Hot seat watch: Week 2 winners and losers – Larry Fedora is in trouble

Week 2 of the college football season is in the books. For the coaches feeling the heat on the hot seat, some had good weeks and some had bad weeks. Who won and who lost?

The second week of the college football season saw some desperation and plenty of grit along the way. It was gut check time for many programs as they set their path for the year and those that lost in Week 1, certainly didn’t want to lose in Week 2. The coaches on the hot seat were once again across the board.

Some programs came through and delivered the wins their coach needed. Others straight up flopped and any excitement or hype for the future is all but nil right now. Here are the winners and losers of Week 2.

Lovie Smith: Illinois – Winner

Illinois now has two wins under their belt to begin the season and that’s a huge deal for Lovie Smith. Yes, those wins have come against Kent State and Western Illinois. However, Smith’s had five wins total in his tenure leading into this season.

He now has almost half that total to begin the season and his program is learning how to win football games. The next step is going to be learning how to win conference games and defeat bigger opponents.

Smith still has a long way to go when it comes to inspiring confidence that he is the man to turn Illinois around, but for now, he’ll take two wins to begin the year anyway he can get them.

Things will get tougher next week for his program when they host South Florida. The following week, Penn State will come to town. If they can cap off a perfect non-conference schedule, then it will be a big step in the right direction.