Pick a word, any word.

That’s what I asked the 65 coaches from the Power Five conferences and Notre Dame to do. Describe their team in one word.

Some coaches were one-word wonders, but a few insisted they needed two words. That’s fine because the descriptions shed some insight into how coaches view their team and/or what they want the public perception of their team to be.

Of the 65 coaches, “hungry” was the most common description. Nine coaches went with it, making a “hungry” team the modern-day equivalent of the “taking it one game at a time” cliché. Four coaches used “unproven,” another four “experienced” and three said “young.” Two coaches each used “redemption,” “committed,” “improved” or “youthful."

In all, the 65 coaches used 44 different descriptions.

Well, here’s to taking it one “word” at a time. My word: Enjoy.

Pac-12

Arizona’s Rich Rodriguez: Hungry

Arizona State’s Todd Graham: Character

Cal’s Sonny Dykes: Hungry

Colorado’s Mike MacIntryre: More confident

Oregon’s Mark Helfrich: Redemption

Oregon State’s Mike Riley: Leadership

Stanford’s David Shaw: Underappreciated

UCLA’s Jim Mora: Determined

USC’s Steve Sarkisian: Tough

Utah’s Kyle Whittingham: Warriors

Washington’s Chris Petersen: Unknown

Washington State’s Mike Leach: Improving