I. Final word on Lane Kiffin
USC chose not to wait until the end of the season to fire head coach Lane Kiffin and after a disastrous 62-41 loss at Arizona State, who could blame them? It was a tough decision to make mid-season, I’m sure, but I agree with it. In a past post I talked about Kiffin’s inability to develop the talent he recruits, especially on the offensive side of the ball. But after the defense got rung up for 62 points, it’s clear that this team is a train wreck in all phases and ultimately suffers from having no identity.
The biggest justification for Kiffin’s firing to me was he had no real record to fall back on. He just had a last name, Kiffin, that tied him to his dad, the legendary NFL defensive coordinator currently with the Dallas Cowboys. All of the younger Kiffin’s previous stops were simply stepping stones to another gig: he never built ANYTHING. To draw a parallel from the pro ranks, the New York Giants have had a similarly disastrous season thus far, going 0-4. But the difference is Tom Coughlin has been with just two programs, the Jaguars and Giants, since 1995. This lends to not only his aptitude as a head coach, but also to his dedication to the grind. Oh, and two Super Bowl wins in the last six seasons doesn’t hurt either. Point is, a Tom Coughlin isn’t going anywhere even though his record is bad this year because he has shown past success. He’s earned the right to a little patience. My advice for Lane would be to take a MAC head coaching job at a school like Central Michigan (who has success breeding great coaches in Brian Kelly and Butch Jones) or UMass and stick with the program, show you can build it, then move on.
II. Best major college coaching gig up for grabs: USC or Texas?
Conventional wisdom says that longtime Texas Longhorns coach Mack Brown won’t be back next year either – and don’t think a highly suspect 31-30 win at Iowa State last night changes that. So if you are a top candidate to fill one of those spots (Louisville head coach Charlie Strong and Alabama defensive coordinator Kirby Smart, to name a couple), which is the best job? Both USC and Texas have it all: great histories, unreal facilitates, and most importantly, unlimited resources in terms of donor money. But to me, the choice is easy. While Mack Brown has fallen off in recent years, his place alongside the Longhorn coaching legends is secure: two Big 12 championships and a BCS national championship in 2005. You never want to follow a legend. Just ask Lane Kiffin, who had to follow Pete Carroll at USC. It’s a very unenviable task. But now at USC you get to be the coach who follows failure; you don’t have to live up to the last guy. The USC program is in disarray, which lends to the new coach being given a longer time period to turn it around. Throw in the fact that in just one year the Trojans will be rid of scholarship sanctions and USC is the top job I would take.
III. Props to the MAC and Northern Illinois
After a historic 2012 season in which Northern Illinois became the first MAC team to make it to a BCS bowl game (despite being stomped in the Orange Bowl), the Huskies have again accomplished a monumental feat by this year becoming the first MAC program to defeat two Big Ten teams in a single year by dismantling the Purdue Boilermakers last Saturday 55-24 after defeating Iowa earlier in the season. I will try to resist writing a third blog post bashing the Big Ten and instead give the credit to NIU, which impressed in all three phases. Offensively, QB Jordan Lynch accounted for four total touchdowns, the defense forced 5 turnovers, and the special teams unit returned the opening kickoff of the second half for a touchdown. The Huskies’ 55 points were the most points ever scored in Purdue’s Ross-Ade Stadium by any team, including Purdue. Look for NIU to ruin a major conference team’s season in a January bowl game – but let’s be honest with ourselves, it will probably be a Big Ten team (sorry, I couldn’t resist).
IV. Georgia’s future looking good
With their huge 44-41 win over LSU Saturday, the Bulldogs are set up nicely for big things at the end of the year. The biggest good fortune for Georgia is the schedule the rest of the way, which has no other legitimate threats. They go to Tennessee tomorrow, then have Missouri and Vanderbilt this month, before taking on an average Florida team in the first week of November. After that, it’s Appalachian State,followed by a non-threatening Auburn team, a home game with Kentucky and a trip down to Atlanta to face Georgia Tech. There’s not an opponent in there you’d call “formidable”. Compare that to other SEC teams like Alabama and LSU, who still have to play each other, as well as South Carolina, who still has to face Clemson. From the looks of it, Georgia should have a clear path to the SEC Championship game. But that’s why they play the games…
V. Big test for Jameis Winston and Florida State this week
Florida State quarterback Jameis Winston has been nothing short of brilliant, throwing for over 1,000 yards and 12 TDs this season. But this week he will face a Maryland defense that is downright stingy. The Terps rank third in the nation, allowing just 10.3 points per game. This should really be a test for the phenom Winston, who has been unreal all season as just a redshirt freshman. If he can produce greatness in this game and lead the Seminoles to a convincing win, not only will FSU be elevated, Winston will also be elevated in the Heisman discussion.
– Rocky Boiman
Rocky Boiman is an analyst for WestwoodOne’s coverage of NCAA Football. Each week in “Rocky’s V,” the former Notre Dame captain and Super Bowl champion writes about five topics that have captured his interest from around college football. You can also follow Rocky on Twitter.
