USC's Lincoln Riley among four head coaches in new spots facing tricky Week 2 tests
Every 2022 coach in a new spot — from those in the Power 5, to the Group of 5, to Jim Mora and the Independent UConn Huskies — have at least one game under the belts.
Some fared quite nicely in their debuts, while others would like a mulligan. Then there’s LSU’s Brian Kelly.
Well, Week 2 provides several coaches new opportunities to make a statement, with a guy like USC’s Lincoln Riley facing his first Pac-12 conference opponent at his new school.
Including Riley, here are four head coaching facing tricky Week 2 tests.
Lincoln Riley (USC at Stanford)
A lot has changed in the calendar year since the Trojans were more than two-touchdown favorites at home against Stanford, only to get waxed 42-28 and see Clay Helton fired two days later.
So Saturday is a biggie for Lincoln Riley and USC.
Fight On has much stiffer tests upcoming later this season, but the Cardinal should provide a more accurate look at exactly where USC’s defense is in 2022.
We know Caleb Williams, Jordan Addison, Travis Dye & Co., are going to score touchdowns in bunches for the Trojans, but USC’s ability to get stops will ultimately determine its ceiling in Year 1 under Riley.
USC’s Week 1 returns under first-year DC Alex Grinch had highs and lows.
The Trojans picked off four passes — as many as they had all of 2021 — returning three for touchdowns. Extremely impressive!
Conversely, Rice, which had the nation’s 95th rushing offense per touch in 2021, averaged 6.7 yards per carry against USC in the first half. The Owls finished the blowout loss with 5.6 yards per carry, something they did one time all last season — against FCS Texas Southern.
So that’s not so great, Trojans!
Alabama transfer Shane Lee was great in his USC debut (eight tackles, two for loss and a pick-six), but the rest of the Trojans linebackers had all sorts of misfits in the run game. The Trojans’ defensive line got pushed around at times.
That could spell trouble against Stanford. Tanner McKee is a solid quarterback, but the Cardinal won’t be afraid to challenge USC’s run defense. The Cardinal had three rushing touchdowns in their upset over the Trojans last season, and EJ Smith, Hall of Famer Emmitt Smith’s son, had 118 yards and two touchdowns in Stanford’s Week 1 win.
Jeff Tedford (Fresno State vs. Oregon State)
In his latest return to his alma mater, Jeff Tedford secured a 35-7 win over Cal Poly last Thursday, as the Bulldogs jumped out to a quick 21-0 lead and then mostly played with their food the rest of the game.
They do best to avoid repeating such a second half effort this weekend.
In a tossup matchup, Fresno State hosts Oregon State on Saturday night, as Jonathan Smith comes to town with one of the friskier teams in the Pac-12.
The Beavers, which made a bowl game for the first time in eight years in 2021, upset Boise State in Week 1, using four first-half turnovers to take control of the game.
Oregon State’s secondary completely flummoxed BSU quarterback Hank Backmeier, who was benched, as well as backup Taylen Green. The two combined for three picks and just 5.1 yards per attempt.
Tedford figures to have better results with his senior quarterback Jake Haener, who showcased an immediate rapport with Cal transfer wideout Nikko Remigio (nine catches for 100 yards).
Still, the Bulldogs must play much crisper than they did in their opener if they want to move to 2-0 before a trip to the Coliseum against USC next weekend.
Tedford called their Week 1 performance “rusty” and expects an improvement in discipline and execution against Oregon State.
Mike Elko (Duke at Northwestern)
Only three schools recorded shutouts against FBS opponents in Week 1 — Alabama, Minnesota and Mike Elko’s Duke Blue Devils.
The first-time head coach wasted no time implementing his attacking defense, as Duke held Temple to just 179 yards, forced four fumbles and had four tackles for loss.
But it was only Temple!
Sure, but this was a Blue Devils’ defense that was historically bad in 2021. They allowed at least 528 yards and 47 points over their final six games last season.
In Week 1, Elko had Duke playing sound, fundamental football. The defensive line was more physical (Owls averaged just 2.2 yards per carry). The linebackers tackled much better and the secondary broke up six passes.
Now we’ll see if they can do it against a better foe.
Duke actually beat Northwestern in 2021, but this is an even year, which means Pat Fitzgerald’s teams level up. The Wildcats upset Nebraska in Ireland in Week 0, with quarterback Ryan Hilinski throwing for 300 yards and two scores. The former South Carolina quarterback did a lot of his damage off swing passes to tailbacks and quick throws, which is why Elko has emphasized tackling as a key to the game in Evanston.
“I say this to our guys all the time, ‘To get better at football, you have to play football,’” Elko said on his philosophy to tackle some in camp.
Elko believes Duke was better playing in space in Week 1 because they did live tackling at times during training camp. Can they have a repeat performance against a superior opponent Saturday?
Joey McGuire (Texas Tech vs. Houston)
The Red Raiders cruised in their opener against Murray St., but Joey McGuire’s head coaching debut wasn’t without incident, as TTU lost starting quarterback Tyler Shough to a shoulder injury.
Sophomore Donovan Smith (14 of 16 for 221 yards and four touchdowns) was really good in a pinch, as hot-shot OC Zach Kittley’s offense continues to post video game stats.
Smith now must shoulder the load for Texas Tech this weekend against a Top 25 Houston team.
Former Red Raiders coach Matt Wells actually beat the Cougars in Houston to open last season, so there’s some pressure on McGuire not to take a step back at home against Dana Holgorsen’s squad.
With Houston set to join the Big 12 next season, this is more than just an instate rivalry game now, too.
“This is not a group-of-five team or a lower-level team. They’re a ranked opponent, and we’re going to see each other for a long time, so this is going to be a really good test,” McGuire said according to the Lubbock Avalanche-Journal.
Cougars quarterback Clayton Tune, the star of their wild 37-35 win over UTSA on Saturday, had his worst game of his season against Texas Tech in 2021, throwing four picks and averaging just 4.6 yards per attempt.
The Red Raiders have another difficult non-conference game next weekend with a road trip to NC State on the slate, but there should be no concern they’ll look past a Houston team that might be the best Group of 5 program in the country in 2022.