Unfortunately this week Mike and I don’t have time to record a podcast, which of course, coincides with a crazy week in the sport. So much is happening around college football we had to get you something. So in this piece I’ll have some thoughts on Notre Dame, James Franklin and Penn State, and much much more. Now let’s dive into the college football world!

Notre Dame

Things feel about as good as they can right now in South Bend considering how the season started. Notre Dame has put their 0-2 start behind them with a quartet of blowout wins over Purdue, Arkansas, Boise State, and NC State. Each week aspects of this team have improved, especially the defense that struggled so mightily early on. Give Chris Ash credit, he has answered his critics, including Mike and I, with his unit figuring it out. The high water mark of this stretch was Saturday’s 36-7 win over the Wolfpack, one where the defense forced four turnovers and had four sacks.

They have done enough work to get back on track and now comes the real moment of truth, a home game Saturday night against rival USC. It’s a ranked matchup as number 13 ND hosts the newly rank Trojans, fresh off a blowout win over Michigan. Last season the Irish defense struggled to stop Jaden Maiava and the SC offense, a scary thought considering last year’s unit was better than this one. The Trojans have sneaky good run game and elite receivers in Makai Lemon and Ja’Kobi Lane, so this will be a challenge, as the Irish may find themselves in another shootout.

The good news is that if they find themselves in said shootout, the Irish have the offense to win it. After a slow week one, this unit has been pretty much unstoppable. CJ Carr is locked in, the running game is elite, and the receivers are good for the first time in years. It’s definitely the most exciting offense since 2015 Dishone Kizer and Will Fuller, and if it can keep it up we’ll hit 2006 territory. Carr has been the revelation fans hoped he would be, playing the QB position the best anyone has since Brady Quinn, and it has unlocked all manner of potential for the Irish. It’s no longer a grind to get points, and that makes all the difference, as they effortlessly put 36 on the board against NC State. Honestly the only thing has stopped them so far is bad play calling in fourth and short situations. Clean that up and the numbers really get crooked.

As I said earlier this game is everything to Notre Dame, they are knocking on the door for a playoff spot, at 13 in the top 25. Add a win over a ranked SC to their resume alongside the two best losses in America and it will be hard to keep them out of the playoff at year’s end. You may have a problem with that last sentence, but considering last years National Champion had two losses, one of which to a mediocre Michigan team, and didn’t even play on its conference title game, it’s the truth. For now it’s one week at a time for the Irish, and I think they will win this week. Gimme the Irish 42-27 at home! Now onto some of our other top stories!

Unhappy Valley

What a difference three weeks makes in college football. Three weeks ago Penn State was at home, in overtime against Oregon with a chance to win a critical game for Big Ten supremacy. But they lost that contest and then went west where they shockingly lost to UCLA, only to follow that up with a loss at home to Northwestern 22-21. Further adding to the misery was Drew Allar’s season ending injury. With the team at 3-3 and their National Championship hopes in ruins, the administration at Penn State relieved James Franklin of head coach his duties.

The firing ends Franklin’s 12 year run at State College, a stretch in which he posted a 104-45 record, including a Big Ten title in 2016 and a Rose Bowl win in 2022. By most measures Franklin had one of the most wildly successful tenures of any coach in America, yet this era will go down as a failure to Penn State. Franklins inability to have an explosive offense and win critical games against marquee teams was what held them back from title. Who knows what’s next for Franklin, as he could sit on his 58 million dollar buyout money and wait for a gig on TV or go right back in to coaching. What’s even more interesting is where does Penn State go from here. Let’s talk candidates, and for the record yes perhaps some current staff members could get the gig, but I expect an outside hire, and yes I’m including a wild card for the exercise.

• Kenny Dillingham: It would take a big time job to pry Coach Kenny from the valley of the Sun, but Penn State is exactly that job. Youthful energy, good recruiting chops, great offensive instincts, all things healthy for a frustrated fan base. He’d be at the top of my wishlist.
• Brent Key: There are miracle workers and then there is coach Key at Georgia Tech. The former Saban assistant and o-line coach actually aligns quite well with States current identity. Smash mouth football was employed to championship winning affect in Ann Arbor…why not State College?
• Clark Lea: Speaking of miracle workers, Clark Lea has done the best coaching job at Vandy since…James Franklin. Could Penn State go back to the well? Maybe. Lea much like Key matches up well stylistically with the Nittany Lions who have prided themselves on a ferocious D. The former ND DC succeeded in a similar part of the country helping recruit in South Bend and could ply his trade here.
• Curt Cignetti: The only downside with Cignetti is that at 64 years old, how long would we realistically have the job? He’s done amazing things with the Hoosiers, and perhaps hasn’t even hit his ceiling yet. If he changed jobs he could assemble quite the roster on the fly in Happy Valley to coach up for a playoff run.
• Matt Rhule: This seems to the best the most frequently linked name so far. The former Nittany Lion linebacker has had a strong coaching career so far, and currently has Nebraska at 5-1 and in the top 25. I wouldn’t be surprised to see him do well if he got the gig, but this does lack some of the juice other candidates have.
• Matt Campbell: If you go backk about 4/5 years ago, Campbell was THE guy in coaching . That has since been an up and down story but Campbell’s stock at the moment is high once again. It has felt like he wouldn’t leave Iowa State unless the right job came along…this may be it.
• Lance Leipold: Kansas Head Coach Lance Leipold has become one of more respected names in coaching in recent years. He’s creative and brings offensive energy to a program that can’t score big. This could be his chance to land a big job.
• Alex Golesh: Golesh is a front runner for various Coaching awards for his work at USF. He’s become an impressive program builder and he could mold something special in Happy Valley if given the chance.
• Urban Meyer: Hear me out here…likely? No. Impossible? Also no. Consider this, despite his OSU allegiances, Urb considering the Michigan State gig two years ago and all great coaches never lose the itch to work. At the very least, Meyer is worth a phone call to the Fox Sports headquarters.

Top 25

I wanted to include some thoughts here before making picks on the new Top 25. I know the poll feels like it’s lost almost all value, but I do find it interesting to see where teams stand. There are some themes that stand out when you first take a look.

1. Unlikely Teams at The Top: Indiana, Texas A&M, Ole Miss, and Texas Tech are all somewhat unexpectedly riding high. The Hoosiers have their marquee win in Eugene, A&M’s electric offense is doing the job, The Rebels have yet another strong roster and the Red Raiders spent their money well. I’m excited to see who’s left when the final playoff poll comes out.
2. Great Stories in the Mix: Georgia Tech, BYU, Vanderbilt, Virginia, USF, Memphis and Cincinnati comprise some of the most impressive stories right now. Tech and UVA will have a chance to play for an ACC Title while BYU has overcome program turmoil, while Vandy, Memphis and Cincy are enjoying major turn arounds. Easy teams to root for this year.
3. Alive and Kicking: USC, Notre Dame, Nebraska, Utah, and Texas all got their seasons back on track this week. Their current places in the poll have them all thinking about second half runs to the playoff. It’s in their hands and if they take care of business a couple of them will need their dancing shoes.

Picks

Now for picks for this week, mine are highlighted the bold type. Good luck and god speed in this area folks, games are almost impossible to figure out right now.

USC @ Notre Dame

LSU @ Vanderbilt

Ole Miss @ Georgia

Tennessee @ Alabama

Utah @ BYU

Texas Tech @ Arizona State

Nebraska @ Minnesota

On twitter you can find Mike @Mike_Sheerin, Tyler @TMon_19 and Sean @SeanMartinNFL. Subscribe to the site by hitting the follow button in the bottom right corner and entering your email address. Check out our Instagram feed @thebroadwaybreakdownsports for special gameday and promotional content. Our podcasts are available on Spotify. Visit the Rangers Ed Shop by clicking the link on our homepage. Check out our mailbag page to join the conversation here on the site and on our partners show, The Rangers Ed Podcast! We’ll be back with more soon