Coaching Carousel

With most of the 20 open head coaching positions filled in college football, I decided now would be a good time to review some of the changes. Of course, there's still some schools out there that could be added to this list. I'll try to update this list as more new coaches are hired.

1. Army

• Out - Stan Brock
• In - ?

Army has begun a national search for their next head coach. I think Brock did about as good as possible at West Point. I'm not so sure the next coach here will have any more success.

2. Auburn

• Out- Tommy Tuberville
• In - Gene Chizik

I have no idea what Auburn is doing here. They whiffed one one former defensive coordinator, so they panicked and went after the crappier one.


3. Ball St.

• Out - Brady Hoke
• In - ?

The Cardinals lose Hoke to San Diego St. As Hoke enjoys the much nicer weather, Ball St. will begin the search for a new coach who will face impossible expectations in Muncie. I look for BSU to tap the 1-aa ranks for this position.


4. Bowling Green

• Out - Gregg Brandon
• In - Dave Clawson

I really think Bowling Green jumped the gun when they let Brandon go. Fortunately for mes, Brandon is a top choice to replace Dan Mullen as Florida's offensive coordinator. Clawson backs his way into this job after helping to get Phil Fulmer fired at Tennessee.


5. Clemson

• Out - Tommy Bowden
• In - Dabo Swinney

The Tigers have already improved tremendously under Swinney. Their second half performance this season earned Swinney the job. We'll see how well he recruits and coaches for an entire season.


6. Eastern Michigan

• Out - Jeff Genyk
• In - ?

Wouldn't this be a good spot for Ty Willingham? I know he went winless last season, but if Chizik can get a job in the SEC, Willingham should be able to get a job anywhere.


7. Iowa st.

• Out - Gene Chizik
• In - ?

Auburn really did Iowa St. a favor. Not only do they get rid of an under producing coach, but they don't have to pay him any money. Look for a coordinator from another Big XII team to take this job. Kevin Wilson, maybe?


8. Kansas St.

• Out - Ron Prince
• In - Bill Snyder

I believe Prince should have been given at least one more year at K-State. However, Snyder did build this program into a national power way back when. He might be too old to do the same again. I guess we'll find out.


9. Miami(OH)

• Out - Shane Montgomery
• In - ?

I don't really know who the Redhawks will target for this job. Perhaps a 1-aa coach or even a Big Eleven assistant. Whoever they tabbed, he's got his work cut out for him.


10. Mississippi St.

• Out - Sylvester Croom
• In - Dan Mullen

I wish Dan Mullen nothing but the best in Starkville. However, I must say he really screwed us with the timing of this announcement. Damn him and Mississippi St.!


11. New Mexico

• Out - Rocky Long
• In - Mike Locksley

Locksley might be one of the better game planners in the nation right now. New Mexico does have a lot of talent on the offensive side of the ball. So this seems like a good fit.


12. New Mexico St.

• Out - Hal Mumme
• In - ?

The Aggies are going to be awful next season. Both Chris Jackson and Chase Holbrook will be gone. I feel sorry for whoever gets this job. It may be the worst job available this season.


13. Purdue

• Out - Joe Tiller
• In - Danny Hope

Hope is replacing a legend at Purdue. Fortunately this decision was made at the beginning of the offseason. That should relieve a little bit of the pressure. Just a little.


14. San Diego St.

• Out - Chuck Long
• In - Brady Hoke

The Aztecs were quite possibly the worst team in division 1 football this season. Kudos to them for going out and getting one of the hottest coaching prospects this off season in Brady Hoke. Hoke should find the weather and scenery much more to his liking in San Diego.


15. Syracuse

• Out - Greg Robinson
• In - Doug Marrone

This is a switch that should have been made last season in my opinion. I think the Orange whiffed on Robinson's replacement though. Turner Gill or Skip Holtz would have been better options than Marrone.


16. Tennessee

• Out - Phil Fulmer
• In - Lane Kiffin

Is it just me, or did the SEC coaching ranks get a lot worse this offseason?


17. Toledo

• Out - Tom Amstutz
• In - Tim Beckman

Beckman put up some pretty impressive numbers for Oklahoma St. over the past few seasons. At least he's taking over a team that managed to beat Michigan in the Big House last season.


18. Utah St.

• Out - Brent Guy
• In - Gary Andersen

Andersen remains in the same state as he leaves the Utes to take over a horrible Utah St. football program. Andersen may very well be the guy that can finally turn things around for the Aggies.


19.Washington

• Out - Tyrone Willingham
• In - Steve Sarkisian

I think the Trojans' defensive coordinator would be a better coaching candidate than Sarkisian. However, this is a good move for Sarkisian. He's taking over a Washington football team with little expectations, that I believe will be a lot better next season.


20. Wyoming

• Out - Joe Glenn
• In - Dave Christensen

Christensen is another top flight Big XII coordinator leaving to take on a head coaching challenge. The Cowboys were competitive towards the end of the season, including beating Tennessee in Knoxville. However, word was getting around that Glenn wasn't even recruiting anymore. That's a big no-no in college football.

Weekly Picks

Well, last week was a hard one for my picks. I did correctly pick the epic Texas Tech/Texas match-up. Other than that, there were no real highlights. But who cares? The Gators won and all is right with the world.

On to my ever so important weekly prognostications.

Miami(OH) @ Buffalo
Northern Illinois @ Ball St.
Toledo @ Akron
Maryland @ Virginia Tech
TCU @ Utah
Nevada @ Fresno St.
Baylor @ Texas
Ohio St. @ Northwestern
Purdue @ Michigan St.
Georgia Tech @ North Carolina
Wisconsin @ Indiana
Michigan @ Minnesota
Syracuse @ Rutgers
Louisville @ Pittsburgh
Illinois @ Western Michigan
Georgia @ Kentucky
Arkansas @ South Carolina
Wyoming @ Tennessee
Iowa St. @ Colorado
Utah St. @ Boise St.
San Diego St. @ BYU
Bowling Green @ Ohio
Kansas @ Nebraska
UT-Martin @ Auburn
Army @ Rice
Memphis@SMU
Alabama @ LSU
Penn St. @ Iowa
Oklahoma @ Texas A&M
Clemson @ Florida St.
Virginia @ Wake Forest
NC State @ Duke
Marshall @ East Carolina
Southern Miss @ UCF
UL-Monroe @ Middle Tennessee
Stanford @ Oregon
Western Kentucky @ Troy
Hawaii @ New Mexico St.
North Texas @ Florida Atlantic
Arizona @ Washington St.
Tulane @ Houston
Oregon St. @ UCLA
Colorado St. @ Air Force
Kansas St. @ Missouri
Cincinnati @ West Virginia
Arizona St. @ Washington
UTEP @ UL-Lafayette
Arkansas St. @ Florida International
Oklahoma St. @ Texas Tech
Florida @ Vanderbilt
California @ USC
Louisiana Tech @ San Jose St.
Notre Dame @ Boston College
New Mexico @ UNLV

Upset Alert:

Ohio over Bowling Green - It's the MAC. Who cares? Bowling Green is the classic definition of a schizo team. Their bad side shows up this week.

LSU over Alabama - As much as I want Bama to win so my Gators can beat an undefeated team in the SEC title game, I think the Tigers have too much motivation going into the Saban bowl.

Texas A&M over Oklahoma - I have no idea why I'm picking the Aggies........

Washington over Arizona St. - The Huskies have to win one. Don't they?

Saturday's Stories

The first Saturday of the college football season is in the books. There were a bevy of nauseatingly boring games with which to choose from. As week 1 draws nearer to it's close, I would like to take a look at the top stories from Saturday.


Injured RB's.









A few teams had their opening season victories dampened by injuries to their top tailbacks. Ohio St. throttled Youngstown St. In a game that should have been headlined by Terrelle Pryor's first touchdown, Beanie Well's injury stole the show. Well's went down with a foot injury in the third quarter while attempting to score on the vaunted Penguin defense.

Georgia's Knowshon Moreno was also hit with the injury bug. Moreno left the game after grabbing his hamstring during a touchdown run against Georgia Southern. Moreno's injury does not seem to be very serious and he should be back in the lineup by next week.

Ohio St. will most likely sit Wells out of next week's historic match up vs. in state rival Ohio. This should give Beanie enough time to recoup before the USC game.



Upsets










While there were no monumental upsets like Appalachian St. over Michigan this week. There were a few games that turned some heads and caused a general "huh?" reaction from fans.

East Carolina pulled off probably the biggest upset of the week by knocking off 17th ranked Virginia Tech in Charlotte. ECU scored the go ahead touchdown by, ironically enough, blocking a Va Tech punt and returning it for a touchdown. I think Skip Holtz just bought himself a better job this off season.

Bowling Green also drank from the upset kool-aid Saturday. The Falcons defeated Dave Wannstedt's Pittsburgh team. The Panthers seem to be battling with Clemson for the title of most overly hyped underperfoming team in America. After Clemson's loss to Alabama, it's a toss up.

Most people didn't see the Texas A&M loss to Arkansas St. late Saturday night. The Red Wolves spoiled TAMU's new head coach Mike Sherman's debut. I don't care how big a rebuilding year this is for the Aggies, there's no way they should ever lose to Arkansas. St.

Mississippi St. became the first SEC team of the season to lose. Louisiana Tech won the battle of the Bulldogs Saturday night. The win was the first one for La Tech over a BCS opponent in Ruston ever. I hope this doesn't start a trend for Sly Croom's bunch.

I would include Utah over Michigan, but I don't consider that an upset. The Utes proved they were a superior team with superior players in Ann Arbor. RichRod has a lot of work to do with his bunch. On the bright side, I think the Wolverines have found their starting QB in Steven Threet.


Coaching Debuts














I've already talked about the losing debuts of Mike Sherman at Texas A&M and Rich Rodriguez at Michigan, respectively. A few other coaches made their debut with their teams on Saturday. Here's how they fared:

Greg McMackin, Hawaii - Got stomped by the Gators 56-10.

Bill Stewart, West Virginia - Defeated Villanova with the best passing performance of Pat White's career.


Paul Wulff, Wasshington St. - Lost to Oklahoma St. in Seattle. Wazzou fans are already booing the new regime.

Ken Niumatalolo, Navy - His Midshipmen throttled Towson in Annapolis.

Bobby Petrino, Arkansas - Barely won against 1-aa Western Illinois. I was hoping for the upset all the way through. If Arkansas continues that level of play, they will be horrendous this season.

Jerry Kill, Northern Illinois - Almost pulled off the mild upset against the worst BCS team in the nation, Minnesota.

Houston Nutt, Ole Miss - The Rebels manhandled rival Memphis in a game that I thought would be a lot closer.

David Cutcliffe, Duke - Defeated James Madison. Hey, at Duke, a win's a win.

Bo Pelini, Nebraska - Destroyed Western Michigan at home.

Kevin Sumlin, Houston - Won big against Southern. His Cougars are looking very sharp.

Larry Fedora, Southern Miss - Defeated Louisiana-Lafayette. Real test comes next week.

What is this, Arena Football??

College football uniforms are some of the more recognizable unis in all of sports. Lately, there has been a disturbing trend to trot out onto the field in complete ass ugly uniforms.

I have listed the ugliest uniforms in all of college football this season. As always my list is extremely biased, so if you don't like it, you should probably stop watching college football, because you are a moron.

The list is in no particular order, the unis are all equally bad.


Oregon's uniforms actually aren't that bad. I think they get more crap than they deserve from the media. I actually like the all white design in this pic. That being said, their bright yellow jerseys are disgusting and the rivets on the shoulder pads have got to go. Overall, this is a step up from previous Oregon designs.



Arizona St. has a horrible color scheme to deal with, so I can't expect much from them. Put a little devil with an over sized dome piece on the helmet? That's a little too much. I think they should just go for the cursive Devils script, that would be much nicer.


I used to like Wyoming's uniforms because I thought they were nice and simple. This all changed when they decided to outline the Cowboy decal with a neon yellow looking color. Why couldn't they just leave simple and plain alone?


I just really don't like the brown and orange color combo. There were plenty of nominees to make this list from the MAC, but I went with the Falcons because they got rid of the original corny Falcon decal for a simple B/G decal. Lame.



The Minnesota Golden Gophers don't just have a retarded nickname, they have some pretty bad uniforms. I really wanted to put a pick up of their mustard color unis, but it seems they have been banned from the Internet. I don't blame the Internet one bit.


When I first saw Southeastern Louisiana's uniforms on T.V., I thought someone was playing a joke on me. When I realized it was no joke, I then thought that perhaps I was watching JV girls football. To my surprise, I found out I was in fact watching real college football. I immediately doused my eyes with kerosene and lit them on fire.



When Temple recently decided to change their uniforms, it looked like they went to the local after school program for mentally challenged kids for it's design. I swear some of the Temple script decals look like they're crooked.



When was the last time lime green could be substituted for mean green? Perhaps North Texas is just warming us up for their upcoming nickname change. Introducing the North Texas Fighting Kiwis!


I would like to know which genius decided it would be cool to put eyeballs onto the side of a helmet. Apparently someone at Western Carolina thought this would be pretty intimidating, because that's exactly what they did.


If North Dakota St. had a better helmet decal, they probably wouldn't even make this list. If your nickname is the Bison, you could come up with way more kick-ass designs than a cartoonish looking Buffalo. Someone from NDSU must have previously worked in the NFL.