Lane Kiffin, Southern California
Holy Hell, did USC’s hopes and dreams implode last year or
what? With all the weapons on offense, a fourth year starting quarterback, and a solid
defense on paper, it was championship or bust for the Trojans. Last year wasn’t
just a bust, it was pathetic. They started off 6-1, but had really only beaten
Utah and Colorado to start the season. They then dropped five of their last six
games, including a laughable 21-7 loss to Georgia Tech in their bowl game. USC
has been hampered by the NCAA sanctions which Kiffin can thank Pete Carroll for,
but Kiffin hasn’t been able to get the Trojans back into the national spotlight
despite recruiting very well (since 2010: eight 5* recruits; eighteen 4*). So
USC has been able to bring in talent, but has not been able to put it all
together and that falls on the head coach. There really is no excuse as to why
they weren’t at least in the PAC-12 Championship last year with the amount of
pure talent they had. Kiffin is in a tough situation this year with Barkley
graduating and Robert Woods leaving for the draft. While they do retain several
key playmakers, they will be breaking in a new quarterback and will probably be
relying on quite a few underclassmen to play early and often. This year’s
schedule isn’t much easier , so USC will probably be around .500 by the time it’s
over. Kiffin isn’t the most likeable guy anyways, so I wouldn’t be surprised if
the Trojans dumped the pint sized Daniel Tosh if they have another average
season.
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| Can you tell who is who? |
Things haven’t been the same in Austin since Colt McCoy
moved on to a legendary career with the Browns. Since 2009, Brown has started
both Case McCoy, Colt’s younger brother, and David Ash at quarterback, often
replacing one with the other if the first is struggling. No quarterback can
operate under that kind of strain but Brown seems to have chosen Ash to move
forward. Brown continues to recruit well in state, but his teams have not had
the ability to get back to the national stage. SEC schools like LSU, Arkansas,
and now Texas A&M have been able to lure some of the better recruits away
from Austin due to the higher level of competition. Much like Lane Kiffin at
USC, Brown has been able to bring in talent but hasn’t been able to put it all
together like he used to. The program is only 22-16 since getting blown out of
the water by Alabama in the 2009 title game. That’s an average of only seven
wins and five losses per year (compared to 11 wins and 1.5 losses under Vince
Young and Colt McCoy). The offense can score, but Brown needs to tighten up the
defense which was the cause of their losses last year (gave up 43 PPG in
losses). The BIG 12 is not a conference known for defensive prowess, so I think
Brown’s offense will be able to continue putting up five to six touchdowns a
game. Yet he must do something on defense or Texas will be forced to play
shootouts all year. Getting to ten wins may help save his job, but if he
surrenders 63 points to Bob Stoops again he’ll be kicked to the curb.Leslie Miles, LSU
I must be insane, right? Programs don’t exactly just boot
one of the most successful coaches in the nation, especially one who was just
given an extension two seasons ago. Yet this might not be as farfetched as you
initially suspect. Since winning the National Title in 2007, LSU has not had a
great amount of success in bowl games. They are a modest 2-3, but that includes
an embarrassing loss to Nick Saban and Alabama in the 2011 Championship Game.
LSU has gone into slumps after both championship appearances in recent memory,
and that is sure to upset Tigers faithful. At a school like LSU that plays in
the SEC, winning ten games a year is not enough. They demand that LSU is at the
very least representing the SEC West with a shot for the title. As if that
wasn’t already hard enough with Alabama in conference, now Texas A&M is
crashing the party and has the make up to challenge for the West every year
while Ole Miss has really begun to rebuild a strong program. Remember, Leslie
Miles was killed by local media after their loss to Alabama in the championship
game. Miles is 2-3 against Saban since 2009, which would appear great on paper,
but always loses when it matters most. Saban is truly Miles’s arch nemesis at
this point as he shut out LSU in the Championship Game and put a dagger in their heart
this past year at LSU. LSU looks like it will be in another down year with how
much pure talent left for the NFL, and that could spell trouble with their
schedule. If LSU wins only 8-9 games this year, expect the torches to be lit
and people calling for change in Baton Rouge.
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| Maybe he should have tried smoking it if he was looking for clairvoyance. |
Bo Pelini, Nebraska
Winning an average of ten games a year over the last five
years would be enough to satisfy most fans and alumni, but not when it comes to
Nebraska. The glory days of Tommy Frazier and the Blackshirts are a distant
memory for Huskers fans. Bo Pelini has done a great job since leaving Les
Miles’s side at LSU, but he has yet to get Nebraska back to the national stage
or even a BCS Bowl game. They should have gone to the Fiesta Bowl in ’09 but
didn’t thanks to a bogus call against Texas in the BIG 12 Championship, and had
a chance to go to the Rose Bowl last year but decided to leave their defense in
Lincoln. Nebraska has made a pretty smooth transition to the BIG 10, but as was
the case in the BIG 12, hasn’t been able to overcome the upper echelon of
conference teams. Pelini has been able to get his team to the edge, but has
never been able to take his team over the summit. His contract expires in 2016,
but I really am not sure if he will make it to that date. The BIG 10 is down
this year, so Pelini will be expected to battle Michigan to represent the
Legends again. The players are there who fit in his system and can thrive, but
that has been the case in the past. I feel bad for Pelini, who would be getting
praise all around if he was this consistent at a different school, but I think
that he may be getting the axe after this year if Nebraska can’t show
definitive signs of improvement.
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