Twitter Tuesday: Talking hot coaches, disappointments, playoff scenarios
Our weekly #TwitterTuesday file continues this week where you ask National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell your football questions via social media. Here are numerous questions, including which coaches are ready for a big step up.
MORE FARRELL: Three-Point Stance | Godfather and Gorney podcast
This is a really good question and I have plenty of names on my list. Here they are….
1. Matt Campbell, Iowa State – He’s done a great job at Iowa State and is ready to take that next step. He should land a bigger job in the next two years.
2. Jeff Brohm, Purdue – It’s tough to call Louisville a better job but in some ways it is and many feel he could land back at his old school after this year.
3. Matt Wells, Utah State – Watch out for Wells as he should take a step up to the Power Five in the next year or two after doing a great job at Utah State.
4. Mark Stoops, Kentucky – He’s done a great job at Kentucky and could be in line for a major job over the next couple of years.
5. Luke Fickell, Cincinnati – Fickell has done a great job with the Bearcats and should be in line for a bigger job very soon.
6. Major Applewhite, Houston – Houston has been a solid program since he took over and he’s on the short list for a few schools if they have an opening.
7. Dino Babers, Syracuse – Syracuse hasn’t had a winning season in years and Babers has once again become a hot name on the coaching trail.
8. Josh Heupel, UCF – UCF continues to roll and he could follow Scott Frost to the Power Five before too long.
9. Bill Clark, UAB – He has done a great job at UAB and Jacksonville State and is a name a lot of people don’t mention but should be in line for a bigger job.
10. Neal Brown, Troy – The win over Nebraska was huge and they have been competitive playing top teams (LSU as well) so he’s a name to watch.
This is a tough one because many teams in each conference have taken a step forward this year. I’ll give it my best shot….
ACC – Miami – The ‘Canes have to be better next season right? They have a losing record in conference in a weak division and are barely over .500 overall after being projected as a playoff candidate at the beginning of the season. I would expect a bounce back year for Miami and perhaps a nine-win season. They have a ton of young talent.
Big 12 – Texas – Texas almost showed they were ready for primetime this year but have too many defensive weaknesses. It shores that up next season and actually competes for the Big 12 title in the end.
Big Ten – Nebraska – It is improving with each game, has a young quarterback in Adrian Martinez and a lot of guys who are buying into the system. I’m not saying the Huskers will win the Big Ten West or anything like that, but they should have a much improved record.
Pac-12 – USC – They have to be better, just like Miami right? They have been awful this year and barely over .500 with all of that talent. Quarterback JT Daniels will be a year older and ready for the starting job and there is always young talent on this team.
SEC – Florida – There have been some growing pains under Dan Mullen this year but progress has been made. I expect the defense to be solid and the offense to be better as they challenge Georgia for the SEC East.
This is an interesting question and I would take Florida. My last choice would be Florida State as that program is a dumpster fire right now and players appear to have quit on the season. That leaves Miami, which has underperformed, and Florida and I’d take the Gators for a few reasons.
First, they play in the SEC which is a natural draw for recruiting. Being able to sell playing in and against the SEC is a huge deal on the recruiting trail and something I don’t think Mullen has taken advantage of yet.
Secondly, Florida has more pieces in place and are on a better trajectory than Miami right now when it comes to talent. Miami has had better recruiting classes, but the players have not been coached up that well as we can see by their record this season.
Miami has the advantage of being in a weaker division, but they have no chance to get past Clemson in the ACC, so that doesn’t matter. The same can be said for Florida trying to get past Georgia and then Alabama.
Based on recent success, facilities and the rest give me Florida over Miami and Florida State.
Michigan has a better chance at Zach Harrison than they do Quavaris Crouch because I think Crouch is headed to Clemson. When it comes to Harrison, it seems it will come down to Ohio State and Michigan and I can’t find too many reasons why he wouldn’t want to play under Don Brown and that defense. It’s not a lock they land him and Ohio is his home state, but things seem to be trending more towards Michigan than Ohio State right now.
It’s simply horrible. If a team like Pitt can get out of that division as the champ, there is a real problem there. The Pitt-Virginia game was so bad and both teams are so average. It’s amazing how bad Miami has been this season and that Virginia Tech has been such a disappointment. It’s probably the weakest division in college football’s Power Five.
This is a tough question to answer. There is no way an undefeated Notre Dame is left out of the playoff and Clemson will remain in the top two if they win out so both are safe. I would say Alabama is on the outside looking in when it comes to this scenario because there’s no way Michigan gets left out if they run the table as well. It’s hard to think of Alabama being left out but if Georgia beats them and Notre Dame and Clemson are undefeated and Michigan has one loss to Notre Dame, how can you not leave Alabama out?