Tuesday, August 31, 2021

Week Zero

 Hey all, 

Week Zero is in the books marking the start of the rollercoaster ride that is the college football season. So, it is time now for the first Notes on Pac 12 Scorecard of the year.  We still miss you, Alan Malamud.

Summary

UCLA 44- Hawaii 10: Pasadena, CA- The bRuins won a non-conference game.  That's a first for the Chip Kelly era in Westwood.  They did some pretty good things against a vastly undermanned Hawaii team.  They started fast, putting up 24 first quarter points thanks to an OL that blew open some pretty large holes for Michigan transfer RB Zack Charbonnet.  Charbonnet scored on runs of 21 and 47 yards to go with a 1-yard run by RB Brittain Brown and 27-yard FG by PK Nicholas Barra-Mira. Second, the bRuins actually played defense.  They forced a pair of turnovers and had a pass rush that Hawaii just couldn't block. Now, that may be because of the fact that Hawaii is epically poor on the OL, but still UCLA took advantage of it to great success. Third they didn't turn the ball over.  UCLA has been plagued an inordinate amount of turnovers the last few years. Fourth they had good special teams that included a blocked punt for a touchdown.  Hawaii hadn't had a blocked punt since the 2008 season. After the 24-point first quarter, the bRuins tacked on another Charbonnet TD early in the second quarter and the game was basically over at that point.  The one down spot for UCLA on the day was the play of QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson.  He finished the game completing 10 of 20 passes for 130 yards and a TD, but never seemed to find a real rhythm to his play.  Charbonnet had the big day for UCLA rushing for 106 yards and three TDs on just six carries, while Hawaii QB Chad Cordeiro threw for 220 yards, a TD and two picks in the losing effort. 
Telling Stat: Familiar drives; UCLA's six scoring drives took an average of 1:46 off the clock.  Those sound like old Chip Kelly coached Oregon drive times. 

Observations

...They had a plan;  Fresno State had a plan in case their cleats melted in their home opener. The on-field temp at Bulldog Stadium was at 125 degrees for their 11:30 AM kickoff with UConn. If you need a plan for your cleats meting maybe you should have moved kickoff back a few hours. SMH.

...Ida-gone;  Hurricane Ida had forced LSU football to relocate to Houston to practice this week for their game at the Rose Bowl v. UCLA. Meanwhile, Tulane has relocated to Birmingham to prepare for their game with Oklahoma, a game that has now been moved form Tulane to Norman.

...That time of year; Must be football season if I've been reading the Champaign News-Gazette, El Paso Times and the Columbia Post and Courier.

...War Eagle down; The Patriots have named Mac Jones as their starting QB and released Cam Newton. So Auburn loses to Alabama yet again.

...Don't bRuin your life;  Lots of folks are jumping on the UCLA bandwagon after they demolished Hawaii.  I think they'd be better hold off on that jump until after UCLA faces LSU this week. 

...Graphically brutal;  You know things are bad at Nebraska when the Fox broadcast crew puts up the graphic that Scott Frost has the second lowest winning percentage in Cornhusker history during their loss to Illinois. 

...Duped for all to see;  ESPN was actually fooled into airing a High School game last Sunday between  Florida's IMG academy and a phony school (Actually more phony than IMG Academy) named Bishop Sycamore. The funny part is that ESPN just failed in doing any research into the game.  The sad and scary part is what a scam Bishop Sycamore is. That is detailed in this SI Article.  Bishop Who?

...An eligible man; Zeb Noland came to South Carolina as a Graduate Assistant coach after playing QB at Iowa State and North Dakota State in his college career. Now, he's the Gamecocks starting QB v. Eastern Illinois this Saturday.  A foot injury to starter Luke Doty led to Noland's unlikely role as new SoCar QB. Check out the the story here.  He's now QB1

...Sitkowski-ing on the bench no more;  Illinois QB Artur Sitkowski went from transfer backup QB to starter just 13 minutes into the season when Brandon Peters shoulder was injured after being driven to the turf by a Nebraska defender.  All Sitkowski did was complete 12 of 15 passes for 124 yards and two TDs to help lead the Illini to a 30-22 win over the Cornhuskers.

...Somewhere Woody's Smiling;  The HBCU Classic for Columbus was played at TheeeOSU in the fabled Horseshoe last Saturday.  The Kentucky State Thorobreds defeated the Central State Maruders, 20-6 without completing a pass. They only attempted four tosses, but did run the ball 51 times for 322 yards on the day. I think the ghost of Woody Hayes affected the game. After all he's the one who said, "Only three things can happen when you throw the ball and two of them are bad."

...COVID-Loaded:  We are going to hear a lot about Super Seniors and returning starters.  Super Seniors are the players that have returned for a sixth season of eligibility thanks to the NCAA granting an extra year to players due to the Pandemic.  Also, every team will have a ton of returning starters back because of it.  So, don't be surprised when most teams have upwards of 15 or so returning starters.  

...Aggies hit rock bottom; Even lowly New Mexico State could at least say they owned the Battle of I-10 with three straight wins over UTEP.  Not anymore, The Miners walloped the Aggies, 30-3 to win the 98th game in the rivalry and regain possession off the Silver Spade trophy. The Aggies may now wish to cancel that road trip to Alabama in November. 

...Just a rumor; There's no truth to the rumor that this intrepid report has been offered the OL coaching job at Bishop Sycamore. 

...The first of five;  Illinois was just the first of five early conference game matches in the Big Ten.  TheeOSU travels to Minnesota this week while Penn State heads to Wisconsin, Indiana travels to Iowa, and Michigan State goes to Northwestern. Five teams will be 0-1 in the Big Ten before Labor Day. Ouch. 

Pac 12 Overreaction

UCLA will finish second in the Pac 12 South and get the dreaded Sun Bowl bid.

The Slates
Here's a quick look at the Pac 12 schedules for 2021

Dream Schedule: UCLA.  Yes, the bRuins have a big game with LSU this week, but it is at home.  Four of their first five games are at home and they don't leave the state until October 9th for a trip to tailender Arizona.  Their toughest stretch is a three game run to finish off October where they travel to Washington and Oregon with a home game with Utah sandwiched in-between.

Could happen: BYU plays four Pac 12 opponents this year.  Utah will travel to BYU for The Holy War on 9/11 (Can't make that up, facepalm).  They also have road games at Arizona, WSU, and USC.  So, it is possible for BYU to finish with more wins win the Pac 12 than Wazzu, Arizona or Oregon State.

USC: For once USC does not have one of the toughest schedules in the country.  However, they still, travel to Notre Dame for the rivalry game but the Trojans don't face either Washington or Oregon this year.  A well-coached Trojan squad could easily go 11-1 or 10-2 with this schedule.  However, with Clay Helton still walking the sidelines, 8-4 or 7-5 is a distinct possibility.  

Making the most of it:  The Pac 12 has a few big out of conference matchups. If the league is to have any chance at the playoffs, most of these games have to be won.

9/4- LSU at UCLA
9/11- Washington at Michigan 
9/11- Oregon At Ohio State
9/11- Colorado v. Texas A&M (in Denver)
10/23- USC at Notre Dame
11/27- Notre Dame at Stanford 

FCS X 8:  Eight Pac 12 schools will host FCS opponents this year. Seven of the opponents hail from the Big Sky Conference with Stony Brook of the Colonial Athletic Association traveling across country to take on Oregon on 9/18. USC, UCLA, Washington and Stanford are the four playing an all FBS schedule. 

0-9 Quacks: The Fighting Nikes of Oregon travel to TheeOSU to take on the Buckeyes on 9/11 where they are winless in nine tries against the Scarlet and Gray.  The series goes back to The 1958 Rose Bowl where TheeeOSU defeated the Ducks, 10-7. Five of the games in the series have been played at Columbus with the Quacks dropping a 24-14 decision on their last visit in 1987.
Fun Fact: The 1958 Rose Bowl saw a reserve end for Oregon get to play the final few snaps of the game. That end was future USC HC John Robinson. 

28-4:  Thats combined record of USC's 2021 non-conference opponents.  BYU went 11-1 while Notre Dame went 10-2 and San Jose State went 7-1 and won the Mountain West Conference title last year.  It's actually the Pac 12 portion of the slate that makes for a weak schedule strength for there Trojans. 

Been awhile: Minnesota will visit Colorado on 11/18. It's the first meeting between the two in Boulder since 1991 when the Buffs roamed the sidelines of the Big XII. CU holds a 3-0 lead in the series which dates back to 1972 where the Buffaloes racked up 467 yards of total offense in a 38-6 rout of the Golden Gophers.

700 the hard way:  Saturday, September 4th, will mark 700 days since Arizona has won a football game.  Their last win occurred on 10/5/2019 when the Wildcats beat Colorado, 35-30. On Saturday, the Wildcats take on BYU at Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas in an effort to grab that elusive W.

Just a rumor: There's no truth to the rumor that the winner of the Stanford-Vanderbilt game on 9/18 will receive internships to Goldman-Sachs.

Feeling nostalgic:  Utah's non-conference lineup includes BYU and San Diego State.  The schools should bust out old WAC patches for their uniforms in those games. 

September cupcakes:  Arizona State opens the season by hosting a Southern Utah squad that just got worked over by San Jose State and then MWC also-ran UNLV.  

Intriguing matchups: They didn't face off in Berkeley due to COVID last year, so I'm interested to see Cal travel to Fort Worth to take on TCU on 9/11. Another game that could be fun to watch is Oregon State at Purdue on 9/4. 

Cool Uniform of the Week

Hawaii wins for their white and green road uniforms v. UCLA.  The color combo is great and the island chain on the left side for the helmet rocks.


Departments

Low Score Game of the Week: Mitchell, SD- In the NAIA ranks, the Dakota State Trojans got a pair of field goals of 33 and 38 yards form PK Jacob Nielsen to grab a 6-0 win over Dakota Wesleyan.  The win was the Trojans fifth straight over the Tigers. They Trojans also get to maintain possession of the coveted Chamber of Commerce Travelling Trophy.

Blowout Game of the Week: Aberdeen, SD- We stay in the NAIA ranks where the Northwestern (IA) Raiders crushed the Presentation College Saints, 66-9.  Northwestern started the rout worth a 24-yard pick six by CB Lucas Nagel en route to a 28 point first quarter.  Nagel struck again in the third quarter with a 36-yard pick six in the third quarter to lengthen the Raiders lead to 52-3.  The Raiders started the quarter with a 100-yard kickoff return for a TD by RB Kole Tedford.  The Raiders dominated all phases of the game in this laugher. 

Razorback Report: The Hogs will kickoff their season at home v. Rice this Saturday. 

This Week's Three Notes About Nothing...

Some things never change. Bazooka bubble gum still loses its' flavor after about 10 minutes.

My wife tells me Fruit Stripe Gum loses its' flavor after six minutes. 

Sidecar Donuts are pretty amazing.

Until next time folks, remember that it is pretty awesome to have football back in whatever way we can enjoy it.  Have a safe and Happy Labor Day weekend. 

-The Commissioner


Tuesday, August 24, 2021

The Coaching Carousel

 Hey All,

Yes, the summer reading portion of this blog is as late as the start of the CFL season this year.  Your author here blames it on his reluctance to finally acquire a new computer. After trying to save the old one that was rendered "Obsolete" by Apple, I did go and get a new one.  So, better late than never, lets take our annual ride on the old Coaching Carousel.  We still miss you, Alan Malamud. 

Arizona
OUT: Kevin Sumlin
IN: Jedd Fisch

Kevin Sumlin's tenure at UofA was disappointing to say the least.  The Wildcats went a dismal 9-20 under his tutelage which included three straight losses to rival ASU.  The final loss to ASU was a 70-7 drubbing that showed just how low the program had fallen. Next man up is Jedd Fisch who has an interesting resume to say the least.  Fisch never played football at the high school or college level.  His coaching career started as he was an undergrad at Florida, being the defensive coordinator at a local high school. He got a huge break when Florida HC Steve Spurrier hired him as a GA in 1999.  From there he spent most of his time in the NFL being a QB coach or OC.  His college coaching stint that folks around here may remember was in 2017 when he served as the OC for Jim Mora at UCLA. He then succeeded Mora as the interim HC when Mora was shown the door.  He comes back to the Pac 12 after being the QB coach for the New England Patriots in 2020.  Fisch has created some good early feelings among the Wildcats faithful by bringing some alums back to the campus. He has hired Chuck Cecil and Rickey Hunley as assistants.  Fisch will need time to build up form the wreckage left by Kevin Sumlin.  That will be quite a task for a guy who has never been a full-time HC on any level.

Arkansas State
OUT Blake Anderson 
IN: Butch Jones

Blake Anderson is just another one in the line of coaches that have had a good run with Arkansas State and moved on.  Anderson led the Red Wolves to six straight bowl games and two Sun Belt titles before heading off to Utah State.  Next man up in Jonesboro isn't a coach on the way up, but one looking for redemption with a name that fits the town in Butch Jones.  Jones' last HC job was at Tennessee where he had a pair of nine-win seasons, but never got his team over the hump.  His final year there, 2017, saw him fired mid season. Since his firing, Jones has spent the last three seasons at Alabama as an assistant to St. Nicholas of Tuscaloosa.  Jones has turned other programs around before, but he doesn't have to do this here.  ASU is a solid program that he can make the tops in the Sun Belt year in and year out. 

Auburn
OUT: Gus Malzahn
IN: Bryan Harsin

After eight tumultuous years on The Plains, Gus Malzahn was let go at Auburn.  His tine there was rocky to say the least.  A national championship appearance was the highlight of a roller coaster ride that saw the Tigers revert back to little brother status as Alabama reasserted their dominance.  The Tigers athletic braintrust then looked to the west for Malzahn's replacement. Bryan Harsin comes form Boise State where his Bronco squads won at least 10 games most years and were the class of the Mountain West Conference. Harsin walks into a program that needs to do one thing; beat Alabama on a consistent basis.  Thats a daunting task to say the least.  

Boise State 
OUT: Bryan Harsin
IN: Andy Avalaos

As mentioned above, Bryan Harsin had a great run at BSU and is now off to Auburn.  The Broncos then went out and hired a former Bronco in Andy Avalos. Avalos played linebacker at Boise in the early 2000s.  Avalos then stayed in the west for his coaching career.  He started of as a GA at Colorado in 2006.  Then worked his way back to BSU after stops at Nebraska-Kearney and Sacramento State.  He rose form DL coach in 2013 to the DC position in 2018. He has spent the last two season as the DC at Oregon where the Ducks have had a pretty good defense. The big knock on Avalos is that he has never served as a HC at any level. Can he keep the Broncos at the top of MWC?  Time will tell.

Buffalo 
OUT: Lance Leipold
IN: Maurice Linguist

Those in charge at Buffalo did no think they'd be losing Lance Leipold last year.  Leipold came to Buffalo off an amazing run at D-III Wisconsin-Whitewater that featured six national championships.  Leipold had only gone 37-33 at Buffalo, but when the Les Miles' was canned in Lawrence, Leipold leapt at the chance to try and build a winner at the abyss of college football that is Kansas.  Former UB assistant Maurice Linguist was tabbed to be the HC.  Funny things was that Linguist already had a job.  For 107 days, he had been the DB coach and Co-DC at Michigan.  Linguist had taken the Michiagn job after being the DB coach for the Dallas Cowboys in 2020.  This will be his first HC job, but one he said he couldn't pass up when it became available according to this article in the Detroit Free Press last may. Short Stay at UM. Linguist hasn't been in any one job very long coaching at nine different places in a 14 year career. Maybe he will hit it right and be at Buffalo for awhile.

Central Florida
OUT: Josh Heupel 
IN: Gus Malzahn

UCF had their HC leave for the SEC and got one back in return. Josh Heupel left UCF for Tennessee and in his place comes Gus Malzahn from Auburn.  Malzahn is off the crazy ride that is the expectation level at Auburn.  However, the expectations at UCF are pretty high too.  UCF posted a 35-5 record form 2017-19 before suffering a COVID plagued 6-4 2020 season. Malzahn should know just how a good a program UCF is as his Auburn squad was beaten by the Golden Knights in the 2017 Fiesta Bowl. 

Illinois
OUT: Lovie Smith 
IN: Bret Bielema

Lovie Smith's five seasons at Illinois did not bring a lot of victories or anything close to a Big Ten title to Champaign-Urbana. In fact, the Illini were a pedestrian 17-39 under Smith's tutelage. However, the man who led the Bears to a Super Bowl berth was hired first and foremost to bring stability and class to a program that was reeling from the Tim Beckman era. An era that was filled with scandals of player abuse and a toxic program environment. The next man up in Champaign is not known for being nearly as classy as Smith, Bret Bielema.  Bielema returns to the Big Ten after a successful run at Wisconsin that was followed by an epically poor run at Arkansas.  Bielema went 68-24 at Wisconsin from 2006-12 and left abruptly for Arkansas after a dispute over salaries for his assistant coaches. Speculation is that Bielema saw the chance to take an SEC job and leapt at it.  He also never informed his AD, Barry Alvarez,  or anyone else at Wisconsin that he was leaving until he had already left.  At Arkansas, Bielema's Razorbacks posted a 29-34 record.  Bielema had several run-ins along the way with the Admin in Fayetteville. He was fired in 2017 as he left the field after the Razorbacks' 48-45 lost to Missouri. Bielema can produce a winning team, but the man has a shelf life. Will he make Illinois a winner before his shelf life expires?  Bielema's brusque behavior goes back to his playing days at Iowa.  Check out this low class move he pulled off as a senior captain of the Hawkeyes back in 1992. Bret Pops Off

Kansas
OUT: Les Miles
IN: Lance Leipold

The Mad Hatter had quite an interesting if not successful stay in Lawrence.  Under Les Miles KU racked up a 3-18 record overall record and a 1-16 mark in Big XII play. It looked like KU was headed into another season with Miles pacing the sidelines when the fallout from the sexual misconduct investigations at LSU hit the fan.  It was revealed that when Miles led the Bayou Bengals, there were some incidents of inappropriate sexual behavior between the Miles and a pair of female students. KU AD Jeff Long had been through this before.  When he was the AD at Arkansas, he fired Bobby Petrino for sexual misconduct.  He and the KU board didn't want to wait and see if the same behavior would surface at KU and fired Miles.  The Jayhawks then reached out to Buffalo HC Lance Leipold who eagerly took the chance to be a HC in the Big XII.  Leipold has been successful at every stop in his coaching career.  He faces and uphill battle at KU, but if he fails most of the blame for the failure would be placed on Long.  After all, the man does not have a great track record of hiring head coaches.

 Louisiana-Monroe
OUT: Matt Viator
IN: Terry Bowden

Hey, remember when John Robinson jumped off his retirement couch and dragged Bruce Snyder along with him for one last ride on the sidelines of UNLV from 1999-2004?  Looks like we've got the same thing happening at ULM.  Terry Bowden who has had notable stints as the HC at Auburn and Akron will now roam the sidelines for the Warhawks with Rich Rodriguez as his DC.  Yes, Dick-Rod himself of West Virginia, Michigan and Arizona fame will be there too.  Oh, and why not bring these guys with nothing really to prove into the program?  ULM has been a graveyard of coaches for their entire time on the FBS level.  The latest victim was Matt Viator who took a fine record at FCS power McNeese State with him to ULM only to watch his career get derailed with a team that produced a meager 19-39 record over the last five seasons.

Marshall
OUT: Doc Holliday
IN: Charles Huff

Doc Holliday had a solid tenure with the Thundering Herd.  His record was 85-54 in 11 seasons with a C-USA title in 2014.  He was also named C-USA Coach of the Year twice.  However, that wasn't enough to please one notable fan of the Thundering Herd.  No, that fan was not the AD.  Nope, the fan wasn't a high powered member of Board of Trustees, either.  It was West Virginia Governor Jim Justice.  According to reports from the West Virginia Gazette & Mail, Justice didn't like Holliday and had been pushing for his ouster since at least 2017.  So Justice go his way and Holliday was relieved of his duties last January.  The man taking his place is Charles Huff.  The last two season Huff has been the RB coach and Associate HC at Alabama.  Huff has never been a HC before and has spent his entire career on the offensive side of the ball coaching everything from OL to TEs to RBs. He's regarded as a great recruiter in FBS circles. If he is to succeed at Marshall, his first major recruit might have to be Governor Justice. 

South Alabama 
OUT: Steve Campbell
IN: Kane Wommack

Steve Campbell had been a pretty successful HC until he took the job at South Alabama.  On the D-II level he won a national title at Delta State before moving on to Central Arkansas where he led the Bears to a 33-15 record and two playoff appearances in the FCS.  Campbell never got the Jaguars out of the ditch the program was in when he arrived.  A 9-26 record over three seasons didn't merit a fourth and he was fired with a $350,000 buyout.  The next man chosen to lead the Jaguars is Kane Wommack. Wommack comes to the Jaguars from Indiana where he has been the DC there the last two seasons.  However, Wommack is a child of the south.  He played FB and TE at both Arkansas and Southern Miss. He also has ties to South Alabama serving as the DC/LB coach from 2016-17.  The Jaguars are hoping his youth and talent can lead the team to their first wining record in FBS play.  Wommack is only 34 years old and is seen as an upon and comer in the coaching ranks. 

South Carolina
OUT: Will Muschamp
IN: Shane Beamer

Will Muschamp washed out in his second SEC HC gig like he did at his first.  He led the Gamecocks to an underwhelming 28-30 record in five seasons. Shane Beamer has been tabbed to take his place.  Beamer is a rising star in the coaching world.  His last job was as the Associate HC and TE coach at Oklahoma.  He also has ties to Steve Spurrier as he served as the 'Ol Ball Coach's OLB/ST/CB coach and Recruiting coordinator over a four year stint at SoCar.  He also has coaching in his blood being the son of legendary VaTech HC Frank Beamer. Expectations are high in Columbia for the younger Beamer.  If he is successful, it will definitely shift the balance of power in the SEC East.

Southern Mississippi
OUT: Will Hall
IN: Jay Hopson

Jay Hopson was the earliest HC to be let go in 2020, resigning just one game into the season. Hopson had spent a great deal of time in the USM program and speculation about his dismissal ranges from health issues to athletic department politics.  The new HC is Will Hall.  He comes to USM from Tulane where he was the OC the last two seasons.  His efforts revived the the moribund Green Wave offense that was scoring single digits a game into a 34-point a game team.  Hall does know the territory too. He was the HC at West Alabama and West Georgia, leading both schools multiple D-II playoff berths. All the other stops on his resume have been in the south as well.  Hopes are he finds a groove at USM and stays a decade or so. 

Tennessee
OUT: Jeremy Pruitt
IN: Josh Heupel

After riots, fits of fan outrage and athletic department meddling, the Volunteers find themselves in a familiar place;  an also ran in the SEC East. The latest HC victim was Jeremy Pruitt.  Pruitt was axed after an internal investigation discovered recruiting violations in the program that could draw Level I or Level II penalties form the NCAA. Basically, the Tennessee admin had tired of Pruitt and his mediocre record and wanted him gone. The job now rests in the hands of Josh Heupel.   Heupel won almost every award out there as the QB at OU back in 2000 and his coaching career has been pretty good too.  The last three season he was at UCF where he led the Golden Knights to a 28-8 record and three bowl games.  Hopes are high that he will lead the Volunteers back to relevance.  However, Heupel could also do some minor thing that leads to the fanbase storming the gates of athletic department to have him fired. Hey, it's whacked out Knoxville where anything could happen. 

Texas
OUT: Tom Herman
IN: Steve Sarkisian

Cutty Sark is back!  After the folks in charge at Texas figured out that Tom Herman wasn't really the rock they thought their football church was built on, they raided Alabama for OC Steve Sarkisian.  Not many men have been named HC at three different major schools by the age of 47, but there were some mitigating factors at work here. If USC AD Pat Haden hadn't chosen to ignore all the advice given to him by the search committee, Sark and his two-ton bar tabs never would have been the HC at USC.  However, now that he and his career have been redeemed by the healing touch of Nick Saban one big question remains; is Sark the guy who can finally bring Texas back? 


Vanderbilt
OUT: Derek Mason
IN: Clark Lea

The other member of the SEC from the Volunteer state replaced a coach too.  Over in Commodore-land Derek Mason was fired after an 0-8 start to the 2020 season.  Mason left Nashville with a dismal 27-55 record.  The Vandy braintrust now looks to an alum to now lead the program.  Clark Lea played fullback for Vandy from 2002-04.  His coaching career started in the Pac 10 where he served as a GA for Karl Dorrell at UCLA and then a as a GA/LB coach for Rick Neuheisel with the bRuins from 2009-11. Lea's career has always been on the defensive side of the ball.  He was primarily a LB coach before being promoted to DC at Notre Dame where he guided the Irish defenses from 2018-20. If Lea is able to turn Vandy into a middle of the road SEC program with a few bowl games, it would be a miracle. 

Utah State
OUT: Gary Andersen
IN: Blake Anderson 

Remember Gary Andersen?  He's the weird guy who left Oregon State and a 12 million dollar buyout behind because he didn't think he wasn't doing a good enough job back in 2017.  He then took the Utah State job for a second time in 2019.  Then after his Aggies started the season at 0-3, he was asked to leave and voluntarily left a 2.9 million dollar buyout behind (wow). Utah State took Andersen's buyout and hired Anderson, Blake Anderson away from Arkansas State.  Blake Anderson's seven years at ASU were just a part of a coaching career that started in 1992 as a GA at Eastern New Mexico. He's had success just about everywhere he has been, including being the OC for Trinity Valley CC's national championship season of 1997. Utah State's admin hires he brings wins and stability to the program.  

Until next time folks, remember that every coach knows his Xs and Os, but you win games with the Johnnies and the Joes. Recruiting is huge. 

-The Commissioner