Michigan State Coach Watch: College football week five viewer's guide
East Lansing, Mich. – Michigan State football is officially looking for its next head coach, with Mel Tucker having been formally fired on Wednesday. Harlon Barnett was elevated from acting head coach to interim head coach on Wednesday and is working to salvage the 2023 season for the Spartans, and strengthen his candidacy for the permanent position.
Meanwhile, Michigan State athletic director Alan Haller has surely put together a list of candidates to watch as the 2023 season unfolds.
SpartanMag.com produced an unofficial Watch List of coaches that would likely be a part of Michigan State’s initial menu of interesting candidates.
Below is a chronological rundown of this weekend’s games that involve some of the candidates on the SpartanMag Watch List.
COACH WATCH: Can Michigan State make a ‘Top 25 hire’?
COACH WATCH: Duke’s Mike Elko and candidates on the rise
COACH WATCH: The watch begins; how attractive is Michigan State?
*Dave Doeren, head coach, North Carolina State.
North Carolina State vs. Louisville (-3.5)
Date/Time: Friday, Sept. 29 at 7:00 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: ESPN
The Latest: Stock steady. NC State is 3-1, after squeaking past Virginia, 24-21, last week. NC State’s lone loss was a 45-24 defeat against Notre Dame. Doeren, 51, has three 9-win seasons in 10 years at NC State.
Last year was supposed to be a big breakout season for Doeren and NC State, but it didn’t quite material, as the Wolfpack went 8-5 and lost to Maryland in the Duke’s Mayo Bowl.
Doeren isn’t high on the SpartanMag list but he is someone to keep in mind, just in case a breakout season that was supposed to happen last year takes place this year.
Louisville, with first-year coach Jeff Brohm, is quietly on the verge of becoming an intriguing national story for 2023. Doeren and NC State are likely to have a rough time with the Cardinals this week.
*PJ Fleck, head coach, Minnesota.
Minnesota (-11) vs. Louisiana
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 30 at 12:00 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: Big Ten Network
The Latest: Stock down. Minnesota (2-2) is coming off a dreadful 37-34 overtime loss to Northwestern, having squandered a 21-0 lead over the Wildcats. The Gophers have victories over Nebraska and Eastern Michigan, with losses to Northwestern and North Carolina.
Fleck, 42, had a 13-1 season at Western Michigan in 2016, an 11-2 season in year three at Minnesota in 2019 and is coming off a pair of 9-4 seasons with the Gophers in 2021 and ’22, aided by friendly schedules.
Minnesota needs a bounce-back game in a big way against Louisiana (3-1).
*Jake Dickert, head coach, Washington State.
No. 16 Washington State at UCLA (-4)
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 30 at 3:00 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: Pac-12 Network
The Latest: Stock Up With A Bullet. Dickert, 40, led Washington State to thrilling 38-35 victory over No. 14 Oregon State and Jonathan Smith last week. Washington State’s offense looked dynamic and explosive, but what about the defense? The Cougars have allowed 22 or more points in all four games. Washington State (4-0) and its fans aren’t complaining. Dickert is becoming a bit of a national curiosity and has represented himself extremely well in front of the camera. He’s starting to get mentioned as a hot coach on the rise, but we had him in our list at 2-0.
The trip to UCLA (3-1) offers Dickert a fat opportunity to amplify his buzz.
*Charles Huff, head coach, Marshall.
Marshall (-14) vs. Old Dominion
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 30 at 3:30 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: ESPN+
The Latest: Stock up. Coming off a surprising 9-4 season, Huff and Marshall (3-0) continued to raise eyebrows with a big win over Power Five opponent Virginia Tech, 24-17, last week. Combine last week’s win with last year’s victory at Notre Dame, and Huff, 40, has put together an interesting resumé in a short amount of time.
Old Dominion (2-2) played Wake Forest tough two weeks ago and won’t be a pushover.
A week from Saturday, Marshall’s game at NC State will offer Huff with another big opportunity to strengthen his scope.
*Lance Leipold, head coach, Kansas.
No. 24 Kansas at No. 3 Texas (-16.5)
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 30 at 3:30 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: ABC
The Latest: Stock Up. Leipold and Kansas are 4-0 for a second straight year. That’s the first time Kansas has had two straight 4-0 starts in more than a hundred years. Last year, the Jayhawks finished 6-7. Can Leipold keep the wins coming this year? If so, his candidacy will improve.
Kansas has looked quite good this year, with a 34-23 victory over Illinois that wasn’t that close, and a 38-27 popping of a good BYU team last week.
Texas might be the best team in the country right now. Their win at Alabama is the most noteworthy win by anybody this year. If Kansas somehow beat Texas, the Leipold train will gather major steam. If they play Texas tough, he will gather credibility.
The negative against Leipold? He’s 59 (the same age as Urban Meyer). The positives? He was 109-6 with six National Championships at Division III Wisconsin-Whitewater, and was 24-10 in his last three years at Buffalo. He’s a builder and word has it he’s frothing for a shot at a place like Michigan State.
*Jason Candle, head coach, Toledo.
Toledo (-13.5) vs. Northern Illinois
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 30 at 3:30 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: ESPNU
The Latest: Stock Steady. Candle, 43, and Toledo handled Western Michgian, 49-31, last week. The Rockets controlled most of its opening-night game at Illinois on Sept. 2, but lost 30-28. A 4-0 record with a win over a Big Ten team would look excellent on Candle’s ledger.
Candle took over for Matt Campbell at Toledo in 2016 at age 36 and went 9-4 and 11-3 in his first two seasons. After three seasons of a 17-14 record, he built back up with a 9-5 record last year. If he wins 10 or 11 this year, some Power Five program will come knocking.
*Matt House, defensive coordinator and linebackers, LSU.
No. 13 LSU (-2.5) at No. 20 Ole Miss
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 30 at 6:00 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: ESPN
The Latest: Stock Down. LSU ranks No. 11 in the SEC in total defense after the Tigers squeaked past Arkansas, 34-31, last week in a battle of Michigan State grads in Razorbacks offensive coordinator Dan Enos and LSU’s House.
LSU ranked No. 6 in the SEC in total defense last year. As defensive coordinator at Kentucky in 2018, House’s unit ranked No. 6 in the nation in points allowed per game.
Ole Miss was shut down by Alabama last week. Now, House’s defense will look to do the same.
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*Harlon Barnett, interim head coach, Michigan State.
Michigan State at Iowa (-12.5)
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: NBC
The Latest: Stock Down. Michigan State has suffered scoreboard blowouts in each of the past two weeks, 41-7 against Washington and 31-9 against Maryland. The Spartans played pretty well on a down-in, down-out basis last week, but turnovers ruined the operation.
Barnett still has the hearts and minds of this team, and it needs to show as a double-digit underdog this weekend. A victory would be enormous for the locker room, and morale as the Spartans head into mid-season. A loss, and it’s going to be a challenge to keep this team straining forward.
*Mike Elko, head coach, Duke.
No. 17 Duke vs. No. 11 Notre Dame (-5.5)
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 30 at 7:30 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: ABC
The Latest: Stock Up With A Bullet. Duke (4-0) has allowed only five touchdowns all season. Duke’s defense ranks No. 1 in the nation in yards allowed per pass attempt and No. 5 in yards allowed per play. No opponent has come within three TDs of the Blue Devils, and now they get a national-stage visit from Notre Dame. Elko and Duke football will get a two-hour infomercial from ESPN College GameDay this weekend.
Elko is on the verge of becoming a national sensation, which might not be great of Michigan State purposes. If Duke wins this weekend, and the Jimbo Fisher administration becomes unsteady at Texas A&M, Elko will be high on the deep-pocketed Aggies’ wish list.
*Johnathan Smith, head coach, Oregon State.
No. 19 Oregon State (-3.5) vs. No. 10 Utah
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 30 at 9:00 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: FS1
The Latest: Stock Down. Smith and Oregon State (3-1) suffered a disappointing 38-35 loss at Washington State last week and now the Beavers will play at home against Utah, the most rugged, consistent team in the Pac-12.
Oregon State is coming off a breakthrough 10-3 season, a victory over Florida in the Las Vegas Bowl and a No. 17 national ranking. Oregon State ascended to No. 14 in the polls last week before losing to Washington State.
Oregon State has red-letter games against the Utes, UCLA, Washington and Oregon. It’s a rough slate, but a chance for Smith to make major noise and possibly attract attention from Michigan State, despite the loss at WSU last weekend.
*Kalen DeBoer, head coach, Washington.
No. 7 Washington (-18.5) at Arizona
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 30 at 10:00 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: Pac-12 Network
The Latest: Stock Up With A Bullet. This one is probably a pipe dream. The Huskies are 4-0, ranked No. 7 in the nation, and arguably the top team in America. The Huskies have scored 56, 43, 41 and 59 point in their four games but possibly could have hit 60 in all of them, as the Spartans know.
Washington loves DeBoer and there might be no reason for the head coach of the Huskies to consider a semi-lateral move to Michigan State. But it might be worth a call, just in case Michigan State is capable of making an offer DeBoer would have to consider.
*Bill O’Brien, offensive coordinator and quarterbacks, New England Patriots.
New England Patriots at Dallas Cowboys (-6.5)
Date/Time: Sunday, Oct. 1 at 4:25 p.m. ET
TV/Stream: FOX
The Lastest: Stock Steady. O’Brien’s resumé is set, regardless of what happens with his defense this year at New England.
O’Brien, 53, went 8-4 and 7-5 in two years at Penn State, escorting that program out of the Jerry Sandusky mess in 2012 and ’13. He has experience in crisis management. After winning four division championships with the Houston Texans, he went 0-4 in 2020 and was fired. He returned to the college game as offensive coordinator at Alabama in 2021 and ’22. Why return to college for those two seasons? Good question. It might be worthwhile to call and find out if he still has a college itch, and whether there could be a match.
*Urban Meyer, analyst, FOX Big Noon Saturday
Date/Time: Saturday, Sept. 30, 10 a.m. ET
Meyer, 59, hasn’t coached in college since 2018 and had a disastrous one-year stint in the NFL with the Jacksonville Jaguars in 2021, going 2-11, but has remained close to the college game as an analyst for FOX and the Big Ten Network in 2019, ’20 and ’23.
Is he a candidate worthy of outreach? That’s a hot debate among Michigan State fans this fall but it’s ultimately not their call.
BYE WEEK:
*Jamey Chadwell, head coach, Liberty.
*Dave Clawson, head coach, Wake Forest.
*Brian Hartline, co-offensive coordinator and wide receivers, Ohio State.
RELATED: Kansas State coach Chris Klieman states he will not be a candidate for Michigan State opening
(Jim Comparoni contributed to this report).
