Hot Seat Watch, Week 3: Winners and losers

TEMPE, AZ - SEPTEMBER 09: Head coach Todd Graham of the Arizona State Sun Devils walks on the field during the college football game against the San Diego State Aztecs at Sun Devil Stadium on September 9, 2017 in Tempe, Arizona. The Aztecs defeated the Sun Devils 30-20. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

2 of 5

COLLEGE PARK, MD – NOVEMBER 26: Rutgers head coach Chris Ash during a Big 10 football game on November 26, 2016, at Capital One Field at Maryland Stadium, in College Park, MD. Maryland defeated Rutgers 31-13. (Photo by Tony Quinn/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images) /

Winner – Chris Ash

Chris Ash is going to earn an exemption from this list for a while. He never really belonged on it in the first place, but Rutgers really could have gone either way off the bat. After a loss to Washington to begin the year and a tough loss to Eastern Michigan, it was interesting to see how the team would respond.

The way they blew out Morgan State showed that they respond well to their head coach and he had them prepared to play. By virtue of only being in his second season, his job was never in that much jeopardy unless they were just a train wreck from start to finish.

They didn’t go that route and they got a win that their coach can build off. They’re going to struggle in their conference, but so long as they remain competitive and show the signs of growth needed, Ash will be just fine.

A lot can be said about a coach by the way his team responds and this week really spoke volumes about him. This isn’t an overnight process for the Rutgers program and it could very well take years. These are the signs of growth people want to see from them.

Home/College Football