How’s this for a debut: No. 13 LSU 51, No. 23 Clemson 10.
Sure, Clemson is terrible. But the way LSU hit the ground running in this season opener will inflate the already intense hype around Lane Kiffin’s first season.
No new coach had a better start, though some came close, including UCLA coach Bob Chesney. On the other hand, a run of first-year coaches flopped right out of the gate, namely Oklahoma State’s Eric Morris and No. 18 Michigan’s Kyle Whittingham.
From the best impression through the worst, here’s how this year’s first-year coaches rank through Week 1:
1. Lane Kiffin, LSU (1-0)
There was always faith in Kiffin’s ability to quickly turn things around at LSU. To so thoroughly humiliate Clemson in Saturday’s biggest game also speaks to how well he prepares his teams
for elite competition. More than just the best debut of 2026, this was one of the best impressions by any new coach in recent Bowl Subdivision history.
2. Bob Chesney, UCLA (1-0)
After taking James Madison to even greater heights as Curt Cignetti’s replacement. Chesney showed off his touch on offense by leading UCLA to a 45-24 win at California. The Bruins gained 461 yards, had three touchdown drives spanning at least 70 yards and pulled away with a series of explosive gains on the ground in the fourth quarter.
3. Jim Mora, Colorado State (1-0)
No, Mora won’t need a rebuilding year to get things in order at Colorado State. Facing off against rival Wyoming with the Bronze Boot on the line, the Rams had three interceptions and transfer quarterback Hauss Hejny had five scores in a 35-13 win.
4. Charles Huff, Memphis (2-0)
Memphis has already posted two solid wins: against UNLV in Week 0 and then against Sun Belt contender Arkansas State. Huff clearly knows what he’s doing.
5. Pete Golding, Mississippi (1-0)
Can you imagine the fallout if the No. 10 Rebels had followed Kiffin’s LSU debut by losing to Louisville? Trinidad Chambliss made sure that didn’t happen with 336 yards, three touchdowns and a key drive in the final minute to spark the 41-38 win. (We’ll count Golding among this year’s new coaches despite his replacing Kiffin for last year’s playoff.)
6. Alex Golesh, Auburn (1-0)
Beating a Power Four opponent in Baylor gets Golesh off on the right foot, even if things were never pretty in a 17-16 escape against Baylor. The best sign was the play down the stretch by quarterback Byrum Brown, who struggled early after coming along with Golesh from South Florida.
7. Matt Campbell, Penn State (1-0)
No. 17 Penn State’s 45-0 win against Marshall featured strong play from several Iowa State transfers and, more importantly, very clean and nearly error-free play. Limiting self-inflicted errors will be the key to ensuring the Nittany Lions take advantage of a friendly schedule.
8. James Franklin, Virginia Tech (1-0)
The Nittany Lions’ former coach led the Hokies to a 73-3 win against VMI. Like Campbell with carryovers from Iowa State, the Hokies have been boosted by some of Franklin’s former players at Penn State, including quarterback Ethan Grunkmeyer.
9. Pat Fitzgerald, Michigan State (1-0)
The Spartans were tested by Toledo but came out with a solid Group of Six win thanks to a strong start and finish. Michigan State led 19-7 at halftime but trailed 20-19 early in the fourth quarter before closing on an 11-0 run.
10. Morgan Scalley, Utah (1-0)
Utah pushed around Idaho as Scalley became the first coach other the Kyle Whittingham to lead the Utes in a season opener in 21 years.
11. Jon Sumrall, Florida (1-0)
The Gators’ energy and aggressiveness led the way to 624 yards of offense, 30 first downs, three takeaway and a 66-21 blowout against Florida Atlantic. Florida looked like a Sumrall-coached team, basically.
12. Billy Napier, James Madison (1-0)
JMU wasn’t too great on offense but still managed to pull out a 20-13 win against Liberty. The Dukes will need to get more scoring on the board to repeat atop the Sun Belt.
13. Jason Candle, Connecticut (1-0)
After a surprising move to Connecticut from Toledo this past winter, the Candle era began with a breezy 56-7 win against Lafayette. Up next is a much tougher test at Maryland.
14. Collin Klein, Kansas State (1-0)
The best sign coming out of Kansas State’s 71-7 win against Nicholls State was the play of quarterback Avery Johnson, who threw for 199 yards, ran for another 23 yards and had four total touchdowns without a turnover.
15. Will Stein, Kentucky (1-0)
Kentucky’s offense looked explosive in a 45-13 blowout of Youngstown State, with new quarterback Kenny Minchey going for 301 yards and looking like the latest of Stein’s pupils to put up all-conference numbers.
16. Neal Brown, North Texas (0-1)
The former West Virginia coach had North Texas ready for No. 6 Indiana, which eventually pulled away with a 21-point fourth quarter. But it was still impressive the Mean Green managed 367 yards of total offense.
17. Jimmy Rogers, Iowa State (1-0)
ISU is an enigma after losing so much talent to Penn State. Big 12 wins may be hard to come by in Rogers’ first year, so the Cyclones should celebrate a 38-10 victory against Southeast Missouri State.
18. Mike Jacobs, Toledo (0-1)
Jacobs won at every level before replacing Candle this offseason and should keep Toledo near the top of the MAC based on how the Rockets played coming out halftime against Michigan State
19. JaMarcus Shephard, Oregon State (0-1)
Oregon State played pretty well in losing 33-20 to No. 24 Houston, which bodes well for the Beavers’ chances in the remade Pac-12.
20. Tavita Pritchard, Stanford (1-1)
Stanford pulled out a solid road win against Hawaii to open the year before being decimated on Friday night by Miami’s strength, depth and athleticism.
21. Ryan Silverfield, Arkansas (1-0)
A very shaky first half made things more stressful for Arkansas against North Alabama, though the Razorbacks were never in any real danger during the 31-14 win. This won’t help Silverfield win over any doubters, though.
22. Ryan Beard, Coastal Carolina (0-1)
Coastal cratered down the stretch of last season but was more competitive in a 31-24 loss to West Virginia. Down 24-0 at halftime, the Chanticleers were the better team after the break, showing there's some hope that improvement will come.
23. Casey Woods, Missouri State (0-1)
To zero surprise, Missouri State never came within sniffing distance of No. 8 Texas A&M in a 50-0 blanking. Easier dates will tell more about the Bears.
24. Kirby Moore, Washington State (0-1)
The Cougars stayed close in the Apple Cup before a late Washington touchdown sealed the Huskies’ 24-10 win. Losing to UW is never good for any WSU coach, even one in his first game, but the Cougars showed enough to look like a potential factor in the Pac-12 race.
25. Brian Hartline, South Florida (1-0)
USF was outgained by nearly 175 yards and needed a plus-three edge in the turnover battle to beat Florida International 19-9. All five of the Bulls’ scoring drives traveled fewer than 40 yards.
26. Alonzo Carter, Sacramento State (1-1)
Sacramento State’s FBS debut has featured a loss to Eastern Michigan and a blowout win against Mississippi Valley State. The Hornets are still figuring things out.
27. Rob Harley, Northern Illinois (0-1)
Harley is the interim coach in place of Thomas Hammock, who left for the NFL in February. Saturday’s 40-0 loss to Iowa is the start of what is shaping up to be a long season.
28. Will Hall, Tulane (0-1)
Tulane did nothing offensively and was held off the board until the fourth quarter of a 17-3 loss at Duke. The Green Wave also gave up 250 rushing yards and committed 15 penalties for 103 yards.
29. Kyle Whittingham, Michigan (1-0)
Only two miracles saved Whittingham from an epic letdown: an extra second added by the officiating crew and Bryce Underwood’s 47-yard touchdown pass as time expired. The Wolverines were outplayed by Western Michigan, though. Not a good sign with Oklahoma coming to town.
30. Tosh Lupoi, California (0-1)
The optics are terrible. While losing to a Big Ten team isn’t necessarily a bad look, losing by three scores to Chesney and UCLA can be used by the Bruins whenever the two programs intersect on the recruiting trail, which should be often.
31. Eric Morris, Oklahoma State (0-1)
There is no worse way for an Oklahoma State tenure to get started than with a loss to Tulsa. Despite bringing over a healthy amount of last year’s offense at North Texas, the Cowboys averaged 4.3 yards per play and had four turnovers in losing 24-10 to the Golden Hurricane.
This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: How did college football coaches making debuts fare? We ranked all 31 of them
