Coaches on the Hot Seat
Tennessee - Butch Jones and the Vols beat S. Miss 24-10 to improve to 4-5 and break their 4 game losing streak. They are still looking for their first SEC win.
Arkansas - Bret Bielema and the Hogs beat Coastal Carolina 39-38 in a come from behind home victory to improve to 4-5. Coastal Carolina was 1-7 and winless in the Sun Belt, but had Arkansas down 38-25 in the 4th.
Texas A&M - Kevin Sumlin and the Aggies were soundly defeated at home by Auburn 42-27. This is the Aggies third mutliscore home loss in a row. Reports are surfacing that he will be fired at the end of the season.
Texas Tech - Kliff Kingsbury and the Red Raiders blew an eleven point 4th quarter lead to fall in OT to our KSU Wildcats 42-35. The Red Raiders have now lost 4 in a row and their bowl hopes are quickly disappearing. The TTU fans were booing like crazy at the end of regulation as Kliff and Co. decided to play conservative and go to OT rather than attempt to get into FG range.
Kansas - David Beaty appears to be on his way to another winless Big 12 season. His second in three years. The winless Baylor Bears came into Lawrence and left with a 38-9 victory. The Jayhawks were terrible when Beaty arrived, but by year 3 you should be showing some signs of life, they are not.
Nebraska - Mike Riley and the Huskers lost to the Northwestern Wildcats 31-24 in overtime this week to fall to 4-5. This was the Huskers 4th home loss of the season. This was not the type of performance Riley needed to impress a new AD. He gone.
Illinois - Lovie Smith and the Illini lost at Purdue 29-10. They are now 0-6 in Big Ten play this season and 2-13 in Smith's tenure. Lovie did not inherit a good team, but it was performing better than this. I still think he is going to get more time, since has a $16.5 Million buyout according to USA Today.
UCLA - Jim Mora and the Bruins were blown out in Utah, 48-17. This defeat drops them to 4-5 for the season. Leaving them a difficult path to bowl eligibility. I don't see back-to-back losing seasons flying in LA.
Oregon St, Ole Miss, and Florida already have coaching vacancies. As things stand now I think there will likely be at least 10 power 5 openings by the end of the year.
Hot Coaches from the Mid Majors
UCF - Scott Frost and the Knights beat SMU to remain undefeated and move up to 12th in the coaches poll (14th in the AP)
USF - Charlie Strong and the Bulls responded to their first loss of the season by blowing out UConn on their home field 37-20. They are currently ranked #21 in the coaches poll (22nd in AP)
Memphis - Mike Norvell and the Tigers blew out Tulsa on Thursday Night 41-14. They are currently ranked #19 in the coaches poll (20th in AP)
SMU - Chad Morris is a hot name in some circles. His Mustangs lost to UCF this week to fall to 6-3 on the season. The Mustangs are headed to their first bowl in five years (Year 3 for Morris).
Houston - I don't think Major Applewhite is ready to move up. It is only his first year at Houston, but the Cougars are 6-3 after beating USF last week and blowing out ECU this week.
Florida Atlantic - Lane Kiffin. It is only year 1 at FAU, but Lane has a history of moving quickly. The Owls are undefeated in CUSA and 6-3 overall. They beat Marshall this week 30-25.
North Texas - Seth Littrell and the Mean Green solidified their position as the leaders of the CUSA Western Division with a 24-23 win at Louisiana Tech. The Mean Green were 1-11 (1-7) two years ago, the season before Littrell arrived.
Army - Jeff Monken and Army shutout Air Force this week and won 21-0 at Colorado Springs. I am not sure if any P5 program is interesting in the triple option, but Monken's turnaround at Army has been impressive. Monken's 8 wins last season was the most for an Army team in 20+ years. He has them at 7-2 this season and could be looking at double digits.
Toledo - Jason Candle and the Toledo Rockets beat Northern Illinois (probably their toughest competition for the MAC title) this week 27-17. They are 8-1 and 5-0 in MAC play. His predecessor is having good success at ISU so that also might help his cause.
Boise State - Bryan Harsin and the Boise State Broncos beat Nevada 41-14 this week to remain unbeaten in the MWC. They are in the drivers seat to win their division (again) and play for another MWC championship.
Wyoming - Craig Bohl and the Wyoming Cowboys beat CSU in a blizzard this weekend 16-13. this improves Wyoming to 6-3 (4-1). The Cowboys are going to back-to-back bowl games for the first time since the late 80s.
Fresno State - Jeff Tedford has the Bulldogs playing good football again. They beat BYU this week 20-13. The program was 4-20 the past two seasons and they are 6-3 and on top of their division this season (Tedford's first year).
Arkansas State - Blake Anderson and the A-State Red Wolves were on a bye this week. They are the last remaining unbeaten team in the Sun Belt.
Troy - Neal Brown made a name for himself a couple of weeks ago when his Troy Trojans went into Baton Rogue and beat #25 LSU. Troy continue their winning ways this week defeating Idaho 24-21 to improve to 7-2 (4-1).
Tennessee - Butch Jones and the Vols beat S. Miss 24-10 to improve to 4-5 and break their 4 game losing streak. They are still looking for their first SEC win.
Arkansas - Bret Bielema and the Hogs beat Coastal Carolina 39-38 in a come from behind home victory to improve to 4-5. Coastal Carolina was 1-7 and winless in the Sun Belt, but had Arkansas down 38-25 in the 4th.
Texas A&M - Kevin Sumlin and the Aggies were soundly defeated at home by Auburn 42-27. This is the Aggies third mutliscore home loss in a row. Reports are surfacing that he will be fired at the end of the season.
Texas Tech - Kliff Kingsbury and the Red Raiders blew an eleven point 4th quarter lead to fall in OT to our KSU Wildcats 42-35. The Red Raiders have now lost 4 in a row and their bowl hopes are quickly disappearing. The TTU fans were booing like crazy at the end of regulation as Kliff and Co. decided to play conservative and go to OT rather than attempt to get into FG range.
Kansas - David Beaty appears to be on his way to another winless Big 12 season. His second in three years. The winless Baylor Bears came into Lawrence and left with a 38-9 victory. The Jayhawks were terrible when Beaty arrived, but by year 3 you should be showing some signs of life, they are not.
Nebraska - Mike Riley and the Huskers lost to the Northwestern Wildcats 31-24 in overtime this week to fall to 4-5. This was the Huskers 4th home loss of the season. This was not the type of performance Riley needed to impress a new AD. He gone.
Illinois - Lovie Smith and the Illini lost at Purdue 29-10. They are now 0-6 in Big Ten play this season and 2-13 in Smith's tenure. Lovie did not inherit a good team, but it was performing better than this. I still think he is going to get more time, since has a $16.5 Million buyout according to USA Today.
UCLA - Jim Mora and the Bruins were blown out in Utah, 48-17. This defeat drops them to 4-5 for the season. Leaving them a difficult path to bowl eligibility. I don't see back-to-back losing seasons flying in LA.
Oregon St, Ole Miss, and Florida already have coaching vacancies. As things stand now I think there will likely be at least 10 power 5 openings by the end of the year.
Hot Coaches from the Mid Majors
UCF - Scott Frost and the Knights beat SMU to remain undefeated and move up to 12th in the coaches poll (14th in the AP)
USF - Charlie Strong and the Bulls responded to their first loss of the season by blowing out UConn on their home field 37-20. They are currently ranked #21 in the coaches poll (22nd in AP)
Memphis - Mike Norvell and the Tigers blew out Tulsa on Thursday Night 41-14. They are currently ranked #19 in the coaches poll (20th in AP)
SMU - Chad Morris is a hot name in some circles. His Mustangs lost to UCF this week to fall to 6-3 on the season. The Mustangs are headed to their first bowl in five years (Year 3 for Morris).
Houston - I don't think Major Applewhite is ready to move up. It is only his first year at Houston, but the Cougars are 6-3 after beating USF last week and blowing out ECU this week.
Florida Atlantic - Lane Kiffin. It is only year 1 at FAU, but Lane has a history of moving quickly. The Owls are undefeated in CUSA and 6-3 overall. They beat Marshall this week 30-25.
North Texas - Seth Littrell and the Mean Green solidified their position as the leaders of the CUSA Western Division with a 24-23 win at Louisiana Tech. The Mean Green were 1-11 (1-7) two years ago, the season before Littrell arrived.
Army - Jeff Monken and Army shutout Air Force this week and won 21-0 at Colorado Springs. I am not sure if any P5 program is interesting in the triple option, but Monken's turnaround at Army has been impressive. Monken's 8 wins last season was the most for an Army team in 20+ years. He has them at 7-2 this season and could be looking at double digits.
Toledo - Jason Candle and the Toledo Rockets beat Northern Illinois (probably their toughest competition for the MAC title) this week 27-17. They are 8-1 and 5-0 in MAC play. His predecessor is having good success at ISU so that also might help his cause.
Boise State - Bryan Harsin and the Boise State Broncos beat Nevada 41-14 this week to remain unbeaten in the MWC. They are in the drivers seat to win their division (again) and play for another MWC championship.
Wyoming - Craig Bohl and the Wyoming Cowboys beat CSU in a blizzard this weekend 16-13. this improves Wyoming to 6-3 (4-1). The Cowboys are going to back-to-back bowl games for the first time since the late 80s.
Fresno State - Jeff Tedford has the Bulldogs playing good football again. They beat BYU this week 20-13. The program was 4-20 the past two seasons and they are 6-3 and on top of their division this season (Tedford's first year).
Arkansas State - Blake Anderson and the A-State Red Wolves were on a bye this week. They are the last remaining unbeaten team in the Sun Belt.
Troy - Neal Brown made a name for himself a couple of weeks ago when his Troy Trojans went into Baton Rogue and beat #25 LSU. Troy continue their winning ways this week defeating Idaho 24-21 to improve to 7-2 (4-1).
