Week 12 – The Call Sheet

Sunflower Showdown, Pac-12 Powers and some coach carousel thoughts.

Nov 16, 2023

Let’s review the film and dissect the week that was.

Black Sunday and Monday – Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you’ve seen the news that Texas A&M, Mississippi State, Boise State and San Diego State have all announced coaching changes. At the time of writing, UCLA is also expected to part ways with Chip Kelly.

I have a lot less to say about the latter than the former. Boise State should probably run that thing back with old flame Bryan Harsin, and SDSU should probably hire some up-and-coming coach looking to make his mark. Perhaps a Tony White type lol. Sorry Husker fans.

For aTm, this decision was the result of greed, excess and an all-hat-no-cattle approach to coaching college football. They went splashy and very expensive with Jimbo Fisher and now they’re paying the price to the tune of 70-something million dollars. My expert opinion? The Aggies should probably just hire a real ball coach and go with Jeff Traylor. They probably won’t, because, well, look where we are now…but I digress.

If you’re Mississippi State or a Bulldog fan, you must nail this hire. The SEC and college football sea floor is moving underneath your feet–which is also why the leash was so short for Zach Arnett.

MSU must take a David, not Goliath approach, meaning they must find a coach who can win within the margins, make a 2-start play like a 4-star and do a whole lot more with a whole lot less. No need to overcomplicate this, IMO. My first calls would be to Liberty’s Jamey Chadwell or SMU’s Rhett Lashlee. Both run a funky offense that’s hard to prepare for in a week’s time and have a record of doing more with less. Other candidates I would consider are Troy’s Jon Sumrall, Tulane’s Willie Fritz, or, and hear me out, you go left when everyone thinks you’re going right and call former GT coach Paul Johnson. If you’re feeling nostalgic, kick the tires on former Bulldog coach Dan Mullen, but I don’t see that one happening.

Heisman hopefuls – As a tried-and-true Marvelian (IYKYK), I can only, in good faith, put my non-existent Heisman vote behind either MHJ or Jayden Daniels. MHJ is an other-worldly receiver and is just too damn good for college football. And what Daniels is doing is insane. If his defense had half a brain cell he’d be a sure-fire bet for NYC.

Clock ticking on James Franklin? – It more than likely won’t happen (for a variety of reasons), but are we sure that PSU fans are going to sour on Franklin? Despite winning nine and ten wins per game, he rarely wins the big ones against Michigan or Ohio State. Are they cool with being the third-best in a shifting B10 landscape? Will they even be third-best in the next few years?

5-Wide

The 5 games you’re not gonna wanna miss this weekend.

Kansas State vs. Kansas

Welcome to the Sunflower Showdown! Most years, this game is nothing more than a chance for the Wildcats to dunk on their in-state rivals and joke about everyone in Lawrence being communists. But this year is different. Both teams are good, and fun to watch, and both of those things make for great viewing.

K-State has an outside shot at the Big 12 title game, but I’d expect they’re more focused on this game than a potential date in Dallas. Fueled by a stout defense and a pair of serviceable to good quarterbacks, K-State is K-State…and I mean that in a good way. Tough. Frisky. Difficult to prepare for. And in another year without the resurgence of Texas, we might be talking about a conference-title-level team.

On the other side, we have the Jayhawks who, news flash, are also fun to watch! Leipold’s delightfully creative run schemes make KU very fun, and difficult to prepare for. Their hopes likely hinge, however, on the health of backup Jason Bean. Bean was banged up pretty good last week in the loss to Texas Tech, and played a big part in them losing. If he’s back, they’ve got a shot. If not, it’s going to be all K-State.

SMU vs. Memphis

Let’s keep our collective eyes on this battle of 8-2 teams in the American conference. Rhett Lashlee has the Mustangs cooking this year, and they’re quietly one of the best teams in the state of Texas. Quarterback Preston Stone is a really fun G5 quarterback and has racked up over 2500 yards and 23 TDs this year.

On the other side, we have our rough and rowdy cousins from Memphis. Ryan Silverfield keeps beating the Alex Kirshner charges, and by hook or by crook has led the Tigers to an impressive 8-2 record so far. Memphis is a tad behind in the conference title race (courtesy of undefeated seasons so far from SMU, Tulane and UTSA) but there’s an outside shot they could make some noise in that hunt.

I expect this one to feature a lot of points, a pair of impressive passing games and something goofy happening…because this is the American we’re talking about here.

UNC vs. Clemson

It’s a bit of a sluggish week, so this one makes the cut. I don’t have a ton of analysis to add here…other than I hope that in the postgame handshake line, Mac Brown holds on to Dabo’s hand a liiiiiiiitle too long. You know, like a grandfather giving you a stern talking to does.

On the field, Drake Maye will probably do some dope stuff. Clemson sort of bounced back in recent weeks and I expect this one to at least be close and competitive.

Washington vs. Oregon State

This is far and away the banger of the day. UW is headed to Corvallis undefeated, with their sights set on the College Football Playoff…what could go wrong?

I’m just going to say it, I think OSU upsets Washington here. UW got an upset appetizer last week after playing it close with Utah…but OSU ain’t Utah. Jonathan Smith is going to scheme some good stuff up, and I think their ability to run the ball and keep that star-studded Husky offense on the sidelines will be a big focal point.

UW is sort of a rich man’s USC at this point, as in they don’t play a ton of defense and they’re sort of out here just out-gunning everyone. That works a lot (most of the time, in this case) but every once in a while, the gun runs out of gunpowder. I have a weird feeling it might happen on Saturday night.

Texas vs. Iowa State

Texas is Texas. We know what we’re getting with them at this point. They’re a good team, but as they exhibited last week, sometimes play down to their opponents. Could this be a letdown look-ahead sandwich situation for the Longhorns?

After a pretty horrific start, Matt Campbell quietly has the Cyclones playing good football in the back half of the season. ISU has taken care of business against the B12 newcomers on their schedule and comes in at 6-4. They’ve figured some stuff out on offense and are 4-1 in their last five. Progress.

I’m just going to say it. It wouldn’t shock me if this one got weird. Texas should absolutely blast Iowa State, but if the Clones can keep it close for the first half, the weird, mystical Ames night air could grab hold of this thing and make it get funky.

The Brent Musburger Gambling Guide

My official locks of the week.

Washington vs. +1 Oregon State – Like I said, I think the Beavs get a scalp here.

Central Michigan vs. -8 Ohio – I love me some Bobcats football.

Hawaii vs. Wyoming OVER 44.5 – Sicko mode.

Arizona vs. Utah OVER 44.5 – Let’s get points-y.