Frank Solich to be inducted into the 2024 College Football Hall of Fame

The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame added a former Husker to the class.

The 2024 College Football Hall of Fame added a former Husker to the class. Nebraska alumni Frank Solich will be the 22nd Husker to be inducted into the hall of fame and is Nebraska’s first inductee since 2022 when Zach Wiegert earned an induction.

Solich played and coached for Nebraska, serving as the Huskers’ fullback and head coach. As a fullback, Solich joined Bob Devaney’s first recruiting class and finished as a three-year letterman. In his final season, Solich was named All-Big Eight fullback and the Huskers’ 1965 team co-captain.

He still holds the school’s single-game rushing record for fullbacks, which he set in 1965 against Air Force. In the game, Solich rushed for 204 yards, which added to his season rushing total of 580 yards.

Following his playing career, Solich rejoined Nebraska’s football team as a coach in 1979, coaching the freshmen and then the running backs until 1998. Solich then took over as head coach upon Tom Osborne’s retirement and held the role until 2003 before being let go.

In his tenure as the Huskers’ head coach, Solich went 58-19, leading Nebraska to bowl games each year, including the Fiesta Bowl in 1999 and the Rose Bowl in 2001. Solich then joined the University of Ohio as its head coach and remained there until 2020, when he officially retired.

Solich finished his coaching career with a record of 173-101 in games and 7-9 in bowl games.

Contact/Follow us @CornhuskersWire on Twitter, and like our page on Facebook to follow ongoing coverage of Nebraska news, notes, and opinions.

Head coaches with the most consecutive winning seasons at one school

Long-term success as a college football coach is rare, but long-term success as a college football coach at the same school is even rarer.

Long-term success as a college football coach is rare, but long-term success as a college football coach at the same school is even rarer. Writer Brett McMurphy recently compiled a list of the coaches with the most consecutive winning seasons at the same school.

Two of the coaches on the list have an active streak. Those coaches are Oklahoma State’s Mike Gundy and Alabama’s Nick Saban, who have had 18 and 17 straight winning seasons, respectively.

It should not be a surprise that former Nebraska head coach and College Football Hall of Famer Tom Osborne is also on the list. In fact, Osborne had a winning season in each year of his head coaching career. He averaged 10 wins a year over his 25-year coaching career.

Find the entire list of coaches below.

College Football Transfer Portal 2023 Rankings: Head Coaches

New head coaches in new places – who are the seven head coaches who switched jobs, and who’ll make the biggest impact?

Which head coaches are going to new places and who should be the best of the lot? They might not be in a transfer portal, but like the top prospects, a few key coaches moved around.


Transfer Portal 2023 Rankings: Head Coaches

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Contact/Follow @ColFootballnews

Okay, okay, there isn’t a transfer portal for college football head coaches, but the ones at new gigs were out there in the mix – just like the players who switched schools – and they found new landing spots that will make them very, very big this season.

No, really. Why are there coaches lumped into a thing about the college football transfer portal? If you go through the lists of where all of the top prospects are going, the new head coaches in new places had a whole lot to do with the moves.

How do the head coaches who changed jobs rank? Who’ll make the biggest impact and who were the best gets of the bunch? There were six college football head coaches who left for other college football gigs, and we’ll throw in a former NFL head man, too.

2023 Transfer Portal Rankings
QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | OG/C
DE/EDGE | DT | LB | CB | Saf | Coaches

7 Scott Satterfield

New School: Cincinnati
Former School: Louisville

This worked for all sides. Louisville – at least parts of the fan base – was ready to move on, the school got the guy it wanted before hiring Satterfield, and the former guy landed in a sweet new gig. The pressure will be on, though. Satterfield didn’t exactly light it up at Louisville, and now he has to keep the success going at Cincinnati as it goes into the Big 12.

6 Jamey Chadwell

New School: Liberty
Former School: Coastal Carolina

This sort of makes sense. Think of it this way. Billy Napier turned Louisiana into a national thing and a Sun Belt powerhouse, and he parlayed that into the Florida job. Chadwell turned Coastal Carolina into a national thing and a Sun Belt powerhouse, and – not to program shame – his next step up is Liberty? It’s a great get for the Flames – Chadwell was in the rumor mill for a slew of bigger-name openings – but this might just be a pit stop.

5 Jeff Brohm

New School: Louisville
Former School: Purdue

Timing. Louisville made a big push for Brohm – a native son and former Cardinal quarterback – the last time around. Brohm stayed put at Purdue, took a program in need of a total reboot – really, look at how bad things got before he arrived – and got it to the Big Ten Championship last year. It was time to make the move. With the shifting away from divisions, he got Purdue about as far as he could.

4 Hugh Freeze

New School: Auburn
Former School: Liberty

Well there you go, SEC. You got one of your own back. It might have been a rough exit out of the conference, but Freeze did huge things at Liberty to show just how good a head coach he really is. Forgetting all the past issues, here’s the problem – it’s not like he won anything at Ole Miss. Even so, the guy knows how to coach a football team and he’s going to crank up the Auburn offense in a hurry thanks to a lot of help from the transfer portal.

3 Matt Rhule

New School: Nebraska
Former School: Baylor (but, really, the Carolina Panthers)

He makes the list, just because. He might not have switched head coaching gigs – he was fired by the Carolina Panthers and was readily available – but he was one of the splashiest of the new coaching gets. He was phenomenal at Temple, great at Baylor, and the NFL is the NFL – that’s about luck as much as anything else. It’s a big name head man in a big-time gig – the spotlight will be on right away.

2 Deion Sanders

New School: Colorado
Former School: Jackson State

Flip a coin on whether or not Coach Prime should be No. 1 on this list, and no argument if you think he should be.

For a program that – at least on the field – might have been the worst among the Power Five conferences last season, Sanders provided and instant jolt of … everything. Star power, national interest, and talent, talent, talent. He made it extremely clear from the start that he was going to bring in guys who could play at a high level, and the transfer portal certainly reflected that.

No, don’t expect Colorado to be this year’s USC, and yes, this is going to take a little while. But if you’re a fan of the Buffaloes, how much fun has this been so far? The only reason he’s not No. 1 is because …

1 Luke Fickell

New School: Wisconsin
Former School: Cincinnati

Since the start of the College Football Playoff era, Wisconsin has been – at least by wins – among the best Power Five programs to not make the mini-tournament.

The program has been great for the last few decades, but it hit a hard ceiling under former head man Paul Chryst. In comes Fickell, and while the proof will be in the results, the tweaks are there to suggest that something big is about to happen.

Basically, picture Wisconsin, but with a competent passing game. If it seems like Fickell brought in a dozen new quarterbacks through the transfer portal, you’re not far off. That, and he was able to keep around most of the great parts already in place.

2023 Transfer Portal Rankings
QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | OG/C
DE/EDGE | DT | LB | CB | Saf | Coaches

[protected-iframe id=”2823778ff32006e9a7693e621fbdfdfd-97672683-92922408″ info=”https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js” ]

2023 NFL Draft Underclassmen. Early Entrants
QBs | RBs | WRs | TEs | OTs | OG/Cs
Edge | DEs/DTs | LBs | CBs | Safeties
Top 100 2023 NFL Draft Early Entrants
2023 NFL Draft Early Entrants By College

College Football Transfer Portal 2023: Every Team’s Top Transfer You Should Know

College football transfer portal 2023. Who are the players on each team you need to know?

Who are the players you have to know from the 2023 college football transfer portal? Who’s the main new guy for every team, and who are the biggest losses?


[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

It’s a new world of college football now with the transfer portal changing the game.

Teams are able to upgrade areas quickly, but they also have to deal with the loss of some of their own key players. Who are the players who’ll make the biggest impact for their respective teams and who are the biggest losses?

These are the transfer portal players you need to know for each team.

2023 Transfer Portal Rankings
QB | RB | WR | TE | OT | OG/C
DE/EDGE | DT | LB | CB | Saf | Coaches

Transfer Portal: Every Team’s Transfer To Know
ACC | American Athletic | Big Ten | Big 12 | C-USA
IND | MAC | M-West | Pac-12 | SEC | Sun Belt

Contact/Follow @ColFootballnews

College Football Transfer Portal 2023: ACC

Boston College

CB Khari Johnson
Former School: Arkansas
Career Stats: 38 tackles, 3 broken up passes
Biggest Transfer Portal Loss: QB Phil Jurkovec to Pitt

Clemson

QB Paul Tyson
Former School: Arizona State
Career Stats: 150 passing yards
Biggest Transfer Portal Loss: QB DJ Uiagalelei to Oregon State

Duke

CB Al Blades
Former School: Miami
Career Stats: 91 tackles, 4 iNT, 14 broken up passes
Biggest Transfer Portal Loss: NONE

Florida State

TE Jaheim Bell
Former School: South Carolina
Career Stats: 56 catches, 757 yards, 7 TD, 80 caries, 301 yards, 3 TD
Biggest Transfer Portal Loss: CB Sam McCall to Texas A&M

Georgia Tech

QB Haynes King
Former School: Texas A&M
Career Stats: 1,579 yards, 10 TD, 10 INT, 150 rushing yards, 1 TD
Biggest Transfer Portal Loss: QB Jeff Sims to Nebraska

Louisville

QB Jack Plummer
Former School: Cal
Career Stats: 6,500 yards, 47 TD, 19 INT, 2 rushing TD
Biggest Transfer Portal Loss: LB Monty Montgomery to Ole Miss

Miami

C/OT Matthew Lee
Former School: UCF
Career Stats: All-star center for UCF, can play guard
Biggest Transfer Portal Loss: S Avantae Williams to Maryland

NC State

QB Brennan Armstrong
Former School: Virginia
Career Stats: 9,034 yards, 58 TD, 35 INT, 1,267 rushing yards, 20 TD
Biggest Transfer Portal Loss: QB Devin Leary to Kentucky

North Carolina

CB Alijah Huzzie
Former School: ETSU
Career Stats: 179 tackles, 12 INT, 32 broken up passes
Biggest Transfer Portal Loss: CB Tony Grimes to Texas A&M

Pitt

QB Phil Jurkovec
Former School: Boston College
Career Stats: 5,405 yards, 37 TD, 17 INT, 568 rushing yards, 9 TD
Biggest Transfer Portal Loss: QB Kedon Slovis to BYU

Syracuse

CB Jaeden Gould
Former School: Nebraska
Career Stats: No Stats
Biggest Transfer Portal Loss: CB Duce Chestnut to LSU

Virginia

QB Tony Muskett
Former School: Monmouth
Career Stats: 5,687 yards, 51 TD, 16 INT, 149 rushing yards, 5 TD
Biggest Transfer Portal Loss: CB Fentrell Cypress to Florida State

Virginia Tech

WR Ali Jennings
Former School: Old Dominion
Career Stats: 142 catches, 2,265 yards, 16 TD
Biggest Transfer Portal Loss: WR Kaleb Smith to Notre Dame

Wake Forest

WR Walker Merrill
Former School: Tennessee
Career Stats: 13 catches, 168 yards, 3 TD
Biggest Transfer Portal Loss: QB Sam Hartman to Notre Dame

Transfer Portal: Every Team’s Transfer To Know
ACC | American Athletic | Big Ten | Big 12 | C-USA
IND | MAC | M-West | Pac-12 | SEC | Sun Belt

NEXT: College Football Transfer Portal 2023: American Athletic Conference

Bryan Harsin Fired. College Football Coaches Hot Seat Top 10 Ranking: Week 9

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

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

College Football Coaches Hot Seat Top 10: Week 9

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 …

Five college football coaches who won’t get fired and aren’t on any hot seat, but could use a big win

5. Mel Tucker, Michigan State

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.

4. Brent Pry, Virginia Tech

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.

3. Brady Hoke, San Diego State

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.

2. Kalani Sitake, BYU

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.

1. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M

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

NEXT: 5 College Football Hot Seat Coaches Who Need To Win Now, Or Else

College Football Coaches Hot Seat Top 10 Ranking: Week 7

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

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

College Football Coaches Hot Seat Top 10: Week 7

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 …

Five college football coaches who won’t get fired and aren’t on any hot seat, but could use a big win

5. Matt Campbell, Iowa State

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.

4. Butch Jones, Arkansas State

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.

3. Jim Leonhard, Wisconsin

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.

2. Tony Elliott, Virginia

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.

1. Ken Wilson, Nevada

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

NEXT: 5 College Football Hot Seat Coaches Who Need To Win Now, Or Else

College Football Coaches Hot Seat Top 10 Ranking: Week 6

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

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

College Football Coaches Hot Seat Top 10: Week 6

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

Five college football coaches who won’t get fired and aren’t on a real hot seat, but could use a big win this week

5. Jeff Tedford, Fresno State

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.

4. Thomas Hammock, Northern Illinois

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 …

3. Tim Lester, Western Michigan

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 …

2. Mel Tucker, Michigan State

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.

1. Brent Venables, Oklahoma

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

NEXT: 5 College Football Hot Seat Coaches Who Need To Win Now, Or Else

Paul Chryst, Karl Dorrell Fired. College Football Coaches Hot Seat Top 10 Ranking: Week 5

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

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

College Football Coaches Hot Seat Top 10: Week 5

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

Five college football coaches who won’t get fired and aren’t on a real hot seat, but could use a big win this week

5. Jeff Monken, Army

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.

4. Jimbo Fisher, Texas A&M

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.

3. Brady Hoke, San Diego State

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.

2. Tony Elliott, Virginia

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.

1. Kirk Ferentz, Iowa

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

NEXT: 5 College Football Hot Seat Coaches Who Need To Win Now, Or Else

College Football Hot Seat Coaches Top 10 Ranking: Week 4

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

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

College Football Coaches Hot Seat Top 10: Week 4

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 …

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

Five College Football Coaches Who Won’t Get Fired, But … WIN

5. Steve Sarkisian, Texas

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.

4. Mack Brown, North Carolina

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.

3. Mike MacIntyre, FIU

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.

2. Michael Desormeaux, Louisiana

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.

1. Mel Tucker, Michigan State

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

NEXT: 5 College Football Hot Seat Coaches Who Need To Win Now, Or Else

<--nextpage-->

College Football Hot Seat Coaches: Win NOW, Or Else

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.

5. Jeff Hafley, Boston College

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.

4. Eliah Drinkwitz, Missouri

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.

3. Bryan Harsin, Auburn

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 …

2. Andy Avalos, Boise State

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.

1. Karl Dorrell, Colorado

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.

[protected-iframe id=”361699434b6d70baf15f631ed2408ac1-97672683-92922408″ info=”https://www.googletagservices.com/tag/js/gpt.js” ]

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 Fired: College Football Hot Seat Coaches Top 10 Ranking Week 3

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?


Contact/Follow @ColFootballNews & @PeteFiutak

[mm-video type=playlist id=01f1343a1wt7q817p7 player_id=none image=https://collegefootballnews.com/wp-content/plugins/mm-video/images/playlist-icon.png]

Herm Edwards Fired: College Football Coaches Hot Seat Top 10

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

5. Brady Hoke, San Diego State

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 …

4. Jay Norvell, Colorado State

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.

3. Neal Brown, West Virginia

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.

2. Pat Fitzgerald, Northwestern

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.

1. Chip Kelly, UCLA

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