CI Week 10 Football Highlights

Mississippi State improved its chances of earning a bowl bid with a 54-24 demolition of Arkansas in Fayetteville. The key to the Bulldogs' success was its ability to control the trenches on both sides of the ball. Offensively, Mississippi State RB Kylin Hill rushed for a career-high 234 yards and three scores to pace the Bulldogs' ground attack. With the game well in hand in the second half, Mississippi State turned to backup RB Nick Gibson, who picked up where Hill left off, setting his own career-high with 129 rushing yards and one touchdown. For the Razorbacks, RB Rakeem Boyd broke free for a long touchdown run in the second quarter but was otherwise held in check. In total, Mississippi State outrushed Arkansas by a 460-184 margin. The Arkansas offense didn't fare much better through the air as Razorback quarterbacks combined to complete only 9-of-24 passes for 101 yards. Safety Marcus Murphy scored on a pick-six to lead the Bulldog back end while DE Marquiss Spencer was a force up front, finishing with three tackles, 0.5 tackles-for-loss and a quarterback pressure. Congratulations to Mississippi State DL Coach Deke Adams (@CoachDekeAdams) on the win! Adams is in his first season in Starkville after a two-year stint in the same role at North Carolina. From 2013-15, he coached the defensive line at South Carolina where he worked with two First Team All-American selections, Jadeveon Clowney and Kelcy Quarles. Adams has participated in five bowl games and was a member of the Southern Miss staff that won the 2011 C-USA Championship.

While Oregon ultimately departed the City of Angels with a 32-point win over USC, the first half was a back-and-forth affair. It was the Trojans who struck first, jumping out to a 10-0 lead before Oregon QB Justin Herbert got the Ducks on the board with a 10-yard touchdown run early in the second quarter. A touchdown run from WR Jaylon Redd and a pick-six from DB Brady Breeze put Oregon up 21-10, but USC responded with a touchdown of its own with 20 seconds remaining in the first half. Just when it looked as if the hosts would enter halftime with the momentum, Oregon CB Mykael Wright returned the ensuing kickoff 100 yards for a touchdown to restore the Ducks' 11-point lead, 28-17. With momentum squarely back in its favor, Oregon put the pedal to the metal in the second half, reeling off 28 straight points before the Trojans scored late in the fourth quarter. Wright's return marked a key turning point in the game and continued a season-long trend of the Ducks getting big plays from their return units. For the year, Oregon ranks 5th nationally in Punt Return and 12th nationally in Kickoff Return. Congratulations to Oregon Special Teams Analyst Chris Norris (@coachnorris38) on the win and special teams rankings! Norris is in his third season with the Ducks after one season at South Florida. In addition to working with special teams, he has also coached running backs and tight ends during stints at Southeast Missouri, Jacksonville, Tennessee State and Webber International.

After losing a heart breaker in triple overtime last time out, Coastal Carolina Co-Offensive Coordinator/RB Newland Isaac (@coachisaacFB) and the Chanticleers were in no mood to play overtime roulette again. An so when RB C.J. Marable fought his way into the end zone from three yards out and 30 seconds to play, the CCU offense didn't hesitate. Facing a 35-34 deficit, Marable delivered once again, this time taking a pitch from QB Bryce Carpenter and beating a Troy defender to the pylon for the two-point conversion and the win. Marable's runs capped a strong performance from the Chants' running backs overall, as he and Jacqez Hairston combined to rush for 124 yards and three touchdowns. Through the air, Carpenter completed 32-of-45 passes for 285 yards and one touchdown to go along with 46 rushing yards. With the win, Coastal Carolina improves to 4-4 on the season, in prime position to reach the first bowl game in program history. Congratulations and good luck to Isaac! Now in his second year with the program, Isaac was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in February after serving as the team's running backs coach in 2018. He began his coaching career working with the running backs and slot receivers at North Greenville, where he helped the Crusaders win a national title in 2010. He went on to coach at Delta State, Charleston Southern and Albany State before arriving at CCU. In 2018, Isaac was selected to participate in the NCAA-NFL Coaches Academy.

What a difference a year makes. In 2018, Navy went 3-10 which marked its worst season since 2002. An overhaul of the defensive staff in the offseason raised serious questions in Annapolis about the direction of the program heading into 2019. Through eight games, it is clear that the ship has been righted. With a blowout win over UConn, the Mids improved to 7-1 on the season - a mark the program has only achieved on one other occasion since 2005. Against the Huskies, Navy was firing on all cylinders. QB Malcolm Perry led the way for the offense, racking up a career-high 165 passing yards, 108 rushing yards and three total touchdowns. His first score came on a 58-yard rushing touchdown on the Mids' first possession to take a 7-0 lead. UConn would answer with a touchdown to tie the game at 7-7 midway through the first quarter, but Navy's defense clamped down for the final three and a half quarters. Safety Kevin Brennan recorded a career-high 12 tackles while DE Jackson Perkins set his own career-high with six tackles to go along with an interception. As a unit, the Mids gave up only 311 yards, forced three turnovers and limited the Huskies to 4-of-17 on third and fourth downs. Congratulations to Navy Defensive Quality Control Joe Battaglia (@CoachBatts) on the win and great season thus far! Battaglia is in his third season with the Mids and also serves as the head coach of the USA U-16 national team. He previously served as the defensive coordinator and defensive backs coach at Bethany College and has also coached at Brevard, Midwestern State, Juniata and Stevenson University.

In 2018, Stetson posted its best season since restarting the program in 2013. After winning no more than five games in any of its first five years, the Hatters went 8-2 last year and finished in second place in the Pioneer League. This year, Defensive Coordinator/CB Brian Young (@coachbkyoung) and the staff have been out to prove that last season was no fluke. After Saturday's comeback win over Jacksonville, Stetson sits at 6-2 and has the opportunity to tie or set a new record for wins with three games still remaining. In facing their in-state rivals, Young and his defense were tasked with slowing down the Dolphins' triple option attack, which entered the weekend among the conference's top rushing teams, averaging 259 yards on the ground per game. Mission accomplished. LB Hunter Stephens led the Hatters with nine tackles, including 1.5 tackles-for-loss, one sack and a forced fumble. CB JJ Henderson added eight tackles and came up with two key stops on Jacksonville's final possession to force the Dolphins into a 53-yard field goal attempt that came up short. Overall, Stetson's defense held Jacksonville to 20 fewer rushing yards than its season average and just 2-of-13 on third downs. Congratulations to Young on the win and strong defensive performance! Young is in his seventh season coordinating the Stetson defense and working with the team's defensive backs. From 2013-16, he worked with four-time All-American DB Donald Payne who is currently with the Jacksonville Jaguars. Young previously coached defensive backs at Cornell and also served as the defensive coordinator at Mississippi College.

As a coach, you know your team is coming off of a great game anytime that your players sweep the weekly all-conference awards. That is the case for UT Martin Run Game Coor./TE/T Matt Jones (@CoachMattJones) after the Skyhawks picked up a huge win over Jacksonville State. UT Martin QB John Bachus III earned Ohio Valley Conference Offensive Player of the Week and Newcomer of the Week, while LB Cecil Cherry and WR Terry Williams won the respective awards for defensive and special teams player of the week. For good measure, if the OVC had an award for tight end of the week, the Skyhawks probably would have won that, too, as Colton Dowell hauled in five catches for 117 yards and a touchdown. UT Martin RB Peyton Logan chipped in with 73 rushing yards on just six carries (12.2 ypc). The win marked the Skyhawks' first over Jacksonville State since 2012 and keeps UT Martin in first place in the OVC at 6-3, 5-1. Next up for the Skyhawks is a trip to Clarksville, TN to take on Austin Peay (6-3, 4-1) in a battle for first place in the conference. Congratulations to Jones on the win and good luck next week! Jones arrived at Martin this season after spending the past two seasons as the offensive line coach and run game coordinator at Texas Southern. He has also coached at Tulane, Villanova, Eastern Illinois and Jackson State. In 2017, Jones was selected to participate in the AFCA's 35 Under 35 Leadership Institute.

If St. Scholastica Offensive Coordinator/WR Bobby Acosta (@CoachBA1010) were playing a video game on Saturday, it would have been time to change the degree of difficulty. With Acosta calling the shots and QB Zach Edwards putting the plan into action, the Saints scored touchdowns on their first five offensive possessions and cruised to a 61-8 victory. Edwards completed his first 19 passes of the game and ended up going 34-of-43 for 421 yards and four touchdowns. His first two touchdown passes when to WR Eddie Lee, who finished with nine catches for 119 yards. The Saints also did damage on the ground, as running backs Bryceton Butkiewicz and Dominic Klaas each scored rushing touchdowns while Edwards added 51 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown. Overall, St. Scholastica put up 530 yards of offense and racked up 31 first downs. Congratulations to Acosta on the win and offensive performance! Acosta is in his first season with the Saints after spending two seasons as the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at Bucknell. He has also coached receivers at Syracuse at Cornell and worked with the tight ends at Delaware, where he helped the Blue Hens reach the 2007 FCS National Championship game. Acosta spent the 2013 season as the head coach at Widener University and has completed internships with the Browns and Jets. 

One more CI coach will be in action tonight when the Giants host the Cowboys. Good luck to Giants Asst. DB Coach Henry Baker (@CoachHB)!