Schedules Part I

Hey All,

It's time to start analyzing the schedules of the teams of the Power Five conferences.  In this column we will take a look at the ACC and the Big XII.  We still miss you, Pete Axthelm.

ACC

ACC
The Atlantic Coast Conference looks the same as last year with 14 full time members split into two divisions and a part-time member in Notre Dame.  Here's how the divisions stack up.

Atlantic Division
Boston College, Clemson, Florida State, Louisville, North Carolina State, Syracuse, Wake Forest.

Coastal Division
Duke, Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Pittsburgh, Virginia, Virginia Tech

Top Five Out of Conference Games for 2019

8/31- Boise State v. Florida State (Jacksonville, FL): Boise comes into this one off a 10-3 2018 season and has been touted in the preseason mags as the favorite to take the Mountain West crown.  Also, heading east isn't a big deal for the Broncos as they have been making a trip every other year to the eastern time zone over the last decade. Meanwhile back in Tallahassee, 2018 was an epic failure of a season. The 'Noles went 5-7 in their first year under HC Willie Taggart.  (Note: Oregon fans still don't miss him.) That was the first losing season at FSU since the bicentennial year of 1976.  Needless to say a stumble here by the 'Noles would crank up the hot seat under Taggart to a Clay Helton level of burn with the FSU fanbase. 

9/7- Texas A&M at Clemson: Last year's tilt was a barn-burner in College Station. This year's game at Death Valley could be just as memorable.  With as much talent as Clemson has, you know that Dabo Swinney still isn't thrilled that his dominant D-line has all exited and that only four total starters return on defense.  Clemson does have the offensive firepower to hold on for a close win here. 

9/7- Syracuse at Maryland: These teams have met 36 times over the years with 'Cuse holding a 19-15-2 series edge.  They only met once as ACC members in the overlap year when the Orange joined the league and Maryland was getting ready to leave for the Big Ten.  For Syracuse, this game is a must win as they need to keep building on last year's 10-3 mark.  HC Dino Babers has 13 returning starters but will be breaking in a new QB.  Also for Syracuse this is will be their second straight road game to open the 2019 slate.  Week one they travel to Liberty.  How Liberty got a visit form 'Cuse is a head scratcher.  Maryland is just trying to get back on their feet as a program with risky new HC hire Mike Locksley.  The Terps went just 5-7 last year and most pundits don't believe they will make a bowl this year. 

9/14- North Carolina State at West Virginia: This matchup is the second of two matchups featuring a Big XII opponent for the ACC.  The first one should be a walkover for Boston College when they host Kansas.  The Wolfpack can raise the standing of the ACC and gain a critical win towards being bowl eligible this year.  

9/14- Pittsburgh at Penn State: Watch or record this game because the upcoming 100th edition of this great rivalry will be the last time you see these two square off until at least 2030.  The schools tried to get it going again in 2026, but talks have broken off. For those who didn't pay attention like me, Pitt did win the ACC Coastal last year, but disappointed down the stretch losing their final three games. They lost their last regular season game to Miami, got smashed by Clemson in the ACC title game and then dropped a 14-13 decision to Stanford in the Sun Bowl. Pitt returns the same talent level as last year and will challenge for the ACC Coastal again. Penn State rolls into this one with a new QB, but with a solid O-line and a defense that returns at least two starters at every position group.  However, PSU is looking up at Michigan and Ohio State in the Big Ten East.  A win for the Nittany Lions would give them three straight over the Panthers as this series fades from the scene.

Top Five Conference Games for 2019

9/14- Clemson at Syracuse: Clemson has had their struggles with Syracuse.  The Orange fell by a field goal last year at Death Valley and upset the Tigers in 2017 at the Carrier Dome.  'Cuse also gets the Tigers at home after Clemson takes on Texas A&M the previous week.  If the Orange handle their two road games to start the year, this will be a home opener with big hype in upstate New York.  Oh, and Syracuse has made this home opener their homecoming game too. Clemson QB Trevor Lawrence had his coming out party last year v. Syracuse. This year, he gets a full game to show his wares off to the Orange.

9/14- Florida State at Virginia: Street & Smith's is in with the in crowd.  They know what the in crowd knows.  This year's in crowd expects a huge year from Virginia. S&S has them winning the ACC Coastal.  HC Bronco Mendenhall has built a solid club over the last three seasons. The Wahoos went form 2-10 in 2016 to 8-5 that included a 28-0 beatdown of South Carolina.  A win over the 'Noles would be a huge validation for the program.  As for FSU, it's simple.  The 'Noles need wins.  This is their first conference game and true road game of the season.

Virginia Trivia; Cavalier QB Bruce Perkins comes from a true football family.  His brother Paul played RB at UCLA and is currently a member of the New York Giants.  His Dad Bryce played RB at ASU back in the late '80s and his uncle is Don Perkins who starred at RB for the Cowboys in the 1960s.

10/5- Virginia Tech at Miami: This is your basic early October separation game. The winner here moves on with a shot at division title. VaTech took a huge step backwards last year dropping to 6-7 after going 10-4 and 9-4 in Justin Fuente's first two seasons on the job. The main reasons for that were a young team and injuries.  Beating the 'Canes would help the Hokies have a bounce back season. Miami comes into this game trying to steady the program after Mark Richt's sudden departure last December. Miami hosts VaTech and Virginia on consecutive weeks and a pair of wins puts them in the driver's seat for a division crown.

11/9- Clemson at North Carolina State: This is the Tigers last real hurdle to another trip to the ACC title game. In two of the last three years, the Tigers have eked out seven point wins over the Wolfpack.  This year's game features one of those matchups where each teams strengths and weaknesses mirror each other. Clemson has a strong offense and NC State sports a strong returning defense. Both teams are weaker in the opposite units matchup.  Signs point to another tight one in Death Valley.

11/30 Miami at Duke: What? huh? Yeah this game makes the list because it could be the game that decides the ACC Coastal.  An upset of the 'Canes by Duke could put either Virginia or VaTech into the ACC title game.  Also. Duke may be in the running as well.  Miami can't get caught napping on Tobacco Road.

The Notre Dame Factor

Here's the slate of ACC teams the Irish will face this year:

9/2 at Louisville
9/28 Virginia
11/2 Va Tech
11/9 at Duke
11/23 Boston College

From this slate, it's pretty obvious that the Irish will have an impact on the ACC coastal race.  The two Virginia schools will have to clear the ND hurdle while Miami and Pitt won't.

ACC Scheduling Notes

...Well rested foes;  Notre Dame will play seven teams that are coming off byes this season.

...Carolina on their minds;  NC State will host East Carolina, Western Carolina and North Carolina this season.

...Keep the road whites washed;  Boston College plays four of their last five games on the road this season.

...Odd combo;  Utah State and Wake forest will square off for the third time in the last six years.

...Early counters;  There are several ACC conference games in the first two weeks of the season.  A few teams are going to be 0-1 in league play in August.

...Lay the points; The favorite has won eight of the last nine times that Virginia and Pittsburgh have played and covered four of the last five years.

...FCS double; VaTech is playing two FCS teams. Furman and Rhode Island both make a visit Blacksburg this year. Rhode Island is a replacement for East Carolina on the schedule. SMH

...Keeping it in state; Old Dominion is playing at both Virginia and VaTech.  I guess after upsetting VaTech last year, the Monarchs figured they'd just double down.

The Big XII

Conference Members: Baylor, Iowa State, Kansas, Kansas State, Oklahoma, Oklahoma State, Texas, TCU, Texas Tech and West Virginia

1 Definitely Not Top Five plus the Top Five Out of Conference Games

Definitely Not Top 5:

9/1-Houston at Oklahoma: With former West Virginia HC Dana Holgorsen now in charge at Houston, the popular thought is that Houston could pull off another upset of the Sooners as they did back in 2016. Let me dissuade you of that notion. Yes, Holgorsen does know the Sooners well, however that knowledge has never helped his teams. Holgorsen's Mountaineer squads went 0-7 versus the Sooners. The Mountaineers also gave up over 50 points in four of those games and acres of yardage. The Sooners should walk away with this one easily.

Top 5

9/7- LSU at Texas: This is a big one folks. These two haven't met in the regular season since 1954.  Their last two meetings were in the Cotton Bowl where the Tigers beat the Longhorns 13-0 back in 1963 and then Texas returned the favor with a 35-20 win over LSU in 2003. Austin will be rockin' when Coach O and his Bayou Bengals arrive.  Texas HC Tom Herman is entering his third year with very high expectations.  The Horns went 10-4 last year, but they return a very inexperienced squad.  Only five starters return on offense and a meager three on defense.  Meanwhile, the Tigers have 16 returnees (8O/8D).  Look for the Tigers to lasso the Horns.

9/14- TCU at Purdue: The Horned Frogs are looking for redemption after a year lost to injuries.  20 Frogs suffered season ending injuries while many more missed at least four games.  In a conservative estimate, TCU lost over 320 games of service due to injuries in 2019.  If they can stay somewhat healthy, the Frogs could hit double digit wins again.  Purdue is a team with just enough talent to put a dent in the Frogs season.  The Frogs will have to be sharp to grab this road win.

9/14- Kansas State at Mississippi State: This is another opportunity for the Big XII to take down the SEC.  Yes, the Bulldogs sit in the lower echelon of the SEC, but a win here still matters.  For K-State specifically, the win would give the Wildcats and new HC Chris Klieman a huge boost to the start of their season.

9/14- Texas Tech at Arizona: These old foes used to play each other almost every year as members of the old Border Conference from 1932-56. They did schedule each other through the 1970s, but haven't met since a two game set in '88 and '89.  The big question that looms over this game for the Red Raiders is that with Kliff Kingsbury and the Air-Raid offense gone from Lubbock, will they have enough offense to offset their chronic lack of defense the last decade? Arizona has underwhelmed their opponents during the Kevin Sumlin era, but they should have just enough defense to win this game.

9/14- Oklahoma at UCLA: Despite the bRuins woes on the field this decade, a beat down of Joe bRuin by the Sooners would further elevate the Big XII's image and do further damage to the Pac 12's already weak reputation. One killer stat that makes the case for this happening is that the Sooners have won 20 straight true road games.  OU will be looking for a clean 21 at the Rose Bowl and should get it with Alabama transfer QB Jalen Hurts at the helm.

Top Five Conference Games

9/28- Kansas State at Oklahoma State: This a pretty even matchup of the second tier teams in the league.  How will new HC Chris Klieman set up the K-State defense to attack the Okie State offense? How will the new look Wildcats fare in their first conference road game?  I'm eager to see what impact Kileman has on the Big XII in year one. Meanwhile, The Mullet, Mike Gundy and his Cowboys are coming back from a down season and knocking off the Wildcats well help improve things in Stillwater.

9/28- Kansas at TCU:  This is a very important game for the Big XII race.  TCU needs to keep focus and get past the Jayhawks.  Huh? No Way! Ummm Way! TCU does have big game at Iowa State the next week, but the Jayhawks have given the Frogs fits lately. Over the last five years, four of the games have been decided by six points or less with he Jayhawks pulling off a 27-26 upset of the Horned Frogs last year.  Also adding new KU HC Les Miles into the mix makes this game even more interesting.

10/12- Oklahoma v. Texas: This is always a big one, but when conference supremacy is on the line as well, then it gets just a little bit bigger. OU should be undefeated and Texas should be 4-1 when they square off at the Cotton Bowl. Last year, the Horns took the rivalry game. Then they dropped the rematch in the Big XII title game a few weeks later. The same pattern may emerge this year as it is awfully hard to beat the same team twice during a college football season.

10/26- Texas at TCU: This could be an eliminator game.  A likely scenario is that each of these teams has a conference loss heading into the contest and second one would knock the other out of the title hunt.  The major factor for TCU is to be healthy for this game.  If the Horned Frogs turn into the MASH ward they were a year ago, the Horns will run all over Amon G. Carter Stadium.

11/9- Iowa State at Oklahoma: HC Matt Campbell has what should be his best squad yet at ISU. Iowa State is 1-2 v. OU with the losses being just by 7 and 10 points. In an offensive-happy league, the Cyclones play defense. The Cyclones return eight starters from a defense that led the Big XII in scoring defense, and was second in the league in rushing defense and total defense. Both teams come into this game off a bye.  OU does have the talent edge and home filed advantage.  Oklahoma hasn't dropped a game at home to Iowa State since 1990.

Big XII Scheduling Notes

...Both sides now; West Virginia hosts Texas the week before the Red River Rivalry game and then plays at Oklahoma the week after.

...Soft opening; Baylor Hosts Stephen F. Austin and UTSA, has a bye week, then plays at Rice to open the season.

...Tough ending;  Baylor travels to TCU, then hosts Oklahoma and Texas in consecutive weeks in November.

...They know each other; The most played rivalry in the Big Twelve is the Sunflower State Showdown. Kansas and Kansas State have squared off 116 times.

...Slouching towards the border;  Texas Tech is facing two old Border Conference foes in UTEP and Arizona this year.  The Red Raiders were the top team in the old league capturing seven football titles.

...Backloaded;  In a year where everyone has at least two byes, TCU hits the field seven straight weeks to finish the season starting on 10/19.

...Texas only plays four true road games this year.  The Longhorns will play two neutral site games. They also leave the state of Texas just twice and the Central Time Zone only once this season.

...Phil Steele said so;  I do love reading my Phil Steele guide every season, but I do have to wonder how does he rank all 130 teams.  I think you can take the bottom 40 or so teams pick 'em out of a hat and be just as accurate.


Absolutely Useless Trivia (Trivia by definition is useless, but these facts elevate that uselessness to a whole new level)

College football stopped ties and started using Overtime periods in 1996.  Here's the last regular season OT game result for the six power conferences of the mid 1990s.

ACC: 11/26/94- Florida 31- Florida State 31

Big 8/ Southwest Conference: 10/4/95-Oklahoma 24- Texas 24

Big 10: 11/25/95- Illinois 3- Wisconsin 3

Pac 10: 10/28/95- USC 21- Washington 21

SEC: 9/30/95- LSU 20- South Carolina 20

Until next time folks, remember that schedules make seasons.

-The Commissioner

The Coaching Carousel

Hey All,

It's that time of year again to start the summer reading portion of this blog.  We will start it off as always with another ride on the ol' coaching carousel.  Please take the chance to catch up on the faces that will be in mostly new places for the 2019 season. Ideally, you're doing this while having a nice cold beverage and some barbecue on a warm summer afternoon. We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Akron
OUT: Terry Bowden
IN: Tom Arth

   Terry Bowden's tenure with the Zips was one mired in mediocrity. His teams went 35-52 in his time there with 2015 being his best season as he guided the Zips to an 8-5 record and a win over Utah State in the Famous Idaho Potatoes Bowl.  After going 4-8 last year, the Akron braintrust fired Bowden and turned over the program to a sturdy son of Ohio by the name of Tom Arth.  The 38-year old Arth is an Ohio man through and through.  He played QB at Cleveland's St. Ignatius High and at John Carroll University.  He was named a D-III All-American which led to a brief pro career where he spent time on the Colts and Packers rosters along with a few seasons in NFL Europa and Arena ball.  His coaching career saw him rise to become the HC at his alma mater in 2013.  In four seasons he led the John Carroll Blue Streaks to a 40-8 record, three trips to the NCAA D-III playoffs and to one of the biggest upsets of this decade.  The Blue Streaks went on the road and ended Mt. Union's 112-game regular season winning streak with a 31-28 triumph.  Arth left JCU after the 2016 season to be the HC at UT-Chattanooga.  His record was only 9-13 in two seasons with the Mocs, but the folks at Akron wanted a man form Ohio to run their Ohio team and they got him.  Arth's youth and football smarts could make the Zips a power in the MAC in a short period of time.

Tom Arth Trivia:  While playing in NFL Europa for the Scottish Claymores and the Hamburg Sea Devils, his QB coach was former Cleveland Browns HC Sam Rutigliano.  I hope Sam didn't teach him Red Right 88.

Appalachian State
OUT: Scott Satterfield
IN: Eliah Drinkwitz

   Scott Sattefield turned a good showing at App State into the Louisville job.  With Satterfield off to the ACC, the Mountaineers stayed within the state and hired Eliah Drinkwitz away from NC State were he has been the OC and QB coach the last three seasons. Drinkwitz is only 36, but has had some memorable stops on his way to this job.  He was the OC at Arkansas' Springdale High from 2006-09.  Springdale is where Auburn HC Gus Malzahn came from. He parlayed that gig into a Quality Control position at Auburn in 2010.  From there he moved to Arkansas State then Boise State where he rose to the rank of OC at both schools.  The pressure on Drinkwitz to maintain App State's wining ways will be great as they are one of the few programs to transition from the FCS to the FBS and find success. Oh, and having 16 returning starters shouldn't help him win right away.

Bowling Green
OUT: Mike Jinks
IN: Scot Loeffleer (Yes, it is spelled Scot with one T)

   Mike Jinks was tabbed to lead the Falcons after Dino Babers bolted for Syracuse. Nothing really went right under Jinks and his squads stumbled to a 7-24 overall mark.  Jinks was the first HC fired last fall and has since moved on to be the RB coach under Clay Helton at USC.  (Note: Jinks came along with Kliff Kingsbury and remained at SC after Kingsbury left the Trojans for the Arizona Cardinals.) The new man in northwest Ohio is Scot Loeffler.  Loeffler has had a bit of a cult following as a quarterback whisperer. The biggest names he has worked with are Tom Brady and Tim Tebow.  Loeffler was bought in specially by Urban Meyer to Florida to work with Tebow back in the 2009-10 seasons. The last eight seasons, he has been the OC/QB coach at Temple, Auburn, VaTech, and Boston College.  If Loeffler hits it right here, he can grab some good Ohio talent and make the Falcons a MAC contender.

Central Michigan
OUT: John Bonamego
IN: Jim McElwain

   When Bonamego was named the HC of the Chippewas a few years ago, this intrepid reporter stated the only appeal that Bonamego had as a HC candidate was that he had once played at CMU.  Three barely over .500 teams with bowl losses in his first three years topped by the worst season in Chippewa history last year (1-11) proved this assertion to be true. The Chipps are happy to have the embattled Jim McElwain take over.  After all, getting a HC with a couple of national title rings to MAC country doesn't happen often.  However, will McElwain have the same stormy tenure he had at Florida? Remember McElwain was at odds with the UF administration from  day one and was fired for cause after he claimed to have received death threats, but couldn't substantiate the claim.  CMU is taking the big gamble that they will get the football savvy coach without the baggage.

Charlotte
OUT: Brad Lambert
IN: Will Healy

   Brad Lambert was the first HC of the Charlotte program and led the team from its' inception all the way to the FBS.   Lambert's squads never really got over the hump into winning territory and new AD Mike Hill decided to make a change. His main reason given in a written statement was,  "It is a decision I made after an opportunity to assess my first football season here. It's about the trajectory of the program putting us in the best position for the future." Which translated means that Hill wanted his own hand picked HC. Hill's hand picked guy is Will Healy.  Will Healy is the guy who recently turned the fortunes of the Austin Peay program around. Healy is just 34 and has "boundless energy" according to those who have seen his coaching style.  As a player he played for Dave Clawson and Mike London at Richmond where he QB'd the Spiders to the 2008 national title. For Healy it is chance to create a winning atmosphere with a young program.

Charlotte football disinterest;  This is actually Charlotte's second try at football.  Back in 1946, 22 men started to play the game when the school was known as the Charlotte Center of the University of North Carolina.  The "team" known as the Owls went 2-1 in '46 and 1-3 in '47 with the results of four other games not recorded. The team then played four more games in '48, but the results of those games weren't recorded either.  How's that for apathy?  The "program" faded away by the time 1949 rolled around.  

Coastal Carolina
OUT: Joe Moglia
IN: Jeremy Chadwell

   Joe Moglia is quite respected in the Chanticleer community.  He led a successful program at the FCS level and then shepherded the team to the FBS.  Health concerns are why Moglia stepped down at CCU.  He had missed the the entire 2017 season due to medical issues and after returning to the sidelines last season, announced his retirement this past January.  His replacement is the man who has served as his OC and was the interim HC during the 2017 season, Jeremy Chadwell. Chadwell is well liked by the Coastal Carolina crowd, but not by the NCAA.  When he was the HC at Charleston Southern, CSU was forced to vacate 18 wins from the 2014-15 seasons due to violations that ranged from the use of ineligible players to the misuse of scholarship funds by his players at the school bookstore. Chadwell will be under NCAA scrutiny and under pressure to make the Chanticleers a force in the Sun Belt Conference.

Colorado
OUT: Mike MacIntyre
IN: Mel Tucker

   Mike MacIntyre will be remembered for 2016. That year, he led the Buffaloes to a 10-4 record that included a berth in the Pac 12 title game.  That one good season couldn't offset the other five seasons in Boulder that produced a 20-40 record and five last places in the weak Pac 12 South. MacIntyre was relieved of his HC duties with one game left on the 2018 slate. Colorado AD Rick George looked  eastward for the next man to lead the Buffs.  Mel Tucker comes to Boulder form Georgia where he has been the DC and CB coach for Kirby Smart the past three seasons.  He did also spend a year on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama, but Tucker also has a strong midwest and NFL background. He played DB at Wisconsin for Barry Alvarez and then started his coaching career as a GA at Michigan State in 1997.  He then followed the pattern of being the DB coach then DC at Ohio State and with the Cleveland Browns before being named the DC of the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2011.  He also served as the interim HC of the Jags in 2012 after Jack Del Rio was dismissed.  He then moved onto being the DC for the Chicago Bears before moving on to Alabama in 2015.  Tucker wants to bring a defense first mentality to an offense inclined league.  He has stated several times that he wants to bring "SEC principles" to the Pac 12.  If Colorado plays any kind of solid defense at all, that would be a big step forward for the Buffs.  Tucker looks to be a very solid hire for Colorado and he has the experience and ability to make CU a contender in the Pac 12 South.

East Carolina
OUT: Scottie Montgomery
IN: Mike Houston

  Montgomery was brought to ECU after Ruffin McNeill was fired back in 2015.  McNeill's Pirate squads were a little over .500 and Montgomery was brought in to get ECU up to the next level.  Instead they took the elevator to the basement.  Montgomery was fired one game short of the Pirates going 3-9 for a third straight year.  Montgomery is now the OC at Maryland (facepalm) and Mike Houston is the new Pirate king. Houston is the first ever FBS HC to have played at tiny Mars Hill University.  Houston is definitely a man of the Carolinas.  He was a DC on the high school level in North Carolina, then became the DC and HC at Lenoir-Rhyne.  He has been the headman at the Citadel.  After that he landed his only non-Carolinas coaching job as he went to Virginia to be the HC of the James Madison Dukes from 2016-18. Houston's obvious upside is his recruiting knowledge of the Carolinas.  He also is known for creating teams with explosive offenses and having a lot of energy on the sidelines.  One thing he has given the ECU faithful already is optimism, which has been sorely lacking for the last decade in Greenville.

Book nod: Since I just wrote the word Carolinas a few times, I'm reminded of a good book called Wind from the Carolinas by Robert Wilder.  It, I know shocking for me to say, has nothing to do with sports, but it is a good read. 

Georgia Tech
OUT: Paul Johnson
IN: Geoff Collins

   The true old school triple option is on life support as an offense now that Paul Johnson has exited the coaching scene. Johnson had spent 40 years in the coaching profession and the last 22 as the HC at Georgia Southern, Navy and Georgia Tech. Johnson hung up his whistle after the Yellow Jackets' 34-10 loss to Minnesota in the Quick Lane Bowl last December.  Geoff Collins was lured away from Temple to be Johnson's successor.  Collins played linebacker back at Western Carolina from 1989-92 and then immediately went into coaching. He has coached everywhere from high school on up and has always been on the defensive side of the ball. He has served as the DC for Dan Mullen at Mississippi State and Jim McElwain at Florida before succeeding Matt Ruhle as the HC at Temple in 2017.  Collins plays a 4-3 or 4-3 nickel defense and will run a modern RPO, quick passing offense at Georgia Tech.  The one thing Collins needs to be successful is patience from the administration on down to most die-hard Tech fans.  He does have the defensive personnel to keep games close, but will need a couple of seasons to gather in the right personnel to bring the offense into the modern age. That will be a painful transition.

Houston
OUT: Major Applewhite
IN: Dana Holgorsen

   Simply stated, Major Applewhite wasn't Tom Herman.  Herman had gone 22-4 in two seasons at UH and beaten Florida State, Oklahoma and Louisville twice. Applewhite's squads went a pedestrian 15-11under his tutelage. Most embarrassing for the Cougars was a 70-14 loss to Army. Applewhite was fired last December 30th.  The administration and big money boosters were on a mission to find a top notch coach. They have with Dana Holgorsen.  Holgorsen and West Virginia had parted ways after Holgorsen's teams reached a plateau in Morgantown. Holgorsen scored with a 20 million dollar deal to coach UH.  Holgorsen is viewed as the key cog into getting UH back into a Power Five conference. The Cougars haven't been in a top league since they were members of the old Southwest Conference.  The UH plan is to make themselves so attractive as a program that the Big XII just has to take them in,  I don't think the folks in the Big XII couldn't care less about the Cougars.  Remember the the Big XII discussed expanding a couple of years ago?  UH was on their doorstep begging for entrance and was casually brushed aside by the league.  Will UH win games under Holgorsen? Yes! Will they ever be admitted to the Big XII? Not likely.
 
Kansas
OUT: David Beaty
IN: Les Miles

   David Beaty's tenure at KU was underwhelming to say the least.  That's a nice way of saying his tenure was historically awful.  His .081 wining percentage stands as the worst in Kansas football history. That's 104 points lower than Charlie Weis' appalling .185 mark.  So, needless to say, Beaty's dismissal was warranted.   Now, who would be desperate enough to come to Lawrence and take over a team that has had just two winning HCs in the last 72 years?  Les Miles is that man.  Like the last two drunks at a frat party, Les Miles and KU are now an item. The man who coached LSU to a national title is now in charge of a rock-bottom program. All Miles has to do is get his team to .500 and he will be the toast of the Sunflower State. Good Luck, Les.  You will need it.  Oh, did I fail to mention that KU has no talent and is basically a hoops school?

Kansas Trivia: The only HC in Kansas basketball history to have a losing record is Dr. James Naismith, the man who invented the game.

Kansas State
OUT: Bill Snyder
IN: Chris Klieman

   I call this the Bill Snyder tries to retire again story. The last time Bill Snyder retired the man who replaced him, Ron Prince was a such bad coach the Bill came out of retirement to run the team. This time Snyder may be able to rest easy with Chris Klieman now on the job,  Klieman comes from North Dakota State, the powerhouse program of the FCS.  Klieman took over the Bison after HC Craig Bohl left for the Wyoming job in 2013.  All Klieman did in the last five years at NDSU was guide the Bison to a 69-6 overall record with four nation titles and upsets of FBS schools Iowa and Iowa State.  Klieman is the kind of coach who can take KSU to the top of the Big XII, but his first year on the job may be a little rough.  I think NDSU has more talent than K-State has right now.

So, how old is Bill Snyder?  Pretty old. Snyder had been the HC at California's Indio High School when he landed a job as a GA for John McKay at USC in 1966. Who thought John McKay's coaching tree would have a direct link to the 2018 season? Hmmmmmmm.

Liberty
OUT: Turner Gill
IN: Hugh Freeze

   Where to begin with this transition?  Gill was coming off his seventh season at Liberty where led the program from the FCS to the FBS.  He was not in danger of losing his job. Gill abruptly announced his resignation from the program last December. The fragile health of Gill's wife stemming from a heart condition that was first diagnosed in 2016 spurred him to resign.  According to a prepared statement Gill and his wife, "...have come to the realization that it is time to step away." Gill's departure was stunning, however the choice of the man tabbed to replace him was a real shocker.  Liberty University, the school founded by Jerry Falwell, the school that wears its' rigid honor code on its' sleeve and proclaims itself to be a "bastion of the christian right" hired Hugh Freeze as their new HC.   Yes, that Hugh Freeze.  Freeze oversaw an Ole Miss program that ended up vacating 33 wins after the program was found to be guilty of 15 Level I NCAA Violations. Those violations ran the gamut from the use of ineligible players to boosters paying off players that according to the NCAA created, "an unconstrained culture of booster involvement in football recruiting. " Some of the violations did not occur on Freez'e's watch, but his personal conduct wasn't stellar either. While he was the HC, Freeze used his Ole Miss-issued cellphone to call at least a dozen online escorts/escort services. The ironic thing about Freeze's escort calls were that they were uncovered in the discovery portion of a wrongful dismissal lawsuit filed by Freeze's predecessor at  Ole Miss, Houston Nutt. Hypocrisy finds a home in many places in college athletics and it seems that one of these places is Liberty University.

Louisville
OUT: Bob Petrino
IN: Scott Satterfield

   Bob Petrino's second stint at Louisville did not go as well as the first one.  The Cardinals went just 36-26 despite producing a Heisman winner in QB Lamar Jackson. After Louisville staggered to a 2-8 record to start the 2018 season, Petrino was let go.  Yes, he was fired for a bad season, but Petrino was also caught up in the fervor to take a roto-rooter to the athletic department after the scandals involving basketball coach Rick Petino and AD Tom Jurich.  Scott Satterfield was the hired to rebuild and sanitize the program.  Sattefield could turn out to be a home run hire.  Satterfield amassed a 51-24 record with three straight Sun Belt titles and a trio of bowl victories At Appalachian State.  The knock on Satterfield is that he has spent almost his entire career at App State.  The upside is this guy can flat out coach and knows how to do more with less. He could do very well with a large budget at Louisville.

Midway Nothing To Do With This Column Trivia Break: Touchdowns in Canadian Football weren't worth six points until 1956.  Until then they were worth five points each.

Maryland
OUT: D.J. Durkin
IN: Mike Locksley

   A player died during D.J. Durkin's watch at Maryland.  Nothing could be worse to happen to any family than to have your child die, especially when that child was promised to be taken care of by the man who recruited him. Maryland's Board of Regents then piled on top of the tragedy by deciding to keep Durkin as the HC on October 30th of last year.  The next day, Maryland President Wallace Loh fired Durkin after the public outcry over the Board of Regents decision reached epic levels. You would think Maryland would hire a squeaky clean guy to succeed Durkin in College Park.  Instead they hired Mike Locksley.  Locksley is a very experienced coach. He has been a coach for almost 30 years and has coached almost every position group on both sides of the ball. He even had a prior stint as an assistant at Maryland under Randy Edsall, but his only HC gig was an epic failure. From 2009-11 he was the HC at New Mexico. During that time he had a brawl with one of his own assistant coaches, had an EEOC complaint of age discrimination filed on him by an administrative assistant and got into an altercation with a UNM student reporter who accurately predicted the score of the Lobos 2010 season opener, a 72-0 loss to Oregon. The Lobos were an awful team. They went 2-26 before Locksley was fired four games into the 2011 season after the Lobos were beaten at home by FCS stalwart Sam Houston State. So how did Locksley get the Terrapins gig?  Well, it seems Locksley has been healed of his coaching sins by Saint Nicholas of Tuscaloosa.  Locksley has been on Nick Saban's staff at Alabama the past three seasons and that's good enough for Maryland to make him their new head ball coach. SMH, facepalm.

Massachusetts
OUT: Mark Whipple
IN: Walt Bell

   Ahhhhh UMass, one of the coach killing programs of the FBS.  This time it even wiped out a man who had success there before. Mark Whipple is that man.  In 1998 he took over the UMass program when it played in old D-1AA after having successful stints as the headman at the University of New Haven on the D-II level and at Brown in the Ivy League.  His Minutemen won the D-1AA national title in 1998 and made two more playoff appearances in his six seasons in Amherst.  Whipple returned to the program in 2014.  The program was now at the FBS level and foundering on the big stage.  Unfortunately, Whipple was not successful on the FBS level. The Minutemen limped to a 16-44 record over his five years on the sidelines.  In Whipple's place steps a man who has a name that sounds like a he's an insurance agent that also happens to be the vice president of the local Kiwanis Club.  Walt Bell is actually 35 years old and was the OC at Florida State last season under Willie Taggart.  Bell's football career started at Middle Tennessee State where played wide receiver from 2002-2005.  His coaching career has seen him bounce around a number of jobs over the last 12 years and he has coached everything on the offensive side of the ball except for the the O-line.  Some folks see Bell's leaving FSU as a deckhand jumping off a sinking ship to captain another sinking ship.  However, Bell does have time on his side and anonymity.  He's young and will be given every opportunity to build a program. Oh, and with all the other teams grabbing headlines Boston, nobody will notice if he fails.

Miami
OUT: Mark Richt
IN: Manny Diaz

   Mark Richt, a former Miami QB,  came home to Coral Gables after a 15 year run at Georgia where he had built strong teams that could not quite reach the summit of college football.  Richt's first two teams were highly successful including an Orange Bowl appearance.  Then after a 7-6 2018 season, Richt suddenly retired.  The UM Admin was left to scramble for a new HC.  They grabbed Richt's DC Manny Diaz back from Temple after he had already been the new HC there for a full 18 days. Diaz has a strong Florida background.  He played for Bobby Bowden then started his coaching career as a GA under Bowden.  He's been a DC/LB coach since the 2008 season, holding that same title at Middle Tennessee State, Mississippi State, Texas, Louisiana Tech and Miami.  It wasn't always a steady rise for Diaz as a coach he was relieved of his duties as DC of Texas by HC Mack Brown in 2103 when his defense gave up 550 yards rushing to BYU. Diaz has said Maimi is his dream job as he has strong ties to the Miami area.  His parents were refugees who fled to Miami from Cuba in 1961.  His father worked his way up in local politics and became the Mayor of Miami from 2001-2009.  As for the football side of things, Diaz will face a tough challenge right away as the Canes open with Florida on 8/24. They will miss Clemson in the regular season but will host Florida State and have to play both Virginia and VaTech on the road.

North Carolina
OUT: Larry Fedora
IN: Mack Brown

   Larry Fedora brought winning back Southern Miss then he left for Chapel Hill.  In his fourth season at UNC, the Tarheels won 11 games and many thought he would be on the Carolina sidelines for a long time. The wheels then fell off the team.  The Tarheels went 8-5 in 2016, 3-9 in 2017 and were 2-9 last season when Fedora was let go with a game left to play.  Into this downward slide steps Mack Brown, yes that Mack Brown.  The man who led Texas to a national title and before that made North Carolina football something worth watching on basketball crazy tobacco road. Fittingly, he was re-introduced to the Carolina faithful at halftime of a basketball game. Brown, now 67-years old and a member of the College Football Hall of Fame has had his sanity questioned as to why he would comeback to the sidelines.  UNC AD Bubba Cunningham has had his sanity questioned too.  This story from ESPN's David M. Hale speaks to these concerns from Cunningham's kids to the football world at large.  Mack is back!

Irony thy name is Fedora; So what job has Larry Fedora landed after being let go by UNC? He's now an analyst for the Texas Longhorns.

Northern Illinois
OUT: Rod Carey
IN: Thomas Hammock

   NIU keeps losing coaches to other jobs.  Rod Carey is the latest to leave. He is off to Temple.  Carey's departure was a bit sudden and NIU can blame the University of Miami for Carey's departure.  Miami DC Manny Diaz left The U to fill the HC opening at Temple. Then, Miami HC Mark Richt abruptly retired.  Diaz came running back to Coral Gables and Temple was left without a coach.  Carey jumped on the opportunity and left DeKalb behind for Philadelphia. Carey's replacement is Thomas Hammock.  Hammock is 37 years old and his resume is a bit incomplete.  He's basically a running backs coach who once played for NIU.  Hammock has called NIU his "dream job." However, it will turn into a nightmare quickly if he cannot keep the winning going for the Huskies.

Ohio State
OUT: Urban Meyer
IN: Ryan Day

   Urban Meyer's head coaching career has never been one devoid of controversy.  His time at Theee OSU ended in a cloud of controversy and health problems just like his time did at Florida in 2010.  2018 started with Meyer being suspended over his failure to discipline and fire assistant Zach Smith.  Smith is an ultimate sleaze bag who not only abused his wife for years, including times when she was pregnant, but also did skeevey stuff like order sex toys and have them delivered to his office at the Buckeyes' football facility.  Meyer ended up serving a slap-on-the-wrist style three game suspension for not ever doing the right thing with this loser.  Then, after he returned to sidelines Meyer started collapsing on the sidelines due to an arachnoid brain cyst. At the end of the season Meyer stepped down for health reasons.  Theee OSU immediately named Ryan Day the new HC of the Scarlet and Gray.  Day was Meyer's OC/QB coach and he served as the interim HC during Meyer's suspension.  Day's coaching history includes three separate stints at Boston College where he started out there as a GA then finished off there as the OC/QB coach.  He also did time with Chip Kelly in Philadelphia.  He had only been on the Meyer's staff for a year when he was tabbed as the guy to run the program during Meyer's suspension.  Theee OSU's braintrust is very high on Day's ability to run the program and live with the pressure of being the HC of the Buckeyes.  The true test for Day will be when the Bucks drop a game or two and he gets roasted by the rabid Buckeye fan base.

Temple
OUT: Geoff Collins
IN: Rod Carey

   After Geoff Collins traded Philadelphia for Atlanta, Manny Diaz held the TU coaching job for a full 18 days. He ran home to Miami and Rod Carey was named the next HC of the Owls.  Carey was mainly an OL coach for most of his career before he landed the Northern Illinois HC gig back in 2012. NIU fans were split on Carey's time in DeKalb. His teams sported a 52-30 mark, but posted a dismal 0-6 bowl record that made the Husky faithful unhappy. He also had the knack of beating Big Ten teams which always makes all MAC fans happy.  Carey has started his tenure at Temple preaching a "Temple Tough" attitude to his players.  The Owls will need that attitude with a tough AAC conference slate.

Texas State
OUT: Everett Withers
IN: Jake Spavital

   Most people only recognize Texas State as the fictional Texas Methodist University where coach Eric Taylor of the TV show Friday Night Lights spent a few months as the QB coach.  However, Texas State is a real school just down the highway from Austin and the burnt orange of the University of Texas. When Everett Withers landed the Bobcats HC job back in 2016, this intrepid reporter wrote, "If Withers has a good couple of seasons with the Bobcats, don't be surprised to see him lead a power five conference team in the near future."  Ummm well... he didn't.  Withers was fired 11 games into the 2018 season after the Bobcats had played like roadkill. They went just 7-28 over his nearly three seasons in charge. Jake Spavital was hired to turn the Bobcats around.  Spavital has spent his whole career as an OC/QB coach.  He's coached everywhere from West Virginia to Cal.  Spavital has the young man's energy and football smarts create a winner if he hits it right in San Marcos.

Texas Tech
OUT: Kliff Kingsbury
IN: Matt Wells

   Kliff Kingsbury is the coaching world's best example of how to fail upward into a better job. He managed to parlay being fired after posting a 35-40 record in six so-so seasons with one bowl win at Texas Tech into becoming the OC/QB coach at USC. He wasn't done there. After about a month on the job, he left  SC to become the head coach of the Arizona Cardinals.   Kingsbury's head-spinning sprint-climb to the NFL overshadowed the man who has replaced him in Lubbock, Matt Wells. Wells comes to Texas Tech from Utah State where his Aggies earned five bowl appearances and notched a pair of 10-win seasons in the MWC.  Wells has spent his entire career from 1997 to present on the offensive side of the ball.  However, his teams did play decent defense in the MWC.  A defensive upgrade alone would do a world of good in Lubbock where defense was always an afterthought under Kingsbury.

Troy
OUT: Neal Brown
IN: Chip Lindsey

   To my Southern California friends all I can say is that I feel your pain.  I know this is not the Troy coaching change we all hoped I'd be writing about.  Neal Brown arrived in Troy back in 2015 as a former assistant who had honed his skills as a coach with Texas Tech and Kentucky before returning to lead the program.  It was hoped he'd build a solid program.  Neal Brown left Troy as a legend. The Trojans stumbled to 4-8 in Brown's first season,  then went 31-8 over the next three seasons which included three bowl victories and upsets of LSU and Nebraska. Brown parlayed that success into the head job at West Virginia.  Chip Lindsey has been tabbed to try and keep Troy's winning ways rolling.  Lindsey is an Alabama native.  He did play a couple seasons of football at North Alabama before transferring to the Crimson Tide, where he didn't play football, but did earn his degree there in 1997. Lindsay started his coaching career in the high school ranks where he worked his up until he became the OC at Alabama's legendary Hoover High School in 2007.  Seven years later, he had risen up the college ranks to become the OC at Southern Miss.  He then held the same posts at Arizona State and Auburn before landing the HC job at Troy.  Lindsey did not have a great tenure at Auburn, but that helped the Troy admin get him for the right price.  Also, it's been intimated that the his new bosses believe his subpar time at Auburn is just a speed bump in an otherwise solid coaching career.

Utah State
OUT: Matt Wells
IN: Gary Andersen

   Matt Wells succeeded Gary Andersen at Utah State after Andersen left the Aggies for Wisconsin at the end of the 2013 season. Andersen won nine games in 2013 and then 10 games and a division title at Wisconsin in 2014.  Those 10 wins placed Wisconsin in the Big Ten title game v. Theee Ohio State.  The Buckeyes annihilated the Badgers, 59-0.  Four days later, Andersen quit the Badgers. He stated that one of the main reasons he left Wisconsin was the high admissions standards.  He told CBSSports.com's Dennis Dodd, "It's been well (documented) there were some kids I couldn't get into school... that was highly frustrating to me." Yeah, right. I'm sure the 59-0 beating made him reassess his life in Madison more than entrance requirements. His abrupt departure sent shockwaves of surprise throughout college football. Andersen then took over at Oregon State after Mike Riley unexpectedly exited Corvalis for Nebraska.  Less than three years later, Andersen quit again.  This time it was six games into the 2017 season. He and OSU had a mutual parting of the ways and he had stated that he had been a "bad fit" in Corvallis.  That wasn't a surprise, what was a surprise was that Andersen walked away from the remaining $12 million dollars on his contract with OSU.  Last November, Utah State HC Matt Wells left Logan for the vacancy at Texas Tech. Then in early December, Andersen sent another shock through the college football world by replacing the man who had once replaced him.  Andersen is now the HC at Utah State for a second time.  I'm sure the folks in Logan wonder just how long he will be around.

West Virginia
OUT: Dana Holgorsen
IN: Neal Brown

   There is always a time in a coach's tenure at a school where he realizes that maybe he's taken a program as far as it is going to go under his leadership and fresh blood is needed. Dana Holgrosen and WVU mutually reached that point last year.  WVU nabbed a fine coach to replace Holgorsen.  Neal Brown has the background and the skills to place the Mountaineers among the elite of the Big XII for years to come. He comes from Troy where he turned the Trojans into a Sun Belt contender and a serious threat to the jobs of the HCs in the SEC. With his recruiting ties, Brown should be able to grab some great talent form the south and build a defense to match WVU's offensive prowess. There could be some great days ahead in Morgantown. However, don't be surprised if Brown has some success and leaves WVU for an SEC job.

Western Kentucky
OUT: Mike Sanford, Jr.
IN: Tyson Helton

   Western Kentucky football had begun to find its' rhythm on the FBS stage under HCs Bob Petrino and Jeff Brohm from 2013-16.  Potent offenses and bowl games had become the norm.  Then, Mike Sanford, Jr. happened. In two seasons his WKU teams went 9-16 and the those in charge in Kentucky's version of Bowling Green quickly fired him.  The new man at WKU is a familiar one to Hilltopper fans in Tyson Helton. Helton was on the WKU staff from 2014-2015 as the OC/QB coach under Jeff Brohm.  He is also the brother of USC HC Clay Helton and was on the SC staff from 2016-17 before serving one season as the OC/QB coach at Tennessee in 2018.   Tyson Helton is a man dedicated to the passing game.  His first four years as a coach were spent on June Jones' staff at Hawaii as first a GA then the TE/ST coach. From Sanford's firing it is clear that the WKU admin does not possess a great deal of patience.  Tyson must win right away to stay awhile at WKU.

Some families aren't good at being a head coach;  Mike Sanford, Jr's father, Mike Sr. wasn't a good HC either.  His overall record as a HC is a dismal 34-73 in nine years in charge at UNLV and Indiana State.

Next time folks, we will begin our look at the schedules of the Power Five conferences.
-The Commissioner