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Hot Seat Watch, Week 13: 5 coaches who need to win

By Charles Rahrig V

LAWRENCE, KS - SEPTEMBER 23: David Beaty Kansas Jayhawks head coach looks on against the West Virginia Mountaineers Memorial Stadium on September 23, 2017 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images)
LAWRENCE, KS - SEPTEMBER 23: David Beaty Kansas Jayhawks head coach looks on against the West Virginia Mountaineers Memorial Stadium on September 23, 2017 in Lawrence, Kansas. (Photo by Ed Zurga/Getty Images) /
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TEMPE, AZ – OCTOBER 14: Head coach Todd Graham of the Arizona State Sun Devils celebrates with linebacker Christian Sam #2 after defeating the Washington Huskies in the college football game at Sun Devil Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Huskies 13-7. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images)
TEMPE, AZ – OCTOBER 14: Head coach Todd Graham of the Arizona State Sun Devils celebrates with linebacker Christian Sam #2 after defeating the Washington Huskies in the college football game at Sun Devil Stadium on October 14, 2017 in Tempe, Arizona. The Sun Devils defeated the Huskies 13-7. (Photo by Christian Petersen/Getty Images) /

Todd Graham

The Arizona State Sun Devils need to defeat the Arizona Wildcats at home this week or it could be the end of Todd Graham’s tenure in Tempe. The head coach has performed better than most thought this year, but he needs that seventh win to be safe.

Heading into conference play, it looked like the Sun Devils were on their way to just a two- or three-win season. Instead, they rattled off some huge wins against Washington and Utah, and this past week became bowl eligible.

Still, a bad loss to UCLA on the road served as a reminder that the program could be on a treadmill of mediocrity. His buyout could ultimately be the thing that saves his job, but it wouldn’t make any sense to keep him around to just let him go next year at some point.

There are interesting options out there for the Sun Devils, but Graham could still be the guy if this year is indeed the start of a turnaround. The defense has been better and there have been some signature wins.

The best thing he can hope for here is a win in the Territorial Cup and a victory in the bowl game. Eight wins after the disaster that was last year would prove to be too much to let him go at this point.

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