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GRADING THE COACHING DEBUTS
The Dash appraises the first games of some coaches in new places:
Jim Harbaugh (23), Michigan. Grade: C. The Wolverines’ loss to Utah was not unexpected, but it did puncture the belief by some Michigan fans that Harbaugh could turn water into wine and 5-7 into 10-2 overnight. The disappointing aspect was how similar Michigan looked to the error-prone Brady Hoke teams that couldn’t push anyone around up front offensively.
Mike Riley (24), Nebraska. Grade: C-minus. Like Harbaugh, Riley didn’t start his new job with a breather. He played BYU, albeit at home. Losing on a Hail Mary made it a bit of a fluke, but the failure to adequately defend that play was only the latest defensive lapse in a game where the Cornhuskers surrendered 511 yards.
Jim McElwain (25), Florida. Grade: A. Yes, it’s nice to open with New Mexico State. But given some of the Gators’ struggles against puny opponents during the Will Muschamp Era, a 61-13 romp rife with fireworks in the passing game was a welcome change. Plus there was no video evidence of Gator-on-Gator blocking schemes.
Gary Andersen (26), Oregon State. Grade: B-minus. Scraping to two field goals and a 6-0 halftime lead against Weber State didn’t dazzle anyone, but the Beavers pulled away after intermission and dominated statistically. Oregon State was spotty offensively last year under Riley, and it could be more of the same this season with a freshman QB.
Paul Chryst (27), Wisconsin. Grade: C-minus. Nobody expected the Badgers to beat Alabama in Dallas, but the game was all but over by early third quarter. The harsh reality for Wisconsin fans accustomed to an endless assembly line of running backs and offensive linemen is the fact that the Badgers ran for 40 yards on 21 carries. Alabama is great in the front seven, but those are startlingly small numbers.
Pat Narduzzi (28), Pittsburgh. Grade: B-minus. On the plus side, the Panthers lost their best player to injury (running back James Conner) and still beat a team they lost to in 2012. On the minus side, they gave up 407 yards and 37 points to Youngstown State. For a defensive guy like Narduzzi, that had to gnaw at his guts.
Tom Herman (29), Houston. Grade: B-plus. Cougars rolled Tennessee Tech, going up 45-10 early in the fourth quarter and cruising in with a 52-24 victory. The former offensive coordinator at Ohio State watched his new team churn out 627 yards – but the challenge is appreciably harder this week against Louisville.
Chad Morris (30), SMU. Grade: A-minus. The Mustangs were offensively inept last year, which is why they hired the former OC from Clemson. He delivered an immediately better product, putting 21 points on the board against Baylor in the first 26 minutes of the game. Things fell apart from there, but that was expected. SMU looked much improved for most of the night.
Philip Montgomery (31), Tulsa. Grade: A. The Golden Hurricane won, which is something that had only happened five times in the previous 24 games. And they beat a Florida Atlantic team that destroyed Tulsa last year. And they scored 47 points, the most by the program since October 2012. But the fact that Tulsa needed OT to win at home against FAU says the program is still climbing uphill.
GRADING THE COACHING DEBUTS
The Dash appraises the first games of some coaches in new places:
Jim Harbaugh (23), Michigan. Grade: C. The Wolverines’ loss to Utah was not unexpected, but it did puncture the belief by some Michigan fans that Harbaugh could turn water into wine and 5-7 into 10-2 overnight. The disappointing aspect was how similar Michigan looked to the error-prone Brady Hoke teams that couldn’t push anyone around up front offensively.
Mike Riley (24), Nebraska. Grade: C-minus. Like Harbaugh, Riley didn’t start his new job with a breather. He played BYU, albeit at home. Losing on a Hail Mary made it a bit of a fluke, but the failure to adequately defend that play was only the latest defensive lapse in a game where the Cornhuskers surrendered 511 yards.
Jim McElwain (25), Florida. Grade: A. Yes, it’s nice to open with New Mexico State. But given some of the Gators’ struggles against puny opponents during the Will Muschamp Era, a 61-13 romp rife with fireworks in the passing game was a welcome change. Plus there was no video evidence of Gator-on-Gator blocking schemes.
Gary Andersen (26), Oregon State. Grade: B-minus. Scraping to two field goals and a 6-0 halftime lead against Weber State didn’t dazzle anyone, but the Beavers pulled away after intermission and dominated statistically. Oregon State was spotty offensively last year under Riley, and it could be more of the same this season with a freshman QB.
Paul Chryst (27), Wisconsin. Grade: C-minus. Nobody expected the Badgers to beat Alabama in Dallas, but the game was all but over by early third quarter. The harsh reality for Wisconsin fans accustomed to an endless assembly line of running backs and offensive linemen is the fact that the Badgers ran for 40 yards on 21 carries. Alabama is great in the front seven, but those are startlingly small numbers.
Pat Narduzzi (28), Pittsburgh. Grade: B-minus. On the plus side, the Panthers lost their best player to injury (running back James Conner) and still beat a team they lost to in 2012. On the minus side, they gave up 407 yards and 37 points to Youngstown State. For a defensive guy like Narduzzi, that had to gnaw at his guts.
Tom Herman (29), Houston. Grade: B-plus. Cougars rolled Tennessee Tech, going up 45-10 early in the fourth quarter and cruising in with a 52-24 victory. The former offensive coordinator at Ohio State watched his new team churn out 627 yards – but the challenge is appreciably harder this week against Louisville.
Chad Morris (30), SMU. Grade: A-minus. The Mustangs were offensively inept last year, which is why they hired the former OC from Clemson. He delivered an immediately better product, putting 21 points on the board against Baylor in the first 26 minutes of the game. Things fell apart from there, but that was expected. SMU looked much improved for most of the night.
Philip Montgomery (31), Tulsa. Grade: A. The Golden Hurricane won, which is something that had only happened five times in the previous 24 games. And they beat a Florida Atlantic team that destroyed Tulsa last year. And they scored 47 points, the most by the program since October 2012. But the fact that Tulsa needed OT to win at home against FAU says the program is still climbing uphill.
