With the college football season a third of the way complete and teams rounding into form, it's time to check in on some of the most intriguing new offensive coordinator/quarterback pairings in college football. The marriage that decides true offensive success has had varying degrees of that in plenty of places this season. For some teams' seasons, the coordinator conundrum could be make-or-break for a head coach's entire tenure -- South Carolina, Colorado, TCU, and Clemson are all in that boat.
Offensive success will go a long way to determining the narrative around the program as hot-seat time nears. For others, it's simply about getting things off to a positive start, like Florida, California, and Michigan. And for a few, such as Oregon and Texas A&M, it's a litmus test of the value of internal promotion versus bringing in someone from the outside to bring new ideas to the staff and keep things fresh.
In today's college football, where quarterbacks are not just the premier position but, in many places, are paid commensurate with that expectation in the rev-share era, it is more vital than ever for teams to nail the combination. So it's progress report time: Who's excelling, and who needs work? Coordinator: Buster Faulkner | Quarterback: Aaron Philo: A+ It's hard to call this a new tandem of coach and coordinator.
Philo comes in after a spell as backup to Haynes King at Georgia Tech with Faulkner. But they are in new surroundings with new skill and talent. Their chemistry, combined with the pieces left from Billy Napier's Gators, has produced an offense that has scored 50+ points three times in four games, which is more than Napier's entire tenure.
Only three teams in the country have more plays of 20+ yards. Jadan Baugh gets the headlines, and deservedly so, but Philo's the point guard and Florida's offense has a lot of mouths to feed. Any combination of Vernell Brown III, Dallas Wilson, Bailey Stockton (also a Georgia Tech transfer), Amir Jackson or TJ Abrams can hurt you.
Auburn transfer Eric Singleton (who played at Georgia Tech in 2023 and 2024) has barely played due to injury. Philo is operating the offense and even contributing some to the rushing attack on his own. They pass with flying colors early on.
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