Hail to Bobby Bowden!

We always admired Bobby Bowden as a Head Coach, as a leader, and as a man over the years observing him from a distance.  He lined up competitive, non-Conference games for his Seminoles over the years, and his teams always performed at top-notch levels focused on being the best.  His openness with the press and the good humor he brought to a profession under much pressure made him a joy to listen to during interviews. He always expressed the accolades for his success through his players and coaching staff. We also reminisce about the scene in the movie “We are…Marshall” when new Marshall HC Jack Lengyel approaches Bowden for help when he coached at cross-state, “rival” West Virginia. Not only does he open up to his vault of information to Lengyel, but when doing so the newly appointed Marshall mentor notes the memorial stickers on the helmets honoring the Marshall team lost in the devastating plane crash 50 years ago. 

I remember Coach Bowden depicting the next move heading into retirement after his final game as going on to the “next big event.”  As I moved on into my retirement this past month, he moved on to that event.  Reports confirmed he did it with class, with dignity, with his family at his side, and with faith in God.  As in most of his life and bringing up a loving family, he generally did things the right way.  What more can anybody do?  Rest in Peace and be happy forever, Bobby Bowden!

Searching for stability, in Tennessee and beyond

 You can see why college football players don’t want to commit to programs they sign up for when their coaches remain non-committed to maintaining stability to keep their systems intact at the expense of their players.  As usual, this off-season many coaches transferred from one program to another whether they wanted to or not, and we will be seeing some of these key movements first-hand at several needy programs to determine if the grass is greener.  Some Head Coaches (HCs) will be just pulling out the weeds first. Gus Malzahn got bought out by Auburn. He landed on his feet bringing his pass-happy strategy now to Central Florida.   There, we watched Josh Heuple coach last season in a hard-fought loss to tough Cincinnati where he leaves behind his successful 28-8 mark and a credible passing attack.  He left Orlando to take on the big job to revamp Tennessee after the firing of Jeremey Pruitt (3-7 last season and no bowl games since 2016).

We’ll be at the Auburn-Penn State game on September 18 to see what new AU HC Bryan Harsin brings to the Tigers against the Lions in this one.  He leaves Boise after eight years with a 76-24 record. We moved to Tennessee so we’ll be keeping an eye on how quickly the Volunteers can recover.  We moved into the Nashville area, and nearby, Vanderbilt HC Derek Mason got axed after a winless season to become Harsin’s DC coordinator at Auburn.  Clark Lea, a former Vanderbilt FB and previously defensive coordinator at Notre Dame the past three years, returns to his alma mater not too far from us the make the Commodores more competitive in the SEC.  We’ll have close-up views to this year’s results with all these comings and goings.  A lot of reconstruction going on in the state of Tennessee where we at CFF.com also look for a more permanent residence.

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Projects continue at the “Recycling Center”

Other coaching changes in college football seem to revolve around Tuscaloosa where the “Master Recycler”, Nick Saban, has a penchant for taking the tired, the poor, and the hungry from among the coaching ranks and continues to dominate college football despite the revolving door of assistants around him.  Coaches come and go seemingly to be enlightened before moving on with supposed wisdom accumulated to spread success to other schools in need of such wisdom… 

The aforementioned Jeremy Pruitt left the recycling center to bring success to Tennessee, but that desired result did not come to fruition.  Lane Kiffin did the same after leaving Tennessee and is now trying to bring some of that learned Alabama magic to Ole Miss.  It seems that he never lost his touch to enlighten with his scoring capabilities, but you’d think he would have picked up a few pointers (or assistants) on the other side of the line even if only through “osmosis”. Last year at Ole Miss, one year removed from Tuscaloosa, his offense ranked number three in total offense nationally, but crashed abysmally to a catastrophic No. 126 nationally on defense.  You’d think he would have taken some time to pay attention to what the Master Recycler was doing on the other side on defense. If he had any “smarts”, he could have learned something like the Master’s former DC, Kirby Smart, who took learned knowledge to Georgia and applied it to both sides of the line where he’s built a record of 52-14 over five years.  He still can’t defeat the Master, however (0-3).  The recycling continues… 

Alabama’s latest OC, Steve Sarkasian, left to bring wisdom to the Texas Longhorns in 2021.  Successful as an OC at USC before stumbling with the Washington Huskies as HC, will he bring some defensive acumen to UT with him learned from the Recycling Master?  Butch Jones, leaves Alabama as the defensive coordinator after leaving Tennessee for further edification.  Let’s see what he brings to Arkansas State in 2021… Talk about recycling.  The Master brings in Bill O’Brien to the Recycling Center after a so-so stint with the Houston Texans as head man.  Prior to that, O’Brien did a pretty good job revamping a Penn State program after the downfall there caused by the Jerry Sandusky monstrosity. In two years, O’Brien brought back respectability through some trying time.  Prior to that, he was known as Tom Brady’s QB Coach at New England. It sounds like O’Brien has a foundation to build on and the capability to go elsewhere after a few short years with the Recycling Master… 

And this season, we’ll see another prodigy from Alabama take over the reins of another program first-hand.  On October 2, Marshall comes to Murfreesboro under their new HC Chris Huff, late as RB coach for the Tide the past two years after 16 seasons at the both the college and pro levels, to take on Middle Tennessee State. Huff’s Thundering Herd comes off a 7-3 season with a stable of RBs and an offensive line intact led under center by a returning frosh QB Grant Wells with a solid season under his belt.   Previously, HC Doc Holliday started off last season with a 7-0 record, but the school (rumored to possibly be pressured by the West Virginia governor) ousted him after 11 successful seasons with a 6-2 bowl record.  A record of 1-2 in conference championship play supposedly led to his downfall. Sounds like a potential recycling project, doesn’t he?  Stay tuned.

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Moving a Mountain on to the Plains

Talk about digging out of a hole.  Who would ever take on the Kansas Jayhawk job after the likes of Charley Weis, formerly of Notre Dame, and Les Miles, formerly of LSU couldn’t get his program on the rise?  We thought that both of these guys would at least have some influence to bring some improved talent to Lawrence with their resumes, but that didn’t happen.  The Jayhawk’s current move sits well with us, and hope it works out for them…  Easily we saw that HC Lance Leipold of Buffalo would take on something else, but not this! After six NCAA D-3 championships at Wisconsin-Whitewater (109-6) and the turnaround of a bewildered Buffalo Bulls program, we know Leipold would move on to bigger and better opportunities.  We thought for sure that he was the right guy for the Illinois program, but Kansas? 

At 0-9 a year ago under Miles, the Kansas program is flatter than the plain the Lawrence campus sits on. Since their last winning record of 8-5 in 2008, they have won only 29 games during the last 18 seasons.  But, it’s worse than that!  Eight of those wins were against FCS schools.  They lost to three FCS schools over that period of time as well. That is only 1.16 wins annually over FBS competition during that stretch.  Only ten were against “Power Five “schools.  We’re rooting for Lance who took over the beleaguered Bulls and made them a presence in the MAC.  He left Buffalo after achieving a 37-33 record, but the last three seasons he achieved a mark of 24-10 including two bowl wins. He improved the Bulls with talent brought in from around the country. If he can do that in Lawrence, Kansas, the Jayhawk fans may eventually see a mound of progress on their flatlands. 

More coaching moves to watch

Shane Beamer with no head coaching experience, but previously under the tutelage of his Hall of Fame father, Frank at Virginia Tech, should be interesting to watch at South Carolina.  Some experienced defenders left that program, but that should probably help him.  When we watched the Gamecocks against Kentucky last season in a 41-18 loss, their tackling was pathetic, atrocious, and horrible to say the least.  Some of these players ended up at other programs – including Penn State.  It will be very interesting to watch any such isolated performances by one DB transfer versus Auburn…

Steve Sarkisian moving to Texas as HC most likely means he’ll be calling the plays for UT, so James Franklin of Penn State absconded with UT’s former OC, Mike Yurcich, after firing his OC Kirk Ciarrocca after one year. Franklin seeks explosiveness in his offense he didn’t have last year.  Yurcich has Pennsylvania ties from coaching previously at “The Ship” – a strong D-2 PSAC program at Shippensburg State…

In another aspect of our timely move to Tennessee, Eddie George takes over as HC of Tennessee State, a Historically Black College in the Ohio Valley Conference (OVC) , this year.  We plan to attend the Tennessee State vs. Tennessee Tech game on October 16 this season.  The only time we watched the 1995 Heisman Trophy winner from Ohio State play was against Penn State during his junior season.  PSU’s Ki-jana Carter outplayed George in a 63-14 Nittany Lion win over the Buckeyes on the way to an undefeated season and a Rose Bowl victory. George played nine seasons for the Oilers/Titans winning Rookie of the year in 1996.  He earned Pro Bowl Honors four times accumulating 10,441 yards and 68 TDs. He finished his career in 2006 with Dallas…

Morgan State, another Historically Black College in the Mid-Eastern Athletic Conference, will play under Tyrone Wheatley, a former Michigan RB.  He’s had a year to recruit for the past year while the Bears opted out due to Covid. Since his graduation from U of M in 1996, Wheatley played 10 years in the NFL and has coached since at both the pro and collegiate levels since. At Michigan, he ranked highly in the nation for his recruiting prowess. Unlike Eddie George, we saw him have a record-setting day rushing versus No. 13 Penn State in a 21-13 victory by No. 21 Michigan.  

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For our opener

On Thursday, September 2, we plan to open 2021 with two strong FCS programs entering this season.  For us, now in Tennessee, we get to see two programs from the Volunteer State play for the first time in a new venue when the Moccasins of UT Chattanooga host the Governors of Austin Peay.  Both teams come off fairly strong spring seasons and rank in preseason FCS polls.  As with most programs, both come in with experience based on the NCAA extension of players’ eligibility because of the shortened 2020 Covid season. UTC started well before Covid ended their spring season prematurely and comes back with a strong defense and a prominent FCS RB in Ailym Ford. The Southern Conference will be competitive and the Moccs should be right in the thick of it for postseason play.  Lindy’s ranks them at No. 21 in their preseason poll…   

With Jacksonville State leaving the Ohio Valley Conference to join the new Western Athletic Conference after winning the OVC championship in the last six of seven years, Austin Peay and Murray State are considered favorites.  Austin Peay WR De’Angelo Wilson had over 500 yards in a 4-2 spring under new HC Scott Walden, and DB Kordell Jackson earned preseason First Team All-American honors from Lindy’s.  They start 2021 ranked at No. 11.  We’ll be seeing some impressive talent and post-season FCS contenders in this opener at Davenport Field in Finley Stadium, home of UT Chattanooga football.

Oh brother!

Our first FBS game of the season is two days later in San Marcos, TX where the Texas State Bobcats of the Sunbelt host the Big Twelve’s Baylor Bears.  The Bobcats averaged 27.7 ppg against some good teams despite a 2-10 record.  With the return of QB Brady McBride, RB Brock Sturges, two of their three best receivers, and four starters returning to the OL, the offense under HC Jake Spavital should be ready to break out. The defense returns with starters from a defense that allowed 38.2 ppg, falling in at No. 125 in total defense.  This is where the Bobcats have to show vast improvement under their DC Zac Spavital, brother of Jake. Talk about pressure! The hot seat is at family BBQs… Baylor comes off a 2-7 season without the services of QB Charlie Brewer for the first time in half a decade.  There will be some adjustments with former BYU OC Jeff Grimes calling the plays, and a solid core of ten starters return on defense. This should be a surprisingly good matchup if the Bobcat defense steps up. Oh, Brother Zac?

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Looking too far ahead to post-season play

We look forward to playoff possibilities every year at the non-FBS levels to fill in weekends around Army-Navy and before the Bowl season. With our relocation, the opportunities seem enticing based on some preseason predictions regarding teams within reach for playoff games in the FCS.  The aforementioned Austin Peay and UT Chattanooga make that list as does the WAC’s Jacksonville State in Alabama now coached by Pro Football Hall of Famer Deion Sanders. East Tennessee along with Mercer (GA) and Samford (AL) all in the SoCon, Murray State of the OVC, and James Madison (VA) of the Colonial Athletic also offer possibilities…

At the D2 level, Tusculum located in Greenville, TN will challenge for the South Atlantic Conference with QB Rogan Wells who transferred from previous champ Valdosta State to make them a formidable contender… News from D-3, OL Brian Biskaduros of Muhlenberg made Lindy’s First team All-American team.  We watched his line open the holes in a 2019 D-3 playoff victory over Salisbury State in the quarterfinals. The better news for us was that his OC Josh Carter from that program is now at the Alma Mater, Juniata College, as HC after sitting out one season of Covid. Good luck to HC Carter to get our Eagles flying to new heights…

We also like this – the D3 Championship will be within reach for us again this season and in years to come.  This year’s finale will be played on Tom Benson Hall of Fame Field in Canton, Ohio, home of the Pro Football Hall of Fame. Of course, in what we call the annual Mount Union Invitational, the Purple Raiders campus is a short drive from there.  Four Raiders made the Lindy’s All-American team. The D-3 powerhouse residing in Alliance, Ohio will have even more incentive to win it all this year unless Wisconsin Whitewater or last year’s champ, North Central, can cut them off at the pass…In 2022, the D3 championship game, known as the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl, will be played at Navy-Marine Corps Memorial Stadium in Annapolis.  Sounds good to us!  We penciled it in already.

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