CI Week 14 Highlights
12/4/2017
The bowl schedule was announced yesterday and we're just a little over two weeks away from FIU Special Teams Coordinator James Vollono (@CoachVollono) kicking things off for the CI Family in the Gasparilla Bowl versus Temple. Overall, 15 CI coaches will be participating in bowl games including two - Georgia Defensive Assistant Will Windham (@CoachWindham) and Special Teams Analyst Scott Fountain (@CoachSFountain) - who earned a spot in the College Football Playoff after the Bulldogs knocked off Auburn in the SEC Championship. At the FCS level, four CI coaches booked their ticket to the quarterfinals including JMU's RB Coach De'Rail Sims (@DeRailSims) and ILB Coach Byron Thweatt (@Thweattster32) as well as Wofford DL Coach Jerome Riase (@JRiase) and CB Coach Rob Greene (@CoachRGreene). Please find this week's highlights and a full schedule of bowl games involving CI coaches below.
Things looked bleak for the Chargers after the first month of the season as they stood at 0-4 and questions abounded as to whether the team made the right decision by moving to Los Angeles. After winning six of their past eight games, the main question being asked these days is whether Los Angeles will have two division winners. The Chargers' latest win was a 19-10 victory over the Browns that moved the club into a three-way tie for first place in the AFC West with the Chiefs and Raiders. Charger RB Melvin Gordon posted a modest statline of 77 rushing yards on 19 carries but he broke a highlight reel 29-yard run in the third quarter to setup a field goal that put Los Angeles up 19-7. Congratulations to Charger RB Coach Alfredo Roberts on the win and Gordon's performance!
On the opening weekend of the season, Wofford mounted a fourth quarter comeback and then snuffed out a Furman two-point conversion in the final minute to win 24-23. On Saturday, things came a little easier for the Terriers. Wofford again fell behind the Paladins, this time by the score of 10-7 late in the second quarter, but shut out their SoCon rivals in the second half to secure a 28-10 win. One of the key plays in the game came with Wofford holding a 21-10 lead in the fourth quarter and lined up to attempt a field goal. But instead of holding the ball for the kick, Miller Mosley tucked it and ran into the end zone from three yards out to put the Terriers up three possessions. A few minutes later, Wofford's defense provided the icing on the cake. Furman had a first down and goal from the Terriers' two-yard line but the Wofford defense held on four consecutive plays to seal the win. Individually, CB Dominique Lemon led the way for the Terriers with a team-high eight tackles. Up front for Wofford, All-SoCon selections Miles Brown and Deon Priester each chipped in with two tackles. Next up for the Terriers is a trip to Fargo, ND to take on #2 North Dakota State. Congratulations and good luck to Riase and Greene!
CI Coaches in Bowl Games
Gasparilla Bowl: FIU (Special Teams Coordinator James Vollono) vs. Temple - Dec. 21, 8:00 PM
Birmingham Bowl: South Florida (DB Coach Blue Adams) vs. Texas Tech - Dec. 23, 12:00 PM
Heart of Dallas Bowl: Utah (WR Coach Guy Holliday) vs. West Virginia - Dec. 26, 1:30 PM
Foster Farms Bowl: Arizona (LB Coach Scott Boone) vs. Purdue (Defensive/Special Teams Analyst Kevin Wolthausen) - Dec. 27, 8:30 PM
Texas Bowl: Missouri (Special Teams Analyst Dave Ungerer) vs. Texas - Dec. 27, 9:00 PM
Holiday Bowl: Michigan State (Co-Offensive Coordinator/TE Jim Bollman) vs. Washington State - Dec. 28, 9:00 PM
Alamo Bowl: Stanford (Defensive Assistant Toure Carter) vs. TCU - Dec. 28, 9:00 PM
Sun Bowl: NC State (Asst. Head Coach/CB George Barlow) vs. Arizona State (DL Coach Mike Slater) - Dec. 29, 3:00 PM
TaxSlayer Bowl: Mississippi State (DL Coach Brian Baker) vs. Louisville - Dec. 30, 12:00 PM
Liberty Bowl: Memphis (DL Coach Paul Randolph) vs. Iowa State - Dec. 30, 12:30 PM
Peach Bowl: UCF (Assoc. HC/SpecTeams/LB Jovan Dewitt) vs. Auburn - Jan. 1, 12:30 PM
Rose Bowl: Georgia (Special Teams Analyst Scott Fountain & Defensive Assistant Will Windham)
Also of note, UTSA and RB Coach Everette Sands went 6-5 but were snubbed from bowl selection.
One more CI coach will be in action tonight when the Bengals and DL Coach Jacob Burney host the Steelers.
