A final offering of news and notes you need to know before Week 2 begins with some bangers. Topics we cover in this week’s college football insider notebook:
- There’s precedent for Sherrone Moore’s unfinalized contract
- A big breakdown of Texas vs. Michigan with intel on either side
- Buzz on what an Iowa win could do for Matt Campbell’s coaching stock
- Amazing early returns on Penn State’s revamped offense
- Remember Mario Williams? He’s starring at Tulane and has a big game this weekend
- Dubbing Arizona State vs. Mississippi State as the Millennial Bowl, who are the next young coaches to know?
- Three questions with Mississippi State QB Blake Shapen
- Ashton Jeanty, RB1 in the 2025 NFL Draft?
The latest on Sherrone Moore’s Michigan contract
Michigan athletic director Warde Manuel confirming that the school had yet to finalize an official contact for head coach Sherrone Moore garnered a lot of reaction Thursday, but the current belief is that a contract should be done and signed in the near future, sources tell CBS Sports.
Helping that is that it doesn’t seem like there was anything new or surprising regarding Moore in the NCAA notice of allegations that Michigan received in late August stemming from the Connor Stalions sign-stealing investigation.
In the meantime, Moore has been working under a legally binding memorandum of understanding (MOU) he signed in January and making the nearly $6 million salary he and the Wolverines agreed to as Harbaugh’s replacement.
Also worth noting: While some of the delay here is likely due to the NCAA investigation, it’s not entirely uncommon for a head coach to work an extended period of time under a MOU until the contract is finalized.
For example, Derek Mason’s contract with Middle Tennessee wasn’t completed and signed until last week, which was nearly nine months after Mason was hired as the team’s new head coach. There are also multiple head coaches even aside from Moore currently working without an official contract that’s been finalized, including San Diego State’s Sean Lewis and Louisiana-Monroe’s Bryant Vincent.
The biggest challenge for Michigan’s defense vs. Texas
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Two years ago, Colorado State faced the Michigan team that won the Big Ten and advanced to the College Football Playoff semifinals before falling to eventual national runner-up TCU.
After facing Texas last week, there were conversations amongst the Colorado State staff about how this latest elite opponent compared to the one the Rams faced in 2022. The general feeling?
“Our guys came out of the game thinking, and our staff too, that this Texas team is better than that Michigan team,” a Colorado State source told CBS Sports.
Part of the reason for that: Texas’ speed and athleticism on offense, including at wide receiver.
While each of the Longhorns’ top four pass catchers from last year are gone, the Colorado State staff came away extremely impressed with Alabama transfer Isaiah Bond to go along with several other members of this new-look receiver group. Bond, who led the Crimson Tide last year with 48 catches, accounted for 86 scrimmage yards and a touchdown in the 52-0 win over Colorado State.
“When you watched them last year, the vertical speed really stood out, especially with Worthy,” a Colorado State source said. “This year, I think Isaiah Bond is more of a complete receiver. He’s a really good, polished receiver. The Bond kid is going to give people problems because he can really run. Our corners were really bothered by his speed. And then he knows how to control his speed. He’s actually a pretty good router too and he’s built well. At Alabama, it looked like they used him more in the slot. At Texas, he’s more of an outside receiver.”
Bond was one of at least four Texas receivers with at least 50 yards against Colorado State along with five-star freshman Ryan Wingo, former top-40 recruit Johntay Cook and Houston transfer Matthew Golden. Oregon State transfer Silas Bolden, who impressed Colorado State with his change of direction ability, also had a touchdown.
In addition, running back Jaydon Blue excelled in his first start since CJ Baxter’s preseason knee injury. Blue ran for 57 yards on 11 carries and also had three catches for 37 yards.
“The main problem is those athletes in space,” a Colorado State source said. A look at Texas’ passing chart from its Week 1 win shows the Longhorns didn’t even try to go deep; they were more than content spraying the ball around to a whopping 11 receivers and letting them do their thing in space.
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Those players all contributed to Texas posting seven touchdowns in the game’s first 50 minutes against Colorado State and finishing with 545 yards of total offense.
“23 (Blue) is even quicker than what he looks like on tape and he does a good job breaking tackles,” a Colorado State source said. “And the O-line is huge, but what’s surprising about them is they they’re super fast, like when they get out on screens.
“Sark is notorious for running tight end screens, running back screens, receiver screens, finding unique ways to get those guys the ball. Everybody knows that. He talks about it in his clinics and I think how fast the o-linemen are getting out is something special too that guys have to deal with, getting on DBs and linebackers in space.”
Horns247’s Chip Brown listed three big names to keep an eye on in the gameplan this weekend, including Bolden.
A potential advantage for Michigan vs. Texas
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While Texas’ offensive line features a first-round prospect at left tackle in Kelvin Banks and an overall group that combines great collective size with standout collective athleticism, one question that coaches familiar with the Longhorns have regarding Texas’ offensive line is its physicality and whether the unit could have problems with a Michigan front seven that may be the best in the nation.
It includes two first-round prospects at defensive tackle in 6-foot-3, 320-pound Mason Graham and 6-foot-3, 339-pound Kenneth Grant.
“I wouldn’t describe Texas o-line as physical. I would say Texas’ o-line is athletic, but I wouldn’t describe Texas’ o-line as physical,” a coaching source said. “That’s not who they are. That’s not who they’re trained to be. They’re not physical by nature just because they’re an RPO team and they have to be a little more lateral to make sure they’re not getting down the field, getting penalties, so they can RPO.
“But it’s not like Michigan that’s going to roll you off the ball. (Colorado State) had some d-tackles knock them back and make some plays, which I was kind of shocked at. And I know at the Power Five level, they’re going to see much bigger, much stronger, more athletic guys.”
Including this week.
Don’t forget about Matt Campbell
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There was a time Iowa State head coach Matt Campbell was the hottest coaching candidate name in college football. Campbell was practically guaranteed to be mentioned for every prominent opening and he turned down many of them including even the Detroit Lions job that ultimately went to Dan Campbell.
If Lincoln Riley didn’t leave Oklahoma for USC in 2021, it was Campbell’s job to turn down, according to sources. Campbell had the ability to be choosy and the feeling within the sport was he wanted to wait on a premier Midwest job if he was ever going to leave a good situation with reasonable expectations at Iowa State.
Following an 11-14 record the last two seasons, Campbell hasn’t been the same kind of buzzy name as of late. In the wildest coaching carousel in recent memory that saw openings at Alabama, Michigan, Texas A&M and Washington, among others, Campbell was no longer the obvious name for ADs to turn to for their prominent jobs.
Yet Campbell is still highly-regarded in football circles and could be right back at the top of those lists with a strong 2024 season.
“He probably stayed a year too long but if he won eight or nine games this year, hell yeah he’d be a hot commodity again,” one industry source told CBS Sports. “He can’t go 6-6 or 7-5. That doesn’t really move the needle. If he wins nine games, he’s right back on everybody’s radar.”
The best way to do that starts with a win over No. 21 Iowa Saturday (3:30 p.m. ET on CBS). Campbell has only won one of seven “CyHawk” rivalry games against the Hawkeyes and would greatly benefit from a marquee win that put him back into the national conversation. With schools starting their coaching searches earlier and earlier now, it pays to start hot.
“If he can win this one, it’s OK here we go,” said another industry source. “You get a lot of momentum.”
| Coach | Record vs Iowa | Record vs Other Non-Conference Opponents |
|---|---|---|
| Matt Campbell | 1-6 | 14-8 |
If Iowa State can beat Iowa, it has a reasonable next six-game slate and could even be 8-0 headed into a trip to Kansas. It helps that with quarterback Rocco Becht back for another year in Ames, Campbell may have the best team he’s had since a Brock Purdy and Breece Hall tandem led the Cyclones to a Fiesta Bowl win over Oregon in 2020.
That’s good news in a Texas and Oklahoma-less Big 12 that doesn’t currently feature a top 10 team.
How Andy Kotelnicki has changed Penn State’s offense
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After being selected as 247Sports’ offensive coordinator of the year last season at Kansas, it only took one game with his new team for Andy Kotelnicki to garner some new recognition from 247Sports as a Big Ten co-coordinator of the week.
What led to Kotelnicki being selected was helping the Nittany Lions, who fired previous offensive coordinator Mike Yurcich last November, accumulate 457 yards and five touchdowns in a 34-12 road win over West Virginia.
“They replaced a bunch of o-linemen and what you saw was the stuff that he was doing at Kansas to make up for maybe a talent differential in his early years,” a coaching source said. “So they took a sixth lineman and they lined him up out at receiver and brought him back in the box to be a lead blocker. They did that two different times. They did things to make sure they could highlight those two mature, talented running backs (Nick Singleton and Kaytron Allen) and still run the football. And the thing about him is he’s a very patient play caller. If you go to halftime, I think those two were averaging two yards per carry. He didn’t get away from it and they ended up with over 200 rushing yards because they broke off two runs in the second half because he just stayed with it. You can tell definitely his presence in the offense. He is doing a good job of using both of those backs way more than last year.”
| Statistic | Penn State vs. West Virginia |
|---|---|
| Yards Per Play | 7.6 |
| Yards Per Rush | 5.3 |
| Net Yards Per Pass Attempt | 13.1 |
In addition to Penn State rushing for 222 yards, quarterback Drew Allar also had three touchdown passes.
“I think Allar, I think it’s just like Andy was doing at Kansas, a lot of high percentage throws,” the coaching source said. “It wasn’t necessarily some crazy schematic advantage they’re getting in the passing game because of the route concepts. It’s just being very calculated and very smart on when they took chances and when they took shots.
“There’s a reason why they were one of the most explosive teams in the country at Kansas last year because he would do that and he would use tempo to his advantage and would do some of those things.”
Penn State plays Bowling Green this weekend, which insiders believe will be a major blowout and one that may even cover a 45-point spread.
Former USC star enjoying resurgence at Tulane with big showcase opportunity
For Tulane head coach Jon Sumrall, it wasn’t Mario Williams’ speed or big-play ability that led to him immediately becoming a big fan of the former USC star upon his arrival to the Green Wave.
It was actually Williams’ work in a pre-6 a.m. winter activity that Tulane calls “the gauntlet” that has players in head-to-head matchups the entire morning in different stations and mat drill type activities.
“Where he’s elite is just like his competitive nature. It’s like basically a gut check,” Sumrall told CBS Sports. “It’s like test your toughness and your just desire to compete. And we don’t start football activities until they until they beat the The Gauntlet. And he every morning, whoever his matchup was, he had no problem letting them know, ‘Hey, I’m about to beat your ass. He would let them know and and then he’d go do it. That’s just how he’s wired, like he’s just got that kind of like, ‘Hey, I’m about to kick your ass,’ and then he goes and kicks your ass. He’s got that competitive factor that’s fun to be around.”
He’s also still got that speed that led to a NFL scout telling CBS Sports last year that Williams plays like he’s “got a rocket up his ass.”
Mario Williams
TULANE • WR • #4
5-9, 178
Former top-150 recruiting prospect Mario Williams is at his third school after starring at Oklahoma and then seeing ups and downs at USC.
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At that point, there were at least some NFL scouts who viewed Williams as a possibility to go in the first few rounds of this year’s NFL draft. Instead, the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Florida native followed up a 631 yard season for USC in 2022 with just 29 catches, 305 yards and two touchdowns last year. It led to him entering the transfer portal and ultimately landing at Tulane, which beat out Power Four teams like Baylor to get him and then some others — including at least one in the SEC — after he announced his commitment to the Green Wave.
Now, Williams appears to be on the verge of a resurgence at Tulane and will have a big showcase opportunity this weekend when the Green Wave face No. 17 Kansas State.
Williams posted four catches for 124 yards in Tulane’s season-opening win over Southeastern Louisiana, including a 68-yard catch. He also had 13 rushing yards.
“He’s done a nice job being a good teammate,” Sumrall said. “Sometimes you worry about a guy coming in and being high-maintenance because he’s been at Oklahoma and USC. But he’s been a really good teammate and he’s worked really hard just to be one of the guys. And really, probably some of the most impressive stuff he did early on this time here was going back to the spring was just his effort running plays blocking down the field, being a guy that wasn’t above sticking it in there and going and putting his face in the run game to help help our run game. So I’ve been impressed with that. But then clearly, you watch last week and he has the ability to make explosive plays. And I think he’s just been a really good, consistent worker and contributor.”
The Millennial Bowl
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The late Saturday night clash between Mississippi State and Arizona State in Tempe features not only two of the top offensive-minded head coaches but two of the youngest. Kenny Dillingham, 34, is the youngest head coach at the FBS level while Jeff Lebby, 40, is the youngest head coach in the SEC. This is Lebby’s first year as a head coach while Dillingham went 3-9 last season.
Not every school is willing to go the youthful route with its head coaching hire, but the early success of 38-year old Oregon head coach Dan Lanning certainly has more on the lookout for one, according to multiple industry sources. With everything a head coach has to manage now, having the ability to build a strong connection with the players and push the relationship beyond just the transactional can be attractive, particularly with player retention.
Lebby, 1-0 in his time in Starkville, has already earned strong reviews from his players in that department.
“He’s in the times that we’re in so he understands the lingo we use and can get along with it,” Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen told CBS Sports. “He has a mature side to him but also we see a fun side, a goofy side that sometimes you might not see a head coach be.”
Another millennial to keep an eye on Saturday: South Florida head coach Alex Golesh. Golesh’s USF Bulls gave Alabama all it could handle last season in a rain-drenched game the Crimson Tide was lucky to escape with a 17-3 win. It’s doubtful South Florida will play Alabama as close this weekend in Tuscaloosa, but after taking over one of the most challenging situations in 2023 and still making a bowl game, Golesh’s stock is on the rise. Don’t be surprised to see his name get mentioned prominently in this coaching carousel if he builds off last season like many expect.
“He’s the offensive version of Dan Lanning,” said one industry source. “He’s special.”
3 questions with Mississippi State quarterback Blake Shapen
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1. What did you see from Coach Lebby’s offense while you were at Baylor?
“I was very familiar with it because I had gotten to play against him and watch their offense in person. It was special to watch — the tempo they played with, how fast they played and the rhythm the quarterback got into. It was very fun watching it and I knew that if I ever got a chance to play in an offense like that, I’d jump right at it.”
2. What was the transfer portal process like for you?
“For me, it was the most stressful time of my life. That was the most stressed I’ve ever been because I knew how fast I had to make a decision and where I wanted to go because of how fast it moves for quarterbacks in the portal. I knew if i found somewhere that i liked i had to jump at it and i didn’t want to wait sitting there too long because i know spots fill up so quick.”
3. So you felt ‘I like Mississippi State and if I wait on this, I may lose my spot’?
“No doubt. Just like I’m trying to find a school, they are trying to find a quarterback. It goes both ways. If i didn’t jump on it, I may not have a spot here.”
Group of Five star continues to make case to be RB1 in 2025 NFL draft
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It’s such a loaded year running back-wise around college football that NFL scouts believe there are around double-digit backs with a chance of going in the first three rounds of next year’s NFL draft.
RB1 may not be who you think, though. While there are several running backs with bigger names and playing at more high-profile programs, at least some scouts entered the season viewing Boise State’s Ashton Jeanty as the nation’s top NFL prospect at running back. Like the aforementioned Mario Williams, Jeanty will have a big showcase opportunity this weekend when Boise faces No. 7 Oregon.
It comes after the 5-foot-9, 215-pound junior ran 267 yards and six touchdowns in the Broncos’ season-opening victory over Georgia Southern.
“Very good player!” an NFL personnel official told CBS Sports. “Big, fast and versatile.”
Boise State single game records: Rushing TDs
| Year | Player | Opponent | Rush TDs |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2024 | Ashton Jeanty | GASO | 6 |
| 2014 | Jay Ajayi | US ST | 5 |
| 2006 | Ian Johnson | ORST | 5 |
| 2004 | Jon Helmandollar | LT | 5 |
An All-American last season, Jeanty finished last year with 1,347 rushing yards, 569 receiving yards and 19 total touchdowns. Both scouting services used by NFL teams had him with second-round grades entering the season.
“I love him,” an NFL scout said. “… Probably would’ve been the first running back picked this year.”