College football is past midseason and a few great matchups loom Saturday. After that comes the first College Football Playoff rankings release. Here are a few things I’m hearing around college football and that I find interesting, from sleeper teams in the Big 12 to candidates for the open job at Rice.
Respect the undefeated teams in the Big 12
Why does it seem that of the Power 4 conferences, the Big 12 tends to get the least respect? I asked several coaches within the conference about that perception, and most pointed to a major reason being the Big 12’s lower-ranked recruiting classes.
“For the most part, our schools aren’t winning many head-to-head battles with the superpowers of the Big Ten and SEC, and even the big-brand schools of the ACC,” one Big 12 assistant told me this week. “That’s a perception, but it’s also rooted in reality.”
There is elite talent in the Big 12, but there’s less than within the peer conferences — especially the SEC and Big Ten. Another Big 12 assistant who has coached in both the SEC and Big Ten said he thinks the two undefeated teams in the league, BYU and Iowa State, play great team defense.
BYU leads the Big 12 in yards per play allowed at 4.90. Iowa State is fourth (4.95).
“I think BYU probably has more team speed (on defense),” the veteran coach said, adding that he thought highly of some of the Cougars’ front-seven talent. “(Tyler Batty and Blake Mangelson) are both really long and athletic, and (linebacker Jack Kelly) runs well, has good closing speed and plays really hard. You watch them on film and on some of the highlight packages they put out, you can just see that they have great energy and a lot of juice. It’s sincere and raw, how they’re playing for each other. It’s impressive.”
Another Big 12 defensive coordinator said he sees a BYU team that is playing with a ton of confidence. “(Jake Retzlaff) has a really strong arm and is playing with a lot confidence. They mask the offensive line by max-protecting. He’ll trust his receivers and throw it up there, but that’s why he has the picks that he has. He still makes some bad judgment throws.”
One other parallel between the Cyclones and Cougars: They are No. 1 and No. 2 in the Big 12 in fourth-down conversions. Iowa State converts 89 percent (No. 2 in the country) and BYU 83 percent (No. 60).
The reasoning behind Michigan’s QB decision
Michigan went back to Davis Warren at quarterback. One Big Ten defensive coordinator I spoke to thinks Warren is the Wolverines’ best option. The former walk-on throws best of the quarterbacks and is much more accurate than Alex Orji, I’m told.
Michigan is also limited at wideout but did a good job against Michigan State of throwing the ball to its best weapon, tight end Colston Loveland, on first and second downs, when teams are worried about stopping the run and can’t double the speedy tight end.
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Names to watch for the Rice job
It’s been a decade since the Owls had a winning season (8-5 under David Bailiff in 2014). They haven’t finished ranked since 1957, almost 70 years ago. Despite it all, I hear there will be hot names interested in this job.
After all, Houston is a very desirable place for a lot of football coaches and their families. Additionally, the school watched what another prestigious academic program, Tulane, has done in recent years in turning around its football program and has similar aspirations.
Coaches for consideration include:
Miami offensive coordinator Shannon Dawson is running the most explosive offense in college football. Dawson came to Miami from Houston and has strong ties in the area. He’s expected to be a top candidate at East Carolina, but the Hurricanes are expected to make a strong pitch to keep him.
Oregon OC Will Stein, a former Texas high school coach, was also UTSA’s play caller. The 35-year-old former Louisville quarterback has done an excellent job with the Ducks offense. Fellow Oregon assistant Drew Mehringer, the tight ends coach, is also expected to get consideration. The 36-year-old is a former Rice quarterback.
Texas Tech OC Zach Kittley, 33, is another name to know, I hear. He has strong Texas roots and has done well running the Red Raiders offense after putting together a dynamic attack at Western Kentucky that lit up scoreboards in 2021.
If the Owls don’t want to hire another first-time head coach, Kansas State co-OC Matt Wells might make a lot of sense. He did an excellent job at Utah State, where he had two of the school’s four 10-plus-win seasons in its history. Wells didn’t get much of a chance in Lubbock, where he got fewer than three seasons.
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Who’s more desperate for the W: James Franklin or Ryan Day?
The massive Penn State–Ohio State game kicks off at noon ET Saturday in State College, Pa. Both coaches want to prove themselves — but who needs it more? My gut is saying Ohio State coach Ryan Day.
He’s got a remarkable 62-9 record and is 41-4 in Big Ten play, but it seems like he’s fighting such an uphill battle in Columbus, and that hill gets steeper with every “not great” performance. The Buckeyes lost by one point on the road to a good Oregon team, but they followed that up with a dud showing against a Nebraska team that lost by almost 50 to Indiana. I’m starting to wonder if that vibe he’s dealing with is hanging over the team.
As for James Franklin, the Nittany Lions are undefeated, but it feels like forever since they beat Ohio State — and they haven’t beaten anyone of note. A 21-7 win over Illinois is probably their best win this season. But if the Nittany Lions lose to Ohio State and then win out (they don’t have any other ranked teams upcoming), they’ll probably get into the College Football Playoff at 11-1.
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Better than the hype?
It might sound wild, but Ohio State wide receiver J.J. Smith might be even better than he was hyped to be, according to some coaches I’ve spoken to this month.
“He’s the most talented wide receiver we’ve seen and will see,” said a Big Ten defensive coordinator. “He’s very big, very fast. He runs good routes. He has a big catch radius and he can go up and catch one-handed balls left and right. He can just pluck the ball right out of the sky. He’s really, really good. They (Ohio State) get the best of the best, that’s for damn sure.”
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(Illustration: Meech Robinson / The Athletic; photos of Jake Retzlaff, Ryan Day and Shannon Dawson: Chris Gardner, Jason Mowry, Samuel Lewis / Getty Images)
