Bend, IN. After two years he finally enrolled at Notre Dame, not unlike Daniel "Rudy" Ruettiger. After attending classes for one year Skip decided he wanted to walk-on the football team. He began discussing the possibility with then head coach Gerry Faust. However, following the 1985 season Faust was fired and replaced by Lou Holtz, Skip's father. Skip walked on the team for his senior year and appeared in all 11 games on special teams. As a backup flanker he didn't receive a pass, but did, however, have one carry for one yard gained. Rudy who can coach.

BYU. A ton has been made about the excessive celebration penalty called on Washington during the closing moments of their game with BYU, probably too much. While the call was poor, the story could develop a life of its own as the season wares on. Remember, BYU had every right to win that game, if not more than Washington. BYU finished the game with a 475-337 yard advantage and shouldn't have the call count against them when being evaluated for a BCS bowl.

Conference Rankings. After the early going three conferences have separated themselves from the other three BCS conferences, they are the SEC, Big 12, and Pac 10. Meanwhile, the ACC and Big East have fallen way off those conference's pace. The Big Ten is stuck somewhere in the middle and still have an opportunity to align themselves on one side or the other. Justifiably or not, the results of the Ohio State/USC game will play a big role in which direction the Big Ten falls in the court of public opinion.

Kansas State. Ron Prince's Wildcats are off to a fantastic start and have posted great numbers on both offense and defense against weak opponents. It was at about this time and in this space a season ago when Kansas was sited as a surprise team. Prince had a solid first season in Aggieville, but oddly took a step back in '07. The early returns indicate that he may have things back on the right track. While we're not yet predicting a BCS bowl win like their Sunflower State rival, you have officially been warned.

Five Stories from Week 1

2008-09-04T10:41:00.004-05:00

While for the most part week 1 is the time for programs to get their teams ready to go for the bulk of the regular season, the opening weekend did provide us with some insight as to what some of the major stories of the year may turn out to be.

1. The Tide Rises Again

Alabama was incredibly impressive in its dismantling of Clemson. However, the beauty of the win was not the victory itself, but the way that the Crimson Tide pulled it off. They absolutely dominated both sides of the line, outrushing Clemson 239-0, and possessing the ball for over 41 minutes. What this points to is the likelihood for Nick Saban's team to at least make a run at the SEC West title, and given the history and intrigue in Tuscaloosa, it would be a big national storyline.

2. The ACC - America's Newest Whipping Boy

It would not have surprised many college football fans if either Clemson or Virginia Tech lost this past weekend. The ACC's perceived heavyweights each faced a tough test in week 1. However, for them to each lose was a damaging blow to the ACC's national reputation, even more so given each game's circumstances. Clemson was obliterated by Alabama, and Virginia Tech lost on a Beamerball specialty - the blocked punt. To make matters worse, the Hokies look like a program in disarray with Frank Beamer pulling the redshirt off of Tyrod Taylor just weeks after choosing to keep the talented sophomore on the sidelines this year. If the Hokies cannot stabilize the quarterback position they may be in for a long season.

3. Steve Spurrier's Quarterback Carousel

The main story following South Carolina's spring game was performance of the quarterbacks. Tommy Beecher and Chris Smelley combined for 8 interceptions, and Beecher's first half on Thursday did not do anything to quell the fears of Gamecock fans. However, Smelley came on and led an efficent offense in the second half against NC State. South Carolina's defense has the talent and experience to lead the Gamecocks to a New Year's Day bowl. Whether or not they make it there comes down to the Ol' Ball Coach's specialty - quarterback play.

4. The Battle for L.A.

While it is too early to proclaim UCLA back as a perennial Pac-10 contender, the win over Tennessee on Monday was the perfect start for Rick Neuheisel. If the Bruins can get a steady performance this season from Kevin Craft, and solid defensive and special teams play, they may take a large step forward towards challenging USC in the future. Regardless, the annual USC/UCLA matchup will have a little extra spice this season.

5. Who Will Win the Heisman?

Tim Tebow did enough to lead the Gators to victory, but his numbers were nowhere near his Heisman standard from a year ago. It seems that Florida will be able to generate a running game this year from sources other than their quarterback. However, even potentially without Tebow, the Heisman race should be a good one. As of now the early leader has to be Chase Daniel, who picked apart Illinois, and will likely be involved in a few shootouts this season. There will obviously be other candidates, but right now Daniel has the edge.

Week 1 Thoughts

2008-09-02T20:38:00.005-05:00

College football was back and in full swing this past weekend. We learned a lot about many teams and conferences throughout the nation. Here are some of my thoughts upon digesting the past week.

What an incredible game last night between UCLA and Tennessee. This game really got me for the first time in the weekend remember how spectacular college football is. UCLA's QB Craft was absolutely terrible in the first half, but after Norm Chow tightened some screws and Rick Neuheisel spoke with Craft at halftime he was able to turn the game around. Craft turned an awful night into a legendary performance to finish the game. UCLA's defense looked great. Their schemes and pressure on Crompton seemed to rattle the offense for the Vols. It looks like Slick Rick is going to be making a splash sooner rather than later this season in the NCAA.
Along with the UCLA victory, there's another defeat to the SEC's Vols by the PAC 10 in season openers.
Alabama had the most impressive game of the weekend when they pummeled Clemson in Atlanta. The potent rushing attack of the Clemson Tigers gained 0 yards on the ground on Nick Saban's Tide squad. It seems that season 2 may be the breakout season for Saban at Alabama. On the same note, this was a very disappointing game for Tommy Bowden and Clemson. This may be a sign of the competitive differences between the SEC and the ACC or it could simply be 2 programs heading in different directions.
While the SEC got it's signature win on Saturday night at the hands of Alabama, the conference as a whole had a few stains on the resume. Mississippi State lost to Louisiana Tech over the weekend as well as Tennessee losing to underdog UCLA. However the most surprising final came from Fayetteville where Arkansas barely held off Western Illinois 28-24.
The Pac Ten however put up the best showing of the weekend. USC put on their annual out of conference early in the season rout by crushing Virginia in Charlottesville. Arizona leads the nation in offense and defense after beating Idaho 70-0. UCLA had an impressive win yesterday over Tennessee, and Cal was able to hold off a strong Michigan State team on Saturday. Both those games made the PAC 10 the dominant conference, at least for the first week.
Oregon State had a very upsetting loss to Stanford on Thursday. Not only did they out gain the Cardinal 490-301, but they fumbled the ball into the endzone at the end of the game for a touchback to seal the loss. Oregon State will be a good team this year despite the loss.
Stanford however showed that they may be a bowl bound team this season. This weekend's game in the desert against Arizona State will tell a lot about both those programs.
Utah deserves more credit for their victory over Michigan than they're getting. It's true Michigan looked really bad, but Utah looked impressive. Anytime you can knock off Michigan in the Big House, it's something to hang your hat on. Michigan is going to have many bumps in the road this season until they can find their quarterback.
The biggest upset of the weekend happened in Mike Sherman's debut for Texas A&M as Arkansas State knocked off the Aggies in College Station. Sherman should get plenty of feedback from the Aggie faithful about his teams performance last week.
Never buy into hype surrounding Pittsburgh as long as Dave Wannstedt is the head coach.
Maryland could be pretty bad this year after almost losing it's opener at home against a Joe Flaccoless Deleware squad.
Steve Kragthorpe may not last the rest of the season at Louisville if his team puts up performances like they did against Kentucky on Sunday.
Lastly this could be an impressive season for Mid Majors. Fresno State, Utah, and BYU all look like they will put up fantastic seasons. This past weekend mid majors posted nice victories when: Fresno State beat Rutgers, Arkansas State beat Texas A&M, La Tech beat Mississippi State, Utah beat Michigan, East Carolina beat Virginia Tech, and Bowling Green beat Pittsburgh

The Zook Factor: Battleground Ohio

2008-07-01T10:30:00.003-05:00

We all know what kind of job Ron Zook has done thus far at Illinois. He has recruited very well, and last season took the Fighting Illini all the way to Pasadena. However, one of the more interesting off-field stories involving the Zooker is the way he has changed recruiting in the state of Ohio.

Ohio football recruiting has always been dominated by Ohio State. For the most part, this is still the case. However, this season the Buckeyes have been forced to change their recruiting style. In the past, Ohio State has been able to pick and choose the best prospects in the state and offer them whenever they wanted. This has changed slightly in the 2009 class.

One of the peripheral benefits of Illinois' upset victory over Ohio State was the credibility that it gave Zook in the homes of potential Ohio recruits. Now, as opposed to talking up the potential of the Illinois program, Zook can point to last year's surprising result. Therefore, Illinois has made a concerted effort to make Ohio State work in Ohio this recruiting season.

The player that probably most represents the "new" Ohio is Melvin Fellows. Early in the recruiting season Fellows made a commitment to Illinois, who offered him well before Ohio State. Needless to say, the Buckeye staff was taken aback by this, and when they took a closer look at Fellows' film they put the full court press on him. Recently Fellows changed his commitment to Ohio State, and his story may be an interesting one to follow up until Signing Day. While Fellows may end up at Ohio State regardless, the Buckeyes were forced to move early on him, and perhaps spend more time and resources than they usually would on a prospect.

Some media sources have cited the Illini as offering "over 100" players, many of which are in Ohio. While this number seems high, and very likely is overblown, the aggressive recruiting strategy has forced Ohio State to make evaluation decisions earlier than they would like.

What does this mean for on the field results? It remains to be seen. Ohio State will have a tremendous recruiting class as usual. Where this effect may be seen will be in class attrition. If some of the players Ohio State has brought in do not end up working out, it may be because they were not properly evaluated by the Buckeyes. In addition, it may be tougher for in state prospects who blow up in their senior year to commit to Ohio State if Illinois or Michigan have been recruiting them hard for months.

It will be interesting to see if this trend continues in the future. I suspect that it will, as the Zooker has helped create a new recruiting game in the Big Ten. The battles for the top prospects in the Midwest will be hotly contested for the years to come.

Photo Legend: Darrell Royal

2008-06-30T09:00:00.000-05:00

The iconic Texas figure Darrell Royal is clearly one of the profession's best. His incredible run at Texas produced a 167-47-5 (0.774) record. He is the school's all-time leader in wins. He is second to Mack Brown in winning percentage of all Longhorn head coaches (minimum 35 games). He won three National Titles, 1963, 1969, and 1970. He also won 11 Southwestern Conference Championships and went to 16 bowl games. He finished in the top 10 11 times. His Texas program had the best winning percentage in college football over the years he was there. He took over a 1-9 team and went 6-4-1 in his first season (1956) and never produced a losing record. He spent two seasons as Mississippi State's head coach and one season as Washington's head coach.

He began his college football career playing for his home state's university, Oklahoma. He played under Bud Wilkenson and became an All-America quarterback. He still holds the career and single game records for interceptions made on the defensive side.

Perhaps the greatest mark he left on college football is developing the wishbone offense. He installed the new offense in 1968. Success game shortly thereafter. With the new offense he won National Titles in '69 and '70, won 30 consecutive games, and won six consecutive SWC championships. The offense soon spread throughout the college game. While rarely employed today, many of the offense's concepts are found in the modern spread option attacks.

Later in his coaching career he took on the duel role of athletic director. Upon retiring from coaching he remained the AD until 1980. He still works for the university as a special assistant. His folksy sense of humor produced many memorable "Royalisms." In 1996 he was honored by the renaming of the school's stadium to Darrell K. Royal - Texas Memorial Stadium. He was elected to the College Football Hall of Fame in 1983

3rd Year Coaches Review

2008-06-25T20:20:00.007-05:00

By year three in a coaches tenure, fans and administration become pretty confident in their opinion of their head coach. In fact, in recent years some coaches have been fired following their third season.

Bronco Mendenhall, BYU (28-10): BYU hasn't lost a MWC game during the past two seasons. BYU has been tabbed by many as the most likely BCS party crasher for this coming season. He's brought a solid defense to Provo to go along with their historically good offense. He will be a hot commodity on the coaching market, however, rumors are floating that he may not be interested in being a coaching lifer.

Skip Holtz, East Carolina (20-17): The younger Holtz has quickly turned this football hungry school into a solid program. They will be near the top of C-USA yet again. Another solid year could very possibly land him a BCS coaching gig this off season.

Urban Meyer, Florida (31-8): Many suspected that the Meyer spread offense wouldn't be able to deal with the SEC speed. Boy was that wrong. After a mildly sluggish first year, he has simply won a national title and produced a Heisman winner. Many will call for the Gators to win both awards again this season. Meyer game to Florida as a budding coaching genius and has done nothing to dispel that belief.

Ron Zook, Illinois (13-23): Zook struggled through two two-win seasons to start off his Illinois tenure. However, those who followed this program recognized that his second team was a budding power. He followed up that season with Illinois' first Rose Bowl birth since after the '83 season. His '07 team was actually slightly worse than the '06 team in many key statistics. He has led the Big Ten in rushing the last two seasons. His recruiting with Illinois has drawn high praise, however, his on field success has occurred primarily with Ron Turner recruits. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise, this man can coach.

Terry Hoeppner, Indiana (9-14, 2 years): Tragically, Coach Hoep succumbed to brain cancer during the summer of 2007. He became the second standing Big Ten head coach to die in as many seasons. Like Randy Walker, he previously coached at Miami OH. In his short time in Bloomington he significantly rouse the level of play and lifted up the spirit of the campus. He will be remembered.

Les Miles, LSU (34-6): He is the second coach on this list with a National Title and the possessor of the best record. His words prior to this season's SEC title game, "I'm looking forward to coaching my damn fine football team," are perhaps the most famous in the history of the coaching carousel. The National Title allowed for him to get out from under the Nick Sabin shadow, which he deserves. If he can continue to surround himself with top flight coordinators he'll go down as one of the all-time greats. Expect him and Meyer to have many epic battles.

Mark Snyder, Marshall (12-23): The former Ohio State defensive coordinator's tenure as Marshall head coach has been a big disappointment. He took over for a coach with a 0.803 winning percentage. Snyder's seat is getting warm.

Shane Montgomery, Miami OH (15-21): He took over a program that recently lost one of their all-time best players. His 2-10 season in '06 included many heat break type loses and isn't indicative of the job he's done in Oxford. He won't be as good as Hoeppner, but expect Montgomery to be good enough to hold his job for a number of years and compete for a MAC title every so often - including this coming season.

Ed Orgeron, Mississippi (10-25): Orgeron became the second coach from this class to be fired after going win less in the SEC in '07. Ole Miss acted incredibly quickly in hiring Nutt, so who knows how long that move was in the works. Its tough to knock Ole Miss for jumping at the opportunity with Nutt. Orgeron definitely struggled on the field, but recruited well enough to probably justify another year. While he is currently an NFL assistant, expect him to catch on in college again as someones top recruiter.

Mike Sanford, UNLV (6-29): Sanford came to UNLV as a hot commodity after serving as Urban Meyer's offensive coordinator at Utah. His tenure at UNLV, a program that's struggled to gain any traction, has been a disaster. Without a big year this season, UNLV may be back in the coach market.

Hal Mumme, New Mexico State (8-29): Many expected Mumme to do big things here given his success at Kentucky. His original defensive coordinator was also a former SEC head coach, Woody Widenhofer (now retired). Mumme has produced solid offenses but nothing better than a 4 win season. He may still be able to turn things around.

Charlie Weis, Notre Dame (22-15): Chas Weis started his ND career with such a bang he was quickly given a 10 year contract. He led the Irish to BCS bowls in each of his first two seasons. His second team was selected by many to win the National Title. However, that team's offense took a sizable step back. He followed that up with an incredibly bad 3-9 season. Notre Dame, a program very familiar with the shark infested coaching search waters, seems to still be behind Weis - a former non-football playing ND student. Another awful season could change that and cause Father Jenkins to rethink his decision three years ago.

Frank Solich, Ohio (19-18): The high point for Solich so far has been the MAC East and 9-5 season in 2006. He bookend that with two so so seasons. Solich hasn't had the impact in the MAC many expected, especially considering that league is currently down. He might not get that much better.

Mike Gundy, Oklahoma State (18-19): Most famous for his rant after a solid win against Texas Tech last season, Gundy has put together back-to-back 7-6 seasons for OSU. He has had very solid and balanced offenses, but losing offensive coordinator Larry Fedora is a big hit. Expect Gundy to stay competitive, but he many never be able to topple the Big 12 South's big boys. Be aware, Boone T. Picken's deep pockets could get antsy at any time.

Dave Wannstedt, Pittsburgh (16-19): Wanny has been one win from going bowling in each of his three seasons. He has upped the talent level significantly and many expect the 2008 season to be a dandy for Pitt. His defense finished 5th nationally a year ago, but coordinator Paul Rhodes is a loss. The high expectations make this season a big one for Wannstedt, who's a good example of a coach who is still hard to get a handle of after three seasons.

Dick Tomey, San Jose State (17-19): Tomey did what many didn't expect - reach a bowl following the 2006 season. Tomey is unlikely to raise the profile of this program much more than he already has. However, the gray bearded Tomey has already done what he was hired to: improve the results and profile of a program that was close to shutting its doors before his arrival.

Steve Spurrier, South Carolina (21-16): While Spurrier has made the SEC that much more interesting, he hasn't had the great success many expected. More surprisingly is that his USC offenses have been a shadow of what his Florida offenses were. He has a boat load of starters returning, making 2008 a big season for the Old Ball Coach. He's made the Gamecocks competitive in the SEC, but others in the coaching world have caught up to the OBC.

Walt Harris, Stanford (6-17, 2 years): You could argue that he was unjustly fired from Pittsburgh following a BCS bowl birth. But he was a complete flop at Stanford and was fired after only his second season.

Greg Robinson, Syracuse (7-28): Perhaps the worst remaining hire of this class, Robinson has done worse than even his biggest detractors could have imagined. In a time when the Big East was expanding with C-USA teams, its amazing that one of its all-time better programs has struggled so much. Robinson's seat is very hot. He hired Glen Mason's former offensive coordinator, Mitch Browning, and that move could enough to save his job.

Kyle Wittingham, Utah (24-14): Urban Meyer's former defensive coordinator has maintained the program quite well. Utah is poised for a big season if QB Brian Johnson stays healthy. Many will be calling for his squad to upset Michigan. If he does, the rivalry game with BYU this season could be for a BCS bowl birth. Nonetheless, at this point Wittingham wouldn't be a real splashy hire for a BCS program.

Brent Guy, Utah State (6-29): His hiring at Utah State didn't turn any heads. His tenure at Utah State has done just that, hasn't turned any heads. If Utah State is serious about being competitive in football they'll fire this Guy. But then again, they might not be.

Ty Willingham, Washington (11-25): Ty has made only limited progress in cleaning up the mess left behind by Keith Gilbertson. This one of the all-time great programs may be in need of new blood. Willingham is on many hot seat lists, but he might have just a good enough season to keep his job. He may also have done a good enough job to give his replacement a good chance at success.

Bill Cubit, Western Michigan (20-16): Cubit was a very quite hire, but has had a nice run in Kalamazoo. He'll likely be able to keep WMU competitive in the MAC, but might never have enough success to justify a big promotion. Expect a run at the MAC title this season out of Cubit's squad.

Notre Dame on NBC: How Much Longer?

2008-06-25T12:19:00.003-05:00

This past week NBC agreed to an extension with Notre Dame through the 2015 season. Their television contract is what puts Notre Dame in a league all it's own in the college football world. The question is: How long will this agreement last? Last year the ratings for the Fighting Irish on NBC took a nosedive to a 1.9 rating. This was the lowest Notre Dame on NBC rating ever. Their previous worse was in 2003 when they had a 2.4 rating. In 2006 they posted a 3.9 rating on NBC when they went 10-3 only 2 seasons ago.

If the ratings continue to slide for Notre Dame, NBC may look to drop the team. Much of the lasting aura of Notre Dame comes from their national contract with NBC. If they were to lose that deal, there would be very little that makes the program stand out amongst the other schools.

If Notre Dame would continue on the network, it would be assumed the program would continue to have success. NBC made it clear that their expectations for the program is to be in or near the top 10 on a consistent basis. Dick Ebersol last week stated: "We go into this thinking that if the vast majority of the years has Notre Dame competitive in that top 10 or for that top 10 through the majority of the season, then we'll be very happy," This is a far cry from the 3-9 record posted in the 2007 season.

Notre Dame today is not the same program who manhandled competition and was a year in and year out contender for the national championship. A string of bad coaching hires, and lack of production have lead to an era of mediocrity with a few sound seasons. Recruits today did not grow up with Notre Dame being a dominant program. The Irish have not won a bowl game since 1994 and today's seniors in high school were not even born the last time ND was crowned national champions.

If Notre Dame doesn't get their act together on the field, they're in grave danger of becoming just another college football program. This may or may not be possible with Charlie Weis. Rest assured however, it's going to be on the top of the mind of whoever is named the next AD at Notre Dame.

The Big Ten Network: Looking Ahead to 2008

2008-06-24T09:00:00.000-05:00

When the Big Ten Network was first announced, fans around the nation wondered how the Big Ten would distribute the channel. Unfortunately, last year the answer was "not very well." While satellite subscribers were able to get the channel, the Big Ten failed to negotiate contracts with some of the major cable distributor, such as Comcast. This meant that a majority of potential viewers within the Big Ten's footprint were unable to get the channel into their homes. All of this changed this past week when the Big Ten and Comcast announced an agreement to bring the channel into the cable giant's lineup.

This raises the question - is the BTN ready for such widespread distribution? While at first glance it seems like an obvious yes, there are some underlying issues that need to be dealt with before the network because a national power.

The primary benefit for new subscribers will be the ability to watch all of their favorite team's sporting events. In some cases this will be a convenience, while other fans will view this as a money saving prospect. No longer will Comcast subscribers in Chicago have to go out for lunch on every Saturday to watch football.

In addition, this move helps pave the way for some more nationwide Big Ten exposure. One of the ancillary negatives for the Big Ten this past season was the inability for potential recruits to see the Big Ten in action. Imagine what kind of impact watching the Indiana/Purdue showdown may have had on a kid from Florida who was considering playing for the Hoosiers? Rather than stay in the south to play his football, he may have given Bloomington a chance in order to help build a program in the wake of Terry Hoeppner's tragic death. Starting this season athletes around the country are more likely to see Big Ten athletics, and it may help the schools in recruiting.

However, there were some issues this past year that need to be addressed before the BTN cements itself as a ratings success. Primarily, the non-game programming needs to be improved. While it was great for a college football fan to get in depth analysis of the Big Ten, at times the production quality was second rate, and outside of a few analysts the content was lacking. While the second point is found throughout the television world, correcting it would go a long way towards giving the BTN a great deal of respectability.

There is also a wealth of programming opportunities that the BTN could explore. One of the more interesting aspect of college athletics is the off the field personality of some of its players and coaches. Why not have a "Day in the Life" type of series. It would be fun to see a camera crew try and keep up with Ron Zook on the recruiting trail. There are many different avenues to explore, and with America's fascination with reality TV, the BTN could produce some ratings grabbing programming on the cheap.

The real problem with the lack of quality, professional programming outside of sporting events has to do with revenue. It was comical at times how many times a commercial would be rerun during a football game. In order to be financially viable, the BTN will have to sell more advertising outside of the classic college sports time slots. While people may be tuning in at 11AM on a Saturday, the viewership at 8PM on a Wednesday may be what makes a difference for the Big Ten.

It is hard to argue that it is a negative for the Big Ten to get its network into the homes of millions of new subscribers in 2008. However, if the network positions itself as solely a game provider, it may have a tough time making enough money to be viable. As a Comcast subscriber, I know I will be paying close attention to what the BTN has to offer outside of football this fall, and as a Big Ten graduate, I hope that it is an improvement over 2007.

Photo Legend: Barry Switzer

2008-06-23T09:00:00.001-05:00

While Bud Wilkinson was the first great Oklahoma head coach, Barry Switzer may be the man most fans associate with the Sooner glory years. Switzer was born in Crossett, Arkansas, and played at the University of Arkansas from 1956-1960. In part, his Arkansas roots helped link himself with Jimmy Johnson and Jerry Jones later in life.

Following a short stint in the Army, Switzer was an assistant coach at Arkansas from 1961-1965. However, following the 1965 season he made the move that would define his college coaching career. Jim Mackenzie had just taken the Sooner head coaching job and offered his friend Switzer an assistant coach position.

Switzer originally made his name in the coaching profession by tweaking the Wishbone Offense and using his talented players at Oklahoma to produce some incredible rushing numbers. In 1971, Switzer’s offense set an NCAA record by rushing for 471 yards per game. In addition, that team scored 534 points.

When Chuck Fairbanks left Oklahoma to coach the New England Patriots, the school promoted Switzer to the head coach position. Switzer began his head coaching career under probation due to infractions under Fairbanks’ regime, but he did not let that get in the way of results. In both 1974 and 1975 the Sooners won national titles, which set the tone for Switzer’s tenure at Oklahoma. Overall, in 16 seasons he went 157-29-4, and added a third national title in 1985.

Unfortunately, Switzer will never be remembered for only his on field success at Oklahoma. He was an aggressive recruiter, and in the end his lust for talent led to various scandals and periods of probation for the university. All of this came to a head when Sports Illustrated published an article detailing what was going on in Norman. Switzer never coached again in college.

However, Jerry Jones gave Switzer another head coaching opportunity when he asked him to succeed Jimmy Johnson as head coach of the Dallas Cowboys. Switzer would make good on this opportunity, winning Super Bowl XXX, but following 1997 he was out of coaching for good. Switzer is currently working for the FOX network.

Meet The New Hires: Bill Stewart

2008-06-20T09:00:00.004-05:00

2000-2007: West Virginia - Assistant Coach

1999: Winnipeg Blue Bombers (CFL) - Offensive Coordinator

1998: Montreal Alouettes - Offensive Line Coach

1994-1996: VMI - Head Coach

1990-1993: Air Force

1988-1989: Arizona State

1985-1987: North Carolina

1984: Navy

1981-1983: William & Mary

1980: Marshall

1979: North Carolina

1977-1978: Salem College

It would be an understatement to say that Bill Stewart's career path has not been the typical one for a head coach at a top 10 program. After moving through various high school and college assistant jobs, some in D-IA, he landed the VMI head coaching position in 1994. After a three year run where he compiled an 8-25 record, he resigned under pressure due to a racially insensitive remark. His remark was likely isolated and benign, but nonetheless, it banished him to the Canadian Football League for three seasons. He returned to the college game as an assistant in 2000 at West Virginia, his home state's top state institution. He was originally hired by Don Nehlan, but was retained by Rich Rodriguez in 2001. All in all, the move to a top 10 program's head coach seems somewhat illogical, especially given his dubious performance at VMI.

Stewart's hiring was the result of some unusual circumstances. Rich Rodriguez left his BCS bowl bound program late in the coaching cycle, making it difficult for the school to find a replacement in the traditional fashion. In addition, as time wore on West Virginia's options were thinning out. Therefore, when the Mountaineers pounded Oklahoma 48-28, it was easy for the administration to move the interim tag from Stewart and officially give him the head coaching position.

The school might have also been reeling from one of the most devastating losses in college football history. When Pittsburgh beat West Virginia 13-9, it started a series of events that ended up with Rich Rodriguez in Ann Arbor and West Virginia looking for a coach. Given the fact that the administration almost seems more interested in litigating against Rodriguez, Stewart made sense as the university's coach.

Given the difficult situation West Virginia was in, Stewart may give the school its best chance to have success in 2008 and capitalize on the team Rodriguez left behind. His longterm prospectus, however, is much more bleak. How West Virginia manages Stewart's tenure as head coach will dictate its success. If the expectations are for him to lead the program indefinitly, the program is likely headed for a big drop off. However, if the expectations are to try to patch together a 9 or 10 win season in 2008 and quickly begin grooming a long term solution, the Stewart hire could actually work out well. If the Mountaineers roll the good vibes from the Fiesta Bowl and Stewart's good ol' boy persona into a successful 2008 campaign and then look for a long term solution, the Rodriguez era may not go as a total waste. However, if Stewart isn't managed properly, the Pittsburgh loss could be looked back on as something that set a program back for decades.

2nd Year Coaches Review

2008-06-19T08:00:00.000-05:00

College Gridiron Boss takes a look at how coaches who where hired prior to the 2006 season have fared so far in their new gigs.

Chris Peterson, Boise State (13-0 in '06, 10-3 in '07). Peterson became the first coach ever to have a 13-0 season in his first season as head coach. Peterson took over a nice situation in Boise, following Dirk Koetter and Dan Hawkins (0.828 winning % in 5 years). Although he did have to replace a successful QB, year two was a bit of a disappointment. Being upset by East Carolina in the poorly attended Hawaii Bowl was a far different bowl experience than his first season. Peterson was rumored for the UCLA job, but appears willing to wait for the perfect fit before leaving the high desert. Given Hawkins' slow going at Colorado, Peterson may not be a lock for a BCS program.

Turner Gill, Buffalo (2-10, 5-7). The former Cornhusker took over a tough situation. An improvement to 5-7 in his second year marked Buffalo's best season ever in Division I-A. Gill was rumored for the Nebraska job, his Alma Mater. Gill, 45, was expected to learn on the job at Buffalo so a second year record of 5-7 puts him ahead of schedule.

Dan Hawkins, Colorado (2-10, 6-7). Coach Hawk was highly desired while at Boise State, so many are surprised he hasn't had instant success in Boulder. Colorado was likely set for a down turn regardless of coaching, so perhaps Hawkins should be given a pass on his early struggles. In year three he won't get such a pass. Another baby step in 2008 and people will have to question if Hawkins can ever get Colorado to be dominate in an improving Big 12 North.

Dennis Erickson, Idaho (4-8, ---). Erickson returned to Idaho were he cut his coaching teeth in the early '80's. He didn't stay long this time, leaving for Arizona State after one season and upsetting the Vandal faithful. You would expect Erickson, 61, to be on his last job.

Ron Prince, Kansas State (7-6, 5-7). Kansas State surprised a lot of people when they went outside of the Bill Snyder coaching tree to tab his replacement. Ron Prince surprised a lot of people when he upset Texas and played in the Texas Bowl in his first season. More head scratching ensued when Prince followed up his first season with a difficult 5-7 season behind a struggling defense. Will the real Ron Prince please step forward.

Rick Stockstill, Middle Tennessee State (7-6, 5-7). Similar to Prince, Stockstill went bowling in year one only to regress in his second year. Stockstill has a solid pedigree, coaching at South Carolina and Clemson, but in order to get a promotion to a BCS program more gridiron success must come.

Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern (4-8, 6-6). Given the trying circumstances following the death of Randy Walker, any coach would be given a pass on a 4-8 first season. That's especially true when you hire a 32 year old coach with only linebacker coach experience. The legendary Wildcat linebacker took a nice step forward in '08 going 6-6 and leading the Big Ten in total offense. Unfortunately he had to replace both his offensive coordinator (Garrick McGee, took Arkansas QB job) and defensive coordinator (Greg Colby, fired). Northwestern was without an athletic director during the hiring process so this was a tough task for the young Fitzgerald. He made a couple of solid choices in Mick McCall (BGSU offensive coordinator) and Mike Hankwitz (Wisconsin defensive coordinator). Fitzgerald will need time and Northwestern will afford him that. NU eventually hired Northern Illinois' AD Jim Phillips, a rising star. Coupled with Fitzgerald's energetic yet stoic personality, Northwestern may have found the right combo to win in a challenging environment.

Todd Graham, Rice (7-6, ---). Graham got a lot of credit for taking Rice to their first bowl game since 1961. Tulsa liked what he did to, so they hired their old defensive coordinator back as head coach.

Chuck Long, San Diego State (3-9, 4-8). The former Heisman finalist appeared to be ready for his own head gig after a long and successful tenure as Oklahoma's offensive coordinator. Last season's successful offense was wasted due to a horrid defense. That offensive unit was ravaged by graduation, including NFL draft pick QB Kevin O'Connell. Long could be the first of this group to be shown the door.

Al Golden, Temple (1-11, 4-8) . Only at a place like Temple is a 4-8 season cause for celebration. People at Temple weren't the only one's who were impressed with Golden's work, he interviewed for the UCLA job. Golden, one of two Virginia coordinators in this coaching class, and Gill could have the MAC East flipped upside down in just three or four years. Golden is eyeing the head job at his Alma Mater, Penn State, but is likely a long shot.

Brett Bielima, Wisconsin (11-1, 9-4). Bielima (biːləmɑ) took over as part of a succession plan to replace the legendary Barry Alvarez after serving as defensive coordinator. His 11-1 season was out shined by only Peterson amongst first year coaches in '06. Wisconsin was kept out of a BCS bowl due to the rule preventing a conference from sending three schools to bowls. Bielima has Wisconsin best suited to crash Ohio State's and Michigan's party atop the Big Ten.

Coaching Keeps Big East Afloat

2008-06-17T19:28:00.009-05:00

In 2005 there was a conference shakeup that should have crippled the Big East. Virginia Tech, Miami, and Boston College, arguably the top 3 teams in the conference, jumped ship to the ACC. At the time it was believed that the ACC would become a football powerhouse, and the Big East would become the strongest college basketball conference in the nation. The latter turned out to be fairly accurate, however, nobody could have expected the sustained football success the Big East has had since 2005.

In fact, one could conclude that since 2005 the Big East has been the superior football conference over the ACC. This has been due in a large part to the improbable amount of fantastic coaches who have graced the Big East. Greg Schiano, Randy Edsall, Jim Leavitt, Rich Rodriguez, Bobby Petrino, Mark Dantonio, and Brian Kelly are all coaches who would be desired by a score of college football programs, yet all have resided or are currently residing in the Big East.

1/4 of the teams in the Big East weren't in the D1-A as of the year 2000. Edsall's UConn Huskie team worked it's way from the D1-AA level to become one of the most rapidly successful teams in college football history. Since that time he's lead UCONN into a BCS conference, a bowl game victory, and a Big East Conference championship.

Jim Leavitt has literally built the South Florida Bulls from nonexistence in 1996 into a top 10 ranked team in a matter of 10 years. Who would have thought in 1996, that the Bulls of South Florida would be stepping onto the field in the plains of Auburn and coming away with a victory on a steamy Saturday night in the heart of SEC country? Leavitt has built a powerhouse, and has the in state talent and resources available to him to bring South Florida to the promise land.

Without either Jim Jeavitt or Randy Edsall, both programs would be nowhere near the success levels they're currently having.

Cincinnati, who has been off the college football radar since the the 60's, was able to hire Mark Dantonio in 2003. Dantonio was a top notch coordinator at the time at Ohio State coming off their 2002 championship season. Since then, Dantonio brought recognition to the Bearcats squad and was hired away by Michigan State. Cincinnati then went out and made another great hire in signing Brian Kelly, who was considered by several football programs as a desirable head coach. Cincinnati wouldn't be able to attract Kelly if it wasn't in the Big East. The ability to contend for a BCS bowl birth year in and year out is something Central Michigan couldn't offer. Up until 2005, Cincinnati couldn't have offered if it either, but their move to the Big East opened up the window for them to hire Kelly.

The long term success of the conference is going to weigh heavily on being able to retain or hire top flight coaches. The overall player talent in the league is the weakest of all the major BCS conferences. Many of the names who grew into college superstars such as Steve Slaton, Pat White, and Ray Rice were not blue chip athletes coming out of high school and were not drafted like superstars in recent NFL drafts. The Big East is at a great risk of falling off if they don't have good coaches in place to guide these athletes.

The most immediate impact seen in the Big East by a departed coach was the nosedive at Louisville this past season after Bobby Petrino departed for the Atlanta Falcons. The team seemingly unraveled throughout the course of the year despite not losing much, if any, of the major talent from the season before including star quarterback Brian Brohm. Louisville went from being Big East Champions in 2006 under Petrino to having a 6-6 record the following season with Steve Kragthorpe. The 6 losses in 2007 is more than Louisville had combined over the course of the 3 previous seasons.

West Virginia is in great danger of this happening to them in the near future. Bill Stewart was very much a heat of the moment hire for the university after their bowl victory against Oklahoma. The loss of the offensive mastermind Rich Rodriguez and the hiring of the unproven Bill Stewart could sink the Mountaineers into the levels of mediocrity in 2 or 3 years. The immediate impact may not be felt this season as the 1-2 punch of Pat White and Noel Devine return to a similar offensive scheme. If ,however, West Virginia is getting beaten into submission on September 18th in Boulder, it could be a sign of a long season for the Mountaineer faithful.

Greg Schiano is another coach at risk for leaving Rutgers, and the Big East. All signs point to the former Nittany Lion holding out for the Penn State job upon Paterno's exit. Rutgers was the absolute doormat of college football until Schiano pulled a 180 on the program and made them the Cinderella team of college football two seasons ago. The sustained success of the Rutgers program is a testament to his coaching ability.

Ironically the 2 teams who have historically been the top squads in the conference, Syracuse and Pittsburgh, have been poor to mediocre at best mainly because of bad coaching hires. Nobody could have predicted how big of a failure the Greg Robinson experiment has been at Syracuse, but they will not come close to sniffing success in the Big East as long as he's there. At Pittsburgh, Dave Wannstedt's been able to bring talent, but not victories to the grossly under performing Panthers. Pitt hasn't been nearly as bad as Syracuse, but they have been the biggest disappointment in the league due to lack of success under their high profile coach and highly talented athletes.

There is reason to believe that the Big East can maintain success and attract good coaches. For one, due to the number of teams in the conference, the road to a BCS game is far easier in the Big East than any other BCS conference. With that comes an easier path to the BCS championship game. Another advantage that is several of the programs in the conference are experiencing their greatest level of success in the history of their program.

Because of that success, there's an added significance for many of the coaches to stick around with their respective schools to reach legendary status. If Jim Leavitt were to have left South Florida to coach at Alabama, he would have been at best the second or third best coach in school history. What he's done at South Florida is unprecedented. His legendary status at South Florida is what should talk louder than the enormous salary offers other big time football programs throw at him.

For a lot of coaches, however money does talk, and if the price is right they will walk to the highest bidder. The Big East needs to understand that they need to have great coaches in place throughout the conference to maintain their prestige. If the universities aren't willing to buck up the cash for these coaches, the conference could easily spiral into mediocrity. If that happens these universities could soon lose some of the perks of being in a BCS conference.

The Mendenhall Saga

2008-06-17T12:29:00.002-05:00

This past Sunday, the Champaign News-Gazette published an interesting article about Rashard Mendenhall. What made it interesting was one quote in particular. He said, "To tell you the truth, as long as Ron Zook is there it will be hard for me to support the University of Illinois football team.”

At first glance it seems like a ridiculous comment. Zook showcased Mendenhall on offense this past season, and rode his star running back to a Rose Bowl appearance. In return, Mendenhall was drafted in the first round by the Pittsburgh Steelers and will shortly be a millionaire. However, there is a mitigating factor which likely is the source of the tension – the treatment of Rashard’s older brother, Walter.

Walter is a year older than Rashard, and was quickly switched from running back to linebacker when he showed up in Champaign. Part of the reasoning behind the decision was based on need, part was based on the likely fact that Walter would not see significant time at running back. However, a year later Walter was moved back to the backfield, to the fullback position.

While Rashard was putting together an All-American type of season, Walter spent most of his time on the bench. Both players seemed to accept there role. However, after the season news leaked out that Walter would not be returning to the football team for his fifth year of eligibility and that the Mendenhalls were not happy. No one can say for sure what went on behind the scenes, but it all culminated in Rashard’s comments this past weekend.

There are two main issues to consider here. One, was there really any reason for Rashard to make these comments? And secondly, can this negatively affect the Illini program. Well, it is hard to believe that these were comments that had to be made. Quite frankly, big time college football is about results, not rewarding time spent in the program, and it is hard to believe that Illinois’ best results in 2008 would have come with Walter Mendenhall carrying the ball. In addition, Mike Locksley’s offense allowed for Rashard to showcase his talents. It is very possible that he would have been a physical specimen without the on field results at other schools. However, when it comes down to it, Mendenhall is still a young man, and while he may regret his comments in the future, an outsider can see how he feels for his brother’s situation.

The most negative impact for Illinois may be on the recruiting trail. While every BCS head coach makes promises that he knows he will not or cannot fulfill, not many have former players come out and make comments like these to the media. The timing is also poor from the standpoint that many top 2009 prospects are making their initial college visits. Coaches are always looking for an advantage, and you can be sure that Big Ten assistants are relaying Rashard’s comments to most of the top players in the Midwest.

Thus far nothing has been able to slow down Ron Zook on the recruiting trail. He brought in incredible classes at Florida, and the work he has done in three seasons at Champaign has been nothing less than remarkable. However, it may be the comments of a former player that are Zook’s recruiting downfall this season. While it is hard to imagine this being a long term issue, do not be surprised if Illinois’ 2009 class falls slightly short of expectations.

Photo Legend: Bud Wilkinson

2008-06-16T09:00:00.002-05:00

Bud Wilkinson dominated collegiate athletics. The longtime Oklahoma Sooners head man is responsible for bringing 14 conference championships as well as 3 national championships to Norman. Wilkinson played guard and quarterback for Minnesota in college. During that time he lead the Gophers to 3 consecutive national championships from 1934-1936. Wilkinson coached Oklahoma between 1947-1963. During that time he had an astounding 145-29-4 overall record good for a .826 winning percentage.

Wilkinson is best known for leading the Sooners on a 47 game winning streak between the years of 1953-1957. No collegiate team has come within 12 wins of that streak. It took 13 seasons before a Bud Wilkinson coached Oklahoma team lost a conference game. It's mind boggling to think of the amount of success Wilkinson had at Oklahoma. Wilkinson walked away from the college coaching game when he was only 47 years old. After college he became a well known college football announcer. He later coached the St. Louis Rams for two seasons before getting fired and moving back to the broadcast booth. Wilkinson is a 1969 college football hall of fame inductee for his tremendous success with the Sooners.

Wilkinson had two stints in politics, one with President Kennedy and another with Richard Nixon. In 1961 while he was still coaching the Sooners, JFK appointed him as the special consultant on youth fitness. From that position he became the director of the President's council on physical fitness. In 1969 Wilkinson returned to politics when he was a special consultant to President Richard Nixon for 2 years. Wilkinson ran for Senate in 1964 for the state of Oklahoma, but lost in a slight margin to Fred Harris.

One could only imagine where he would rank with the all time coaches if he were to continue coaching past the time he decided to retire. Bud Wilkinson passed away in 1994, but the mark he left on college football will not be erased.

Meet the New Hires: Paul Wulff

2008-06-13T09:00:00.001-05:00

2000-2007: Eastern Washington - Head Coach
1998-1999: Eastern Washington - Offensive Coordinator

1993-1997: Eastern Washington - Offensive Line Coach

Most of the new hires for the 2008 season have well known back stories. Bo Pelini is returning to Lincoln where he hopes to recreate his defense of earlier this decade. Rick Neuheisel is coming to his alma mater as a coach, and changed, man. On the other hand, the hire of Paul Wulff by Washington State was somewhat surprising and not covered in detail by the national media. However, the success or failure of Wulff may prompt other BCS athletic directors to make similar hires in the future.

While Wulff was born in California, he is a Washington man through and through. He attended Wazzou and played offensive line under three coaches – Jim Walden, Dennis Erickson, and Mike Price. Erickson and Wulff will be able to get reacquainted once every fall, that’s for sure.

In 1993, Wulff took the offensive line coach position at Eastern Washington. It would start a 15 year tenure at the school, which culminated in Wulff coaching the squad from 2000-2007. However, unlike most FCS coaches who move up to the FBS, Wulff was not tremendously successful at EWU. In 8 seasons, he only won more than 7 games twice, and never had fewer than four losses. His career record of 53-40 was solid, but not spectacular.

One thing that Wulff has going for him is that he is a Cougar. In fact, from an outsider’s perspective it appears to be the only trait that qualifies him for the job. However, Wulff hopes that his no-huddle spread offense will spark his team like it has so many others, and help WSU lay a foundation for the future.

Wulff’s level of success could have a far reaching effect on college football as we know it. If he is able to bring bowl trophies and conference title contenders back to Pullman, athletic directors will look at his passion for his alma mater – and his relatively low salary – as a model for making their next hire. Wulff may be able to usher in a wave of fresh faced coaches to the FCS level, which could significantly change the coaching landscape.

On the other hand, if Wulff falls flat on his face and cannot get the job done, it may prompt some BCS programs to think twice about hiring FCS or up and coming coaching. Quite honestly, while ADs settling for the loyal and cheap hire may not be good in the long run, their dismissal of such candidates would be even worse.

Paul Wulff may not be a household name, but he may be one of the most important hires of the 2008 season. It is rare that programs look to Pullman for influence, but Wulff’s performance may leave a legacy that reaches well beyond the Idaho border.

Coaches of the Future: Big 12 and PAC 10

2008-06-12T09:00:00.001-05:00

In part six of a six part series highlighting coaches who could elevate to a BCS head coaching position, College Gridiron Boss takes a look at current Big 12 and PAC 10 assistant coaches.

BIG 12

Oklahoma DC: Brent Venables
Venables has been Bob Stoop's right hand man since 93' dating back to his coaching days at Kansas State. Stoop rehired Venables when he took over at Oklahoma in '99 and hasn't looked back. During the 9 seasons Venables has had at Oklahoma, the defenses have been consistently in the top 25. Regardless of talent, or the number of returning starters, Venables has continued to put a sound defensive product on the table. In 2006 he was a Broyles award winning finalist, and in 2003 Oklahoma had the nation's #1 defense under his and Mike Stoops' watch. Though his resume hasn't necessarily improved dramatically over the course of the years, he seems ready to take on a head coaching job in the near future if somebody would come calling.

Texas DC: Will Muschamp
Muschamp was the top coordinator hire made this offseason in college football. Texas snatched the fiery former Auburn and LSU defensive coordinator for big money. Assuming Muschamp remains successful at Texas, this should be his final year as coordinator before being hired by a big time program to be the head coach. In 2002 Muschamp took over an LSU defense that was ranked #75 nationally in total defense the season before. In his first year, LSU's defense skyrocketed to #8 in the nation. In LSU's 2003 BCS championship year their defense was #1 in the country under Muschamp's guidance. In Muschamp's last season at LSU before jumping with Nick Saban to the pro's, he lead the nation's #3 defense. Muschamp returned to the college game in 2006 to take over as defensive coordinator at Auburn and in two season's had the Plainsmen's total defense ranked #6 in the nation. He's been wildly successful wherever he's gone, and he next former Texas defensive coordinators to take over a major college football program.

Missouri OC: Dave Christensen
Christensen has worked side by side Gary Pinkel as his offensive coordinator since '97 at Toledo. Christensen has brought lots of offensive success to the Tiger program. In 2001, during his first season as OC at Missouri, their offense ranked #91 in the country. This number improved to #45 nationally the following year. In 2005 Christensen sensed the offense was becoming stale and decided to shift to a spread, no huddle offense, and he hasn't looked back. Since the move, his offenses have ranked in the top 25 the past 3 seasons. In 2006 Missouri was ranked #8 in total offense and last season they were ranked #5. Missouri was one of the surprise teams of 2007 due in large part to Christensen. He was a finalist last season to take over at Washington State. If Missouri continues their success this season, look for Christensen to be an overwhelming top candidate to come back and coach his alma mater, Washington, in 2009.

PAC 10

Oregon OC: Chip Kelly
In 2007 Kelly made the leap from coaching the offense at New Hampshire to Eugene, Oregon to run the Ducks offense. He had large shoes to fill, replacing highly successful Gary Crowton, who bolted for LSU last season. During his 8 year span as offensive coordinator at New Hampshire, best season came in 2005 where his offense ranked #2 in D1-AA. He was named College Assistant Coach of the Year for the 2005 showing. His first season at Oregon couldn't of turned out better. The Ducks offense set records for most points scored and most yardage in a single season under Kelly's coaching in 2007. He lead Dennis Dixon to Heisman trophy levels, and the Ducks to contenders for the BCS championship up until his star QB went down to injury on that fateful Thursday night in Tuscon. Oregon finished the season ranked #10 in total offense. Kelly has set quite a standard to live up to this season, but if he does his name could easily be thrown into the mix as a head coaching candidate in the not too distant future.

Arizona OC: Sonny Dykes
Sonny Dykes drastically improved the Wildcat offense in his first year at Arizona. In 2006, Arizona only scored 16.6 points per game, good for a #105 ppg ranking nationally. They averaged 252.83 yards per game on the offensive side of the ball as well in 2006 (#115 ranked). After Dykes 1st season Arizona scored 28 ppg (ranked #56) and averaged 385.25 ypg (#67 ranked). Dykes was the longtime coordinator at Texas Tech under Mike Leach before coming to Arizona. His pass happy offenses there consistently were ranked in the top 10 in the nation. If Dykes can continue his offensive success at Arizona, his name will be up for several head coaching jobs at programs looking for a spark.

UCLA DC: DeWayne Walker
DeWayne Walker is entering his 3rd season as UCLA's defensive coordinator, and he has done a phenomenal job. He was a finalist for UCLA's head coaching vacancy this offseason before the job was given to Rick Neuheisel. Walker inherited a defense who the previous year was ranked #113 in total defense in 2005. In 2006 Walker's UCLA defense improved to #35 in total defense, and in 2007 they moved up to #29 in defense in the nation. Walker's defenses have been incredibly stingy against the run and have excelled in a offensive minded conference. Walker was more than qualified to take over at UCLA this season, but they opted to go with Neuheisel who is the bigger splash and more than likely the better candidate. That being said, Walker is more than likely going to be an in demand head coaching candidate this offseason.

Coaches of the Future- SEC and ACC

2008-06-11T09:00:00.008-05:00

In part five of a six part series highlighting coaches who could elevate to a BCS head coaching positiong, College Gridiron Boss takes a look at current SEC and ACC assistant coaches.

SEC

Auburn OC: Tony Franklin
Tony Franklin, simply put, is an offensive mastermind. He's been able to turn every school's offense into a scoring machine. He began his collegiate coaching career at Kentucky under Hal Mumme where he was promoted up to offensive coordinator. In his only season as coordinator at Kentucky he improved his teams total offense from #56 in the nation in 99' to #11 under Franklin in 2000. Kentucky was #2 in the nation in passing in 2000 as well. After his departure from Kentucky, he wrote a tell all book about his time at Kentucky that essentially got him blackballed from coaching until 2006 when he took over for Troy. In 2 seasons at Troy he improved an offense that was ranked #109 in total offense in 2005 all the way to #16 in 2007. Franklin even has his own patented offensive system called "The Tony Franklin System Seminar" which is currently being used by close to 300 high school and colleges nationwide. Franklin could be a 1 and done at Auburn before being snatched up as head coach by another program. He's a can't miss coach.

LSU OC: Gary Crowton
Crowton has once been a head coach when he was the head man at BYU, and he seems primed to become a head coach again. This past season he put up record numbers as offensive coordinator at LSU en route to a National Championship. Before last season he had great success at Oregon for two seasons as offensive coordinator. Before Crowton took over in Eugene, Oregon was ranked #37 in 2004 in total offense. In Crowton's 1st season they jumped to #18 in offense, and in 2006 they ranked #7 in the nation. At 51, Crowton isn't getting any younger, but his offensive mind has yet to deteriorate. He should be up for a head coaching gig within the next few years.

Florida DC: Charlie Strong
Strong has been the anchor of the Florida defense over the past 5 seasons. He's been defensive coordinator under Ron Zook and Urban Meyer, and his defenses have continued to stay strong (no pun intended). His best seasons were in 2005 and 2006 where his defensive units ranked #9 and #6 nationally. Strong has been mentioned as a head coaching candidate in the past and is widely considered one of the top coordinators in the nation.

Florida OC: Dan Mullen
Mullen was a fly on the wall in the dank conference in Bowling Green, OH where Urban Meyer put together the fundementals of his offense. He's been Meyer's righthand man ever since, following him from Bowling Green to Utah and to Florida. One measure of a great coach is the number of his former assistants that become head coaches. Mullen will be one of the first of likely many to come from the Meyer tree.

Georgia DC: Willie Martinez
Willie Martinez has maintained the success of the Georgia defense since he took over as DC in 2005. In 05' Georgia ranked #18 in the nation in total defense. In 2006 they ranked #8 and in last season they ranked #14 in total defense. Martinez has coached several athletes into the NFL from his time at Georgia and Central Michigan. Martinez isn't a sure fire head coach, but his alma mater Miami may be calling if Randy Shannon doesn't work out.

Tennessee OC: Dave Clawson
Clawson is one of the hotter names in the coaching industry after last season's success as head coach at Richmond. He's been successful everywhere he's gone, but has yet to enter the the NCAA FBS until this season. He's a two time Div 1 AA coach of the year, winning once at Fordham and once at Richmond. He's known as a coach who's been able to turn programs around. Last season he lead Richmond to the NCAA FCS semifinals. He may very well be the next coach at Tennessee when Fulmer is removed from office.

Kentucky OC: Joker Phillips
I'm willing to put up good money that he'll be the next head man after Rich Brooks steps down at Kentucky.

ACC

Clemson DC: Vic Koenning
Koenning has posted very strong defenses at Clemson over the past 4 seasons. He's known for producing top flight defensive ends year in and year out. His attacking defensive units have kept Clemson in competition over the past few years, as well as kept Tommy Bowden in the driver seat at Clemson. This year Clemson has very lofty expectations, and if they succeed, Koenning will be highly sought after at season's end. One major drawback to Koenning was he had a very less than successful stint as head coach for Wyoming between 2000-2002. It seems he's learned from that experience though.

Florida OC: Jimbo Fisher
Fisher has already been named the successer Bobby Bowden when the legendary coach decides to step down. Expect Fisher to take over within the next 3 seasons.

Virginia Tech DC: Bud Foster
Bud Foster is the top assistant coach in college football. He's been with Virginia Tech since 1987 and has yet to leave the program. It's almost a certainty at this point that he will succeed Frank Beamer once he steps down at Va Tech. Foster has been a Broyles award finalist in 99', 01', and 05'. He's won the award in 2006. Virginia Tech's defenses have been ranked #1 under Foster in 2005 and 2006. Last season VT ranked #4 in total defense. Foster turned down a higher paying defensive coordinator job at South Carolina this offseason, which leads many to believe he'll stay at Virginia Tech until the top spot opens up.

Miami DC: Bill Young
Bill Young could be the best or worse thing to happen to Randy Shannon. If Shannon can get his offense going, then with the help of Bill Young he should have great success at Miami. If Shannon cannot get any help from the offense, Bill Young will most likely take his job. Bill Young had tremendous success at Kansas before getting sniped this past offseason to run the Miami defense. In 2007, Young's Kansas defense ranked #12 in the nation. His defenses have improved year after year (if you overlook the hiccup in 2006 where they ranked #94 in the nation). He's one of the hottest coordinators in the nation.