NFL Coaches Against The Spread Rankings. Who Covers, Who Doesn’t

NFL Coaches Against The Spread Rankings. Which ones cover and which don’t?

How good are all of the NFL head coaches against the spread? 22 veteran head coaches are ranked on how well they cover.


Winning isn’t everything, but winning against the spread is.

How well do the current NFL coaches when it comes to covering the spread? Here’s the ranking of all the veteran head coaches and how they have done with their current teams.

Note that there are only 22 ranked here – again, these are the veterans and not the first year guys.

Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @RichCirminiello

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College Coaches Against the Spread 
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | SEC
Group of Five programs & Independents
Ranked from 1 to 108 overall

22. Robert Saleh, NY Jets

ATS Record (since 2021)

ATS Overall: 6-11 (35.3%)
After Bye: 0-1
After Win: 1-3
After Loss: 5-7
Home: 4-5
Road: 2-5
Favorite: 1-0
Underdog: 5-11
Home Favorite: 1-0
Home Dog: 3-5
Road Favorite: 0-0
Road Dog: 2-5

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 10-7
After bye: 1-0
Home: 6-3
Road: 3-4
Favorite: 1-0
Underdog: 9-7
Home Favorite: 1-0
Home Dog: 5-3
Road Favorite: 0-0
Road Dog: 3-4

21. Arthur Smith, Atlanta Falcons

ATS Record (since 2021)

ATS Overall: 6-10-1 (38.2%)
After Bye: 1-0
After Win: 1-5-1
After Loss: 5-4
Home: 0-7
Road: 5-3-1
Favorite: 3-3
Underdog: 3-7-1
Home Favorite: 0-3
Home Dog: 0-4
Road Favorite: 2-0
Road Dog: 3-3-1

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 7-10
After bye: 1-0
Home: 2-5
Road: 4-5
Favorite: 2-4
Underdog: 5-6
Home Favorite: 0-3
Home Dog: 2-2
Road Favorite: 1-1
Road Dog: 3-4

20. Matt Rhule, Carolina Panthers

ATS Record (since 2020)

ATS Overall: 14-19 (42.4%)
After Bye: 0-2
After Win: 5-5
After Loss: 8-13
Home: 4-12
Road: 10-7
Favorite: 3-8
Underdog: 11-11
Home Favorite: 1-6
Home Dog: 3-6
Road Favorite: 2-2
Road Dog: 8-5

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 15-18
After bye: 2-0
Home: 6-10
Road: 9-8
Favorite: 4-7
Underdog: 11-11
Home Favorite: 3-4
Home Dog: 3-6
Road Favorite: 1-3
Road Dog: 8-5

19. Brandon Staley, LA Chargers

ATS Record (since 2021)

ATS Overall: 8-9 (47.1%)
After Bye: 0-1
After Win: 3-6
After Loss: 4-3
Home: 4-5
Road: 4-4
Favorite: 4-7
Underdog: 3-2
Home Favorite: 4-4
Home Dog: 0-1
Road Favorite: 0-3
Road Dog: 3-1

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 10-7
After bye: 1-0
Home: 6-3
Road: 4-4
Favorite: 7-4
Underdog: 2-3
Home Favorite: 5-3
Home Dog: 1-0
Road Favorite: 2-1
Road Dog: 1-3

18. Nick Sirianni, Philadelphia Eagles

ATS Record (since 2021)

ATS Overall: 8-9-1 (47.2%)
After Bye: 0-0-1
After Win: 3-5-1
After Loss: 4-4
Home: 3-4-1
Road: 5-5
Favorite: 4-2-1
Underdog: 3-6
Home Favorite: 2-0-1
Home Dog: 1-3
Road Favorite: 2-2
Road Dog: 2-3

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 10-8
After bye: 1-0
Home: 6-2
Road: 4-6
Favorite: 5-2
Underdog: 4-5
Home Favorite: 3-0
Home Dog: 2-2
Road Favorite: 2-2
Road Dog: 2-3

17. Kevin Stefanski, Cleveland Browns

ATS Record (since 2020)

ATS Overall: 15-20 (42.9%)
After Bye: 0-2
After Win: 10-9
After Loss: 4-10
Home: 6-11
Road: 9-9
Favorite: 6-14
Underdog: 8-6
Home Favorite: 5-10
Home Dog: 1-1
Road Favorite: 1-4
Road Dog: 7-5

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 17-18
After bye: 1-1
Home: 8-9
Road: 9-9
Favorite: 9-11
Underdog: 8-6
Home Favorite: 7-8
Home Dog: 1-1
Road Favorite: 2-3
Road Dog: 7-5

16. Mike Vrabel, Tennessee Titans

ATS Record (since 2018)

ATS Overall: 35-34-1 (50.7%)
After Bye: 4-1
After Win: 21-22
After Loss: 13-9-1
Home: 17-17-1
Road: 17-17
Favorite: 15-21-1
Underdog: 20-13
Home Favorite: 9-12-1
Home Dog: 8-5
Road Favorite: 6-9
Road Dog: 11-8

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 39-30-1
After bye: 3-2
Home: 18-16-1
Road: 21-13
Favorite: 21-15-1
Underdog: 18-15
Home Favorite: 11-10-1
Home Dog: 7-6
Road Favorite: 10-5
Road Dog: 11-8

15. Kyle Shanahan, San Francisco 49ers

ATS Record (since 2017)

ATS Overall: 44-42-1 (51.1%)
After Bye: 3-3
After Win: 24-18
After Loss: 19-20-1
Home: 17-22-1
Road: 27-17
Favorite: 16-25-1
Underdog: 28-17
Home Favorite: 8-15-1
Home Dog: 9-7
Road Favorite: 8-8
Road Dog: 19-9

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 42-44-1
After bye: 1-5
Home: 22-18
Road: 19-24-1
Favorite: 25-16-1
Underdog: 17-28
Home Favorite: 15-9
Home Dog: 7-9
Road Favorite: 9-6-1
Road Dog: 10-18

14. Mike Tomlin, Pittsburgh Steelers

ATS Record (since 2007)

ATS Overall: 130-122-6 (51.6%)
After Bye: 9-9
After Win: 74-77-6
After Loss: 48-36
Home: 69-58-3
Road: 61-61-3
Favorite: 83-95-3
Underdog: 47-26-3
Home Favorite: 54-54-1
Home Dog: 15-3-2
Road Favorite: 29-39-2
Road Dog: 32-22-1

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 117-136-5
After bye: 10-8
Home: 62-64-4
Road: 52-72-1
Favorite: 86-91-4
Underdog: 31-44-1
Home Favorite: 54-51-4
Home Dog: 8-12
Road Favorite: 30-40
Road Dog: 22-32-1

13. Ron Rivera, Washington Commanders

ATS Record (since 2020)

ATS Overall: 17-16-1 (51.5%)
After Bye: 1-1
After Win: 8-5
After Loss: 8-10-1
Home: 9-8
Road: 7-8-1
Favorite: 3-4
Underdog: 14-12-1
Home Favorite: 1-3
Home Dog: 8-5
Road Favorite: 2-1
Road Dog: 5-7-1

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 13-21
After bye: 0-2
Home: 5-12
Road: 8-8
Favorite: 2-5
Underdog: 11-16
Home Favorite: 1-3
Home Dog: 4-9
Road Favorite: 1-2
Road Dog: 7-6

12. John Harbaugh, Baltimore Ravens

ATS Record (since 2008)

ATS Overall: 124-112-8 (52.5%)
After Bye: 9-7
After Win: 75-67-5
After Loss: 39-41-3
Home: 56-59-2
Road: 67-52-6
Favorite: 74-78-5
Underdog: 50-34-3
Home Favorite: 47-51-2
Home Dog: 9-8
Road Favorite: 27-26-3
Road Dog: 40-26-3

Over/Under (to the over)

Overall: 116-125-3
After bye: 7-9
Home: 53-64
Road: 61-61-3
Favorite: 71-86
Underdog: 45-39-3
Home Favorite: 46-54
Home Dog: 7-10
Road Favorite: 24-32
Road Dog: 37-29-3

11. Mike McCarthy, Dallas Cowboys

ATS Record (since 2020)

ATS Overall: 18-16 (52.9%)
After Bye: 2-0
After Win: 10-8
After Loss: 7-7
Home: 8-9
Road: 10-7
Favorite: 11-11
Underdog: 7-5
Home Favorite: 5-9
Home Dog: 3-0
Road Favorite: 6-2
Road Dog: 4-5

Over/Under (to the over)
Overall: 17-17
After bye: 1-1
Home: 11-6
Road: 6-11
Favorite: 11-11
Underdog: 6-6
Home Favorite: 9-5
Home Dog: 2-1
Road Favorite: 2-6
Road Dog: 4-5

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10. Sean McVay, LA Rams

ATS Record (since 2017)

ATS Overall: 48-41-2 (53.8%)
After Bye: 4-2
After Win: 27-32-1
After Loss: 16-9-1
Home: 20-21-2
Road: 26-19
Favorite: 37-33-2
Underdog: 11-8
Home Favorite: 19-18-2
Home Dog: 1-3
Road Favorite: 16-15
Road Dog: 10-4

Over/Under (to the over)   
Overall: 43-47-1
After bye: 3-3
Home: 18-25
Road: 25-19-1
Favorite: 28-43-1
Underdog: 15-4
Home Favorite: 14-25
Home Dog: 4-0
Road Favorite: 14-16-1
Road Dog: 11-3

9. Frank Reich, Indianapolis Colts

ATS Record (since 2018)

ATS Overall: 35-30-3 (53.7%)
After Bye: 3-0-1
After Win: 20-17-1
After Loss: 15-10-1
Home: 14-18-1
Road: 21-12-2
Favorite: 21-18-1
Underdog: 14-12-2
Home Favorite: 13-13-1
Home Dog: 1-5
Road Favorite: 8-5
Road Dog: 13-7-2

Over/Under (to the over)   
Overall: 35-33
After bye: 3-1
Home: 16-17
Road: 19-16
Favorite: 19-21
Underdog: 16-12
Home Favorite: 11-16
Home Dog: 5-1
Road Favorite: 8-5
Road Dog: 11-11

8. Kliff Kingsbury, Arizona Cardinals

ATS Record (since 2019)

ATS Overall: 26-22-2 (54%)
After Bye: 1-2
After Win: 13-10-1
After Loss: 9-12-1
Home: 9-15
Road: 17-7-2
Favorite: 8-14
Underdog: 18-8-2
Home Favorite: 4-11
Home Dog: 5-4
Road Favorite: 4-3
Road Dog: 13-4-2

Over/Under (to the over)  
Overall: 22-28
After bye: 2-1
Home: 14-10
Road: 8-18
Favorite: 9-13
Underdog: 13-15
Home Favorite: 8-7
Home Dog: 6-3
Road Favorite: 1-6
Road Dog: 7-12

7. Pete Carroll, Seattle Seahawks

ATS Record (since 2010)

ATS Overall: 111-93-7 (54.3%)
After Bye: 7-6-1
After Win: 62-62-3
After Loss: 44-24-3
Home: 59-42-2
Road: 50-50-5
Favorite: 65-61-4
Underdog: 46-32-3
Home Favorite: 43-33-2
Home Dog: 16-9
Road Favorite: 21-28-2
Road Dog: 29-22-3

Over/Under (to the over)
Overall: 108-100-3
After bye: 6-8
Home: 56-45-2
Road: 50-54-1
Favorite: 61-69
Underdog: 47-31-3
Home Favorite: 41-37
Home Dog: 15-8-2
Road Favorite: 20-31
Road Dog: 30-23-1

6. Zac Taylor, Cincinnati Bengals

ATS Record (since 2019)

ATS Overall: 29-24 (54.7%)
After Bye: 1-2
After Win: 9-9
After Loss: 17-14
Home: 12-14
Road: 17-9
Favorite: 6-7
Underdog: 23-17
Home Favorite: 4-5
Home Dog: 8-9
Road Favorite: 2-2
Road Dog: 15-7

Over/Under (to the over) 
Overall: 22-30-1
After bye: 1-1-1
Home: 15-11
Road: 7-18-1
Favorite: 9-4
Underdog: 13-26-1
Home Favorite: 7-2
Home Dog: 8-9
Road Favorite: 2-2
Road Dog: 5-16-1

5. Andy Reid, Kansas City Chiefs

ATS Record (since 2013)

ATS Overall: 88-70-3 (55.6%)
After Bye: 7-6
After Win: 60-47-3
After Loss: 22-20
Home: 40-41-2
Road: 45-29-1
Favorite: 68-58-2
Underdog: 20-12-1
Home Favorite: 37-38-2
Home Dog: 3-3
Road Favorite: 28-20
Road Dog: 17-9-1

Over/Under (to the over) 
Overall: 78-82-1
After bye: 3-9-1
Home: 35-48
Road: 42-32-1
Favorite: 58-70
Underdog: 20-12-1
Home Favorite: 29-48
Home Dog: 6-0
Road Favorite: 28-20
Road Dog: 14-12-1

4. Sean McDermott, Buffalo Bills

ATS Record (since 2017)

ATS Overall: 48-35-5 (57.4%)
After Bye: 2-1-2
After Win: 28-20-3
After Loss: 17-13-2
Home: 23-18-3
Road: 24-17-2
Favorite: 26-16-3
Underdog: 22-19-2
Home Favorite: 17-10-3
Home Dog: 6-8
Road Favorite: 9-6
Road Dog: 15-11-2

Over/Under (to the over)    
Overall: 41-46-1
After bye: 3-2
Home: 22-22
Road: 18-24-1
Favorite: 22-22-1
Underdog: 19-24
Home Favorite: 15-15
Home Dog: 7-7
Road Favorite: 7-7-1
Road Dog: 11-17

3. Bill Belichick, New England Patriots

ATS Record (since 2003)

ATS Overall: 197-140-7 (58.3%)
After Bye: 18-12-1
After Win: 138-104-7
After Loss: 50-26
Home: 101-71-5
Road: 91-65-2
Favorite: 163-120-6
Underdog: 32-20-1
Home Favorite: 94-68-5
Home Dog: 6-3
Road Favorite: 64-48-1
Road Dog: 26-17-1

Over/Under (to the over) 
Overall: 175-164-5
After bye: 16-14-1
Home: 91-81-5
Road: 80-78
Favorite: 145-139-5
Underdog: 29-24
Home Favorite: 86-76-5
Home Dog: 5-4
Road Favorite: 55-58
Road Dog: 24-20

2. Matt LaFleur, Green Bay Packers

ATS Record (since 2019)

ATS Overall: 34-20 (63%)
After Bye: 3-3
After Win: 23-18
After Loss: 9-1
Home: 19-9
Road: 15-10
Favorite: 25-17
Underdog: 9-3
Home Favorite: 18-9
Home Dog: 1-0
Road Favorite: 7-7
Road Dog: 8-3

Over/Under (to the over)
Overall: 27-27
After bye: 3-3
Home: 14-14
Road: 13-12
Favorite: 20-22
Underdog: 7-5
Home Favorite: 13-14
Home Dog: 1-0
Road Favorite: 7-7
Road Dog: 6-5

1. Dan Campbell, Detroit Lions

ATS Record (since 2021)

ATS Overall: 11-6 (64.7%)
After Bye: 1-0
After Win: 1-1
After Loss: 8-5
Home: 6-2
Road: 5-4
Favorite: 0-0
Underdog: 11-6
Home Favorite: 0-0
Home Dog: 6-2
Road Favorite: 0-0
Road Dog: 5-4

Over/Under (to the over)
Overall: 7-10
After bye: 0-1
Home: 4-4
Road: 3-6
Favorite: 0-0
Underdog: 7-10
Home Favorite: 0-0
Home Dog: 4-4
Road Favorite: 0-0
Road Dog: 3-6

Coaches Against the Spread
A deeper dive on each coach and how they do against the spread
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | SEC
Group of Five programs & Independents
76-108 | 51-75 | 26-50 | Top 25 | Top 10

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2022 College Football Schedules: All 131 Teams

Georgia Bulldogs Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players

Georgia College Football Preview 2022: Team breakdown, season prediction, keys to the campaign, and what you need to know

Georgia Bulldogs Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the season with what you need to know and keys to the season.


Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

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Georgia Bulldogs Preview
Head Coach: Kirby Smart, 66-15, 7th year at Georgia
2021 Preview: Overall: 14-1, Conference: 8-0
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Georgia Top 10 Players | Georgia Schedule & Analysis

Georgia Bulldogs Preview 2022

There’s a college basketball theory that all you can reasonably ask for is to consistently put great teams on the floor year in and year out. Do that, and you’ll eventually catch the breaks when it matters in March.

Demanding a national title is tough, but the Final Four? Yeah, if you’re a Duke, Kentucky, North Carolina, Kansas, Gonzaga, etc., that’s a reasonable goal every season. Keep getting in it, and soon you’re going to win it.

The Georgia football program kept fielding great team after great team – that includes the Mark Richt era – and it all finally came together. It was finally its turn to have the right mix and the right things fall into place to get that national championship.

There wasn’t anything flaky or fluky about it, and it wasn’t the catch-lightning-in-a-bottle run of 2019 LSU – all-timer team, national championship program, but too up-and-down over the last few years. Georgia was due, it got the job done, and now its status goes to a whole other level.

It was national title-good over the last several seasons under Kirby Smart, but the program went from promise – like Oklahoma and Notre Dame programs that are CFP-good, but can’t take it that one extra step – to proof. It just made the jump to raise the expectations to the reasonably insane.

Georgia now gets table service in the VIP lounge of respect that Alabama, Clemson, and Ohio State hang in.

What do those four have that just about everyone else doesn’t? The consistency every single season to keep rolling no matter how many generational stars they lose.

Now, being in that elite club isn’t necessarily a positive when it comes to fun – ask Alabama fans if they feel like 2021 was a success, even with a Heisman winner, an SEC championship, and a trip to the national title game – in a be careful what you wish for sort of way. However, when the question comes up during the summer of who will make the College Football Playoff, if even the most casual of fans says, “Alabama, Ohio State, Clemson, and Georgia,” that’s not wrong.

Obviously that doesn’t mean it’s easy to win a national title in the CFP era – ask Ohio State – but would it be a stunner if Georgia did it again despite losing five first rounders off the defense and with 15 players selected in the last draft? Not at all, and at the very least another trip to the playoff is expected now.

Yeah, Georgia lost a ton of players, and there’s bound to be a letdown, and the rest of the SEC is nasty, and it’s impossible to repeat in the CFP era, and that roll of the dice might not come up its way this time around, and injuries could strike, and …

Go ahead, Georgia. Do it again because that’s what you’re supposed to do – keep putting great team after great team on the field.

That’s the respect the program just earned with that national championship.

Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Georgia Top 10 Players | Georgia Schedule & Analysis

Georgia Bulldogs Preview 2022: Offense, Defense NEXT

Washington State Cougars Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players

Washington State College Football Preview 2022: Team breakdown, season prediction, keys to the campaign, and what you need to know

Washington State Cougars Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the season with what you need to know and keys to the season.


Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

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Washington State Cougars Preview
Head Coach: Jake Dickert, 3-3, 2nd year at Washington State
2021 Preview: Overall: 7-6, Conference: 6-3
Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Top 10 Players | Washington State Schedule & Analysis

Washington State Cougars Preview 2022

Washington State has been to six bowl games in the last seven seasons, with 2020 and that weird four-game campaign the lone outlier.

Cal can’t boast that. Stanford can’t make that claim. Oregon State can’t, either, and neither can USC or UCLA.

Washington hasn’t been to a bowl game in the last two seasons – granted, 2020 had something to do with that – but Washington State also had its share of adversity last year and figured it out.

Washington State hasn’t been a Pac-12 powerhouse, but it’s been solid, it finds ways to come up with enough wins to have successful seasons, and it only looks to get better with an upgraded offense to go along with some sneaky-good parts on D.

The Pac-12 is far better when Washington State is doing Washington State things with a high-powered offense rolling in high-scoring games, and that’s exactly what’s going to happen this year.

The conference needs a good Wazzu in this current expansion climate, and it’s about to get it.

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Washington State Cougars Preview 2022: Offense

Last year Western Kentucky went from meh to magnificent offensively by getting all of the key parts from the Houston Baptist attack. Washington State’s 2021 offense was mediocre – even with the Pac-12’s second-best passing game, and now it’s about to be jump-started.

Welcome to the Incarnate Word attack.

Former UIW head coach Eric Morris comes in as the new offensive coordinator after his team finished sixth in the FCS in total offense, second in scoring, and averaged 360 passing yards per game. He’s bringing along …

Cameron Ward. He’s a good pro prospect passer who threw for 4,648 yards and 47 touchdowns last year for UIW and ran for a score. It’s his offense to run now with former starting quarterback Jayden de Laura going to Arizona.

Ward also gets one of his key targets to throw to. Robert Ferrel caught 74 passes for 815 yards and nine scores last year. He’ll join the mix with De’Zhaun Stribling back after catching 44 passes and and Donovan Ollie returning after a 26-catch season – those two are 6-2ish big targets who can work in a variety of ways.

The passing game will control the offense – it’s Washington State – but the ground game should be effective. Longtime all-around playmaker Max Borghi is done, but former Wisconsin Badger Nakia Watson should take on a bigger role along with good-looking freshman Jaylen Jenkins.

The line will do some shuffling. It struggled to keep defenses out of the backfield, and it didn’t do enough for the ground game when the O gave it a shot.

Center Brian Greene left for Michigan State, but Konner Gomness is a veteran who can step in. Guard Jarrett Kingston will likely move to tackle, and Northern Colorado transfer Grant Stephens will try to step in for all-star Abraham Lucas.

Washington State Cougars Preview 2022: Defense

The defense was good at not breaking after bending. It was the best in the Pac-12 in red zone defense, it wasn’t bad in the secondary, and it was solid on third downs, What it was really, really good at was taking the ball away, coming up with a Pac-12 high 29 takeaways.

The secondary is undergoing an overhaul, but the Cougars are set on …

The defensive line. The Wazzu front four has a First Team All-Pac-12 end in Ron Stone, a fellow all-star in Brennan Jackson on the other side, and a good rotation in the interior. The pass rush has to be stronger, but the experience and options should make this one of the team’s improved strengths.

The linebacking corps loses longtime star Jahad Woods and running mate Justus Rogers, but Daiyan Henley is coming in from Nevada after a 94-tackle, four-interception season at Nevada, and Travion Brown is a 230-pound veteran who can handle the middle.

The secondary isn’t starting over, but it’s getting a slew of new parts around third-leading tackler and All-Pac-12 nickel back Armani Marsh.

Jordan Lee made 142 tackles with a whole lot of big plays for Nevada over the last three seasons. He’ll step in at one safety job, and former Utah State Aggie Sam Lockett comes in from the JUCO ranks to make a push for the other spot.

Cam Lampkin made 72 tackles with ten broken up passes as a corner for Utah State. He’ll combine with 6-3 veteran Derrick Langford at corner.

Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Top 10 Players | Washington State Schedule & Analysis

Washington State Cougars: Keys To The Season, Top Game, Top Transfer, Fun Stats NEXT

Western Michigan Broncos Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players

Western Michigan College Football Preview 2022: Team breakdown, season prediction, keys to the campaign, and what you need to know

Western Michigan continues to be SO frustrating.

The talent is there, but the consistent big seasons and wins aren’t. That’s a common theme in the MAC West, like with Toledo, but it just doesn’t make any sense.

The Broncos went 13-1 under PJ Fleck in 2016 and have been solid ever since – the program hasn’t had a losing season since 2013 – but last year’s team was No. 1 in the MAC in total defense, No. 2 in total offense, the running game was great, the skill guys were fantastic, the pass rush was among the best in the country, and the O line put up a phenomenal season, and …

Nope. Four MAC losses in a six game stretch killed the fun.

Beating Pitt was nice, and rolling a Nevada team without a slew of key parts was a good way to finish, but this needs to be a MAC Championship powerhouse, and that’s going to be tough this season.

Enough talent returns to be in the mix, but the schedule isn’t any easier, a slew of stars are gone, and it’s going to be hard to improve too much.

It’ll be a bowl season and another winning campaign, but Western Michigan is overdue to surprise on the positive side.

Western Michigan Broncos Preview
Head Coach: Tim Lester, 32-25, 6th year at WMU
2021 Preview: Overall: 8-5, Conference: 4-4
Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Western Michigan Top 10 Players | WMU Schedule

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Western Michigan Broncos Preview 2022: Offense

The offense was terrific, but there’s some reworking to do. The Broncos finished 12th in the nation in total offense and averaged 32.5 points per game thanks to a strong rushing offense and good balance. It’s all going to start with …

The offensive line has to be back to form. It was one of the strongest in the MAC last season doing a great job at keeping teams out of the backfield with the high sack total mostly coming from then-QB Kaleb Eleby trying to make things happening.

Three starters have to be replaced, but getting Eleasah Anderson from Sam Houston State – and Baylor before that – to fit in at left tackle is a plus. Jake Gideon is a good one in the interior – he’ll likely work at center – and there’s more reshuffling from there.

The rushing combination of Sean Tyler and La’Darius Jefferson is fantastic. These two combined for close to 2,000 yards with 19 touchdowns with the speed of Tyler and power of Jefferson working in a good rotation.

It’s going to be so, so hard to replace Eleby. He was an ultra-efficient playmaker who didn’t make a lot of mistakes and did a great job of pushing the ball down the field.

Now it’s a fight for the job with backup Jack Salopek a smallish passer with good accuracy and Mareyohn Hrabowski a big, tough option who can do a little of everything. Also entering the mix is Stone Hollenbach transferring from Alabama.

Skyy Moore was unstoppable with 96 catches for 1,293 yards and ten scores, but now he’s off in the Kansas City Chief attack. Third leading target Jaylen Hall is at WKU and top tight end Anthony Torres is off to Toledo. However, Corey Crooms is back after averaging over 17 yards per catch with 44 catches and six scores.

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Western Michigan Broncos Preview 2022: Defense

The defense was among the best in the nation at generating sacks, it was second in the nation in third down stops, and it finished first in the MAC in total defense allowing just 330 yards and 28 points per game.

Seven starters are back, but some of the star power is gone. The big problem is replacing …

Ali Fayad. He was the main man who got into the backfield, and Ralph Holley is done from the interior. Trying to help at tackle is Purdue transfer Bryce Austin, and Braden Fiske is a good playmaker on the nose. Andre Carter and Marshawn Kneeland aren’t Fayad, but they can get behind the line.

The linebacking corps is the team’s second biggest strength after running back. The top three tacklers are back with Corvin Moment, Zaire Barnes, and Ryan Selig all active tacklers with all-star potential.

The secondary has to pick off more passes, but it can tackle and it should be able to hold up just fine. Dorian Jackson broke up 12 passes and led the team with two picks, and in comes Anthony Romphf from Purdue to work at the other corner.

Delano Ware is a good veteran who made 40 stops and veteran Bricen Garner is back as a longtime part of the mix after finishing third on the team in tackles in 2020 before missing time last year.

Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Western Michigan Top 10 Players | WMU Schedule

Western Michigan Broncos: Keys To The Season, Top Game, Top Transfer, Fun Stats NEXT

Wisconsin Badgers Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players

Wisconsin College Football Preview 2022: Team breakdown, season prediction, keys to the campaign, and what you need to know

2012 was the last time Wisconsin won the Big Ten Championship.

The 1999 season – technically on New Year’s Day 2000 – was the last time it won the Rose Bowl.

It’s still the best Power Five program win-wise since the start of the College Football Playoff era to not make the CFP.

Wisconsin is stuck in a bit of a rut. It’s a good rut – if there can be such a thing – but it’s stuck nonetheless.

Certainly being among the very, very good has been nice – anyone who graduated from Wisconsin before 1994 will impolitely sneer at anyone who complains in any way about the last few decades of Badger sports – but it’s been tough to come up with the magic to break back through.

So what’s missing? Besides a relatively light schedule in a Big Ten that wasn’t nearly as strong as it is now and no conference championship game to deal with – sorry, saying the quiet part out loud – what does Wisconsin need to party like it’s 1999, and 1998, and 1993 again?

The pieces to do this are already there.

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Great defense? Check – even if it’s not quite as strong as last year’s version.

Control the clock and own the tempo? Check.

A consistent passing game that moves the chains? Ehhhhhh, it should be fine if QB Graham Mertz can make a jump in his third year. Most importantly …

A blasting running game? It’s what Wisconsin does, and it should be able to do that again with a great group of running backs and an even  more consistent line.

This isn’t hard. The Badgers averaged under 3.4 yards per carry just four times – loss to Penn State, loss to Notre Dame, loss to Michigan, loss to Minnesota. There will be some tweaks, but run the ball, do it very well, win, move on.

How do you get out of a rut? You power through.

Wisconsin Badgers Preview
Head Coach: Paul Chryst, 65-23, 8th year at Wisconsin
11th year overall, 84-42, 2021 Preview
2021 Record: Overall: 9-4, Conference: 6-3
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Wisconsin Top 10 Players | Wisconsin Schedule & Analysis 

Wisconsin Badgers Preview 2022: Offense, Defense NEXT

Washington Huskies Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players

Washington College Football Preview 2022: Team breakdown, season prediction, keys to the campaign, and what you need to know

Washington Huskies Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the season with what you need to know and keys to the season.


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Washington Huskies Preview
Head Coach: Kalen DeBoer, 0-0, 1st year at UW
3rd year overall, 12-6, 2021 Preview
2021 Record: Overall: 4-8, Conference: 3-6
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Washington Top 10 Players | UW Schedule & Analysis

Washington Huskies Preview 2022

Is anything interesting happening with Washington football?

The 4-8 clunker of a 2021 season was a blip. It started back, ended worse, and led to the regime change that brought in new head coach Kalen DeBoer from Fresno State along with a new urgency to get back into the Pac-12 championship mix.

The program is known for being nasty-tough on defense, efficient and consistent on offense, and with bowl games and winning seasons a given after the rough run in the late 2000s.

It’s one of only two Pac-12 programs to make the College Football Playoff – Oregon being the other – it’s a terrific academic institution, it’s in a strong media market, and …

It sure as shoot has the profile of a Big Ten institution.

Or, and it’s the big question going forward, can Washington – and Oregon has to be in this mix, too – be strong enough to carry the Pac-12 as two of the biggest anchor tenants in the mall?

Washington might be one of the biggest-name schools rumored in the expansion mix, but for now, the football team has some work to do.

Again, last year was a blip. There’s plenty of talent around, lots of potential All-Pac-12 parts, help from the transfer portal, key guys coming off of injury, and a schedule that misses both USC and Utah.

DeBoer can – and probably will – flip this around fast. Washington should be a factor again, and on the expansion front …

We’ll see. On the plus side, no matter what’s about to shake out, it’s all positive on and off the field.

Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Washington Top 10 Players | UW Schedule & Analysis

Washington Huskies Preview 2022: Offense/Defense

Virginia Cavaliers Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players

Virginia College Football Preview 2022: Team breakdown, season prediction, keys to the campaign, and what you need to know

Virginia Cavaliers Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Virginia season with what you need to know and keys to the season.


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Virginia Cavaliers Preview
Head Coach: Tony Elliott, 0-0, 1st year at Virginia
2021 Preview: Overall: 6-6, Conference: 4-4
Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Virginia Top 10 Players | Virginia Schedule & Analysis

Virginia Cavaliers Preview 2022

Well that was weird.

Bronco Mendenhall was one of those coaches who was able to take whatever he had and make something great happen, but after going to the ACC Championship and the Orange Bowl in 2009, the program went 11-11, pretty much forgot how to play defense last year, and lost its last four games in the midst of the greatest offensive season in team history.

Enter Tony Elliott, a first time head coach who was way overdue to get a shot after years as a key assistant in the Clemson machine. He’s young, he knows how to coach up running backs, he knows how to recruit, and like all first time head coaches who get a shot, he knows how to bring the energy.

This is an interesting team with funky parts. Everything is still in place from the nation’s second-best passing game, but running backs have to emerge, the offensive line is all but starting over, and the defense that has a slew of good tacklers and experience has to figure out how to get into the backfield, come up with stops, and … play defense.

Not discounting that it wasn’t all that long ago that Virginia went from 2012 to 2017 without a winning season, a bowl appearance has to be a given with this team and this schedule.

Also a given is fun. If all else fails, start throwing again, and throw some more. This turned into a must-watch team in 2021, and now it should be a must-watch team that starts winning more in 2022.

Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Virginia Top 10 Players | Virginia Schedule & Analysis

Virginia Cavaliers Preview 2022: Offense, Defense NEXT

West Virginia Mountaineers Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players

West Virginia College Football Preview 2022: Team breakdown, season prediction, keys to the campaign, and what you need to know

West Virginia Mountaineers Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the West Virginia season with what you need to know and keys to the season.


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West Virginia Mountaineers Preview
Head Coach: Neal Brown, 17-18, 4th year at West Virginia
8th year overall, 52-34, 2021 Preview
2021 Record: Overall: 6-7, Conference: 4-5 

Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
West Virginia Top 10 Players
West Virginia Schedule & Analysis

Neal Brown hasn’t been able to make this work quite yet – but the production and the wins appear to be coming.

Great at Troy – with three straight ten-win seasons before coming to Morgantown – the young rising star had to do some tweaking, the team went to two bowl games in his three seasons, and now comes the pivot.

17-18 overall and 11-15 in the Big 12 over the last three seasons. That’s not quite what everyone had in mind.

Brown and the program had to get back to the recent days of Will Grier and the offense rolling up huge numbers, all while hoping for the defense to keep on building up and being stronger.

Enter offensive coordinator Graham Harrell, here comes the big passing attack, now this might be the year West Virginia can break through and become a bigger factor in the Big 12 conference title chase.

There are still some major position battles to figure out, but …

 Offense, Defense Breakdown | Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
West Virginia Top 10 Players
West Virginia Schedule & Analysis

West Virginia Mountaineers Preview 2022: Offense, Defense NEXT

Utah State Aggies Preview 2022: Season Prediction, Breakdown, Key Games, Players

Utah State College Football Preview 2022: Team breakdown, season prediction, keys to the campaign, and what you need to know

Utah State Aggies Preview 2022: Previewing, predicting, and looking ahead to the Utah State season with what you need to know and keys to the season.


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Utah State Aggies Preview
Head Coach: Blake Anderson, 11-3, 2nd year at Utah State
9th year overall, 62-40, 2021 Preview
2021 Record: Overall: 11-3, Conference: 6-2
Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Utah State Top 10 Players | Utah State Schedule

Utah State Aggies Preview 2022

It was one of the best stories of 2021.

Blake Anderson was terrific at Arkansas State. He won two Sun Belt championships, got another division title, got to six bowl games and won 51 games in his seven seasons.

In 2019 he tragically lost his wife to cancer, pressed on through, came back for the 2020 season, and after his first losing campaign, left to take over the Utah State job.

The Aggies had a down 2020, but they didn’t need a total overhaul. Anderson came in to a change of scenery, brought some key parts with him, and … boom. He came up with his best season as a head coach.

Coming off an 11 win season with a Mountain West title and a bowl win over Oregon State from the Pac-12, Anderson has been able to bring the program back, his offensive style should keep working, and he’s got a team good enough to shoot for another championship.

Utah State Aggies Preview 2022: Offense

Well that worked just fine.

The Utah State offense got an infusion of energy, talent, and ideas with the new coaching staff getting everything going with the passing game, and the team averaged 446 yards and 33 points per game.

The ground game was okay, the passing attack was amazing, and everything clicked going from averaging 276 yards per game in 2020 to 449 last year.

Veteran quarterback Logan Bonner came over with the coaches from Arkansas State, stepped in, and threw 36 touchdown passes with 12 picks as he pushed the ball down the field without a problem and kept everything moving. On the way is Wyoming transfer Levi Williams – he threw 13 touchdown passes and ran for 13 scores in three seasons.

The combination of Deven Thompkins, Brandon Bowling, and Derek Wright are gone after combining for 206 of the 303 catches and 31 of the 41 touchdown grabs. Bringing in Brian Cobbs from Maryland helps, and Justin McGriff is a good veteran target.

The offensive line needs to be stronger in pass protection, but just about everyone is back – this group did a good enough job – around all-star left tackle Alfred Edwards and right guard Quazzel White. The running game has to be better, though.

The offense doesn’t have to crank up 200 yards per game – it averaged 142 per outing – but it has to be a whole lot better than 3.6 yards per carry. Calvin Tyler led the way with 911 yards and seven scores, and John Gentry adds a quick option, but they combined to average around four yards a pop.

Utah State Aggies Preview 2022: Defense

The defense wasn’t a rock, but it was far improved over the 2020 version. It led the Mountain West in tackles for loss, but gave up close to 400 yards per game. There was a lot of bending but not a ton of breaking.

There were a few strange performances when everything melted down – Wyoming and Air Force went off – but the D allowed 24 points or fewer in seven of the last nine games.

Top playmaker in the backfield Nick Heninger is gone, but Byron Vaughns is a disruptive force on one end, Hale Motu’apuaka is a 6-1, 280-pound anchor on the nose, and there’s help from the transfer portal with Daniel Grzesiak from Nevada for the outside and 280-pound JUCO transfer Tavian Coleman for the interior.

The secondary needs to come up with more big plays. It wasn’t totally awful, but the corners didn’t generate picks or a whole lot of broken up passes. Hunter Reynolds is the leading returning tackler making 83 stops at one safety spot, and Michael Anyanwu is a veteran at one corner.

The transfer portal took corner Cam Lampkin (Washington State) and safety Monte McGary (Kansas), but Miami transfer Gurvan Hall will be a key part at one safety job.

Also coming in is Anthony Switzer from Arkansas State for one outside linebacker job, and Washington’s MJ Tafisi will take over on the inside.

Keys To The Season
Season Prediction, What Will Happen
Utah State Top 10 Players | Utah State Schedule

Utah State Aggies: Keys To The Season, Top Game, Top Transfer, Fun Stats NEXT

25 Winningest Programs To Not Make The College Football Playoff

College Football Playoff: 25 winningest teams to not make the tournament

What are the 25 winningest programs to not make the College Football Playoff? Here are the top schools in the CFP era to miss out on the fun.


Cincinnati and Michigan were able to make the College Football Playoff last season. Their doors might have been blown off by Alabama and Georgia, respectively, but they at least brought some new energy to the mini-tournament.

The College Football Playoff has only been around for eight seasons and just 13 schools – Alabama, Cincinnati, Clemson, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Michigan, Michigan State, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Oklahoma, Oregon, Washington – have played in it and just five won it all.

That means 90% of the FBS college football programs haven’t been in the post-season – at least the version that matters – since this grand experiment started.

That’s the equivalent of only 36 college basketball programs making the NCAA Tournament over the last eight years – which is a good idea, by the way, but I digress.

What college football programs were able to win a lot of games over the last eight years without the playoff payoff? 25 have won 60 or more games in eight seasons – averaging 7.5 a year, but it’s better than that considering some played a short schedule in 2020 – without getting the call.

If you didn’t get to 60 victories – no Texas, or Tennessee, or Nebraska, Michigan State, or North Carolina – you don’t get on the list. So with that, here are the 25 winningest teams to not make the College Football Playoff.

CFN Predictions of Every Game
ACC | Big Ten | Big 12 | Pac-12 | SEC
AAC | C-USA | Ind | MAC | M-West | Sun Belt
CFN Preview 2021: All 131 Teams
2022 Bowl Projections | Preseason Rankings 1-131
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25. USC

Wins Since 2014: 60
Best Season in CFP Era: 2017, 11-3, Pac-12 champion, Rose Bowl win
Realistic Chance To Make College Football Playoff This Season: Strong

Bottom Line: USC might be last on this list, but it’s got the best shot of going to the College Football Playoff this year with Lincoln Riley and a loaded all-star team ready to roll. The 2020 team would’ve had a case for the CFP if it won the Pac-12 title to finish 6-0 – it lost to Oregon, but no unbeaten Power Five champ has ever been left out. It’s been a disappointing run since going 12-1 in 2008. That’s all about to change.
USC Preview | Top 10 PlayersSchedule Analysis

T22. NC State

Wins Since 2014: 61
Best Season in CFP Era: 2017, 9-4, Sun Bowl win
Realistic Chance To Make College Football Playoff This Season: Possible

Bottom Line: The Wolfpack have been strongly consistent since Dave Doeren took over, but they haven’t been able to get a turn in the ACC Championship mix – being in the same division with Clemson has something to do with that. This should be his best team yet, and if it can somehow get by the Tigers on the road, there’s a real shot at going 12-1 with an ACC Championship and a CFP shot. That’s a massive if, though.
NC State Preview | Top 10 PlayersSchedule Analysis

T22. Miami

Wins Since 2014: 61
Best Season in CFP Era: 2017, 10-3, ACC Championship loss, Orange Bowl loss
Realistic Chance To Make College Football Playoff This Season: Slim

Bottom Line: Miami flirted with something fun in 2017 with a 10-0 start before losing the last three games. However, had it beaten Clemson in the ACC Championship – it lost 38-3 – it would’ve been in the CFP. This year’s schedule is too tough for a reloading team – with road games at Clemson and Texas A&M – but new head coach Mario Cristobal might just restore the glory in a hurry.
Miami Preview | Top 10 PlayersSchedule Analysis

T22. Western Michigan

Wins Since 2014: 61
Best Season in CFP Era: 2016, 13-1, MAC champion, Cotton Bowl loss
Realistic Chance To Make College Football Playoff This Season: None

Bottom Line: Now-Minnesota head coach PJ Fleck led the way to a phenomenal 13-0 regular season with a MAC title in 2016, and it still wasn’t enough to get near the College Football Playoff. The Broncos have been good ever since, but they haven’t been able to come close to repeating the glory. They’ll be strong this season, but even if they can win at Michigan State and against Pitt – and can run through the MAC unbeaten – it still shouldn’t be enough for a CFP shot.
WMU Preview | Top 10 PlayersSchedule

NEXT: College Football Playoff: Top 21 Programs To Not Make the CFP