College Football Rankings: 10 Hot Seat Coaches Who Need a Week 8 Win Most
Now that we have a complete picture of the college football rankings, we know which coaches are getting the job done. Not surprisingly, good teams have good coaches. Their jobs are safe. And as such, there's not much drama to be found there.
But then there's the other guys: the coaches who are in need of a win, some of whom probably need a bunch of them. Nobody ever accused college football fans of being a patient bunch, and these are the men who want to avoid telling you all about that.
Here are the top 10 college football coaches who need to turn things around before it's too late.
10. Ron Zook, Illinois
1 of 10
Week 8 Opponent: Indiana
Why His Seat Is Warm: Illinois has been no argument for any of their tough opponents.
Even despite Zook's underwhelming tenure at Florida, the Illinois brass thought he was the right guy to get them back to a Big Ten Championship. He came close in 2007, but the Fighting Illini have fallen back to the pack since.
How He Can Cool It Off: A win over Purdue would do the trick.
Illinois has been destroyed in both their games over ranked opponents (Michigan State and Ohio State). And even despite the fact they're not ranked, a win over current Big Ten co-leader Purdue will probably seem like a monumental moral victory.
9. Jeff Tedford, California
2 of 10
Week 8 Opponent: Arizona State
Why His Seat Is Warm: This one may seem out of left field for most of the country, but as you can see, I'm in a pretty good position to comment.
After big road losses to Nevada and Arizona, it once again became apparent that Tedford's Cal squads never seem to be able to win a big game on the road. He managed to win a few people back when Cal dispatched UCLA at home, but this past week's beating at the hands of the Trojans has brought back the fire.
How He Can Cool It Off: Win the Big Game again.
After they were exposed by USC, it certainly appears that Cal has very few winnable games left on their schedule. However, a Berkeley season can always be salvaged by taking home the Stanford Axe. In Tedford's favor is the fact that he's done well in Big Games, losing only one in his nine-year tenure.
8. Mike Sherman, Texas A&M
3 of 10
Week 8 Opponent: at Kansas
Why His Seat Is Warm: Sherman was rightfully featured in Blake Oestriecher's hot seat article for this past week's games, in which he rightfully called out Sherman for failing each chance he's had to reel in a big win for his program.
Well, he failed once again on Saturday against Missouri, which makes it three straight losses to teams that are all now in the Top 25.
How He Can Cool It Off: A win over Kansas won't necessarily get him off the hook, but at this point he should just be concerned about stopping his team's skid.
After Kansas, he'll have a couple more shots at getting a signature win for the Aggies' 2010 season. They host both No. 3 Oklahoma and No. 14 Nebraska in November.
7. Bronco Mendenhall, BYU
4 of 10
Week 8 Opponent: Wyoming
Why His Seat Is Warm: Mendenhall's Cougars have had their shot at several teams who have all seen time in the Top 25 in Air Force, Nevada and TCU. They've lost to all three, including a 31-3 spanking by TCU this past Saturday.
The big picture: his team has only two wins, by a combined nine points to boot.
How He Can Cool It Off: Break even.
The Cougars are probably not going to win at Utah in their final game, so they need to win their other four remaining games in order to save face. After winning at least 10 games each of the last four years, 6-6 is probably not going to cut it anyway.
6. Todd Dodge, North Texas
5 of 10
Week 8 Opponent: at Western Kentucky
Why His Seat Is Warm: He hasn't been the guy to take North Texas back to Sun Belt supremacy.
Who cares about the Sun Belt? A valid question. One obvious answer is North Texas fans and students. Did you know that North Texas won four consecutive Sun Belt championships from 2001-2004. They promoted Dodge in 2007, and he has failed to win more than two games in each of his first three and a half seasons.
How He Can Cool It Off: Simply show some improvement.
There are only two teams in the Sun Belt that boast .500 records. There are wins to be had there. Dodge needs to get his team to finish. They're fifth in the conference in terms of yards per game (348.7), but dead last in points per game (16.9).
5. Dan Hawkins, Colorado
6 of 10
Week 8 Opponent: Texas Tech
Why His Seat Is Warm: Hawkins's team has dropped two in a row and is once again failing to deliver on his "ten wins, no excuses" promise from before last season.
With Colorado set to join the Pac-12, they need to do something to prove that they shouldn't automatically go straight to joining Washington State in the cellar. That might involve jettisoning Hawkins, the former Boise State coach, who has produced only one .500 team and one bowl appearance.
How He Can Cool It Off: Stay the course and finish .500.
The Buffaloes probably don't stand a chance against either Oklahoma or Nebraska, but they do have some winnable games down the stretch. If they perform well, they might be able to make it to a bowl for the first time since 2007, which will likely buy Hawkins some time.
4. Rich Rodriguez, Michigan
7 of 10
Week 8 Opponent: at Penn State
Why His Seat Is Warm: Thanks to their 5-0 start, the general animosity for Rodriguez had quieted to a dull murmur. Now that they've lost two in a row, both to ranked teams, you have to wonder how much more slack Michigan fans are willing to give him before they start calling for his head once again.
How He Can Cool It Off: Keep calling Denard Robinson's number, and hope he gets lucky.
Rodriguez won't get another chance to beat a ranked team until late November, when they play back-to-back games against Wisconsin and at Ohio State. Until then, he just needs to get back in the win column and hope that his defense can get things squared away in time for those last two games.
3. Frank Spaziani, Boston College
8 of 10
Week 8 Opponent: Maryland
Why His Seat Is Warm: Spaziani is yet another guy who was on the hot seat last weekend. And he failed to do himself a huge favor by beating Florida State, no matter how close they came.
How He Can Cool It Off: For now, just stop losing.
After starting 2-0, albeit over some pretty weak competition, the Eagles have lost four in a row. BC hasn't had a losing record since 1998, and since he is still the new sheriff in town, Spaziani is not going to do himself any favors by being the first coach in 12 years to finish with a losing record.
2. Paul Wulff, Washington State
9 of 10
Week 8 Opponent: Stanford
Why His Seat Is Warm: How much time you got?
Seriously though, being mercilessly rolled over by every team that plays you is never good for job security. And so it goes for Paul Wulff and Washington State. This is Wulff's third season, and he has produced exactly three wins. That's right, he's won exactly one game in each of his seasons.
How He Can Cool It Off: Win a conference game.
All miracles notwithstanding, this is certainly not going to happen against Stanford. In fact, outside of a win against an unpredictable Cal squad, trying to pick out a possible win in Washington State's remaining games is pretty hard.
1. Mike Locksley, New Mexico
10 of 10
Week 8 Opponent: San Diego State
Why His Seat Is Warm: A 1-17 record as New Mexico's head coach.
Locksley managed to salvage a game against Colorado State late in his first season at the helm. And to this point in 2010, he has yet to double his career win total. That's not good. And with one of the worst defenses in the league preparing to face an Aztecs team that just dispatched Air Force, things aren't likely to improve any time soon.
How He Can Cool It Off: Beat Colorado State again.
The Lobos are terrible, and the Mountain West is pretty strong this year. As such, Lockley's best hope is to go to the well. Another win over Colorado State won't open anybody's eyes, but at least it would be a win over a team that currently boasts more wins (2) than Locksley has in his career.
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