Miami humiliated; Texas sticks with Herman
While the comings, goings and stayings of coaches stole attention from the games on this college football Saturday, it was impossible not to notice what was happening to Miami.
In what was the only matchup of this weekend of teams ranked in both the AP Top 25 and the College Football Playoff rankings, No. 20 North Carolina put a historic beating on the No. 9 Hurricanes.
The 62 points the Tar Heels dropped on Miami are the most since 1998, and UNC running backs Michael Carter and Javonte Williams combined for 544 yards rushing, a major college football record for teammates.
Manny Diaz referred to it as a butt-kicking, but was not quite so politely.
“A humiliating performance,” he added.
Miami has spent much of the Diaz’s second season as coach in and around the top 10 of the rankings.
A victory against North Carolina would have all but locked up a New Year’s six bowl bid for the Hurricanes.
This season was looking like a nice bounce back for the program after a mess of a 2019 season that ended with a shutout loss to Louisiana Tech in the Independence Bowl.
The Hurricanes have felt a little fraudulent since getting blown out by Clemson on Oct. 10. Miami wasn’t back, but behind quarterback D’Eriq King the ’Canes were beating the teams they should beat. Progress.
A loss like Saturday’s feels like getting sacked for a 20-yard loss.
Miami fans are well past the point of being reasonable about their once great program, and being a hometown guy is not going to buy Diaz much slack. He’s not going anywhere, but he is also probably looking at heading into his third season still trying to prove himself.
Give credit to North Carolina, of course. That offense is one of the best in the country and both of those running back are likely to be drafted.
The Tar Heels had puzzling losses against Virginia and Florida State earlier this season, but tearing apart the Hurricanes probably opens the door to an Orange Bowl bid as the Atlantic Coast Conference’s representative if both No. 2 Notre Dame and No. 4 Clemson end up in the playoff.
A huge missed opportunity for the Hurricanes, who have managed to make a 9-2 season feel like a disappointment.
Coaching carousel
Kevin Sumlin’s time at Arizona came to an unsurprising end, Butch Jones became a head coach again and Texas gave Tom Herman another year to turnaround the Longhorns.
This elongated regular season has caused the silly season of coaches getting hired and fired to overlap with the last couple weeks of games.
With the early signing period starting Wednesday, there is not a lot time for schools to ponder their next moves or plod through a search.
Sumlin’s fate was sealed Friday night when the Wildcats lost 70-7 to Arizona State. It never worked for the former Texas A&M coach in Tucson, and he leaves with about $7 million in buyout money to add to the $10 million and change he got from A&M.
Expect the Wildcats to look around the West for replacements.
San Jose State’s breakout season seems very well timed for Spartans coach Brent Brennan, a former Arizona grad assistant under Dick Tomey.
Jones was one of three head coaches hired by Group of Five schools Saturday, landing in a solid Sun Belt program after spending three seasons Nick Saban’s reputation rehab for former head coaches at Alabama.
Jones’ time at Tennessee will be best remember for thin skin, corny sayings and lack of player development, but his overall résumé is pretty good.
He replaces Blake Anderson, who left for Utah State. Anderson has done a solid job in Jonesboro over seasons, but it was definitely time for a change personally and professionally. Anderson lost his wife, Wendy, last year after a long bout with cancer.
South Alabama hired promising Indiana defensive coordinator Kane Wommack in a search that seemed to focus on no one but him from the start.
But the biggest news might have been the move not made.
Texas AD Chris Del Conte released a statement “reiterating” that Herman is the coach and saying how much the school was looking forward to the future while disappointed with this season’s results.
Simply put, Texas would be on the hook for more than $20 million to get rid of Herman and his staff and without slam dunk replacement — like, say, Urban Meyer — Longhorns leadership was not spin the wheel on another coach.
It’s hard to blame Texas. Herman is 31-18 with just one Big 12 title game appearances and one victory against Oklahoma.
But to think the next guy will surely do better is wishful thinking.
Look at where Nebraska is three years into Scott Frost’s tenure. Justin Fuente looked like a perfect fit at Virginia Tech and four years later that relationship is tenuous.
There are no sure things, but Herman has actually done better than some of the other coaches who were supposed to be.
AROUND THE COUNTRY: Next season can’t get here fast enough for Georgia fans.
The Bulldogs have looked transformed with J.T. Daniels at quarterback and George Pickens on the receiving end of the former five-star’s passes . ... Ball State won the Mid-American Conference’s West division, but the final play of the game likely gave Cardinals fans heart palpitations and memories of the band being on the field in Stanford-Cal . ... Earlier in the week both Pitt and Boston College announced they would not be going to bowl games, instead allowing their players to reconnect with their families after a long season in COVID-19 protocol.
It feels like a lot of teams are dragging to the finish line. Minnesota was missing 33 players against Nebraska. Vanderbilt had only 18 scholarship players available against Tennessee. Cal was forced to cancel its game at Washington State two hours before kickoff. This season has has been exhausting for everybody involved.