I Tell Ya' Herbie

    Back for more thoughts on the world of college football with the latest post with I Tell Ya' Herbie.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:  

                             Ole Miss's upset of LSU was interesting for a few reasons.

One is the sudden loss of defense in Baton Rouge, another is how once every year or so Lane Kiffin pulls one of these upsets, and yet another is why Ole Miss doesn't use those light blue jerseys and helmets more often but there is another going back before my time.

Why didn't Ole Miss become the power that Alabama did?

Both southern state schools were without pro sports, with tradition up to the early sixties, and both were hampered at that time by refusing to recruit African Americans.

Ole Miss had a top coach in Johnny Vaught, was Bear Bryant that superior in building a program?

Vaught's record against Bryant was 6-7-1, far from being dominated, which makes me wonder just how two programs made such a divergent change in fortunes?

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            One coach that I often see mentioned in coaching rumors although rarely at the top of the list is N.C.State's Dave Doeren and I'm trying to figure out why.

N.C.State is arguably the ACC school that has the most potential and just when they seem to be ready to make the big move they disappoint.

This wasn't expected to be one of those seasons but more had to be expected from the Wolfpack than a 3-2 start with a 13-10 home loss to Louisville and close wins over weak squads Connecticut and Virginia.

Perhaps Doeren's name could be better placed on a hot seat than one positioned to take another job as he has been one of many mentioned for Michigan State.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            Michigan State looks pretty weak and the Mel Tucker fiasco hasn't helped things any but with all of that understood, the Spartans gave a strong effort in Iowa City in a loss to the Hawkeyes that was not decided until late in the game.

I'm not sure if that was a result of a better-than-expected game from Sparty or yet another edition of Iowa offensive coordinator Brian Ferentz's ineptness in keeping a game closer than it should have been?

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            Is it time to consider Fresno State head coach Jeff Tedford for a bigger job should he have the interest?

Tedford may not have ended well at California but the Golden Bears' years under Tedford were the best times for that program in decades.

Tedford then finished 10-4 and 12-2 at Fresno State before a 4-8 season that saw Tedford leave at the end of the season for health reasons before returning last season with a 10-4 record and a 5-0 start for the Bulldogs.

Tedford is 61 years old and that could play into consideration for some programs and maybe even for Tedford himself but I am surprised that I don't hear more about him in the coaching silly season.

I Tell Ya' Herbie:

                            If there is a game that you need to look up highlights from last Saturday, it has to be Baylor's come-from-behind win over Central Florida!

Central Florida led 35-7 in the third quarter only to have the Bears rally for a 36-35 lead late in the game.

Then perhaps the play of the year- fourth and long, UCF quarterback Timmy McClain scrambled from his own thirty-yard line under the Baylor rush to eventually reach his end zone and yet still made the first down to the Knights forty-six-yard line!

UCF would miss a fifty-nine-yard field goal at the gun that would have won the game but what a play from Timmy McClain!

                            

                            

                            

I tell ya' Herbie

I tell ya' Herbie returns with more thoughts on the coaching silly season and the conference championship game weekend.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                           I figured Lane Kiffin was going to be elsewhere before his Florida Atlantic Owls played their bowl game, but I wasn't sure that word of wherever his future home would trickle out before their Conference USA title game against the UAB Blazers.
It appears that Kiffin has decided on Oxford Mississippi and the Ole Miss Rebels as his future home selecting the Rebels over Arkansas, where Kiffin had also discussed the Razorbacks open position.
I'm back and forth on which is the better job between Mississippi and Arkansas.
Arkansas has their state to themselves, while Ole Miss has to deal with Mississippi State and you would likely give the edge to the Hogs as far as tradition.
I'm not sure which team has the edge in facilities and recruiting tools, but I must admit that I'm mildly surprised that Kiffin selected Ole Miss of the two,
Arkansas claimed that they were going to hire a big-name coach to hasten the recovery from the Chad Morris debacle and in one year turn their top two programs (they hired Eric Musselman as their new basketball coach) over to high profile and exciting coaches.
Arkansas may now either have to go to their second choice and that selection may not be what the Razorback fan base had been promised.

I tell ya, Herbie:
                           Rutgers did about the only thing that they could do in going back to the table and hiring Greg Schiano.
Schiano's success at Rutgers made him the only affordable option that would satisfy their fan base and although the odds of Schiano's success of even building Rutgers to the level of an Indiana or Purdue are long, they aren't impossible.
Now should Schiano be given a four or five-year shot at this and Rutgers is no better at the end than they are today, then I have no idea how this program survives in the Big Ten as anything more than a squash opponent that would be cashing a paycheck.


I tell ya' Herbie;
                           I'm writing this after Oregon defeated Utah in the Pac 12 title game, but before the other championship games, so it looks like it will come down to this- the fourth team in the playoff (assuming that the three undefeated teams all win their games in Ohio State, LSU, and Clemson) will be either the winner of the Big 12 title game between Oklahoma and Baylor or Georgia or even Alabama.
If it's Oklahoma, I would say that the decision is easy. but if Baylor can win this rematch and finish as a one-loss champion that avenged their only loss that would put quite a wrinkle into things.
Does the committee take a one-loss team that played Stephen F. Austin, Texas-San Antonio, and Rice over a two-loss Georgia or Alabama?
In my opinion, Baylor should go under that scenario, but I'm not sure the committee will see it that way, especially if LSU wins a close game over Georgia.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          There are plenty of interesting games today that have plenty of importance, but the most fun just might be in Boone North Carolina for the Sun Belt with Appalachian State hosting Louisiana (hold the Lafayette).
Appalachian State won their first game 17-7 and UL has been on a rampage since.
Considering App State still has a chance to hit the New Years Six, if Cincinnati beats Memphis and Boise State would lose to Hawaii (or look very unimpressive while Appalachian State would win a great game), the Mountaineers will have plenty to play for and with their game at noon, perhaps more eyeballs than usually expected for a Sun Belt game.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                           So far a few jobs that opened up that few expected entering the season (Florida State, Ole Miss, Arkansas, and Washington) and one huge position that most thought would be open surprisingly was not as USC decided to keep Clay Helton.
The Trojans did go 8-4, which was an improvement from 2018's 5-7 record, but still far less than the Fight On crowd is happy with.
Helton will likely have to improve even more in 2020 to retain the job and USC may regret it as one candidate often mentioned there in Penn State's James Franklin, just signed a six-year extension.
Keeping Helton looks like a huge gamble as next year could see several glamour positions opening and a fight for coaches, but it could be helpful that future coaches know that they will have every chance to succeed.

I tell ya' Herbie:
                          I plan on the next Herbie post to work on some group of five jobs, but one conference has been hard hit as the Mountain West has four openings.
UNLV (Tony Sanchez) and Colorado State (Mike Bobo) have fired coaches, New Mexico basically allowed Bob Davie to jump before he was pushed and now health reasons have caused Jeff Tedford to leave Fresno State.
Add to the possibility that Boise State's Bryan Harsin could be in play at Arkansas and Missouri next week and the Mountain West could have five new coaches next year.