College Football
Week 16 – Navy fires football coach Niumatalolo
Tis the season to
be jolly
The coaching carousel, awards, Army-Navy game, Heisman Trophy, playoff games, upcoming bowl games – that’s a pretty full plate. It’s enough to make you jolly this time of the year.
Tis the season for new and lost or dismissed coaches. Last week, two more coaches were fired, seven were hired, while three coaches left for another school.
In the MAC, Western Michigan fired Tim Lester. In six seasons at WMU, Lester was 37-30 – 5-7 this season. He never took the Broncos to a MAC championship game.
Just yesterday, the day after Navy lost to Army, Navy fired Ken Niumatalolo. Niumatalolo had coached the Midshipmen for 15 seasons. His record in Annapolis was 109-83 – 4-8 this season.
Cincinnati hired Louisville coach Scott Satterfield. That was a strange hiring since Satterfield wasn’t that great at Louisville – 25-24 in four seasons. Tulsa hired Ohio State offensive coordinator Kevin Wilson. Wilson is a former head coach at Indiana. Texas State hired Incarnate Word head coach G.J. Kinne. Kinne is known for his explosive offenses.
UNLV hired Arkansas defensive coordinator Barry Odom. Odom is a former head coach at Missouri. Western Michigan hired Louisville offensive coordinator Lance Taylor. And Louisville hired Purdue head coach Jeff Brohm. Brohm is a graduate of Louisville where he played quarterback.
Saturday, Stanford announced that Troy Taylor had been hired to replace David Shaw as the Trees head coach. Taylor, 54, has been the head coach of FCS Sacramento State the past three seasons, where his record was 30-8. This year, Sacramento State was undefeated and made it to the quarterfinals of the FCS playoff. Prior to Sacramento State, Taylor was the offensive coordinator at Utah for two seasons.
Louisville, Purdue and Kent State all lost their coaches. As mentioned, Louisville’s Satterfield left the Cardinals to take the job at Cincinnati, while Purdue’s Brohm left the Boilermakers for the opening at Louisville. That worked out well for Louisville. Also, Kent State coach Sean Lewis left the Golden Flashes to become Deion Sanders’ offensive coordinator at Colorado.
At this point, 23 schools will have new head coaches next season. Seventeen schools fired their coach and six schools saw their coach leave for another job. Of the 23 schools, North Texas, Kent State, Purdue and Navy are still looking for a new coach.
Purdue could be leaning toward Georgia offensive coordinator Todd Monken. North Texas hired Jared Mosley as its new athletic director, so the Mean Green are set now to hire a new coach. Mosley was the assistant AD at North Texas. He replaces Wren Baker, who left to become AD at West Virginia. There is no news out of Kent State on where its search stands.
Tis the season for the OCs and DCs. The coordinators continued to be on the move too. North Carolina offensive coordinator Phil Longo is leaving the Tar Heels to become Luke Fickell’s new OC at Wisconsin. UTSA offensive coordinator Will Stein will be the new OC at Oregon. Matt Rhule at Nebraska has hired Syracuse defensive coordinator Tony White to be the Huskers new DC.
Alabama associate defensive coordinator and safeties coach Charles Kelly is leaving the Crimson Tide to join Deion Sanders at Colorado as the Buffaloes new DC. Los Angeles Rams offensive coordinator Liam Coen will return to Kentucky to be the Wildcats OC. Coen was Kentucky’s offensive coordinator in 2021 before leaving to take the same position with the Rams at the end of last season.
New Auburn coach Hugh Freeze has found his coordinators. Fired Tulsa coach Philip Montgomery will be the new offensive coordinator under Freeze, while former Baylor defensive coordinator Ron Roberts will be the new DC at Auburn. Prior to Tulsa, Montgomery was an offensive coordinator at Baylor and Houston.
And speaking of coordinators, TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley won the Broyles Award as the nation’s best coordinator in 2022. Riley is the brother of USC coach Lincoln Riley. The other finalists for the Broyles Award this year were Todd Monken, Georgia offensive coordinator, Ryan Walters, Illinois defensive coordinator, Jesse Minter, Michigan DC and Alex Golesh, Tennessee OC. Golesh was recently named the new coach at South Florida.
In the 123rd meeting between Army and Navy, the Black Knights sunk the Midshipmen, 20-17 (2OT). I picked Army, but I was cheering for Navy. Army has now won 5 of the last 7 meetings. After the game, I thought it was time for Navy to fire Ken Niumatalolo. He has overstayed his visit in Annapolis. Sure enough the next my thoughts came true. Niumatalolo was canned.
Tis the season for playoffs and championships. Although the College Football Playoff won’t begin until December 31, the FCS, Division II and Division III playoffs are currently taking place. The FCS will have its semifinal games this Friday and Saturday – Incarnate Word (12-1) vs. North Dakota State (11-2), and Montana State (12-1) vs. South Dakota State (11-1). The championship game will be played January 8,2023, in Frisco, Texas.
Division II and Division III have their championship games this Friday and Saturday. In Division II, it’s Colorado Mines (12-2) vs. Ferris State (12-1) in McKinney, Texas. In Division III, it’s North Central (13-0) vs. Mount Union (13-0) in Annapolis, Maryland.
And tis the season for bowl games – 41 of them. Yes, get ready for the onslaught. It all begins Friday with the Bahamas Bowl between Miami (Ohio) and UAB. It ends on January 2, 2023, with the Rose Bowl between Penn State and Utah. And, of course, the season will come to an end on January 9, 2023, with the national championship game.
By then, you should be good and jolly. Happy because of who won. Or happy because it’s over. Or maybe both.
Starting in 2025, there will be a new Group of Five conference, making the Group of Five become the Group of Six. Current FCS schools Stephen F. Austin, Abilene Christian, Utah Tech, Southern Utah and Tarleton State of the WAC, along with FCS schools Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky, Central Arkansas and North Alabama of the Atlantic Sun are upgrading to FBS and merging to form a new football only conference. The new conference, as yet to be named, hopes to start playing as an FBS conference in the 2025 season. UT-Rio Grande Valley, which recently announced it is starting a football program, is expected to join the conference in 2025. The 10 schools will go through a two-year period (2023 and 2024) of transitioning from FCS to FBS. The new conference will compete at the FCS level for the next two seasons.
James Madison of the Sun Belt and Jacksonville State, Sam Houston State and Kennesaw State are currently transitioning from FCS to FBS. Jacksonville State, Sam Houston State and Kennesaw State will be joining Conference USA.
Twas the season to make some money. And boy, did they ever. Here’s the Top 10 NIL money makers this past season: 1. Alabama quarterback Bryce Young – $3.2 million, 2. Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud – $2.5 million, 3. USC quarterback Caleb Williams – $2.4 million, 4. South Carolina quarterback Spencer Rattler – $2 million, 5. Ohio State receiver Jaxon Smith-Njigba – $1.7 million, 6. Alabama linebacker Will Anderson – $1.6 million, 7. Texas running back Bijan Robinson – $1.6 million, 8. Texas quarterback Quinn Ewers $1.5 million, 9. USC receiver Jordan Addison – $1.4 million and 10. LSU receiver Kayshon Boutte – $1.4 million.
Deck the halls!
Happy Holidays………Merry Christmas………Happy Hanukkah………Season’s Greetings
Touchdown Tom
Weekend Recap
Tanks rule – Army 20, Navy 17 (2OT) (Touchdown Tom said: Army 30, Navy 21). In the first ever Army-Navy game to go into overtime, Army capitalized on a Navy fumble to win the game in the second overtime. The score was tied 10-10 at the end of regulation. In the first overtime, both teams scored a touchdown. Navy scored on its one and only pass completion of the game. In the second overtime, Navy fumbled on the goal line. Army kicked a 39-yard field goal to win the game. Before the overtimes, the game was rather dull and boring. Between them, the teams only had 21 first downs – 11 for Navy and 10 for Army. Combined, they only had 437 total yards. Navy was 1-for-4 passing. Army was 2-for-12 passing. As the game was coming to an end, Navy led, 10-7. Army kicked a 37-yard field goal with 1:57 on the clock.
Week 15 Result: 1 winner, 0 fumbles (100 percent)
ELSEWHERE AROUND
FLORIDA:
Ferris State 38, West Florida 17 (Division II Playoff Semifinals) – Attendance in Big Rapids: 5,105
Heisman Trophy
Presentation
USC quarterback Caleb Williams won the Heisman Trophy. Williams beat out (2) Tennessee quarterback Max Duggan, (3) Ohio State quarterback C.J. Stroud and (4) Georgia quarterback Stetson Bennett for the Trophy. A quarterback has won the Heisman Trophy 11 of the last 13 years.
With 3 points for a first-place vote, 2 points for second and 1 point for third, Caleb Williams led the finalists with 544 first places votes and 2,031 points. Max Duggan was second with 1,420 points, followed by C.J Stroud with 539 points and Stetson Bennett with 349 points.
The rest of the Top 10 vote getters were Tennessee quarterback Hendon Hooker (226 points) 5th, Alabama quarterback Bryce Young (141 points) 6th, Michigan running back Blake Corum (125 points) 7th, Washington quarterback Michael Penix Jr. (114 points) 8th, Texas running back Bijan Robinson (75 points) 9th and North Carolina quarterback Drake Maye (42 points) 10th. Bryce Young won the Heisman last year.
Tis the season for awards. In addition to winning the Heisman Trophy, Caleb Williams also won the Walter Camp Trophy and the Maxwell Award as the nation’s best college football player. Williams accounted for 47 touchdowns while throwing for 4,075 yards, leading USC to an 11-2 season.
Fellow Heisman Trophy finalist Max Duggan won the Davey O’Brien Award as the nation’s best quarterback. The TCU signal caller threw for 3,725 yards and 36 touchdowns this season.
The Horned Frogs won multiple awards. Safety Tre’Vius Hodges-Tomlinson won the Jim Thorpe Award given to the top defensive back in college football. TCU coach Sonny Dykes, having led TCU to an undefeated regular season and a spot in the College Football Playoff in his first year with the Frogs, won the Home Depot Coach of the Year and the Walter Camp Coach of the Year awards. And as mentioned above, TCU offensive coordinator Garrett Riley won the Broyles Award as the best coordinator in the country.
For the second year in a row, Alabama’s Will Anderson Jr. won the Nagurski Award. He also won the Chuck Bednarik Award. Both are awarded to the best defensive player in college football.
The Outland Trophy for the nation’s best interior lineman was won by Michigan center Olusegun Oluwatimi. Oluwatimi also won the Rimington Trophy, given to the best center.
Georgia’s Brock Bowers became the first Bulldog to win the John Mackey Award for the best tight end. Bowers averaged 14 yards a catch.
Tennessee’s Jalin Hyatt received the Biletnikoff Award, given to the best wide receiver. Hyatt beat out Ohio State’s Marvin Harrison.
Though he wasn’t a Heisman finalist, Texas’ Bijan Robinson won the Doak Walker Award for the best running back in college football. Robinson averaged more than six yards per carry and more than 130 rushing yards per game.
Florida State lineman Dillan Gibbons was awarded the Wuerffel Trophy, given to the college football player who is the best in community service, along with academic and athletic achievement.
Iowa’s Jack Campbell received the Dick Butkus Award, as the top linebacker. Campbell also won the William V. Campbell Trophy, which honors the college football player who exhibits the best combination of academic success, football performance and exemplary leadership.
Georgia’s Stetson Bennett won the Burlsworth Trophy, given to college football’s most outstanding player who began his career as a walk-on. Bennett was also a Heisman finalist.
And finally, Rutgers’ Adam Korsak won the Ray Guy Award for the best punter, while NC State’s Christopher Dunn won the Lou Groza Award for the best place kicker. Now, I think that’s enough presents to go around.
FCS (Division
I-AA) Quarterfinals
North Dakota State 27, Samford 9
Division II Semifinals
Ferris State 38, West Florida 17
Division III Semifinals
Mount Union 34, Wartburg 31
Quotes of the Week
“This is home to me. Not a job, but a way of life. I always wanted to coach here and I loved playing here. I love living here,” former Purdue coach Jeff Brohm during his introductory press conference at Louisville.
“We were in the driver’s seat. We were feeling pretty good. Unfortunately, the game slipped out of our hands,” Navy coach Ken Niumatalolo, after the loss to Army.
“This team never stopped fighting. They never stopped believing. Somehow, some way we found a way to get it done. It was an epic battle. It was one I’ll remember for a long time, probably forever,” Army coach Jeff Monken, after the win over Navy.
Touchdown Tom’s
Predictions for This Week’s Eight Bowl Games
Miami (Ohio) (6-6) vs. UAB (6-6) – (MAC vs. C-USA) – Bahamas Bowl (Thomas A. Robinson National Stadium – Nassau, Bahamas) – 11:30 am ET, Friday, ESPN – What better place to kick off the bowl season than the Bahamas. Both Miami and UAB were disappointing teams this season. The Red Hawks were favored to win the East Division of the MAC. They didn’t. The Blazers were favored to win C-USA. They didn.t. So, you could call this the Disappointment Bowl. Miami is weak on offense. The Red Hawks only averaged 20 points a game. They are better on defense. Bit not so good on defending the pass. Miami’s best win was 17-14 over Northwestern. UAB is the opposite of Miami. The Blazers are strong on offense and weak on defense. UAB averaged 31 points a game on offense. The strength of UAB’s offense is its running game. And the strength of its running game is DeWayne McBride, who rushed for 1,710 yards. UAB’s best wins were over Middle Tennessee, 44-14, and North Texas, 41-21. The Red Hawks get Blazed – UAB 24, Miami 18.
UTSA (11-2) vs. Troy (11-2) – (C-USA vs. Sun Belt) – Cure Bowl (Exploria Stadium – Orlando, Florida) – 3 pm ET, Friday, ESPN – Of 41 bowls, this is the only bowl that matches two conference champions. UTSA had one of the most exciting quarterbacks and offenses in the country. Quarterback Frank Harris passed for 3,865 yards and 31 touchdowns, completing 71% of his passes. The offense is good in all categories, especially total yards – 486 per game. The Roadrunners defense is another story. They are bad in all categories, giving up 25 points a game. UTSA’s best wins are over UAB, 44-38, and North Texas, twice. Troy’s strength is its defense. The Trojans defense is good in all categories. They only gave up 18 points a game. Troy’s best wins are over Western Kentucky, South Alabama and Coastal Carolina. The Trojans come into the bowl on a 10-game winning streak. They haven’t lost since September 17. UTSA also comes into the game on a 10-game winning streak. The Trojans get Beep-Beeped – UTSA 28, Troy 24.
Cincinnati (9-3) vs. Louisville (7-5) – (AAC vs. ACC) – Fenway Bowl (Fenway Park – Boston, Massachusetts) – 11 am ET, Saturday, ESPN – The coach of Louisville – Scott Satterfield – is now the new coach of Cincinnati. How ironic is that? Satterfield will not participate in the game. And Cincinnati’s coach – Luke Fickell – has accepted the job at Wisconsin. The Bearcats have a so-so offense but a very good defense. Cincinnati’s three losses were by a combined 14 points – ranging from 3 points to 7 points. Louisville was up and down all season – a little more up than down. At one point you got the feeling Satterfield was going to be fired. Maybe that’s why he left for Cincinnati. Louisville is generally not good on offense. The Cardinals are reasonably good on defense. They do hold opponents to 20 points a game. Louisville had some good wins over UCF, Pitt, Wake Forest and NC State. Bearcats raid the Bird feeder – Cincinnati 28, Louisville 27.
Florida (6-6) vs. Oregon State (9-3) – (SEC vs. Pac-12) – Las Vegas Bowl (Allegiant Stadium – Las Vegas, Nevada) – 2:30 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN – Florida enters the game without its first team and second team quarterback. Starter Anthony Richardson has declared for the NFL draft and has opted out of the game. Second teamer Jalen Kitna has been dismissed from the team. So, the Gators will unveil a brand-new quarterback in Las Vegas – Jack Miller. Miller is a sophomore who transferred from Ohio State last January. The Gators had a mixed season. Good at times, Bad at times. Strange at times. At preseason, most thought first-year coach Billy Napier would finish 8-4 – give or take a game. But at 6-6, Napier and the Gators were a disappointment. Florida’s offense was reasonably good. The Gators were 16th in the country in rushing yards – 213 yards per game. They averaged 32 points a game. The Florida defense was atrocious – one of the worst in the country. Florida had good wins over Utah, 29-26, and South Carolina, 38-6. Oregon State was a bit of a surprise this season – surprisingly good. But there was nothing flashy about the Ducks. They just took care of business. Two of their three losses were just by 3 points. Oregon State averages 32 points a game on offense. The strength is the running game – 26th in the country. The Beavers are strong on defense – 20th in the country against the run, giving up 114 yards a game. Oregon State had good wins over Boise State, Fresno State and Oregon. Benny the Beaver gnaws Albert the Gator – Oregon State 32, Florida 23.
Washington State (7-5) vs. Fresno State (9-4) – (Pac-12 vs. MWC) – L.A. Bowl (SoFi Stadium – Inglewood, California) – 3:30 pm ET, Saturday, ABC – Fresno State won the MWC championship. Washington State was a threat to any opponent in the Pac-12. The Cougars began the season at 4-1. Then they dropped 3 games, falling to 4-4. The Cougars finished the season winning 3 of their last 4 games. Washington State didn’t beat anybody they shouldn’t have. But the Cougars only lost to Oregon by 3 points and to Utah by 4 points. The Washington State offense is strong in passing yards and weak in rushing yards. Quarterback Cameron Ward passed for 3,087 yards. The Cougars defense is strong against the run and weak against the pass. Fresno State has an average offense and a good defense. The strength on offense is the passing game. The Bulldogs have a good quarterback in Jake Haener. He passed for 2,616 yards. Haener’s numbers would be better, but he missed two games with an injury. Fresno State has a decent running back in Jordan Mims. He rushed for 1,161 yards. Fresno State enters the bowl on an 8-game winning streak. The Bulldogs best wins were over San Diego State, Wyoming and Boise State. Cats evade the Dogs – Washington State 30, Fresno State 27.
Rice (5-7) vs. Southern Miss (6-6) – (C-USA vs. Sun Belt) – Lending Tree Bowl (Hancock Whitney Stadium – Mobile, Alabama) – 5:45 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN – Rice is the only team with a losing record that qualified for a bowl spot. The 41 bowls were one team short of filling all spots with teams having winning records. Only 81 FBS teams had a winning record. Rice qualified because it has the highest Academic Progress Rating (APR) of teams with a 5-7 record. There is not much good you can say about Rice. The offense is bad and the defense was one of the worst in the country – giving up 34 points a game. Surprisingly, Rice had two good wins over two good teams – Louisiana (33-31) and UAB (28-24). Southern Miss is almost as bad as Rice. The Eagles are terrible on offense, a little better on defense. They do have a good running back in Frank Gore. Gore rushed for 1,053 yards. Southern Miss had a big win, somehow knocking off Tulane, 27-24. The Eagles also beat Louisiana, 39-24. These Owls aren’t smart – Southern Miss 26, Rice 18.
SMU (7-5) vs. BYU (7-5) – (AAC vs. Ind.) – New Mexico Bowl (University Stadium – Albuquerque, New Mexico) – 7:30 pm ET, Saturday, ABC – BYU definitely had a disappointing season. A lot more was expected from the Cougars in 2022. The best part of BYU is quarterback Jaren Hall. Hall passed for 3,171 yards. The Cougars do have a good offense in general. But the Cougars defense is one of the worst in the country, giving up 30 points a game. BYU’s best wins were over Baylor, Wyoming, Utah State and Boise State. In many ways, SMU is very similar to BYU. The Mustangs are strong on offense and poor on defense. Quarterback Tanner Mordecai passed for 3,305 yards. The Mustangs averaged 38 points a game and were 6th in the country in passing yards – 325 per game. But on defense SMU gave up 35 points a game. In a victory over Houston, SMU won, 77-63. Mustangs get lassoed – BYU 46, SMU 38.
North Texas (7-6) vs. Boise State (9-4) – (C-USA vs. MWC) – Frisco Bowl (Toyota Stadium – Frisco, Texas) – 9:15 pm ET, Saturday, ESPN – North Texas and Boise State both lost their conference championship games. The North Texas season ended on a strange note. The Mean Green came in second in C-USA and played in the conference championship game, losing to UTSA. Apparently, that wasn’t good enough. North Texas fired coach Seth Littrell. North Texas has a good quarterback in Austin Aune. He passed for 3,304 yards. The Mean Green offense was strong, averaging 34 points a game. The defense was terrible, giving up 32 points a game. The Mean Green’s one good win was over Western Kentucky, 40-13. Boise State had another good team this year, playing for the MWC championship. Normally, the Broncos have a good offense but that wasn’t the case this season. The offense was the weaker side of the program. The only bright spot was running back George Holani rushing for 1,133 yards. On defense, Boise State was very strong, giving up 19 points a game. The Broncos were 6th in the country in total yards allowed – 281 per game. Boise State’s best wins were over Fresno State (during the season), Wyoming, Air Force and Utah State. In a rematch in the MWC title game, Boise State lost to Fresno State. Broncos take the Mean out of the Green – Boise State 31, North Texas 20.
Touchdown Tom
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