Buyout season arrived early this year.
Week 3 college football preview: Nebraska’s costly Scott Frost mistake
Frost will receive a buyout of more than $15 million to not coach the Cornhuskers after Saturday’s 45-42 loss to Georgia Southern dropped the former Nebraska star to 16-31 at his alma mater. Had Nebraska waited until October to make a change, the buyout would have been cut in half in accordance with a contract amendment Frost signed late last year.
Athletic director Trev Alberts told reporters the school owed something else to fans and current players as an explanation for eating the extra cost, though there’s a strong case to be made that at least for fans, the roughly $8 million would be better spent on the next staff rather than trying to wring value from a team that’s 1-2, has No. 6 Oklahoma coming to town Saturday and has a backloaded Big Ten schedule.
It’s worth remembering that just about every AD has someone to answer to in a university hierarchy, and the hiring and firing of one of the most visible and well-compensated figures on any campus will probably require the input from the people at the top of the org chart. And sometimes those people offer their input before it is solicited.
Regardless, Nebraska is out eight figures and appears on its way to a sixth consecutive losing season. In an odd way, it should make the Cornhuskers’ gig especially appealing. Get the once-proud program back on track, and a coach is a hero. Produce more of the same, and there’s a good chance those pesky buyout terms won’t prevent Nebraska from giving another unsuccessful coach a windfall to go away.
A salute to Kansas
The only power conference team with a longer bowl drought than Nebraska is Kansas, which hasn’t reached the postseason since 2008. The Jayhawks have been a frequent punching bag (for opponents and media alike) in the decade-plus since, and for good cause.
So when Kansas does something good — and it goes beyond the hilarity of the Jayhawks taking down Texas, like they did last year — it’s worth mentioning. Lance Leipold’s team is off to a 2-0 start after upending West Virginia, 55-42, in overtime and won its Big 12 opener for the first time since 2009.
(How does a team win by 13 in overtime? Return an interception for a touchdown like Cobee Bryant did on the game’s final play. Bryant could have sealed the victory simply by taking a knee, but his exuberance is plenty understandable).
Coupled with a 56-10 drubbing of Tennessee Tech in their opener, it was the first time Kansas hung half-a-hundred on consecutive opponents since 2007, when it went 12-1 and won the Orange Bowl.
A single game doesn’t guarantee anything but does suggest progress under Leipold, who won six Division III titles at Wisconsin-Whitewater and then guided Buffalo to three consecutive bowl berths before replacing the fired Les Miles in Lawrence in the spring of 2021. A victory Saturday at Houston would put Kansas halfway to bowl eligibility.
The Jayhawks have plenty to work on, but they legitimately appear to be on the right track. Finally.
Five teams with the most at stake
1. Texas A&M. Offseason champion Jimbo Fisher and the No. 24 Aggies are coming off a 17-14 loss at home to Appalachian State in a game that prompted a lot of questions. Some aren’t going to get satisfactory answers, such as why did Texas A&M pay $1.5 million to App State to come to College Station when it could have gotten a worse program for similar money. Others — such as whether there’s any juice to the Aggies’ sluggish offense — will be posed again if A&M loses at home to No. 13 Miami.
2. Auburn. The dysfunction surrounding the Tigers’ program is legendary in the worst of ways, and was on full display when various people tied to Auburn attempted to oust coach Bryan Harsin after one season. He managed to survive, so it appears if there is going to be a change on the Plains, it will come the old-fashioned way: By too much losing. Last week’s 24-16 defeat of San José State wasn’t overly impressive, and a loss to No. 22 Penn State at home would only encourage more behind-the scenes shenanigans.
3. Miami. The Hurricanes (2-0) ripped Bethune-Cookman and then shook off a slow start to handle Southern Mississippi, meaning their trip to Texas A&M is a bellwether game. It might have possessed more cachet had the Aggies started 2-0, but no matter. This is Miami’s first big test under Mario Cristobal.
4a. BYU and 4b. Oregon. A curious game out west might just be among the best of the week. The No. 12 Cougars took down Baylor in two overtimes, and will try to pick off another touted Power Five foe in this trip to Eugene. For No. 25 Oregon, it’s a chance to atone for getting demolished by Georgia in its opener. A loss effectively knocks the Ducks out of the playoff chase before the autumnal equinox, which is early even by Pac-12 standards.
5. North Carolina State. The No. 16 Wolfpack survived a trip to East Carolina and then pummeled Charleston Southern like it was supposed to, and now quarterback Devin Leary and Co. get a visit from a Texas Tech bunch feeling good about itself after defeating Houston. Hopes were high in Raleigh heading into the season, and the trip to Clemson in two weeks looks like a prove-it game. It won’t matter as much if N.C. State doesn’t hold serve at home against the Red Raiders.
Heisman Watch
A weekly look at the race for college football’s favorite stiff-arming statue.
1. QB Bryce Young, Alabama (408 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs passing; 138 yards, 1 TD rushing). Wasn’t super-efficient in a tight victory over Texas, but he did drive the Crimson Tide into range to make a late field goal to escape Austin with an unblemished record. (Last week: 1)
2. QB C.J. Stroud, Ohio State (574 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs passing). It was an as-expected Week 2 for Stroud, who threw for 351 yards and four touchdowns against Arkansas State as the Buckeyes cruised. (LW: 2)
3. QB Caleb Williams, Southern California (590 yards, 6 TDs, 0 INTs passing; 72 yards rushing). The sophomore has completed 79.6 percent of his passes in comfortable defeats of Rice and Stanford. Pretty good. (LW: 3)
4. RB Chase Brown, Illinois (496 yards, 2 TDs rushing; 5 receptions, 25 yards, 1 TD receiving). Brown has averaged 25 carries during the Illini’s 2-1 start and leads the country in rushing yards. His usage coupled with being an early threat to flirt with 2,000 yards on the ground warrants a nod at this stage. (LW: Not ranked)
5. QB Stetson Bennett IV, Georgia (668 yards, 3 TDs, 0 INTs passing). Posted a 300-yard day while accounting for two TDs (one rushing, one passing) against Samford. It’s fair to say that game wasn’t going to make or break Bennett’s Heisman campaign. (LW: 5)
6. WR Jordan Addison, Southern California (12 catches, 226 yards, 4 TDs receiving). Last year’s Biletnikoff Award winner at Pitt, Addison has settled in nicely with the Trojans and is clearly new teammate Caleb Williams’s favorite target in the early going. (LW: NR)
Source: WP
