East Spotlight: Winners and losers of October
Rivals.com national recruiting analyst Adam Friedman breaks down notable winners and losers from the month of October in the East.
RELATED: Mid-South winners and losers from October | Midwest | Southeast
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WINNER: NC State
It’s been a really good month for the Wolfpack and head coach Dave Doeren. They just beat Clemson at home in front of a great crowd and their young players had outstanding performances. Receiver Kevin Concepcion, a four-star prospect in the 2023 class, really put himself and the NC State offense on the map.
The positive attention Doeren brought to the program after calling out Steve Smith Sr. for his comments referring to NC State as more of a basketball school helped inject some life into the conversation surrounding the team.
On top of that, the Wolfpack added a commitment from receiver Christian Zachary last month, flipping him from Virginia. November will be an important month for NC State too. It is trying to hold onto receiver Terrell Anderson, who is flirting with Georgia and a few other schools.
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LOSER: Penn State's offense
It's hard to find a unit that flopped harder than Penn State's offense when the spotlight was on it. There's been plenty written about the mediocre performance by the Nittany Lions offense when they traveled to Columbus and lost to Ohio State. Zero third-down conversions until their final drive of the game, no explosive plays and a seemingly confused offensive strategy left fans scratching their heads.
What will head coach James Franklin and offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich do from here? They have lots of talent on the offensive side of the ball and a very good recruiting class on the way, but playmakers on the outside remain a huge question mark.
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WINNER: Jeff Hafley
Calling Boston College a winner might be a stretch considering the Eagles lost commitments from Desman Stephens and Benjamin Blackburn last month but when you look at the job Jeff Hafley has done it’s easy to see how he can be called a winner.
Boston College is 4-0 in its last four games after nearly starting the season 0-4. An overtime loss at home to Northern Illinois to open the season followed by a three-point win over Holy Cross at home made it hard to have a positive outlook on the rest of Boston College's season. Losses to Florida State and Louisville made things look even bleaker for Hafley's job security.
It could’ve been easy to leave Hafley for dead at that point, but the team rallied, beating Virginia, Army, Georgia Tech, and UConn, and it’s going to be really interesting to see the result when the Eagles face Syracuse on Saturday. A win would make Boston College bowl eligible and very likely save Hafley‘s job.
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LOSER: Tyler from Spartanburg
It’s been, in a word, rough for Clemson, head coach Dabo Swinney, and the now infamous Tyler from Spartanburg. The pressure of a losing season is clearly getting to the Clemson faithful and Swinney isn’t going to put up with fans questioning him. During his call-in show on Monday, longtime Tigers fan Tyler from Spartanburg questioned Swinney and his tactics and called attention to his enormous salary. Swinney responded by chastising Tyler and fans like him who have essentially become spoiled after all the success the program has had in recent years.
It’s possible both Tyler and Swinney can be wrong and both be right. Swinney may be deserving of a little leeway, given how successful he’s been during his tenure, but he is seeing the repercussions of being set in his ways. Tyler and fans like him remember the days of Clemsoning and how little success there was for the Tigers, but they are right to feel antsy about the future of the program when the head coach is slow to adapt to changing times and find success again.
MORE TYLER: He speaks with TigerIllustrated.com | Gorney's thoughts
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WINNER: Benedict Umeh
There is perhaps no bigger winner from the month of October than Rivals250 Stanford commit Benedict Umeh. The defensive lineman has been battling Hodgkin's lymphoma and finished up his chemotherapy treatment in early October. His story and the positive mindset he kept are truly remarkable, and the entire college football world is rooting for him. Hats off to Stanford head coach Troy Taylor and his staff for sticking to their word, and standing by Umeh as he battles this illness.