I wrote, after LSU’s Week 1 win in opposition to then-No. 4 Clemson, that that is the yr for Brian Kelly and the Tigers. On the time, they appeared just like the cream of the SEC crop, primed to reap the benefits of a wide-open convention race whereas driving that momentum to a possible look within the Faculty Soccer Playoff Nationwide Championship.
Time to eat crow. It isn’t now. It is by no means for Kelly’s Tigers.
Their 24-19 loss to No. 13 Ole Miss in Week 5 proved that that is simply the identical ole Kelly-coached LSU staff. Good, however not ok to compete for something that issues.
This time, although, it is not the protection that is holding LSU again. The offense, led by quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who entered the yr within the No. 1 general NFL Draft decide dialog, has been an entire dud.
Ole Miss allowed 526 complete yards of offense to a three-loss Arkansas staff in its SEC opener two weeks in the past. The Razorbacks rushed for 221 yards. LSU had 254 yards as a staff in opposition to that very same Rebels protection.
Nussmeier failed to achieve a minimum of 200 yards passing for the primary time this season. He additionally threw his third interception in 5 video games.
LSU’s protection put up one other strong combat, however the Tigers had been gassed by the offense’s incapability to remain on the sphere. Kelly appears incapable of fielding an entire soccer staff.
Meaning he is not the man to take LSU the place it needs to go.
USC has already hit its ceiling beneath Lincoln Riley
And that got here properly earlier than the Trojans joined the Massive Ten. Actually, it is trying as if USC could have peaked in its first yr with Riley on the helm, when it received 11 video games and made an look within the Pac-12 Championship Sport.
It additionally misplaced to Tulane within the Cotton Bowl. USC hasn’t gotten near successful double digit video games since and, if Saturday was any indication, it probably will not attain that mark this yr.
It definitely will not come wherever near a championship sport. The Trojans misplaced 34-32 to a reeling Illinois staff. A No. 23 Illinois staff that misplaced 63-10 in its Massive Ten opener and subsequently plummeted 14 spots within the AP Prime 25.
It was a well-known story for USC. The Trojans have misplaced 5 straight video games as an outright favourite in opposition to AP-ranked opponents. All 5 of these losses have come by three factors or fewer.
It is onerous to discover a path towards relevancy for USC this yr. The Trojans have three ranked opponents left, together with No. 6 Oregon on the street, and still have to journey to play an honest Nebraska staff.
It is time for NC State to maneuver on
Dave Doeren has given NC State a few of its finest seasons because the flip of the century. He snapped an eight-game dropping streak to Clemson within the Textile Bowl. He is this system’s all-time wins chief at 90 (and counting). He is taken the Wolfpack to a bowl sport 10 instances, greater than every other coach in NC State historical past.
Nevertheless it’s time for NC State to maneuver on. For all that Doeren has completed, it is clear that he has this staff headed within the fully mistaken route. Doeren’s finest days are far within the rearview mirror.
He hit all-time low in Week 5 when his staff misplaced 23-21 to Virginia Tech. For these out of the loop, Virginia Tech fired coach Brent Pry on Sept. 14 following a 45-26 house loss to Previous Dominion that punctuated an 0-3 begin to the yr.
With that, Doeren is now 5-8 in his final 13 video games in opposition to Energy 4 competitors. The Wolfpack can be 4-7 in convention play because the begin of the 2024 marketing campaign and, despite their many appearances, they haven’t received a bowl sport in eight years.
Possibly NC State lets him experience out the remainder of the season and exit on his personal phrases, however a change must be made to revitalize NC State.
The 2026 QB class is the worst since 2022
It is a actually dangerous time to be an NFL staff that wants a quarterback. After what was seen as a down yr through the 2025 draft cycle, many pundits anticipated quarterback to be a energy of the 2026 NFL Draft.
The attract of names like Texas‘ Arch Manning (if he really determined to come back out of faculty early), LSU’s Nussmeier, Penn State’s Drew Allar and Clemson’s Cade Klubnik, amongst many others, was onerous to disclaim — earlier than they really began enjoying soccer this yr, a minimum of.
Manning and Allar have proven flashes, although they’re removed from surefire skilled studs. Nussmeier and Klubnik have been downright disappointments. South Carolina’s LaNorris Sellers has but to stay as much as the huge preseason hype he acquired.
The 2026 class is not utterly missing in names. Oregon’s Dante Moore is enjoying his manner into the primary spherical. Indiana’s Fernando Mendoza is surpassing preseason expectations. That is about it via the primary 5 weeks.
Jason Eck must be the most popular teaching identify on the carousel
For those who’re not acquainted with the identify Jason Eck, it is time to be taught. He is bought New Mexico at 3-1 for the primary time since 2007. New Mexico additionally performed in entrance of its first sell-out crowd in 18 years throughout Saturday’s 38-20 win in opposition to rival New Mexico State.
Amongst these three wins was a 35-10 triumph in opposition to the Massive Ten’s UCLA. New Mexico’s lone loss was by 17 factors on the street in opposition to No. 19 Michigan, and the Lobos hung round in that one till the fourth quarter.
He is doing this at a New Mexico program that hasn’t had a successful season in nearly a decade. He engineered an analogous turnaround at Idaho earlier than ascending to the FBS ranks.
He led the Vandals, who had a dropping season annually from 2017-21, to 3 straight appearances within the FCS Playoffs from 2022-24. Eck’s probably the most artistic offensive minds within the sport proper now. Significantly, do your self a favor and watch New Mexico in some unspecified time in the future this season. Descriptions do not do it justice.
He is additionally the kind of coach that can completely make an instantaneous influence with Energy 4 assets.
