CFB Kings Coach of the Year

It’s Time for Awards Season here on CFB Kings. Since there are still a few games to be played, we will hold off on some of the player awards that we feel are still in question. So, we will start it off with the Coach of the Year.

For us, when we’re picking coaches of the year, it’s not about the glamour and glitz. And it’s not necessarily about going undefeated or going to a BCS Bowl game. It’s about what coach we think actually did the best job "coaching". Hence the reason you wont see Chris Peterson, Gary Patterson, or Gene Chizik on our list. Yes, those 3 gentlemen are great coaches and yes their teams are great. But Boise, TCU, and Auburn are stock piled with talent and were expected to do well.

Here at CFB Kings we like to reward the Coaches who exceeded expectations with less talent than the usual powerhouses.

Here are the Top 5 Coaches of the year (in order):

1. Art Briles, Baylor - The Baylor Bears are going bowling for the first time since 1994. Under the direction of Briles, Baylor also ended a 12-game losing streak against Texas and won at Texas for the first time in 19 years.

2. Mike Gundy, Oklahoma St. - The Cowboys were almost unanimously picked to finish dead last in the Big 12 South. Going into this weeks Bedlam matchup against the Sooners, Oklahoma State is 10-1 and leading the Big 12 South. They are also currently the highest ranked team in the conference. And oh, by the way… he’s 43 now!!!

3. Jim Harbaugh, Stanford - He has taken a dormant monster in Stanford and turned the Cardinal into the class of the Pac-10. Hard nosed, sound fundamental football has given way to a 10-1 season thus far and a #6 ranking. The Rose Bowl is just around the corner.

4. Rich Ellerson, Army - In just his 2nd year, Ellerson has guided the Black Knights to a bowl game for the first time in 14 years. Re-installing the triple option and infecting his team with a “we ARE good enough to win” attitude has paid quick dividends.

5. Dan Mullen, Miss St. - In the toughest division in the entire country (SEC West), Mullen has coached the Bulldogs out of the cellar and into the SEC fray. With a 7-4 record, the Bulldogs are going bowling… but even more impressively, consider the fact that Auburn’s closest game of the year so far was a 17-14 escape from Starkville.

Week 4 Upset Alerts

Last week, 3 of the 4 games that we called “Upset Alerts” came down to the last possession, with #9 Iowa losing to Arizona, #20 Michigan needing to recover an onside kick to beat UMass, and #7 Oklahoma hanging on to escape with a 3-point win against Air Force.

Here are the 3 teams this week that the CFB Kings are putting on Upset Alert:

#4 Texas - The last time the Longhorns hosted UCLA, they were smashed 66-3. Granted that game occurred the year before Mack Brown became the head coach, but there is valid reason for concern about this weeks Bruin visit in our eyes. First, the Texas offense has been spotty at best. Against Wyoming, Rice, and Texas Tech, the offense never was able to get the ground game going, which is something that Coach Brown promised they would be better at during the offseason. Sophomore QB Garrett Gilbert has the talent, but he still shows the expected signs of a youngster that has only started 3 games in his career. UCLA has a fresh sense of confidence after convincingly beating Houston on Saturday night. And oh by the way, after this game, Texas enters it’s most difficult 2 game stretch of the season. There is the matter of a little game called the Red River Rivalry next week and then after that Texas goes on the road to Lincoln to face a team who many have lauded as this year’s Big 12 favorite (The Cornhuskers of Nebraska). Can this young team focus enough to handle the task at hand or can a rejuvinated Bruin team steal a much needed signature win early in Rick Neuheisel’s tenure?

#20 Penn State - The Nittany Lions have played solid football up to this point in the season. Even in a loss to the #1 Alabama Crimson Tide, Penn State was able to move the ball against the tough SEC defense. To most people flipping through Saturday’s games, they’ll be stunned when they stumble upon a tight score in the fourth quarter of this contest. But we have reason to believe that Temple will challenge the Lions deep into this game. The Owls are 3-0. And last week they beat a UConn team that many experts (including Kirk Herbstriet) touted as the Pre-season Big East favorites. Heisman Darkhorse Bernard Pierce is a fierce runner that plays with a chip on his shoulder due to his lack of quality recruitment. And although we think that eventually true freshman QB Robert Bolden will be touted as the best QB in Penn State history, as of now he is still vulnerable to freshman mistakes… mistakes that an underrated and opportunistic Temple defense will pounce on.

#16 Stanford - While the records (3-0 vs. 1-2) and rankings (#16 vs. unranked) would say different, I think that this game will be MUCH closer than it looks on paper. Notre Dame is literally 2 plays away from being 3-0. The Irish have a steady QB in Dayne Crist and a defense that is improving each week, even though the results don’t necessarily show it. This will be Stanford’s first game outside of the state of California. A cross-country trip is never easy, but compounding the troubles of this trip is the expectation that the Cardinal will be without their best wide receiver, Ryan Whalen, who suffered an apparent left arm injury in last week’s game. And then there is the age old issue of the “look ahead”. Stanford travels to Autzen Stadium to face #5 Oregon next week. Can the young Cardinal team keep their focus in the here and now? I expect Notre Dame to earn their 2nd win of the season in an upset over the highly ranked Stanford Cardinal.

Teams That Make You Say Hmmmmm....

There are 3 teams that started the season unranked, yet have had impressive wins in the first 2 weeks that have given them cause for excitement. For all 3 of these schools, the odds to represent their conference as champions has gone from average to great in a mere 9 day stretch. Conventional Wisdom says to take a “chill pill” as these teams have teased us before with their great starts. But you can’t help but be impressed.

- #13 South Carolina Gamecocks - Many people thought that this might be Spurrier’s best chance at South Carolina to win the SEC East and compete for the league title. With Tebow gone and Tennessee having a new coach, the door was open. Well, the Gamecocks have burst through that door… and after starting the season unranked, they are currently #13 in the latest AP Poll. They held the mighty Georgia Bulldogs to 6 points in a week 2 win. QB Stephen Garcia has produced equitably through the air and more importantly only has 1 turnover (a fumble). Also, True Freshman RB Marcus Lattimore has rushed for 236 yards and 4 TDs in his first 2 collegiate games. After beating Georgia, they have a leg up in the SEC East race. Is this finally South Carolina’s breakthrough year??? Hmmmmm….

- #19 Stanford Cardinal - Many pundits, including myself, wondered how the Cardinal would deal with the loss of Heisman runner-up Toby Gerhart. Well, they dealt with it by smashing UCLA in Pasadena, 35-0. Even though UCLA isn’t the cream of the crop of the Pac-10, this game was a statement win for Stanford. Heisman candidate Andrew Luck has been solid and the Cardinal defense seems to have taken on the blue-collar mentality of their coach. Their next 4 games are against Wake Forest, Notre Dame, Oregon, and USC, so we will revisit this team again in 4 weeks to see if they really belong in the national picture, but for now, they make you say hmmmmmm….

- #20 Michigan Wolverines - Denard Robinson. Enough said. In what has been by far the best 2 game stretch of any player that we’ve seen in recent college football, the Michigan QB has thrown for 430 yards and rushed for 455 yards, which includes 5 TDs. After a challenging start, the Wolverines enter a soft spot in the schedule and they wont be tested again until Week 6 against Michigan State. They will enter that game 5-0 and by then could be knocking on the door of the Top 10. Is the Rich Rodriguez investment finally paying off??? Hmmmmm….