CI Week 4 Football Highlights

Check out Coaches Inc. Week 4 Football Highlights below: 

QB Daniel Jones stole the show in Tampa by leading the Giants to the second-largest comeback ever for a rookie QB making his first career start. Jones wasn't the only Giant who secured his first NFL win on Sunday, though, as Henry Baker (@CoachHB) did the same in his first season as the team's assistant defensive backs coach. While Jones' performance was one for the ages, throwing for 336 yards and accounting for four touchdowns, New York's defense set the stage for the 18-point comeback by holding Tampa Bay to just one field goal in the second half.  The Giants' secondary did the bulk of the heavy lifting as four of the team's five leading tacklers on the day were defensive backs, including Antoine Bethea who posted a game-high seven solo tackles. Congratulations to Baker on his first of many NFL wins! Baker spent the 2018 season as the cornerbacks coach at North Carolina and previously served in a similar role at Rutgers. From 2011-16, he coached at Delaware and he has also worked on staffs at Maryland and East Stroudsburg. While this season marks Baker's first as a full-time NFL coach, he completed Bill Walsh Minority Coaching Fellowships with the Dolphins, Lions and Giants.

In the marquee game of the weekend, Georgia solidified its status as a national title contender with a gritty win over Notre Dame. The Irish held a 10-7 lead at halftime but three second half field goals from kicker Rodrigo Blankenship and a 15-yard touchdown pass from QB Jake Fromm to WR Lawrence Cager lifted the Bulldogs to a 23-17 win. Blankenship's field goals came from 40, 31 and 43 yards out and continued a streak of 32 consecutive made kicks (8 FGs, 24 PATs) dating back to last season.  Georgia's coverage units also had a solid outing against Notre Dame, limiting Irish returners to just one kick return for nine yards. With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 4-0 and enter their bye week before resuming SEC play with a trip to Tennessee. Congratulations to Georgia Special Teams Coordinator Scott Fountain (@CoachSFountain) on the win! Fountain joined the Georgia staff in 2017 and was promoted to coordinator following one season as a special teams analyst. He previously spent eight years at Auburn where he helped the Tigers win two SEC titles and the 2010 National Championship. Overall, he has coached in four national championship games and 12 bowl games during his 26-year college coaching career that also includes stops at Florida State, Iowa State, UCF, Middle Tennessee and Georgia Southern.  

When Chris Beatty (@BeattyCoach) took over as the wide receivers coach at Pitt in January, he brought with him a highly successful and diverse resume that included stints as an offensive coordinator and as a position coach for quarterbacks, receivers and running backs. While he has coached each of the offensive skill positions, it is not too often that he is tasked with coaching one of his receivers to throw the ball. Fortunately for Beatty and the Panthers, WR Aaron Matthews threw a picture perfect spiral to QB Kenny Pickett in Pitt's variation of the Eagles' "Philly Special." The result was a stunning 35-34 upset over a UCF team that entered Saturday having won 27 consecutive regular season games. On the receiving side, Matthews caught one pass for 24 yards and receivers Maurice Ffrench and Dontavius Butler-Jenkins each logged touchdown receptions. In total, Pitt's receiving corps hauled in 21 catches for 194 yards against the Knights. Congratulations to Beatty on the upset! Prior to arriving at Pitt, Beatty spent three seasons at Maryland where he served as the Terrapins' associate head coach, co-offensive coordinator and receivers coach. In 2017 and 2018, he was named one of the Big Ten's top 16 recruiters by 247 Sports. Beatty has also coached at Virginia, Wisconsin, Illinois, Vanderbilt, West Virginia and Northern Illinois. 

Iron sharpens iron. The biblical phrase is often used by coaches to describe the growth that a player or team can experience as a result of challenging themselves against a difficult opponent. For Kent State, the Flashes certainly have been sharpened after having opened their season with road trips at Arizona State and Auburn, and with a trip to Wisconsin still ahead. In return for its gauntlet of a schedule, Kent State will generate $4.5 million - the largest cumulative payout from guarantee games for any program this year. But more important than the finances for the coaches and players, the experience of going up against three of the nation's top programs should prepare them for anything they will see in the MAC. So far so good in that respect, as the Flashes opened MAC play in blowout fashion, beating Bowling Green, 62-20. Dustin Crum cemented his role as Kent State's starting QB, completing 26-of-31 passes for 310 yards and three touchdowns in the game. Defensively, starting safeties Akeam Peters and Keith Sherald, Jr. combined to post 15 tackles for the Flashes. Congratulations on the win to Kent State Safeties Coach Will Windham (@CoachWindham)! Windham is in his second season with the Flashes after coaching the team's inside linebackers in 2018. Before arriving at Kent, he spent two years as a defensive assistant at Georgia, where he helped the Bulldogs win the SEC and reach the National Championship Game in 2017. Previously, Windham coached the defensive line at Davidson and has also served on staffs at Penn State and Mississippi State.

In a game defined by high powered offenses, it was a linebacker who made one of the game's biggest plays to propel New Mexico to its second straight win over New Mexico State.  With the Lobos leading 41-38 midway through the third quarter, UNM LB Devin Sanders got a hand on Aggie kicker Dylan Brown's 44-yard field goal attempt causing it to fall short. The Lobos capitalized on the momentum swing by going on a 14-0 scoring run to extend their lead to 55-38. New Mexico State rallied to draw within three, but came no closer as UNM's offense put together a 10-play, 66-yard drive to run out the clock. On defense, Sanders recorded two tackles, including one sack, and fellow LB Alex Hart tied for the team lead with seven tackles. Congratulations on the win the UNM LB Coach Dan Carrel (@DanCarrel)! Carrel is in his first season in Albuquerque after four years coaching linebackers at Houston, where he helped guide the Cougars to the 2015 AAC Championship. Including stints at Ohio State and Kentucky, Carrel has apprenticed under some of the top coaches in the country, such as Urban Meyer, Tom Herman and Mark Stoops.

It is not common for an FCS program to hire an NAIA coach as defensive coordinator but that is exactly what happened in January for Travis Johansen (@CoachTJohansen). Johansen was hired to direct South Dakota's defense after spending six years as the defensive coordinator at Grand View University. At Grand View, Johansen helped lead the Vikings to five conference championships, six playoff appearances and the the 2013 national championship. His defenses finished in the top 12 nationally all six years and his approach to "position-less" defense was featured in a Sports Illustrated article from last fall titled "The Search to Save NFL Defenses." If Saturday's game against Northern Colorado was any indication, Johansen is handling the jump to Division I with flying colors. The Coyotes shut down UNC's offense, holding the Bears to just 219 yards in a 14-6 win. Five USD defenders logged sacks, including Kameron Cline and Jakari Starling, who recorded theirs on consecutive plays on the Bears' final possession to preserve the eight-point win. In total, the Coyotes forced five three-and-outs, nine punts and gave up only 35 rushing yards. Congratulations on the win to Johansen!  

For the past decade, the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference has been dominated by Colorado School of Mines and CSU-Pueblo. The Orediggers and the ThunderWolves have combined to win eight of the last nine conference titles including Mines' championship run last season. But the ThunderWolves came out on top in last year's playoff game between the two and entered Saturday's contest with the higher ranking and home field advantage. Initially, Pueblo looked as if it would come out on top again as the ThunderWolves raced out to a 7-0 lead after scoring on their first possession of the game. From there, however, Co-Defensive Coordinator/LB Brandon Moore (@madbacker56) and the Mines' defense showed why it entered the game as the top defense in the conference and the top rush defense in the nation. The Orediggers held Pueblo to just seven points the rest of the way and Mines true freshman QB John Matocha completed 22-of-29 passes for 201 yards and three touchdowns to lead the visitors to a 34-14 win. Led by LB Averie Mansfield's seven tackles, Mines held Pueblo to just 27 rushing yards as the Orediggers won in Pueblo for the first time since 2009. Congratulations on the win and dominant defensive showing to Moore! Moore is in his fourth season at Mines after a stint as the defensive coordinator and linebackers coach at Scottsdale Community College. In 2016, all four of Moore's starting linebackers earned All-RMAC recognition. As a player, Moore enjoyed a nine-year professional career with the 49ers and Chargers, and also won two UFL titles with the Las Vegas Locomotives.