The expanded college football playoff has given every football program in the country a realistic opportunity to compete for the sport’s ultimate prize, a national title. Schools in the major conferences, like the Big Ten and SEC, have an even bigger opportunity to reach the big dance.
One program that has taken complete advantage of college football’s new landscape is the Indiana Hoosiers. Despite a tough loss to the Ohio State Buckeyes and missing the Big Ten championship game, the Hoosiers are all but guaranteed to make the final field of 12 teams.
Unfortunately, not every school has been able to take advantage of the new opportunity the expanded playoff presents.
The Rutgers Scarlet Knights got off to a red-hot 4-0 start to the season and it looked as if head coach Greg Schiano had a chance at making a playoff push of his own. Unfortunately, the back half of the season was not nearly as successful.
The Scarlet Knights only won three of their final eight games to fall completely out of playoff consideration. Despite beating the Michigan State Spartans to close out the season, one coach is leaving the team for a role where he hopes he can lead a team into the playoffs.
“Sources: UMass is expected to hire Rutgers defensive coordinator Joe Harasymiak the school’s next head coach. A deal is expected to come together in the near future. He brings strong Northeast ties, including as head coach at Maine,” reported ESPN’s Pete Thamel on Wednesday.
There’s also a strong financial incentive for the departure, per Thamel.
“It is a five-year deal that UMass is working toward with Harasymiak, per ESPN sources. He’s expected to make between $1.3 and $1.4 million annually, per sources.”
It’ll be interesting to see what directions the two programs go after the move.
