CFB Sunday Summary; Let the Chaos Begin

It was only week three, but we have college football chaos already…and let’s face it, that is part of what makes this game more fun than anything else. There are people and teams who rise through the chaos, and sadly, there are those who don’t survive the chaos. Let’s get to the Sunday Summary to try to make sense of some of the chaos.

We’re Not Saying Anything, But We’re Just Sayin’

UCLA is the center of the quarterback storylines, and for all the wrong reasons. Dante Moore, Joey Aguilar, and Nico Iamaleava all have one thing in common. They know how to get to the UCLA practice fields.

Moore was the highest-rated recruit in the Chip Kelly era. He was committed to Oregon but flipped to UCLA just before signing day in 2022. He was a backup for the Bruins in 2023. But Kelly was trying to shove a round peg (a drop-back passer) into a square hole (his alleged spread offense). People from Moore’s inner circle were DM’ing Last Word that the quarterback was essentially being shoved out the door at UCLA. He went back to Oregon and was the back-up to Dillon Gabriel. In 2025, it is Moore’s offense.

Iamaleava, of course, made headlines in the Spring with his departure from Tennessee to go back home to Los Angeles and play for UCLA. He took an NIL pay cut to do it, but being home was a major incentive for him.

Aguilar was the UCLA quarterback in the Spring, having transferred from Appalachian State for one final season. Once Iamaleava moved west, Aguilar moved out. He replaced Nico at Tennessee.

How Did That Work Out?

So how is it working out? Moore is a 78% passer with 657 yards, seven touchdowns, and one interception for the 3-0 Ducks, who are a top-10 team.

Aguilar has thrown for 906 yards, nine touchdowns, and two interceptions for the 2—1 Tennessee Volunteers. He had a decent game yesterday in the loss to Georgia.

And Iamaleava? He has completed 64% of his passes and thrown for 608 yards in three games. But he has only three touchdowns to go with three interceptions for an 0-3 UCLA team with an offense that is awful.

The Dots Don’t Connect, But…

We do have to add in that Moore and Aguilar are playing for teams that have a high level of talent around the quarterback, and the players are well-coached. Iamaleava’s offensive line at UCLA is objectively in the bottom half of the Big 10, and the team is lacking in fundamentals. Everyone’s decisions come with consequences.

Speaking of Decisions

We never have and never will advocate for the dismissal of a coach. We leave that to blog sites. But in being analysts and reporters of the sport, some things are clear, and one of those is that some coaches are not likely to still be on the sidelines at the end of the season.

Brent Pry at Virginia Tech is a likeable guy, and his passion for his school is clear any time you talk with him. But the Hokies just took a beatdown at home from Old Dominion. Pry is 0-3 in his fourth year, 16-24 overall, with just one winning season. What defines the program right now is that the Hokies are not getting better the longer he stays. In fact, they may be getting worse.

Luke Fickell is tap dancing at Wisconsin. He was the big name in the coaching candidate pool when he went to Madison from the University of Cincinnati after the 2022 season. He is 15-14 at Wisconsin, a program that has a yearly identity crisis. And he just took a 24-point beating at the hands of Alabama Saturday. He already cast off his close friend Phil Longo as offensive coordinator last year. So the excuses become fewer. The fan base is restless.

Mike Gundy caught a break yesterday because Oklahoma State did not play, so no one noticed anything he said or did.

And Then There Is This

DeShaun Foster is a legend as a player at UCLA. But the sharks are circling his era as head coach. After spending seven seasons as the running back coach, he was named the head coach last February when Chip Kelly bolted for Ohio State just weeks before Spring camp was to start. There are many stories out there as to how Foster got the job, and most of them are incorrect.

On February 2^nd of last year, while Kelly was interviewing for other jobs, Foster was told by athletic director Martin Jarmond that he would not be a candidate for the head coaching job. Foster accepted the running backs coaching job with the Las Vegas Raiders. Then Kelly left for OSU, UCLA was never going to get a big-name coach from another school weeks before Spring camp, and the players rallied around the idea of Foster. Jarmond relented and gave him the job. It has not gone well. Foster is 5-10 in his young head coaching life. And the Bruins are 0-3, having just taken a beatdown at home from New Mexico. The text messages and phone calls with sources are fast-paced, and the future is iffy at best for Foster.

More on UCLA

It historically is a tough place for sports. For decades, there have been school administrators who don’t pay much attention to athletics. As of January, there is a new chancellor. Julio Frenk came to UCLA from the University of Miami with an understanding of how a good athletic department can impact a school. UCLA still wins a lot in other sports. But they are getting all that money from the Big 10 for success in football and basketball, and one of those two is not living up to it.

The obvious change would be at the athletic director position for someone more than a social media whiz. And the one that many of “us” advocated for years ago is still not far up the road in the Central Valley. Terry Tumey did a big-time job at Fresno State during his tenure there. He would probably walk down the freeway from Fresno to take over at his alma mater.

What Coaches Do With Their Time Off

Wake Forest head coach Jake Dickert took to Twitter/X for some fun stuff about his Saturday. The Demon Deacons played on Thursday, so Dickert had his Saturday free to watch his son play in his youth football league game.

But the Deacs had just come off a meltdown loss to North Carolina State Thursday night in a game where they managed only 44 yards of offense in the entire second half. With social media being as polite and gracious as it is, you can imagine the responses to Dickert’s post. “Stay away from those kids! Give them a chance to compete in the 2nd half,” said one response. “These players will probably play better in the second half than the Deacs did Thursday.”

Missed The Game

By being at his kid’s game, Dickert missed the Georgia Tech win over Clemson. Considering Wake just got beat by an NC State offense that has very good outside speed, it is just as well. He will have plenty of time in the upcoming bye week to watch film and be horrified by thinking about that Yellowjackets outside speed against his defense that could not keep containment in its NC State loss.

Reconsidering

Can we now take our foot off the Arch Manning gas pedal, please? He is not going to show up on the Last Word Heisman polling this week, (at least he had better not). He was 11 of 25 passing yesterday in the win over UTEP. He also had one touchdown and one interception, and got booed by the Longhorns fans. Go figure. He is good. He is not great. That was always the case. He has room to grow if Steve Sarkisian were to use a real offensive coordinator.

We don’t know if we can say the same for Florida’s DJ Lagway. His athleticism created exciting flashes of potential last year and into this season. But his decision-making in hot moments is terrifying. When you throw five interceptions in one game (Saturday against LSU), it is not even worth going through the rest of your stats.

And then there is the Ole Miss quarterback. No, not Austin Simmons. He was suited up and tried to go on Saturday after being injured last week. But he was physically not ready. Enter Trinidad Chamberlain (we are big fans of the name), who was playing at DII Ferris State last season. Chamberlain’s night? He was 21 of 29 passing for 353 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for 62 yards and two touchdowns in the Ole Miss win over Arkansas. Not bad for a backup.

Missing

Has anyone seen Clemson’s offense? The prohibitive favorite to win the ACC has two losses already and is averaging only 319 yards of offense per game.

Visible

We had not intended to become overly style-conscious when it comes to football gear. However, schools and one-off helmets are providing us with a wealth of material to work with. This is what Boise State wore this week.