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Jerod Evans named starting QB for Virginia Tech

The Virginia Tech QB job has been a hot mess since Tyrod Taylor left after 2010. This is Justin Fuente’s first year and he has tied the beginning of his era to JUCO Jerod Evans. Evans is a JUCO by way of Trinity Valley Community College. Last season, he completed 62.4% of his passes for […]

ATLANTA, GA – NOVEMBER 12: Linebacker Andrew Motuapuaka #54 of the Virginia Tech Hokies hits Clinton Lynch #49 of the Georgia Tech Yellow Jackets in the second half at Bobby Dodd Stadium on November 12, 2015 in Atlanta, Georgia. Virginia Tech defeated Georgia Tech 23-21. (Photo by Michael Shroyer/Getty Images)

TSS Top 50: No. 35 Virginia Tech Hokies

Virginia Tech Hokies 2015 Record: 7-6 overall, 4-4 ACC (beat Tulsa 55-52 in the Independence Bowl) 1 Burning Question: Are the Hokies a contender in the Coastal this season? Make no mistake about it: Frank Beamer is a tough act to follow. He took over a struggling Hokie program back in 1987 and molded into […]

Willie Taggart and Jeff Brohm step onto the Miami Beach Bowl launching pad

It’s not Cape Canaveral, but Miami is the Florida city where launches of a different sort occur. A year ago, the first Miami Beach Bowl pitted BYU against Memphis. Bronco Mendenhall coached against Justin Fuente, in a wild game with a ridiculously entertaining overtime finish, marred by a messy and far-ranging brawl. Now, Mendenhall and […]

Memphis coach Justin Fuente

Justin Fuente, bad timing, and the need to withhold information

College football is a dirty business. The big munch on the small, who munch on the tiny, who in turn munch on the scraps. That’s how it’s always been and always will be, and that goes triply so when it comes to college football coaches. Virginia Tech announced over the weekend that Memphis coach Justin […]

Virginia Tech: Fuente is the focus, but Foster is the finishing touch

It’s the topic which never gets quite enough attention when coaching carousel situations emerge, and when coaching vacancies are discussed: If the new head coach has a specific point of expertise, how will the program fill the vacancy for the “weak-side” coordinator — the one with expertise on the other side of the ball? If […]

Coaching carousel: match game

Schools need to have their ideal candidates and their backup candidates. Coaches can aspire to pursue certain jobs, but they should in most cases maintain reasonable expectations of what they’re likely to be able to obtain. Some of them should be content to stay where they are. Fans and pundits are busy trying to figure […]

Memphis coach Justin Fuente

5 coaches most likely on the move this winter

This season has been unlike any other in terms of coaching vacancies. We are still three weeks from the end of the regular season, but there are already a dozen coaching vacancies, from the bottom of the Group of Five in North Texas and Louisiana-Monroe, all the way up to one of college football’s most […]

The Carousel: It’s a time machine for FBS coaches

“It’s not a spaceship. It’s a time machine.” Don Draper’s description of “The Carousel” (not the wheel) in the Mad Men season one finale is not just the heart of one of the great moments and speeches in the history of television. It is an accurate depiction of how the college football coaching carousel will enable […]

HOUSTON, TX – SEPTEMBER 05: Houston Cougars take the field against the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagles on September 5, 2015 in Houston, Texas. (Photo by Bob Levey/Getty Images)

Houston, Memphis and the American Dream for the Cougars

The last time Houston had a chance to step to a moment and make a splash on the national stage, it face-planted. It was 2011 and the undefeated Cougars, ranked seventh in the AP poll, hosted Southern Mississippi in the Conference USA title game and got run out of their own building, 49-28. That was […]

Memphis-Houston is a tale of American sprawl

The American is enjoying a very successful college football season. Saturday night, a city known for its urban sprawl will appropriately host the game that might mean more to the AAC than any other in 2015. * Just chew on that last sentence for a bit. There’s a lot to take in. First, Houston is […]

Memphis, shaken and rattled by Navy, learns a November lesson

Earlier in the week, colleague Bart Doan sized up the coming clashes in the American Athletic Conference,  the league poised to grab the New Year’s Six bowl spot in the Group of Five conferences. Naturally, the prospect of a College Football Playoff berth also existed for the Memphis Tigers entering this weekend. They defeated Ole […]

MEMPHIS, TN – OCTOBER 17: Head Coach Justin Fuente of the Memphis Tigers on the sidelines during a game against the Ole Miss Rebels at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on October 17, 2015 in Memphis, Tennessee. The Tigers defeated the Rebels 37-24. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

5 guys who will be tied to every open coaching job

The coaching carousel is about to spin at full speed. The open-job count has reached double figures, and November is only beginning. ‘Tis the season when every loss means the fan base is taking to social media after a few too many cold ones to voice how “disappointed” it is in a program it doen’t […]

MEMPHIS, TN – OCTOBER 17: Head Coach Justin Fuente of the Memphis Tigers on the sidelines during a game against the Ole Miss Rebels at Liberty Bowl Memorial Stadium on October 17, 2015 in Memphis, Tennessee. The Tigers defeated the Rebels 37-24. (Photo by Wesley Hitt/Getty Images)

Justin Fuente’s best choice might be to water his own lawn at Memphis

“You don’t know what you’ve got ’til it’s gone” is one of the most disingenuous axioms routinely spit out by human types. Surely, you knew someone in college that posted it on a Facebook wall in the most passive-aggressive way of announcing relationship problems. People typically do know what they have; they just bet on […]

Whom should South Carolina hire as head coach?

The college football coaching hot seat broke bad this week. Southern California and Maryland fired their head coaches and Steve Spurrier abruptly retired. We’ve already discussed the Maryland and “USC West” openings, so now it’s time to turn our attention to the USC of the East. TSS associate editors Bart Doan and Terry Johnson join […]

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