It’s time. Been time.

Maybe for a long time.

Perhaps, say, as far back as 2019 in Sean Clifford’s first year – his best year – as the Penn State starting quarterback, a change was needed at the position. He’d had a good season, taking over for the near-legendary Trace McSorley, but he was overmatched the moment he stepped on the field for a late-November, high-profile college football matchup at Ohio State.

His backup, Will Levis, who eventually was thrust into action, was not.

By no means did Levis put up any numbers to write home about, either. But he belonged on the field. He was a comparable athlete to those out there on the field for the Buckeyes.

Clifford was not.

Not then, not ever.

Not even today as he precariously meanders through his fourth, and final, season directing the Nittany Lions as another bigger, stronger, more athletically gifted quarterback – freshman Drew Allar – looms behind him at No. 2 on the depth chart.

Following yet another dreadful performance – a 41-17 loss at Michigan that wasn’t even remotely as close as that blowout score would suggest – that Clifford co-authored with his teammates, especially those in the trenches who got steamrolled on both sides of the ball, that has derailed PSU’s train back to national prominence, or at least perception.

Frankly, the onus really doesn’t fall on the fifth-year senior. No, James Franklin gets all the “credit” here. Well, both he and his tag team of doom – a never-ending loyalty to a player who made the HC feel he had someone “special” at the controls AND the fear of moving on from him even after repeated confirmations that it was time to do so.

It’s not like Franklin can be killed for doing so. Clifford did show an inkling of the same leadership as McSorley displayed before him. He posted a couple of the same type of big wins, too. Heck, even his numbers are reasonably comparable to what McSorley put up in the Blue and White.

But he was never McSorley. Never had his electric moments. Never guided the Lions to a Big Ten championship like McSorley. Never had the same type of grit or determination, or at least the same type of results from those things, that McSorley did.

For almost three full years, following Clifford’s rather strong initial two months and change as the PSU starter, it almost seems like Franklin has been waiting for Clifford to capture McSorley’s magic.

He never has.

He never matched the physical skill of Levis, either, which is why Levis transferred to Kentucky two years, and now finds himself being talked about as a first-round draft pick.

He’ll never match the physical skill of Allar, either. Which is why it’s time make the switch.

Why it’s been time.

The Lions may be 5-1 now, and alive for another New Year’s bowl. But they’re mediocre, and they have been ever since that game at Ohio State back in 2019.

Clifford isn’t the only reason for that. But he has been the most glaring one. Consistently.
It’s time to move on from mediocrity.

MORE QB QUANDARY
Yeah, got it. Clemson’s DJ Uiagalelei has completely turned around his career arc this fall after an awful sophomore campaign in 2021. He’s a more accurate, assertive and confident. Blah, blah, blah. Sorry, as a fan of the program, who watches it play every week, just not buying it, and really not buying the Kirk Herbstreit-forced narrative that DJ U’s running, or willingness to run, is having some huge, positive impact on the Tigers’ offense, either.

With HC Dabo Swinney and OC Brandon Streeter so overly concerned with keeping DJ U in a “happy place,” the offense actually gets bogged down far too often. Most games, the Tigers will head into halftime with DJ U having more carries than the combined total of their running backs. Standout sophomore RB Will Shipley getting 27 touches – for 238 yards – in Saturday’s win at Florida State was a complete fluke. That needs to be the norm going forward, with less and less on the DJ U overkill. Otherwise, Clemson is not going to find itself back in the CFP this season.

HMMMMM …
Maybe Kansas HC Lance Leipold should consider those “grass is greener” Power 5 gigs he keeps at bay a little more seriously before all opportunity is lost as the Jayhawks get further into their season.

Maybe Dan Mullen wasn’t the problem at Florida after all.

Maybe North Carolina upgraded at QB with Drake Maye.

Maybe Ole Miss upgraded at QB with Jaxson Dart.

Maybe Central Florida upgraded at QB with the guy – John Rhys Plumlee – who should have been the main guy in Oxford for the last couple of years.

HEADS UP
It’s terrific that Tennessee not only is enjoying a great season for the first time in a generation, but is being recognized for its exploits. So much so that it now gets regular attention from the national talking heads and currently stands at No. 3 in the AP poll.

The same cannot be said for fellow unbeatens Ole Miss, Texas Christian and UCLA, who check in at Nos. 7-9 in the same poll, but barely get a passing mention anywhere else. Perhaps that will change in the coming weeks as the Rebels host Alabama on Nov. 12 and Mississippi State on Thanksgiving, the Horned Frogs face Kansas State this weekend and Texas on Nov. 12, and the Bruins visit Oregon on Saturday and host Southern Cal on Nov. 19.

All of those opponents are ranked, and all have received far more accolades Ole Miss, TCU and UCLA – despite each of having an elite QB (Dart, Max Duggan and Dorian Thompson-Robinson) paired with a offensively brilliant HC (Lane Kiffin, Spike Dykes and Chip Kelly).

ALMA MATTERS
Not for nothing, but Illinois – one of my two schools – could find itself in the top 15 by the end of the upcoming weekend. Having jumped six spots to No. 18 following last Saturday’s smothering 26-14 win against Big Ten West favorite Minnesota, the Fighting Illini, despite being idle this week, could move up again if the Gophers rebound at No. 16 Penn State, No. 17 Kansas State loses at No. 8 TCU, and No. 14 Syracuse falls at No. 5 Clemson – one possible and two likely scenarios.

Ironically, a primary reason the Illini find themselves in this position is the play of their new starting QB for 2022, Tommy DeVito, a transfer from Syracuse.
 

It was like two ships passing in the night.

Scott Frost was leaving Central Florida after directing the Knights to an unbeaten 2017 campaign that soon would culminate with a Peach Bowl victory over Auburn. Josh Heupel was just arriving at UCF, having been chosen to replace Frost the moment he departed for good for Nebraska.

Both hires left a bad taste in my mouth. Frost’s favored up-tempo style was never going to work at his alma mater, and Heupel’s favored up-tempo style was merely a poor man’s version of Frost’s.

Troubled waters seemed to await both coaches, either immediately or soon after. Once they did materialize, the surprising thing is who navigated them better.

Much better.

While Frost sits at home these days counting the millions Nebraska had to fork over in a buyout following four years and change of just godawful football, Heupel is actually earning his pay for a job well done.

At Tennessee, mind you. But still …

Heupel eventually ran out of Frost recruits to keep the double-digit-win gravy train going in Orlando. So, when he had the chance to jump ship to Rocky Top and rejoin forces with former UCF AD Danny White, he did.

And Vol Nation is reaping the benefits now.
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Not only is Tennessee 5-0 and ranked No. 6 in the nation, it is deemed legit competition for Alabama, the longtime standard of greatness for all of college football, for the first time in a generation and has a legit Heisman contender – QB Hendon Hooker – for the first time since Peyton Manning got a little teary-eyed when he lost the award to Michigan DB Charles Woodson in 1997.

It also has the best HC in college football this season. Thus far.

In less than two seasons, Heupel has taken a program left in shambles by Jeremy Pruitt and made it nationally relevant again.

A year after Pruitt’s final Tennessee team went 3-7, Heupel had the Vols bowling and finishing 7-6. Now the year after that, they’re being talked about as a possible college football playoff entrant.

There may have been some doubt before Week 5, but the Vols’ 40-13 destruction of LSU in Baton Rouse changed that.
Hooker, as he has been all season, was efficient and electric, directly arguably the best and quickest offense in the country. The effort came a week after he served notice to Heisman voters that it was time to take notice of him with a 349-yard passing, 112-yard rushing, four-touchdown day in a win against Florida.

Now comes No. 3 ’Bama, with a date at No. 1 Georgia looming the first Saturday in November.

Win those, and there is little double Heupel is named unanimous national coach of the year, and Hooker just might end up with the Heisman as well.

INDIVIDUAL EFFORT OF THE YEAR
Any time you race by college football all-timer Tony Dorsett in the record books, it’s safe to say you did something pretty special. In last Saturday’s 45-29 win against visiting Virginia Tech, Pittsburgh sophomore RB Israel “Izzy” Abanikanda went off for 320 yards rushing, topping TD’s total of 303 for the Panthers against Notre Dame in 1975, on 36 carries.

Abanikanda tallied six touchdowns in the process, including an electric 80-yarder to close the door on the Hokies for good midway through the fourth quarter.

With the effort, he finds himself No. 2 nationally in rushing yards with 830, trailing only season-long leader Chase Brown of Illinois, who has 879.

UNEVEN PLAYING FIELD
Since Clemson’s rise from good ACC program with some recognition outside its region to elite national power, the consensus narrative has consistently revolved around the illegitimacy of its standing. That it really didn’t deserve to be a CFP regular because it played in a supposedly weaker conference, had a weaker schedule than true dynamos such as Alabama or Georgia or – pause for a chuckle – Oklahoma.

Ironically, though, at a time that the Tigers are struggling to hang onto any elite cred, the pollsters treated them like they were an accepted blue blood, actually bumping them ahead of a forever blue blood, Michigan, when, really, they had no business doing so.

The Wolverines and Tigers entered Week 5 ranked Nos. 4 and 5, respectively, and exited it (following the latest poll) flipped at those spots. Why? Clemson’s 31-3 victory at 2-4 Boston College certainly wasn’t any more impressive than Michigan’s 31-10 win at 3-3 Indiana. The Tigers didn’t look any better, and, frankly, it could be argued they didn’t look as good.

In general, they haven’t looked all that good – compared to any team, not just Michigan – in any game this season, despite being 6-0, as HC Dabo Swinner and OC Brandon Streeter have gone overkill with trying to make D.J. Uiagalelei comfy and confident at QB … to the complete detriment to Clemson’s ground game and, frankly, its defense, since so many three-and-outs driven by ill-fated passes have created such short rest periods for it.

Not for nothing, but Michigan is a far better balanced squad at this point, and looks it.

Could this be an attempt – intentional or not – to even things out for Clemson, almost as a payback for bias against it for so long? Kinda looks like it, which doesn’t change the uneven playing field anyway. All it does is flip it to favor another side, which isn’t good, either.

COACHES CORNER
Philadelphia Eagles fans, San Francisco 49ers fans and, for a different reason, Oregon Ducks fans probably don’t want to hear it or read it, but HC Chip Kelly finally has it going now at UCLA. Already in Year 5 at Westwood, the former chief in charge of those other teams is looking at his second straight winning season … only this one is shaping up to be something special.

Now 6-0, the Bruins are coming off back-to-back wins against ranked Pac-12 foes Washington and Utah, and now ranked No. 11 themselves. Beyond that, UCLA matches the firepower of higher-profile crosstown rival USC behind QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, RB Zach Charbonnet and WR Jake Bobo.

With the Carolina Panthers firing Matt Rhule earlier this week, the prognostications are piling up as to where he will land … back in college. Funny thing is, he has never hinted that he ever would want to come back to college. Also, smaller-town colleges, such as Auburn, even with its SEC pedigree, may be out of the mix since Rhule has shown an affinity for being in a city. In fact, he was quite vocal about that being a major attraction to him when he left the New York Giants as an assistant to return to Temple as its HC a decade ago.

One darkhorse candidate for his services, should he want to return to the college game, is Louisville. Though an opening does not exist there at the moment, it could before season’s end. The Cardinals offer a Power-5 program that has reached Top-5 status in the past, and a legit city to coach in. That is, again, if that opening materializes.
​
Interims at Nebraska (Mickey Joseph) and Georgia Tech (Brent Key) are each 2-0 the last two weeks after the firings of Scott Frost and Geoff Collins, respectively. Both schools are considered likely candidates to pursue Rhule. Tech fits the profile of what he likes better, and provides a nifty ironic twist in that Collins followed him at Temple and the two were former assistants together once upon a time at Western Carolina.

HEY, DIDN’T YOU USED TO BE …
Coastal Carolina ... Became the darling of the COVID-ravaged 2020 season, winning its first 11 games, including one quick-fixer against Brigham Young, before losing to Liberty in OT at the Cure Bowl in Orlando. For their efforts, the Chanticleers finished the season ranked No. 14.

It then followed that up with an 11-2 campaign in 2021 … and is 6-0 so far this season.

Yet, when the pollsters decided to get a Sun Belt program into the top 25 in the latest poll, they went with conference and FBS newbie James Madison at No. 25.

Really?!!

Arkansas ... Started the season 3-0. The Razorbacks are 0-3 in games ever since and fading fast after blowouts losses to Alabama and Mississippi State. For a team that had aspirations to challenge for an SEC title, Arkansas has been hard to watch of late. It should fare much better the second half of the season, but already just 1-3 in the conference, it’ll be hard-pressed to achieve anything more than a middling bowl at season’s end.

It’s time. Five weeks in, we got us a decent sample size.

We’ve seen a good amount of college football 2022 already. Seen a lot of good games. Seen a lot of good players.

Some even great.

So, without further ado, we dip into the Heisman hype – not so much with tentative tippy toes, but a confident walking stride right down the steps into the water … with a few words about the choice of the moment after five weeks of play:
Illinois running back Chase Brown.

Look, we get it. Quarterbacks Hendon Hooker and Jalon Daniels have taken Tennessee from mediocrity to the top 10 and Kansas from the scrap heap to the top 20, respectively, and deserve serious consideration – which they get right here. It’s just having seen all the legit, including them, and, frankly, non-legit, contenders, Brown, to this point, seems to be the best player.

He’s the No. 1 rusher in the country. He’s taken the Fighting Illini from laughingstock to a recognized favorite in the Big Ten West – both by people who hate Illinois and those who went all-in on Minnesota up until this past Saturday, when it lost to Purdue.

Look, reality is, the division is a crapshoot. Six of the seven teams in it have a 1-1 conference record. The Illini being in that non-exclusive group.

Thing is, Brown is the best player in the group, and, from what these eyes have seen, he’s the best player in the country.
Granted, full disclosure, these eyes have the same orange-and-blue tint to them that Brown’s do. Still, it’s hard to ignore how good this guy has been.

At a school that boasts arguably the greatest player in the history of the sport (Red Grange, a running back), the single-game record for TDs (Howard Griffith, a running back), and numerous first-round RBs, Brown is the only one who has ripped off five straight 100-yard rushing games – which he has done to open this season while posting a total of nation-leading 733 yards at 6.1 yards per pop.

He’s a power-packed 5-11, 205 pounds with superb slide-step skills, elite speed and the ability to pack a wallop running inside. Frankly, most of his long runs come on inside pops.

Illinois is a rock-solid 4-1 overall at this point and poised to join the ranked ranks. It could be 5-0, but somehow gifted a game to Indiana In spite of Brown’s season-high 199-yard effort on the ground.

This Saturday night will be a telling point for him and the Illini. Iowa comes to Champaign – the same Iowa that always seems to have the Illini’s number. Especially when things matter.

Right now, they do. Illinois is rising, seriously, under second-year HC Bret Bielema, with Brown leading the way.
A big game by Brown, along with an Illini win, would only serve to boost his Heisman campaign … and his team’s worthiness of the top 25 and Big Ten West favorite.

COACHING KILL SHOTS
It’s been a rough few weeks for HCs across the country. Firings have occurred right and left, some justified (Scott Frost, Nebraska; Karl Dorrell, Colorado; Geoff Collins, Georgia Tech), and at least one probably not (Paul Chryst, Wisconsin). Those who seem likely to join that lot are Auburn’s Bryan Harsin and West Virginia’s Neal Brown.

A couple of big names to keep in mind as possibles – if not this season, but in the near future: Texas A&M’s Jim Fisher and Oklahoma’s Brent Venables.

Not for nothing, but Fisher currently borders on laughingstock after his self-promoting with recruiting success, his name-calling with Nick Saban (remember that silliness?), and his team’s continued lackluster performance – especially on offense, Jimbo’s specialty – once it is game day.

Venables? Focusing on back-to-back losses to Kansas State and Texas Christian in the guy’s first season at helm in Norman, really, is a mistake. Venables’ genius as a defensive mind had been crumbling for a couple years as DC at Clemson despite having NFL talent across the board.

ON THE OTHER HAND
Kudos to UCLA’s Chip Kelly. Arguably the most despised HC in football, regardless of level, the Smug One finally seems to have regained his stride on the sideline. His Bruins are 5-0, and entertaining as hell, led by a killer triumvirate on offense in QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson, RB Zach Charbonnet and WR Jake Bobo. DTR seems to be in his ninth season as UCLA’s field general, while Charbonnet (Michigan transfer) and Bobo (Duke transfer) ain’t exactly spring chickens, either.

One thing is for sure, though, they all can play – both at the Power-5 level and the next one.
​
In Friday’s telling 40-32 upset of fast-rising No. 15 Washington (4-0 entering the game), DTR racked 315 yards passing, 53 running and a total of 5 TDs, Charbonnet posted 122 yards rushing, 56 receiving and a TD, and Bobo had 142 yards and 2 TDs receiving.

They get another test this week when hosting No. 11 Utah.

RUNS IN THE FAMILY
If it seems the name Drake Maye sounds familiar anytime the North Carolina QB is mentioned during the highlights come on any of the multi-lettered sports networks every Saturday, it probably should. The redshirt freshman’s older brother, Luke, achieved folk-hero status while playing a key role in UNC’s run to a national title in basketball back in 2017 before turning into a standout player his final two seasons at Chapel Hill. Drake, frankly, already has far more star power, having tossed for almost 1,600 yards and a nation-leading 19 TDs in his first five games this season.

LEGIT OR NOT
No. 8 Tennessee. Travels to the SEC’s version of Death Valley, No. 25 Louisiana State.
No. 16 Brigham Young. Visits the best 2-2 in the country, Notre Dame.
No. 17 TCU. Visits No. 19 Kansas.
No. 18 UCLA. See above.
No. 19 Kansas. Hosts No. 17 TCU.
Florida State. Visits No. 14 N.C. State.
Illinois. Hosts its Boogie Man in Iowa.
Prolific Mississippi State QB Will Rogers. Goes against a heavy-pressure D from Arkansas, headlined by the nation’s top sack man, LB Drew Sanders, an Alabama transfer who has 6.5 after five games.
 
PETE ROZELLE DIVISION
The NFL’s Mr. Parity would love what’s going on in the Big Ten West right now. Seven teams … with six of them tied for first place, courtesy of identical 1-1 marks.

The deadbeat? Preseason division favorite Wisconsin, which canned Chryst after he started his eighth season 0-2 in the conference, including Saturday’s 34-10 embarrassment at home to Illinois and former Badgers HC Bielema, who is still despised in Madison for bolting town a decade for pastures he though would be greener – and were not – in Arkansas.

A few words of caution to first-year Temple head coach Stan Drayton:

If you start having some measure of success in the coming years and get that itch to leave for supposedly greener pastures, take a break, a very l-o-n-g break, and think things through. Really think 'em through.

Why? Because the list of failed ventures for those opting to leave North Philly just got a little more daunting on Monday with Geoff Collins’ firing at Georgia Tech to put the capper on Week 4 of the 2022 college football season.

Who is Geoff Collins, sadly, too many Temple alums and reputed fans may ask? Ummm, he’s a former HC of your Owls, not all that long ago, and he set the school record for wins by an HC in his first two seasons on Broad Street and became the only HC in Temple history to go bowling his first two seasons.

Check that, his ONLY two seasons as the lure of Power 5 money and returning home as a Georgia kid to take the reins of the Yellow Jackets in downtown Atlanta proved all too much for him to turn down and stay at Temple.

Ahh, the fool – just like Al Golden, Steve Addazio and even architect of the Owls’ best, albeit short, run of success, Matt Rhule, before him.

Golden, who salvaged the Owls’ program from the scrap heap in 2006, put in five years of blood, sweat and tears at Temple, and won 17 games his final two seasons, including a 9-4 campaign in 2009 that included a Military Bowl berth, bolted for Miami the moment the Hurricanes breathed in his direction. He was never a good fit there, especially with him being choir-boy clean and Miami headed to probation after he arrived in Coral Cables. Oops, might wanna get all the info next time, bud.

Oddly, he had a better mark in Miami (32-25) than at Temple (27-34), but no rankings … and Miami administrators finally listened to Hurricanes’ fans and said, no, thank you – next.

Addazio, doing a Collins before Collins did a Collins with proclaiming he had to leave Temple because his “dream job” was offered by Boston College, only last two seasons. Of course, his first once provided the Owls with 9 wins and their first bowl victory in four decades. His second, well, he introduced this kid, Ryan Day, as his offensive coordinator, and the kid was dreadful as the team went 4-7. Somehow, he has seemed to find his way these days in Columbus, Ohio.

Daz? He proved to be the essence of mediocrity at his blessed BC, going 44-44 in seven seasons, before hightailing it to Colorado State, where his HC days likely ended in 4-12, get-him-outta-here abbreviated deal with the Rams.

Even Rhule kinda effed up. He’d already turned Power 5 gigs the previous year, but once he saw that back-to-back 10-win seasons, as well as one glorious victory over Penn State and an American Athletic Conference title were not enough to give him (and Temple) comparable pub to Penn State, never mind that on-campus stadium he so coveted, Rhule was gone to the first bidder. So what that Baylor was under investigation. Huh? Oh ... no biggie.

OK, so Rhule rebounded from the bad news, racking up 18 wins combined his second and third seasons, the latter of which saw an 11-3, national-ranking campaign pave the way to his current NFL gig, but he was sweating bullets that first season at Baylor while going 1-11.

And, frankly, his expiration date seems to be coming up quick with the Carolina Panthers.

Needless to say, things haven’t been so great for any of them since they left. Maybe monetarily. But in terms of success as an HC, no, not really. Not outside of Rhule’s last year at Baylor.

Just might be something for Drayton to keep in mind down the road. Could be a jinx or a curse or something.

Apparently, not even the disaster of Rod Carey was able to kill it.

LAST LAUGH
Before Saturday’s ACC thriller between conference standard-bearer Clemson and fellow unbeaten Wake Forest in Winston-Salem, N.C., ever entered OT, Tigers head coach Dabo Swinney probably was questioning his recruitment of Nate Wiggins. Pressed into service due to a secondary decimated by injuries, the freshman cornerback already had three pass interference calls and two personal fouls against him … and two Demon Deacons’ TD passes caught against him.

The youngster bitched and moaned after every call, or reception against him, and later Swinney tossed in the obligatory “we had some tough calls go against us back there,” and neither the coach nor the player had a legit gripe. At all.

Yet, even with “being terrorized most of the afternoon,” as ABC’s Sean McDonough so appropriately put it, Wiggins delivered the decisive play – in Clemson’s favor.

OK, so he got another P.I. in overtime … Still, the final play saw him knock down a pass into the end zone by Wake QB Sam Hartman, who abused Wiggins and his DB cohorts for six TD passes, and them crumple to the turf, uncertain whether he made a mistake by not intercepting the fourth-down ball … only to be assured he was “aces” this time by his teammates as they celebrated all around him.

Frankly, considering what had transpired the rest of the game, and the fact this tussle was between the nation’s fifth- and 21st-ranked squads, ending with the higher-rated Tigers prevailing 51-45 after two extra frames, Wiggins’ play – the only one he made all game – was the play of the day in college football.
Just an unreal turn of events … in a flash.

NEW SCRIPT
Oregon QB Bo Nix, an Auburn transfer after being a legacy Tiger (father Patrick had his moments on the Plains at QB a lifetime ago), has been tabbed – correctly so – as dynamite at home and kinda dud away from it during his star-crossed career. That all changed at Washington State over the weekend as Nix rallied the Ducks from a 27-15 fourth-quarter deficit and carried them to a 44-41 victory.

He threw for 428 yards and 3 TDs in the process, ran for another 30, and, for good measure, caught an 18-yard pass well.

SAME SCRIPT
Oklahoma, overrated as always, dropped a game to an unranked squad – in Norman, Okla., no less. Of course, it was Kansas State pulling off the upset, as the Wildcats won for the third time in the last three years of this series. Exiled Nebraska show-runner Adrian Martinez surgically picked apart the Sooners’ D – sorry, but Brent Venables’ days as an elite defensive mind are over – en route to accounting for 5 TDs.
Side note: Tip of the cap to fellow QB transfer, Dillon Gabriel, from Central Florida. The lefty was brilliant in throwing for 330 yards and running for another 61, accounting for 4 TDs himself. Wasn’t sure before. Am now. The kid is an NFL prospect for real.

MY HEISMAN FRONTRUNNER
With apologies to the more over-hyped QB at Kansas and the ridiculously way more-overhyped QB at Southern Cal, Tennessee’s Hendon Hooker has been a revelation for a season and change now at Rocky Top. He is, far and away, the best character in the best story in college football right now. There is no debate.

Talented, but erratic for three years at Virginia Tech, he arrived in Knoxville, Tenn., via the portal, looking for someone to tap into his abilities, but unknowing who that would be … since the Vols had yet to hire Josh Heupel from UCF.

No problem. Since the two have united, Hooker has racked up 39 TDS (and just 3 INTs) passing, plus another 8 TDs on the ground. Tennessee is 4-0 in 2022 mainly due to him and ranked No. 8 – the first time they’ve been that high since 2006.
Against then-No. 20 Florida on Saturday,
 

​The whispers have evolved into almost boastful proclamations.

Clemson is no longer among college football’s elite.

You know, as the vocal consensus stuck in the past or on anti-ACC propaganda snidely suggests, if it ever were.

Six straight CFP Playoff appearances from 2015 through 2020? Pffff, lucky.

Five national-title game appearances in that run? Big deal.

Two championships, over Nick Saban’s reputably unbeatable Alabama machine? See that, the Tigers only went 2-3 in the BIG ONE. Stiffs.

With last season’s 10-3 effort ending that string of success, fluky as it apparently was, the knocks, the digs, the questions have only grown louder.

In response, Clemson and its supporters have dug in, clinging to the reality that no one within the program was bailing. Its all-in, we’re-a-family cry – today’s progressive us-against-the-world approach, if you will – has kept Dabo Swinney’s program relatively intact, at least within the locker room.

Indeed, from the end of last season until the start of this one, “the transfer portal” wasn’t just an unspoken phrase among the orange-and-purple crowd; it was an unknown one.

But that has changed. In the 10 days, two players have left the program – and, frankly, the vibe here is that more will. Probably sooner than later.

And we’re not talking “guy behind the guy … behind the guy” bit players.

We’re talking top-notch talent at the Tigers’ strongest, deepest position – running back. (Sorry, gatekeepers of “Clemson has the nation’s best defensive line,” it’s just reality.)

Not for nothing, but anyone else see Will Shipley’s reaction to scoring on a 32-yard scamper on Clemson’s first offensive play of the second half in the Tigers' closer-than-it-should-have-been, 48-20 win against Louisiana Tech? The dude went bat-shit crazy, almost like he had just been told that KFC was bringing back its potato wedges.

It went far beyond any expression of happiness for getting into the end zone. It was all about the frustration of being an elite back who, finally, almost desperately got another “touch” following yet another half of offense for Clemson spent trying to make quarterback DJ Uiagalelei “comfortable” and to build his confidence.

Three games into season, Swinney and offensive coordinator Brandon Streeter, have devolved into the caretakers of Uiagalelei’s apparently fragile ego.

That may cost the Tigers sooner – with a trip to fellow unbeaten and ACC Atlantic Division rival Wake Forest looming this Saturday – AND later – with the real possibility of, if not Shipley, then his backups, Kobe Pace and Phil Mafah, deciding that their buy-in to Dabo’s culture isn’t worth it if their chances of getting the ball are at the mercy of Uiagalelei’s psyche and the coaches’ overkill with trying to protect it.

Clemson slipped into the locker room at halftime the other night, up just 13-6 to Louisiana Tech, with Uiagalelei not only having attempted 23 passes, but leading the team with six rushing attempts.

It’s not just the numbers. It’s that the offense’s pace is so damn slow with him running. It’s basically all Uiagalelei, with maybe a few crumbs for Shipley and lord only knows what miniscule grub will get thrown in the direction of Mafah and Pace for them to “feast” on.

Shipley’s burst, fortunately for the Tigers, kickstarted a 21-0 third quarter, which saw him rattle off 27- and 26-yard runs in a second half in which he tallied 104 yards on eight carries, and Mafah and Pace add TDs as well.

The difference between the halves was like night and day. The moment Swinney and Co. went to its strength – the running game, with three backs that could start anywhere in the country – the Tigers took off.

Even with that, though, Shipley only has 32 carries this season, Mafah 20 and Pace 15 … with Uiagalelei having 27.

If that second-half attack only proves an aberration, expect changes in both the won-loss column and in amount of players entering the transfer portal.

BASKETBALL SCHOOLS, HUH
The quartet of elite college hoops entities – North Carolina, Duke, Kentucky, and Kansas – all being 3-0 at this point may have John Calipari nodding in approval or disgust at this point, and no doubt it’s kinda cool to see the shift in balance of power, or propaganda, at certain campuses.

But let’s keep it real for a bit. Kentucky and North Carolina are not exactly new to success on the gridiron. The Tar Heels, in fact, are a regular bowl entrant, and the Wildcats have been steadily climbing up the SEC respect ladder for several years now under Mark Stoops.

But Duke and Kansas. That’s different. The Devils have a dynamic QB in Riley Leonard, who has to be the youngest-looking kid in college football (he could pass for 12 or 13), and the Jayhawks have one of their own with that (Jalon Daniels), as well as pretty dynamic coach in Lance Leipold, at least in terms of success.

Dude won six Division III national titles with Wisconsin-Whitewater in one eight-year span, won 10 games at Buffalo and directed the Bulls into the top 25 in Covid-crunched 2020, and now has Kansas looking like it has turned the corner in just his second season after quality back-to-back road wins at West Virginia and Houston.

FOR REAL
Got three for ya: Southern Cal, Penn State and Washington – ranked seventh, 14th and 18th, respectively, in the latest AP poll after 3-0 starts in impressive fashion.

Being honest, didn’t buy the Trojans’ hype coming into the season. The Lincoln Riley love from the national media can make anyone give pause to whatever the consensus of it says, but it really does appear USC may go from near-dumpster fire to legit CFB Playoff contender in less than a year’s time thanks to Riley and the QB prodigy Caleb Williams who moved right along with the coach from Oklahoma to Los Angeles.

Penn State? Considering the elite recruiting level James Franklin seems to live at, without ever wavering, that the Lions were not ranked coming into the season was silly. Yeah, OK, they have 17-year, meh-at-best vet Sean Clifford still running the show, but even he’s stepped up his play when it has mattered.

Washington may be the biggest surprise, though – and Michael Penix transferring in from Indiana wasn’t going to change that for me. But anyone who dared to check out No. 11 Michigan State’s visit to Seattle on Saturday was provided a visual clinic on how to completely confuse an opponent, a supposedly superior one, with movement, play-calling and just sheer energy and effort.

NOT SO SURE
Hmmm, gotta be Syracuse, N.C. State and Arkansas  – all 3-0. The Orange are unbeaten only because Purdue gifted them a victory this past weekend, the Pack have endured growing pains in all three games they’ve played, and the Razorbacks were in danger of losing to Missouri State and their former coach/motorcycle enthusiast, Bobby Petrino, in Little Rock.

The Hogs likely lose this week to Texas A&M and N.C. State the next week at Clemson, while Syracuse eventually may be staring down the barrel of closing the season on a seven-game losing skid, with games against N.C. State, Clemson, Notre Dame, Pittsburgh, Florida State, Wake Forest and Boston College remaining – in succession, starting Oct. 15 – on the Orange’s slate.

FINAL WORD
Can we, once and for all, knock off this silliness that Nebraska is this prestigious, coveted job for a head coach anymore? It’s ridiculous. The program hasn’t been relevant for more than two decades. Arizona State, which now has a vacancy after Herm Edwards was shown the door this week, is a better gig, and Auburn, which will have a vacancy of its own once Bryan Harsin gets the boot this fall (word is, he's not even recruiting anymore with a pink slip a certainty), is a much better gig – and neither of those two programs are considered among the elite in their own conferences.