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Steve Sarkisian is set to become one of college football’s highest-paid coaches.
Steve Sarkisian is set to become one of college football’s highest-paid coaches. Continue reading “Details of Texas head coach Steve Sarkisian’s new contract revealed”
Who are the winners and losers of the coaching carousel so far?
This season’s college football coaching carousel is moving at a rapid pace. Programs all over the nation have wasted little time making big moves at the head coaching position. The number of coaching changes in the sport is at an all-time high.
TCU’s Sonny Dykes and USC’s Lincoln Riley are prime examples of how hiring the right coach can turn the team around in a heartbeat.
Two Big Ten schools made splash hires as Nebraska landed former Carolina Panthers head coach Matt Rhule and Wisconsin stole Luke Fickell from Cincinnati.
Auburn decided on Liberty coach Hugh Freeze after some rumored flirtations with Lane Kiffin.
Perhaps the most significant coaching hire came from Colorado as the Buffalos hired Deion Sanders from Jackson State. His presence immediately brings Colorado into the national spotlight and a major player for elite talent.
Take a look at some of the winners and losers of this year’s coaching cycle thus far.
College Football Coaches Hot Seat Top 10 Ranking. Who needs to start winning right now, and who needs a good November?
After Auburn fired Bryan Harsin, now who are the ten coaches on the hot seat after Week 9 of the college football season?
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
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College Football Week 9 Roundup
How the first CFP top 25 SHOULD be done
Bowl Projections | CFN Rankings 1-131 | Rankings by Conference
AP Poll | Coaches Poll | Predicting CFP Top 25
Bowl Bubble: Bowl eligible teams, who needs a win?
In one of the least surprising moves of the college football season, Auburn fired head coach Bryan Harsin after going 9-12 in two seasons with a 3-5 record this year.
He was front-and-center on the coaching hot seat list, but this can all change in a hiccup.
Louisville’s Scott Satterfield was right there in the mix – and could go right back up top if the team loses to James Madison this weekend to start a rough four game finishing kick – but rolling by Wake Forest to make it a three-game winning streak changed all of that.
Being on a hot seat might not necessarily mean the coach is about to be fired. Just like every top coach is a three-game losing streak away from being in trouble, at this time of year he’s a three-game winning streak away from a contract extension.
Who are the five that desperately need that good run of wins, and who are five that won’t be canned but could use something positive? As always, we start with …
Up Next: at Illinois
He’s handling the controversy at the end of the Michigan loss well, but on the field he’s on his way to a losing season.
He was 2-0 against Jim Harbaugh since taking over, but dropping the date on Saturday 29-7 was big. That’s the one game the base lives on, and it wasn’t all that close. Now the pressure is on to win at Illinois or else that might be it for a bowl shot with a trip to Penn State still to deal with.
On the plus side, beat the Illini, and with Rutgers and Indiana to follow this can all change fast. At this point, getting to six wins and a bowl would be huge. Lose twice, and it’ll be Tucker’s third losing season in four years as a head coach.
Up Next: Georgia Tech
This is a redo, and everyone acknowledges that. It’s going to take a little while for the defensive-minded first year man to get everything in place, but it would be nice to come up with a win or three over the last month.
At 2-6 a bowl game is off the table, but the team remains competitive and the D has been fine – for the most part – over the last few weeks. Georgia Tech, at Duke, at Liberty, Virginia – it would do wonders for the offseason if he could pull off two wins against that, especially against the Cavaliers.
Up Next: UNLV
Almost any coach who’s on a real hot seat probably isn’t allowed on the plane back to San Diego after the brutal collapse in Saturday night’s 32-28 loss to Fresno State. The Aztecs had it in hand, but two touchdowns – helped by a perfect onside kick – in 13 seconds turned it into one of the most shocking late losses of the year.
At 4-4 there’s still time to win two games and go bowling with three of the last four at home and a road trip at New Mexico. It’s been a rough season on and off the field, and after a great 2021 everyone knows what he can do with this program. After Fresno State, though, this is where the coaching side kicks in to get that team up for UNLV.
Up Next: at Boise State
It’s one of the most stunning disappointments of the season. Before the year started, BYU seemed like it was far more likely to be in the College Football Playoff mix than it was to be fighting for a bowl game.
After losing at home to East Carolina as part of a four-game losing streak, now the Cougars have to win two of the last three just to get to a bowl. They’ll beat Dixie State, but the have to go to Boise State and close out at Stanford.
Up Next: Florida
Welcome to life in the SEC West, Son.
This is when Texas A&M was supposed to be what Tennessee has become. Fisher was supposed to make the sleeping-superpower program into a College Football Playoff contender, and it really, really, really isn’t happening … yet.
Here’s the crazy thing – stick A&M in the ACC, or Pac-12, or Big Ten West and all might be fine. Four of the five losses were by six points or fewer, the team is still fighting, and …
Texas A&M has to win three of the last four against Florida, at Auburn, UMass, and LSU to get to a bowl.
Texas A&M under Jimbo Fisher shouldn’t be sweating a bowl invite.
– 5 college football coaches who had better win now, or else
Which college football coaches are on the hot seat? Which ones have to win now, or else, after Week 7?
Who are the ten coaches on the hot seat after Week 7 of the college football season?
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
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College Football Week 7 Roundup
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Rankings by Conference
Bowl Projections | Week 7 Scoreboard
Week 8 Early Lines | AP Rankings | Coaches Poll
12-Team Playoff | Heisman Race
The coaching firings have slowed down, and that’s obviously a good thing on a human level, and also for the struggling teams that have about six more weeks to go before the season is almost over.
That doesn’t mean there aren’t a slew of head coaches who need to win immediately.
The College Football Coaches Hot Seat Top 10 rankings are done in two ways. First are five coaches who aren’t going to get fired this year unless something crazy happens, but could desperately use a momentum change.
This isn’t always a bad thing or a negative ranking – several coaches on this list turned things around fast, like four of the five who were on it last week.
The second part are the coaches who had better crank up a run of wins, or else.
Starting with the five who won’t get fired, but could use something a few wins …
Up Next: Oklahoma (Sept. 29)
Not only is Campbell not on any hot seat, but he’s on the hot list for just about every available open head coaching gig. There’s one big problem at the moment though – his team is in last place in the Big 12.
His is the only team to not have a Big 12 win.
The defense is great, the team played well against Texas, and all four losses this year were by one score. And, of course, Iowa State beat Iowa, so all is right with the world.
There’s no pressure whatsoever on him job-wise – Iowa State will do just about anything to keep him around – but up next is Oklahoma, West Virginia, at Oklahoma State, Texas Tech, and at TCU. Iowa State has to win three of those five just to get to a bowl game.
Up Next: at Louisiana
It gets lost that he was actually good at Tennessee until it all fell apart in 2017.
He came up with a few nine-wins seasons and won three bowl games in three tries, and then he became a top assistant before taking on the Arkansas State job. 2-10 last year, the Red Wolves are 2-5 this season with tough games against Louisiana, South Alabama, and Troy ahead.
Three of the five losses were close, but it would be a big plus to show signs of something positive for the future over he next six weeks.
Up Next: Purdue
It’s almost certainly his gig no matter what, but that’s not 100% certain yet.
The win over Northwestern was great, but the overtime loss to a scuffling and mediocre Michigan State was hardly a plus.
The Badgers are 3-4, and while he won’t be blamed if the rest of the season fails to come up out of the nosedive, winning three of the last five games – Purdue, Maryland, at Iowa, at Nebraska, Minnesota – to get to a bowl game would do wonders.
If not, there are several programs – (cough) Nebraska (cough) Colorado – that might be very interested.
Up Next: at Georgia Tech (Oct. 20)
It’s not just that Virginia is losing in a mediocre ACC, it’s that it’s boring.
Last season’s Cavaliers were a high-flying fun show with QB Brennan Armstrong and company winging it all around the yard. This year’s team can barely score 17 points on Louisville.
He’s just getting started and he has yet to do his thing with the program, but the second half is rough with at Georgia Tech, Miami, North Carolina, Pitt, Coastal Carolina, at Virginia Tech.
Winning four of those games wouldn’t be asking for the world for most teams, but the 2-4 Cavaliers just need to come up with their first win in a month to get going.
Up Next: San Diego State
The longtime Nevada assistant went off to the Pac-12 for several years. He came in from Oregon to try building the program back up after former head coach Jay Norvell left for Colorado State – another Mountain West job – for what was considered a better deal.
That didn’t sit all that well with Nevada fans, especially since Norvell took a slew of top players with him.
Wilson’s team started out 2-0, lost in a shootout with Incarnate Word from the FCS, and then lost on the road to Iowa and Air Force – no big deal.
Then came the emotional return of Norvell with a winless and injury-riddled Colorado State team. It was a big moment for Nevada football, and for Wilson, and everything seemed to work in an ugly game except for the 17-14 final score in the loss.
Follow that up with a 31-16 loss to a Hawaii team that’s among the worst in the country, and Nevada is on a five-game losing streak with five of the Mountain West’s best teams coming up.
– 5 college football coaches who had better win now, or else
Which college football coaches are on the hot seat? Which ones have to win now, or else, after Week 6?
Who are the ten coaches on the hot seat after Week 6 of the college football season?
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
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College Football Week 6 Roundup
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Rankings by Conference
Bowl Projections | Week 6 Scoreboard
Week 6 Early Lines | AP Rankings | Coaches Poll
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
We went a weekend without any head coaches getting fired. Even crazier, the teams that got rid of their former head coaches over the first half of the year – Georgia Tech, Colorado, Wisconsin and Nebraska – all won on Saturday.
A slew of coordinators were let go, but it was relatively quiet as we get to the midway point in the season.
Which coaches are on the hot seat and need a win in a big, big way?
First, the five coaches who aren’t going to get fired but could use something positive over the next few weeks. Then it’s the danger zone – the five coaches who have to win soon or else there might be big problems.
Starting with the five who need to come up with a victory in a tough situation …
– 5 college football coaches who had better win now, or else
Up Next: San Jose State
The Bulldogs lost starting quarterback Jake Haener against USC, but that’s not the reason they lost to a mediocre UConn team and couldn’t do anything in a 40-20 loss to Boise State.
Tedford was wildly successful at Fresno State in 2017 and 2018, left after a bad 2019, and now he’s back and his team has yet to beat an FBS squad.
It had Oregon State dead until it didn’t in the 35-32 loss, and there hasn’t been anything fun since.
Almost the whole Mountain West is clunking, but after this week’s game against San Jose State – the best team in the conference – there’s no reason not to go on a big run over the second half of the campaign against a light slate.
Then again, Fresno State lost to UConn.
Up Next: at Eastern Michigan
The former NIU running back star had a rough start going 5-7 in his first season before a winless 2020, but it all came together last year going 9-5 with a MAC title. Just when it seemed like the Huskies were going to be a perennial conference powerhouse again, they fizzled.
They’re 1-5 and have yet to beat an FBS team after getting rocked by Toledo 52-32. To make things worse, three of the next four games are on the road and they probably won’t even get to a bowl game. Coming up in a few weeks is a key battle against …
Up Next: Ohio
Western Michigan isn’t quite there among the most disappointing teams of 2022, but it’s getting close.
The parts are there to win the MAC title, but it’s not going to happen. And why? Because Western Michigan doesn’t win MAC titles lately.
Lester has been solid with no losing seasons in his first five runs, but has yet to take the team to a MAC Championship and has just one bowl win in three tries. Being 2-4 is bad enough, but losing at home to Eastern Michigan by 22 doesn’t mean things are going well.
After dealing with Ohio this week are three road games in the next four. One of his losses this year was one of the lone bright spots for …
Up Next: Wisconsin
Uh oh.
Michigan State has to be ready for the long haul no matter what after tying Tucker in with a 10-year, $95 million contract last year.
After a strong 11-2 2021 and a 2-0 start this season everything seemed fine, and then came the loss to Washington that was even uglier than the 39-28 final score. After that, it was if the team forgot how to play college football at times in losses to Minnesota, Maryland, and Ohio State.
The team is still trying, but the results aren’t there. Now at 2-4, Tucker has to deal with his alma mater – Wisconsin, and then at Michigan, at Illinois, and he still has at Penn State to deal with. He has to win two of those four – and beat Rutgers and Indiana – just to go bowling.
Up Next: Kansas
Well that turned fast.
The Sooners didn’t have starting quarterback Dillon Gabriel, but when you’re known for being a defensive wizard of a head coach and your team give up 41 to Kansas State, 55 to TCU, lost 49-0 to Texas, the fan base will get grouchy.
Here’s the wilder part about what happened over the last three weeks – Oklahoma right now might be the worst team in the Big 12.
There’s still plenty of time to turn this around with Kansas up next, at Iowa State, Baylor, and at West Virginia, but forget about the Big 12 Championship or anything big – OU might not go to a bowl.
– 5 college football coaches who had better win now, or else
Which college football coaches are on the hot seat? Which ones have to win now, or else, after Week 5?
Now that Paul Chryst is gone at Wisconsin and Karl Dorrell is out at Colorado, who are ten other coaches on the hot seat after Week 5 of the college football season?
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
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College Football Week 5 Roundup
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Rankings by Conference
Bowl Projections | Week 5 Scoreboard
Week 6 Early Lines | AP Rankings | Coaches Poll
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
There aren’t any major surprises anymore when it comes to firing college football coaches.
It seems strange that one loss would be enough to become that final push to force a coach out early in the season, but Scott Frost (Nebraska), Herm Edwards (Arizona State), and Geoff Collins (Georgia Tech) are done, and now Colorado got rid of Karl Dorrell after a miserable start and Wisconsin pulled a shocker by firing Paul Chryst after winning 72% of his games and going 6-1 in bowls.
And why would the Badgers do that? The team started 2-3 with an ugly loss to Illinois last week, this season appears to be lost, and more than anything else, in his eighth year without a Big Ten Championship or taking the program higher, the trend is down.
Oh, and defensive coordinator and former Badger great Jim Leonhard is a red hot coaching prospect and Wisconsin is the place for him over, say, Nebraska.
So now what?
Dorrell was No. 1 on last week’s list of Hot Seat Coaches who needed a win immediately, and the 43-20 loss at Arizona turned out to be too much.
Colorado was 0-5 this year, was blown out in every game, and outside of a minor miracle appeared to be head to a winless season. That probably doesn’t change now that Dorrell’s gone, but the calls for a change became too loud.
This can flip, though. Boston College head man Jeff Hafley was able to get a win over Louisville to potentially change his fortunes, and Missouri’s Eliah Drinkwitz got a great performance out of his guys in the loss to Georgia.
But …
First we start with five coaches who won’t get fired, but they’re off to a rough start. With that said, Chryst would’ve been in that category last week.
Next are the coaches who need to win this week or very, very soon, or else.
Starting with five who could use a W …
– 5 college football coaches who had better win now, or else
Up Next: at Wake Forest
There is zero win-or-else job pressure – everyone knows he’s a great head coach. However, it would be nice to get the season going with a good win.
Okay, so he lost to Navy last year. He followed it up with a win over Missouri in the bowl game for a second straight nine-win season and fourth in five years.
This year the team appeared to be loaded, the schedule didn’t seem that bad, the experience was in place, and it all started 1-3 without a win so far over an FBS team.
Last week it lost to a previously winless Georgia State 31-14.
Lose at Wake Forest this week – it lost 70-56 last year – and it’s going to be an uphill climb to get bowl eligible in a season when at least nine wins were expected.
Up Next: at Alabama
Considering the hype, the preseason ranking, and the expectations, this isn’t going well.
It’s Year Five under Fisher, and there will be a Year Six and Seven because of his contract. However, 37-16 isn’t what the base signed up for, and getting rocked 42-24 by Mississippi State wasn’t where the program was supposed to be.
Yeah, A&M beat Arkansas, but if the kid’s field goal attempt went four inches to the left this conversation takes a different tone. Yeah, A&M beat Miami, but that might not mean much right now. Yeah, the team is 3-2, but …
At Alabama, at South Carolina, Ole Miss, Florida, at Auburn, LSU. They’re all still on the slate.
Beat Bama, though, and all will be right with the world.
Up Next: Hawaii
The offense just can’t be this bad.
Okay, so the team lost starting QB Braxton Burmeister against Boise State, but the defense didn’t step up when other options filled in. The Aztecs were rolling early, and then it all fell apart 35-13.
It’s going to be a grind this season to come up with a winning campaign, but the offense has to be able to – and this isn’t hyperbole – complete a forward pass.
Hawaii is up next. That might be the worst team in college football right now, and Nevada isn’t anything great. Getting to 4-3 is a must, because at Fresno State, UNLV, San Jose State, at New Mexico, and Air Force suddenly doesn’t look as easy of a run as it did before the season.
Up Next: Louisville
He’s just getting started in his first year as a head coach. This wasn’t a total rebuild job, though, and the pieces are there to at least go bowling.
However, the three road losses to Illinois, Syracuse, and Duke didn’t look good – the Cavaliers are too talented to drop all three. Fortunately, a reeling Louisville is up next.
Get to 3-3 and a bowl shot is still on. Lose, and suddenly the road trip to Georgia Tech and date with Miami don’t look so good.
Up Next: at Illinois
He’s an institution, a made man, and everything University of Iowa.
He also has a team that’s struggling to do anything on offense.
Iowa is 3-2 and Ferentz isn’t on a real hot seat – again, he’s Iowa football, and he’s coming off a trip to the Big Ten Championship. However, it’s one thing to lose, and it’s another to lose and be painful to watch with one of the worst attacks in college football.
The 27-14 loss at home to Michigan was a fight. Dropping that was acceptable against one of the best teams in the country. However, lose at Illinois, and with a trip to Ohio State to follow it might be a tough few weeks.
– 5 college football coaches who had better win now, or else
Which college football coaches are on the hot seat? Which ones have to win now, or else, after Week 4?
Now that Geoff Collins is reportedly out at Georgia Tech, who are ten other coaches on the hot seat after Week 4 of the college football season?
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
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College Football Week 4 Roundup
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Bowl Projections
Week 4 Scoreboard | Week 5 Early Lines
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
AP Rankings | Coaches Poll
Herm Edwards was done after last week and Scott Frost was whacked after his team was pasted by Georgia Southern. To absolutely no one’s surprise, Georgia Tech’s Geoff Collins appears to be next …
BREAKING UPDATE: Georgia Tech football coach Geoff Collins is out of his job, and it’s likely the man who hired him will be too, according to a person familiar with the situation. The Athletic Association board meets Monday https://t.co/6iz1I0u7KR
— Atlanta Journal-Constitution (@ajc) September 25, 2022
He got the rare break of time. Everyone knew Georgia Tech needed a few years to undergo a giant pivot into the modern age of college football offenses – although, I’ll be the first to profess true and undying love for the triple option and its place in the world – but it never got going with a 10-28 run in just over three years.
So who’s next? Who are the coaches who desperately need a win?
We do College Football Coach Hot Seat a bit differently. First, there are the five who almost certainly won’t get fired, but could desperately use a big win soon. And then there are the five who are in big, big trouble if something doesn’t turn around fast.
Starting with five who could use something positive …
– 5 college football coaches who had better win now, or else
Up Next: West Virginia
One wild 37-34 OT loss to Texas Tech shouldn’t mean the world – that’s a good Red Raider team and it was on the road – but there can’t be a slide.
And that’s the problem – everyone is expecting Texas to melt down just like it did last year after the Caleb Williams touchdown run to kickstart the Oklahoma comeback win.
There’s no easy out in the Big 12 this year, and it doesn’t get easier going forward.
West Virginia could absolutely win this weekend in Austin. No pressure, but if that happens, Oklahoma, Iowa State, at Oklahoma State, at Kansas State will seem very, very scary.
Up Next: Virginia Tech
He’s been recruiting well, his teams have been interesting, and …
24-18 in just over three years. That’s not exactly setting the world on fire.
Obviously different circumstances – North Carolina isn’t under the NCAA cloud that Arizona State is – but Herm Edwards was sort of a similar outside-the-box older hire, and he went 25-17 in his first 42 games before going 1-3 to finish out his era.
The Tar Heels just suffered their first loss of the season in a 45-32 shootout with Notre Dame. They should’ve lost at Appalachian State, and they got pushed by Georgia State.
After a home game against Virginia Tech, UNC play four games in five on the road and still has to deal with NC State to close out the regular season.
Everything should be fine – there’s no Clemson to deal with – but losing to the Hokies this week would be a problem.
Up Next: at New Mexico State
There are no expectations in a rough situation, and there’s no concern about anything that happens in his first year of a massive turnaround.
FIU has a close-call win over Bryant from the FCS world, got rocked by Texas State, and last week lost to WKU 73-0.
However, at New Mexico State, UConn, at Charlotte are all up in the next month, and all would be seen as sure-thing wins for just about anyone else.
FIU doesn’t need to necessarily start winning – again, this is going to take time. It would be nice to get a few positives, though, considering where this season appears to be heading.
Up Next: South Alabama
The former star quarterback and current favorite son of the Ragin’ Cajuns had a huge task trying to keep everything going after what Billy Napier was able to put together. However, even with some big personnel losses, this was still expected to be a great team that could be in the Sun Belt title hunt.
Everything looked fine over the first two games, and then came the strange loss at Rice when everything stopped, and then came the ultimate sin – a 21-17 loss last week to ULM.
He’s just getting started, but there aren’t a slew of sure-thing wins left. It’s going to be tough to get four more and get bowl eligible.
Up Next: at Maryland
This might get ugly in a hurry.
After a fantastic 2021, the program made a massive commitment to Tucker, the needle was pointing up, and it seemed like the glitches were fixed. Everything started out well against Western Michigan and Akron, and then came two massive problems.
It’s not that Michigan State last to Washington and Minnesota, it’s that it didn’t look like it belonged on the same field with either one. A late rally made the 39-28 final score against the Huskies look better than it was, but the 34-7 loss to the Gophers wasn’t even that close.
Tucker and the Spartans had better win at Maryland with Ohio State, Wisconsin, at Michigan, and at Illinois to follow and at Penn State to close.
Six wins and a bowl game aren’t a given now.
– 5 college football coaches who had better win now, or else
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These five coaches will likely hang on to their respective jobs with an okay final record, but they all need to put together a strong string of wins NOW.
Up Next: Louisville
Boston College fans were getting bored with seven-win seasons. They wanted more, they wanted to break through, they wanted to be a contender – all very reasonable.
Hafley went 6-5 in the COVID year – great. He went 6-6 last season – okay.
Now Boston College is on a rough 1-5 run since the end of last year, and here’s the really rough part – Boston College only has one win over a team that finished with a winning record since Hafley took over.
The Eagles got rocked by Florida State. They started with a loss to Rutgers, lost to a bad Virginia Tech squad, and got a win over Maine from the FCS.
Lose to Louisville this week, and with Clemson and at Wake Forest to follow – and with road games at NC State and Notre Dame ahead – there’s a problem.
Up Next: Georgia
Welcome to life in the SEC.
If Nathaniel Peat is able to hang on to the ball for just a half-step longer, Mizzou beats Auburn on the road, it’s 3-1, and with Vanderbilt and New Mexico State still to play, a bowl game would’ve seemed close to being a lock.
Peat fumbled, Missouri lost 17-14 in overtime, and up next is Georgia, then Florida on the road. then Vanderbilt and at South Carolina in a bit of a break, then Kentucky, then at Tennessee. NMSU is a breather before closing with Arkansas, but at this point, it’s going to take something special to get to six wins.
There’s a chance 12 of the 14 SEC teams are now eligible. It will be dicey if Mizzou joins Vanderbilt as the ones without an invite.
Speaking of that ending.
Up Next: LSU
Yeah, Auburn got the win, and yeah, the team is 3-1 now – you are what your record says you are. However, the offense isn’t moving, the Penn State loss was a disaster, and there’s a whole lot of pain and suffering on the horizon.
At 3-1 is seems like a bowl game is a lock, right? Find the three wins out of LSU, at Georgia, at Ole Miss, Arkansas, at Mississippi State, Texas A&M, WKU, at Alabama.
However, if Auburn is sick of him, there’s one place that might like him back …
Up Next: San Diego State
Really? Losing to UTEP 27-10? Boise State?
This is the program that seemingly went decades without losing to anyone other than someone amazing, and now it’s losing to … UTEP?
Bryan Harsin went 69-19 during his seven years at Boise State. The program won three Mountain West championships, two other divisions titles, went 9-4 with a bowl win in a 2015 season when it didn’t take the division, and was 5-2 in the strange COVID year of 2020.
Former Boise State LB Andy Avalos stepped in and went 7-5 last season. Okay, but the 2-2 start to this year isn’t okay, especially after that loss to …
UTEP.
San Diego State, Fresno State, at Air Force. This is a critical three-game stretch. Win those, and all will be right with the world.
Up Next: at Arizona
The guy knows how to coach – he was the Pac-12 Coach of the Year just two seasons ago, and he won it back in 2005, too.
He was fine at UCLA. Not amazing, but the 35-27 run wasn’t bad. He was a strong assistant in the pros, he knows how to run an offense, and there’s one level of thought that this brutal 2022 is a step back to get the new parts time to potentially take a giant leap forward.
That, and the $11.4 million buyout is a bit too rich to get rid of him before the end of the season.
Colorado has’t even been close in the four losses to TCU, Air Force, Minnesota, and last week against UCLA. Making things worse is the lack of a true lightweight game the rest of the way.
Going to Arizona is close, maybe getting Cal at home is winnable, and hosting Arizona State on October 29th is a shot, but 0-12 is a real possibility with the way the team is playing after four weeks.
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College Football Week 4 Roundup
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Bowl Projections
Week 4 Scoreboard | Week 5 Early Lines
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
AP Rankings | Coaches Poll
What is your favorite football coach rant of all-time?
15 years ago today wasn’t a particularly memorable day if you’re a Notre Dame fan as the 2007 Fighting Irish squad was beat up by Michigan State 31-14 and fell to 0-4 for the first time in program history. That team was bad, it got worse before it got better, and ultimately finished 3-9.
On that day however it wasn’t [autotag]Charlie Weis[/autotag] who went on a legendary postgame rant that still gets played on countless sports radio shows to this day. It was instead a young head coach by the name of [autotag]Mike Gundy[/autotag] who met the media following a shootout victory over Big 12 rival Texas Tech.
The rest as they say is history.
I’m not sure how many of us thought Gundy, who improved to just 13-15 as Oklahoma State’s head coach on this day, would still be leading the Cowboys by the time he was 55, but having led Oklahoma State to 16-straight bowl games and a Fiesta Bowl victory over Notre Dame a year ago, it certainly doesn’t appear that he’ll be slowing down anytime soon.
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Which college football coaches are on the hot seat? Which ones have to win now, or else, after Week 3?
Now that Herm Edwards is out at Arizona State, who are ten other coaches on the hot seat after Week 3 of the college football season?
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College Football Week 3 Roundup
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Bowl Projections
Week 3 Scoreboard | Week 4 Early Lines
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
AP Rankings | Coaches Poll
It was an interesting idea.
Forgetting for a moment that Arizona State had then-offensive coordinator Billy Napier there for the taking – but he left for Louisiana to cut his teeth as a head coach – the call of Herm Edwards to take over the head coaching job was a bold move.
He’s a pro head coach, he’s got limitless energy, and he seemed like his style, personality, and skills would turn Arizona State into something special.
In a perfect world, ASU was hoping to catch the Pete Carroll-lighting-in-a-bottle that USC captured once upon a time.
But a mediocre 26-20 run, potential NCAA violations, and worst of all for this season, a 1-2 start with a home loss to Eastern Michigan – after coming in as a 20-point favorite – were enough to make an early change before the team had to deal with Utah, USC, and Washington over the next three weeks.
With Edwards done and Scott Frost out at Nebraska, who are the other coaches in need of a quick turnaround?
Hot Seat is defined a bit differently here. There are coaches who need a win soon or they’ll probably get fired, and there are coaches who appear to be a bit more secure, but could use a bit of a boost with a good winning run.
Starting with the latter, here are five coaches who almost certainly won’t get canned, but could desperately use something splashy …
– 5 college football coaches who had better win now, or else
Up Next: Toledo
Hoke’s team went 12-2 last season, it would’ve won the Mountain West championship if it wasn’t gutted by COVID before the title game, and it went on to finish in the top 25.
Now there’s a brand new stadium, the school is this close to getting a very important call from the Pac-12 – or possibly the Big 12 – and all of a sudden, the program has fallen into a slump.
From the Matt Araiza scandal, to the embarrassing loss to Arizona to open Snapdragon Stadium, to the 35-7 loss to Utah on Saturday when there weren’t any answers whatsoever offensively, it has been a rough run.
The Aztecs will be fine – the Mountain West is awful – and they’ll get to a bowl game, but a home win over Toledo this weekend would help before going to Boise State.
Speaking of the Mountain West …
Up Next: Sacramento State
Norvell left Nevada for a better gig and better facilities, and he brought over a slew of parts from his old job to Fort Collins. It isn’t working so far in his first season..
Getting rocked by Michigan is one thing, but losing by 15 at home to Middle Tennessee is another, and only coming up with seven points against Washington State made things worse.
The Rams will beat Sacramento State this week. They’ll win that, but after starting 0-3, a winning streak is a must before a tough finishing kick.
Up Next: at Virginia Tech
Uh oh.
Brown hasn’t been awful in his first 3+ years, but even with the blowout win over Towson he’s just 18-20 so far. The close loss to Pitt to start the season could’ve gone either way, but the 55-42 loss at home to Kansas wasn’t okay, even if this isn’t the Kansas everyone knew and loved over the last several years.
There’s no break the rest of the way – West Virginia will probably be the underdog in each of the remaining nine games, with the possible exception of a home date with Kansas State.
It’ll take something special to get to a bowl game.
Up Next: Miami University
He’s a made man who bleeds Northwestern purple, and he’s not that far removed from winning two Big Ten West titles in three seasons. However, he’s now 4-11 in his last 15 games, and very soon the Big Ten schedule is going to drop like a box of hammers to make that a whole lot worse.
The excitement was there after beating Nebraska in Dublin, but that wore off after fumbling away a loss to Duke, and then came the inexcusable home gaffe to Southern Illinois.
He’ll never, ever get fired from Northwestern, but with the loss the program is careening towards its third losing season in four years.
Up Next: at Colorado
Wait … isn’t UCLA 3-0?
Yeah, but it has hardly been a smooth run.
The Bruins beat Bowling Green 45-17, but it needed to go on a second half run after a tough start. Last week it took a miraculously bizarre special teams gaffe by South Alabama to survive 32-31.
Losing at Colorado this week would be disastrous – that’s not going to happen. However, Washington, Utah, and at Oregon follow, and that’s going to be tough.
The Bruins will turn in a good season overall, but this is when Kelly was supposed to have everything humming, and UCLA doesn’t appear to be there quite yet.
– 5 college football coaches who had better win now, or else
NEXT: 5 College Football Hot Seat Coaches Who Need To Win Now, Or Else
Which college football coaches are on the hot seat? Which ones have to win now, or else, after Week 2?
Now that Scott Frost is out at Nebraska, who are ten other coaches on the hot seat after Week 2 of the college football season?
– Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak
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College Football Week 2 Roundup
CFN 1-131 Rankings | Bowl Projections
Week 2 Scoreboard | Week 3 Early Lines
What 12-Team Playoff Would Look Like
AP Rankings | Coaches Poll
It was hardly surprising after a 16-31 including an ugly 1-2 start.
Nebraska collapsed against Northwestern to kickoff what was supposed to be a breakthrough season, the team struggled against North Dakota, and on Saturday it lost to Georgia Southern 45-42.
That was enough for the Huskers to fire head coach Scott Frost. Assistant Mickey Joseph will take over, and now the search is on to restore the glory – Iowa State’s Matt Campbell is reportedly one of the main targets, but this is a big gig that will attract other star prospects.
Which coaches will now get all of the hot seat attention? Which ones are under pressure to come up with something big to show that they’re going to give the respective fan bases and schools the fun they’re looking for?
The coaching hot seat top ten rankings are done in two ways. First, the five who aren’t going to get fired anytime soon unless something crazy happens, but could really use a big run of wins to relieve the stress. Then, the five who had better come up with a string of victories and a positive direction, or else.
Five coaches who have almost no chance of getting canned, but could desperately use a win …
– 5 college football coaches who had better win now, or else
Up Next: New Mexico State
He’s great for the program, he has three Big Ten West titles in his seven years before this season, and he was one final stalled 2017 Big Ten Championship drive away from going to the College Football Playoff, but this remains the Power Five program that has won the most in the CFP era without getting into the tournament.
Three turnovers and a 17-14 loss to Washington State later, Wisconsin went from looking like a potential lock to win the West to needing to reestablish its dominance. There’s a big trip to Ohio State coming up in two weeks that could reset the narrative.
Up Next: Miami
We all know what’s coming.
We all know that Texas A&M just cranked up one of the greatest recruiting classes in the history of college football – at least according to the people who get into those things – and we all know that the program is just this close to being the next big thing. It’s not crazy to see Texas A&M coming up with a 2019 LSU or 2021 Georgia very, very soon. However …
Losing at home to Appalachian State 17-14 with 186 yards of total offense isn’t a sign that things are going well. Worst of all, last week is as light as it gets until UMass on November 19th.
Up Next: Nevada
He’s the longest-tenured head coach at one school in major college football – he started at Iowa in 1999 – the next closest are Mike Gundy at Oklahoma State and Kyle Whittingham at Utah, who have been there since 2005 – and it’s impossible to argue with the results after getting to the Big Ten Championship last year, but …
316 yards of total offense and one touchdown in two games, a 10-7 loss to rival Iowa State, and a passing game that’s just plain sad isn’t how 2022 was supposed to start.
We all know how this works, and we all know the glitch will be fixed. Scoring more than seven points in a game would be nice, though.
Up Next: Mississippi State
The problem is there there’s no honeymoon period whatsoever, and the start to his tenure has been, let’s just say, weird.
The brutal fact is that LSU needs a little while to get back to a national title level, but that’s not where the expectations are. LSU isn’t supposed to struggle against Florida State, it’s supposed to win the SEC Championship, and Kelly is supposed to step in and win a national title like Nick Saban, Les Miles, and Ed Orgeron did.
LSU fans aren’t insane – of course they know this is going to take a little bit – but … beat Mississippi State. And then beat Auburn, and then Tennessee, and then Florida, and then Ole Miss, and then Alabama, and then Arkansas …
Up Next: Cal
Yes, Freeman is the first Notre Dame head coach to lose his first three games. Yes, the team collapsed in the bowl loss to Oklahoma State, didn’t open it up in the season-opener against Ohio State, and couldn’t handle a home game at Marshall.
Call it all a step back to possibly take a massive step forward.
It’s hard to sell a fan base on recruiting cycles when it’s expecting a College Football Playoff appearance – and that was exactly the right bar to set with a not-that-bad-other-than-Clemson schedule after going to Columbus.
Everyone loves the hire, no one has a negative word to say about him, and it’s acknowledged that there will be a learning curve of sorts in his first head coaching gig. That’s fine. Now the O needs to work on a nice-long, winning streak.
By the way, the BYU game in Vegas is in two weeks.
– 5 college football coaches who had better win now, or else
NEXT: 5 College Football Hot Seat Coaches Who Need To Win Now, Or Else
