Dan Enos steps down as Chips’ head coach to become Arkansas OC

By John TaylorJan 22, 2015, 10:47 AM EST
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For those who thought the 2014-15 spinning of the coaching carousel, at least the head-coaching portion, had come to an end, think again.

In a press release, Arkansas announced that Dan Enos has accepted the job as the Razorbacks’ offensive coordinator.  Enos comes to UA from Central Michigan, where he was the Chippewas head coach.

Enos replaces Jim Chaney, who left earlier this month to become the coordinator at Pittsburgh.

“We are thrilled to have Coach Enos joining us in Fayetteville,” said head coach Bret Bielema in a statement. “Dan is a great fit for our program. He runs a pro-style offense and brings expertise at the quarterback position as both a player and coach. We played against each other in college and he was a very intelligent and talented quarterback who showed great toughness and leadership. He has an outstanding reputation and will be a tremendous asset for Razorback football.”

The unexpected move comes as Enos had just completed his fifth season at CMU. In that time, Enos went 26-36, but had led the Chips to bowl berths each of the past three seasons.

Prior to that, he was the quarterbacks coach at Cincinnati (2004-05) and Michigan State (2006) before coaching running backs at MSU from 2007-09.

He’s never held the coordinator title at the FBS level, with his last time in that specific job coming in 2003 at North Dakota State. He did, though, call plays for the Chips, Arkansas made certain to note in the release.

“I want to thank Bret (Bielema) for this wonderful opportunity to be part of something special at the University of Arkansas,” said Enos. “The challenge of winning a championship in the SEC and developing young men at the highest level of college football is very attractive. Bret and I share many of the same philosophies and I’m excited to open the next chapter of my coaching career down in Fayetteville.”

CMU becomes the 15th FBS program that will have a different coach in 2015 than it had in 2014. They are also, obviously, the lone team at this level without a head coach just two weeks ahead of National Signing Day.

UPDATED 3:56 pm. ET: Putting the finishing touches on this end of the situation, the following is how quickly the events developed.

The College Football Playoff is set: No. 1 LSU, No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Clemson and No. 4 Oklahoma

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By Bryan FischerDec 8, 2019, 12:24 PM EST
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The 2019-2020 College Football Playoff field is set.

Thanks largely to a drama-free and fairly straightforward conference championship weekend, the CFP Selection Committee made the easy choice of the four teams who will play for this season’s national championship: SEC champion LSU at No. 1 in the Peach Bowl semifinal against No. 4 Oklahoma and recently crowned Big Ten champ Ohio State at No. 2 in the Fiesta Bowl semifinal against reigning champions and No. 3 Clemson.

Kickoff times for both games will be announced later but will be either 4 p.m. ET or 8 p.m. ET on Saturday, December 28.

Perhaps most notable regarding this year’s final four is who’s not involved as this will be the very first College Football Playoff since its inception in 2014 without Alabama and Nick Saban. Two-loss Pac-12 champion Oregon was also not involved in the discussions for postseason tournament either as the conference has missed out on the CFP for the third straight year.

This will be the Sooners’ fourth appearance and first trip to the Peach Bowl in the current setup, having posted an 0-3 mark in their previous semifinals. The Buckeyes are on their third selection, having won the first Playoff altogether while also getting shutout by Clemson in the 2016 Fiesta Bowl.

The newbie of the group? That would be Ed Orgeron’s Tigers, who are the first SEC team other than Georgia and the Crimson Tide to make it in. The site of this season’s National Championship Game is at the Superdome in New Orleans — notable since LSU’s past two titles were won there.

The Selection Committee’s full top 25 and the rest of the New Year’s Six matchups will be announced later on Sunday but for now, let the discussion over this year’s Playoff begin.

LSU No. 1 in final regular season AP Poll too, Pac-12 champ Oregon behind pair of two-loss SEC teams

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By Bryan FischerDec 8, 2019, 11:57 AM EST
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LSU is tops in both polls after being named the No. 1 team in the final regular season AP Poll on Sunday afternoon.

The Tigers edged No. 2 Ohio State, No. 3 Clemson and No. 4 Oklahoma in what is expected to be the same order of teams in this year’s final four to play for the national title.

While that was no surprise, Pac-12 fans may take an exception to voters putting No. 7 Oregon behind a pair of SEC teams with similar records in No. 5 Georgia and No. 6 Florida. Despite a title game loss, Baylor remained at No. 8 while Utah fell from No. 5 to No. 12 after falling to the Ducks. Wisconsin slipped just one place after getting beat by the Buckeyes in Indianapolis.

The full AP top 25 for the final weekend of the regular season:

  1. LSU
  2. Ohio State
  3. Clemson
  4. Oklahoma
  5. Georgia
  6. Florida
  7. Oregon
  8. Baylor
  9. Alabama
  10. Auburn
  11. Wisconsin
  12. Utah
  13. Penn State
  14. Notre Dame
  15. Memphis
  16. Minnesota
  17. Michigan
  18. Boise State
  19. Iowa
  20. Appalachian State
  21. Navy
  22. USC
  23. Cincinnati
  24. Air Force
  25. Oklahoma State

LSU edges Ohio State for No. 1 in final Coaches Poll of the regular season

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By Bryan FischerDec 8, 2019, 11:43 AM EST
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The College Football Playoff rankings matter just a bit more to both teams but in the first early indication of which way the Selection Committee might be leaning, LSU edged out Ohio State for the No. 1 spot in the final Coaches’ Poll of the regular season on Sunday.

As expected, Clemson was set at No. 3 and Big 12 champion Oklahoma occupied the No. 4 spot. SEC title game loser Georgia stayed in the top five ahead of No. 6 Oregon. While the Bulldogs fell only one spot, Utah was dropped quite a bit after losing to the Ducks on Friday and wound up down five spots to No. 10.

AAC champion Memphis were up to No. 15 as the highest ranked Group of Five team, softening the blow somewhat of losing head coach Mike Norvell on the same day. Also notable is Virginia was not penalized for getting blown out by Clemson in the ACC championship game and saying in the top 25.

The full Coaches Poll following conference championship weekend:

  1. LSU (46 first place votes)
  2. Ohio State (14)
  3. Clemson (5)
  4. Oklahoma
  5. Georgia
  6. Oregon
  7. Florida
  8. Baylor
  9. Alabama
  10. Utah
  11. Wisconsin
  12. Penn State
  13. Auburn
  14. Notre Dame
  15. Memphis
  16. Minnesota
  17. Michigan
  18. Boise State
  19. Iowa
  20. Appalachian State
  21. Navy
  22. Cincinnati
  23. USC
  24. Air Force
  25. Virginia

Get ready for the best College Football Playoff yet

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By Kevin McGuireDec 8, 2019, 12:10 AM EST
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Entering its sixth season of existence, this year’s College Football Playoff may have its deepest field of playoff participants yet. Oh yes, this one is going to be good.

A system that has yielded what appeared to be a definitive two-team race the last handful of seasons with continued dominance by Alabama and Clemson, this year’s field feels as wide open as it has been under this new format. With one undefeated national champion riding a 28-game winning streak (Clemson), an undefeated SEC champion with the likely Heisman Trophy winner (LSU, with Joe Burrow), and an undefeated Big Ten champion with a trio of players that have been mentioned as worthy Heisman candidates (Ohio State), the main ingredients for a dynamic College Football Playoff are locked in. Throw in a one-loss Big 12 champion with one of the hot young names in coaching and a terrific story in the making (Oklahoma with Lincoln Riley and Jalen Hurts), what could there possibly be not to like about this year’s playoff field?

The College Football Playoff will once again have a fairly straightforward decision to make with the top four teams in this year’s playoff. There hasn’t really been much debate about which four teams have been worthy of inclusion in the playoff since its inception outside of the first season depending whom you ask (TCU and Baylor). When it has come time for the committee to make the decision they are put together to do, it’s been pretty easy. That seems to have worked out again this season with undefeated conference champions from the ACC (Clemson), Big Ten (Ohio State) and the SEC (LSU) and just one other 1-loss conference champion in the running (Oklahoma) after Utah stumbled before crossing the finish line Friday night in the Pac-12 championship game. Utah’s loss was the Big 12’s and Oklahoma’s gain once Georgia was handled by LSU in the SEC Championship Game.

Clemson is making its fifth straight appearance in the College Football. The Tigers now own the longest active streak of playoff appearances after Alabama fell short of the playoff this season. Clemson’s five appearances now ties Alabama for the most playoff appearances in the brief history o the College Football Playoff, and the pursuit of a 3rd national title in the era would give Clemson the lead in all-time College Football Playoff national titles. With offensive stars in Trevor Lawrence, Tee Higgins, and Travis Etienne, it’s difficult not to like Clemson’s chances to put some points on the board this year. That’s good because this could be the most explosive College Football Playoff yet. Ohio State (49.9 ppg), LSU (48.7 ppg), Clemson (44.3 ppg), and Oklahoma (44.3 ppg) were ranked in the top five in the nation in scoring at the close of the regular season. Defense wins championships? Not this year, it would seem.

Transfer quarterbacks are also all the rage this year, showing how valuable the transfer market can be for a team hoping to reach the College Football Playoff. Ohio State’s Justin Fields was the Big Ten’s Offensive Player of the Year in his first season after transferring from Georgia a year ago. Ironically, it is former Ohio State quarterback Joe Burrow who has been the catalyst for a playoff run at LSU. Jalen Hurts of Oklahoma is in his fourth College Football Playoff after transferring from Alabama. There is a storybook ending being scripted for any of those three right now, although Lawrence and Clemson are working on their own sequel as well.

We have yet to see a real good showing from the College Football Playoff in terms of the national semifinals. Aside from Ohio State’s upset of Alabama in 2014 and Georgia’s overtime thriller in the Rose Bowl against Oklahoma two seasons ago, the semifinals have largely been a relative bust in terms of entertainment. With this year’s field, however, that should not be the case.

So let the games begin! We should have a dandy of a College Football Playoff on our hands.