Tag: Florida State Seminoles

Ranking the difficulty of Clemson’s 2022 schedule

Clemson’s 2022 football schedule was unveiled Monday, which includes a Labor Day matchup with Georgia Tech to get it started, three straight home games to end it and an open date before the Tigers’ highly anticipated trip to Notre Dame. Which games …

Clemson’s 2022 football schedule was unveiled Monday, which includes a Labor Day matchup with Georgia Tech to get it started, three straight home games to end it and an open date before the Tigers’ highly anticipated trip to Notre Dame.

Which games will be the toughest for the Tigers in their quest to not only get back to the ACC championship game but also return to the College Football Playoff?

The Clemson Insider has ranked the most difficult games on the Tigers’ schedule based on the where each game is being played, the caliber of opponent and each team’s personnel as of early February.

Notre Dame

When: Saturday, Nov. 5

Where: Notre Dame Stadium, South Bend, Indiana

Why: The Fighting Irish have a new coach following Brian Kelly’s departure for LSU, though there’s some familiarity still in place with former defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman’s promotion. And Kelly didn’t exactly leave the cupboard bare. Notre Dame does have to find a new starting quarterback, but there’s still plenty of talent (including the entire starting offensive line) returning from a team that finished No. 5 in the College Football Playoff rankings this past season. When both teams made the playoff in 2020, Notre Dame beat Clemson at home in a double-overtime thriller. The Tigers will be looking to avenge that loss, but it won’t be easy in a game that could have playoff implications depending on the seasons these teams are having when they meet.

Wake Forest

When: Saturday, Sept. 24

Where: Truist Field, Winston-Salem, North Carolina

Why: The Demon Deacons are the defending Atlantic Division champions and have quarterback Sam Hartman (and record-setting receiver A.T. Perry) back to lead what was one of the ACC’s most potent offenses this past season. Now Wake gets its shot at Clemson at home after the Tigers handled the Demon Deacons with ease a few months back at Memorial Stadium. Wake has questions on defense, but Clemson’s offense, particularly at quarterback, has its share, too. This starts a crucial stretch of division games for the Tigers, and it’s hard to envision this one not being more competitive this time around.

North Carolina State

When: Saturday, Oct. 1

Where: Memorial Stadium

Why: N.C. State handed Clemson one of its three losses this past season as part of its runner-up finish in the Atlantic Division, and the Wolfpack have some significant contributors returning from that team. None is more important than quarterback Devin O’Leary, who threw for four touchdowns in that overtime win. N.C. State is losing some key pieces, too, namely star offensive tackle Ikem Ekownu, leading receiver Emeka Emezie and leading rusher Zonovan Knight. But the Wolfpack should still a contender in the division, so getting this game at home, where Clemson has won 34 straight games, certainly helps the Tigers.

Miami

When: Saturday, Nov. 19

Where: Memorial Stadium

Why: Miami rotates back on Clemson’s schedule as a cross-divisional opponent at a time when the Hurricanes may be figuring some things out. They’ve also got a new coach in Mario Cristobal, who turned Oregon into one of the Pac-12’s top programs during his five-year tenure in Eugene and now takes over a Miami program that won five of its final six games this past season. The most significant development on the field was the emergence of Tyler Van Dyke, who stepped in for an injured D’Eriq King and became one of the ACC’s best quarterbacks in the second half of the season. Van Dyke, who threw for 2,194 yards, 20 touchdowns and just three interceptions in the last six games, should make Miami a contender in the Coastal Division this fall. This game could very well turn into a matchup of division title hopefuls come mid-November.

Florida State

When: Saturday, Oct. 15

Where: Doak Campbell Stadium, Tallahassee, Florida

Why: Florida State has still yet to make a bowl game under Mike Norvell, but the Seminoles showed some progress in Year 2 of his tenure, increasing their win total by two. And FSU gave Clemson as much of a scare as anybody last season at Memorial Stadium before a late touchdown drive helped the Tigers escape. Now Clemson will make the trip to Tallahassee, which isn’t an easy place for anyone to play. The Tigers are just 2-4 in their last six games at Doak Campbell, though the two wins came in their most recent trips in 2016 and 2018. FSU has its quarterback back, too, in Jordan Travis, who completed nearly 64% of his passes and threw two scores against Clemson this past season.

Boston College

When: Saturday, Oct. 8

Where: Alumni Stadium, Chestnut Hill, Massachusetts

Why: To say Clemson has dominated this series in recent years would be an understatement. The Tigers have won 11 straight games over Boston College and 13 of 14 dating back to 2008. But the last two meetings, decided by a total of 12 points, haven’t been easy wins for Clemson, and Boston College gave the Tigers a scare last season without quarterback Phil Jurkovec, who’s returning for another season after an injury sidelined him for much of 2021. And that makes Boston College a major wild card in the Atlantic Division. Clemson still holds an overall talent advantage over the Eagles, but Jurkovec is a next-level signal caller. If the 6-foot-5, 225-pounder returns to his pre-injury form, this could be a tricky game for the Tigers on the road.

South Carolina

When: Saturday, Nov. 26

Where: Memorial Stadium

Why: This is another series Clemson has dominated of late with seven straight wins over its in-state rival. The Tigers most recently pitched a shutout on the Gamecocks’ home field. Yet South Carolina surpassed expectations in Year 1 under Shane Beamer, who got the Gamecocks to a bowl game following a 2-8 season in 2020. The optimism in Columbia has only grown with some of the talent Beamer has brought in this offseason, including transfer Spencer Rattler. The former Oklahoma quarterback was a first-team All-Big 12 selection in 2020 and a preseason Heisman Trophy favorite before getting benched in favor of Caleb Williams midway through this past season and ultimately transferring. If Rattler stays healthy and returns to some semblance of his 2020 form, this could turn out to be the most interesting Clemson-Carolina matchup in years. 

Georgia Tech 

When: Monday, Sept. 5

Where: Mercedes-Benz Stadium, Atlanta

Why: The Geoff Collins era hasn’t gone well so far for Tech, which has yet to win more than three games each of the last three seasons. Losing star running back Jahmyr Gibbs (transfer to Alabama) doesn’t make things any easier heading into the fourth year of Collins’ tenure. But opening games on the road can always be tricky as teams try to work out the kinks. On paper, it’s a game Clemson should win rather comfortably, but if the quarterback play isn’t better, it could make for another interesting game against Tech, which gave Clemson all it wanted last season in a six-point loss.

Louisville

When: Saturday, Nov. 6

Where: Memorial Stadium

Why: Clemson has never lost to Louisville, which has yet to have a winning record under third-year coach Scott Satterfield. But like most teams on the Tigers’ schedule, Louisville is getting its quarterback back for another season, which, as Clemson found out last season, makes the Cardinals dangerous. Malik Cunningham passed for more than 2,700 yards and ran for more than 970 a season ago. Louisville’s dual-threat signal caller torched Clemson’s normally stout run defense for 134 rushing yards and two scores on the ground, most of that coming in the first three quarters before he was injured in a narrow victory for Clemson that required a late goal-line stand. If the Tigers weren’t playing this game at home, it might be higher on the list.

Syracuse

When: Saturday, Oct. 22

Where: Memorial Stadium

Why: Syracuse has its quarterback (Garrett Shrader) and the ACC’s leading rusher (Sean Tucker) returning next season, but there just isn’t much more there from a talent standpoint for a program that’s won just 11 games the last three seasons. And Shrader, who completed a league-low 52% of his passes last season, is primarily a runner in an offense that’s largely one-dimensional, which, as the Orange found out this past season, doesn’t really work against a defense as talented as Clemson’s. That will need to change under new offensive coordinator Robert Anae, who directed the conference’s top passing offense at Virginia last season, if Syracuse hopes to be more competitive this time around at Memorial Stadium, where the Orange have lost by an average of 23.5 points in their last four trips.

Louisiana Tech

When: Saturday, Sept. 17

Where: Memorial Stadium

Why: Louisiana Tech is starting over under first-year coach (and former Texas Texas offensive coordinator) Sonny Cumbie, so perhaps the Bulldogs will be better than some expect next season. But it’s been a major struggle the last two seasons in Conference USA for Tech, which won just three games this past season and is 8-14 in its last 22 games. The talent discrepancy between these two programs is a wide one.

Furman

When: Saturday, Sept. 10

Where: Memorial Stadium

Why: This is Dabo Swinney’s annual nod to an in-state opponent from the Football Championship Subdivision, which gets a sizable payday in exchange for the Tigers getting to name their score. If Clemson isn’t able to do that against the Paladins, who went 6-5 this past season, something went terribly wrong.

Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.

Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help.  #SaveNicks

The good and bad of Clemson hoops’ extended break

Much to the chagrin of head coach Brad Brownell, Clemson’s men’s basketball will have to wait a little longer than usual to play its next game. It’s routine for college basketball teams to play a couple of games a week – usually one midweek and …

Much to the chagrin of head coach Brad Brownell, Clemson’s men’s basketball will have to wait a little longer than usual to play its next game.

It’s routine for college basketball teams to play a couple of games a week – usually one midweek and another on the weekend – once conference play starts. Outside of a coronavirus-related postponement of its home game against Duke on Dec. 29, it’s been the norm for Clemson over the last month.

But that will be disrupted this weekend with an open date on the schedule. Clemson pushed the ninth-ranked Blue Devils to the brink in a narrow loss Tuesday at Cameron Indoor Stadium, but the Tigers won’t play again until Wednesday when they welcome Florida State to Littlejohn Coliseum.

It’s unfortunate timing for Clemson (11-9, 3-6 ACC), which has responded to what was its longest losing streak of the season with two of its better performances. Before putting together a well-rounded effort against Duke – one in which Clemson sank 11 3-pointers, finished plus-8 on the glass and forced the Blue Devils into 12 turnovers – the Tigers notched their largest margin of victory in an ACC game so far with their weekend pummeling of a Pittsburgh team that turned around and beat Syracuse its last time out.

“This time of year, we just don’t want to lose our momentum,” Brownell said. “It’s always hard.”

Brownell cited his team’s longest layoff of the season as a prime example. Because of the Duke postponement, Clemson went 12 days between games against Virginia. The Tigers’ 17-point win in Charlottesville on Dec. 22 ran their longest winning streak of the season to four games. When they faced the Cavaliers again in Littlejohn on Jan. 4, Virginia handed Clemson a 10-point loss to start a stretch in which the Tigers lost four out of five games, including three straight before the win over Pitt last week.

“We came back from Christmas, we’d just won at Virginia, we were on a roll, and we felt really good,” Brownell said. “We were excited about the Dec. 29 game, and then we kind of got put on hold for a while. Now the last two games, Pittsburgh we won, and we played well (Tuesday). We’d rather be playing Saturday, but we’ve got some time.”

But not everything about the long layoff is a negative, Brownell said.

Clemson continues to deal with injuries in its frontcourt to forward Hunter Tyson (ankle sprain) and sophomore big PJ Hall (foot), though it’s been hard to tell given the way they have continued to perform. Tyson, with both ankles heavily taped, scored 13 points on 6 of 12 shooting and added eight rebounds against Duke while Hall paced Clemson with a 14-point, 10-board double-double.

Hall, who also had three assists Tuesday, has scored in double figures in all but one game this season and still leads the Tigers in scoring at 14.8 points per game. But Brownell said the extra down time gives both a chance to heal injuries they’ve been dealing with for the better part of the season.

“PJ and Hunter Tyson for us need rest,” Brownell said. “Both guys are playing through some physical ailments.”

As for Clemson’s next opponent, Florida State (13-6, 6-3) will host Virginia Tech on Saturday before making the trip to Clemson for Wednesday’s game, which is set for a 7 p.m. tip.

Clemson Variety & Frame is doing their part to help bring you some classic new barware and help one of the local businesses that helps make Clemson special.

Order your Nick’s barware and do your part to help.  #SaveNicks

Report: Oregon OC Kenny Dillingham helped convince Mycah Pittman to transfer to Florida State

Report: Oregon OC Kenny Dillingham helped convince Mycah Pittman to transfer to Florida State

[jwplayer 7c5mxvQe]

What do you do when the coach that was recruiting you to a certain school picks up and takes a job at the school you just left because you weren’t happy with your usage rate?

That’s a question that former Oregon Ducks’ wide receiver Mycah Pittman recently had to ask himself. Pittman announced mid-season that he was going to leave Eugene and enter the transfer portal, where he would later end up at Florida State under Mike Norvell.

[lawrence-related id=16672]

It was recently reported by The Tallahassee Democrat’s Curt Weiler that the departure of Kenny Dillingham, FSU’s former OC who left for the same job at Oregon, made Pittman hesitate for a second on his decision.

Everything arguably ended up in the expected destinations, with Pittman now in Tallahassee and Dillinghman up in Eugene. Still, it’s a bit interesting to note that Dillingham encouraged Oregon’s former WR to still continue on to Florida State rather than returning to the Ducks, where there is a severe need for receiver depth.

[listicle id=16439]

Where did LSU land in the final USA TODAY Sports FBS re-ranking?

LSU barely cracks the top 60 in the final FBS re-ranking

One final look back at the USA TODAY Sports FBS 1-130 ranking for the 2021 season.

The chapter is finally closed and the Purple and Gold can move forward towards a new era of football. Brian Kelly officially took over the team as head coach on Jan. 5. The day after their 42-20 loss to Kansas State in the Texas Bowl. At least that is when the run of interim coach Brad Davis came to an end, he will return to his post as offensive line coach in 2022.

According to Paul Myerberg’s FBS re-ranking, the LSU Tigers found themselves down to No. 58 overall. Close to where Auburn was ranked at No. 56. Their postseason opponents, Kansas State finished out the year as the No. 38 team climbing 10 spots. The loss to the Wildcats sent LSU tumbling down nine spots in the ranking.

Here is a look at where the 2022 opponents finished in the final ranking. LSU will play Florida State in New Orleans on Sept. 4 to kick off the Brian Kelly era.

2022 Opponents Final Ranking

Alicia Devine/Tallahassee Democrat / USA TODAY NETWORK
  • Florida State (No. 70)
  • Southern (FCS team, N/A)
  • Mississippi State (No. 50)
  • New Mexico (No. 119)
  • Auburn (No. 56)
  • Tennessee (No. 44)
  • Florida (No. 69)
  • Ole Miss (No. 12)
  • Alabama (No. 2)
  • Arkansas (No. 26)
  • UAB (No. 35)
  • Texas A&M (No. 32)

Contact/Follow us @LSUTigersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Louisiana State news, notes, and opinions.

Follow Patrick on Twitter: @PatrickConnCFB

Quarterback Chubba Purdy, brother of Brock Purdy receives offer from Oklahoma

Oklahoma continues to quarterback shop, this time with an offer to Ftransfer quarterback Chubba Purdy.

If you like to read between the lines, this may be the article for you. After a hectic week that saw the Sooners watch as Caleb Williams entered the transfer portal and saw Dillon Gabriel commit to Oklahoma just hours later, the Sooners are back in the portal shopping for yet another quarterback.

The new quarterback offer is one with a familiar last name. Chubba Purdy, former quarterback of the Florida State Seminoles, is the younger brother of recently graduated Iowa State quarterback Brock Purdy. The older Purdy has been in some battles with the Sooners in recent years.

The younger Purdy may not be as accomplished at the college level as his brother is, but he could fill a very significant role for Oklahoma who still  needs another scholarship quarterback. Oklahoma will only have 2022 four-star Nick Evers and UCF transfer Dillon Gabriel on scholarship in 2022.

At Florida State, Purdy appeared in three games with one start. He was 27-of-53 passing for 219 yards and two touchdowns and rushed 19 times for 57 yards. He started against North Carolina State in 2020 and was 15-of-23 passing for 181 yards and two touchdowns. His first touchdown pass was a 69-yard pass that ended up being the Seminoles’ biggest pass play of 2020.

Purdy signed with the Seminoles out of high school as a 4-star prospect out of Gilbert, AZ. According to 247 Sports, Purdy was the No. 192 overall prospect, the No. 7 dual-threat QB in the country, and the No. 6 overall prospect out of Arizona.

Caleb Williams could return to Oklahoma but the Sooners landing one quarterback via the transfer portal and still shopping for another would seem to indicate the Sooners and offensive coordinator Jeff Lebby don’t think Williams is returning.

Gabriel was insurance for Williams. This next quarterback looks like veteran insurance for Gabriel while Nick Evers acclimates himself to the college game.

The wheels on this situation are turning and it seems like the Sooners are doing their due diligence to cover themselves regardless of what Williams decides.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

[listicle id=52729]

Oklahoma Sooners land 4-star running back Jovantae Barnes out of Nevada

2022 four-star running back Jovantae Barnes commits to the Oklahoma Sooners.

After a long, long recruiting process and one that we’ve chronicled in detail here at Sooners Wire, Jovantae Barnes is finally a Sooner. Despite the recent coaching change, Barnes was trending in the direction of the Crimson and Cream long before Lincoln Riley’s exodus.

Oklahoma’s biggest threats were USC and Florida State. However, Barnes was not swayed to USC despite Riley’s move. Florida State’s decline probably wasn’t attractive and former FSU offensive coordinator Kenny Dillingham took that same job at Oregon.

Barnes’ recruitment was led by the king of Sin City (in the eyes of Sooners fans at least), DeMarco Murray. Murray’s relationship to Barnes, his connection to Nevada, and his NFL success resonated with Barnes.

Barnes brings fresh legs and loads of upside to the Sooners running back group along with fellow four-star and Oklahoma signee Gavin Sawchuk. Barnes shines the brightest running between the tackles and figures to be a beast putting on more muscle after some time with Coach Jerry Schmidt in the offseason.

Barnes’ recruitment has a slight ripple effect long-term on the Sooners’ recruiting efforts in 2023 as well.

Barnes has a close friendship with 2023 commit DeAndre Moore Jr, also a native of Nevada. Both are reportedly really close and both have a great relationship with DeMarco Murray. So much so, Moore took to social media to announce he’d be still committed to Oklahoma despite Lincoln Riley’s departure as long as Murray was coaching at Oklahoma. Adding one of his childhood friends to the team will probably also go a long way of keeping Moore in the fold too.

Recruiting Profile

Rating

Stars Overall State Position
247 4 170 4 15
Rivals 4 108 3 4
ESPN 4 97th 3 7
247 Composite 4 116 3 10

Vitals

Hometown Las Vegas, Nevada
Projected Position RB
Height 6’0
Weight 190

Recruitment

  • Offered on February 3rd, 2020
  • Official visit November 20th, 2021

Offers

  • USC Trojans
  • Florida State Seminoles
  • Alabama Crimson Tide
  • Utah Utes
  • Texas Longhorns
  • Ole Miss Rebels
  • Auburn Tigers
  • Florida Gators
  • Texas A&M Aggies

Crystal Ball

Film

Barnes Senior highlights 

Twitter

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

[listicle id=50598]

Oklahoma offers class of 2023 twin brothers, Robby and Bobby Washington, out of Miami Killian (Fla.)

Oklahoma offered twin brothers, Robby and Bobby Washington, out of Miami Killian (Fla.) High School. The pair are class of 2023 prospects.

Oklahoma extended offers to Robby and Bobby Washington, class of 2023 twin brothers out of Miami Killian (Florida).

If the Sooners wind up landing this pair when their recruitments are done, there’s a good chance Oklahoma fans can expect to see a Washington on each side of the football.

Robby Washington is listed as a four-star prospect and the nation’s No. 9 athlete and 82nd player overall according to 247Sports. He is a 5-foot-10, 170-pound versatile player equipped to line up, run routes and catch passes or simply carry the football out of the backfield.

247Sports’ Southeast recruiting analyst Andrew Ivins wrote this about Robby Washington in his evaluation.

A Swiss Army Knife of sorts that can impact the game in multiple ways. Blessed with the speed that everyone looks for down in South Florida. Under 6-foot, but should in no way be considered tiny. Featured primarily as a wide receiver his junior season. Uses quick feet to create separation at the line of scrimmage and then get vertical in a hurry. Competitive at the catch point and does an excellent job of tracking the ball once it’s in the air. Evasive in the open field and can turn what should be a five-yard gain into a chunk play as he will juke and race his way past defenders. More than comfortable taking a handoff out of the backfield – at least on Friday nights – and picks up positive yardage more times than not when his number is called on jet sweeps. Also an effective return man and has scored multiple times on special teams throughout his career. Will need to adjust to the everyday demands of Power 5 football and keep progressing, but has what it takes to emerge as an offensive weapon at the school of his choice. Likely to settle in as a slot receiver, but could carve out a role as a change-of-pace running back or even get a look somewhere in the secondary. – Ivins, 247Sports

Bobby Washington, named after the twins’ father, is a three-star prospect and the nation’s 40th-ranked linebacker and No. 82 prospect from the state of Florida in the 2023 class according to 247Sports.

The 6-foot-3, 205 pound linebacker also holds offers from Miami, Central Florida, Vanderbilt, Pittsburgh, North Carolina State and South Florida.

The twin brothers are the sons of Bobby Washington who was a Parade All-American at Miami Killian in 2003. During his high school playing career, Bobby Washington rushed for 5,695 yards and 61 touchdowns.

He was highly-recruited and wound up signing with North Carolina State. After a pair of seasons with the Wolfpack, the elder Washington transferred to Eastern Kentucky where he rushed for 1,025 yards and 11 touchdowns as a senior.

Their high school head football coach at Miami Killian, Derrick Gibson, is family, too.

Gibson has plenty of accolades from his playing days as well. Gibson played in three BCS national championships while at Florida State, winning one over Virginia Tech to cap the 1999 season.

Of course, Gibson and Florida State were victims of Oklahoma’s last national championship when the Sooners beat the Seminoles in the 2001 Orange Bowl 13-2.

Gibson was a first-round selection by the Oakland Raiders in the 2001 NFL Draft where he was chosen No. 28 overall.

Earlier this fall, Gibson described the younger Bobby Washington’s game at linebacker with 247Sports’ Ivins and shared expectations for the pair’s recruitment.

“Bobby is a phenomenal athlete too,” Gibson said. “He’s a little bit bigger. He’s going to be a defensive guy. He was actually playing a little running back and quarterback when those two were up in Tennessee, but I just see him being an outside linebacker or rush end. I think he’s going to fill out into exactly what schools want and I do know that they both want to go to school with each other.” – Ivins, 247Sports

Robby Washington noted in that article by 247Sports’ Ivins that he and Bobby are a package deal and that “you got to take both of us.”

Oklahoma made its intention clear by offering both brothers that it would love to add that package deal to its 2023 signing class.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

2[listicle id=35808]

How to watch Florida football vs UCF Knights in Gasparilla Bowl

Want to know how to follow Wednesday’s UF-UCF bowl game? Here’s everything you need to keep up with the action.

The big day is finally here Gator fans! The end of the tumultuous season is nearing its end on Thursday when Florida football faces the Central Florida Knights in the 2021 Gasparilla Bowl. It was not the postseason appearance either school expected, but after an embarrassing season for collegiate football in the state of Florida overall, it will serve as the state championship game.

Florida enters the matchup with a 6-6 record, putting up its worst mark in Southeastern Conference play since the mid-1980s at 2-6 and firing its head coach Dan Mullen — along with a couple of his coaches — along the way. UCF came into the season with Heisman aspirations for its starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who then was lost for the season after breaking his clavicle against Lousiville on Sept. 17, resulting in an underwhelming outcome overall for the Knights in 2021.

Game day betting odds for Florida football vs UCF in Gasparilla Bowl

Below, we have everything you need to know to follow Thursday’s bowl game action in Tampa, Florida, with kickoff scheduled for 7 p.m. EST.

When: Dec. 23 at 7 p.m. EST

Where: Raymond James Stadium, Tampa, Florida

Television: ESPN

Play-by-Play: Wes Durham

Analyst: Roddy Jones

Reporter: Taylor Davis

Live Stream: fuboTV (try it free)

Radio: Gator IMG Sports Network

Play-by-Play: Mick Hubert

Analyst: Lee McGriff

Reporter: Tate Casey

Score Track: FloridaGators.com, ESPN app

Game Notes: FloridaGators.com

Follow the Action: Follow Gators Wire (@GatorsWire) on Twitter for live updates.

Composite Prediction: Florida 27, UCF 26.75 (yup, that close, again)

Follow us @GatorsWire on Twitter and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Florida Gators news, notes and opinions.

Brian Kelly among the top storylines to follow in 2022

Brian Kelly and the 2021 coaching carousel will headline the 2022 season.

Bowl season is currently underway but that isn’t stopping anyone from looking ahead to the 2022 season. Among the big storylines, next year will be looking back at the new hires for 28 college football programs.

Brian Kelly was one of those coaches that left a national brand with Notre Dame for another big national brand, the LSU Tigers. Is this the team or location that will allow Brian Kelly to finally win the big one? He was able to recruit at Notre Dame and it should come easier at LSU, a place that essentially recruits itself.

According to Austin Nivison of 247Sports, that is just one of 10 huge storylines to observe in the 2022 season.

What 247Sports Says…

The 2021 cycle was one of the wildest on the coaching carousel in recent memory. Big-name coaches left major programs to take new jobs at other programs, like Lincoln Riley leaving Oklahoma for USC, Mario Cristobal leaving Oregon for Miami, and Brian Kelly leaving Notre Dame for LSU. All of those programs replaced those coaches with defensive coordinators without head coaching experience. On top of all that, Florida fired Dan Mullen and replaced him with one of the most respected coaches at the Group of Five level. It was chaos for about a month, but how many of the new hires will work out. Will any reach the College Football Playoff immediately? Will any give their respective fan bases a level of buyer’s remorse?

The Brian Kelly era will officially begin in New Orleans, Louisiana when the LSU Tigers meet up with the Florida State Seminoles to kick off the 2022 campaign. These two teams haven’t faced off since the 1991 season in Baton Rouge. The Seminoles won that game 27-16, in fact, FSU has won four straight in the series dating back to 1982. They hold the overall advantage of 7–2. In the very first meeting, the Tigers won the 1968 Peach Bowl by a score of 31-27.

Interestingly enough, it was in New Orleans where the Ed Orgeron era officially began as well. The interim tag was removed and the Tigers beat the BYU Cougars in the Superdome 27-0 to kick off the 2017 campaign. We will see if Kelly has a similar result.

All Bob Stoops wants is for Brent Venables ‘to do better than I did by a long shot’

Oklahoma interim head coach Bob Stoops is prepared to offer guidance if asked, but knows Brent Venables “doesn’t need any help.”

[mm-video type=playlist id=01eqbz7cqqgxy50qwt player_id=none image=https://soonerswire.usatoday.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Oklahoma interim head coach Bob Stoops knows what it takes to win at the highest level in college football.

Stoops and his players engineered one of the great two-year turnarounds in college football history when his team capped the 2000 season by beating Florida State 13-2 in the 2001 Orange Bowl to capture the BCS National Championship.

Of course, Stoops went on to add all sorts of other accomplishments along the way throughout his decorated tenure leading Oklahoma. Stoops is the only coach to have won each of the four BCS bowl games and a BCS National Championship.

The Youngstown, Ohio, native finished his 18-year run as Oklahoma’s head coach with a record of 190-48 and won a record 10 Big 12 championships.

As it was with Lincoln Riley before him, if new Oklahoma head football coach Brent Venables ever needs any advice or guidance, Stoops said he’ll gladly help.

Stoops said Venables is prepared for this opportunity, though, and he isn’t expecting to be called upon for much.

“He doesn’t need any help, but I’m going to be there. We’re very close as everybody knows, so of course I’m going to always be there to lend [help]. Now again, not that he needs it at all, but you might as well bounce something off me if you’ve got an idea about something or thinking about something. He knows all I want is for him to do better than I did by a long shot,” Stoops said.

Matching or perhaps surpassing the accomplishments and standard that Stoops set at Oklahoma is asking for Venables to be one of the game’s preeminent coaches.

Still, Stoops believes Venables is capable of just that.

“Again, I just think as you guys all every time you see Brent in front of you, you realize why I’m and everybody’s so excited about what Brent brings. All the enthusiasm, the energy, the toughness,” Stoops said.

Stoops feels Venables’ experience from Kansas State, Oklahoma and especially from Clemson may be exactly what OU needs to get over the hump and end its championship drought.

“I love the experience from Kansas State building that program, to us here at OU building the program back, to what they’ve done at Clemson the last 10 years. He brings a wealth of experience and I love the fact that what they’ve been doing at Clemson is different than what we’re doing here, so I think he brings some great new ideas, and thoughts and ways to run the program and what you need to do to get us from being that 11-2, 10-2 team that’s No. 5 in the country to 15, somewhere in there. Maybe this is what gets us in these next few years over the hump to be that national champion and in the playoffs all the time. I know we’ve been in them a good bit, but I think this can help us even more. He has that background to get it done,” Stoops said.

Venables certainly has the pedigree. Combining his stints at Oklahoma and Clemson, Venables has coached in eight national championship games and been a part of winning three national championships.

Stoops’ confidence in Venables is etched in their shared history. Their relationship dates back to Stoops coaching Venables at Kansas State during the 1991-92 seasons.

Stoops has a saying.

“I got a big-time saying about people. They don’t change. They just get older. Think of your buddies back in college and you run into them 15 years later. They hadn’t changed. They’re just older,” Stoops said.

That’s why when Stoops reflects on who Venables was as a player at Kansas State, he expects Venables to be much of the same as Oklahoma’s 23rd head football coach.

The traits Venables exhibited as a linebacker for the Wildcats are also why Stoops felt Venables was the perfect fit to join Kansas State’s coaching staff.

“Brent was like this. He loved football. He couldn’t wait to go to practice. He was a ball of energy all the time, wanted everyone else to be just like that. Was a leader, captain on our team. I was very adamant that soon as he was finished playing, you need to be here and be a grad assistant with us. I mean, he’s the perfect coach,” Stoops said.

Several years later while Stoops was still the co-defensive coordinator at Kansas State, he pushed for head coach Bill Snyder to hire Venables as the Wildcats’ next linebackers coach after Jim Leavitt left to accept his first head coaching job at South Florida.

“There’s a million guys that wanted to come that have 10 and 15, 20 years more experience than Brent. I said, ‘Coach, but nobody knows our system more like Brent and nobody is more like us than Brent.’ And coach Snyder and I after talking about it—because I was still going to remain there—we hired him. Coach Snyder did as a full-time linebackers coach. And then I went and a month or two later went and went to Florida. So, I left him and Mike by theirselves there to handle things,” Stoops said.

Venables flourished at Kansas State and then eventually arrived in Norman as part of Stoops’ first staff. Venables served as OU’s linebackers coach and co-defensive coordinator from 1999-03.

Then, after Mike Stoops left to take the head coaching job at Arizona, Venables became the Sooners’ associate head coach, defensive coordinator and linebackers coach from 2004-11.

Mike Stoops was set to return to Oklahoma in 2012 as defensive coordinator, so Venables felt it was the right time to try something new.

Venables left and went to Clemson to take over as the Tigers’ defensive coordinator for head coach Dabo Swinney. In the years since, Venables established himself as one of the highest-paid and most well-respected assistant coaches in college football.

Over the past decade at Clemson, Venables’ defenses produced 26 NFL Draft picks. That list includes eight first-round NFL Draft selections and 15 players that were selected in the NFL Draft’s first 100 picks.

Now, it’s that NFL Draft track record and the national championships Venables helped bring to Clemson that has Sooner Nation salivating about what the future might hold.

“I’m honored and I’m humbled to stand with you and before you today as your next head football coach here at Oklahoma. Again, one of the winningest and storied, tradition-rich programs in the history of college football,” Venables said on Dec. 6 in his introductory press conference.

Venables addressed the upcoming move to the Southeastern Conference and expressed excitement about the opportunity for Oklahoma with greater challenges ahead.

“Now, taking the lead and also taking it through one of the biggest transitions in the history of college football. Taking Oklahoma from the Big 12 to the SEC, you’ve got your guy to take you on this journey. Also, make no mistake about it. Oklahoma has been and always will be the measuring stick in college football,” Venables said.

And then Venables made good on the energy and excitement that Stoops promised he would bring with one final applause-inducing forecast of what lies ahead for Oklahoma.

“We will employ an exciting, fast, explosive and diverse offense combined with a physical, punishing, suffocating defense,” Venables said.

If Venables’ teams live up to that description and Stoops’ expectations, then Oklahoma fans are in for a memorable ride like what Stoops’ 2000 team sent them on in Norman all those many years ago.

Contact/Follow us @SoonersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Oklahoma news, notes, and opinions.

[listicle id=49643]