Two potential options in the Penn State coaching search faced off against each other Saturday afternoon.
In an American Athletic Conference matchup, South Florida’s Alex Golesh fell to Memphis’ Ryan Silverfiled, 32-31.
If Silverfield does indeed want to move onto a bigger school, he did himself a big favor.
Golesh did the opposite of that.
This win came at a much-needed time for Memphis. Last week, the Tigers fell in an upset loss to UAB, who came in 2-4 with an interim coach. That loss knocked Memphis out of the top 25, but beating USF, which came in at No. 18, could put it right back in there.
South Florida, on the other hand, might be out of the rankings.
Silverfield, 45, is in his sixth season at Memphis, where he was an assistant for four seasons before that. Ironically, the first game of Silverfield’s head coaching career took place against Penn State in the 2019 Cotton Bowl.
Mike Norvell had left for Florida State, so it was Silverfield leading Memphis into Dallas.
Penn State won the game, 53-39.
Since then, Silverfield has kept a successful program going. Memphis is on pace for a third straight 10-win season, with today being its seventh win and eight tries.
With that said, South Florida’s loss doesn’t mean Penn State fans should sell Golesh short, either.
The 41-year-old Russian-born, offensive-minded coach has turned South Florida into a winner, after taking it over when it had won four total games over the previous three seasons.
Golesh and South Florida made a statement this season by upsetting then-No. 13 Florida on the road. That loss contributed to Florida firing Billy Napier midseason the week after Penn State fired James Franklin.
The Penn State coaching search is far from over.
Keep posted to NSN for more news and analysis.
