Round and round we go

OK, the coaching carousel is officially out of control now.

How much so? Well, it’s to the point that the games, the results, and the upcoming College Football Playoff don’t even matter any matter. All of them fall behind whatever the latest news is on the firing front. Not to mention the buyout sure to go with it.

Frankly, the only rankings that seem to matter any more are which newly vacated job is the best or most attractive one available.

LSU would be No. 1 now – in case anyone was wondering.

With the official blessing, if not backing, of Louisiana’s governor, the Tigers pulled the plug on the Brian Kelly Experiment that, really, for anyone with eyes, ears and some semblance of the concept that “round peg, square hole” is not an ideal concept, it was easy to see this one was DOA when the Irishman from Massachusetts broke out a lame, generic Southern accent for the fans in Baton Rouge the first time they met.

Still, his dismissal, like James Franklin’s ouster two weeks ago and Billy Napier’s last week, stole the show … for Week 9 of the 2025 college football season.

Similar to Franklin at Penn State, Kelly was hardly a bust at LSU. He recruited well. He had the Tigers relevant on a national level. He won a lot of games. But not enough, and not nearly enough big games.

He also rubbed many people the wrong way.

When you hear takes about how he just didn’t fit in, believe those.

He was never accepted or genuinely welcomed by the fan base.

Just like Franklin.

It’s kinda uncanny how much alike their deals were. And now those deals are both over.

Well, you know, once all those tens of millions of dollars in “get outta here” money are deposited in the bank.

Franklin will coach again. Because he wants to, and he remains a viable commodity.

This is where the two differ, because Kelly may not, since he may not want to, and he may not be a viable commodity anymore.

The success Notre Dame has enjoyed under Marcus Freeman since Kelly’s departure, in addition to what happened at LSU, really raises some questions about the latter’s current value as the man in charge.

So, don’t expect him to get back in the mix of this coaching carousel.

As of now, gonna stick with last week’s predictions of who ends up where, with one addition: LSU.

The original (and current) list – Florida, Dabo Swinney (yep); Penn State, Joe Brady; Oklahoma State, Brian Hartline; Virginia Tech, Franklin; Arkansas, Gus Malzahn; Stanford, Pat Fitzgerald or Mike Kafka; UCLA, Deion Sanders.

The addition – LSU, Jon Sumrall. He had immediate and wild success in the Sun Belt at Troy and has adroitly carried that over to Tulane in the American. He’s already treasured in New Orleans, so it’s easy to see how he’d fit at LSU. Plus, he has an ego that dwarfs both Franklin’s and Kelly’s … and, yet, somehow he doesn’t annoy people like they do.

KEYSTONE COMBO

They’re not gonna wind up on anyone’s All-American lists, but a couple of lesser-known QBs who hail from Central Pennsylvania are kinda killin’ it this fall. In flawless fashion.

Evan Simon and Joe Fagnano are a pair of super (duper) seniors, courtesy of Covid and transfers.

Simon, now in his sixth year of college after a standout career at Manheim Central High in Lancaster County, is in his second season as Temple’s starter after languishing for years on Rutgers’ bench. He currently boasts the unbelievable stat of a 21-to-0 TD-to-INT ratio (and has another 2 TDs rushing). Behind his play, the Owls are 5-3 in K.C. Keeler’s first season as HC at the North Philly school and looking at being bowl eligible for the first time in 6 years.

Fagnano, an all-state player at Williamsport (Pa.) High, started his career at Maine 7 years ago before moving on to Connecticut in 2023. His TD-to-INT ratio is 18-to-0 (and he also has another 2 TDs rushing). Behind his play, the Huskies are looking at being bowl eligible for the second year in a row. He led them to a Fenway Bowl victory against North Carolina last December, earning Offensive MVP honors.

Should both Temple and UConn ultimately qualify for a bonus game, it would be a cool coincidence to see Simon and Fagnano square off against each other in the final game as collegians.

GAME OF WEEK 9

Outplayed all afternoon at South Carolina’s Cockpit, No. 4 Alabama rallied from an 8-point deficit, scoring 15 points in the final 2:16 to keep the “ready to rush the field” crew in their seats and looking foolish for prepping to do so as early as it did.

QB Ty Simpson – who else – led the Tide charge, throwing for 253 yards and 2 TDs. But it was WR Germie Bernard’s 25-yard end around TD that broke the Garnet and Black’s backs … and probably had Carolina trustees checking on HC Shane Beamer’s buyout.

UNI WATCH

South Carolina not only loses in sick fashion, but its attire is often “sick.” The Gamecocks went with a nifty white-garnet-garnet ditty against Bama, then almost played as sharp as they looked for 3 quarters before collapsing. Sadly, the original USC is leaving outfitter Under Armour after this school year to team with Nike, which will absolutely eff one of the better looks in the sport the last 2 decades.

In a Midwestern Monochromatic Bowl, Iowa wore all black (with gold trim) and Minnesota all white (with maroon and gold trim) in iowa City on Saturday night. Didn’t work. With either team.

Love ’em, hate ’em, mock ’em, whatever … the Purdue Boilermakers rolled out a perfect uniform against Rutgers on Saturday. Gold-black-gold, with the correct color bordering, lettering, you name it. Spot on in every way.

Hey, Cincinnati, skip the cheesy “Cincy” lettering on the helmet. Just stick strictly with the oddly iconic underlined “C” with the claw marks. Looks much better, if weird.

HEISMAN HYPE

All QBs this week.

Conner Weigman, Houston. Carried the Cougars to the upset at then-No. 24 Arizona State, throwing for 201 yards, rushing for 111, and totaling 3 TDs. The win got Houston back in the polls at No. 22.

Bear Backmeier, Brigham Young. The freshman phenom kept the Cougars perfect at 8-0, throwing for 307 yards, rushing for 49, and totaling 3 TDs. The win pushed BYU into the top 10 … up one spot from No. 11 to 10.

Haynes King, Georgia Tech. Basically a better Diego Pavia without the hype, he took apart Syracuse with 304 yards passing, 91 yards rushing, and 5 total TDs. The Yellow Jackets actually dropped from No. 7 to 8 with the win but remain unscathed at 8-0.

Trinidad Chambliss, Ole Miss. Almost toyed with Oklahoma’s vaunted defense, torching the Sooners for 315 passing yards and a TD and another 53 on the ground. The win in Norman pushed the Rebels to 7-1 and No. 7 in the polls.