There were a total of 23 schools that entered the 2005 season with new head coaches last year (see Wednesday’s Notes in the files on how they fared). There were only 10 new hires this year, but then, with the tragic death of Northwestern’s Randy Walker over the summer, this year’s “carousel of coaches” grew to 11. In a special weekend edition of Ness Notes, they I will preview all 11 schools and coaches. .

The 23 coaching changes from last year broke down like this. There were 10 schools bringing in coaches with previous experience and 13 schools that were giving their ‘guys’ their first head coaching job at the Division IA level. Among this year’s group of 11 changes, only two schools have hired guys with previous head coaching experience.

The short list includes Dan Hawkins, who left Boise State to take the job in Colorado, and Dennis Erickson, who held numerous college and NFL jobs (most recently as head coach of the 49ers) and returns to Idaho this year (coached there from 1982-85). What follows are this year’s coaching changes, listed alphabetically by school.

Boise State (Chris Peterson): Peterson has been Boise’s OC for the past five years and has been an integral part of a team that averaged 41.3 PPG during that span, including an impressive 48.9 PPG in 2004. The Broncos have ranked in the top 25 nationally in rushing yards for three of the last four years. Boise saw two 31-game winning streaks end in last year’s 9-4 (6-5-1) season.

Their 31-game WAC winning streak ended Nov. 12 at Fresno State (27-7) and the school’s 31-game home winning streak ended in the MPC Bowl, when Boston College edged the Broncos in their famous “Blue Turf”. , 27-21. Since 1999, the Broncos are 45-2 SU at home and 30-11 ATS. Heading into this year’s schedule, Boise opens at home on a Thursday night with Oregon State (note: Boise is 1-10 SU and 2-6-1 ATS all-time against Pac-10 schools).

Other tough spots will be in Utah on 9/30, a home rematch with Fresno State on Nov. 1 (before the LY loss, Boise was 4-0 SU and ATS vs. Fresno since 2001, outscoring them 166-84) and at Nevada Nov. 21 (Wolf Pack tied Boise for last year’s WAC title at 7-1 and have gone 10-2 SU at home in 2004 and 2005). There’s little reason to believe the Broncos will miss a beat with Peterson in charge.

Buffalo (Turner Gill): Gill spent 17 years at Nebraska as their QB (three years) and then in various assisting roles. The Cornhuskers record during that time was 176-38. So Buffalo will certainly be a “shock to the system.” The Bison joined Division IA in 1999 and have won a total of just 10 games, never winning more than two MAC games in a year. After an 0-11 season in 1999, the team won twice in 2000 and three times in 2002 before going 5-41 (18-25-1) combined the last four seasons.

Last year’s 1-10 team (6-5 ATS) averaged just 10 PPG while allowing 29.7 PPG. However, that total was down from the previous three seasons, in which the defense allowed 31.9, 37.1 and 34.7 PPG. Turner will install new schemes on both sides of the ball this year and has the second-fewest returning starters of any MAC team, so don’t expect much more from Buffalo this year.

Two notable games are the team’s Aug. 31 home opener against Temple and an Oct. 21 visit to Ohio U. At Temple, the Bison faced a team that went 0-11 last year and will bring a 12-game losing streak and Ohio is managed by Frank Solich. Solich is a former Nebraska player and longtime assistant who was the team’s head coach from 1998 to 2003 and Gill worked as one of his assistants during that time.

Colorado (Dan Hawkins): Hawkins spent the last five years at Boise State amassing an impressive 53-10 record. His .841 winning percentage is No. 1 among active coaches and his 53 wins are the fourth-most by a coach in his first five seasons at a major school. He dominated the WAC while in Boise, going 37-3 and winning four league titles.

He takes over a team from Colorado that has won three Big-12 North titles in the last four seasons, but doesn’t have anywhere near the talent of the Big-12 South, powerhouses of Texas and Oklahoma. Hawkins is a great hire, but he only has five returning starters on offense and between six and eight on defense. The Buffs opened with Montana State but then faced Colorado State on September 9.

The favorite in this game is just 1-9 ATS in the last 10 years and is back at a neutral site (Invesco Field) after two straight years of playing in Boulder (Colorado won both games by three points with no coverage). Colorado visits Georgia on September 23 (Hawkins took Boise there last year and lost 48-13!), as well as playing Norman on October 21 and Lincoln on November 24.

Idaho (Dennis Erickson): Erickson is just 40-56 in six seasons as an NFL head coach (four years with the Seahawks and two with the 49ers). However, he is 145-56-1 in the college ranks with stops in Idaho, Wyoming, Washington state, Miami and Oregon state. He won two national titles in Miami and led Oregon State to an 11-1 season and BCS Bowl (41-9 Fiesta Bowl over Notre Dame) in 2000.

In his second tour of duty at Idaho, he takes over a team that has gone 11-47 the past five years and 23-29-2 ATS. Erickson has wanted to return to the college ranks ever since he was fired by the 49ers in 2004, but many schools shied away because of his past troubles with the NCAA. However, this was a “no-brainer” for Idaho, who are bringing in a “big-name” coach. Erickson will take his Vandals to Pullman on Sept. 9 to face Washington State (he coached there from 1987-88) and to Corvallis on Sept. 23 to play Oregon State (1999-2002).

Middle Tennessee State (Rick Stockstill): Stockstill has been an assistant for 17 years at the Division IA level, 14 years at Clemson (under Danny Ford, Ken Hatfield, Tommy West and Tommy Bowden). He spent the last two years in South Carolina with Lou Holtz and Steve Spurrier. He takes over a team that many felt was as talented as any team in the SBC last year, but the Blue Raiders only went 4-7. In fact, the team is just 17-29 (21-23) the last four years.

The team held its own at both Alabama and North Carolina State last year and went into Vanderbilt and beat the Commodores 17-15, a loss that prevented Vandy from bidding for the first time since 1982. Nine offensive starters return and I wouldn’t be surprised if the Blue Raiders posted their first winning record since going 8-3 in 2001. However, the Blue Raiders may have to pull off an upset in one of these games to pull it off. They’re in Maryland (9/9), Oklahoma (9/23), Nashville to take on Louisville (10/6) and South Carolina (11/18).

Part 2 will follow on Sunday.