Michigan's Kyle Whittingham, Penn State's Matt Campbell among first-year coaches stumbling out of the gate

Quarterback questions. Execution mistakes. Referendums on defense early in conference play.

There's a group of first-year coaches struggling with all of the above, nearing the midway point without clear answers.

Offseason optimism has disappeared for a few preseason-ranked teams and others who have tanked through five weeks, or at least aren't where they expected to be following coaching changes.

Nobody expects every rebuild to produce immediate wins, but how it looks is often equally important. For these coaches, the early returns suggest there is considerably more work ahead than fans anticipated this fall.

Kyle Whittingham, Michigan (3-2, 0-2)

Universally graded as one of the coaching cycle's best hires last season, considering the timing following the firing of Sherrone Moore, Whittingham's already calling the first half of the year with the Wolverines the toughest of his career. That's a successful coaching legacy that spans more than four decades. Michigan's three-turnover disaster during Saturday's loss at Minnesota was a lesson in more self-inflicted wounds that continue to haunt this football team under Whittingham's watch.

Bryce Underwood continues to handcuff Jason Beck's offense, a scheme proven to get the most out of its quarterbacks. Underwood's not playing with any confidence thanks to a QBR, completion rate and rushing averages all down compared to his freshman campaign.

Underwood's uneasy play

Winless in Big Ten play, maybe it's time for Whittingham to go to his bench and see what freshman Tommy Carr, the brother of Notre Dame's CJ Carr and grandson of former Michigan coach Lloyd Carr, has to offer. This is part of the predicament coaching staffs get themselves into in the NIL era when your QB1 is being paid at an elite rate, yet the production isn't there.

Matt Campbell, Penn State (3-2, 0-2)

When you give up 413 yards rushing against Northwestern, everything in the football program's operations needs to be assessed from the top down. Campbell never envisioned he would be engaging in wide-scale referendums in Week 6, but here we are ahead of what was scheduled to be a narrative-setting showdown with USC.

Penn State's crowd won't be as ramped up as usual, given the team's winless start in the Big Ten. 

The Nittany Lions rank in the back half of the conference in several offensive categories, and Campbell's cast of Iowa State transfers at key positions are beginning to be exposed.

Ryan Silverfield, Arkansas (2-3, 0-2)

Until institutional buy-in is secured in Fayetteville, Arkansas, it will remain the most arduous job in the SEC. 

The Razorbacks have been outscored this season by three Power Four opponents, 122-34, in games that were never competitive, an alarming trend that may not stop with four more top-20 teams on the schedule. 

Despite success at Memphis, Silverfield looks like he's in over his head in the SEC, even with a limited sample size. Saturday's home game with Tennessee will be another test to see if there's any life within this locker room during his first season.

Jim Mora, Colorado State (2-3, 0-1)

The Colorado State brass may already be regretting a hire who's showing signs of early instability. 

After relieving defensive coordinator Tyson Summers of his playcalling duties in the first half of Saturday's 56-26 loss to Oregon State at home, Mora watched his assistant coach leave the sideline and the program mid-game.

After a 2-0 start, the Rams have given up 156 points over their last three blowout losses. Mora left UConn for what he felt was a better job with the Rams, but this is an ugly opening five weeks.

Jason Candle, UConn (2-3)

Speaking of UConn, Candle had opportunities to leave Toledo several times over the years for bigger positions before landing on the Huskies last cycle. 

He's quickly learning the grass isn't always greener despite doubling his salary to $2.5 million. UConn was torched by hapless Maryland in Week 2, and consecutive late-game failures against Miami (Ohio) and Syracuse represent missed opportunities.

The backbreaker was allowing a successful fourth-and-goal conversion from the 17-yard line in overtime. Brutal. There's a strong possibility none of the teams UConn has lost to will go bowling this season, a humiliating reality for a coach and staff still figuring it out, nearing midseason. UConn travels to Temple next, which just upset USF on the road in Week 5.

Pat Fitzgerald, Michigan State (2-3, 0-2)

Wins over Toledo and Eastern Michigan were fool's gold for the Spartans. They've floated back to reality with three straight double-digit losses to Notre Dame, Nebraska and Wisconsin, failing to manufacture an offensive identity. 

When you say things like, "we're trying to get everyone on the roster ready to play" after a 28-point loss during your second Big Ten game, that's a problem.

There's only so much quarterback Alessio Milivojevic can do when Michigan State's offensive line is getting whipped off the snap and wideouts are failing to win one-on-one battles, as Fitzgerald puts it. Nothing has looked in sync about the Spartans this season, and Michigan State isn't the physical-first squad this administration expected when they brought Fitzgerald to East Lansing — at least not yet.

Kirby Moore, Washington State (1-4, 0-1)

The Cougars have scored three offensive touchdowns in four games against FBS opponents this season, a horrifying start for a program expecting fireworks on that side of the football, given Moore's playcalling success at Missouri. The home crowd viciously booed the lack of production during the second half of last week's 20-point loss to Fresno State, leaving Moore needing to "evaluate a lot of things" before Friday's bout at Utah State.

Washington State misfired on 11 of 14 third-down attempts, part of that due to early-down struggles. Rather than point his finger at underwhelming quarterback Caden Pinnick, Moore shouldered the burden and said it's up to him to pull this team out of its current abyss.

Tosh Lupoi, California (2-3, 1-1)

Nothing's going right under this former Oregon defensive coordinator, who successfully convinced standout quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele to return for his sophomore season during Day 1 on the job, yet has very little to show for it through five games. Lupoi gambled on both of his coordinator hires and said he hasn't ruled out making changes to some of the offensive coaches' roles moving forward.

Cal committed a jaw-dropping 16 penalties for 147 yards during Saturday's loss to UNLV after its defense -- which is supposedly Lupoi's calling card -- crumbled. The Bears rank 16th in the ACC against the run and have already allowed 11 touchdowns on the ground. The personnel is different than what Lupoi was blessed with in Eugene, but he'll need to show an ability to lead at some point as well.