College football’s Week 1 featured a wave of new coaches making debuts with their programs after a tumultuous offseason. The SEC alone flipped six coaches, causing chaos across the Group of Six as programs scrambled to backfill.
New coaches headlined the highest-profile games of the weekend, as LSU’s Lane Kiffin got out to a quick start and Michigan’s Kyle Whittingham faltered. In other cases, coaches got simple starts to flex their muscles against overmatched FCS opponents.
The list includes two coaches promoted from interim status who coached a handful of games last season: Ole Miss’s Pete Golding and Kent State’s Mark Carney. But still, going through a full offseason and taking over is a new complication. We also included a handful of coaches who coached multiple games with seasons starting in Week 0. We’ll happily take additional data points.
Here’s how we grade every first-year coach’s performance in Week 1.
Lane Kiffin, LSU
What is there to say? Kiffin’s Tigers were magnificent in his Baton Rouge debut, obliterating Clemson 51-10. LSU won every phase of the game in spades, but the running game — led by QB Sam Leavitt and RB Dilin Jones — stood apart. Honestly, the only hesitation about this performance is whether Clemson deserves more blame than LSU deserves credit. For one week, Kiffin was worth every penny and every bit of headache. Grade: A+
Kyle Whittingham, Michigan
Even putting aside the controversial finish, Michigan was absolutely awful in Whittingham’s first game. The Wolverines mustered only 229 yards and six points against Western Michigan before the Hail Mary, and the defense struggled to get off the field. Frankly, the Wolverines that showed up against WMU would miss a bowl game — and that’s before you consider the four games against AP top 10 opponents ahead. Grade: F
Bob Chesney, UCLA
Chesney has deservedly gotten plenty of plaudits over the offseason, and the Bruins came out guns blazing in a 45-24 win over rival California. In the game’s brightest moments, it was UCLA ready to execute and play clean, situational football. The diversified running game gave the Golden Bears fits, headlined by a cool 8.7 yards per carry. Early returns were absolutely sensational. Grade: A
Eric Morris, Oklahoma State
Expectations were high for the Cowboys heading into Morris’s first season after importing the core of his North Texas 11-win roster. Instead, Oklahoma State delivered what Morris called one of the worst offensive performances he’s ever seen. The Pokes mustered only 10 points in a 24-10 loss to Tulsa. One year ago, losing to the Golden Hurricane sent Mike Gundy packing. High-profile quarterback Drew Mestemaker didn’t clear 100 yards passing until the third quarter. The honeymoon is already over in Stillwater. Grade: F
Pete Golding, Ole Miss
Golding had the advantage of coaching through the College Football Playoff last season, but this was his first game with a full offseason of work. Frankly, coaching returns were fairly inconsistent during a 41-38 win over No. 24 Louisville. The Rebels shut down UL star running back Isaac Brown, but the defense struggled against first-time starting quarterback Lincoln Kienholz. Trinidad Chambliss showed his mettle as a potential Heisman winner, but it simply shouldn’t take heroics every week. Grade: C
James Franklin, Virginia Tech
Nothing much was asked of Virginia Tech during a 73-3 flattening of VMI, but holding an option team to -4 yards rushing on 43 carries is pretty darn impressive. It was nice to see both quarterbacks — Ethan Grunkemeyer and Bryce Baker — combine to complete 27 of 32 passes, but we won’t know what it means until potentially into October with a light schedule. Grade: B
Jon Sumrall, Florida
Florida looked like the offense that was promised in a thrilling 66-21 win against FAU. The hire of Buster Faulkner at offensive coordinator looked like a brilliant move as Florida stacked up 624 yards of offense, including 160 yards and three touchdowns from stud running back Jadan Baugh. The Gators lose a few points for allowing 21 points and 276 passing yards to Caden Veltkamp, but the Owls are solid offensively. Grade: B+
Will Stein, Kentucky
Beating down FCS power Youngstown State was nice, but it was the offensive dominance that made fans excited. Quarterback Kenny Minchey was sensational with 300 yards and four touchdowns, and the team rushed for 200 yards and 6.0 yards per carry. The real test of Kentucky’s growth will come at home against No. 13 Alabama on Saturday. If the Wildcats pull a stunning upset, Stein will be the new hottest coach in college football. Grade: A
Alex Golesh, Auburn
Golesh is one of the tougher grades on the board. The Tigers held on to beat Baylor 27-24 and got a few magical plays at the end. On one hand, the Tigers found ways to make plays in a close game, including a stop at the 6-inch line from safety Eric Winters. On the other hand, quarterback Byrum Brown looked lackluster against a Power Four opponent, the offensive line was not ready for primetime and the Bears outplayed them in most phases. Surviving is good enough for now, but the Tigers have a lot of work to do. Grade: C+
Matt Campbell, Penn State
Not much to write home about in a 45-0 win over a solid Marshall squad from the MAC, which is a good thing. A wave of former Iowa State players led the way, including four touchdowns from quarterback Rocco Becht and touchdowns from Ben Brahmer and Brett Eskildsen. Of course, first-year defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn is going to have a lot of fun with playmakers like Tony Rojas and Caleb Bacon. Grade: B+
Ryan Silverfield, Arkansas
The Razorbacks waited nearly a full quarter to finally get on the board during a 31-14 win over North Alabama, and then waited to pull away. Arkansas tripled UNA in yardage, but three turnovers meant this game was in doubt longer than it should have been. Arkansas won’t have many shots to party in the stands — especially with No. 21 Utah and four top-11 opponents on the schedule. Unfortunately, the Hogs made this one difficult. Grade: C-
Pat Fitzgerald, Michigan State
The Spartans paid an awful lot of money for Jonathan Smith to go away, and the investment looked a little shaky in Fitzgerald’s first game. The offense looked like the same messy unit that defined his later years at Northwestern, and Toledo rattled off a 71-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to take a late lead. Survival is enough for now, but there’s not much runway with No. 4 Notre Dame in Week 3. Grade: C
Tosh Lupoi, California
Lupoi was an exciting hire for Cal, and there were reasons for optimism in his first outing against UCLA. Of course, Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is a star and nearly led the Golden Bears back for a stunning upset. Overall, Lupoi’s defense played fine until the final quarter. Running back Adam Mohammed is a dude. Losing to that team doesn’t feel good, though. Grade: B-
Tavita Pritchard, Stanford
Pritchard knew he was taking over a full-scale rebuild, and the first two games have been mostly that. Credit to the Cardinal for outlasting Hawaii’s dynamic offense to get an impressive victory, but a 45-6 loss to Miami shows just how far this program has to go. Outside of a home game against Elon, it could be losses from here on out. Grade: C