Expert breaks down spread trends for every college football interim head coach

In the past, midseason coaching changes were far more common in professional football (like Brian Daboll stepping down with the Giants last week) than among college coaches. It was uncommon to see midseason changes in college coaching for decades. It’s a good idea, given the amount of coaching changes that have occurred in the middle of the season, to look at the performance (or lack thereof) of the interim coaches, particularly against the spread. Gridiron handicappers can benefit from finding out how “The Interims,” who are temporary coaches, have performed, especially against the spread. Bet college football at DraftKings Sportsbook, where new users get $300 in bonus bets and 3 free months of NBA League Pass with a winning $5 wager:Bobby Petrino, Arkansas Petrino, a former Arkansas HC with other head coaching stops, was an obvious choice to move up from his OC job when Sam Pittman walked the plank in late September after the Razorbacks were crushed by Notre Dame. Though four games at the helm, Petrino still hasn’t won outright after managing two scrappy spread covers at Tennessee and hosting Texas A&M. SEC sources claim that a group of boosters would like Petrino to return. However, this does not seem likely. Petrino’s team has been on a seven-game losing streak. He hasn’t been able pull Arkansas from its slump, and we are wondering if Petrino is able to extract something out of his troops for the final three games, which include LSU, Texas, Missouri.  Next game: Saturday at LSUDJ Durkin, Auburn Durkin, a former HC at Maryland, isn’t a likely successor to Hugh Freeze on the Plains, but is more likely an audition for a DC job, where he could be one of the highest-paid in the country, for 2026. There should be plenty of HC positions available in the FBS, as the carousel is likely to begin spinning soon. Durkin only coached one game, an incredibly shocking 45-38 OT defeat at Vanderbilt. However, the Tigers’ offensive unit, led by Stanford transfer Ashton Daniels as QB, was better than they had been all season.  Next games: Nov. 22 vs. Mercer, Iron Bowl vs. Alabama at Jordan-Hare on Nov. 29 Tyson Summers, Colorado StateThis is one interim hire we can safely say isn’t inspiring the troops, with it looking rather like simply the last chapter of a season gone very bad in Fort Collins. Summers has been in charge of CSU for two games. CSU looks like it’d rather be somewhere else. CSU got hammered 28-0 by Wyoming and allowed UNLV to run wild at Canvas Stadium. Summers’ previous stint as Georgia Southern’s head coach ended in disappointment. It doesn’t appear that he will change the narrative at all with the Rams. At the moment, it appears that the program is in a complete mess. Next game: Saturday at New MexicoBilly Gonzales, Florida Gonzales has had two games in charge since being promoted from WR coach, but it looks like all of the eggs were in the Georgia basket at Jacksonville two weeks ago, as the Gators were on the verge of a major upset until the Bulldogs rallied late. Gonzales had a nice spread cover, but it wasn’t the case last week against Kentucky. The roof collapsed, and Gonzalez was forced to remove the mistake-prone quarterback DJ Lagway.  Florida didn’t seem to want to be in Lexington last week and the next three games are no different. Next game: Saturday at Ole MissFrank Wilson, LSU Wilson, who has previous HC experience at UTSA, has had just one game in charge of the Tigers, the 20-9 loss at Alabama last week. It was a close loss at +10.5, and LSU’s performance looked similar to most of its other efforts so far this season. Wilson was not afraid to switch quarterbacks, unlike his predecessor Brian Kelly. He switched to Mississippi State transfer Michael Van Buren in the second half of the game at Tuscaloosa. Unlike Florida at Kentucky, Wilson and the Tigers fought hard. This doesn’t necessarily look like a “spread negative” situation the rest of November.Next game: Saturday vs. ArkansasDoug Meacham, Oklahoma State After the Cowboys program collapsed last season, Mike Gundy’s dismissal in Stillwater was more telegraphed than one of George Foreman’s roundhouse right aimed at Ali in the Rumble on the Jungle. OSU was thrown into chaos when QB Hausshejny left in the first game. This set the stage for a 2023 that has been rocky, with only one win over FCS UT Martin. Meacham, promoted from OC, is winless in six tries, with the best he could do being to squeeze a couple of spread covers as 20+ underdogs vs. Baylor and Kansas  There has been no upgrade in Stillwater since the end of the Gundy regime almost two months ago.  Next game: Saturday vs. Kansas StateRobb Akey, Oregon State By the time the veteran Akey (formerly HC at Idaho) was promoted in mid-October, the Beavers were 0-6 and could have been excused if they simply wanted to forfeit the rest of the campaign. Akey ignited a spark Trent Bray could not, steering OSU to wins and covers in both of his first two games. (OK, the one against FCS Lafayette counts, but that was still a win. The other was an enthralling 10-7 upset victory over last-remaining Pac-12 opponent Washington State.  The Beavers’ inability to maintain momentum throughout the rest of the season is evident after they blew a double digit lead at Corvallis last weekend and allowed Sam Houston, a lowly visiting team, to catch them on the final play. It’s enough for now to keep us away from OSU, but we will remember the WSU win until next fall when the Pac-12 is back. Terry Smith, Penn StateThe Nittany Lions were still a half-season into the season when they let go of James Franklin early in October. Smith, who was promoted to associate head coach, has lost (0-3) since then. Smith has been much more successful in his efforts. While he is not yet a winner, he’s covered two out of three spreads despite a tough schedule. And the loss by a wide margin at the top-ranked Ohio State was hardly viewed as naught. Penn State also gave second-ranked Indiana a scare last week in Happy Valley. Smith’s three games have been a success, even with Drew Allar out with an injury. Freshman Ethan Grunkmeyer has held his own. Under Smith, Penn State’s early-season opponent angle has not been applicable. Next game: Saturday at Michigan StateFrank Reich, StanfordTechnically, Reich counts as an in interim for this season, even if not in the traditional after-the-season-starts sense, after Troy Taylor was forced out in early spring. Listening to a call from former Colts quarterback and new Stanford Football Reich, who was a potential candidate to replace GM Andrew Luck as program leader is reportedly not interested in the full-time position. Reich’s three wins in Palo Alto have exceeded expectations that were low for The Farm. The Cardinal have fought hard despite their limited arsenal, and even managed a backdoor cover at North Carolina last week. Consensus opinion is Reich is doing better than Taylor the past two seasons and to his credit, Stanford hasn’t disintegrated to Oklahoma State-like levels.Next game: November 22 vs. Cal Alex Mortensen, UAB Mortensen, promoted from OC after Trent Dilfer’s termination, provided the inspirational moment for all interims everywhere when dumping ranked and unbeaten Memphis at Birmingham in his debut game on Oct. 18. Mortensen has had a great start for the Blazers but it is starting to look like a one off. The Blazers lost to UConn and then to Rice, and have now gone 1-2 SU as well as vs. spread. It was an incredible win, but it also serves to warn other teams, like North Texas and South Florida, in the coming weeks. Next game: Saturday vs. North TexasTim Skipper, UCLA Skipper is a veteran of the interim role, twice having served in the same capacity at Fresno State when Jeff Tedford had to step away due to health concerns. Skipper, who joined DeShaun’s UCLA coaching staff in 2013, was the head coach for the entire 2024 season at Fresno State and led FSU to victory at the Idaho Potato Bowl. Skipper has, at least in this season, proven to be an upgrade over Foster. He covered his first game at Northwestern and then ran off three shock wins in a line, including a huge upset of Penn State. However, the Bruins have been sluggish the last two weeks against Indiana and Nebraska.  Skipper brought life to an otherwise lifeless program. It’s also worth noting that the Bruins did not lose a single player due to a redshirt, or to the portal which is opened for a full month after a coach’s dismissal. The results have been middling but UCLA has played better under Skipper than they did under Foster. We don’t expect the Bruins fold completely in the final three weeks despite the fact that there are still a few real challenges left on the schedule. Next game is Saturday against Ohio State. Philip Montgomery (Virginia Tech)Along with Skipper, Montgomery has the longest runway among “The Interims” of 2025. He was promoted mid-September from OC. He’s done a good job keeping the Hokies in the hunt, having won three of their six games, including spread covers against NC State and Cal. And he seems to have settled Kyren Drones to the point that the Hokies are a tough out. Montgomery, who is not considered a contender for the full-time position, has been able to burnish his future OC credentials quite nicely. Montgomery’s Hokies are not a Colorado State-like mess. He ran the Baylor offense that RGIII used for his Heisman. He also spent several seasons as HC at Tulsa. Next game Saturday at Florida State

2025-11-13 19:11:16