Something To Consider

The New York Times had an interesting story spun out of a Social Science Quarterly study regarding the hiring and firing of college football coaches. Here's the kicker:

The results, tracked over a five-year period following the coaching changes, might surprise many. The lowliest teams subsequently performed about the same as other struggling teams that did not replace their coach. Mediocre teams — those that won about half their games in the year before a coaching change — performed worse than similar teams that did not replace their coach.

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A few games of note from the second round of the FCS playoffs . . .

Wofford 23, New Hampshire 7

No surprise that Wofford's unique option run game piled up 454 yards with Eric Breitenstein, a finalist for the Payton Award, racking up 247. The surprise was that the high-octane UNH offense did not score and managed just 238 yards. The only Wildcat points came on a fumble return.

Old Dominion 63, Coastal Carolina 35
Former Dartmouth assistant Joe Moglia's team was tied, 35-35, late in the third period before FBS-bound ODU went on a rampage. (ODU is scheduled to join Conference USA - if it still exists by then - in 2015.)

Eastern Washington 29, Wagner 19
Wagner carried a 19-14 lead deep into the fourth quarter and was within a field goal until the final five minutes on EWU's garish red turf as the Northeast Conference champions showed well against the tournament's second seed. At least the top of the NEC apparently has arrived.

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Dartmouth never saw the best of shifty New Hampshire tailback Chad Kackert, who saw limited action because of injury in just two of the Wildcats' four games with the Big Green before he graduated in 2010. Maybe that was a good thing for the Ivy Leaguers. Kackert last week was named the MVP of the Canadian Football League's Grey Cup, the Super Bowl north of the border. He earned the award by running 20 times for 133 yards and catching eight passes for 62 yards in Toronto's 35-22 win over Calgary in the 100th Grey Cup.