The past several months have been some of the most chaotic I have ever seen for college football, both on the field and off the field. From the offseason chaos involving conference realignment and the proposed playoff expansion to the wildest regular season in over a decade, there has been more than enough to keep college football fans captivated all season long. As conference championship weekend approaches, the playoff race reaches its conclusion. While the playoff race is reaching its climax, everyone is more focused on the major coaching changes that have transpired in recent days.
Last Sunday, Lincoln Riley shocked everyone by leaving Oklahoma for the USC job just a day after losing in heartbreaking fashion in Bedlam. Oklahoma players and fans were rightfully furious as Riley is taking many key staff members including defensive coordinator Alex Grinch with him to Los Angeles. Several top recruits have decommitted from Oklahoma, including five-star QB Malachi Nelson, who is the first recruit to officially follow Riley to USC. The Sooners have also had several players enter the transfer portal, the most notable being Spencer Rattler, which further leaves Oklahoma’s future uncertain as it moves into the SEC.
While the fans in Norman have a right to be upset, this was a good move for Riley and an even better move for the sport as a whole. USC landing Riley gives the program a boost it has needed ever since the end of the Pete Carroll era. Riley already has several top recruits following him and will dominate the Pac-12 in recruiting with USC’s brand and proximity to elite high school talent. College football is better when USC is relevant and the Trojans will be able to carry the Pac-12, which has been obscure for the better part of the past decade. Expect Riley to start racking up conference titles immediately and have the Trojans in the College Football Playoff very soon.
Riley’s move to USC was the talk of the nation for about 24 hours before another high profile coach left for a new job, that being Brian Kelly. After a pair of playoff appearances and five straight double-digit win seasons, Kelly is leaving South Bend for LSU and hopes to become the fourth consecutive coach to win a national championship in Baton Rouge. This move puts Notre Dame in an unprecedented spot, as the Irish are still very much alive in the playoff race and should things fall their way this weekend, Notre Dame would be in the playoff with an interim head coach. Kelly will not finish the season with the Fighting Irish, even if they are playing for a national title. While the news broke before Kelly wanted it to, this is still an awful way to leave a program that still could have everything to play for. This departure rivals Bobby Petrino’s exit from the Atlanta Falcons as the worst departure for a head coach in the history of football.
While I have my issues with Kelly’s exit from Notre Dame, this was the right move as LSU not only offers more money but is a better job overall. While Notre Dame may be one of the most storied programs in the sport’s history, its strict academic standards make it harder to recruit and compete with the big boys when it matters most. Kelly has done about as well as a coach can do at Notre Dame in the current landscape of college football and now he is going to a program with a much higher ceiling. It is much easier to recruit elite talent at LSU, as it doesn’t have Notre Dame’s restrictions and is in a much better spot geographically to land top recruits. Kelly is the best coach LSU has had since Nick Saban and should live up to his massive contract and the demanding fans in Death Valley.
With all of the chaos in this year’s coaching carousel, you almost forget that conference championships are this weekend and it’s the last chance for those left standing to make a push for the top four spots. Georgia should be a lock regardless of what happens in Atlanta, though the other three spots remain up in the air. There are a number of scenarios that can play out and the playoff field is still very murky with just one week of action left. Can Alabama get in with a loss to Georgia? Does Cincinnati remain in the top four if Oklahoma State, Alabama, and Michigan all win? Can Notre Dame sneak in if multiple teams ahead of them lose? These are all possible scenarios that could play out and this year’s committee will likely have a tougher time making the final rankings than those in the past.
College Football Top 25 Rankings
1.Georgia Bulldogs (12-0) W vs Georgia Tech 45-0, last week-1
2.Michigan Wolverines (11-1) W vs Ohio State 42-27, last week-5
3.Cincinnati Bearcats (12-0) W vs East Carolina 35-13, last week-3
4.Oklahoma State Cowboys (11-1) W vs Oklahoma 37-33, last week-7
5.Alabama Crimson Tide (11-1) W vs Auburn 24-22, last week-4
6.Notre Dame Fighting Irish (11-1) W vs Stanford 45-14, last week-6
7.Ohio State Buckeyes (10-2) L vs Michigan 42-27, last week-2
8.Ole Miss Rebels (10-2) W vs Mississippi State 31-21, last week-9
9.Baylor Bears (10-2) W vs Texas Tech 27-24, last week-10
10.Michigan State Spartans (10-2) W vs Penn State 30-27, last week-11
11.Oklahoma Sooners (10-2) L vs Oklahoma State 37-33, last week-8
12.Oregon Ducks (10-2) W vs Oregon State 38-29, last week-12
13.Iowa Hawkeyes (10-2) W vs Nebraska 28-21, last week-15
14.Houston Cougars (11-1) W vs UConn 45-17, last week-16
15.Utah Utes (9-3) W vs Colorado 28-13, last week-18
16.Wake Forest Demon Deacons (10-2) W vs Boston College 41-10, last week-19
17.Arkansas Razorbacks (8-4) W vs Missouri 34-17, last week-20
18.BYU Cougars (10-2) W vs USC 35-31, last week-21
19.Pittsburgh Panthers (10-2) W vs Syracuse 31-14, last week-23
20.Clemson Tigers (9-3) W vs South Carolina 30-0, last week-25
21.San Diego State Aztecs (11-1) W vs Boise State 27-16, last week-unranked
22.Louisiana-Lafayette Ragin’ Cajuns (11-1) W vs UL Monroe 21-16, last week-24
23.Texas A&M Aggies (8-4) L vs LSU 27-24, last week-14
24.NC State Wolfpack (9-3) W vs North Carolina 34-30, last week-unranked
25.Kentucky Wildcats (9-3) W vs Louisville 52-21, last week-unranked
Dropped out of rankings- UTSA, Wisconsin, Penn State