CI Week 10 Highlights
12/7/2022
Sixty minutes was often insufficient in Week 10 as several games over the weekend required overtime to settle matters. In addition to the two coaches highlighted below, another CI coach to come out on top in the extra session was Central Missouri Head Coach Josh Lamberson (@JoshLamberson) as his Mules emerged victorious over Missouri Western in double overtime, 40-37. In a game with far less drama, Notre Dame and Senior Defensive Analyst Ronnie Regula (@CoachRRegula) produced one of the performances of the season in a 35-14 dismantling of #4 Clemson. The win also secured bowl eligibility for the Irish as Regula joined Air Force WR Coach Ari Confesor (@CoachAC3), South Carolina DB Coach Torrian Gray (@togray14), Kansas WR Coach Terrence Samuel (@CoachTSamuel), Louisville RB Coach De'Rail Sims (@DeRailSims) and Texas Senior Defensive Analyst/CB Joey Thomas (@Joey_thomas24_) as CI coaches who punched their postseason ticket with wins in Week 10. Keep reading for more highlights from on the field in Week 10.
If it’s possible to fly under the radar while going 8-1, Coastal Carolina is managing to do just that. Despite not being ranked in either the AP or the Coaches Poll, the Chanticleers sit in sole possession of first place in the Sun Belt East Division after dispatching the team that has been a thorn in its side for the better part of three years. While Coastal has posted a staggering record of 30-4 since the start of the 2020 season, it has just one conference title to show for it thus far, due in large part to Appalachian State, the program that claimed last year’s crown and had won six of the previous seven meetings between the two. On Thursday night in Conway, SC, there was no questioning the current balance of power. In front of a record crowd at Brooks Stadium, the Chants used a diverse offensive attack that featured two quarterbacks, six receivers who logged at least one catch and six players finish with positive rushing yards. Jared Brown got Coastal on the board first when he took a pitch from QB Grayson McCall and raced 45 yards up the sideline to give the hosts an early 7-0 lead. After two more touchdown passes from McCall and one by QB Bryce Carpenter, CCU RB Reese White sealed the deal with a two-yard touchdown rush early in the fourth quarter to put the Chants up 35-14. The Mountaineers would score twice late, but it was not enough as Coastal held on for the 35-28 win that set off a field storming by the 21,224 fans in attendance. White anchored a rushing attack that piled up 192 yards on the ground, over 100 more than the Mountaineers. The Chanticleers were also much better on third down than App State, converting 9-of-15 opportunities compared to 5-of-11 for the Mountaineers. Congratulations to Coastal Co-Offensive Coordinator/RB Newland Isaac (@coachisaacFB) on the win and offensive performance! Now in his fifth year with the program, Isaac was promoted to co-offensive coordinator in 2019 and in 2021 he was named the AFCA FBS Assistant Coach of the Year and a Broyles Award nominee. He has helped the Chanticleers win the 2020 Sun Belt Championship, reach two bowl games and achieve several top 10 finishes in offensive categories. Isaac 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.
On paper, South Dakota Assoc. Head Coach/Defensive Coor. Travis Johansen (@CoachTJohansen) and the Coyote defense looked to be in for a long day against Missouri State. The Bears were coming off of their best offensive output of the season in a 64-14 win over Western Illinois while the Coyotes were licking their wounds after an off day in a loss at Youngstown State. The reality turned out to be just the opposite. Missouri State was able to capitalize on a short field following an early turnover by the USD offense to take a 3-0 lead but after that it was lights out. Johansen's defense harassed MSU QB Jason Shelley relentlessly throughout the game, forcing three sacks, six hurries and several off-balance throws. After the early field goal, the Bears wouldn't run another snap in USD territory until the final play of the third quarter and wouldn't score again until 11:01 remained in the game. Commenting on the defense's success despite missing several starters, USD Head Coach Bob Nielson noted, "The thing I was most pleased with today is that we had a lot of guys out on the defensive side of the football and a couple of key players offensively, and we had to have some younger guys really step up. Defensively, we played a really good four quarters of football and offensively we moved the ball enough." Missouri State threatened late but USD LB Stephen Hillis broke up a pass on fourth down on the Bears' final possession. The turnover-on-downs capped a season-low 13-point offensive output for Missouri State. Individually for the Coyotes, Hillis tied for a game-high 12 tackles with fellow LB Brock Mogensen while freshman DL Marcus Simmons, Jr. recorded three quarterback pressures. Congratulations to Johansen on the win and dominant defense! Now in his fourth season at USD, Johansen helped guide the Coyotes to a home playoff game in 2021 for the first time in 35 years, thanks in large part to a defense that set new program records for points and yards allowed. Prior to arriving in Vermillion, Johansen spent six years as the defensive coordinator at Grand View University. At Grand View, he helped lead the Vikings to five conference championships, six playoff appearances and the 2013 national championship. Johansen's defenses finished in the top 12 nationally all six years and his approach to "position-less" defense was featured in a Sports Illustrated article titled "The Search to Save NFL Defenses."
One of the scariest opponents in college football is one that has just experienced a head coaching change. Five Division I interims had already won their head coaching debuts in 2022 entering Week 10 and North Alabama's Ryan Held looked poised to make that number six as the Lions jumped out to a 14-0 lead over Austin Peay on Saturday. But Co-Offensive Coordinator/OL Ryan Stanchek (@CoachStanchek) and the rest of the APSU staff had their players prepared for the situation and the Governors responded by going on a 31-0 run to seize control of the game. QB Mike DiLiello showed why he was named to the Walter Payton Award Watch List as he guided the Governors to scores on five of their next six drives, including two that he finished himself with touchdown passes. Running backs C.J. Evans, Jr. and Jevon Jackson accounted for two of the other scores on the ground and kicker Maddux Trujillo converted a 32-yard field goal. North Alabama responded with two touchdowns to pull within three at 31-28, but a third touchdown pass from DiLiello, this one a 13-yard strike to WR Drae McCray ensured that the Govs would close out their sixth win of the season. For the game, DiLiello finished with 326 passing yards while Evans led APSU on the ground, gaining 87 of the team's 218 rushing yards. McCrae was DiLiello's favorite target, hauling in five catches for 106 yards and was one of three Governors to record at least 80 receiving yards. Congratulations to Stanchek on the win! Stanchek is in his first season in Clarksville after spending the 2021 campaign as the co-offensive coordinator and offensive line coach at Florida A&M. With the Rattlers, he helped guide an offense that propelled the program to a 9-3 record and its first playoff appearance since 2001. Before arriving in Tallahassee, Stanchek spent two seasons coaching the offensive line at Southern Miss where he helped the Golden Eagles reach the 2020 Armed Forces Bowl. In five years at Alcorn, including one as offensive coordinator, he was part of a Braves staff that won five division titles and achieved multiple top 10 national rankings in Rushing Offense. Stanchek has also served on staffs at Florida State and Indiana.
The only thing harder than reaching the top of the mountain is staying there. With contributions from Stanchek and current Special Teams Coordinator/TE Lane Powell (@CoachLanePowell), Alcorn State has been at the top of the SWAC mountain in recent years, winning six division titles and four conference championships since 2014. The road has been tougher this year as the Braves have uncharacteristically dropped a few conference games, but on Saturday in Texas they reaffirmed their position as a force to be reckoned with in the SWAC. In upsetting first-place Prairie View A&M, special teams came through early and often for Alcorn. While the Brave offense sputtered early, kicker Noah Kiani and DB Ernest Woods III helped the visitors jump out to an early advantage. After Kiani nailed field goals from 21 and 46 yards out to stake Alcorn to a 6-0 lead with 13:48 remaining in the second quarter, Woods came up big when he blocked a Panther punt deep inside PVAMU territory. The Brave offense couldn't punch it in, but Kiani took advantage of his third opportunity of the day, converting a 23-yard field goal to increase the lead to 9-0 with 9:40 left in the half. The Panthers would respond by going on a 16-0 run, but a late five-yard touchdown rush by Alcorn RB Javonta Leatherwood tied the game at 16-16, forcing overtime. In the extra session, RB Jarveon Howard scored on Alcorn's third play and Kiani tacked on the extra point to provide a seven-point margin. Prairie View threatened on its possession, but a dropped pass in the end zone ultimately doomed the Panthers when three plays later Alcorn DB Tavarian McCullum intercepted a pass to seal the win for the Braves. With the victory, Alcorn State improves to 3-3 in conference and currently sits in a tie for second with Texas Southern and Southern, one game back of PVAMU in the West Division. Congratulations to Powell on the win and contributions from Kiani and Woods. Powell is in the fifth year of his second stint with the Braves. Before the Braves' current run of SWAC dominance, he was previously part of the Alcorn staff that won the 2014 SWAC Championship and HBCU National Championship. In over 20 years of coaching, Powell has coached at Alabama State, McNeese State and Austin Peay among others. In total, he has worked with 16 All-Americans, 11 players of the year and has been a part of 15 championship winning staffs.
Elsewhere in the SWAC, Mississippi Valley State got over the hump with a dominating win over Alabama A&M. Signs of a breakthrough for the Delta Devils were present in their Week 8 contest versus Bethune-Cookman. Despite dropping a 45-35 decision to the Wildcats, the MVSU put together its best offensive performance of the year with a balanced offensive attack that included over 200 yards of offense through the air and on the ground. With a semi-bye week prior to Thursday night's clash versus Alabama A&M, the Delta Devils built off the momentum established against B-CU and once again eclipsed 200 yards rushing and passing. Against a Bulldog team that entered the week ranked fourth in the nation in time of possession, it was MVSU who asserted its will and controlled the game from the opening kickoff. The Delta Devils churned out 4.8 yards per rush en route to amassing a 36:52-23:08 edge in ball control. WR Cameron Gardner got things started for MVSU when he caught his first career touchdown pass, a two-yard pitch-and-catch from QB Jalani Eason to put the hosts up 7-0 in the first quarter. Later in the first half, Eason found WR Jacory Rankin for a 21-yard scoring strike to put the Delta Devils back up seven at 14-7. For the game, Eason completed 16 passes for 194 yards and three touchdowns while adding 88 yards on the ground. MVSU running backs Jared Wilson and Caleb Johnson shared carries out of the backfield, combining for 105 rushing yards. Congratulations to MVSU OL Coach Christopher Browne (@CoachBrowne72) on the well-deserved win! Now in his first season at MVSU, Browne arrived in Itta Bena after a two-year stint at the tackles and tight ends coach at Southern. With the Jaguars, Browne mentored HBCU All-American TE Ethan Howard and both of his starting tackles earned all-conference recognition. He previously served as the offensive line graduate assistant at Louisiana Tech and has also coached at Morehouse and Lincoln. Earlier this year, Browne was recognized by FootballScoop as one of the top up-and-coming minority coaches.
In 2021, Bryant Run Game Coor./OL coach Steven Ciocci (@CoachCiocci) and the Bulldogs posted one of the most successful seasons in school history with a 7-4 overall record, including a 5-2 mark in NEC games which represented the program's best-ever winning percentage in conference games. This year, Bryant made the move to the Big South which came with a new degree of difficulty. While there have been highlights thus far this season, including pushing FBS member Florida International to overtime and picking up a win over former NEC foe Long Island, the Bulldogs had come up short against three Big South opponents. That changed on Saturday afternoon in Smithfield as Bryant made history, defeating Campbell to post the first Big South win in program history. Bulldog QB Zevi Eckhaus was electric in the win, completing 22-of-33 passes for 235 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. On the ground, RB Ishod Byarm produced his finest game of the year, rushing for a career-high 148 yards and a touchdown on 30 carries (4.9 ypc). Byarm's touchdown came on the Bryant's first possession as the Bulldogs took an early 7-3 lead. Special teams was also a major contributor on the day as kicker Ethan Gettman converted two of his three field goals in the first quarter, including a program-record 56-yarder, to increase the hosts' lead to 13-3. Gettman later added a 33-yard field goal to stretch the lead to 36-10 and Eckhaus' fourth touchdown, a six-yard pass to WR Matthew Prochaska in the fourth quarter, proved to be enough in the 43-37 victory. For their efforts, Eckhaus and Gettman were each recognized as Big South players of the week on offense and special teams, respectively. Congratulations to Ciocci on the historic win! Now in his fourth year at Bryant, Ciocci has experience coaching in all three phases. An All-NEC first team selection at offensive line for Wagner, Ciocci got his start in coaching as an assistant offensive line coach for the Seahwaks. He spent the 2015 season as the offensive line coach at Pace University before returning to Wagner as the Seahawks' defensive line coach and co-special teams coordinator from 2016-17. Ciocci boasts FBS experience from a stint as the assistant offensive line coach at FIU in 2018, helping guide the Panthers to a program-record nine wins. In the spring of 2021, he mentored a Bulldog offensive line that paved the way for Daniel Adeboboye to become the first Bryant running back to average 100 yards per game since 2015.
After spending the last five seasons in Eugene as the special teams analyst for Oregon, Western Carolina Special Teams Coordinator Chris Norris (@coachnorris38) knows a thing or two about coaching in the elements. Norris' experience came through in a big way for the Catamounts on Saturday as WCU played a clean game on special teams while Wofford struggled mightily in the driving rain. The field goal unit helped the Catamounts get off on the right foot, providing a 3-0 lead when kicker Richard McCollum converted a 33-yard field goal with 10:11 remaining in the first quarter. McCollum went on to make all three of his field goal attempts and three extra points. His third field goal, a 19-yard attempt, tied the score at 29-29 with 6:55 remaining in the game. On Wofford's ensuing possession, the Catamount defense forced a three-and-out, forcing a Terrier punt from its own end zone. Wofford's punter bobbled the snap and the WCU punt return unit applied pressure, forcing a shanked 28-yard punt that gave the Catamount offense the ball back on the Wofford 40-yard line. Five plays later, Catamount RB Jalynn Williams cashed in on the short field, plunging into the end zone from six yards out for the winning score. In addition to McCollum's solid performance, WCU punter Brandon Dickerson averaged 44 yards on two punts, pinning the Terriers inside their own 20 on one of them, and kickoff specialist Paxton Robertson booted six of his eight kickoffs into the end zone for touchbacks. In the return department, WCU WR A.J. Colombo totaled 77 yards on kickoff and punt returns while Wofford failed to net any punt return yards. Congratulations to Norris on the win and strong special teams play! In his five years with the Ducks, Norris helped UO finish in the top 10 nationally in both Punt Return and Kickoff Return. He previously spent one season at South Florida and has also coached at Southeast Missouri, Jacksonville, Tennessee State and Webber International. In addition to working with special teams, Norris has coached running backs and tight ends.
In 17 seasons coordinating defenses at the Division I level, Rich Nagy (@ACCoachNagy) mentored countless playmakers who contributed to lock down defenses. It's possible, though, that he has never had a pair of game wreckers who also happened to be brothers like he currently has at Allegheny. LB Fletcher Hammond and DL Maxwell Hammond teamed up to provide the play of the game and lift the Gators to a season-ending win on Saturday in Bethany, WV. With Bethany holding a 10-7 lead and driving near midfield in the second quarter, Fletcher broke through the line to strip-sack Bethany QB Marquice Robinson. Maxwell pounced on the loose ball and the Allegheny offense was in business at the Bison 34-yard line. Three plays later, Allegheny RB John Ian Duron found a hole and cut upfield for a touchdown run to give the Gators a 14-10 lead. The Allegheny offense wouldn't find the end zone again, but a stout defensive effort combined with a 20-yard field goal from Garrett Paxton was enough to send the teams to overtime knotted at 17-17. In the extra session, Paxton converted again, this time from 19 yards, and the Gator defense stuffed the Bison for no gain on three consecutive plays to force a long field goal miss. On the day, Nagy's defense logged six pass breakups, five tackles-for-loss, three interceptions, one sack and one fumble recovery. Congratulations to Nagy on the strong finish to the season! This season marked Nagy's fourth year at the helm for the Gators, following a six-year stint as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Old Dominion where he helped the Monarchs win the first bowl game in program history. He previously coordinated defenses at Western Michigan, Hofstra, Murray State, Maine and Fordham.
Quick Hits
- Chargers WR Joshua Palmer caught eight passes for 106 yards as Los Angeles won a wild one over the Falcons, 20-17. Congratulations to Chargers WR Coach Chris Beatty (@BeattyCoach)!
- Michigan State's defense held #16 Illinois to just two scores in a 23-15 upset win. Congratulations to Spartans Defensive Run Game Coordinator/DL Marco Coleman (@Coach_MColeman)!
- Washington State's defense forced four turnovers as the Cougars beat Stanford, 52-14. Congratulations to WSU CB Coach Ray Brown (@CoachB212)!
- Utah State scored 20 unanswered points to rally for a 27-10 win over New Mexico. Congratulations to Aggies RB Coach Chuckie Keeton (@CoachKeeton)!
- Montana shut down Cal Poly and broke several school records in a 57-0 win in the snow. Congratulations to Grizzlies Defensive Analyst Kim McCloud (@CoachKimMcCloud)!
- Northwestern State DB P.J. Herrington was recognized as the Southland Conference Defensive Player of the Week following the Demons' 41-14 win over Texas A&M Commerce. Congratulations to NSU Defensive Coordinator Weston Glaser (@Coach_Glaser) and Safeties Coach Josh Jones (@Coach_JonesNSU)!
- Henderson State improved to 8-2 and put up a season-high 606 yards of offense in a 51-24 win over Oklahoma Baptist. Congratulations to Reddies RB Coach Chris Bryant (@ChrisR_Bryant)!
One more CI coach will be in action tonight when the Saints host the Ravens on Monday Night Football. Good luck to New Orleans Offensive Coordinator Pete Carmichael!
