College Football Week – Preseason 1: No more two-a-days
The future landscape of college football?

Is it college football season yet? I’d say we’re just about there. Can you say, “12 days?”

You know its college football season when Rockledge Gator gets a little hot under the collar. You see, Rockledge is normally one of those gentle-on-your-mind guys who maintains a calm and even temper. Did I just hear Bootsie say, “Bull crap?” Actually, something a little stronger than “bull crap.”

Well, the other day, Rockledge Gator was in a Wal-Mart in Birmingham, Alabama. He and Bootsie were visiting their son’s family. Rockledge bought a couple of Auburn car flags. You know, the ones you attach to the windows on each side of the car. Later this season he will be attending the Ole Miss-Auburn game with his sons and grandsons.

Anyway, as Rockledge was checking out of the Wal-Mart in Birmingham, the cashier smirked and said to him, “Are you buying those flags for a practical joke on someone?”

Rockledge Gator snapped back at the cashier, “No, I’m going to stick them up the behind of an Alabama fan!”

So, yes, I’d say it’s that time of the year. College football can’t be far off.

We certainly had our share of retirements, resignations and one firing during the offseason. Some of them came as a surprise. Some didn’t. At the first of the year, two sportscasters stepped down – Verne Lundquist and Brent Musburger.

Lundquist was not a surprise. Prior to the start of the 2016 season he announced he would be stepping down at the end of the season. For 17 years, Lundquist was the lead voice for “SEC on CBS,” covering SEC football games. Working alongside analyst Gary Danielson, the two made “SEC on CBS” the highest-rated college football package in America. Brad Nessler is set to take Lundquist’s spot this fall.

Meanwhile, we kind of knew that Musburger was going to retire. We just didn’t know exactly when. Well, he made it official on January 31, retiring from the ESPN and ABC television networks. Musburger previously, and for many years, worked for CBS. On ESPN and ABC, he called seven BCS National Championship games between 2000 and 2014. He called the 2007 Rose Bowl game, taking over for the retired Keith Jackson. From 2006 to 2013, Musberger called ABC Sports’ college football prime time games, along with analysts Bob Davie and Kirk Herbstreit. In 2014, he became a commentator for SEC games, working with Jesse Palmer.

Then the surprises came – the first two in February. On the 7th, Steve Sarkisian, who had just been named Alabama’s offensive coordinator in January, prior to the Tide’s national championship game against Clemson, announced he was leaving Alabama to become the offensive coordinator for the Atlanta Falcons of the NFL.

The next day, February 8, North Carolina defensive coordinator Gene Chizik announced he was stepping down. Chizik said he wanted to spend more time with his family. Chizik was a former head coach at Auburn where he coached the Tigers to a national championship in 2010, going 14-0. Two seasons later, Auburn was 3-9 (0-8 in SEC play) and Chizik was fired. Prior to his head coaching years at Auburn, he was the defensive coordinator at UCF, Auburn and Texas and the head coach at Iowa State. He was hired by North Carolina in 2015.

The biggest surprise of all came in early June. That’s when Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops announced he was retiring from football. Yes, at age 56, Stoops retired. He became the head coach at Oklahoma in 1999 and the very next year he coached the Sooners to the BCS National Championship, going 13-0. He never repeated that feat again, but in 18 years at OU, he never had a losing season and finished with a 190-48 record. Prior to Oklahoma, Stoops was the defensive coordinator at Kansas State and Florida.

The last surprise, maybe it was and maybe it wasn’t, came just a couple weeks ago. Ole Miss fired Hugh Freeze. With Ole Miss under investigation from the NCAA for no less than 21 violations, some very serious, Freeze was on the hot seat. In fact, many college football talk show hosts, analysts and commentators couldn’t figure out why Freeze wasn’t fired several months ago. He became the head coach at Ole Miss in 2012. Freeze’s best season was in 2015 when Ole Miss finished 10-3. Last year, he had his first losing season – 5-7. Prior to Ole Miss, Freeze was the head coach at Arkansas State.

Yes, the landscape of college football is changing. But the biggest changes, perhaps, are yet to come. During the offseason, I read more and more articles and heard more and more talk show hosts and commentators comment on the future of college football. A future consisting of four mega-conferences with 16 teams each – basically a 64-team league.

The four 16-team conferences will be the ACC, Big Ten, Pac-12 and the SEC. The Big 12 will dissolve. Of course, none of this will happen until the conferences’ contracts controlling media rights expire. Currently, the conferences have contracts with their members, controlling the media rights. Until the contracts expire, a school can’t afford to leave and lose its media money.

But the contracts will expire around 2023 to 2025. So look for schools and conferences to start jockeying for membership and members around 2021 to 2022. Now, the current members of the ACC, Big Ten, PAC-12 and SEC should basically remain where they are. Well, mostly. The ACC could lose a member or two. The Big 12, as we said, will dissolve.

To get to 16 members, the Pac-12 will have to add four members, while the ACC, Big Ten and SEC will need to add two each. The speculation is the Pac-12 will add four teams from the Big 12, say Texas, Texas Tech, Oklahoma State and Kansas State.

The ACC will make Notre Dame a fulltime member in football. Currently the Irish are members of the ACC in all sports but football. Then its speculated the ACC might add Connecticut.

The Big Ten could look west and grab two former Big 12 teams Kansas and Iowa State, or the conference could look east and rob two teams from the ACC – North Carolina and Virginia or North Carolina and Georgia Tech. Or the Big Ten could take one of the teams from the West and only one from the ACC.

The SEC appears to be interested in Oklahoma. Likewise, the Sooners appear to be interested in the SEC. But who would be the second team for the SEC? Some say Oklahoma State. But generally today, a conference doesn’t want two teams from the same state. The conferences want a more widespread television market. It brings in more money from the networks. If the SEC already has the Oklahoma television market, the conference will look for a school from another state. The other school could be West Virginia, or the SEC, like the Big Ten, could rob from the ACC and take a NC State or Virginia Tech.

Currently, there are 65 Power 5 teams – 64 Power 5 conference teams, plus Notre Dame, a Power 5 Independent. With the 64-team league (four mega-conferences of 16 teams each), at least one of the current Power 5 teams is going to lose out. Possibly two teams, if the ACC takes Connecticut. The Huskies are not in a Power 5 conference. Four teams from the Big 12 could be in jeopardy – Baylor, Iowa State, TCU and West Virginia.

If the Big Ten and/or the SEC should rob from the ACC, then the ACC would have to add more than Notre Dame and Connecticut to have 16 teams. The scenarios are unlimited.

Personally, I think there are 70 to 80 schools that are legitimate candidates for a super league. What will happen to schools like BYU, Boise State, UCF, South Florida, Cincinnati, etc. I think you could have five super conferences of 14 or 16 teams each.

It’s all driven by money and pressure from the networks. The future landscape of college football will change. Stay tuned.

Swamp Mama and I took a trip to Nashville the week before last. We had a good time there. How can you not have a good time in Nashville.

While I was driving home, Swamp Mama was busy on her phone. She must have been searching for things. Out of the blue, she asked me if I had ever heard of the Skillet Lickers. I said, The Skillet who?”

She said, “The Skillet Lickers. They were a country music group in the 1920s.”

“No, I said, but you have to text Rockledge Gator. He knows every singer and band from the 1920s, 1930s and 1940s and the lyrics to all their songs.”

She did and would you believe Rockledge said he never heard of them. I couldn’t believe it. I was floored. And, of all places, the Skillet Lickers were from Georgia where Rockledge was born. Not that he was born in the 1920s. Although sometimes I wonder.

I figured that cashier in the Wal-Mart in Birmingham still had Rockledge’s knickers in a twist. And speaking of knickers in a twist, the other day I heard a lady on TV say, “Don’t get your onions in a bundle.” I’ve never heard that expression before. I assume it’s like saying, don’t get your knickers in a twist, but I don’t know. Has anybody ever heard don’t get your onions in a bundle before? Does anybody know what it means?

We lost some good people last week. Glen Campbell and Don Baylor to mention a couple. Hearing about Don Baylor reminded me of a time a few years back when Rockledge Gator and I were in the Denver Post with our friend Gary Schwartzkopf. Near the sports department in the newsroom, there were life-size cardboard manikins of Don Baylor, then the manager of the Colorado Rockies, and Mike Shanahan, then the coach of the Denver Broncos.

Gary said if you didn’t know, looking at the manikins you would think that Baylor was the coach of the Broncos and Shanahan was the coach of the Rockies. Baylor was a big guy. Looking him up, I learned that he was a good football player in high school and had scholarship offers from Texas and other schools. He chose the baseball route instead.

I owe a big apology to my friend Chris Eaton. When I listed some of the early recipients and readers of my football newsletter in last week’s blog, I failed to include Chris among them. I apologize, Chris.

Chris reminded me that he is a graduate of Division III Norwich University in Vermont. But he says he became a big Georgia fan when Hershel Walker played for the Dawgs. Personally, I think Chris became a big Georgia fan when he married his lovely wife, Susan – a Georgia graduate.

And while I’m offering apologies, I need to apologize to Jo Allyson Cattaneo (Florida Gator) and Frank Grey (Florida State Seminole) too. They were both two of my earliest readers and fans as well. Here’s to you Jo and Frank.

It was good hearing from Jamie Fuller, Grace Shields, Stephanie Stein, Roger Shannon, Mark Moses, Scott Greenwood, Tim Muth and Monta Burt last week.

That’s right. No more two-a-days. They have been banned by the NCAA.

Looking ahead, do you realize that some teams are starting their seasons a little early this year? We’ll talk about that and other things next week.

In the meantime, don’t get your onions in a bundle. I’m clueless.

Touchdown Tom
August 14, 2017
www.collegefootballweek.blogspot.com


Quotes of the Offseason

“Tennessee doesn’t need Phillip Fulmer. That school needs a priest,” Mike from Carrolton, Kentucky, on the “Paul Finebaum Show.”

“Aaron Hernandez was the most evil person to ever play sports in this country,” Orlando Sentinel columnist Mike Bianchi.

“Jim Harbaugh is the Kim Kardashian of college football,” ESPN commentator Peter Burns.

“What’s he making, $12 million now? That is the entire athletic budget at Louisiana Tech – the entire budget. That’s shameful. Shameful,” Terry Bradshaw, talking about Nick Saban.

“In your fifth year, you shouldn’t be talking about your first year. That’s ridiculous,” Paul Finebaum, dissing Butch Jones’ comments at the SEC Media Days.

“We’ve established ourselves as, I think, the premier conference in college football,” Florida State coach Jimbo Fisher, on the ACC.

“Personally, I think they just need to go in and just wipe out the entire administration. Get everything cleaned out and start over, because obviously people knew what was going on. They just need a new beginning,” Tommy Tuberville, on the Hugh Freeze mess at Ole Miss.

“How can you put Dabo in the same sentence as Nick Saban? Who died and made Dabo Swinney the greatest coach of all time? He’s got one national championship, okay. I don’t understand this. Since when did Clemson become the ‘it’ school in the universe? I’ve never heard a more intoxicated fan base in my life,” Paul Finebaum, reacting to a Clemson fan who equated Dabo Swinney to Nick Saban.

“First of all, if there is a hot seat, the guy at Tennessee – Butch Jones – should be the leader in the clubhouse at 2-to-1. Though UCLA’s Jim Mora is a 9-to-1 favorite to be fired first this year, Tennessee’s Jones should have something like 2-to-1 odds. They (Tennessee) play Georgia Tech and Florida in the first three weeks. He loses one he could be fired. Two? He’s done. He’ll be fired by week three,” Fox Sports talk show host Colin Cowherd.

“It’ll be strange. I don’t know how that’s going to go for me. I’m a little concerned about it. But I know I did the right thing for me and my family, and for the program. But it’ll be different. That’ll be the tough part,” former Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops, on how he will feel when the season starts.

“Alabama would not be as successful if they were to raise the SAT requirement,” UCLA quarterback Josh Rosen.

“To be successful as a coach, you gotta have good ballplayers. And you can have a bunch of good ballplayers and not win also. All you LSU fans know about that,” Steve Spurrier.


The Quarterbacks – 2017

A sophomore from the Pac-12, a junior from the ACC and a senior from the Big 12 are the three most talked about and hyped quarterbacks on the eve of the 2017 college football season.

The sophomore is USC’s Sam Darnold (6-4, 225). The junior, and last year’s Heisman Trophy winner, is Louisville’s Lamar Jackson (6-3, 200). The senior is Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield (6-1, 218). Let’s take a closer look at the three.

Darnold, the darling of last season’s Rose Bowl, took over a 1-3 USC team last year. He replaced Max Browne after the fourth game of the 2016 season and led the Trojans on a nine-game winning streak. The final win of the streak was a 52-49 come-from-behind win over Penn State in the Rose Bowl.

Along the way, Darnold passed for 3,086 yards, throwing 31 touchdown passes. He averaged 237 yards per game, while completing 67% of his throws.

Jackson led Louisville to a 9-4 season in 2016. But after starting out 9-1, the Cardinals lost their last three games. Still, Jackson managed to win the Heisman Trophy, beating out Clemson quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Although Watson should have been the Heisman Trophy winner, Jackson did rack up some pretty impressive stats. During the season, he threw for 3,543 yards, throwing 30 touchdown passes. Jackson averaged 273 yards per game, but only completed 56% of his tosses.

Mayfield led Oklahoma to an 11-2 season in 2016. After a shaky 1-2 start, he took the Sooners on a 10-game winning streak, culminating with a 35-19 win over Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. Through it all, Mayfield passed for 3,965 yards last season, throwing an impressive 40 touchdown passes. He averaged 305 yards per game, completing an impressive 71% of his throws.

Darnold, Jackson and Mayfield are the three marquee quarterbacks at preseason. No one else comes close. But, as we all know, interesting things happen in college football.

Yes, there are plenty of other good quarterbacks out there. And some of them will make a scene – a big scene. After all, hardly anyone had heard of Sam Darnold at the start of the 2016 season.

Looking around the country, you would have to say the SEC has the most promising group of quarterbacks of any conference. Twelve of the 14 SEC schools are sporting top-notch quarterbacks at the beginning of the season.

Perhaps the best place to start in the SEC is at Alabama with sophomore Jalen Hurts (6-2, 214). Hurts led the Tide to a 14-1 season in 2016 – the lone loss coming in the finale in the national championship game. Hurts passed for 2,780 yards, completing 63% of his throws. He threw 23 touchdown passes.

Auburn fans are giddy over sophomore and Baylor transfer Jarrett Stidham (6-2, 210). As a freshman, Stidham led Baylor to a Russell Bowl win over North Carolina at the end of the 2015 season. He sat out last year. But if Stidham should falter, the Tigers still have last year’s starter junior Sean White (6-0, 190). White completed 64% of his passes in 2016.

Mississippi State fans are excited about junior Nick Fitzgerald (6-5, 230). Fitzgerald came on strong in the second half of the season last year. He is a big threat running with the ball. In 2016, Fitzgerald rushed for 1,375 yards, averaging 7.1 yards per carry. He scored 16 rushing touchdowns.

Ole Miss may be in a world of feces, but one bright spot for the Rebels is sophomore Shea Patterson (6-2, 203). Patterson has a lot of potential. After a season of experience, Vanderbilt hopes to see a lot of improvement from junior Kyle Shumur (6-4, 224). Shumur struggled early on last season, but finished strong down the stretch.

Arkansas could have the best quarterback in the SEC with senior Austin Allen 6-1, 209). Last year, Allen passed for 3,430 yards, averaging 264 yards per games. He threw 25 touchdown passes and completed 61% of his throws. One downside, Austin threw 15 interceptions in 2016.

Senior Danny Etling (6-1, 215) returns for a final season at LSU. But similar to Allen, Etling threw almost half as many interceptions as he did touchdown passes. Kentucky is hoping for big things from senior Stephen Johnson (6-2, 185). Likewise, South Carolina is pumped with sophomore Jake Bentley (6-4, 223). Bentley is an up-and-comer with a lot of potential. He completed 66% of his tosses last year.

The best thing about Missouri may be junior Drew Lock (6-4, 225). In 2016, Lock passed for 3,399 yards, averaging 283 yards per game. He threw 23 touchdown passes, but only completed 55% of his throws. Georgia is hanging its hat on sophomore Jacob Eason (6-5, 235). Eason started for the Dawgs as a freshman last year. But he needs to improve on his completion ratio. Like Lock, Eason only completed 55% of his passes in 2016.

Florida may or may not have the best quarterback in the SEC, but for sure the Gators have the most quarterbacks – six. The latest addition is Notre Dame graduate transfer Malik Zaire (6-0, 225). Just when it looked like redshirt freshman Feleipe Franks (6-6, 219) was going to be the starter for the Gators, Zaire entered the picture. And of course sitting behind Franks is last year’s starter at the beginning of the season junior Luke Del Rio (6-1, 211). Should anything go haywire with Zaire, Franks or Del Rio, Florida coach Jim McElwain still has redshirt freshman Kyle Trask (6-4, 238), freshman Jake Allen (6-3, 195) and freshman Nick Sproles (6-2, 203) to pull out of the hat. Allen is a pro-style passing quarterback, while Sproles provides the dual-threat capability.

The Big Ten begins the season with two outstanding quarterbacks – Ohio State senior J.T. Barrett (6-2, 220) and Penn State junior Trace McSorley (6-0, 205). Either one could wind up winning the Heisman Trophy.

Last season, Barrett passed for 2,555 yards leading the Buckeyes to an 11-2 record. He completed 62% of his passes and tossed for 24 touchdowns. Barrett also rushed for 845 yards. McSorley passed for 3,614 yards, leading the Nittany Lions to the Big Ten championship. He threw 29 touchdown passes.

Indiana and Michigan are solid at quarterback. The Hoosiers have senior Richard Lagow (6-6, 240). Last year, Lagow passed for 3,362 yards, averaging 259 yards per game. He completed 58% of his lobs, but also threw 17 interceptions. Meanwhile, the Wolverines return junior Wilton Speight (6-6, 243), who passed for 2,538 yards last season. He completed 62% of his throws.

The best part of Purdue might be its quarterback. The Boilers have experience with junior David Blough (6-1, 200). Last year, Blough threw for 3,352 yards, averaged 279 yards per game, while throwing 25 touchdown passes. Nebraska has high hopes for junior Tanner Lee (6-4, 235). Lee is a transfer from Tulane.

Year-in and year-out, the Pac-12 is usually loaded with hot quarterbacks. The conference may not be loaded this year, but the Pac-12 does have several good signal callers. We’ve already mentioned USC’s Sam Darnold. Right up there with Darnold is Washington junior Jake Browning (6-2, 205). Last year, Browning threw for 3,430 yards, averaging 245 yards per game. He completed 62% of his passes and threw an impressive 43 touchdown passes. Browning has Heisman Trophy potential.

Washington State is a threat with senior Luke Falk (6-4, 225). Falk passed for 4,468 yards last season, averaging 344 yards a game. He was on target, completing 70% of his throws and connected for 38 touchdown passes. UCLA is in good hands with junior Josh Rosen (6-4, 220). Rosen passed for 319 yards a game in 2016.

Colorado and Utah are looking good at the quarterback position. The Buffaloes have sophomore Steven Montez (6-5, 225), while Utah counters with senior Troy Williams (6-2, 208).

Along with Oklahoma’s Baker Mayfield, the Big 12 has another outstanding quarterback, only from the other school in Oklahoma – Oklahoma State. The Cowboys are riding high with senior Mason Rudolph (6-5, 230). Rudolph passed for 4,091 yards, averaging 315 yards per game in 2016. He completed 63% of his throws and tossed for 28 touchdown passes.

A lot of the quarterback hype in the Big 12 this season centers around West Virginia junior Will Grier (6-2, 204). Grier, the transfer from Florida, sat out the 2016 season. He was suspended for 12 months by the NCAA for testing positive for performance enhancing drugs. The suspension occurred halfway through the 2015 season after Grier led Florida to a 6-0 start. He looked good in West Virginia’s spring game.

Three other good quarterbacks in the Big 12 are TCU senior Kenny Hill (6-1, 212), Texas sophomore Shane Buechele (6-1, 205) and Kansas State senior Jesse Ertz (6-3, 212). Hill, a former Texas A&M quarterback, led the Horned Frogs last season with 3,208 yards passing, averaging 247 yards a game. He completed 61% of his throws.

The Longhorns’ Buechele passed for 2,958 yards last year, averaging 247 yards per game. He completed 60% of his lobs and threw 21 touchdown passes. K-State’s Ertz rushed for 1,012 yards last season.

In the ACC, Louisville’s Lamar Jackson will be challenged for conference honors by Florida State sophomore Deondre Francois (6-2, 205). Last year, Francois tossed for 3,350 yards, averaging 258 yards per game. He completed 59 percent of his passes.

Another quarterback who could shake up things in the ACC is NC State junior Ryan Finley (6-4, 205). Last season, Finley passed for 3,059 yards, averaging 235 yards per game. He completed 605 of this throws. The QB scene will be interesting at North Carolina with LSU graduate transfer senior Brandon Harris (6-2, 180).

Syracuse is looking comfortable with two experienced quarterbacks – junior Eric Dungey (6-3, 221) and senior Zack Mahoney (6-2, 222). Dungey passed for 2,679 yards last year, averaging 298 yards per game. He completed 65% of his tosses. Duke returns experience with sophomore Daniel Jones (6-5, 210). In 2016, Jones passed for 2,836 yards and averaged 236 yards a game. He completed 63% of his lobs.

The Group of 5 conferences have several outstanding quarterbacks, including Boise State’s Brett Rypien, Memphis’ Riley Ferguson, Toledo’s Logan Woodside and Western Kentucky’s Mike White to mention a few.

In the MWC, Boise State junior Brett Rypien (6-2, 201) definitely leads the pack. Last season, he threw for 3,646 yards and averaged 281 yards per game. Rypien completed 62% of his passes and threw for 24 touchdowns.

But Rypien will be challenged in the MWC by Wyoming junior Josh Allen (6-5, 222), Colorado State senior Nick Stevens (6-3, 200), New Mexico senior Lamar Jordan (5-10, 190) and Utah State senior Kent Myers (6-0, 200). In 2016, Allen passed for 3,203 yards and 28 touchdowns, while Stevens completed 64% of his passes.

Like Rypien in the MWC, Memphis senior Riley Ferguson (6-4, 210) appears to be the top quarterback in the AAC. Last year, Ferguson passed for 3,698 yards, averaging 285 yards a game. He completed 63% of his throws.

If Ferguson isn’t the top quarterback in the AAC, then South Florida senior Quinton Flowers (6-0, 210) is. In 2016, Flowers threw for 2,807 yards, completing 63% of his passes. More impressive, Flowers rushed for 1,530 yards, averaging 118 yards per game.

Three other quarterbacks to keep an eye on in the AAC are Cincinnati junior Hayden Moore (6-3, 218), Houston junior Kyle Allen (6-3, 210) and East Carolina senior Thomas Sirk (6-4, 220). Moore averaged 249 yards per game, passing in 2016. You might recognize Allen’s and Sirk’s names. Allen is another one of those Texas A&M transfers, while Sirk is a graduate transfer from Duke where he lost his starting position.

The MAC has one of the most exciting quarterbacks in the country. He is Toledo senior Logan Woodside (6-2, 201). Last season, Woodside passed for 4,129 yards, averaging 318 yards per game. He completed 69% of his tosses and threw 45 touchdown passes.

Two other good quarterbacks in the Mac are Eastern Michigan senior Brogan Roback (6-3, 208) and Akron senior Thomas Woodson (6-1, 233). In 2016, Roback passed for 2,694 yards, averaging 269 yards a game, while Woodson averaged 260 yards a game passing.

Conference USA can also brag about having one of the most exciting quarterbacks in the country. He is Western Kentucky senior Mike White (6-4, 225). White was pretty impressive last year, throwing for 4,363 yards and averaging 312 yards per game. He completed 67% of his passes and threw for 37 touchdowns.

On White’s tail in C-USA is Middle Tennessee junior Brent Stockstill (6-0, 223). Last season Stockstill passed for 3,233 yards, averaging 323 yards a game. He completed 63% of his throws and threw 31 touchdown passes. Marshall has an up-and-comer in junior Chase Litton (6-6, 223). In 2016, Litton threw for 2,612 yards, averaging 261 yards per game. He completed 62% of his lobs and threw 24 touchdown passes.

Florida Atlantic has a good quarterback returning in junior Jason Driskel (6-2, 210). Last year, Driskel passed for 2,415 yards, completing 61% of his throws. However, Driskel is likely to lose his starting position to sophomore De’Andre Johnson (6-0, 177). Johnson is a former Florida State quarterback who was dismissed from the Seminoles for inappropriate behavior. He played last year for a junior college in Mississippi.

The Sun Belt Conference has its share of good quarterbacks. The marquee QBs at preseason are Troy senior Brandon Silvers (6-3, 214), Idaho senior Matt Linehan (6-3, 239), Appalachian State senior Taylor Lamb (6-2, 200) and Arkansas State senior Justice Hansen (6-4, 207).

Last season, Troy’s Silvers passed for 3,180 yards, averaging 245 yards per game. He completed 64% of his throws. Idaho’s Linehan threw for 3,184 yards and also averaged 245 yards a game, while completing 62% of his passes. Appalachian State’s Lamb passed for 2,281 yards and Arkansas State’s Hansen threw for 2,719 yards.

Among the Group of 5 Independents, BYU and Army have the two best quarterbacks. BYU has junior Tanner Mangum (6-3, 223) and Army has senior Ahmad Bradshaw (5-11, 198). Mangum made a name for himself as a freshman at BYU, while Bradshaw rushed for 824 yards last year.


TT’s Top 10 Favorite Quarterbacks at Preseason:

1. Sam Darnold – USC
2. Trace McSorley – Penn State
3. Jake Browning – Washington
4. Mason Rudolph – Oklahoma State
5. Logan Woodside – Toledo
6. Baker Mayfield – Oklahoma
7. Quinton Flowers – South Florida
8. Mike White – Western Kentucky
9. Lamar Jackson – Louisville
10. J.T. Barrett – Ohio State

But keep an eye on:

Deondre Francois – Florida State; Luke Falk – Washington State; Josh Rosen – UCLA; Brett Rypien – Boise State; Brandon Silvers – Troy; Will Grier – West Virginia; Nick Fitzgerald – Mississippi State; Jarrett Stidham – Auburn, and Riley Ferguson – Memphis.

Also, Brent Stockstill – Middle Tennessee; Taylor Lamb – Appalachian State; Matt Linehan – Idaho; Wilton Speight – Michigan; Jake Bentley – South Carolina; Josh Allen – Wyoming; Tanner Mangum – BYU; Nick Stevens – Colorado State, and Ahmad Rashad – Army.


The New Coaches – 2017

Until late in the offseason, 21 FBS colleges were slated to start the 2017 season with new head coaches. But two unexpected developments occurred over the summer that raised the number from 21 to 23.

First, in early June, Oklahoma coach Bob Stoops shocked the college football world when he announced that he was retiring – effective immediately. Then in late July, Ole Miss coach Hugh Freeze was fired. Freeze was on shaky ground to begin with, but the time of his firing came as a surprise.

Of the now 23 colleges with new head coaches, 16 of the schools fired their previous head coach. Five colleges lost their head coaches when they left to take the same job at a more prestigious school. One coach (Stoops) retired and one school (Baylor) made a planned change in coaches. Baylor replaced its interim head coach (Jim Grobe) as scheduled.

Ten of the new coaches were existing or former head coaches. Four were defensive coordinators, while three were offensive coordinators. Two each of the new coaches were previously receivers coaches and offensive line coaches. One each was a defensive line coach and a quarterbacks coach.

Every conference but the ACC will have at least one new head coach in 2017. The AAC will have five. Perhaps the best known of the five is Charlie Strong, the new head coach at South Florida. Prior to USF, Strong, a native of Batesville, Arkansas, coached Texas for three seasons and Louisville for four. He left Louisville for the Texas job in 2014 and was fired by Texas at the end of last season. From 1999 to 2009, Strong was a defensive coordinator – four years at South Carolina and seven years at Florida.

The other four new coaches in the AAC are Randy Edsall (at Connecticut), Major Applewhite (at Houston), Luke Fickell (at Cincinnati) and Geoff Collins (at Temple). Edsall returns to Connecticut where he was the head coach for 12 seasons from 1999 to 2010. A native of Glen Rock, Pennsylvania, Edsall left UConn for Maryland in 2011 where he was the head coach for four and a half seasons. Maryland fired him halfway through the 2015 season.

Applewhite steps up from the offensive coordinator position at Houston to become the head coach. He was the Cougars OC the past two seasons. Over the years, Applewhite, a native of Baton Rouge, Louisiana, has been the quarterbacks coach at Syracuse and the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Rice, Alabama, Texas, as well as Houston.

Fickell, a native of Columbus, Ohio, joins Cincinnati from Ohio State where he was on the coaching staff for the past 15 years, most recently as co-defensive coordinator. He was the interim head coach of the Buckeyes during the 2011 season.

Collins, a native of Atlanta, Georgia, becomes the head coach at Temple after serving as a defensive coordinator for the past seven seasons at Florida International (2010), Mississippi State (2011-2014) and Florida (2015-2016). Collins is the second Florida coordinator in recent years to leave the Gators to become the head coach at Temple. The other was offensive coordinator Steve Addazio who left Florida in 2011 to coach the Owls.

The Big 12, Big Ten, MWC and C-USA will each have three new head coaches this season. In the Big 12, replacing Charlie Strong at Texas is Tom Herman. Herman, a native of Cincinnati, Ohio, has been the head coach at Houston the past two years. In 2015, he coached the Cougars to a 38-24 Peach Bowl win over Florida State. Over the years, Herman has been the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Texas State, Rice, Iowa State and Ohio State.

After a year under interim coach Jim Grobe, Baylor named Matt Rhule its new head coach. Rhule, a native of New York City, comes to Baylor from Temple where he was head coach the past four seasons.

After Bob Stoops made his announcement in June, Oklahoma quickly named the Sooners offensive coordinator Lincoln Riley to replace Stoops. The past seven years, Riley, a native of Lubbock, Texas, has been the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for East Carolina and Oklahoma.

In the Big Ten, Minnesota named P.J. Fleck its new head coach. Fleck, a native of Sugar Grove, Illinois, had been the head coach at Western Michigan the past three years, where he coached the Broncos to a 13-0 regular season and MAC championship in 2016. WMU lost its final game to Wisconsin – 24-16 – in the Cotton Bowl. At 36, Fleck is the second-youngest head coach in FBS college football.

Former Western Kentucky coach Jeff Brohm is the new head coach at Purdue. In three seasons at WKU, Brohm was 30-10, including 10-3 last season with a 51-31 Boca Raton Bowl win over Memphis. Brohm is a native of Louisville, Kentucky. Indiana elevated its defensive coordinator Tom Allen to be the Hoosiers new head coach. Allen, a native of New Castle, Indiana, was the DC at South Florida in 2015 and Indiana last year.

In the MWC, Jeff Tedford returns to head coaching, taking the reins at Fresno State. Tedford, a native of Lynwood, California, was a former head coach at California for 11 seasons from 2002-2012. He’s also a former offensive coordinator at Fresno State.

Two other MWC schools hired receivers coaches to be their head coach. Nevada hired Jay Norvell. Norvell, a native of Madison, Wisconsin, was the receivers coach at Arizona State last year. Prior to that, he was the receivers coach at Oklahoma (2008-2014) and Texas (2015). San Jose State named Brent Brennan its new coach. Brennan, a native of Redwood City, California, had been the receivers coach at Oregon State the past six years. Before that, he coached the receivers at San Jose State.

Of the three new head coaches in C-USA, two are well-known to college football fans – Butch Davis and Lane Kiffin. Davis, the former head coach at Miami of Florida (1995-2000) and North Carolina (2007-2010), is the new head coach at Florida International. He also is a former head coach of the NFL’s Cleveland Browns (2001-2004). Davis is a native of Tahlequah, Oklahoma.

Kiffin, also a former head coach of one NFL team and two colleges, was hired by Florida Atlantic. He was the head coach of the Oakland Raiders of the NFL (2007-2008), Tennessee (2009) and USC (2010-2013). Kiffin, a native of Lincoln, Nebraska, was fired halfway through his second season at USC. Most recently, Kiffin was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Alabama for the past three years.

The third new coach in C-USA happens to be the youngest head coach in FBS college football. He is Mike Sanford the new head coach at Western Kentucky. Sanford is 35. He comes to WKU from Notre Dame where he was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach for the Irish the past two seasons. Prior to Notre Dame, Sanford, a native of Los Altos, California, was the OC/quarterbacks coach at Boise State.

The SEC and Pac-12 each have two schools with new head coaches for the 2017 season. The two schools in the SEC are LSU and Ole Miss. The two new coaches are Ed Orgeron and Matt Luke respectively. Orgeron, a native of Larose, Louisiana, has the distinction of twice being an interim head coach at two different schools. He became the interim coach at USC in 2013 when Lane Kiffin was fired before the season was over. Then he became the interim coach at LSU last year when Les Miles was dismissed before the end of the season. It paid off at LSU where he has become the head coach. He had been the Tigers defensive line coach.

Luke, of course, was named the interim head coach at Ole Miss when Hugh Freeze was terminated a few weeks ago. Luke, a native of Gulfport, Mississippi, has been the offensive coordinator/offensive line coach at Ole Miss the past five seasons. Prior to Ole Miss, he was the OC/offensive line coach at Duke from 2008-2011.

In the Pac-12, Willie Taggart is the new head coach at Oregon. Taggart, a native of Bradenton, Florida, comes to Eugene from Tampa where he was the coach of South Florida the past four seasons. Prior to USF, he was the head coach of Western Kentucky from 2010-2012.

The other new head coach in the Pac-12 is Justin Wilcox at California. Prior to Cal, Wilcox, a native of Eugene, Oregon, was the defensive coordinator at Boise State (2006-2009), Tennessee (2010-2011), Washington (2012-2013), USC (2014-2015) and Wisconsin last year.

The one new head coach in the MAC is Tim Lester at Western Michigan. Lester, a native of Wheaton, Illinois, comes to WMU from Purdue where he was the Boilers quarterbacks coach last year. Prior to Purdue, he was the offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach at Syracuse for two seasons – 2014-2015.

And last, but not necessarily least, the one new coach in the Sun Belt Conference is Georgia State coach Shawn Elliott. Elliott, a native of Camden, South Carolina, was the offensive line coach at South Carolina last season. The year before – 2015 – he was the interim head coach for the Gamecocks after Steve Spurrier stepped down before the end of the season.


Coaches on the Hot Seat – 2017

Geographically speaking, the two areas of the country with the most hot seats are the SEC West and the Pac-12 South. In the SEC West, three of the seven coaches are on the hot seat. It was four of seven, but Ole Miss already took care of Hugh Freeze.

That leaves Arkansas’ Bret Bielema, Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin, and, yes, Auburn’s Gus Malzahn. Of the three, Bielema is the only one with a losing record. After three seasons in Fayetteville, Bielema is 25-26. Even worse, he is 10-22 in SEC games.

Meanwhile, Sumlin and Malzahn may have winning records, but at some SEC schools, you need to have exceptional winning records. After five seasons, Sumlin is 44-21 with the Aggies, but he has yet to win the SEC, much less the SEC West. He set the bar high his first season in College Station, going 11-2, including a 29-24 win over Alabama in Tuscaloosa – Bama’s only loss that season. But since then, A&M has been 9-4 and 8-5 the last three seasons.

Likewise, Auburn’s Malzahn set the bar high his first season with the Tigers, but has been going downhill ever since. Malzahn is 35-18 in four seasons with Auburn. He won the SEC championship his first year and Auburn played in the national championship game, losing to Florida State. The Tigers were 12-2 that season. Since then, they have been 8-5, 7-6 and 8-5.

Bielema, Sumlin and Malzahn need respectable records – very respectable records – in 2017 to hold onto their jobs.

Meanwhile, in the Pac-12 South, three of the six coaches are treading water – treading in very deep water. They are UCLA’s Jim Mora, Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez and Arizona State’s Todd Graham. Each are entering their sixth season at their respective schools.

Mora (41-24) looked good early on, going 9-5 his first season followed by two 10-3 seasons. But the last two years UCLA was 8-5 and 4-8. Rodriguez (36-29) coached Arizona to the Pac-12 South title in his third season with the Wildcats. But he has failed to have a winning conference record in each of the other four seasons – 18-26 overall. Last year, Arizona finished 3-9 – 1-8 in Pac-12 play.

Graham (39-26) had success his first three seasons with the Sun Devils. ASU won the Pac-12 South in Graham’s second year and finished second in the South the other two seasons. But the last two years have been losers for Graham. Mora, Rodriguez and Graham need strong seasons in 2017 to avoid the pink slips.

One other coach in the Pac-12 – the Pac-12 North – is on thin ice. After two seasons at Oregon State, Gary Andersen is sitting at 6-18. The folks in Corvallis are patient and Andersen is a likeable guy, but he needs to have a winning record in 2017.

And we can’t leave the SEC without mentioning two coaches in the SEC East who are sitting on hot seats. The hottest seat of the two is Butch Jones at Tennessee. Following four seasons in Knoxville, Jones is 30-21. But he is 14-18 in SEC play. On the upside, Tennessee is 3-0 in bowl games under Jones. But none of those bowls has been a “New Year’s Six” bowl and the Vols have not won the SEC East under Jones. 2017 will be an interesting season for Jones.

The other hot seat in the SEC East belongs to Kentucky’s Mark Stoops. After four seasons, Stoops is 19-30 – 8-24 in SEC play. His first three years in Lexington were tough ones, but Stoops may have turned the corner last year. In 2016, Kentucky had its first winning season – 7-6 – under Stoops and the Wildcats went to a bowl game. Stoops better hope that things continue to improve in 2017.

The ACC has three coaches who are wobbling. They are Boston College’s Steve Addazio, NC State’s Dave Doeren and Wake Forest’s Dave Clawson. Addazio (24-27) has not won more than seven games in any season after four years at BC. The last two years, he is 2-14 in ACC play.

Doeren (25-26) is 9-23 in ACC play after four seasons with the Wolfpack. NC State has never finished higher than 4th in the Atlantic Division under Doeren. There are high expectations for the Wolfpack in 2017. Doeren will be feeling the pressure if those expectations aren’t met.

Clawson (13-24) is 5-19 in ACC play after three years with the Demon Deacons. However, Wake had its first winning season – 7-6 – under Clawson last year. And the Deacons won their bowl game. Things could be looking up for Clawson. Addazio, Doeren and Clawson don’t need to set the world on fire in 2017, but they do need to have good seasons.

The hottest seat in the Big Ten definitely belongs to Nebraska’s Mike Riley, 15-11 after two seasons in Lincoln. On the positive side for Riley, the Huskers were a much improved team in 2016 (9-4) than they were in Riley’s first season (6-7). But 9-4 ain’t going to cut it in Lincoln – not for long.

The other coach who is entering the danger zone in the Big Ten is Michigan State’s Mark Dantonio. On paper, Dantonio looks good – 90-42 after ten seasons in East Lansing. And five of his last seven seasons have been particularly good – 11-2 (7-1) in 2010, 11-3 (7-1) in 2011, 13-1 (8-0) in 2013, 11-2 (7-1) in 2014 and 12-2 (7-1) in 2015. That’s darn impressive. But the Spartans were 3-9 (1-8) last year. Back-to-back losing seasons and it could be curtains for Dantonio. But with a winning season he is safe.

The Big 12 has two coaches who are in jeopardy. They are Texas Tech’s Kliff Kingsbury (24-26 after four seasons) and Kansas’ David Beaty (2-22 after two seasons). Kingsbury, Texas Tech’s favorite son, may become Texas Tech’s disowned son. Under Kingsbury, the Red Raiders are only 13-23 in Big 12 play. And they have finished no higher than 5th place in the conference the past four seasons.

No one thought Beaty was going to create fireworks in just two seasons at Kansas, but still, 2-22 is a pretty dismal start. Another dismal season and Beaty could be job hunting in December.

Among the Group of 5 conferences, the MAC and C-USA have the most coaches in trouble. In the MAC, five coaches could be on the outside looking in by the end of the season. First and foremost among the hot seaters is Kent State’s Paul Haynes. Haynes is a weak 12-35 after four seasons at Kent.

Two other MAC coaches who aren’t getting the job done are Akron’s Terry Bowden (24-37 after five seasons) and Buffalo’s Lance Leipold (7-17) after two seasons. Bowden has only had one winning season at Akron. That’s one out of five. One out of six and he could be a gonner. Leipold is off to a slow start at Buffalo – a very slow start. Signs of improvement this season could give Leipold another year. No improvement and he will most likely be shuffling out of Buffalo.

Miami of Ohio’s Chuck Martin (11-26 after three seasons) and Eastern Michigan’s Chris Creighton (10-27 after three seasons) got off to slow starts at their schools, but both showed promise last season. After going 5-19 his first two seasons, Martin coached the RedHawks to a 6-7 finish last year – 6-2 in MAC play. Likewise, Creighton went from a 3-21 start his first two seasons at EMU to finishing 7-6 last year. Keep this up and both coaches are safe. But a turnaround to losing records again could cost both their jobs.

In C-USA, four coaches are on thin ice – very thin. Marshall’s Doc Holliday (53-37) begins his 8th season coaching the Herd. After a so-so start in his first three seasons (17-20), Holliday’s Herd reeled off three terrific seasons – 10-4, 13-1 and 10-3. But it all came crashing down last season when the Herd finished 3-9. Another losing season and Holliday will be taking a holiday – a permanent one.

David Bailiff (56-69) has been at Rice for a long time – 10 seasons. He’s had four winning seasons and six losing ones. The last two were losing. Another losing this year and he’s a krispie. UTEP’s Sean Kugler (18-31) and Charlotte’s Brad Lambert (16-30) have been at their schools for four seasons. Kugler has only had one winning season in El Paso. That was 7-6 in 2014. Lambert inaugurated Charlotte’s program in 2013 and he has been the 49er’s only coach. But he has never had a winning season. Another losing season and he will no longer be Charlotte’s only coach.

The Sun Belt has two coaches sitting on hot seats and both are at schools that will no longer be in the Sun Belt Conference after this season. Both coaches may no longer be at their schools after this season either. The coaches in jeopardy are New Mexico State’s Doug Martin (10-38 after four seasons) and Idaho’s Paul Petrino (15-33 after four seasons). Martin has not managed to win more than three games a season in his four years in Las Cruces. Petrino, on the other hand, may have turned the corner at Idaho. After a 6-29 start his first three seasons, he coached the Vandals to a 9-4 season last year, including a win over Colorado State in the Famous Idaho Potato Bowl. Petrino needs to avoid a losing season this year.

The AAC and the MWC each only have one coach with a warm bottom. In the AAC, it is SMU’s Chad Morris. Morris is only 7-17 after two seasons with the Mustangs. To his credit, SMU improved from 2-10 his first season to 5-7 last year. Now the Mustangs need to improve some more this year. Otherwise, it could be sayonara for Morris.

In the MWC, Matt Wells (28-25) took over a good program at Utah State. And for two seasons, Wells maintained a good program – 9-5 and 10-4. But things have gone downhill for Wells the last two seasons – 6-7 and 3-9. If they continue to go downhill this year, Wells will be in a rut.

Touchdown Tom
www.collegefootballweek.blogspot.com


P.S.

Not exactly college football related, but as the summer was winding down and college football fans were anticipating the start of another exciting season, the number one song in the country…

…75 years ago this week in 1942 was “Jingle Jangle Jingle” by Kay Keyser and His Orchestra

…70 years ago this week in 1947 was “Smoke! Smoke! Smoke! (That Cigarette)” by Tex Williams

…65 years ago this week in 1952 was “Auf Wiedersehn Sweetheart” by Vera Lynn

…60 years ago this week in 1957 was “Let Me Be Your Teddy Bear” and “Loving You” by Elvis Presley

…55 years ago this week in 1962 was “Breaking Up Is Hard To Do” by Neil Sedaka

…50 years ago this week in 1967 was “Light My Fire” by The Doors

…45 years ago this week in 1972 was “Alone Again (Naturally)” by Gilbert O’Sullivan

…40 years ago this week in 1977 was “I Just Want To Be Your Everything” by Andy Gibb

…35 years ago this week in 1982 was “Eye Of The Tiger” by Survivor

…30 years ago this week in 1987 was “I Still Haven’t Found What I’m Looking For” by U2

…25 years ago this week in 1992 was “This Used To Be My Playground” by Madonna


Not exactly college football related, but there were five passings of note last week – Don Baylor, Barbara Cook, Dick MacPherson, Glen Campbell and Bryan Murray.

Don Baylor, a respected outfielder and designated hitter who won the American League’s Most Valuable Player Award in 1979, died last week in Austin, Texas. He was 68. Baylor played for six teams over 19 seasons, including the 1987 World Series champion Minnesota Twins. His major league career began in 1970 with the Baltimore Orioles. Baylor’s mentor was Frank Robinson. He was traded to the Oakland Athletics before the start of the 1976 season. After one season with the A’s, Baylor singed as a free agent with the California Angels. After the Angels, Baylor played for the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox. The Red Sox traded him to the Twins. Baylor became the manager of the Colorado Rockies and the Chicago Cubs. With the Rockies, he was National League manager of the year in 1995. Don Edward Baylor was born in Austin, Texas, on June 28, 1949. He played basketball, football and baseball at Austin High School. He was recruited to play football at several colleges, including the University of Texas. But he chose baseball and was drafted by the Orioles in 1967.

Barbara Cook, a lyric soprano whose rousing songs and romantic ballads began in the golden age of Broadway musicals, died last week in Manhattan, New York. She was 89. Through the years, she dealt with alcoholism, depression and obesity only to forge a second life in cabarets and concert halls. In 2011, six decades after her Broadway debut, Cook received Kennedy Center Honors from President Barack Obama. She was the ideal leading lady in the musicals of the 1950s and 1960s. She won a Tony Award for “The Music Man.” She also appeared on Broadway in non-musicals and on television in dramatic roles on shows like “Armstrong Circle Theater” and “The United States Steel Hour.” Barbara Cook was born in Atlanta on October 25, 1927. She recorded dozens of albums, toured America and gave concerts all over the world. Cook sang at the White House for Presidents Jimmy Carter, Ronald Reagan, George Bush and Bill Clinton.

Dick MacPherson, who resurrected a declining football program at Syracuse University and returned it to national prominence, died last week at his home in Syracuse. He was 86. MacPherson had a disappointing stint as head coach of the New England Patriots. He arrived at Syracuse before the 1981 season. By the time he left in 1990, he had compiled a 66-46-4 record. In 1987, he led Syracuse to a No. 4 national ranking and an 11-0-1 mark, blemished only by a tie with Auburn in the Sugar Bowl. Dick MacPherson was born in Ole Town, Maine, on November 4, 1930. He played football at Springfield College in Massachusetts before serving in the Air Force during the Korean War. Prior to Syracuse, he was a position coach with the Denver Broncos and the Cleveland Browns and the head coach at the University of Massachusetts. His career college coaching record (Syracuse and Massachusetts) was 111-73-5.

Glen Campbell, the sweet-voiced, guitar-picking son of a sharecropper who became a recording, television and movie star in the 1960s and 1970s, and gave his last performances in the early stages of Alzheimer’s disease, died last week in Nashville. He was 81. Campbell’s last performance was in Napa, California, on November 30, 2012. He released his final studio album, “Adios,” in June. It includes guest appearances by Willie Nelson and Vince Gill. At the height of his career, Campbell was one of the biggest names in show business. From 1969 to 1972 he had his own weekly television show, “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour.” He sold an estimated 45 million records and had numerous hits on both the pop and country charts. His biggest hits were “Wichita Lineman,” “By the Time I Get to Phoenix,” “Galveston” (all written by Jimmy Webb) and “Southern Nights” (written by Allen Toussaint). Glen Travis Campbell was born on April 22, 1936, about 80 miles southwest of Little Rock, Arkansas, between Billstown and Delight. At the age of 22 he moved to Los Angeles in 1958. Campbell became a recording studio session musician for a host of famous artists, including Frank Sinatra, Dean Martin, Nat King Cole, Elvis Presley, Ricky Nelson and groups like the Beach Boys and the Mamas and the Papas. From late 1964 to early 1965, he was a touring member of the Beach Boys. His first hit came in 1967 – “Gentle on My Mind” written by John Hartford. “The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour” made its debut on CBS in January 1969. His most famous movie role was in “True Grit” with John Wayne in 1969.

Bryan Murray, the longtime NHL coach and executive who took the Florida Panthers and the Mighty Ducks of Anaheim to surprising berths in the Stanley Cup finals as their general manager and coached the Ottawa Senators to the finals as well, died Saturday. He was 74. Bryan Clarence Murray was born on December 5, 1942, in Shawville, an English-speaking town in Quebec, across the Ottawa River from the city of Ottawa.