NCAA Football Week 1 Tailgate: Day 2

2. New Coaches Start Their Tenures

• Jimbo Fisher, Florida State. Anyone else think Bowden was forced out too early? Wow, big shoes to fill for the former "coach-in-waiting." Luckily for him, he starts off against Samford.
  
• Brian Kelly, Notre Dame. The Irish are a 10 point favorite over Purdue in Week 1, I see it being closer than that in Kelly's debut, but expect him to have less wins than his replacement back in Cincinnati...
• Butch Jones, Cincinnati. What a tough way to start off with the Bearcats for Butch Jones in his first game after leaving Central Michigan. They'll travel to Fresno to take on the Bulldogs. But I like the Bearcats to win a tight one on the west coast.
  
• Lane Kiffin, Southern Cal. Kiffin's Trojans start out ranked 14th... not that it matters this season- at least they get a free trip to Hawaii in week one.
  
• Tommy Tuberville, Texas Tech. Texas Tech should be able to handle SMU at home, though I feel Ruffin McNeill should be coaching the Red Raiders, speaking of Ruffin McNeill...
• Ruffin McNeill, East Carolina. McNeill's first game with the Pirates will be a tough test at home against Tulsa. McNeill, an ECU alum, is a great fit for the Pirates and a steal of a coach who should be in charge in Lubbock, but he'll need time to come in and implement his spread offense in Greenville.
• Skip Holtz, Southern Florida. The day came that Pirates fans had to expect would come sooner rather than later. On January 14th, Holtz jumped ship for a BCS conference team. Not worried about Holtz's new team in week one, though, as the Bulls open up against Stony Brook.
• Charlie Strong, Louisville. If Charlie Strong wants to earn points quickly with Cardinals fans all he needs to do is beat Kentucky in week one at home, who has a new coach of their own...
  
• Joker Phillips, Kentucky. Hired as the coach-in-waiting a few years ago, Phillips leads his team into Louisville to take on the rival Cardinals in his first game as the head coach.
  
• Derek Dooley, Tennessee. Not quite who the Volunteers were expecting would lead them into their week one game against in-state foe Tennessee-Martin. I expect a blowout in Knoxville as the Dooley era opens strong against the Skyhawks.

Also:

• Kansas: Turner Gill in, Mark Mangino out. Week 1: Home against North Dakota State.
  
• Vanderbilt: Robbie Caldwell in, Bobby Johnson out. Week 1: Home against Northwestern.
• Virginia: Mike London in, Al Groh out. Week 1: Home against Richmond.