Know Your Foes: UCF’s Opponents After Week Ten

https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2017/11/8/16625212/ucf-knights-university-of-central-florida-strength-of-schedule-sos-cfp-rankings-selection-committee

Kirby Hocutt and the College Football Playoff selection committee are intellectually lazy.

The UCF Knights remain ranked at #18 by the committee. Last week, there were four two loss teams ranked ahead of UCF. This week there are eight. Most egregiously, two loss Michigan State rose a whopping twelve spots in the rankings by handing Penn State its second loss.

As discussed over here by the mothership, UCF’s ranking is simply too low.

The message the committee is sending with these rankings: we don’t care about the margins by which teams beat their opponents and – for Power Five programs – we don’t care all that much about how bad your losses are, either.

Hocutt’s position is that UCF’s “strength of schedule is the challenge in positioning them higher at this point in time.” Well, what’s good for the Group of Five goose is not good for the Power Five gander. Compare the Knights to fellow unbeaten team Wisconsin, which is ranked #6:

With this backdrop, let’s delve into our weekly look at UCF’s strength of schedule.

FIU Panthers (6-2 Overall, 4-1 Conference USA)

Look – even UCF’s season opening cupcake is bowl eligible. It’s only the third time in program history that the Panthers have reached bowl eligibility (first time since 2011).

Not that the Panthers’ wins have been especially impressive, but their 14-7 win this week over UTSA might have been “the most miserable C-USA game of the season.”

Maryland Terrapins (4-5 Overall, 2-4 Big Ten)

It’s great that the Knights clobbered their only P5 opponent of the season. Unfortunately, it’s not one that is going to look great on the resume. With a narrow road loss to Rutgers in what was a back-and-forth game, the Terps are back to a losing record.

It would be a shock if Maryland got to six wins, and its likely that the Terps won’t win another game. Their last three are against Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State.

#22 Memphis Tigers (8-1 Overall, 5-1 AAC)

The only G5 team other than UCF to be ranked by the selection committee, the Tigers moved up a single spot after blowing out Tulsa 41-14. Memphis quarterback Riley Ferguson again was outstanding. His performance this year has been stellar, and it’s a credit to the Knights’ defense that they limited him so much in UCF’s win.

Memphis will likely win the AAC West, and beating an excellent Memphis team in the AAC Championship is one of the few potential resume boosts the Knights have left.

Cincinnati Bearcats (3-6 Overall, 1-4 AAC)

The Bearcats notched their first conference win of the year with their 17-16 victory over Tulane. It could have easily gone the other way. The Green Wave attempted a 36-yard field goal with less than a minute to play and missed wide left.

Cincinnati’s path to bowl eligibility is actually plausible. The Bearcats have games against Temple, ECU, and UConn remaining (all teams which, like the Bearcats, have losing records). Sure would be nice to have another bowl eligible team on the resume.

ECU Pirates (2-7 Overall, 1-4 AAC)

ECU never led and lost to Houston 52-27. They allowed the Cougars to put up 21 points in the first quarter, while scoring none of their own. The Pirates are irredeemably bad this year.

Navy Midshipmen (5-3 Overall, 3-3 AAC)

Navy suffered a surprising loss to Temple, which was well-prepared for the triple option and found improved offense with Frank Nutile at quarterback.

The way ahead is difficult for Navy. The Midshipmen have SMU, Notre Dame, Houston, and Army left on the schedule.

Austin Peay Governors (6-4 Overall, 5-1 Ohio Valley Conference)

Austin Peay has an outside shot at making the FCS playoffs. Their only losses are to three FBS programs (such losses are not taken into consideration when selecting teams for the FCS playoffs) and perennial FCS power Jacksonville State.

This week, the Governors beat Tennessee Tech. At 1-8, Tennessee Tech is the worst team in the Ohio Valley Conference.

SMU Mustangs (6-3 Overall, 3-2 AAC)

SMU gave UCF its toughest challenge of the year, but the Knights prevailed 31-24 (we had our Underdog Dynasty staff photographer at this game, and the photo gallery is over here).

The Mustangs capitalized on UCF miscues, including a McKenzie Milton pick six and an absurd number of missed tackles on the Mustang’s first offensive play (which yielded a catch-and-run for a long touchdown).

UCF was still the better team. And it’s good to see that the Knights can deal with adversity. Haven’t seen much of that so far this season.

UConn Huskies (3-6 Overall, 2-4 AAC)

UConn suffered a 37-20 loss against USF. The Huskies have one of the worst defenses in the country, and it showed against the Bulls.

Quarterback Bryant Shirreffs suffered a concussion in the fourth quarter and left the game. The Huskies will be without him for their game against the Knights this week.

Temple Owls (4-5 Overall, 2-3 AAC)

Temple is certainly a more dangerous team with Nutile at QB (and to think that earlier in the season I thought they had found a steady hand in Logan Marchi).

The Owls are another team that could plausibly get bowl eligible. Aside from their game against the Knights in two weeks, Temple plays 2-8 Tulsa and Cincinnati.

USF Bulls (8-1 Overall, 5-1 AAC)

The Bulls are again not ranked by the committee. That’s just plain wrong, but consistent with the lack of value the committee attaches to AAC teams.

Quarterback Quinton Flowers had an epic performance with 516 total yards against UConn – a USF record. The Bulls offensive playcalling was much improved. They’re a dangerous team, and one the Knights will have to respect, even if the committee doesn’t.

Previous ‘Know Your Foes’: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7, (we missed Week 8, sorry), Week 9.

Know Your Foes: UCF’s Opponents After Week Nine

https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2017/11/1/16595436/ucf-knights-university-of-central-florida-sos-strength-of-schedule-scott-frost-mckenzie-milton

With the first College Football Playoff Rankings out, strength of schedule now “officially” matters. The #18 UCF Knights have beaten opponents with a combined record of 30-25 (a .545 winning percentage). UCF’s average margin of victory is 31 points. UCF has the best scoring offense in the country (51 points per game) and, of the five unbeaten teams in the FBS, only the Knights have won each game by double digits.

And yet the undefeated Knights are ranked after four two-loss teams: Auburn (6-2), Iowa State (6-2), Mississippi State (6-2), and USC (7-2).

Its clear that tearing through AAC foes – even in UCF’s rapacious manner -- isn’t worth all that much in the eyes of the committee. And the Knights were unfortunately deprived of the opportunity to play a second Power Five program this year when Hurricane Irma prompted the cancellation of the Georgia Tech game.

If UCF wins out, then the Knights will play in a New Year’s Six Bowl. It would be extremely difficult, however, for UCF to be ranked high enough to make the playoffs. Even if UCF continues blowing out opponents, it would take absolute carnage above them for the Knights to move up. Absolute. Carnage.

But please. Root for carnage.

And winning out.

The Knights’ past and future opponents, in schedule order:

FIU Panthers (5-2 Overall, 3-1 Conference USA)

The Panthers continue to have one of their best seasons to date and are a serious contender to win the C-USA East Division. On Saturday, FIU had its best offensive game of the year and hung 41 points on Marshall on the way to an 11 point win. They’re quite good for a C-USA team.

Maryland Terrapins (4-4 Overall, 2-3 Big Ten)

Maryland was down 14-0 against Indiana before surging back to win 42-39.

It sure would be nice if UCF’s only Power 5 victim this year could get to bowl eligibility and at least a .500 record. Getting to five wins is very possible with a game against Rutgers this weekend, but to hit six, the Terps would need to upset one of Michigan, Michigan State, and Penn State. Not as easy task for this Maryland team.

#23 Memphis Tigers (7-1 Overall, 4-1 AAC)

Memphis jumped to an early lead over Tulane and did not look back. The Tigers cruised to a 56-26 win.

There’s a very serious possibility of a UCF-Memphis match-up in the AAC Championship game. The Tigers have a single challenge remaining – SMU – and two far easier opponents (Tulsa and ECU).

UCF and Memphis are the only Group of Five teams ranked in the initial College Football Playoff rankings.

Cincinnati Bearcats (2-6 Overall, 0-4 AAC)

The Bearcats were on a bye. Perhaps mercifully, given that they’ve yet to win a single conference game.

ECU Pirates (2-6 Overall, 1-3 AAC)

Also had a bye.

Navy Midshipmen (5-2 Overall, 3-2 AAC)

And yes, Navy had a bye.

Not a ton of AAC games this past week.

The Midshipmen resume play tomorrow against Temple.

Austin Peay Governors (5-4 Overall, 4-1 Ohio Valley Conference)

Many UCF fans seemed not to enjoy crushing Austin Peay as much as they should have. The Knights hung a UCF record 73 points on the Governors and won by 40 this week. It was also the most points scored by any AAC team against any opponent this year.

The Knights’ defensive lapses – including missed tackles and assignments – can certainly be fairly criticized. And no AAC program wants to allow an FCS team to score 33 points. But remember that many of those came in fluky ways. The Governors caught a tipped pass for a touchdown. And caught a touchdown pass that UCF freshman DB Antwan Collier bobbled instead of intercepting. The Governors also had a lineman fall on one of their fumbles for a touchdown.

The Governors may be “only” an FCS team, but they’re a good FCS team. Their other losses are against Miami (OH) and Cincinnati, and FCS powerhouse Jacksonville State.

SMU Mustangs (6-2 Overall, 3-1 AAC)

SMU played a tighter than expected game against lowly Tulsa. The Mustangs were down 28-34 before scoring ten points in the fourth quarter to win. It’s the second week in a row that the Mustangs have cut it close – on October 21, they needed overtime to eke out a 31-28 over Cincinnati.

Of course, SMU’s offense is dangerous (though the defense is . . . not). Other than the War on I-4, this is the most challenging hurdle remaining for the Knights.

UConn Huskies (3-5 Overall, 2-3 AAC)

UConn played the SEC’s Missouri Tigers and got crushed by a score of 52-12. UConn did manage to score first with a safety when a snap went over the head of Missouri’s punter and through the end zone. But the Tigers responded with three touchdowns in the first quarter, swiftly putting the game out of reach.

Very, very, little went right for the Huskies in this one.

Temple Owls (3-5 Overall, 1-3 AAC)

On a bye week.

Told you there weren’t a ton of AAC games this week.

USF Bulls (7-1 Overall, 4-1 AAC)

The dreams of two undefeated teams playing in a clash of the titans on Black Friday is now gone.

On Saturday, USF went up against their first good opponent of the year, the Houston Cougars. And the Bulls lost 28-24. If you want to traumatize your Bulls friends this week, ask them about 4th and 24.

Through Week Nine, USF has still only beaten one team without a losing record, and that’s FCS Stony Brook.

Our game on Black Friday remains risky and – with the Bulls unlikely to lose again before then – a threat to winning the division. Despite not playing up top their potential, the Bulls are a talented team. They’re also hampered by bad playcalling on offense – a fact that was obvious against Houston.

Speaking of bad offense, the Bulls snapped their record 24 game streak of scoring 30 or more points. UCF now holds the longest active streak, with seven.

Previous ‘Know Your Foes’: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6, Week 7.

Know Your Foes: UCF’s Opponents After Week Seven

https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2017/10/17/16483148/ucf-knights-university-of-central-florida-future-opponents-strength-of-schedule-new-years-six-g5

Last week in this space, we started talking strength of schedule and how, as between the winner of the War on I-4 and San Diego State, strength of schedule might matter a great deal.

Yeah, so Boise State knocked off SDSU 31-14. The only Group of Five team ranked above the UCF Knights is USF. And – obviously – the Knights have the opportunity to beat the Bulls. UCF controls its own destiny when it comes to playing in a New Year’s Six bowl.

The teams UCF have beaten this year are a combined 15-17. Sure, the Knights have only played two teams with winning records right now – Memphis and FIU. But UCF is blowing everyone off the field, and hasn’t been seriously challenged after the half in any game.

To put that in context, consider the obvious comparator, USF. The Bulls have played six games and the combined record of their opponents is 14-28. One third of their opponents to date have one win. Another third have two wins. The last third consists of a 3-4 Temple team and a 5-2 FCS program, Stony Brook.

As my colleague Luke noted on Twitter:

On to the Knights’ past and future opponents, in schedule order:

FIU Panthers (4-2 Overall, 2-1 Conference USA)

The Panthers beat their AAC foe Tulane this week 23-10. FIU had a balanced attack (218 yards rushing, 220 through the air) and held Tulane’s running game in check.

This is a big deal for FIU – at 4-2 in Butch Davis’s first season, the Panthers have now matched their previous best start in program history.

The Panthers aren’t a very good team, but they’re a very good-for-FIU team.

Maryland Terrapins (3-3 Overall, 1-2 Big Ten)

The Terps lost to their conference opponent Northwestern, in a game where the lead went back and forth. Maryland could not run the ball at all. And the defense was overwhelmed, surrendering 531 yards to Wildcats. The final score was 37-21.

#25/RV Memphis Tigers (5-1 Overall, 2-1 AAC)

A 30-27 win over Navy got the Tigers ranked in the AP Poll (though not the Coaches poll). This is the first time the program history that Memphis has beaten two top 25 teams in one season (you’ll recall the UCLA game?).

UCF’s 40-13 hammering of Memphis is the team’s best win to date.

Cincinnati Bearcats (2-5 Overall, 0-3 AAC)

The Bearcats were clobbered by USF this week, losing 33-3. The USF rushing attack was dominant and the Cincinnati offense was poor. The Bearcats totaled 273 yards of offense – only 3.9 yards per play.

The Bearcats have now dropped four in a row and been outscored 164-79 in those games.

ECU Pirates (1-6 Overall, 1-3 AAC)

UCF 63, ECU 21. Next.

Navy Midshipmen (5-1 Overall, 3-1 AAC)

The Midshipmen made a load of mistakes in their loss to Memphis this week. Navy suffered five turnovers. Quarterback Zach Abey was disastrous when called upon to throw the football and went 1-for-7 for 20 yards and two interceptions.

This was Navy’s first real test of the year; they failed it. I expect the Knights to inflict another loss on them this week.

Austin Peay Governors (4-3 Overall, 3-1 Ohio Valley Conference)

The Governors beat Tennessee State 21-17, despite playing most of the game with backup Jeremiah Oatsvall in at quarterback. Ausitn Peay played sound defense, forcing Tennessee State to settle for a number of early field goal attempts (on which Tennessee State was a measly 1-of-3).

SMU Mustangs (4-2 Overall, 1-1 AAC)

The Mustangs had a bye. They resume play next week with a game against the reeling Bearcats.

UConn Huskies (2-4 Overall, 1-3 AAC)

With a 28-24 win over the Temple Owls, UConn snapped an eight game conference losing streak and notched the Huskies’ first road win in almost two years. Much of the credit belongs to the defense which, after looking bad all year, stepped up.

Temple Owls (3-4 Overall, 1-3 AAC)

Temple’s loss to UConn emphasizes that apart from the two best teams in the AAC East, the rest of the division is bad, bad, bad.

#16/#13 USF Bulls (6-0 Overall, 3-0 AAC)

Stop me if you’ve heard this before: the USF offense endured some early struggles this week. The first quarter of the Bull’s homecoming game against Cincinnati ended with the score 3-3.[1] But USF’s defense continues to be excellent, and the Bulls ultimately prevailed 33-3.

Previous ‘Know Your Foes’: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5, Week 6.

[1] Two weeks ago, the Knights led Cincinnati 20-7 at the end of the first quarter.

Know Your Foes: UCF’s Opponents After Week Six

https://www.underdogdynasty.com/2017/10/12/16458938/ucf-knights-central-florida-american-athletic-conference-aac-future-opponents-recap-sos

he issue of whether the UCF Knights have a good resume looks increasingly likely to be significant this year. Now ranked #21/#22 in the Coaches Poll and the AP Poll (respectively), UCF is the third highest ranked team not in a power conference. Ahead of the Knights are the USF Bulls (#15/#18) and the San Diego State Aztecs (#18/#19).

The question of which non-power conference team plays in a New Year’s Six bowl is determined by the highest rank among G5 conference champions. While those rankings don’t start quite yet, it’s reasonable enough to assume the rank order would at least initially approximate the Coach/AP polls as far as UCF, SDSU, and USF are concerned. UCF and USF will have the opportunity to settle things on the field.[1] Between the winner of the War on I-4 and SDSU, strength of schedule may matter a great deal.

(This team is taking things one game at a time, and treating their record as 0-0 each week. Doesn’t mean we have to).

The Knights’ past and future opponents, in schedule order:

FIU Panthers (3-2 Overall, 2-1 Conference USA)

Lost 37-17 to a Middle Tennessee team that was depleted on defense. The loss knocks the Panthers out of first place in Conference USA’s East division. But our Middle Tennessee writer describes them as a “very solid” Conference USA team, so the Panthers have that going for them.

Maryland Terrapins (3-2 Overall, 1-1 Big Ten)

Suffered a devastating 62-14 blowout at the hands of #10 Ohio State. Quarterback Max Bortenschlager (who played most of the game against UCF) went 3-of-12 for 16 yards, was sacked four times, and lost two fumbles. He left the game following a hit to his head and was replaced by Caleb Henderson, now the Terps’ fourth quarterback in five games.

Root for Maryland to get a bounceback win this week against Northwestern, it’s one of the more winnable games remaining on their schedule.

Memphis Tigers (4-1 Overall, 1-1 AAC)

A week after the Knights held Memphis to 13 points (with a touchdown coming on the last play of the game), the Tigers hung 70 on poor UConn.

Riley Ferguson’s stat line against UCF (in for the entire game): 27-of-49, 321 yards, 1 TD, 3 Int.

Riley Ferguson’s stat line against UConn (not in for the entire game): 34-of-48, 431 yards, 7 TDs, 0 Int.

Memphis now plays Navy in a game UCF fans should watch. We play the Midshipmen in two weeks, and they’re the toughest remaining opponent not named USF.

Cincinnati Bearcats (2-4 Overall, 0-2 AAC)

I said I was done underestimating this Knights team, so I predicted a 24 point win.

It was a 28 point win. In only three quarters of play. This is tied for the Knights’ smallest margin of victory so far this season.

ECU Pirates (1-5 Overall, 1-2 AAC)

After showing signs of life against USF, the Pirates lost to Temple, 34-10. Like the Huskies, the Pirates are the dregs of the conference this year.

Expect an easy Homecoming game this week, and a stellar debut for the Knights’ space-themed uniforms.

Navy Midshipmen (5-0 Overall, 3-0 AAC)

Beat Air Force 48-45 thanks to a touchdown pass by Zach Abey with a mere 15 seconds left on the clock. The Midshipmen made a lot of mistakes along the way, including blowing a 21 point second half lead.

This was a game with a lot of offense – Navy rolled up 557 yards while Air Force ripped through the Midshipmen for 621 yards.

While a narrow victory over a one win Air Force team isn’t exactly impressive, Navy remains undefeated, dangerous, and is now ranked at #25/#24.

Austin Peay Governors (3-3 Overall, 2-1 Ohio Valley Conference)

The Governors suffered their first loss to a non-FBS opponent so far this season. Jacksonville State beat them 34-14. Austin Peay has now lost the last eleven games in that series.

SMU Mustangs (4-2 Overall, 1-1 AAC)

Lost to Houston, 35-22. The Mustangs still had 544 yards of total offense, but they failed to capitalize on their opportunities. SMU might benefiting from an increased focused on the running game. The Mustangs ran the ball 26 times, in contrast to 59 passes.

UConn Huskies (1-4 Overall, 0-3 AAC)

The offense was able to keep the Huskies hanging with Memphis for a bit this week. But this team is just awful. It was UConn’s worst defensive performance in program history.

Hockey season started though.

Temple Owls (3-3 Overall, 1-2 AAC)

With a win over ECU (in which Temple scored 24 points unanswered), Temple is back to .500. The Owls Play UConn on Saturday, and will likely get to a winning record after that game.

#15/#18 USF Bulls (5-0 Overall, 2-0 AAC)

“Wisely avoided playing football this week.”

Previous ‘Know Your Foes’: Week 1, Week 2, Week 3, Week 4, Week 5.

[1] I have long been confident that the Bulls, with their weak schedule, would be undefeated for the War on I-4. While UCF has to overcome good Navy and SMU teams, I’m predicting UCF will likewise be undefeated at that time.

The AAC Has The Most Interesting Coaches in College Football: Part 4

www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/8/10/9002091/the-aac-has-the-most-interesting-coaches-in-college-football-part-4

We conclude our look at the coaches of the American Athletic Conference with the new head coaches of the West Division: Tom Herman, Chad Morris, and Philip Montgomery. All three new hires have proven track records of success on offense and have energized their respective fan bases.

Parts one through three of this series are here, here, and here.

Tom Herman (Houston)

Scott Stone: Tom Herman is an interesting coach because he comes to a program that has underachieved of late, but is still only a quality coach away from being very, very good. Herman is last year's Broyles Award winner and National Championship winning offensive coordinator.

In 2014, Herman had just two weeks to get J.T. Barrett ready after his Heisman Trophy contending QB1 went down for the season. Then he had  one week to get his third string quarterback ready for the Big 10 title game against Wisconsin, and ultimately a National Championship run against Alabama and Oregon. At Houston, Herman will have a quarterback in Greg Ward that is only a tweak or two from being as elite of a QB as we've seen at the University of Houston.

His hiring at Houston has largely been viewed as a coup. Already Herman has made huge strides in recruiting, including with the commitment of five star defensive lineman Ed Oliver. There will be a lot of eyes on him this fall to see whether the Cougars can live up to expectations.

Plus, he chained and locked the locker room and made the team earn its way back in. Pretty cool.

Chas Short: Tom Herman stole the show at West division coaches panel at AAC Media Day. It started when Tulsa's Phillip Montgomery was asked what the first thing Montgomery did as head coach was. He answered, "Kiss my wife." The question went down the line, with Chad Morris and Tom Herman offering their own riffs on this theme. Morris said that he "Kissed his family good bye" because he left them in Clemson.

Tom Herman said, "I kissed Philip's wife."

Chad Morris (SMU)

Chas Short: Make no mistake -- the Mustangs will continue to be terrible this season (though improvement is nearly a given after last year's 1-11 campaign). But with offensive guru Chad Morris at the helm, SMU should at least be interesting to watch.

The former highest-paid assistant coach in college football, Morris and his up-tempo spread attack had tremendous success at Clemson. The Tigers went from 7.3 to 10.5 wins per year with Morris as their offensive coordinator with a "basketball on grass" approach:

The modern elements added by Morris [to the Malzahn school of the spread offense] include spread alignments, the forward pass, motion, and tempo. The brilliance of the triple option is that it's a self-contained concept with built-in answers for any potential problem. Morris doesn't have any single concepts quite that simple or elegant, but in general he emphasizes a similar level of soundness in his offense.

Morris could try to have a million concepts to answer a million problems. But he would rather contain multiple answers within the same concepts. He can still use diversity -- of formations, personnel groupings, or options within a play -- but focuses on fully mastering a few versatile plans of attack.

The description "basketball on grass" is apt, but in a literal sense. It captures how the offense becomes more about getting the ideal matchups and executing options, as in basketball, rather than out-guessing the opponent. The lightning tempo utilized by Malzahn and Morris further allows for this simplicity.

Last year, the Mustangs' offense was a disaster. SMU averaged a paltry 11.08 points per game and was shutout twice. They had less than 300 yards of offense in five games. It of course remains to be seen whether Morris can bring back "Pony Express" levels of excitement to SMU, but he is already re-vitalizing a cratered program (not coincidentally, Bill C's excellent SMU preview is subtitled "Chad Morris and Way More Fun.").

Philip Montgomery (Tulsa)

Chas Short: Philip Montgomery comes to Tulsa from Baylor, where the Bears excelled with Montgomery as their offensive coordinator. Baylor just won back-to-back Big 12 Championships and had at least ten wins in three of the last four seasons. Baylor's explosive offense obviously played a huge role in this success. Baylor led the nation in total offense in 2013 and ranked second in 2012 and 2011. In the 12 games in which Montgomery called plays in 2014, the Bears averaged 581.3 yards and 48.8 points (Montgomery was out the door to Tulsa before last season's Cotton Bowl).

Montgomery steps into a situation at Tulsa where there's a real chance for an exciting leap forward on offense. Last year, Tulsa had a better than conference average 413 yards of total offense per game. Tulsa now returns a remarkable ten offensive starters, including excellent WRs in Keevan Lucas (who led the AAC in receiving touchdowns last year) and Keyarris Garrett.

It will be interesting to see whether QB Dane Evans can step up and find success in Montgomery's system. Fortunately for Tulsa fans, Montgomery has a track record of mentoring great QBs, stretching back from Baylor to his time as an assistant at Houston: Bryce Petty, Robert Griffin III, Nick Florence, Kevin Kolb, and Case Keenum.

As an Art Briles disciple, Montgomery and his offensive schemes meant this was an exciting hire for Tulsa. And given the question marks on defense, especially in the secondary, the Montgomery-led Golden Hurricane might well be the AAC team most likely to find itself in shoot-outs. Win or lose, Tulsa ought to be a fun team to watch this season.

The AAC Has The Most Interesting Coaches in College Football: Part 3

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/8/7/8891853/the-aac-has-the-most-interesting-coaches-in-college-football-part-3

In our prior two posts here and here, we discussed why the AAC has the most interesting coaches in college football. There's little doubt that those in the East Division have intriguing stories. The West is also home to exciting coaches. We start here with:

Ken Niumatalolo (Navy)

Justin Mears: You could certainly make an argument for Coach Ken as the most interesting coach in the AAC.  For starters, there is this:

That should be reason enough to convince you that Coach Ken is the most interesting coach in the AAC. (I definitely think a ride with the Blue Angels is better than a tandem jump with the Army Golden Knights parachute team, but I could be slightly biased)

If that wasn't enough to convince some of you, here are a few other tidbits that add to the intrigue that is Coach Niumatalolo:

• Coach Niumatalolo is now the all-time winningest coach in Navy Football history.
• Coach Niumatalolo is the second Polynesian head coach in FBS history.
• Coach Niumatalolo is the first Samoan collegiate head coach at any level.
• Coach Niumatalolo was inducted into the initial class of the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame in 2014.
• Coach Niumatalolo was featured in the documentary Meet the Mormons which was released in theaters in October, 2014.

Coach Ken is unique.  Coach Ken is certainly interesting.  Coach Ken wins.

What more can I say?

Justin Fuente (Memphis)

Chris James: When speaking of interesting coaches in the AAC it seems as if Justin Fuente is in a class of his own.  It's apparent in how he has changed the perception of the Tigers.  Mind you, the Tiger program was in shambles when Fuente took the helm.  In just a few short years you can tell that Fuente has turned a Pinto in to what appears to be a muscle car.  A team that was once the laughing stock of not only its league, but college football itself, has turned a major corner.  One distant observer may look at a 10-3 record and think it's a fluke.  However, if you watch "product on the field" you can see Fuente's impact from a mile away.  The AAC has fine coaches but none have the draw of Fuente.  He doesn't need prior controversy (looking at you, O'Leary) or prior big time experience (hello Tuberville).  The thing that makes Fuente so interesting is that he couldn't care less if he is interesting or not.  He is almost like "The Most Interesting Man in the World."  Fuente lays back and just becomes awesome.

But lets talk on the field for a moment.  When Memphis let go Larry Porter and began their coaching search the program was in shambles.  There were typical names of coaches being thrown out in to the mix among fans.  Of course every now and then you have some yahoo on a message board that will believe in unrealistic expectations (ahem, Jon Gruden).  Memphis even, at one time, had a legitimate chance with Ole Miss Coach Hugh Freeze.  As it turns out the Tigers ended up hiring a OC from TCU, Justin Fuente.  Many Tiger fans didn't know who he was and many TCU fans wept over his departure. 

Fuente's first couple seasons were "successful failures."  The goal is always a bowl birth but the successes were product on the field and not records.  It was apparent that the product on the field, Larry Porter's players, were a better product behind Fuentes.  In Fuente's first two seasons he didn't even win 9 games total, but you could tell that his kids would run through walls for him.  The corner was being turned for something special, but nobody expected 2014 to be the year.  After only two seasons and only 7 wins under his belt, Fuente would lead his team to a 10-3 finish.  A star was realized.

Curtis Johnson (Tulane):

Chas Short: Curtis Johnson is notable for his profoundly deep connections to the New Orleans community where he coaches. Johnson is a New Orleans native, grew up in nearby St. Rose, Louisiana, and graduated from St. Charles High School. And he came to the Green Wave after six seasons with the New Orleans Saints coaching wide receivers.

Recruiting in the New Orleans area has also been a priority for Johnson. At his introductory press conference back in 2011, Johnson proclaimed a "State of Tulane":

Louisiana recruits, we are coming to get you. This doesn't mean that we are going to stop searching all over the country, but look out, because you are on our radar already. This is now the state of Tulane.

This of course was meant to evoke memories of the Canes' "State of Miami" recruiting (Johnson coached wide receivers at UM from 1996-2005). And true to his pledge, Johnson's recruiting classes have indeed been filled with players from Louisiana in general and New Orleans in particular. Pre-Tulane, Johnson (who was known for his excellent recruiting) also had success recruiting the New Orleans area, notably NFL Hall of Famer and fellow New Orleans native Marshall Faulk, whom Johnson recruited to San Diego State.

O'Leary and Diaco Talk Civil Conflict at AAC Media Day

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/american-athletic-conference/2015/8/4/9095599/civil-conflict-at-aac-media-day-well-let-the-most-offended-person

"Civil Conflict" at AAC Media Day: "We'll Let The Most Offended Person Design The Trophy"

By Chas Short on Aug 4, 2015, 10:33a      

        

 

UConn's Bob Diaco and UCF's George O'Leary discussed the "Civil Conflict" during AAC Media Day in a conversation that included both a (maybe) half-serious proposal for an alternate name and an offer to "Let the most offended person design the trophy."

         

We at Underdog Dynasty are huge fans of the Civil Conflict that Bob Diaco unilaterally declared with UCF. A coach proclaiming a rivalry after two games, for geographically distant fan bases, and with no cultural stakes, is an absolute absurdity.

And we love absurdity. Especially when it creates interest in a game where little enthusiasm excited before. Give credit to Diaco who has succeeded in making the UCF-UConn game a "thing" (even if we can't call it a rivalry).

It's not surprising that the Civil Conflict came up at AAC Media Day in what was the most entertaining exchange in the East division coaches Q&A. Asked about the Civil Conflict, Diaco started by praising UCF, calling it "one of the best football programs in America" and asking, "Who better for us to emulate ourselves after [...] than the best?"

Diaco then acknowledged criticism that the "Civil Conflict" name and the trophy had missed the boat (including by listing only the most recent game -- a UConn victory -- on the trophy's plaque). But what's clear is that what the game is called and what the trophy is are just window dressing to Diaco, who joked, "We'll let the most offended person design the trophy." Diaco even threw out an alternative name for the UCF-UConn game: "The ConFLiCT."

Uh, maybe we should stick with "Civil Conflict."

George O'Leary explained that he understood what Diaco was trying to do in declaring the Civil Conflict. And he gamely threw out a few barbs, saying, "A trophy with a clock on it, I really like. I don't have one of them" and telling Diaco he should "Make sure it is on the plane."

All of this is great for a nascent conference (which has had a different membership every year of its existence) looking to build its history. We think Diaco's comments from some time ago are apt:

If you embrace it, you embrace it. If you don't, you don't. There was nothing before, so if you don't embrace it there would still be nothing. And if you do, even a little bit, it's more energetic and exciting.

The AAC Has the Most Interesting Coaches in College Football: Part 2

The AAC Has The Most Interesting Coaches in College Football: Part 2

 

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/8/5/9002071/the-aac-has-the-most-interesting-coaches-in-college-football-part-2

 

By Chas Short and Jake Hyman on Aug 5, 2015, 4:30a + Edit Entry

           

Part two of a four part series arguing that the American Athletic Conference has the most interesting coaches of any college football conference.

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There's definitely a case to be made that the coaches of the AAC are the most intriguing bunch in college football. We discussed George O'Leary, Willie Taggart, and Bob Diaco over here in Part 1. Below, we finish our rundown on the east:

Ruffin McNeill (ECU)

Chas Short: Ruffin McNeill stands out for a few reasons. First, he is one of only a handful of guys at the FBS level who head coaches his alma mater (which subjectively increases his "good guy" rating in our eyes).

Also, this is what Ruffin McNeil looks like:

       

Photo credit: Marvin Gentry/USA TODAY Sports

And this is what Ruffin McNeil used to look like:

       

Photo Credit: Geoff Burke/Getty Images

McNeill used to be, uh, quite large. He weighed as much as 388 pounds at his peak. Now he's almost-sort-of-maybe-middle-age svelte. McNeill is surely notable as one of the gastric bypass success stories among the college football coaching ranks (contrast that with, say, the saga of fellow gastric bypass patient Charlie Weis).

Finally, there's some added conference intrigue here with both McNeill and Tommy Tuberville coaching in the same division. Back in 2009, McNeill was Texas Tech's defensive coordinator under Mike Leach. Leach got fired. McNeill was elevated into the interim head coach role and led TTU to a bowl win over Michigan State. Tuberville was then hired as head coach. Tubs replaced McNeill with James Willis as the new DC. And now McNeil and Tubs get to coach against each other every year.

The AAC is special, huh?

Tommy Tuberville (Cincinnati)

Chas Short: Speaking of Tommy Tuberville . . . if you prefer to cast someone other than O'Leary as the heel of the AAC, how about Tubs? His reputation as a mercenary is not entirely undeserved.

Before Cincinnati, Tubs was the head coach at Texas Tech. His exit was messy and drama-filled. A 247Sports affiliate quoted a TTU recruit who claimed that Tuberville simply walked out of a dinner at the 50-Yard Line Steakhouse before the food came:

"The waitress brought out food out, and we thought (Tuberville) went to the bathroom, but he never came back to dinner. The next thing I know, the next day, he made an announcement that he's going to Cincinnati." [. . .]

"Everybody was going crazy [the next day] [. . .] The players were shocked, too. We still had a good time at night, but it was crazy how he just got up and left out of nowhere and left people in the dark and shadow.

For their parts, Tommy Tuberville and the University of Cincinnati denied the story. SB Nation readers would later fax Tuberville the 50-Yard Line Steakhouse menu which is, obviously, awesome.

Tubs was no stranger to messy departures for new jobs. Back in 1998, he was the head coach at Ole Miss, where he infamously proclaimed, "They'll have to carry me out of here in a pine box." Just two days later, he was gone. And, uh, not in a coffin. He was out the door to Auburn. Tubs reportedly "never told his [Ole Miss] players so much as good-bye." Ouch.

Matt Rhule (Temple)

Jake Hyman: Like McNeill, Matt Rhule's generally a positive leader on and off the field. Rhule's favorite day of the week outside of Saturday is Tuesday. He lines up on the podium with a smile on his face every week ready and willing to answer questions. He knows the media by name and is one for jokes and witty remarks. What makes Rhule a personable head coach is his approachability and charisma which showcases his humbleness. With a new contract, Rhule should have more confidence and will take more risks. It's cliché to say don't judge a book by it's cover, but Rhule has really won me over from his first season and is respected by many. Add to this the fact that he's coached over 20 NFL players since 2008 and draws rave reviews from coaches and players about the passion he exudes for the game of football.

This will be a year to watch Rhule and the Temple program. Currently "building his brand" of football at Temple (and certainly improving its image), it's apparent that Rhule's philosophy starts with the defense. What remains to be seen is whether the offense will come around and get Rhule to his first bowl game as a head coach.

Rhule also gets to face his alma mater opening week in Penn State where he played Linebacker. He's hoping OLB Tyler Matekevich and the rest of the Owls are laying the hurt this time around.

The AAC Has The Most Interesting Coaches in College Football: Part 1

http://www.underdogdynasty.com/2015/8/3/8891835/the-aac-has-the-most-interesting-coaches-in-college-football-east

The American Athletic Conference is a gestalt of Big East leftovers and schools that have climbed up and out of Conference USA. And now Navy. It's a young conference and its membership has been different in each of the three years it has existed.

The AAC is a strange conference -- no doubt -- but certainly an interesting one. We here at Underdog Dynasty think there's a case to be made that the AAC has the most intriguing collection of coaches of any conference in college football. Some of them for the excitement that they bring to the field. Others for their bizarre professional histories. We start our review here with:

George O'Leary (UCF)

Chas Short: If you like college football as much for the stories off the field as the stories on, George O'Leary should be on your radar. When a coach lands at a school because he made a false statement on his resume and had to resign five days after being hired elsewhere, it's pretty much guaranteed he'll wind up being the conference heel (and as fodder for less successful rivals looking to score cheap points). "Heel" is a role that UCF's marketing embraced in O'Leary's first year on campus:

His on-field success and program building at UCF has been undeniable despite his rocky start. O'Leary's first year saw the Knights go winless, prompting the moniker ‘Oh and 11 O'Leary.' Embarrassingly, UCF's marketing that year was very focused on look-at-this-big-name-coach-we-got-here. The 2004 UCF poster featured a close up of a shouting O'Leary and the unfortunate phrase, "Change is nothing to FEAR. The Coach, now that's another story." Seriously, that's what it said in a year the Knights would ultimately go 0-11.

GOL now fills the rare role of being both UCF's interim athletic director and its head football coach.

Willie Taggart (USF)

Ryan Smith: Here's the thing with Willie Taggart: The fact that he's still one of college football's most engaging personalities despite going 6-18 in his first two seasons at USF speaks to how entertaining he really is. At 38 years of age, he's one of the youngest head coaches in college football, and he reeks of youthful enthusiasm. He burst onto the scene in his opening press conference with his famous "Get On the Bus" slogan and song and hasn't stopped since, making literal blue-collar shirts for his team during summer practices, singing Sam Cooke's "A Change is Gonna Come" after his first win against Cincinnati, and bringing rapper Plies to practice to give a message to the team. "This is the coolest coach in Division I football," Plies said afterward. You'd be hard-pressed to disagree.

Taggart's antics have diminished as his team has been treading the waters of mediocrity-- and that's putting it politely-- for the last two seasons, but he's still a press conference wonder, frequently tossing out nuggets like his signature catchphrase #DoSomething, or the Harbaugh-aping chant of "Who's got it better than us?" He enters the 2015 season on a very toasty seat, but cross your fingers that he finds a way to turn things around this year-- college football is a much more exciting place with Willie Taggart in it.

Bob Diaco (UConn)

Chas Short: When you're the kind of coach who unilaterally proclaims a non-existent and nonsensical rivalry, you're pretty much going to qualify as interesting. That's exactly what Bob Diaco did earlier this summer when UConn announced a rivalry with UCF, complete with the unveiling on Twitter of a countdown clock and trophy (the trophy lists only the most recent meeting between the teams). It's a rivalry in which the opposing fan bases have "literally no overlap in interests or cultural stakes." But it is pretty funny. And it creates interest around a yearly match-up that would otherwise be utterly unremarkable.

No, Bob Diaco hasn't done much on the field so far. But he's energized fans and created interest among recuits. Diaco's brought a level of excitement to a moribund UConn football program. His comments with regard to the "Civil Conflict" seem more broadly applicable to his time at UConn thus far:

For us it's exciting and I think it's fun. If you embrace it, you embrace it. If you don't, you don't. There was nothing before, so if you don't embrace it there would still be nothing. And if you do, even a little bit, it's more energetic and exciting.