ACC Football

The University of Notre Dame formally announced the promotion of defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman to head coach on Friday following Brian Kelly's departure for LSU.

"It is an honor to be named the head coach of Notre Dame Football," Freeman said. "I am eternally grateful to both [school president] Father John Jenkins and [athletic director] Jack Swarbrick for giving me the opportunity to lead the exceptional men who make this program what it is. Notre Dame is a very special place and I look forward to pursuing a national championship with the most outstanding student-athletes, coaches and staff in college football."

Freeman, a former standout linebacker at Ohio State, has emerged as one of the country's top defensive minds since his NFL career ended after one season because of a heart condition in 2010.

The 35-year-old Ohio native spent time as a graduate assistant with the Buckeyes before working as a defensive assistant at Kent State and Purdue. He then spent four years as the defensive coordinator at Cincinnati before accepting the same role at Notre Dame ahead of the 2021 season.

He's guided the Fighting Irish defense to a strong season during his first year in South Bend. The unit ranks tied for 11th in scoring defense (18.3 points allowed per game) and gave up just 23 points over the final four games of the regular season.

"Marcus Freeman has not only proven himself a superb football coach, he has shown–both in his time at Notre Dame and in my conversations with him this week–that he is a person of highest integrity who cares deeply about our student-athletes and is committed to their success in the classroom as well as on the field," Jenkins said. "I am excited to welcome him as our new head football coach, and to have his wife, Joanna, and their six beautiful children in the Notre Dame family."

Freeman will take over the program immediately as Kelly opted to accept a 10-year, $95 million contract from LSU despite the Irish still having an outside shot at the College Football Playoff.

Notre Dame is sixth in the CFP rankings heading into championship weekend. It doesn't have a title game to play, but a flurry of upsets elsewhere around the country could create a path to the top four.

Even if the Irish fall short of the playoff, they'll play in a high-profile bowl game and give Freeman a chance to continue building on the foundation set during the Kelly era, which includes a five-year streak of 10-plus wins.

"Marcus' ability to connect with people, his fit at Notre Dame and the way he coaches young men set him apart as we went through our search process," Swarbrick said. "I can't wait to see how the culture created by these remarkable student-athletes continues to grow under the tutelage of Marcus and his staff."

Off the field, Freeman will look to solidify a highly promising 2022 recruiting class that currently ranks fifth in the nation, according to 247Sports.

Working quickly to elevate Freeman to head coach should provide Notre Dame with some valuable continuity in the regard, while also making sure one of the nation's most promising young coaches remains in South Bend.

University of Virginia head football coach Bronco Mendenhall said a desire to "reinvent" himself led to his decision to step down from leading the Cavaliers' program at season's end.

Mendenhall explained Thursday's announcement came after a week of self-reflection, and he added he was not influenced by UVA athletic director Carla Williams or university president Jim Ryan, who both asked him to stay, per Hank Kurz Jr. of the Associated Press.

"I would love to say there's been this buildup and a long amount of epiphanies and thought, but clearly this week there was a sense of clarity to me that I needed to step back from college football and reassess, renew, reframe and reinvent, with my wife as a partner, our future and the next chapter of our lives," Mendenhall said.

He added: "It's just a chance after 31 years straight to step back ... and reinvent myself and our family and our purpose. Holly, my wife, is a little shocked, too."

Mendenhall took over at Virginia in 2016. It marked his second head-coaching job after spending the previous 11 years at BYU.

The 55-year-old overcame some early growing pains while rebuilding the program, including a 2-10 mark in his first season with the Cavs, but the team showed progress during a two-year stretch in 2018 and 2019, when it posted a 17-10 combined record.

Virginia's improvement stalled over the past two years, however, with a 5-5 record in 2020 being followed by a 6-6 mark so far this season. The Cavaliers are bowl-eligible, so they will have a chance to send their coach out out a high note.

Mendenhall's overall record with UVA stands at 36-38 after he compiled a 99-43 mark at BYU.

"The next journey will be uncovered as we go, and hard to uncover it if there's not a pause and contemplation and reflection, so that's what I'm choosing to do," Mendenhall said.

He didn't rule out a return to coaching, a profession he's worked in for more than three decades.

"This isn't to break and pause and then become irrelevant," he added. "This is actually to break and pause to then become hopefully more impactful in helping and developing and teaching and serving others is what I'm hopeful. So I'm excited about that. What is it going to look like? I don't know."

Meanwhile, Williams called it a "privilege" to have Mendenhall lead the program for the past six years.

"He has done an exceptional job of not just transforming the program, but elevating the expectations for the program," the Virginia AD said. "He has established the necessary foundation to propel our football team upward. He is more than a football coach, and the impact he has had on these young men will be a positive influence for the rest of their lives."

The Cavaliers will find out the final game of Mendenhall's tenure when the bowl matchups are announced Sunday.

Notre Dame could get its star safety back if it makes the College Football Playoff.

Pete Sampson of The Athletic reported Kyle Hamilton is "trending toward playing for the Irish again" if they do make the four-team field. He has not played since he suffered a knee injury during an Oct. 23 victory over the USC Trojans.

"Six weeks would take him through the end of the regular season," former Notre Dame head coach Brian Kelly told reporters on Nov. 15 when estimating a timeframe. "And then we have to see where we are with College Football Playoffs, bowl games, things like that."

This has been quite the week for the Fighting Irish. Kelly left for LSU, and Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported the program is expected to name defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman as its new head coach.

Hamilton's potential return could be a selling point for Notre Dame when the CFP committee considers its qualifications. It is a much better defensive team when he is on the field.

Still, the Fighting Irish need some help at No. 6 in the current rankings with no games remaining.

They should be rooting for some combination of Georgia defeating Alabama, Houston beating Cincinnati, Baylor handling Oklahoma State and Iowa upsetting Michigan. That should put them back into the picture even without any games remaining.

They would also have to overcome the fact that they have zero victories over teams ranked in the current CFP Top 25. That could hurt them if the committee reconsiders where they stand in relation to some two-loss teams such as Iowa if it beats the Wolverines, Baylor if it defeats the Cowboys or even Ohio State.

If everything broke right for Notre Dame, Hamilton would give it a much better chance in the playoff.

He checks in at No. 10 on the latest 2022 NFL draft big board from B/R's Scouting Department.              

Brian Kelly will be the second-highest paid coach in college football thanks to the terms of his contract with LSU. 

Per the term sheet obtained by USA Today's Steve Berkowitz, Kelly's deal with the Tigers will pay him just over $100 million over 10 years. 

Kelly's base salary is only $400,000, but he will also receive "supplemental compensation that begins at an annual rate of $8.6 million" and a $500,000 longevity payment that will be paid out every year on July 1 that he remains on the job. 

Berkowitz provided additional details about Kelly's supplemental compensation and additional incentives he can earn: 

Kelly’s supplemental pay has a series of scheduled increases—to $8.8 million in 2023, $9 million in 2025, $9.2 million in 2027, $9.4 million in 2029 and $9.6 million in 2031. But the deal has provisions that will allow him to increase those payments. It also offers the possibility of $1.325 million in annual bonuses, including $500,000 each time LSU is 'bowl eligible.' This is likely the largest bonus payment for becoming eligible for a bowl game that does not involve a contract extension.

Kelly's $9.5 million "basic total" for the 2022 season is tied with Michigan State's Mel Tucker for the second-highest salary among all college football coaches. 

Tucker, who had been rumored to be a candidate for the LSU job, signed a 10-year, $95 million extension with the Spartans on Nov. 24. His 2022 salary breaks down to $5.9 million in base salary, $3.1 million in media appearances, $100,000 from school-negotiated apparel and a $400,000 annual retention bonus, per Kirkland Crawford and Chris Solari of the Detroit Free Press. 

Notre Dame signed Kelly to a contract extension through the 2024 season in September. Full terms of his deal with the Fighting Irish weren't publicly disclosed since the university is a private institution, but USA Today's survey of coaching salaries released in October estimated the 60-year-old was earning $2.67 million annually in base salary. 

According to Berkowitz, Alabama head coach Nick Saban's $9.9 million salary in 2022 is projected to be the highest among all college coaches. 

Kelly is coming to LSU after Ed Orgeron's six-year tenure with the program.

Orgeron led the Tigers to a 51-20 overall record, including a 15-0 mark and a College Football Playoff championship in 2019. 

Kelly just finished his 12th season at Notre Dame after taking over the program in December 2009. His official record with the Fighting Irish is 92-39 after the NCAA forced them to vacate 21 wins from the 2012-13 seasons due to academic misconduct. 

Notre Dame hasn't lost more than two games in a season since 2017. It went 12-0 during the 2019 regular season before losing to Clemson in the College Football Playoff semifinal.    

Notre Dame athletic director Jack Swarbrick said Tuesday that Brian Kelly's decision to leave ND and become the new head football coach at LSU didn't catch him off guard.

According to Brett McMurphy of The Action Network, Swarbrick said: "I was not surprised. There had been enough in weeks leading up, gave me the sense that there were other things attracting Brian. I was not surprised."

Per ESPN's Adam Rittenberg, LSU confirmed Tuesday morning that it had agreed to a 10-year, $95 million contract with Kelly to make him its new head coach after he spent the previous 12 seasons with the Fighting Irish.

After his hiring at LSU became official, Kelly released the following statement regarding his move to the Tigers and the SEC:

"I could not be more excited to join a program with the commitment to excellence, rich traditions and unrivaled pride and passion of LSU Football. I am fully committed to recruiting, developing and graduating elite student-athletes, winning championships, and working together with our administration to make Louisiana proud. Our potential is unlimited, and I cannot wait to call Baton Rouge home."

Kelly is replacing national championship-winning head coach Ed Orgeron at LSU after Orgeron announced earlier in the season that he was parting ways with LSU at the conclusion of the campaign.

While Kelly never won a national title at Notre Dame, he helped the Irish achieve their greatest success since the late 1980s and early '90s under Lou Holtz.

Overall, Kelly went 113-40 at Notre Dame, making him the winningest head coach in school history ahead of Knute Rockne (105) and Holtz (100).

Notre Dame won double-digit games in each of the past five seasons, marking the first time in school history it accomplished that feat.

The Irish fell to Alabama in the BCS National Championship Game in 2012 and reached the College Football Playoff in both 2018 and 2020, losing in the semifinals each time.

This season, Notre Dame is 11-1 with its only loss coming to undefeated Cincinnati, which is ranked fourth in the CFP rankings ahead of Tuesday's end-of-regular-season rankings release.

Notre Dame, which is ranked sixth, has a chance to move up to fifth since No. 2 Ohio State lost to No. 5 Michigan on Saturday.

It isn't outside the realm of possibility that Notre Dame could still make the College Football Playoff if one or more of Alabama, Michigan and Cincinnati lose their conference title games, and if that happens, it may be defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman leading the way as interim head coach, although Notre Dame has yet to make an announcement on that front.

The Virginia Tech Hokies have officially named Penn State defensive coordinator Brent Pry as their new head coach.

Pete Thamel of Yahoo Sports first reported Virginia Tech was expected to hire Pry after it "focused in on" him during the search process.

Brett McMurphy of Action Network also reported the move was expected and noted Pry was a graduate assistant at Virginia Tech from 1995 through 1998.

The position is open because the Hokies announced they parted ways with Justin Fuente on Nov. 16. Fuente started with the ACC program in the 2016 season and finished with a 43-31 record and four bowl appearances.

After going 10-4 in his first season, Fuente's teams have trended in the wrong direction since with nine wins in his second year, six wins in his third, eight wins in his fourth and five wins in each of the past two seasons.

Attention now turns to Pry, although he reportedly was not Virginia Tech's first choice.

Mark Schlabach and Adam Rittenberg of ESPN reported Wake Forest's Dave Clawson and Louisiana's Billy Napier—who has since accepted the head coaching position with the Florida Gators—turned the ACC school down prior to the anticipated Pry hire.

Look for the Hokies to take immediate strides on defense with their new head coach.

Pry was Penn State's defensive coordinator for the past six seasons, and Schlabach and Rittenberg noted he led teams that finished in the top 25 in total defense in eight of the past 12 years with three coming at Vanderbilt, one coming at Georgia Southern and four coming with the Nittany Lions.

Penn State was just 7-5 this season, but a defense that was sixth in the country in points allowed per game (16.8) was not to blame for its failure to meet expectations.

The offense failed to score more than 20 points in losses to Iowa, Illinois and Michigan.

Pry will look to replicate his defensive success at Virginia Tech as the Hokies attempt to reestablish their winning ways after reaching double-digit victories just once in the past 10 seasons.               

Brian Kelly isn't officially out the door, and the candidates are already emerging to succeed him at Notre Dame.

The Athletic's Pete Sampson reported Fighting Irish defensive coordinator Marcus Freeman might have internal support to ascend to the top job. Bruce Feldman of The Athletic reported Cincinnati head coach Luke Fickell is expected to be in contention as well.

One thing is at least clear at this stage: Kelly is gone.

Promoting Freeman presents Notre Dame with a straightforward solution.

The 35-year-old would preserve a level of continuity, which could be important toward holding on to committed recruits and current members of the roster. Just look at what's unfolding in Norman, Oklahoma, following Lincoln Riley's move to USC.

Whether it's in South Bend, Indiana, or another location, Freeman will likely be a head coach at some point. The fact that he's already a top assistant at Notre Dame speaks to how quickly his stock has risen on the sidelines, and he's building quite the recruiting profile.

With Fickell, there's also the issue of potentially having to wait for Cincinnati to wrap up a run through the College Football Playoff. The Bearcats will probably qualify for the semifinals by beating Houston on Saturday, thus extending their season until at least Dec. 31. That's two weeks after the early signing period (Dec. 15-17).

Maybe Fickell would be willing to leave Cincinnati in mid-December—Brian Kelly bolted the Bearcats before the Sugar Bowl in 2009—but that seems unlikely if a national championship is in play.

Even if it means suffering on the recruiting trail for 2022, standing by for the right coach can certainly be the better long-term play.

Unlike Freeman, Fickell has shown an ability to run a program and build it up. The Bearcats enjoyed a lot of success with Kelly and Butch Jones, but the atmosphere turned toxic under Tommy Tuberville.

Within five years, Fickell has made them nationally relevant again. Generally speaking, the 48-year-old might be the closest to a sure thing this hiring cycle.

No matter how this ends, it looks like Notre Dame won't beat around the bush to identify its replacement for Kelly.

Demon Deacons head football coach Dave Clawson has agreed to a long-term contract extension with Wake Forest, the school announced Friday.

The news comes just before Wake Forest's regular-season finale against Boston College on Saturday.

Director of athletics John Currie has high praise and hopes for Clawson:

Dave Clawson is an elite coach, leader and program builder and we are excited to announce this reaffirmation of his long-term commitment to Wake Forest University. Our desire is for him to finish his coaching career as Wake Forest's all-time winningest coach. Coach Clawson and his staff have brought an unprecedented amount of success to Demon Deacon football and he is truly one of the elite coaches in the country. Thanks to his leadership, our football student-athletes have experienced a school-record six-straight bowl games while continuing to raise the standard of excellence in the classroom and community.

Details of the contract were not disclosed.

Wake Forest could clinch a berth in the ACC Championship Game with a win over the Eagles on Saturday. The team is first in the ACC Atlantic with a 9-2 record (6-1 in conference).

Clawson, 54, has been head coach of the Demon Deacons since 2014. He is 49-47 in his eight years at the helm and has taken Wake Forest to five straight bowl games. He also helped Wake Forest reach its highest ranking in the AP Top 25 poll this year, pulling off a No. 9 ranking two weeks ago, per ESPN's David M. Hale.

The Demon Deacons have not had a 10-plus win season since 2006, when they finished 11-3 and lost to Louisville in the Orange Bowl. If they defeat the Eagles, it will mark just their second 10-win season in program history.

Clawson previously coached at Bowling Green State from 2009 to 2013, going 32-32 with three bowl game losses.

The College Football Playoff rankings after Week 12 were unveiled on Tuesday night. With a little under two weeks before Selection Sunday, there are just a couple more chances left for teams to make an impression on the committee. Here's a look at the top of the rankings leading up to Rivalry Weekend:

1. Georgia (11-0)
2. Ohio State (10-1)
3. Alabama (10-1)
4. Cincinnati (11-0)
5. Michigan (10-1)
6. Notre Dame (10-1)
7. Oklahoma State (10-1) 
8. Baylor (9-2)

The most noteworthy change is Cincinnati finally making it into the Top Four after weeks of appearing to have doubtful CFP hopes. The Bearcats had an impressive 48-14 win over SMU last week, the Mustangs entering that game 8-2. If Cincy wins the AAC title game against a currently 10-1 Houston team on Dec. 4, it's likely that the Bearcats will get a spot. 

This would be historically significant, as it would be the first time in playoff history that a Group of Five team has made it in. 

Speaking of history, the Bearcats' No. 4 ranking is now the highest CFP ranking for a Group of Five team. How awesome is that? Keep in mind last season, Cincy hung tough with Georgia in the Peach Bowl, losing 24-21 on a field goal in the final seconds. If the playoff were to start tomorrow, we'd get a Bearcats-Bulldogs matchup in the first round. 

But there is plenty of room for chaos to happen over the next two weeks. For starters, let's look ahead at the SEC Championship Game between No. 1 Georgia and No. 3 Alabama. If Alabama defeats Georgia, both teams would likely make it into the final four. 

But before then, No. 2 Ohio State gets its biggest test, facing No. 5 Michigan on the road. If the Buckeyes win and follow it with a victory in the Big Ten title game, they are obviously in. Same goes for Michigan, if it defeats Ohio State. But what happens if, say, Michigan or Ohio State gets upset in the Big Ten Championship Game? 

That would open the door for a Big 12 champion to make it in. No. 7 Oklahoma State and No. 10 Oklahoma (10-1) play this weekend, and the conference's best chance of getting a playoff team is to have the winner of this game also win the Big 12 title game. If OU wins, there would be a rematch at AT&T Stadium. If Oklahoma State wins, the Sooners will need Texas Tech to defeat Baylor to earn a spot over the Bears, who defeated Oklahoma on Nov. 13.  

But now comes the big question: If Alabama beats Georgia, the Big Ten produces a one-loss champion and Oklahoma State wins out—representing the worst-case scenario for the Bearcats—would Cincinnati get jumped by the Pokes for the No. 4 spot in the final CFP rankings? If Cincy keeps winning big like it has the last couple of weeks, the Bearcats are probably safe inside the Top Four on the strength of their road win over Notre Dame. If Oklahoma State was ranked higher than No. 7 this week, that might be a different story. 

And then there's No. 6 Notre Dame, which has been moving up in the rankings week after week. There is also a scenario for the Fighting Irish to make it in if, say, Cincinnati was to be upset in the AAC Championship Game or at East Carolina this week. 

There's still a lot that can happen this weekend and next in the conference championship games. Chaos hasn't happened much in playoff history. But given that we've already seen a number of upsets this year, this might be the season that chaos reigns.