Rankings: The Season Finale. Also, bowl projections!

Yeah you’re gonna get like 20 sets of projections before everything is finalized so buckle up, friends.

This will be the last set of rankings I do since doing them after conference championship weekend makes no sense. I’m already doing a bowl projection post every couple hours. Adding rankings on to it is pointless. So, the season finale of the Bossman Top 25!

#1	Georgia
#2	Michigan
#3	TCU
#4	USC
#5	Ohio State
#6	Tennessee
#7	Alabama
#8	Penn State
#9	Utah
#10	Washington
#11	Clemson
#12	Kansas State
#13	Florida State
#14	LSU
#15	Oregon State
#16	Oregon
#17	Tulane
#18	UCLA
#19	South Carolina
#20	Notre Dame
#21	Texas
#22	UCF
#23	Troy
#24	North Carolina
#25	Cincinnati

It seems like this is pretty close to what’s actually happening with the College Football Playoff rankings. And I didn’t need a stupid show to announce them. I had debated putting Michigan at #1 but can’t with their shit schedule and an honestly down Big Ten conference. I know ESPN would fucking LOVE it if Bama made it into the College Football Playoff but I believe they shouldn’t even be ranked ahead of Tennessee and that’s why I have them at #7. Honestly, they shouldn’t get there, even if both TCU and USC lose. I have a feeling my opinion is not shared by The Committee.

Oh I need a cliffhanger since it’s the season finale. OK how about this: some teams get so pissed off at The Committee’s rankings that they threaten to leave to form their own division. Yeah, that sounds good.

OK now I can get to the bowl projections. This is the last set before Saturday when I start doing them on a far-too-often basis as things change by the half hour it seems. Let us being with the College Football Playoff:

Fiesta Bowl	CFP #2 vs. CFP #3	Michigan vs. TCU
Peach Bowl	CFP #1 vs. CFP #4	Georgia vs. USC

The question remains: Who here can be pushed out of the Top 4? Michigan and Georgia seem to be locked in, even if they lose their conference championship games. TCU and USC, on the other hand, are still on relatively shaky ground. Either team loses their respective conference championship, expect a huge groundswell of people to want either Ohio State or Alabama to replace them. I guess if both the Horned Frogs and Trojans lose, you have to have the conversation but if only one loses…oof that is going to spark some serious controversy.

Rose Bowl	Big Ten #1 vs. Pac-12 #1	Ohio State vs. Washington
Cotton Bowl	CFP at-large vs. G-5 #1	Penn State vs. Tulane
Sugar Bowl	SEC #1 vs. Big XII #1	Alabama vs. Kansas State
Orange Bowl	ACC #1 vs. Big Ten/Notre Dame/SEC	North Carolina vs. Tennessee

I’m sure you’ll look at this and see one really odd team. So let’s get right to the elephant in the room…yes, I think Penn State will get to the Cotton Bowl. I know there could be a few teams that would fill that spot just as good as the Nittany Lions but I am going with Penn State to be there when it’s all said and done.

Oh….OH! You thought I meant North Carolina? Well I have a feeling that Drake Maye is going to light up the Clemson defense and the Tar Heels will pull off the upset of Clemson. That would relegate Clemson into the rest of the bowl games, which wouldn’t sit well with Dabo Swinney I’m sure.

Alright, finally time for the rest of the projected bowl matchups.

Citrus Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	LSU vs. Purdue
ReliaQuest Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	Ole Miss vs. Maryland
Music City Bowl	SEC vs. Big Ten	South Carolina vs. Illinois
Gator Bowl	SEC vs. ACC	Florida vs. NC State
Arizona Bowl	MWC vs. MAC	Wyoming vs. Ohio
Sun Bowl	ACC vs. Pac-12	Florida State vs. Oregon State
Duke’s Mayo Bowl	Big Ten vs. ACC	Iowa vs. Notre Dame
Alamo Bowl	Big XII vs. Pac-12	Texas vs. Oregon
Cheez-It Bowl	Big XII vs. ACC	Oklahoma vs. Clemson
Pinstripe Bowl	Big XII vs. ACC	Minnesota vs. Pittsburgh
Texas Bowl	SEC vs. Big XII	Mississippi State vs. Oklahoma State
Holiday Bowl	ACC vs. Pac-12	Duke vs. UCLA
Liberty Bowl	SEC vs. Big XII	Kentucky vs. Texas Tech
Military Bowl	ACC vs. AAC	Syracuse vs. UCF
Guaranteed Rate Bowl	Big Ten vs. Big XII	Wisconsin vs. Baylor
Birmingham Bowl	SEC vs. AAC/ACC/C-USA	Missouri vs. Memphis
First Responder Bowl	Two of AAC, Big XII, C-USA, Sun Belt, MWC	Kansas vs. SMU
Camellia Bowl	Sun Belt vs. MAC/C-USA	South Alabama vs. North Texas
Quick Lane Bowl	Big Ten vs. MAC	UConn vs. Buffalo
Hawaii Bowl	BYU/AAC/C-USA vs. MAC	Middle Tennessee vs. San Diego State
Independence Bowl	AAC vs. Army	Houston vs. Army
Gasparilla Bowl	Two of AAC, ACC, SEC, Pac-12	East Carolina vs. Louisville
Armed Forces Bowl	Two of Big XII, C-USA, AAC	WKU vs. BYU
New Orleans Bowl	Sun Belt vs. C-USA	Southern Miss vs. UTSA
Boca Raton Bowl	Two of AAC, Sun Belt, C-USA, MAC	Marshall vs. New Mexico State
Idaho Potato Bowl	MWC vs. MAC	Air Force vs. Bowling Green
Myrtle Beach Bowl	Two of AAC, Sun Belt, C-USA, MAC	Troy vs. Liberty
Frisco Bowl	Two from Group of Five	Utah State vs. Georgia Southern
Las Vegas Bowl	SEC vs. Pac-12	Arkansas vs. Washington State
LendingTree Bowl	Sun Belt vs. MAC/C-USA	Coastal Carolina vs. Toledo
LA Bowl	Pac-12 vs. MWC	Utah vs. Boise State
New Mexico Bowl	MWC vs. AAC/C-USA/MAC	Fresno State vs. Eastern Michigan
Fenway Bowl	ACC vs. AAC	Wake Forest vs. Cincinnati
Cure Bowl	Two from Group of Five	San Jose State vs. Louisiana
Bahamas Bowl	C-USA vs. MAC	UAB vs. Miami-OH

The Bahamas and Hawaii Bowls are already set. The Bahamas Bowl is always set around conference championship time because the teams have to make sure everyone that is going to the islands have their passports and that takes time. As for the Hawaii Bowl, I have no idea. But if you just look at it from a bowl destination standpoint, that’s a much better place to go than, say, Shreveport.

Oh one thing before I continue, I had one of the tie-ins wrong this entire season. The SEC sends a team every other year to the Duke’s Mayo Bowl. In the off years they send a team to Las Vegas Bowl. I had them with tie-ins to both. I have fixed that. Maybe this way I won’t always run out of SEC teams before they come close to filling their tie-ins.

OK, on to the bowl eligibility fiasco of sorts. There are 82 bowl spots. 41 bowl games. As of right now, 79 teams are bowl-eligible. Three spots remain. This is where things get a little complicated. Let’s go through this one-by-one:

• Buffalo hosts Akron on Friday. This is the make-up game after Snowpocalypse hit the area a couple weeks back. The Bulls win, they are bowl-eligible. I have them winning and becoming Team #80.
• New Mexico State was supposed to play San Jose State over a month ago. Unfortunately, the tragic death of SJSU’s Camdan McWright meant the game was cancelled. With the way the schedules were, it couldn’t be played. The Spartans won’t play this week because they are already bowl-eligible and want to rest. That’s very fair. The Aggies have been able to schedule a game with FCS Valparaiso. The Aggies should win and if they get a waiver they would become bowl-eligible even with two wins over FCS opponents. I think this all happens and they become Team #81.
• Army is 5-6. I have them beating Navy. Here’s the thing though: they have two wins over FCS opponents and the Army-Navy game is AFTER all the bowl games are set out. So my guess is they are Team #82 and if they lose, then we get some chaos. A bit.
• Appalachian State is 6-6 with two wins over FCS opponents. If they ask for a waiver and get it AND they need a bowl-eligible team, they would be next in line.
• James Madison is on this list because the NCAA is, as always, a fucked up organization that makes money by accident. Since they are a transitional team, they can’t win a conference or go to a bowl. Even if they are good. Which JMU has been this year. Normally I would say it has to do with an easier schedule but that’s not really the case. They won 2 games over FCS opponents but had a regular Sun Belt conference schedule and ran roughshod over a lot of teams, including Coastal Carolina. Them only having 11 games is more of an issue in my opinion. But for people saying they should have scheduled another game, why? They already knew their fate was pretty much sealed. Anyway, if they applied for a waiver and it was accepted they would have to wait to see if the NCAA chose them or a team off the APR list (which I will explain in the next point).
• Next up is the APR list. APR stands for Academic Progress Rate. Not necessarily a metric on how “smart” a school is but how well schools are graduating their athletes. So a school like Stanford, which is a tough academic school, might not graduate as many football players (as a percentage) as, say, ULM which has far less stringent academic entrance criteria but may graduate more of their students. Anyway, here is the list:
  • Rice
  • UNLV
  • Auburn
  • Michigan State
• The rest don’t matter because it will never get to those schools. If there aren’t enough bowl-eligible teams, Rice would be given first choice to accept an offer. Then UNLV, Auburn and, finally, Michigan State. I don’t think it will get to these teams but it can if some of the things that happened above don’t happen. Plus, there are rumours abound that UNLV, after inexplicably firing Marcus Arroyo after the best season since 2013 under Bobby Hauck, would reject a bowl offer even if it got to them on the APR list.

Did you get all that? That needs to be a college class. I’m sure the failure rate would still be about 50%.

Alright, I won’t update this until sometime on Saturday since, chances are, nothing much will happen until then. I doubt I will be on Twitter until later in the day on Saturday. Then Sunday it will be all day, going over the bowl games as they get filled. Going to be a busy weekend. Enjoy the rest of your week everyone!

Let’s get ready to FOOTBALLGASMMMMMMMMMM!!! – Week 13 College Football TV Schedule

Remember last year’s Thanksgiving, American Style?  From a college football perspective it was just….another weekend.  Nothing special at all.  This year, however, that warm and fuzzy feeling is back.  It’s now the final weekend of the college football regular season and starts what is known on this blog as the Footballgasm.  Footballgasm is a crazy amount of football over a four-day span.  Almost 50 hours of football, college and pro, will be on the airwaves and computer screens starting Thursday just after Noon and going into Sunday just before Midnight.  It’s like a college football fan’s Christmas.  And it’s back after a one-year hiatus.  And while Canadians don’t have Thanksgiving tomorrow, we can still celebrate with Americans by watching copious amounts of football.  Hell, even make a turkey if you want.

To embrace this, it’s time to go back to the Footballgasm format.  Every game gets its own paragraph.  I’m not saying all the games are important but because of the special nature of this time, they all deserve it.    Let’s get on with the schedule shall we?

Thursday​

#9 Ole Miss at Mississippi State

7:30 PM

Ole Miss has no chance at the College Football Playoff, but they pretty much clinch their New Year’s Six spot if they win the Egg Bowl.  The Bulldogs have rebounded well this season and if Leach can keep this team improving, don’t be surprised if next season they are the ones aiming at a NY6 berth.

Friday​​

Boise State at #21 San Diego State

Noon

An absolutely massive game in the Mountain West and…wait, a 9:00 LOCAL START???  Look, I get that the conference has to do some things they don’t want to do (ugh this is sounding like gross casting couch shit) but this is absurd.  I guess the players can watch the sunrise during the warmup.  Both teams need wins here.  An Aztecs win clinches the division and might hand the Mountain Division to Utah State.  A Broncos win gives Fresno State a shot at winning the West Division and puts Boise in a great spot to join them in the Mountain West Championship.  A lot at stake.

Ohio at Bowling Green

Noon

This is easy.  Both teams aren’t going bowling this season so you can say this is for pride but it may not even be for that.  Definitely not a must-watch.

Eastern Michigan at Central Michigan

Noon

I guess if you are big MAC fan this could be fun to watch.  Otherwise, the Battle for Directional Michigan is not important in the slightest since both teams are going bowling and with seven wins, neither team is in jeopardy of being left out of the party.

Kansas State at Texas

Noon

Do the Longhorns have a chance to go to a bowl game?  Surprisingly yes but they need a couple of things to go their way.  First they would need to beat KSU here which is no easy task.  Then the Horns have to hope for most of the 5-6 teams trying to become bowl-eligible to lose.  This would mean that not enough teams qualify and bowl committees would have to look at some 5-7 teams and their APR scores.  This is where Texas would shine.  Now, whether they accept an invite or not is a different story.  The Wildcats are playing for nothing except destroying the last slim hope that Texas has.

#16 Iowa at Nebraska

2:30 PM

This game means a bit for the Ferentzs since a win here could move them up the rankings enough to get them into a New Year’s Six at-large spot.  Other than that, Faux Farmageddon means nothing as the Huskers are just not that good.

#4 Cincinnati at East Carolina

3:30 PM

This is big.  The Bearcats have finally got into a spot that many thought no Group of Five team could ever get to: the Top 4.  There is one more hurdle before the AAC Championship, however.  And the East Carolina Pirates are no pushover as they have won more games this year than in any season since their first season in the American back in 2014.  Mike Houston is building something formidable in Greenville and a win here would end Cincy’s chance at glory and be Houston’s signature coaching victory.

Missouri vs. #25 Arkansas (in Little Rock)

3:30 PM

The traditional Mizzou-Hogs Black Friday game again has no real stakes.  This is a good thing, though, this time.  Both teams are going to bowl games and have two of the most popular coaches in the game at the helm.  It is fun football times in CoMo and Fayetteville.

UNLV at Air Force

3:30 PM

UNLV has actually played some inspired football this season.  It hasn’t led to many wins but it should give Marcus Arroyo another season as head coach in Vegas.  On the other hand, the Falcons have a great 8-3 mark on the season and will want to finish off their season on a high note by beating the Rebels.  This would also help their MWC Mountain Division title hopes.

USF at UCF

3:30 PM

Usually the War on I-4 is a big game although lately it has been anything but.  As has been the case the past little while, this game means nothing other than the Bulls hoping to pull off an upset of their cross-state rivals.

Colorado at #19 Utah

4:00 PM

The Rocky Mountain Showdown means a whole lot of sweet fuck all this season.  Not the greatest choice by FOX but I have a feeling Black Friday was limited with choices anyway.

North Carolina at #20 NC State

7:00 PM

If you had told me in August that this game would mean everything to the Wolfpack and nothing to the Tar Heels I would have laughed at you.  But it’s true.  NC State still has a chance to win the ACC Atlantic and get to the NY6 whereas UNC is just looking to maybe get a better bowl bid with a seventh win.

Saturday Early

#1 Georgia at Georgia Tech

Noon

There’s a lot of football on this weekend but it is sometimes tough to see games like this, which have very little stakes, on ABC at Noon whereas other games are relegated to worse timeslots or networks.  In this one, the Ramblin’ Wreck is trying to figure out if the Geoff Collins Experiment should continue.  The Dawgs should win this easily so just have to avoid injuries before the SEC Championship.  So yeah, you can probably just scoreboard watch this one to see if UGA covers the spread.​

UPDATE: This has been switched to TSN2.

Maryland at Rutgers

Noon

Hey, this game has serious stakes!  Winner goes bowling.  Loser is home for the holidays.  That’s it.  I have a feeling this is going to end up being a sneaky good game.

#24 Houston at UConn

Noon

A Houston win actually benefits Cincinnati more than Houston to be honest.  UConn is terrible so, yeah, you can probably skip this one.

Florida State at Florida

Noon

Now this is one that no one could have predicted.  A Gators-Seminoles game where the stakes are bowl eligibility.  For many, including myself, it seems insane.  But it’s the facts.  I actually agree with TSN picking up this one since this will get a LOT of attention.​

UPDATE #2: This has been moved to TSN4.  I don’t know the reason for the switch.

#18 Wake Forest at Boston College

Noon

At one point, Wake was the darling of the college football world, even more than Cincinnati I would say.  Then the wheels fell off a bit with a non-conference loss to North Carolina (I’m serious) and a loss to Clemson.  That loss to the Tigers means they have to win this game against BC to still stamp their ticket to the ACC Championship.  A loss and they could be in trouble for that.  The Eagles also had a good start to their season but they are limping to the finish line.  Already bowl-eligible, this is just to make them look more valuable to bowl committees.

Navy at Temple

Noon

Oof.  Pass.

#2 Ohio State at #5 Michigan

Noon

Game of the Week right here.  At the very least it’s the Game of the Year in the Big Ten if not all of college football, at least for the regular season.  This may end up being Jim Harbaugh’s shining moment.  He gets the Wolverines to upset the Buckeyes and he would probably get a lifetime contract and a statue outside Michigan Stadium.  tOSU wants to keep erasing the memory of that Oregon loss and winning here puts them one step closer to going back to the CFP.  I assume most people will be watching this game and why not?  This smells like an instant classic.

Miami at Duke

Noon

And from the previous game we get to this one.  Unless Miami pulls of an amazing (albeit controversial) multi-lateral last-second touchdown to beat the Blue Devils, you can avoid watching this game.

Saturday Afternoon

Penn State at #12 Michigan State

3:30 PM

This is actually a pretty big game…for one team.  Sparty’s hopes for the College Football Playoff are gone but they still have a chance at the New Year’s Six.  It is imperative they look impressive in a win over PSU.  The Nittany Lions are only playing for maybe a better bowl game now that their head coach, James Franklin, has received a 10-year contract extension.

Northwestern at Illinois

3:30 PM

Um….this is football, technically.  Hopefully the weather turns really bad and the football is sloppy since that would be the only reason I would watch.

#3 Alabama at Auburn

3:30 PM

Bama has seen this story before.  An upstart Auburn squad destroying their season in the Iron Bowl.  I honestly can’t see it happening here but you never know.  If Bo Nix does what Bo Nix has done a couple of times earlier this season, this could get interesting.  The Tide need a win here to stay in this #3 spot and set up their CFP opportunity next week in Atlanta.

Western Kentucky at Marshall

3:30 PM

Winner-take-all for the Conference USA East Division.  This basically comes down to the prolific WKU offense against Marshall’s stingy defense.  Should be a good one.

Oregon State at #11 Oregon

3:30 PM

This is one of the biggest Civil War games ever.  The Ducks win and they go to the Pac-12 Championship.  The Beavers have to win and then hope Washington beats Wazzu to gobble up the division title.  Huge Pac-12 stakes which mean you might want to watch this game.

Virginia Tech at Virginia

3:45 PM

Alright this game means something once again…for one team.  The Hokies need a win to become bowl-eligible which would actually be a shock considering how poorly their season has gone.  UVA is already going bowling so humiliation is their only goal here.

Vanderbilt at Tennessee

3:45 PM

This game means nothing which seems to be the norm these days in the battle for SEC Tennessee.  Vandy is bad but not as bad as they had been the previous few seasons.  Tennessee has looked good this season yet is only 6-5 so they would love a win here and then in a bowl game to make Josh Heupel’s first season as head coach of the Vols an unmitigated success.

Tulsa at SMU

4:00 PM

If the Golden Hurricane can pull off the upset here, they would get their sixth win and be able to go to a bowl game.  Either way, we can almost guarantee this will be a close game because that’s what Tulsa does…every single time.

ULM at Louisiana

4:00 PM

Louisiana has already clinched the Sun Belt West and ULM is not going bowling.  NEXT!

#14 Wisconsin at Minnesota

4:00 PM

Huge game in the suddenly sloppy Big Ten West.  Wisky’s path is clear: win and they get a ticket to Indy.  The Gophers have a muddier path.  They must win here and hope for an Iowa loss AND a Purdue win.  Funny how tiebreakers work sometimes.

Saturday Primetime & Late Night​

#15 Texas A&M at LSU

7:00 PM

Coach Eaux’s Last Stand.  I am sure he wants to get the Tiguhz to a bowl game in his final regular season game as head coach.  Especially one in Florida so he can find some hot women on the beach.  The Aggies have a really outside shot at the New Year’s Six but would need at least a couple of teams above them in the rankings to lose this week for them to have any chance.

#10 Oklahoma at #7 Oklahoma State

7:30 PM

BEDLAM!  It’s the Pokes who already know they are in the Big XII title game which is a bit of a change from the usual.  The Sooners will need a win here to qualify.  I have to assume that Baylor will beat Texas Tech so an Oklahoma loss here would mean we would have a Big XII Championship without Oklahoma.  Good Ol’ JR would be rolling in his grave if he were dead.

#17 Pittsburgh at Syracuse

7:30 PM

Pitt has nothing really to play for since they are already in the ACC Championship.  Basically their role should be to make sure Kenny Pickett doesn’t get hurt.  The Orange, on the other hand, have everything to play for.  At five wins, they know what they have to do against their old Big East rivals.  It also could be the difference between Dino Babers keeping his job for 2022 or getting shitcanned.

Kentucky at Louisville

7:30 PM

Honestly, there is no real importance to this game.  Both teams are bowl eligible with no hope of getting into a New Year’s Six bowl.

Tulane at Memphis

7:30 PM

Surprisingly, the Tigers need a win here to become bowl-eligible.  They’ve had a rough season but should be able to close out the Green Wave to get that all-important sixth win.

#23 Clemson at South Carolina

7:30 PM

If you had told me that these two teams would be on the SEC Network in this final week, I would have laughed.  But here we are.  This game does mean quite a bit for Clemson since they can still clinch the ACC Atlantic with a win and losses by NC State and Wake Forest.  South Carolina’s only goal is to destroy Clemson’s chances.

#6 Notre Dame at Stanford

8:00 PM

This game is all about Notre Dame.  They need to win and win big here to keep their faint CFP hopes alive.  A big win would also, ironically, help Cincinnati’s CFP hopes.

Nevada at Colorado State

9:00 PM

This game means nothing.  Nevada is bowl-eligible.  Colorado State is not.  It’s the only game starting at this time so if it’s close it may be worth a watch but otherwise, don’t bother.

#13 BYU at USC

10:30 PM

This game has some serious stakes.  For the Trojans, they need to win this game to set up an opportunity for bowl-eligibility during conference championship week against Cal.  BYU, on the other hand, could crash the New Year’s Six party in a big way with a win here.  Moving up even one spot puts them in a great spot for an at-large berth, probably to the Fiesta Bowl.

Wanna bet?

As per usual, no Games of the Week section since I went over every game available up here in the Great White North.  There are a few other important games that we won’t get but hey, take it up with TSN, who’s coverage has gone to shit this season.  Seriously terrible.  And they wonder why people keep cutting cable.  Anyway, off to the biggest picks section of the season where I do picks for every damn game above.  Oh yeah.  Here we go!

Cincinnati over East Carolina

Houston over UConn

Memphis over Tulane

SMU over Tulsa

Temple over Navy (who cares)

Air Force over UNLV

Boise State over San Diego State (upset!)

Nevada over Colorado State

Ohio over Bowling Green

Central Michigan over Eastern Michigan

Notre Dame over Stanford

Oklahoma over Oklahoma State

Texas over Kansas State (slight upset)

Boston College over Wake Forest (upset!)

Clemson over South Carolina

Miami over Duke

North Carolina over NC State (slight upset)

Pittsburgh over Syracuse

Virginia Tech over Virginia (to become bowl-eligible)

Florida over Florida State (close)

Georgia over Georgia Tech

Kentucky over Louisville

Tennessee over Vanderbilt

Alabama over Auburn

Arkansas over Missouri

LSU over Texas A&M (upset to become bowl-eligible)

Ole Miss over Mississippi State

Oregon over Oregon State

USC over BYU (upset)

Utah over Colorado

Louisiana over ULM

Marshall over Western Kentucky

Ohio State over Michigan

Penn State over Michigan State (slight upset)

Rutgers over Maryland

Iowa over Nebraska

Northwestern over Illinois

Wisconsin over Minnesota

Wow, that’s a lot of games.  This should be a lot of fun.  A great way to end an amazing regular season.  Enjoy the games everyone!

The 2021 College Football Coaching Hot Seat List

This is going to be a very interesting season in college football as it pertains to the college football coaching hot seat list.

Last year was an aberration, obviously.  There are many programs that normally would have thought on pulling the trigger and ending their ties with their head coach.  COVID-19 changed that.  And we’re not out of the woods with all this pandemic shit.  Saying that, 2021 is different.  We are slowly getting back to normal, or at least what the new normal will look like.  And the college football world is no different.  Hey, look, realignment issues!  The new NIL legislation!  We are back to offseason craziness in the world of, let’s still call it amateur athletics.  Which means some coaches are back to squarely being on the hot seat.  Not good for them.  Incredibly exciting for the (sometimes) bloodthirsty college football media.  So let’s do this!

IT’S HOT SEAT TIME, GUYS!  Got to give myself some credit: this list is somewhat accurate.  That’s the history of this post.  And I am hoping it continues since accuracy with predictions isn’t exactly my strong suit.  Please don’t go back to previous posts to test this theory.

Let’s get to the damn list!  Like every year, this is ordered from most likely to be fired to most likely to keep their job:

Almost Guaranteed Shitcanning

1. Jeff Brohm (Purdue) – It feels like a decade ago since the Boilermakers’ upset of Ohio State.  It was actually in 2018.  Since then it has been pretty much a disaster in West Lafayette.  And I don’t really see any sign of improvement.  Needed to keep his job – Going into the final two weeks of the season with a chance at bowl eligibility.  Prediction – He won’t make it to the end of the season as Purdue will limp to a 3-win season.
2. Walt Bell (UMass) – It wasn’t like this in Tallahassee.  Honestly, I don’t think anyone would have done a good job at this school since, well since they moved up from FCS.  Needed to keep his job – Play at least one meaningful November game.  Prediction – He may quit before he’s fired.  Nah, he’s a college football coach.  He’ll be fired before he even thinks of quitting.  And fired he will be at some point in November.
3. Scot Loeffler (Bowling Green) – Bowling Green really isn’t historically bad.  And I am sure they have never had a horrible run like this.  Scotty has not done anything of note here so it’s time to move on.  Quite an easy move.  Also, never trust a guy who spells his first name like that.  Needed to keep his job – At least three wins with one over a good MAC team.  Prediction – I honestly can’t see the Falcons winning any games this season.  They are easily the worst team in the MAC right now, quite a ways below Akron who is also pretty shitty.
4. Dino Babers (Syracuse) – It’s been a long time since so much hope was dashed so fast in Western New York.  It’s been mostly bad since joining the ACC (at least in football).  But this is the worst stretch they’ve had and that’s after things looked so good early on.  I can’t see Babers recovering from recent performances by the Orange.  Needed to keep his job – Syracuse to look halfway competitive in the ACC.  Prediction – Could very well be gone before the end of the season.
5. Rick Stockstill (Middle Tennessee) – This is a tough one.  I don’t really like the guy, especially since all the shit his team pulled in their bowl game with Navy a few years back.  But he has been in Murfreesboro for so long it feels like he will retire before he gets shitcanned.  I think the shine has finally come off as the Blue Raiders are struggling with no sign of real improvement.  Needed to keep his job – Bowl eligibility, plain and simple.  Prediction – Stockstill might be one of those few coaches who resigns before they are fired.  Mostly out of pride.  And yes, I believe Stockstill will be fired but maybe not until after the regular season is complete.

Probable Shitcanning

6. Chip Lindsey (Troy) – Troy hasn’t had a string this bad for a while.  I’m sounding like a broken record here.  Not saying Lindsey was a hyped coaching hire but Troy was always one of the better Sun Belt teams.  Now?  Not so much.  Expect an interesting decision by the end of the season.  Needed to keep his job – Bowl eligibility and the look of a program on the rise again in the Sun Belt.  Prediction – Four wins and a very good chance that he’s looking for another job come December.
7. Randy Edsall (UConn) – UConn has struggled for a long time now.  Ever since they somehow got to a BCS bowl.  Any other program (almost) Edsall has been long fired.  It’s different in Storrs, and I get that, but with him getting bonuses for making sure he eats breakfast every day, the bloom might have come off the rose a bit.  Needed to keep his job – Be more competitive, especially on defense.  Prediction – Three wins and a surprisingly tough call for the powers that be.
8. Jonathan Smith (Oregon State) – I am going out bit of a limb with this one.  Things were looking very promising in Corvallis and then last year the Beavers came back to Earth a bit.  I think my prediction would be enough to move Smith out of the job.  Needed to keep his job – Bowl-eligibility or a win over Oregon.  Prediction – Three wins, no bowl, no win over Oregon, no head coaching position for Johnny Beaver.

Possible Shitcanning

9. Jim Harbaugh (Michigan) – Yes, his picture is one of the pictures at the top of this post.  And yes, he has been on the hot seat since the first time he lost to Ohio State.  He almost got a pass from many in Ann Arbor (and the voracious college football media) which surprises me to no end.  So the seat is cooler than normal but he’s not out of the woods yet.  Needed to keep his job – At least 7 wins and maybe an upset inside the Big Ten.  Prediction – I have the Wolverines getting right to the 7-win mark.  I think he survives but then the seat becomes scorching going into next season.
10. Scott Frost (Nebraska) – For many having Frosty the Coachman in this spot makes no sense.  I think he might get a bit of leeway and if the Huskers do what I think they will do this season, this spot makes a lot more sense so I should just stop second-guessing myself.  Needed to keep his job – Bowl-eligibility at the very least.  Prediction – I have them winning seven games so hopefully I haven’t drank the Husker Koolaid yet again.
11. Herm Edwards (Arizona State) – This is a tricky situation here.  This program could be in a heap of trouble.  The alleged recruiting scheme that was concocted during the worst of COVID-19 looks horrible on the Sun Devils and especially on Herm.  If the NCAA can prove their point enough, Edwards may be forced out.  This will have nothing to do with performance since the Sun Devils are a nearly-top-level Pac-12 team.  Needed to keep his job – Herm not being found guilty in this.  Prediction – A lot of times programs will fire a coach because of potential sanctions and most of those times, the team isn’t doing well anyway because they’re distracted.  If ASU does as well as I predict it will, then only the NCAA coming down hard on the program will push Edwards out the door.
12. Matt Wells (Texas Tech) – It has been a while since this program was good.  Kute Kliff Kingsbury couldn’t get the job done and he was punished with an NFL head coaching gig and probably a bunch of women at his beck and call.  Wells will not have those opportunities if this doesn’t work out.  For now, things are OK for the most part but it could quickly change if the Red Raiders bottom out this year.  Needed to keep his job – TTU to be playing meaningful ball in November.  Prediction – Define meaningful.  I have the Red Raiders winning four games so if they can pull off an upset or two then you may have a bowl team down in Lubbock which could get Wells an ill-advised extension.
13. Scott Satterfield (Louisville) – Wow has the bloom come off the rose here.  Satterfield was coaching so well early on that the fanbase had all but forgotten about their own Son of Anarchy, Bobby Petrino.  Now?  I am sure there is at least a decent amount of Cardinals fans who would bring Fun Bobby back in a heartbeat.  That’s how much things have changed for Satterfield.  He’s no longer Great Scott.  More Below Average Scott.  Needed to keep his job – Showing some obvious improvement from a horrible 2020.  Prediction – Well, I think the Cards will win three games.  That’s not many and whether they are competitive in many of their losses will signal whether Satterfield will be Satterfired or not.

Doubtful Shitcanning (although it still could happen)

14. Jeff Scott (USF) – I watched a YouTube video the other day about the crazy 2007 season.  Remember that?  At one point, the Bulls got to #2 in the nation.  Good times.  The times are not so good now and Scott is going to be starting to take a lot of heat for that, fair or not.  Needed to keep his job – Not be worse than last season.  Prediction – I’ve got them at 2 wins so technically, yes, they will be better.  Plus I think they plan to give Scott at least halfway through the 2022 season before potentially pulling the trigger.
15. Clay Helton (USC) – Can’t Clay get a little slack here?  Not like the Pac-12 as a whole is doing all that great these days.  I do believe, however, this could be the year that Helton *GASP* gets off the hot seat for at least a season.  What will Trojan fans complain about then?  Needed to keep his job – At least 7 wins.  Prediction – I have the Trojans winning 10 games meaning it’s almost an automatic to get to a New Year’s Six bowl.
16. Justin Fuente (Virginia Tech) – Fuente is the new Gus Malzahn.  He will never get off this list.  Ever.  He basically has to win a national championship to do so and even then there’s no guarantee.  Fans in Blacksburg are antsy for some true success.  Not gonna happen yet though.  Needed to keep his job –  It will be a seven win season to keep his job, which will probably be the case for a long time.  Prediction – 8 wins so stay tuned for next season when I put him on this exact same fucking list…again.
17. Thomas Hammock (Northern Illinois) – He was always going to get a lot of rope but after last year’s winless campaign, the rope has been shortened quite a bit.  He has nowhere to go but up although technically he could do the same this year which would absolutely get him shitcanned.  Needed to keep his job – At least a couple of victories.  It’s a low bar at this point.  Prediction – Three wins and Tom moving up this list next year.
18. Mike Bloomgren (Rice) – Again it will be a tale of two schools in the Houston area.  Houston is looking for a huge rebound and I think they will be a big player in the AAC this season.  Rice, on the other hand, will be just like they’ve been for most of the program’s history: below-average.  Not the easiest job in the world for sure but at some point, someone has to have some semblance of success at this school, no?  Needed to keep his job – Win a few games and pull off a good upset or three.  Prediction – Four wins should be considered not bad and he will again be on a hot seat next season.
19. Marcus Arroyo (UNLV) – A bright, relatively new shiny stadium for a full season.  The fact that, of all teams, the UNLV Rebels get to play at a place like Allegiant Stadium seems bizarrely funny.  It really doesn’t match.  I don’t think they care as long as they are out of the heat magnet masquerading as a football field called Sam Boyd Stadium.  Needed to keep his job – A couple of wins and an upset at Allegiant.  Prediction – They’ll win 3.  As for the upset, I don’t think that will happen.
20. Mel Tucker (Michigan State) – OK last year he had to be given a pass.  He started very late in the off-season cycle and basically did what he could for a Spartans team that needs an overhaul.  He will probably get a pass for the most part this year unless they do so horribly that even Maryland is destroying them.  Needed to keep his job – A move up the standings and at least 3 wins.  Prediction – He should get his three wins.  Moving up the standings might not happen though and the seat will most definitely get hotter next year for Mel.

Hey guess what’s next?  That’s right, my Heisman ballot (which I never will, and never should, get).  Then I need to do the NFL preview as well which is always a bit of a dog’s breakfast as well.  24 days away!  Soon enough I will have info for Week Zero!  Enjoy your day everyone!