Week 6 Coaches Inc. Highlights

The Houston Cougars got a win over TCU on Friday night for the first time since 1992, and it was also Houston’s first Big 12 win under the new coaching staff. The Coogs’ offense had failed to score a point in the last two games so they switched to a new QB who provided an offensive spark to pull off the 30-19 upset.

Houston’s defense has been a bright spot this season, as it's currently ranked 21st in the nation in Total Defense, and it forced 4 TCU turnovers on Friday. DBs Coach Josh Christian-Young’s group has played well and Safety AJ Haulcy had two interceptions against TCU to earn Big 12 Defensive Player of the Week honors. Special Teams Coordinator Mike Krysl’s units have been solid this year and on Friday night, Kicker Jack Martin hit a career-high 3 FGs. Both Josh and Mike played for Willie Fritz and have coached for him at various schools. No doubt this group will do what it has done everywhere before so expect to see the Coogs competing for championships soon.

Virginia Tech has logged some miles the last two weeks. The Hokies traveled to Palo Alto to play Stanford on Saturday following their heartbreaking loss to Miami in South Florida the previous Friday night. They handled the travel like pros and dominated Stanford 31-7 to get to 3-3 on the year.

No matter where in the country he plays, Tech RB Bhayshul Tuten is a force to be reckoned with. On Saturday, he had 73 yards rushing and added another TD, giving him 8 TDs in just the last 4 games. RBs Coach Elijah Brooks’ star back currently ranks 7th in the nation for rushing TDs, 8th in rushing yards and 17th in yards per game at 100.8. The Hokies run game will be key for the rest of the season for a team that is 3-3 looking to make a run in the ACC.

Wake Forest has had two double-digit fourth-quarter comebacks over a Power Conference team in program history, and one of those two occurred on Saturday at NC State. In a game that had as many ups and downs as Wake’s season has had so far, the Demon Deacons scored 14 unanswered in the final 13 minutes to secure a 34-30 win.

Wake WRs Coach Ari Confesor has two NFL prospects in veterans Taylor Morin and Donavon Greene, but it was his less experienced guys who stole the show against the Wolfpack. Redshirt Freshman Micah Mays, Jr. had 4 catches and Redshirt Freshman Deuce Alexander caught a pair of 4th down conversions to keep Wake’s final, game-winning drive alive. The play of the day was a spectacular 50/50 ball TD reception by Horatio Fields, who had seen limited playing time prior to this season. Ari is going to need another strong showing this weekend as the Demon Deacons host Clemson in Winston-Salem.

Having lost to Alabama and USC, Wisconsin needed to get a win against a struggling Purdue team to gain momentum for Big Ten play. Fortunately, the Badgers played their best game of the year as both the offense and defense absolutely dominated Purdue in a 52-6 blowout win.

Wisconsin Asst DBs Coach Jack Cooper left his Defensive Coordinator job at Rhode Island in 2023 to work and learn under Wisconsin HC Luke Fickell. That brain trust was onto something Saturday as the defense forced 4 turnovers and held the Boilermakers to just 216 yards of offense. Purdue had just 10 first downs and went only 1 for 11 on 3rd down conversions. Wisconsin turned a 21-6 halftime lead into a 52-6 blowout win, and Purdue’s only points came on two FGs that came after Wisconsin turnovers and the defense stopped Purdue inside the 5 both times.

The Red Wolves got a homecoming victory over South Alabama when K Clune Van Andel hit a game-winning 34-yard FG with just 10 seconds left in the game. South Alabama scored a TD with 1:49 remaining to go up 16-15, and the Red Wolves answered as QB Jaylen Raynor went 7 for 8 on the final drive to set up the FG attempt. The kick was Van Andel’s 4th FG of the day and gave Arkansas State its 5th consecutive home win.

Associate Head Coach/RBs Coach Marquase Lovings and Assistant OL Coach Scott Curd saw their offense put up 411 total yards of offense in their Sun Belt Conference opener. They rode the hot hand of Raynor who completed 30 of 39 for a season-high 345 yards through the air. RBs Ja’Quez Rucker and Zak Wallace hauled in 6 and 4 receptions respectively out of the backfield and the guys up front gave Raynor the time to throw. Arkansas State is now 3-2 (1-0 SBC) and with their two losses coming to Big Ten powerhouses Michigan and Iowa State, the Red Wolves should be a contender in the Sun Belt.

The Ragin’ Cajuns pulled off a huge upset win at Wake in Week 5 and followed that up with a trip to Southern Miss in Week 6, a team UL had not beaten since 1993. Although technically not an upset, the Ragin’ Cajuns were able to snap their losing streak to USM on Saturday in Hattiesburg with a 23-13 victory to move to 4-1 (1-0 SBC) on the year.

Veteran DBs Coach George Barlow joined the Louisiana staff along with a new Defensive Coordinator last offseason and those changes paid off on Saturday. The defense held USM to 177 total yards of offense with negative 9 yards in the 1st quarter and just 21 yards in the entire 2nd half. Assistant OL Coach Bryant Ross and the UL offense continued to impress and are averaging 6.84 yards per play and 444.8 yards per game this year. The offensive line played a huge role in the second half as UL orchestrated two methodical drives of 15 and 11 plays that took 8:15 and 7:05 off the clock respectively.. Overall, UL had the ball for a whopping 41:35, dominating USM in time of possession with a balanced attack that produced 410 yards of offense, 5.4 yards per play, and 22 first downs.

OL/Run Gam Coordinator Steven Ciocci is in his sixth season at Bryant and has helped them elevate conference affiliations from the NEC to the Big South and now to the CAA, but Saturday’s opponent came from the Ivy. The Bryant Bulldogs and the Brown Bears battled back and forth but it was Bryant who finished with the 42-35 win. Bryant’s final TD broke the 35-35 tie as QB Jarrett Guest tossed a 30-yard TD pass to Landon Ruggieri with 1:45 remaining. Bryant posted 517 yards of offense and Ruggieri not only caught the game winner but had 10 catches for 190 yards, 3 TDs, and was named CAA Offensive Player of the Week. Ciocci’s offensive line gave up just 2 sacks and helped pave the way for 180 rushing yards for an average of 5.3 yards per rush.

After a tough schedule to open the season, the Nicholls State Colonels have won 2 in a row by a combined score of 117-7. They beat Southern 51-7 on the road last Saturday after jumping out to a 24-0 lead in the 1st quarter and never looking back.

It’s much easier to maintain a lead after a hot start with a solid running game, and Nicholls definitely has a running game. RBs Coach Tylan Martin’s workhorse, Collin Guggenheim, led the way with 99 yards and 2 TDs, and his 91.2 yards per game on the year is good for 25th (FCS) in the country. RB Miequle Brock added 66 yards and the Colonels finished the game having rushed for 224 yards and 3 TDs. Tylan and Guggenheim both arrived at Nicholls in 2021 and have been a dynamic duo from the start as Guggenheim was a HERO Sports FCS Freshman All-American and Jerry Rice Award finalist that year. Last year he earned All-Southland First Team honors and was picked to the Preseason All-Southland’s First Team this year. So far, he is living up to the hype.

Albany State HC Quinn Gray is in his second season leading the Golden Rams and his 2024 squad is now 3-0 and sits alone in 1st place in the SIAC. Having reached the championship game in just his first year, his team looks like they might have what it takes to win it all this year. On Saturday, the Golden Rams routed Allen 57-17, who beat Coach Gray’s 2023 team 39-27. The former NFL QB turned Head Coach has his offense humming as they’re averaging 44.6 points per game in their 3 conference wins. In Saturday’s win over Allen, the Golden Rams had 500 yards of offense after posting 476 yards against Kentucky State the week before. With the job he has done so far at Albany State, Quinn should be a hot name in FCS coaching searches at the end of the year.

Colorado School of Mines had won 23 straight Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference games in a row going into last weekend’s game at Colorado Mesa. Their last loss came at the hands of Colorado Mesa in 2021 and Colorado Mesa got them again on Saturday, avenging last season’s 52-0 loss. Although trailing 13-0 going into the 4th quarter, two efficient scoring drives led to a Colorado Mesa victory.

Another change for Mesa from last year is the addition of Chief of Staff/OL Coach Darrell Funk. The veteran FBS OL coach was a casualty of some offensive coaching changes at BYU after last season so he reunited with his former Colorado State player/now HC at Colorado Mesa, Miles Kochevar. The two were a part of a great run at Colorado State under legendary Head Coach Sonny Lubick and it looks like they are recreating some of that magic this season at Colorado Mesa.