By Rock Westfall
Eli Dumps Stoops and Kentucky Into the Drink
The Missouri Tigers met the Kentucky Wildcats on Saturday night in a gut check for both teams. Mizzou and UK were coming off losses that tested the credibility of their programs.
Kentucky seemed primed for a big night by jumping to a 14-0 lead in the first quarter. But from there, it was all Mizzou. Kentucky imploded with three turnovers and 14 penalties for 122 yards. By the fourth quarter, Kentucky fans went into fire drill mode. Only a corner of Mizzou fans remained in the empty stadium.
Head coach Eli Drinkwitz continues his quest to put Mizzou back on the SEC map and firmly establish what was previously his shaky status.
For Mark Stoops, it was a terrible ending to a bad week that began when he chided Kentucky fans to donate more money if they wanted to start beating the SEC elite. Stoops spoke the truth, but nobody wanted to hear it. And the Kentucky faithful are not in the mood to write Stoops any checks, especially after getting waxed at home by Mizzou.
Off the Matt and Out of the Soup
Matt Campbell is arguably the best head coach in Iowa State football history. Certainly, he ranks with Johnny Majors and Earl Bruce. But while Majors and Bruce got out of Ames when the getting was good, Campbell stayed. He turned down NFL and higher-profile college jobs. Iowa State struggled in 2021 and 2022. But now the Cyclones are 4-3 after an impressive 30-10 win at Cincinnati.
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The Clones outgained the Bearcats 364-214 and had a +2 turnover margin. QB Rocco Becht threw for 231 yards and two TDs. Becht’s favorite target was Jayden Higgins, who caught six passes for 172 yards.
Iowa State heads into its bye week, needing only two more wins for a bowl game. And then Campbell will have to decide if now is the time to take flight with his coaching credibility restored. While not the top job many tout it to be, Michigan State could be the logical fit for Campbell’s next move.
Michigan State Gets a Scarlet Letter
The lost 2023 season of the Michigan State Spartans continued with a painful 27-24 loss at Rutgers to a Scarlet Knights team needing only one more win for bowl eligibility.
Rutgers seemed dead, trailing 24-6 with 13:09 remaining before Aaron Young recovered a fumble off a botched MSU punt for a TD. From that point, MSU collapsed into defeat.
The Spartans are shopping for a new head coach as they prepare for a visit from the hated Michigan Wolverines in what figures to be a prime-time slaughter on NBC.
The chopping wood approach is methodically working for head coach Greg Schiano and Rutgers. While the Scarlet Knights have a long way to go, they are light-years away from the ruins of the Chris Ash era.
Prime Time Goes Pac-12 After Dark. Very Dark
When Colorado took a 29-0 lead into halftime at home against the woeful Stanford Cardinal, College Football Nation went to bed. For diehards like Yours Truly, it was time to turn in when Colorado seemed to put out the fire of a Stanford comeback by taking a 37-26 lead with 11:18 to play. However, we all woke up stunned to see a 46-43 Stanford win in double-overtime.
I am a Deion Sanders agnostic. I admire that he did the impossible of making Colorado the most nationally relevant program based on the level of interest and TV eyeballs. I commend him for selling out Folsom Field for an entire season, something nobody else ever achieved. I also like that he coaches his players hard, at least in some ways.
On the other hand, I can’t stand the boxing-like showboating of bling on the field. I can do without the taunting, insulting, and slandering of opponents by his players. Also, the program’s world is out to get us persona is off-putting.
Colorado’s lack of defense, interior line quality, and discipline are most relevant. Colorado ranks among the most penalized teams in college football. And all that falls on Coach Prime.
Colorado gets a desperately needed bye this week. They are two wins away from bowl eligibility. The schedule reads at UCLA, followed by home games against Oregon State and Arizona. And then CU ends the 2023 season on the road at Washington State and Utah. Those two wins for a bowl seem less likely than before the Stanford catastrophe.
Puttin’ on the Fritz
The defending American Conference champion Tulane Green Wave has the inside track of getting a shot at a repeat after Friday’s 31-21 win at Memphis. Things looked dicey when Memphis took a 21-10 third-quarter lead. But head coach Willie Fritz and the Green Wave maintained their composure and scored the final 21 points of the game to improve to 5-1 overall and 2-1 in conference play.
Quarterback Michael Pratt was 29-31 for 259 yards and a TD. At the same time, Makhi Hughes ran for 130 yards and scored. The underrated Tulane defense sacked Seth Henigan three times and picked him off twice.
Willie Fritz has built off last year’s epic season at Tulane and could establish the Green Wave as the class of the American for years to come.
A Promising Odom for UNLV
At Mizzou, Barry Odom was what they call a True Son. As a player, he was a fearless linebacker for the late Larry Smith during a brief program renaissance that included bowl games in 1997 and 1998. Odom later rose to head coach of the Tigers after Gary Pinkel’s 2015 retirement came on the heels of campus unrest and a brief player strike.
Odom never had a chance at Mizzou under those circumstances, yet he went 25-25 with two bowl appearances. But Mizzou, like many schools, is often hardest on their own. What few fans remained after the 2015 stupidity wanted Odom out. And they got their wish. Odom went on to serve as Sam Pittman’s defensive coordinator at Arkansas, where his reputation quickly improved.
Now in his first season at UNLV, Odom is 5-1. He is one win away from bowl eligibility and has the inside track to the Mountain West Conference Championship Game.
A New Rhule for the Big Red?
The Nebraska Cornhuskers are 3-3 and begin their second half of the season with a home game this Saturday against Northwestern. The Huskers are coming off a bye week that followed a 20-7 must-win at Illinois.
In their win at Illinois, the Big Red showed a character, toughness, and resiliency not seen in years. Nebraska continued to point the dagger at itself instead of Illinois, but the defense refused to lose. The Black Shirts are back at Nebraska, leading the Big Red’s quest for a bowl.
All of this is a direct reflection of first-year head coach Matt Rhule. Rhule arrived with an immediate embrace of Nebraska’s history and tradition. He is a taskmaster who refuses to concede defeat. Rhule rides his coaching staff hard. And he may have found a quarterback in Heinrich Haarberg.
Haarberg is a local product from nearby Kearney Catholic. He is a tough-as-nails game manager that eliminates most mistakes and keeps his composure. Haarberg took over when transfer QB Jeff Sims was injured at Colorado. Sims has more athletic ability but can be a turnover machine. Sims’ turnovers cost Nebraska potential wins at Minnesota and Colorado.
Following Northwestern is a home game against struggling Purdue. Then comes a road game at Michigan State, a home game against Maryland, an away game at inconsistent Wisconsin, and the Black Friday rivalry showdown at home against Iowa. Rhule said every game remaining on the schedule is winnable and losable.
Nebraska MUST attain a bowl berth to restore program credibility. And for those who dream big, a berth in the Big Ten Championship Game is possible.
A View of the Tarmac
Tom Allen impressively led the Indiana Hoosiers to an 8-5 record in 2019, including a 5-4 conference record. A fluky 6-2 record followed that in the pandemic-shortened 2020 campaign. However, 2-10 and 4-8 records followed. Allen is 2-4 this year after a 52-7 blowout loss at Michigan. Indiana’s Memorial Stadium figures to be empty the rest of the year. Recruits won’t be inspired to sign up for a program in free fall. Allen’s survival is looking less likely.
Appalachian State has an underappreciated football tradition that was born with their upset for the ages at Michigan in 2007. Head coach Scott Satterfield posted a .746 win percentage from 2014-2018. Eli Drinkwitz followed with a 12-1 .923 lone season in 2019. But current head coach Shawn Clark is not keeping pace. Clark is 45-29 .644. Most alarming is a recent decline that shows a record of 6-6 last year and 3-3 this season.
The Mountaineers are coming off a 27-24 home loss to Coastal Carolina. Clark played for Appy State and was the offensive coordinator and line coach before taking over for Drinkwitz. His alum status may buy him a little time, but Appalachian State has higher standards than Clark is meeting.
Like Shawn Clark, Andy Avalos is coaching his alma mater. Avalos is under increased heat for failing to meet the benchmarks of his predecessors. Bryan Harsin went 69-19 .784 before his ill-fated decision to depart for Auburn. Chris Petersen set the gold standard at Bosie State, going 92-12 .885 and making the program nationally relevant. In comparison, Avalos is 20-13 .606 and fading fast.
Last Saturday, the Broncos blew a 30-10 lead at Colorado State with 6:12 remaining in the game to lose 31-30 on a game-ending 33-yard touchdown pass from Dallin Holker to Brayden Fowler-Nicolosi.
Can anyone say, “Let’s talk on the tarmac”?
Would Harsin come home again to rebuild his coaching reputation?
