Tag: Dave Aranda

USA TODAY Sports graded all 131 FBS teams, how did Big 12 teams fare?

USA TODAY Sports graded all 131 FBS teams, so how did the Big 12 teams fair?

It was a memorable season for the Big 12. At least for some teams. The programs that were considered the preseason favorites for the Big 12 title failed to meet expectations.

Baylor, Oklahoma, and Oklahoma State, the three teams that most believed would compete for the conference championship, went a combined 19-20 on the season. At the same Kansas State, TCU, and Kansas saw resurgent years, with the Wildcats winning their first conference title in a decade.

Texas made progress in their rebuild, and even Iowa State played some good football, at least on the defensive side of the ball.

It was a deep league in 2022, and a lot of the Big 12 beat up on itself. Only TCU managed to get by without multiple conference losses.

Looking back at the 2022 season, USA TODAY Sports’ Paul Myerburg graded all 131 FBS teams and here’s how the Big 12 programs fared.

Sooners playing in the postseason in latest bowl projections from USA TODAY Sports

Where are the Oklahoma Sooners headed in USA TODAY Sports’ latest bowl projections?

The Oklahoma Sooners have two games remaining in the 2022 season. Two more opportunities to put their best foot forward as Brent Venables and his staff build toward the future.

On Saturday night in Norman, they can take a positive step in that direction. They can end a two-game losing streak and eliminate their in-state rival, Oklahoma State, from Big 12 contention. More significantly, for Oklahoma, they can earn an opportunity to play one more game with their sixth win.

Though simply making it to a bowl game isn’t good enough, that’s the last remaining measuring stick the team can use to evaluate its 2022 season. Whether it’s this week against Oklahoma State or next week in primetime against Texas Tech, Erick Smith of USA TODAY Sports believes the Sooners will play in a bowl game.

Let’s see where his latest projections are taking the Sooners, the rest of the Big 12, and what the College Football Playoff field looks like.

Sooners playing in the postseason in latest bowl projections from USA TODAY Sports

Where are the Oklahoma Sooners headed in USA TODAY Sports’ latest bowl projections?

The Oklahoma Sooners have two games remaining in the 2022 season. Two more opportunities to put their best foot forward as Brent Venables and his staff build toward the future.

On Saturday night in Norman, they can take a positive step in that direction. They can end a two-game losing streak and eliminate their in-state rival, Oklahoma State, from Big 12 contention. More significantly, for Oklahoma, they can earn an opportunity to play one more game with their sixth win.

Though simply making it to a bowl game isn’t good enough, that’s the last remaining measuring stick the team can use to evaluate its 2022 season. Whether it’s this week against Oklahoma State or next week in primetime against Texas Tech, Erick Smith of USA TODAY Sports believes the Sooners will play in a bowl game.

Let’s see where his latest projections are taking the Sooners, the rest of the Big 12, and what the College Football Playoff field looks like.

Oklahoma vs. Baylor: 4 Bears to know ahead of Saturday’s showdown

Ahead of Oklahoma’s Saturday afternoon showdown with Baylor, here are four Bears to know. From @thatmanbryant

Oklahoma has become quite familiar with their yearly tussles with the Baylor Bears. Whether it was Matt Rhule at the helm or now Dave Aranda, the Bears have provided a tough contest yearly. Games against Baylor haven’t been lopsided affairs in favor of Oklahoma for years now.

In 2019, Oklahoma had to come back from a 28-3 deficit to pick up the win. Later that year, in the Big 12 championship game, it was a one-score win for Jalen Hurts’ Sooners. In 2020, Spencer Rattler’s won 27-14, but it wasn’t an easy 13-point win, and then last year, Baylor handed the Sooners their first loss of the season.

On Saturday, they’ll duke it out once again.

This time the showdown will feature two defensive-minded head coaches, Brent Venables and Dave Aranda, doing battle in a conference that has long been lauded for its offensive prowess.

Last year’s Baylor team manhandled Oklahoma at the point of attack on both sides of the ball. Baylor could look to employ the same approach. However, their personnel this year is different than before. Guys like Jalen Pitre, Terrel Bernard, Abram Smith, Trestan Ebner, Tyquan Thornton, and Gerry Bohannon are no longer on the roster. They are relying on some other faces to step up and make plays.

Here are four Baylor players to know ahead of the showdown.

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5 Oklahoma Sooners that will be key on defense vs. the Baylor Bears

Oklahoma’s defense has a tough task ahead of them against a strong Baylor rushing attack. Here are 5 Sooners that will be key on defense. From @thatmanbryant

Oklahoma enters Saturday’s contest with a chance for revenge. Oklahoma lost to just two teams last year, Baylor and Oklahoma State. Both losses came on the road, which means both will be home games for Oklahoma this season.

Their mini revenge tour starts Saturday as they take on the Baylor Bears at home. Bears’ head coach Dave Aranda has had success against Oklahoma and members of this coaching staff before. Aranda’s 2019 LSU defense suffocated the Sooners in the College Football Playoff before going on to defeat Clemson in the National Championship game. At Baylor, his teams have played Oklahoma incredibly hard.

While Aranda has his handprints all over the defense, Oklahoma must figure out how to stop the Baylor offense that ranks 27th nationally in yards per game at 456.2 and just ahead of the Sooners in yards per play at 6.13 compared to 6.10.

Oklahoma has Billy Bowman back and looks to have Damond Harmon back as well. With a defense that is getting healthy, here are five players that will be key to a win on Saturday vs. Baylor.

Nebraska Football Coaching Search Tracker: Week 6

Who are some of the leading candidates for the Nebraska vacancy?!

Now that Week 6 has come and gone, the list of prospective candidates for the head football coach job at Nebraska continues to evolve. It’s important to remember that Athletic Director Trev Alberts has clarified that this will be a national search and that he intends to “reach out to a lot of people.”

When asked for the qualities Alberts will look for in someone to run the program, he stated,

“I don’t know if there is anything specific to how magnified the role is. I certainly think it has to be someone who has a servant leadership mentality that is here to serve young people. Perhaps sees a picture that is bigger than themselves. But I don’t think anything specific. Every single job in college football has challenges. This job has advantages to other jobs and it has some disadvantages. It is the same thing with every job in college football. We have 1.8 million people in this state. That is not going to change. But we have some built in advantages here so if we play to our strengths and build on those. The right type of coach sees this as an opportunity to rebuild and build something special here.”

When asked for a timeline when a hire would be made, Alberts said,

“I do think there’s some benefits in terms of making the decision when we made it. I think this gives us an opportunity to really do the necessary work. We need to dive into a real process, and a detail-oriented process that talks to a lot of people. That’s why I mentioned earlier, you’re gonna hear about a lot of names. That’s good. That means we’re going to talk to a lot of people, because we’re going to clearly define what our values are. And we’re not going to hire coaches who don’t believe in what we believe in. We need to take as long as it takes to find the right leader. So is there an ideal timeline? Sure. You could naturally look at some of these timelines – early signing date – and say it would be really nice to be able to get the person in place by then, because it would allow us to do that. We won’t make decisions or rush things just to get a coach hired. We’re also not going to try to win the press conference. At the end of the day, we need to hire the right leader and the right fit, and that’s a really important thing here, as well.”

Below is a list of the active college football coaches who have been rumored around the head coaching search and then one wildcard who I think should be given a serious look.

Ten candidates to be Wisconsin football’s next head coach

Who will be Wisconsin’s next head coach?

Wisconsin football shook up the program on Sunday night. You read that sentence right. The Wisconsin Badgers made a somewhat shocking move, and that is not something you hear every day.

Paul Chryst was fired by the Badgers on Sunday after over seven seasons as the head coach. It wasn’t the outcome that was as shocking as the timing. Wisconsin made the move midseason after a 2-3 start and fresh off of one of the most disappointing performances in recent Badger history.

Where does the Badger program go from here? In the very short term, defensive coordinator Jim Leonhard has been named interim head coach. This is his first head coaching job (on an interim or official basis) and he was quick to give Chryst flowers in tonight’s press conference.

There are a number of options out there for Wisconsin football, including sticking with Leonhard long-term. Here are some routes the Badgers could go:

Nebraska Athletic Director provides update on coaching search

Albert’s discussed the current state of the program on Thursday morning!

Athletic Director Trev Alberts held a “Big Red Breakfast” in Omaha on Thursday morning to talk to the Husker faithful about the search for a head coach and the program’s current state heading into the final eight games of the 2022 season.
The A.D. told the pact crowd that there is no pre-ordained candidate for the vacant position. He continues to talk to candidates but is also talking to coaches and administrators at programs across the country to gain insight into the current methods and philosophies that are used to build modern college football programs.
Sam McKewon, the sports editor and columnist at the Omaha World-Herald, stated that Alberts said Nebraska would “need to be the premier development program in the Midwest” and that the “program lost its way in an absolute commitment to elite development.” Rumors continue to circulate about potential candidates the Huskers may consider hiring for the current vacancy.
Below is a list of names connected to the coaching search in one way, shape, or form. Scroll through it, and let us know what you think.

Dave Aranda explains how he felt like ‘a machine’ as LSU’s defensive coordinator

Aranda has mixed feelings on his time at LSU.

Winning at what cost?

[autotag]Dave Aranda[/autotag] was the defensive coordinator for the LSU Tigers during the 2019 national championship season when the Tigers went 15-0. It is a common adage that winning solves a lot of problems, but does it really?

Winning is great, but it came at a cost for Aranda as he felt as if he became the Terminator during his time on the Bayou.

“I felt when I was (at LSU) that I was like a machine,” he said. “I didn’t really talk, and it got to the point where I was there long enough to where people kind of understood that and they would protect me or shield me from talking and then it just became worse. I would remove myself a lot. I just wouldn’t engage, more than anything.”

Aranda left LSU after the 2019 season to become the new head coach of the Baylor Bears. The Bears went 2-7 in 2020 before turning it around and going 12-2 last season, which ended with a Big 12 title and a win over Ole Miss in the Sugar Bowl. Since leaving LSU, it seems Aranda has gotten his personality back in the Big 12.

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Brent Venables at No. 8 in CBS Sports Big 12 head coach rankings

Brent Venables comes in at No. 8, but how does CBS Sports rank the remaining Big 12 coaches heading into the 2022 season?

This past winter saw the Big 12 turn over more than 25% of its coaching ranks as Brent Venables, Sonny Dykes, and Joey McGuire took over at Oklahoma, TCU, and Texas Tech.

Dykes is the only one of the three that enters 2022 with any head coaching experience after stops at Louisiana Tech, Cal and SMU. While Venables doesn’t have any head coaching experience, he’s spent the better part of the last 30 years learning from hall of fame coaches Bill Snyder, Bob Stoops and Dabo Swinney. As arguably the best defensive coordinator of the last decade, Venables gets to try his hand at building and running his first football program.

There’s a great deal of optimism surrounding Oklahoma under Venables, and there’s little doubt that the Sooners will have success. However, the turnover the Sooners endured this offseason leaves many wondering if Oklahoma can reassert itself as the king of the Big 12 in 2022.

In a deep league full of quality coaches, Venables checks in at No. 8 in CBS Sports Big 12 coach rankings for 2022. And that’s simply because he hasn’t done it before.

Here’s a look at how the coaches stack up in the Big 12 conference.