While his former team has struggled to start the year, Virginia coach Bronco Mendenhall has found a great deal of success early in his second season with the Cavaliers.
So much so that Mendenhall and Iowa State coach Matt Campbell were the focus of college football's Week 6 winners and losers from USA Today Sports' Dan Wolken.
"During the coaching carousel that followed the 2015 season, there were two hires made that seemed somewhat out of left field," wrote Wolken. "One was Iowa State luring Matt Campbell from Toledo, and the other was Virginia snagging Bronco Mendenhall from BYU."
Wolken then explained why the hirings were a surprise.
"In both cases, the question was not really why those coaches were hired — Campbell and Mendenhall were highly regarded — but rather why either would want to tackle such significant rebuilding jobs," Wolken wrote. "For Mendenhall, who had been BYU’s head coach for 11 seasons, it seemed curious that he would want to move cross-country and start over at a place where it’s never been easy to win."
After talking about the success that Iowa State has had in its second season under Campbell, Wolken turned his attention to the Cavaliers.
"Virginia, meanwhile, looked pretty hopeless last year at 2-10 and just 1-7 in the ACC," Wolken wrote. "But obviously Mendenhall was in the process of a major culture change, and it’s paying off now."
Next up for Mendenhall and the Cavaliers is a matchup with North Carolina on Saturday afternoon.
Speaking of people with Utah ties who are now doing big things in college football outside of the state, Washington State signal caller Luke Falk was one of five players listed in the Friday Five by Tom Fornelli of CBS Sports.
Fornelli looked at Heisman Trophy candidates who aren't getting much attention yet, where Falk was listed at No. 4 on the list.
After talking about Washington State's success so far and its remaining schedule, Fornelli wrote, "if Falk continues playing like he has been, and Wazzu keeps winning games, common sense dictates he'll get Heisman hype."
Fornelli then explained how Falk is in a very productive offense that can stand out to voters.
"Falk plays for a coach and in an offense that leads to eye-bulging numbers. The kind of numbers that get the attention of Heisman voters. Through five games he's already thrown for 1,718 yards with 16 touchdowns and only two interceptions, and he's done that while completing 75 percent of his passes."
Other players on the list included quarterback Kelly Bryant of Clemson, Stanford running back Bryce Love and Alabama signal caller Jalen Hurts.
Other links
- Kyle Kuzma talks motivation
- BYU cracks 'Misery Index' top 5
- Asiata will dye hair pink to honor 'second mom'
And finally ...The New England Patriots' Twitter page caught up with Kyle Van Noy for a short video where the former BYU linebacker shared some stories about his younger years.