Coaching is always of paramount importance in college football. Never more so in Week 1.
Kevin Sumlin is the new Arizona head coach in the wake of the Rich Rod firing. Arizona possesses the best running QB in the country in Khalil Tate. Nobody else is really close. Sumlin limited Tate to 8 nondescript carries while morphing Tate into a long-bomb passer. Not coincidentally, the Wildcats succumbed to double-digit underdog BYU. Not that Tate does not have a good arm but…..if Kevin Sumlin were lucky enough to have a prom date with Kate Upton, he would probably ask her to dress in a burlap bag.
The biggest coaching mismatch of the week occurred in Tallahassee. Virginia Tech’s defensive coordinator, Bud Foster, commenced his 32nd season in Blacksburg for an excellent reason. His inexperienced defense (his 2-deep is riddled with Freshmen and Sophomores) went on the road against perennial power Florida State as a touchdown underdog. VT held Florida State to a field goal in a 24-3 upset win. New FSU coach, Willie Taggart, now has to deal with questions like “Why in the hell did we hire this guy?”
For the fourth year in a row or so, Florida State’s offensive line appears to be a weakness. Ditto for Michigan and Miami (Florida). How these powers can not attract and groom quality offensive line personnel boggles the mind. Shea Patterson, Michigan’s hoped-for savior, cannot perform miracles when he is constantly on the run. Of course, it might help if Jim Harbaugh’s play calling was not so predictable.
On a more positive note, Hawaii’s new Run and Shoot and its genius play calling by Tim Rolovich and staff continues to be a revelation. How did a team supposed to be one of the very worst of the 130 D-1 programs suddenly became a candidate to win double-digit games. Fantastic!!!