CFB DeptHITS: VoluMonday, October 21
On Monday mornings, we take a look at the big news and volume changes we saw from week seven to eight and detail them out by offensive unit. Today, though, we'll start with some coach firings...
|||||| COACH FIRINGS
Let’s start with the first moves in the coaching carousel that is now fully underway with one head coach and two offensive coordinators being shown the door…
Southern Miss ::: Head Coach Will Hall has been fired. Long-time staffer and Associate Head Coach Reed Stringer will take over the program as interim.
Utah ::: OC Andy Ludwig resigned following the week eight TCU loss and gives way to Mike Bajakian, who will take over as OC for the remainder of the season. Bajakian has experience stemming from time at Northwestern and will essentially be auditioning for the full-time gig going forward.
Oklahoma ::: The Sooners have fired first-year Offensive Coordinator Seth Littrell. He was a former head coach at North Texas and an alum of OU. The putrid offense will continue under Joe Jon Finley's leadership the rest of the 2024 season.
|||||| QUARTERBACK
Florida Atlantic ::: QB Cam Fancher is back on the injury list as "questionable" but ended up getting the start for the Owls. He struggled to the tune of a 9/19 passing for just 96 yards. He did make some things happen with his legs, running for 56 yards and a couple of scores.
Temple ::: QB Evan Simon returned to health and got the starting nod against Tulsa and performed admirably, going 30/46 for 297 yards, 1 TD and 1 INT in the 20-10 win.
Connecticut ::: QB Nick Evers made his return to the field after shaking off some concussion woes in recent weeks. He played the full game, going 26/43 for 264 yards, 2 TD, 1 INT in a tough 23-20 loss to Wake Forest.
Bowling Green ::: QB Connor Bazelak started week eight after there was some question about his status after a week seven that included a few big hits. He carved up the Kent State secondary, going 23/27 for 313 yards, 2 TD and 0 INT.
Charlotte ::: QB Max Brown made his return to the field week eight against Navy. He struggled, including throwing three interceptions in the blowout loss to the Midshipmen.
In-Game Injuries to Track :::
Central Michigan ::: QB Bert Emanuel Jr. made his debut week 8 but suffered a re-injury in-game; tracking for severity.
Houston ::: QB Zeon Chriss was forced to leave the week eight game early after a hamstring injury.
Oklahoma State ::: QB Garret Rangel suffered a collarbone injury in week eight and it is expected to keep him "out a while".
Northwestern ::: QB Jack Lausch suffered a potential lasting injury suffered in week eight, tracking for severity.
Indiana ::: QB Kurtis Rourke suffered a hand injury in the week eight game; expected to miss at least week nine and possibly longer.
Missouri ::: QB Brady Cook suffered an ankle injury in week eight; he went to the hospital and ended up returning and leading the Tigers to victory over Auburn.
Tulane ::: QB Darian Mensah was injured in the week eight game. He was able to return, but we'll track for potential lingering effects.
West Virginia ::: QB Garrett Greene was hurt and forced to leave week eight game; tracking for severity.
|||||| RUNNING BACK
Missouri ::: RB Nate Noel was knocked out of the game with lower-body injury in week eight but returned to the game for the Tigers against Auburn. He appears to have overcome the issue, but we're tracking as it could linger.
Northern Illinois ::: RB Antario Brown returned to the tune of 13 carries for 53 yards. He took a secondary role to Gavin Williams, who has been starting in his absence. Williams took 16 carries for 78 yards in the 13-6 loss to Toledo.
Old Dominion ::: RB Aaron Young returned for the Monarchs in week eight. He took nine nine totes for 53 yards against Texas State. He appears to remain the top running back, but not the top running option as that would be QB Colton Joseph (16-111-3 TD).
Stanford ::: RB Micah Ford returned to the field for week eight. He took 13 carries and didn't find much running room against the SMU Mustangs, garnering just 31 yards. The good news is that he is healthy and will remain the top back in the Cardinal backfield.
Colorado State ::: RB Justin Marshall made his return to the field for week eight in his backup role for the Rams. He took six carries for just 15 yards in the 21-13 win over Air Force.
Western Michigan ::: RB Jalen Buckley was limited last week in his return but did manage to get in 13 carries for the Broncos against Buffalo in week eight. He was overshadowed by surging teammate Jaden Nixon, who had 112 yards and three touchdowns in the 48-41 win.
Kentucky ::: RB DeaMonte "Chip" Trayanum made his Wildcats debut, getting seven carries for 26 yards. He is going to likely take a back seat to Demie Sumo-Karngbaye in the pecking order for the time being.
Northwestern ::: RB Cam Porter returned to the field and got his 17 carries for 48 yards against a stout Wisconsin defense in a 23-3 loss to the Badgers.
Baylor ::: RB Richard Reese returned to the field in week eight; but received just six carries in a high-scoring affair against Texas Tech.
In-Game Injuries to Track :::
West Virginia RB Jahiem White was injured in week eight game and did not return. We’ll track this one closely.
Arkansas RB Ja'Quinden Jackson limped to the locker room during week eight game as his injury woes continue to plague him this season.
Oklahoma State RB Ollie Gordon II’s injuries are lingering as he was banged up and was helped off the field again in week eight.
Rutgers RB Kyle Monangai was down and injured during week eight. His injuries continue to linger around and will be tracked as he’s a major part of this offense.
|||||| WIDE RECEIVER
Hawaii ::: WRs Pofele Ashlock and Dekel Crowdus were announced "out" pre-game week eight rather unexpectedly and left the Hawaii offense missing two weapons. Both will remain questionable until we hear more of the severity of these issues.
Temple ::: WR Dante Wright only saw action on special teams, fair catching punts. He must have an injury that we should be tracking.
Ball State ::: WR Justin Bowick made his debut for the Cardinals this week against Vanderbilt. He got five looks, hauling in two of them for 33 yards. He'll be a top three member of the wide receiver group going forward.
Virginia ::: WR Chris Tyree returned to action for the Cavs in week eight against Clemson. He caught four passes (on five targets) for just 24 yards.
UTSA ::: WR Willie McCoy returned to action week eight. He garnered 7 targets, nabbing just two of them for 36 yards. He'll remain a top option in the passing attack with other injuries haunting this Roadrunners wide receiver room.
Western Michigan ::: WR Anthony Sambucci missed one week and returned for the Broncos in week eight. He remains the #2 option in the passing attack. He caught all three targets for 33 yards in week eight as he works back in to the mix.
Northern Illinois ::: WR Trayvon Rudolph missed the last two weeks for the Huskies, but returned to the field for week eight. He managed nine targets and five catches for 45 yards.
LSU ::: As expected, WR CJ Daniels made it back for LSU in week eight. He received ten targets, catching seven passes for 86 yards.
Wisconsin ::: WR Will Pauling returned to the field for the game against Northwestern and returned to his spot as the top pass catcher for the Badgers, grabbing five passes for 51 yards.
|||||| TIGHT END
North Texas ::: TE Oscar Hammond was deemed a 'game-time' decision just prior to week eight kickoff. He was not able to go and will remain questionable for week nine against Tulane.
Tulane ::: TE Alex Bauman did not make his return after leaving back in week six on a cart. X-rays did not reveal any fractures and it is believed to be a low-ankle sprain. He will remain questionable but likely to return at some point this season.
Oregon ::: TE Terrance Ferguson missed the Ducks week eight game with an appendectomy procedure prior to the start of the game. We'll track for the length of time he may miss going forward.
East Carolina ::: TE Casey Kelly sat out week eight. No news on the nature of the issue keeping him out, but we saw more of Tyler Savage and will likely continue to as long as Kelly remains sidelined.
Arizona ::: TE Keyan Burnett missed week eight. There was no news of his absence and nothing afterwards that indicates a long-term injury. We'll move him to questionable moving forward.
USC ::: TE Lake McRee made it back for week eight against Rutgers. He caught 4-of-5 targets for 35 yards in the contest. He'll get back to his near 12% target share going forward assuming he can stay healthy.
|||||| OFFENSIVE LINE
Eastern Michigan ::: The return of C Broderick Roman caused a shake-up on this offensive line. Mickey Rewolinski moved out to LT while Carson Lee, who had been holding down center, took over at LG. Josh Anderson moved from RT to RG and that freed up a spot for Blake Bustard to continue his starting role. This improved the line greatly.
Wyoming ::: RG Jack Walsh returned, missing just one game for the Cowboys. He is a solid presence and forms a solid duo on the right side with Caden Barnett. LG Wes King also made his return to the starting lineup and this group is getting healther (and better).
UCF ::: C Kaden Kitler missed just one game as he returned to the field for the Knights. This is an important piece of this offensive line.
Rice ::: LG John Long returned to the field for the Owls in week eight and took a spot as the starting left guard. That brings some more stability and depth to this group. Weston Kropp moves to the backup role and will spend time spelling all around the interior of the line.
Oklahoma State ::: RT Jake Springfield made his return to the Cowboys offensive line after missing games since week three.
New Mexico State ::: LT Shiyazh Pete make his season debut for the Aggies. He is a big upgrade over the fill-in Shamarr Jackson at that spot and brings some stability to a rough group in front of an unsurprisingly banged-up group of quarterbacks.
Miami (FL) ::: LT Jalen Rivers did make his expected return to the offensive line for the 'Canes against Louisville in week eight. He played 3/4 snaps with Markel Bell playing the other fourth and is working his way back in as the bookend of a really good and healthy front line.
Nevada ::: OL Spencer Lovell made his return to the field for week eight. He looks to be splitting time with Josh Grabowski, who is playing full-time between the two guard spots for the Wolfpack.
Nebraska ::: LT Micah Mazzccua made his return to the offensive line for the Cornhuskers in week eight. He split time with Gunnar Gottula.
In-Game Injuries to Track :::
Southern Miss OL Greg Nunnery weent down and helped off the field in week eight. Did not look good.
Arizona OL Rhino Tapa'atoutai was hurt in week eight game; could be a re-injury from previous issue.
Texas A&M OL Chase Bisontis injured his "lower leg" in week eight; questionable going forward.
West Virginia OL Wyatt Milum injured in week eight game; did not return.
Injuries are piling up and we are keeping up with all of them. Be sure to check out our full-on “Injury & Status” tracker over at the site for all the updated injuries. We’ll be announcing a new feature later today that directly relates…
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