CI Week 10 Highlights
11/8/2021
One more CI coach earned bowl eligibility on Saturday as Arkansas and Asst. Special Teams Coach Mike Krysl (@CoachKrysl) picked up their sixth win by defeating #17 Mississippi State, 31-28. On Sunday, Charger pass catchers hauled in 356 receiving yards and two touchdowns as Los Angeles rallied to beat Philadelphia, 27-24. Congratulations to WR Coach Chris Beatty (@BeattyCoach) on the win which moves LA into a tie for first place in the AFC West. Keep reading for more highlights from Week 10.
The Wake Forest offensive brain trust has worked together for over a decade and over that time they have developed one of the most innovative offenses in college football. Using a very slow mesh point on RPOs, the Demon Deacons have soared up the offensive stat sheets and this season rank third in the nation in Scoring Offense and sixth in Total Offense. While Wake had early success against the UNC defense on Saturday, the Tar Heels solved the riddle around halfway through the third quarter, limiting the Deacs to just three points from the 7:38 mark of the third quarter until the final minute of the fourth quarter. The UNC linebacker corps led the charge, with inside linebackers Cedric Gray and Power Echols finishing with 19 tackles between the two of them and OLB Tomon Fox adding four tackles, one sack and a quarterback hurry. Fox's quarterback hurry came on Wake's second-to-last possession, after the Heels had erased an 18-point deficit and taken a 51-48 lead with two minutes to play. UNC ultimately forced a turnover-on-downs on that possession and added a touchdown to increase its lead to 10. Wake responded with a late touchdown but UNC TE Garrett Walston alertly knocked the ensuing onside kick out of bounds to preserve the upset win. Congratulations to UNC Special Teams Coor./OLB Jovan Dewitt (@Coach_Dewitt) on the win! Dewitt is in his second season in Chapel Hill and last year helped guide the Heels to the Orange Bowl. He previously spent two seasons in the same role at Nebraska, where he was nominated for the Orange Bowl Courage Award in 2019. As the associate head coach at UCF, Dewitt helped guide the Golden Knights to a perfect 13-0 record in 2017, including a win over Auburn in the Peach Bowl. He has also coached at Army, FAU and Northern Iowa among others. In his three seasons as the defensive coordinator at Northern Iowa, Dewitt helped guide the Panthers to two Missouri Valley Championships.
How good was Tennessee's offense on Saturday? Consider that Kentucky's punter didn't enter the game, the Wildcats only committed one turnover and yet the Volunteers still managed to come out on top in a thriller for the ages. In another stat that defies logic, Tennessee scored 45 points despite only possessing the ball for 13:52 the entire game. Simply put, the Volunteer offense was electric, averaging 9.8 yards per play and scoring on five drives that lasted less than 46 seconds. Tennessee QB Hendon Hooker set the stage on the very first play from scrimmage, connecting with WR JaVonta Payton on a 75-yard touchdown pass to quiet a packed house in Lexington. Hooker would go on to throw for 316 yards on just 20 attempts (15.8 ypa) and added 41 rushing yards. Three Volunteer receivers recorded at least 78 receiving yards with Velus Jones Jr. leading the trio with 100 yards and one touchdown on five receptions. With the win, Tennessee improves to 5-4 on the season and picks up its first win over a ranked opponent since 2018. Congratulations to Tennessee offensive analysts Matt Merritt (@Coach_Merritt) and Kelsey Pope (@CoachKelseyPope) on the win and blazing offense! Merritt joined the Volunteers in February after two seasons as the running backs coach at James Madison. With the Dukes, he helped the program win two CAA championships and reach two FCS semifinals with one appearance in the National Championship Game. From 2013-15, Merritt served as a graduate assistant at Ohio State, where he was part of staffs that won one national championship, one Big Ten title, three division titles, and three NY6 bowl games. Pope arrived in Knoxville this season after serving as the passing game coordinator and wide receivers coach at Gardner-Webb. He also coached at Tennessee Tech where he helped the Golden Eagles post the second-best total offense in program history in 2019. As a player, Pope was a receiver at Samford where he finished his career as the Bulldogs' all-time leading receiver.
The temperatures may be dropping outside but the Texas State defense dialed up the heat early and often in Saturday's win over Louisiana-Monroe. The Bobcats recorded a new season-high with five sacks as six different defenders recorded at least one half-sack. In a sign of just how collaborative the defensive effort was for Texas State, three different players recorded at least 10 tackles, led by LB Binky Coleman who finished with a career-high 14 stops to go along with two quarterback hurries and one tackle-for-loss. Safety Zion Childress finished second with 11 tackles and recorded a key pass breakup on ULM's final offensive play to preserve the win for the Bobcats. ULM held the ball for 16 minutes more than Texas State and ran 34 more offensive plays, but the Bobcats were able to consistently rotate in fresh defenders and ended up outgaining the Warhawks despite the disparities in time of possession and play count. Congratulations to Texas State ILB Coach Brian Gamble (@CoachBGamble) on the win! Gamble arrived in San Marcos this spring after spending the last three seasons as the linebackers coach at Louisiana Tech. With the Bulldogs, he helped guide the program to three bowl games, one division title and a #4 national ranking in Sacks in 2018. Gamble played at Texas A&M and served as a defensive grad assistant at Houston early in his career. He went on to enjoy a 10-year tenure at Incarnate Word, ultimately serving as the Cardinals’ defensive coordinator for seven seasons.
With three consecutive wins over Penn, Columbia and Brown, Yale finds itself in a three-way tie for first place in the Ivy League heading into the final two weeks of the season. Against the Bears, the Bulldogs cruised to an easy 63-38 win which marked the most points the program has scored in a single game since 1930. Yale Asst. Head Coach/Co-Defensive Coor./DL Jordan Stevens (@CoachStevensFB) saw his defense score twice to contribute to the total as DB Sean Guyton scored on a 60-yard pick-six and LB Noah Pope recovered a fumble off of a sack right by the goal line for a scoop-and-score. DL Clay Patterson also had a huge game for the Bulldog defense, recording five tackles, two sacks and one forced fumble. For the season, Patterson ranks second in the nation with 1.44 sacks per game. Overall, the Yale defense was in the Brown backfield consistently throughout the game, forcing six tackles-for-loss and forcing Brown QB EJ Perry into two interceptions. Congratulations to Stevens on the win and play making defense! Stevens is in his seventh year at Yale and third as the team's assistant head coach and co-defensive coordinator after serving as the linebackers coach in 2018. In his time at New Haven, he has helped the Bulldogs win two Ivy League titles, most recently in 2019 after finishing 9-1. Stevens previously spent four years coaching at his alma mater, Maine, where he helped the Black Bears reach the NCAA FCS Quarterfinals in 2011 and win the CAA title in 2013.
When Jarrell Harrison (@CoachJHarrison_) was named head coach at Adams State in April, he knew he was taking over a program that was hurting after suffering from years of internal conflict. Seven months later, the foundation of the program has been rebuilt and the results are starting to show on the field. The Grizzlies have come up just short in three one-possession games, including a double overtime loss, but on Saturday they finally got over the hump, beating Fort Lewis handily to give Harrison the first win of his head coaching career. RB Tyreik Campbell was the bell cow for the ASU offense, rushing 27 times for 180 yards while QB Bradley Smith accounted for 230 all-purpose yards and three touchdowns. Smith's third touchdown, a 15-yard rush three minutes into the third quarter, increased the Grizzly lead to 31-0 and effectively sealed the outcome as the hosts cruised the rest of the way, rolling to a 37-14 win to claim the 75th annual Spud Bowl. Defensively, ASU had seven tackles-for-loss, led by OLB Tae'aviion Gray who finished with four tackles, two TFLs, two quarterback hurries, one sack and a field goal block. Congratulations to Harrison and Asst. Head Coach/Defensive Coor./DL Kai Ellis (@Coach_KaiEllis) on the win! Prior to being named head coach, Harrison served as the Grizzlies' defensive backs coach and special teams coordinator and has also coached the team's running backs during his seven years in Alamosa. As a player, Harrison was an honorable mention All-Big 12 safety for Missouri and helped the Tigers climb as high as #6 in the national rankings. Ellis is in his fourth year with the Grizzlies and first as assistant head coach and defensive coordinator. He arrived in Alamosa after a stint as the defensive coordinator at Briar Cliff and has also served as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at West Hills CC. Following a nine-year professional playing career, Ellis began his coaching career as the assistant defensive line coach at Washington in 2013.
The signs of a breakout performance have been there for Lehigh. The Mountain Hawks had scored more points in their previous two games than they had in any of the first six weeks. On Saturday, everything came together and Scott Brisson's (@Scott_Brisson) offense exploded in Lehigh's 38-6 win over Bucknell. The Mountain Hawks were especially effective on the ground as running backs Jack DiPietro, Zaythan Hill and RaShawn Allen combined to rush 38 times for 164 yards and five touchdowns. Through the air, QB Dante Perri bounced back from an early interception to complete 19 passes for 244 yards. His favorite target on the day was WR Johnny Foley, who caught four passes for 51 yards. DiPietro also played a large role in the passing game, catching three balls for 71 yards to give him 164 total yards from scrimmage. Overall, the Mountain Hawks doubled up their hosts, outgaining the Bison by a 408-170 margin and held a 37:01 to 22:59 edge in time of possession. Congratulations to Brisson on the win and huge offensive day! Brisson is in the eighth year of his second stint with the Mountain Hawks and fifth as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach. Under his direction, Lehigh led the Patriot League in passing in 2019 and has also posted top 10 national finishes in both Total Offense and Passing Offense. In between his tenures at Lehigh, Brisson coordinated offenses at St. Lawrence and Lycoming and has also completed an internship with the San Francisco 49ers.
It's hard to imagine that Stephen F. Austin WR Coach Myles White (@M_White03) could have walked into a better situation for his first on-field coaching position. White inherited a room that included former Freshman All-American Xavier Gipson, who led the Lumberjacks in receiving in 2019 and 2020. While Gipson was clearly already a special talent, he has flourished even more under White's mentorship and boasts a strong claim to be the top receiver in all of FCS. Gipson currently leads the nation with 11 receiving touchdowns and ranks second with 126.6 receiving yards per game. In Saturday's win over #19 Eastern Kentucky, Gipson bolstered those numbers with four receptions for 138 yards and three touchdowns to help the Lumberjacks hand the Colonels their first loss in ASUN-WAC Challenge games. Not to be overlooked, SFA wideouts Lawton Rikel and Jeremia Miller also turned in strong performances, racking up 65 and 47 receiving yards, respectively. Overall, the Jacks threw for 323 yards and outgained the Colonels by a 453-409 margin. Congratulations to White on the upset win and Gipson's spectacular season! Prior to arriving in Nacogdoches, White spent two seasons as an offensive quality control assistant at SMU, during which time he helped the Mustangs finish #4 in Total Offense in 2019 and 13th in the category in 2020. After playing collegiately at Michigan State and Louisiana Tech, White went on to enjoy a six-year professional playing career, including stints with the Packers, Giants and Jets.
After a rough introduction to the Big South in 2019, Hampton is settling into the conference nicely in its second season. On Saturday, the Pirates improved to 2-3 against Big South opponents and 4-5 overall after defeating Gardner-Webb in overtime. In a back-and-forth affair that saw four lead changes and three ties, Hampton took care of business in the extra session. After the Runnin' Bulldogs picked up one first down on their overtime possession, a trio of Pirate defensive backs made sure that they wouldn't pick up a second. Camron Henderson-Green and Devonta Davis each recorded tackles and Stanley Garner broke up a pass to force a turnover-on-downs. On its offensive possession, Hampton wasted no time as RB Keyondre White took the handoff on the first play and scampered down the sideline for a 25-yard touchdown rush to end the game. Coincidentally, while Henderson-Green, Davis and Garner factored large in the overtime session, it was another Pirate defensive back, Ali Shockley, who led the team with 10 tackles, marking his second straight game with double-digit stops. Congratulations to Hampton Defensive Pass Game Coor./CB Otis Mounds (@CoachMounds) on the win and strong play from his defensive backs! Mounds is in his second year at Hampton after a five-year stint working with the defensive backs at Akron. At Akron, he mentored two All-MAC selections as the Zips won the MAC East in 2017 and finished in the top 25 nationally in multiple pass defense categories. Mounds previously worked with the corners at Texas Tech and also possesses head coaching experience at two high school programs.
Quick Hits
- South Carolina DB Cam Smith recorded four tackles and one interception as the Gamecocks dominated Florida, 40-17. Congratulations to DB Coach Torrian Gray (@togray14)!
- Memphis earned its first win over a ranked opponent since 2019 as the Tigers took down #23 SMU, 28-25. Congratulations to Special Teams Coordinator Charles Bankins (@FBCoachBankins)!
- Villanova recorded its second shutout of the season and fourth time holding an opponent to three points or less in the Wildcats' 35-0 win over Elon. Congratulations to Defensive Coordinator/DB Ola Adams (@CoachOlaAdams)!
- Monmouth QB Tony Muskett threw for 294 yards and four touchdowns while RB Owen Wright rushed for 98 yards and two touchdowns in the Hawks' 45-33 win over North Alabama. Congratulations to Passing Game Coor./QB T.J. DiMuzio (@CoachTJD) and Special Teams Coor./RB Sam Dorsett (@CoachSamDorsett)!
- Bluffton shutout Manchester for over 59 minutes before giving up a score in the final seconds, but still cruised to a 31-7 win on Senior Day. Congratulations to Defensive Coordinator/DB Devan Hill!
- Henderson State RB Duce Sproles rushed for 100 yards and the Reddies kicked a last-second field goal to beat Oklahoma Baptist, 36-34. Congratulations to RB Coach Chris Bryant (@ChrisR_Bryant)!
- Kentucky State closed out its home schedule in emphatic fashion, blowing out Central State, 63-0. Congratulations to Assistant Coach Roderick Plummer (@StsontheReady)!
