College Football Week 17 – All the head coaching jobs are filled
The calm before the storm –
morsels, tidbits and stocking stuffers

In the college football season, this time of the year is truly the calm before the storm. Actually, it is the calm after the storm and before the storm. We’re in between storms.

The regular season and conference championship games are over. Some teams survived those storms. Now we are waiting as the major bowl games and national championship game approach. We’re hoping to survive those storms.

Meanwhile, in between the storms, there are lots of holiday morsels, nibbles, tidbits and stocking stuffers to keep us entertained and nourished. It’s a relaxing and calming time before the next storm arrives.

And speaking of tidbits, I always thought the Deacon had bats in his belfry, but this? They call them the Demon Deacons and, lo and behold, Wake Forest found out last week it truly has a Demon among its Deacons. Tommy Elrod, a former Wake Forest player and assistant coach and current color commentator for Wake Forest’s football radio broadcasts, has been passing game plans, playbooks, etc. to some of Wake Forest’s opponents this season.

Specifically, the information was passed to Louisville, Virginia Tech and Army. The ACC has fined Louisville and Virginia Tech for accepting the data. I don’t know whose jurisdiction Army is under – maybe the Justice Department. Anyway, Elrod is no longer the color commentator for Wake Forest’s football broadcasts. He was fired from that position.

Apparently, Elrod was mad because he wasn’t retained as an assistant coach when current coach Dave Clawson replaced Jim Grobe. Wanna bet, that growing up, Elrod was one of those kids who always got a participation trophy – regardless of how his team fared.

There were lots of morsels last week in the coaching carousel. In fact, all the vacancies were filled. Like motels, the NCAA can put up a sign – “No Vacancy.”

Let’s get started. Purdue filled its vacancy, hiring Western Kentucky coach Jeff Brohm to be the Boilermakers new coach. Under Brohm, the Hilltoppers were 30-10 in three seasons. Prior to Western Kentucky, Brohm was a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator for Louisville, Florida Atlantic, Illinois and UAB. A quarterback, Brohm played football for Louisville and several NFL teams.

And speaking of Western Kentucky, Oregon filled its vacancy, hiring South Florida coach Willie Taggart. I say Western Kentucky, because Taggart played quarterback for the Hilltoppers and is a former head coach of Western Kentucky. The past four seasons, Taggart was 24-25 at South Florida.

Meanwhile, Western Kentucky hired Notre Dame offensive coordinator Mike Sanford to replace Brohm. At 34, Sanford is the youngest head coach in FBS football. He is a former quarterback at Boise State.

South Florida took care of its vacancy, hiring former Texas coach Charlie Strong to replace Taggart. Strong needs no introduction and South Florida is fortunate to have him.

Two Texas schools took care of their openings. Baylor hired Temple coach Matt Rhule, while Houston elevated its current offensive coordinator, Major Applewhite, to the head coaching job.

In four seasons at Temple, Rhule was 28-23. He was a linebacker at Penn State and an assistant coach at several schools before Temple. Rhule coached Temple to the AAC championship this season. Meanwhile, Applewhite, a former quarterback at Texas, was a quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator at Syracuse, Rice, Alabama and Texas before joining the Houston staff in 2015.

Temple quickly filled its vacancy, hiring current Florida defensive coordinator Geoff Collins to be the Owls new coach. Before Florida, he was the defensive coordinator at Mississippi State. Collins played college ball at Western Carolina where he was a linebacker.

Perhaps the most talked about hiring of all was Florida Atlantic naming Alabama offensive coordinator Lane Kiffin its new coach. There had been lots of speculation about Kiffin. Everyone was certain he would leave Alabama after this season. The question was: Where would he go?

Most seemed to have Kiffin becoming the offensive coordinator at LSU, under Ed Orgeron, or the head coach at Houston, replacing Tom Herman. But Kiffin was snubbed at Houston for Major Applewhite. After the Las Vegas Bowl, Houston may regret that. Anyway, eventually, Kiffin became the head coach at Florida Atlantic, taking a $500,000 pay cut along the way.

Kiffin has already made news at Florida Atlantic, by signing former Florida State quarterback De’Andre Johnson. Johnson was dismissed from the Florida State team for hitting a woman.

Cincinnati filled its vacancy, hiring Ohio State defensive coordinator Luke Fickell to be the Bearcats new coach. Fickell played for the Buckeyes and has been on the Ohio State coaching staff since 2002. He was the interim head coach of the Buckeyes during the 2011 season.

Three Mountain West Conference schools filled their vacancies. The best known of the three was Jeff Tedford being hired to coach Fresno State. Tedford is a former offensive coordinator at Oregon and the former head coach at California – 2002-2012. Most recently, he was an offensive consultant for Chris Petersen at Washington.

San Jose State hired Brent Brennan and Nevada hired Jay Norvell. Brennan was the receivers coach at Oregon State and Norvell was the receivers coach at Arizona State.

And finally, Georgia State hired Shawn Elliott as its new coach. Elliott was the offensive line coach at South Carolina.

So all said and done, there will be 17 new head coaches in FBS football next season. That is unless one or more of the current head coaches leave for the NFL after the bowl season. That possibility remains.

And all said and done poor ole Les Miles was left out in the cold. The former LSU head coach had hoped to land one of the openings. He tried hard to get the Baylor and Purdue jobs. I suppose the schools thought you can’t teach an old dog new tricks. The Mad Hatter may have no more tricks up his sleeve.

A few coordinators of note have been named. Willie Taggart hired Jim Leavitt to be his defensive coordinator at Oregon. Leavitt, a former head coach at South Florida, was most recently the defensive coordinator at Colorado.

With Lane Kiffin out of the picture, if he was ever in, LSU coach Ed Orgeron named Matt Canada his offensive coordinator. Canada most recently was the offensive coordinator at Pitt. And, last but not least, and not surprisingly, Alabama coach Nick Saban replaced Kiffin with Steve Sarkisian. This past season, Sarkisian, the former Washington and USC head coach, was an offensive consultant for Saban at Alabama.

Among the seven FCS schools in Florida, recruiting has always been fierce, but it is going to be more so with the incredible lineup of coaches in the Sunshine State – Jimbo Fisher (Florida State), Mark Richt (Miami), Jim McElwain (Florida), Charlie Strong (South Florida), Scott Frost (UCF), Lane Kiffin (Florida Atlantic) and Butch Davis (Florida International). That’s an impressive list of coaches for one state.

The bowl season has commenced. Five games were played Saturday. Two went as expected and three didn’t. Three were exciting and two weren’t. It all began in Albuquerque where New Mexico beat Texas-San Antonio, 23-20, in the Blake Shelton Underwear Bowl.

The first of three upsets came next when San Diego State stunned Houston, 34-10, in the Las Vegas Bowl. And who did Houston hire as its new coach – Lieutenant Cherrypink….Sergeant Appleblossom? Oh yeah, it was Major Applewhite. Houston may be regretting its hire already. Calling Lane Kiffin, calling Lane Kiffin!

The second of three upsets occurred in Montgomery, Alabama, where Appalachian State got by Toledo, 31-28, in the Camellia Bowl. I always liked a bowl full of camellias. I’m not so sure this one was really that much of an upset. The Little Mountaineers are a good football team.

The third of three upsets really was an upset. Arkansas State pounded UCF, 31-13, in the Cure Bowl in Orlando. I don’t think anything could have cured UCF in this game. They were pretty sick. Scott Frost was nipping at their toes.

In the nightcap, Southern Miss edged Louisiana-Lafayette, 28-21, in the New Orleans Bowl. Eagles quarterback Nick Mullens put on a fireworks show, passing for 346 yards.

So the first five bowls began with a game that went as expected and ended with a game that went as expected. In between, there were two big surprises and one mild surprise. And we have 35 bowl games and a national championship game to go. Hang in there!

At 2-0, the Mountain West Conference is looking good after the first five bowl games, while the AAC, 0-2, is looking bad. The Sun Belt is hanging in there at 2-1.

Speaking of the conferences, year-in and year-out, the SEC is generally considered to be the best overall in football. However, 2016 was a down year for the SEC. The conference, most likely, wasn’t the best. The ACC, Pac-12 and Big Ten can state their cases.

Yes, Alabama at 13-0 is the best team in the country, or until further notice. But after Alabama, the quality of football dropped considerably in the SEC. Everyone else in the conference lost 4 or more games. Nobody, except Alabama, won more than 8 games. On the positive side, nobody in the SEC won less than four games or lost more than 8 games. That can’t be said for the other four Power 5 conferences, or any Group of 5 conferences for that matter.

Still, there are other problems in the SEC. Primarily, the conference isn’t healthy. The West Division of the SEC has won the conference championship game for 8-straight years and 9 of the last 10 years. What’s worse, in those last 8 years, only one championship game has been close. The other 7 have been routs – slaughters. That’s not healthy. Six of the last 9 years, one team – Alabama – has won the SEC West Division. Two of the other three years were won by Auburn.

The Big Ten may be showing some similar balance problems. Unlike the SEC, which began its championship game in 1992, the Big Ten title game is just six-years old. But in those 6 years, a Big Ten East team has won the conference championship the past four-consecutive years. Wisconsin, a Big Ten West team, has been to 4 of the 6 title games. Four of the Big Ten championship games have been close. Two were routs.

The Pac-12 definitely has a balance problem. In the 6 years of the Pac-12 title game, the North Division has won all 6 games. All 6 have been won by Stanford (3), Oregon (2) and Washington (1). Only one of the six Pac-12 title games has been close.

In the ACC, which began its title game in 2005, the Atlantic Division has won the last six games – 3 for Clemson, and 3 for Florida State. Four of those six games have been close. Among the Coastal Division teams, Virginia Tech and Georgia Tech have been to 10 of the 12 ACC championship games.

The Big 12 holds its first championship game next season. Stay tuned!

Here’s a good stocking stuffer. Michigan has offered a scholarship to Christian McCaffrey’s youngest brother Luke McCaffrey. Luke is a sophomore in high school. Michigan already has a commitment from Dylan McCaffrey for the 2017 class. Dylan is a quarterback. Luke is the youngest of four brothers and the son of former Stanford and NFL wide receiver Ed McCaffrey.

Luke has played quarterback, receiver and defensive back for Valor Christian High School in Highlands Ranch, Colorado. He also has a scholarship offer from Colorado. Older brother Dylan committed to Michigan last February. Meanwhile, Christian, a junior at Stanford, announced he is entering the NFL draft this spring.

One more morsel, this is the first time since 2005 that no player from the SEC finished in the Top 5 of the Heisman Trophy voting, ending a streak of 10-straight years. I guess it really was a down year in the SEC. The longest active streak now belongs to the Big 12, with three-straight years.

And your last tidbit, Stanford and Rice will open the 2017 football season in Sydney, Australia.

It was good to hear from Tim Muth, Scott Greenwood, Bob Willey, Jan Fields, Ken Burger and Stephanie Stein last week. Tim is bound and determined to take his three-month old grandson to the Orange Bowl game. I told Tim, yes and you should dress your grandson in khaki pants. Tim didn’t like that idea for some reason.

Swamp Mama and I are off to the North Country – Florida’s panhandle – for Christmas with Princess Gator, Bama Gator, Gator Gabe and Gator Babe. Bootsie and Rockledge Gator are off to Malzahn/Saban Country for Christmas with Ryan, Lena, Riley and Savannah, and then to Dawg Country for Christmas with Andy, Krissy and Connor.

Merry Christmas….….Seasons Greeting………Happy Hanukkah………Happy Holidays

Touchdown Tom
December 19, 2016
www.collegefootballweek.blogspot.com

Note: The next CFW – College Football Week 18 – will be posted on Wednesday, December 28.


Review of the First Five Bowls

Los Lobos – (in the New Mexico Bowl) – New Mexico 23, Texas-San Antonio 20 (Touchdown Tom said: New Mexico 33, UTSA 29). After UTSA took an early 3-0 lead, New Mexico came back, scored and went up 7-3. The Lobos never trailed for the rest of the game. But the Roadrunners kept things close. Through much of the fourth quarter, UTSA trailed New Mexico by only three points – 16-13. In spite of the score, UTSA dominated the stats. The Roadrunners outrushed New Mexico and out-passed the Lobos. They just couldn’t beat New Mexico. Neither team could pass worth a darn. After starting its season at 2-3, New Mexico won 7 of its last 8 games to finish its season with a respectable 9-4 record. Attendance in Albuquerque: 29,688

Apple butter – (in the Las Vegas Bowl) – San Diego State 34, Houston 10 (Touchdown Tom said: Houston 30, San Diego State 28). This wasn’t a good start for new Houston coach Major Applewhite. In fact, it was a terrible start. Actually, it was a good start at first. The Cougars led San Diego State, 10-0, at the end of the first. Then it was all San Diego State. The Aztecs reeled off 34 unanswered points. Neither team displayed much offense. But Houston was the worse of the two. The Cougars only had 25 yards rushing. Their leading rusher only had 18 yards. Houston quarterback Greg Ward threw four interceptions. After starting the season 5-0, the Cougars lost 4 of their last 8 games. San Diego State finished its season with an impressive 11-3 record. Attendance in Las Vegas: 29,286

Hold my camellia – (in the Camellia Bowl) – Appalachian State 31, Toledo 28 (Touchdown Tom said: Toledo 29, Appalachian State 28). This game was close from the start to the finish. It was tied on four different occasions. Although Appalachian State never trailed, the Little Mountaineers never led by more than 7 points. With less than 6 minutes to go in the game, the score was tied 28-28. That’s when App State kicked a 39-yard field goal to go up 31-28. With 1:48 on the clock, Toledo missed a 30-yard field goal. Toledo couldn’t stop App State on the ground. The Little Mounties rushed for 297 yards. App State’s Marcus Cox and Taylor Lamb each rushed for more than 125 yards. Toledo’s only success was passing. Logan Woodside threw for 246 yards. After starting its season 1-2, Appalachian State won 9 of its last 10 games to finish its season with a good 10-3 record. Attendance in Montgomery: Unknown

Frosted – (in the Cure Bowl) – Arkansas State 31, UCF 13 (Touchdown Tom said: UCF 26, Arkansas State 23). Talk about a boring game, this was it. Neither team could mount an offense. Arkansas State rushed for 29 yards and UCF rushed for 12 yards. Neither team was much better passing. The Red Wolves jumped out to a 17-0 first quarter lead. The Knights scored 10 points in the second quarter and trailed 17-10 at the break. Ark State went on to outscore UCF 14-3 in the second half. After starting the season 0-4, Arkansas State won 8 of its last 9 games to finish its season at 8-5. Attendance in Orlando: 27,213

Nicked by Mullens – (in the New Orleans Bowl) – Southern Miss 28, Louisiana-Lafayette 21 (Touchdown Tom said: Southern Miss 30, Louisiana-Lafayette 27). This was a close game, even though Southern Miss dominated ULL in total yards – 481 to 252. The teams were similar in rushing. The difference was passing. The Eagles Nick Mullens out-passed the Cajuns 346 yards to 95. Southern Miss jumped out to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. Then ULL fought back to tie the score at 14-14 by halftime. Early in the fourth quarter, the Eagles led 28-14. The Cajuns scored with 5:10 remaining in the game to pull within 7, trailing 28-21. Southern Miss hung on to win. Southern Miss finished its season with a 7-6 record. Attendance in New Orleans: 35,061

First Five Bowl Picks: 2 correct, 3 fumbles (40 percent)


Superlatives

Impressive Passers:

Southern Miss’ Nick Mullens – 25-40-1 for 346 yards and Toledo’s Logan Woodside – 18-26-0-247.


Impressive Rushers:

Appalachian State’s Marcus Cox – 143 yards; Southern Miss’ Ito Smith – 138 yards; Appalachian State’s Taylor Lamb – 126 yards, and UTSA’s Jarveon Williams – 125 yards.


Weekend Recap

FCS (Division IAA) Semifinals

James Madison 27, North Dakota State 17
……Attendance in Fargo: 18,282
Youngstown State 40, Eastern Washington 38
……Attendance in Cheney: 5,233


Celebration Bowl

Grambling State 10, North Carolina Central 9
……Attendance in Atlanta: 31,096


Division II Championship

Northwest Missouri State 29, North Alabama 3
……Attendance in Kansas City, Kansas: 9,576


Division III Championship

Mary Hardin-Baylor 10, UW-Oshkosh 7
……Attendance in Salem, Virginia: 3,476


Quotes of the Week

“I know you’re going to ask me about coach Kiffin. Lane has done a phenomenal job. We think this is a wonderful opportunity for him,” Alabama coach Nick Saban, on his offensive coordinator being named the new head coach at Florida Atlantic.


Quote from the Past

“My advice to defensive players is to take the shortest route to the ball and arrive in a bad humor,” Tennessee coach Bowden Wyatt.

Touchdown Tom
www.collegefootballweek.blogspot.com


P.S.

Not exactly college football related, but during the pre-Christmas days of December as college football fans were drinking eggnog and eating fruitcake with visions of what ifs, bowl games and Santa Claus dancing in their heads, the number one song in the country…

…75 years ago this week in 1941 was “Elmer’s Tune” by Glenn Miller and His Orchestra

…70 years ago this week in 1946 was “The Old Lamplighter” by Sammy Kaye

…65 years ago this week in 1951 was “(It’s No) Sin” by Eddy Howard and His Orchestra

…60 years ago this week in 1956 was “Singing the Blues” by Guy Mitchell

…55 years ago this week in 1961 was “The Lion Sleeps Tonight” by The Tokens

…50 years ago this week in 1966 was “Winchester Cathedral” by The New Vaudeville Band

…45 years ago this week in 1971 was “Brand New Key” by Melanie

…40 years ago this week in 1976 was “Tonight’s the Night (Gonna Be Alright)” by Rod Stewart

…35 years ago this week in 1981 was “Physical” by Olivia Newton-John

…30 years ago this week in 1986 was “The Way It Is” by Bruce Hornsby & the Range

…25 years ago this week in 1991 was “Black or White” by Michael Jackson


Not exactly college football related, but sadly there were five passings of note last week – Alan Thicke, James Elrod, Craig Sager, Bernard Fox and Zsa Zsa Gabor.

Alan Thicke, a Canadian singer, songwriter and actor best remembered for his portrayal as a father on the television sitcom “Growing Pains,” died last week. He was 69. “Growing Pains” ran from 1985 to 1992. Thicke had a diversity of talents, including songwriting. He wrote the theme songs for numerous game shows, including “The Jokers Wild,” “Celebrity Sweepstakes” and “Wheel of Fortune.” He co-wrote the themes for “Different Strokes” and “The Facts of Life” with Al Burton and Gloria Loring. Loring was Thicke’s first wife and the mother of Robin Thicke. His career included stints as a game-show host, talk-show host and a character on the soap opera “The Bold and the Beautiful.” Thicke was also a host of the annual Disney Christmas Parade (with Joan Lunden) and the Miss Universe Pageant. Alan Willis Jeffrey was born on March 1, 1947, in Kirkland Lake, Ontario. He later changed his name to Thicke.

James Elrod, an All-American defensive end on Oklahoma’s 1974 and 1975 national championship teams, died last week in a car crash. He was 62. Elrod, who was known as Jimbo, played three years in the NFL with the Kansas City Chiefs as a middle linebacker. He also spent one season with the Houston Oilers. Under coach Barry Switzer, Oklahoma’s 1974 team went undefeated – 11-0. The 1975 squad went 11-1, defeating Michigan in the Orange Bowl. Elrod was also a member of Oklahoma’s 1974 national champion wrestling team. James Whittington Elrod was born on March 25, 1954, in Memphis, Tennessee.

Craig Sager, a sideline reporter for the National Basketball Association television broadcasts, died last week in Atlanta. He was 65. Craig Graham Sager was born on June 29, 1951, in Batavia, Illinois. Sager attended Northwestern University where he was Willie the Wildcat – the school’s mascot. After graduation from Northwestern, he began his career as a reporter for a Sarasota, Florida radio station. He worked for TV stations in Florida and Kansas City, Missouri, before joining CNN in 1981. In 1990, he moved to Turner Sports, where he covered basketball, baseball, football and golf.

Bernard Fox, a Welsh-born, character actor on classic 1960s TV sitcoms, died last week. He was 89. Fox is best-known for his role on “Bewitched” (Dr. Bombay), but also is known for his role on “Hogan’s Heroes” (Col. Rodney Crittendon). Fox established himself as a regular television presence in the 1960s with appearances on comedies like “Make Room for Daddy,” “The Dick Van Dyke Show,” “I Dream of Jeannie” and “The Andy Griffith Show” and dramas like “Perry Mason,” “12 O’Clock High” and “Burke’s Law.” He was born Bernard Lawson on May 11, 1927, in Port Talbot, Wales.

Zsa Zsa Gabor, the Hungarian actress whose glamour and multiple marriages to millionaires extended her modestly successful career in movies and television, died yesterday in Los Angeles. She was 99. Married at least eight times, she called everyone “Dahlink.” Her career, which began with the title of Miss Hungary in 1936, was still going strong in the 1990s, outlasting those of her sisters, Eva and Magda. Gabor appeared in more than 60 television movies and feature films. Her best roles were early in her career in “Moulin Rouge” (1952) and “Lili” (1953). From the 1950s into the 1990s, Gabor was on scores of television programs: talk shows, game shows, comedy specials, westerns and dramas. She was born Sari Gabor in Budapest, Hungary, on February 6 or 7, 1917. On the eve of World War II, Gabor and her sisters and mother immigrated to the United States.