2022 College Football Discussion & Pick'em Thread

[NewYorkExpress]

Apparently I missed it, but about a week ago, Texas State filled their coaching vacancy with Incarnate Word Head Coach G.J Kinne

Kinne is young, and this is his first significant FBS job of any kind, but he did very well leading Incarnate Word to the FCS Playoffs this year, with an 11-1 season so far (including a win over Nevada).

If he does well here, he could be in play for jobs like Houston, SMU or Texas Tech when their coaches move on or are fired (or possibly even Texas A&M if they decide to axe Jimbo Fisher any time soon-surely they wouldn't be able to afford a bigger name.)

[NewYorkExpress]

Well, I was wrong. Louisville is indeed hiring Purdue Head Coach Jeff Brohm.

Best guesses for Purdue's Head Coaching Vacancy.

Former Wisconsin Head Coach Paul Chryst
Syracuse Head Coach Dino Babers
Former LSU Head Coach Ed Orgeron
West Virginia Offensive Coordinator Graham Harrell
Alabama Offensive Coordinator Bill O'Brien

[NewYorkExpress]

The ten remaining members of the Atlantic Sun and WAC are merging into an FBS football-only conference.

The remaining football members of the Atlantic Sun and WAC have agreed to align to form the foundation of a 10-member football-only conference, sources told ESPN, with the intention of becoming the 11th FBS conference.

Sources said the founding documents for the league state the group intends to move "from what is currently known as FCS football to what is currently known as FBS football at the earliest practicable date."

The schools that have signed on to join the league are WAC football members Stephen F. Austin, Abilene Christian, Utah Tech, Southern Utah and Tarleton State and Atlantic Sun football members Austin Peay, Eastern Kentucky, Central Arkansas and North Alabama.

UT Rio Grande Valley, which recently announced it is starting a program, is also expected to join in 2025, in that program's first season, as the league's 10th member.

The goal is for the conference to start playing in 2024 with nine members. Ambiguity looms around the process to becoming an FBS league, however. All the schools that play in the FCS will also need to go through a formal transition process.

[7,052,770]

Navy today

[GeorgiaModerate]

Navy today

You already picked them.   Army-Navy was included with the Week 14 picks.  Unusually, the picks are split evenly, with 5 for each team.

[GeorgiaModerate]

WEEK 15 RESULTS

Dereich, Donerail, ER, Illiniwek, and Terry correctly picked Army, which makes the overal standings (after 335 games):

220   Illiniwek   
214   GeorgiaModerate   
213   Dereich   
212   ExtremeRepublican   
210   Terry   
208   Harry, Donerail   
192   Grumps   
187   JGibson   
186   NY Express   
144   ultraviolet   
117   CalamityBlue   
86   Thomas D   
54   Storr   
37   Ishan   
12   Orwell   

[NewYorkExpress]

Caleb Williams wins the Heisman Trophy.

[7,052,770]

Caleb Williams wins the Heisman Trophy.

Meh, not an awful decision, but I would have voted 1. Duggan, 2. Hooker, 3. Williams

[NewYorkExpress]

Stanford has named Sacramento State Head Coach Troy Taylor to fill their vacancy.

I'll admit, I was at least expecting Stanford to name someone with history as an FBS Head Coach (maybe Jeff Tedford or Brady Hoke), but Taylor does have history coaching in California, having, in addition been the head coach at Sacramento State, been a position coach at Cal for from 1996 to 2000.

He's also a much better option for Stanford than the other rumored choice, Jason Garrett (seriously, did Stanford not learn the lesson that Arizona State did when they hired Herm Edwards? Former NFL Head Coaches don't usually work out, and when they do, it's because the program itself is built for success, not because of the coach).

[Donerail]

Stanford has named Sacramento State Head Coach Troy Taylor to fill their vacancy.

I'll admit, I was at least expecting Stanford to name someone with history as an FBS Head Coach (maybe Jeff Tedford or Brady Hoke), but Taylor does have history coaching in California, having, in addition been the head coach at Sacramento State, been a position coach at Cal for from 1996 to 2000.

That's why he's a great hire. Not only has he been remarkably good at Sac State, but he's a Cal guy, and now Cal can't hire him. And  Cal.

Can't help feeling his success or failure, however, will depend on things well outside his control — namely, how willing the admin is to embrace NIL & to allow coaches to get talent from the portal. Make up some masters programs for em.

[NewYorkExpress]

In what probably will be the final coaching change of the season, Ken Niumatalo is out as the Head Coach at Navy.

Best bet to be the next Head Coach at Navy?

Former The Citadel Head Coach Brent Thompson

[Sprouts Farmers Market ✘]

Piece of garbage. Shameful that the media rewarded this. Harry has the right order 100% - Duggan earned it regardless - but I'd be tempted to drop Williams behind about four other slightly inferior seasons on the character clause.

https://twitter.com/TheBucknut/status/1601761744971448320

[Del Tachi]

It is making its way around Starkville circles that Mike Leach has apparently passed away at UMMC in Jackson. 

[7,052,770]

It is making its way around Starkville circles that Mike Leach has apparently passed away at UMMC in Jackson. 

Devastated. Hoping for a miracle.

[Хahar 🤔]

Stanford has named Sacramento State Head Coach Troy Taylor to fill their vacancy.

I'll admit, I was at least expecting Stanford to name someone with history as an FBS Head Coach (maybe Jeff Tedford or Brady Hoke), but Taylor does have history coaching in California, having, in addition been the head coach at Sacramento State, been a position coach at Cal for from 1996 to 2000.

That's why he's a great hire. Not only has he been remarkably good at Sac State, but he's a Cal guy, and now Cal can't hire him. And  Cal.

Can't help feeling his success or failure, however, will depend on things well outside his control — namely, how willing the admin is to embrace NIL & to allow coaches to get talent from the portal. Make up some masters programs for em.

Jim Harbaugh's great success at Stanford wasn't so much X's and O's (although he's good at that) as it was getting the university to buy into being good at football. Stanford's success is heavily dependent on whether the administration cares about football at all, and at the moment the answer seems to be that it doesn't. (It doesn't care about men's basketball, either, which is different from when I was growing up.)

Personally I'm prejudiced against Troy Taylor because of his last game at Sacramento State: the national semifinal against Incarnate Word two nights ago. I was thinking about going since tickets were only $5, but I drive an electric car that might have enough range to get to Sacramento but also might not.

Anyway, it was a great game, and the Hornets were down three with two timeouts left when they picked up a first down with sixteen seconds on the clock. The logical thing for Troy Taylor to do here would be to use one of his two timeouts. If he for some reason had forgotten that he had those timeouts, the logical thing would be to call for a spike that could have been executed as soon as the ball was spotted without running off more than a second or two. In any case, Troy Taylor did nothing at all, and when finally Sacramento State got off a play and threw an incomplete pass that stopped the clock, eleven seconds had come off and there were only five seconds remaining, not enough time to run a play to get into field goal range. The game ended on a failed Hail Mary, but Troy Taylor still had his two timeouts in hand! I've seen enough football to have seen plenty of bad clock management, but I'm not sure I've seen anything that looked quite like that.

[NewYorkExpress]

Assuming Mike Leach is no longer able to coach going forward (whether because of death or permanent incapacitation), here are my best guesses as to who would replace him at Mississippi State.

Baylor Head Coach Dave Aranda
Georgia Co-Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp
Alabama Offensive Coordinator Bill O'Brien
Liberty Head Coach Jamey Chadwell
Troy Head Coach Jon Sumrall

[7,052,770]

https://twitter.com/crissy_froyd/status/1602180974833504256

[7,052,770]

Baylor Head Coach Dave Aranda I'd be fine with that.
Georgia Co-Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp Not just no, but hell no
Alabama Offensive Coordinator Bill O'Brien Meh
Liberty Head Coach Jamey Chadwell Meh
Troy Head Coach Jon Sumrall Literally who

Mississippi State Defensive Coordinator Zach Arnett
Or maybe, just maybe, *** ******

[Illiniwek]

Baylor Head Coach Dave Aranda I'd be fine with that.
Georgia Co-Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp Not just no, but hell no
Alabama Offensive Coordinator Bill O'Brien Meh
Liberty Head Coach Jamey Chadwell Meh
Troy Head Coach Jon Sumrall Literally who

Mississippi State Defensive Coordinator Zach Arnett
Or maybe, just maybe, *** ******

Do you want He Who Must Not Be Named to coach MSU?

[Dereich]

Baylor Head Coach Dave Aranda I'd be fine with that.
Georgia Co-Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp Not just no, but hell no
Alabama Offensive Coordinator Bill O'Brien Meh
Liberty Head Coach Jamey Chadwell Meh
Troy Head Coach Jon Sumrall Literally who

Mississippi State Defensive Coordinator Zach Arnett
Or maybe, just maybe, *** ******

Would they really take their prodigal son back after what happened after he left?

Also, I guarantee that a Will Muschamp head coach hire at ANY SEC school would cause an angry riot. That boat has looooong since sailed. And no one would be happier with a Bill O'Brien hire than Alabama fans. I doubt any SEC school would be dumb enough to give them that out.

[7,052,770]

Baylor Head Coach Dave Aranda I'd be fine with that.
Georgia Co-Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp Not just no, but hell no
Alabama Offensive Coordinator Bill O'Brien Meh
Liberty Head Coach Jamey Chadwell Meh
Troy Head Coach Jon Sumrall Literally who

Mississippi State Defensive Coordinator Zach Arnett
Or maybe, just maybe, *** ******

Do you want He Who Must Not Be Named to coach MSU?

More than anything I want Mike Leach to rise up out of that hospital bed and return to our sideline as the conqueror of death.

But barring that, yes, Dan Mullen is absolutely a top contender, even though I think promoting Arnett is the most likely outcome.

[Del Tachi]

By all accounts, Leach’s condition does not appear to be survivable.  He’s on life support. 

A continuity hire makes the most sense under the circumstances (i.e., the Bulldogs having an interim AD.)  I do think Mississippi State is a better job than when Leach took over, so the idea of reprising Mullen is ridiculous.

[Illiniwek]

Baylor Head Coach Dave Aranda I'd be fine with that.
Georgia Co-Defensive Coordinator Will Muschamp Not just no, but hell no
Alabama Offensive Coordinator Bill O'Brien Meh
Liberty Head Coach Jamey Chadwell Meh
Troy Head Coach Jon Sumrall Literally who

Mississippi State Defensive Coordinator Zach Arnett
Or maybe, just maybe, *** ******

Do you want He Who Must Not Be Named to coach MSU?

More than anything I want Mike Leach to rise up out of that hospital bed and return to our sideline as the conqueror of death.

But barring that, yes, Dan Mullen is absolutely a top contender, even though I think promoting Arnett is the most likely outcome.

Lol sorry I thought *** ****** was Art Briles. Similar number of letters in name, drastically different situations.

[NewYorkExpress]

https://twitter.com/Bulldawgs247/status/1602664720040955911

RIP.

[Illiniwek]

RIP Coach Leach. He was as interesting of a guy as there is and its a shame we won't have him in this sport anymore. Condolences to his family and MSU.