Grading college football coaching hires for Lane Kiffin, Eric Morris | Mussatto's Minutes
NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos...
Are you getting dizzy?
College football’s coaching carousel is spinning out of control.
In this week’s edition of Mussatto’s Minutes, we grade the Power Four coaching hires and look at where OSU men’s basketball stands among other unbeatens. We start, though, with a tip of the cap to the best players on maybe the best defense in the country.
OU football’s top defenders
Let’s give some more love to OU’s defense, which finished the regular season ranked ninth nationally in total defense with 274 yards allowed per game and seventh in yards per play allowed (4.25).
Here are the top-five highest-graded Sooner defenders, per Pro Football Focus (minimum 100 snaps).
1. S Peyton Bowen: Bowen had a touchdown-saving interception and a game-sealing deflection in the win against LSU. He’s the fourth-best safety in the SEC, per PFF, behind LSU’s A.J. Haulcy, Alabama’s Bray Hubbard and Texas’ Michael Taaffe.
2. DE R Mason Thomas: Thomas hasn’t played since suffering a hamstring injury on a 71-yard scoop-and-score at Tennessee. The Sooners are deep on the defensive line, but they’d love to have Thomas back for a playoff run.
3. DT Gracen Halton: Halton is the top-graded interior defensive lineman in the SEC, per PFF. He’s a one-man run defense.
4. DE Taylor Wein: Wein got a ton of hype during preseason camp. He’s been even better than advertised. His six sacks are second on the team to Thomas’ 6.5.
5. LB Kendal Daniels: Daniels has 49 tackles — a career low. Forget about that, though. This has been Daniels’ best season by far, according to his PFF grades.
Grading college football Power Four hires
LSU, Lane Kiffin: A
Give Kiffin a big fat “F” for how he handled his departure from Ole Miss. LSU and Kiffin are perfect for each other, though. LSU is a great program with all sorts of dysfunction. Kiffin is a great coach full of character flaws.
Virginia Tech, James Franklin: A
As good a hire as the Hokies could make. Franklin’s whining gets awfully old, but winning lots of football games more than makes up for it.
Florida, Jon Sumrall: A-
Sumrall was my favorite coach on the market. He’s a combined 42-11 in two years at Troy and two at Tulane. Winning press conferences isn’t important, but he’ll do that, too.
Oklahoma State, Eric Morris: A-
Bump it up to an “A” if Morris brings North Texas quarterback Drew Mestemaker with him. An A+ if running back Caleb Hawkins and receiver Wyatt Young join the party in Stillwater.
Auburn, Alex Golesh: A-
Morris and Golesh were No. 1 and No. 2 on my latest list of OSU candidates. Auburn has a higher ceiling than OSU, but I think I’d rather have the OSU job. Easier path to the playoff. Reasonable expectations.
Arkansas, Ryan Silverfield: C+
The Razorbacks failed to lure one of their own in Rhett Lashlee from SMU to Arkansas. Morris would’ve been a great fit in Fayetteville. Same with Golesh. Silverfield is a good coach, but he feels like a consolation prize.
Michigan State, Pat Fitzgerald: C
We sure this is a good idea? Fitzgerald was fired by Northwestern amid hazing allegations. Fitzgerald sued the school for wrongful termination and the two sides ultimately settled. Fitzgerald can clearly coach, but the game has changed since 2022 when he last coached.
Stanford, Tavita Pritchard: C-
Pritchard was Stanford’s starting quarterback against OU in the 2009 Sun Bowl. The Cardinal knows Pritchard better than anyone, but his lack of head-coaching experience makes this a risk.
Ole Miss, Pete Golding: C-
Feels a little short-sighted. Ole Miss committing to Golding, Kiffin’s defensive coordinator, stabilizes the Rebels heading into the College Football Playoff, but is he the best option long term?
Where Cowboys rank among college basketball’s unbeatens
As of Dec. 1, there are 25 undefeated teams in men’s college basketball.
Oklahoma State (7-0) is one of them.
Basketball analytics site KenPom.com ranks all 355 Division I teams. Here are the 25 unbeatens ordered by their KenPom rank.
No. 1 Michigan (7-0): The Wolverines won the Players Era Festival in dominant fashion. Michigan beat Gonzaga and San Diego State by 40 and Auburn by 30.
No. 2 Purdue (7-0): The Boilermakers have the most-efficient offense in the country.
No. 3 Duke (8-0): The Blue Devils are the only team in the country that rank top-five in both offensive and defensive efficiency.
No. 4 Iowa State (7-0): Cyclones play at Purdue on Saturday.
No. 8 Louisville (7-0): Gonzaga, UConn and Houston rank ahead of Louisville, according to KenPom, but each of those three teams has a loss.
No. 9 Arizona (7-0): No. 2 in the AP Poll behind Purdue.
No. 10 Vanderbilt (8-0): What a time to be a ‘Dore.
No. 15 Michigan State (7-0): Wins over Arkansas, Kentucky and North Carolina.
No. 19 Indiana (7-0): Not bad for a football school.
No. 21 Iowa (7-0): We have an Iowa at Michigan State conference opener Tuesday.
No. 24 LSU (7-0): Fourth-year coach Matt McMahon has yet to make the NCAA Tournament.
No. 26 USC (7-0): All aboard the Muss Bus.
No. 30 Missouri (8-0): Former Sooner Luke Northweather is shooting 58% (11-of-19) from three.
No. 35 Utah State (7-0): Aggies vying for a fourth-consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance.
No. 41 SMU (8-0): Andy Enfield’s second season in Dallas is off to a solid start.
No. 49 Nebraska (8-0): Huskers have never won an NCAA Tournament game. Mind blowing.
No. 52 Oklahoma State (7-0): Making the NCAA Tournament might be too much to ask, but Steve Lutz has the Cowboys trending upward.
No. 61 George Mason (8-0): Lone unbeaten in the Atlantic 10.
No. 62 Colorado (7-0): Buffs were picked 15th in the Big 12 preseason poll.
No. 88 Belmont (7-0): Bruins haven’t made the Big Dance since joining the Missouri Valley Conference in 2022.
No. 100 UC San Diego (7-0): Tritons went 30-5 last season and lost coach Eric Olen to New Mexico.
No. 113 New Mexico State (6-0): The Aggies beat Olen’s Lobos.
No. 130 Miami (Ohio) (6-0): RedHawks have made the NCAA Tournament once this century.
No. 131 Cal Baptist (7-0): Lancers play at Colorado on Monday.
No. 203 Buffalo (8-0): Second 8-0 start for the Bulls in the school’s Division I history.
Joe Mussatto is a sports columnist for The Oklahoman. Have a story idea for Joe? Email him at jmussatto@oklahoman.com. Support Joe’s work and that of other Oklahoman journalists by purchasing a digital subscription today at subscribe.oklahoman.com.
This article originally appeared on Oklahoman: Grading college football coaching carousel: How did OSU, LSU fare?
More at NCAAF College Football News, Photos, Stats, Scores, Schedule & Videos