Hot Seat watch: Willie Taggart, Clay Helton get much-needed wins

LOS ANGELES, CA - SEPTEMBER 21: Head coach Clay Helton of the USC Trojans calls for a touchdown during a video review late in the second quarter against the Washington State Cougars at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum on September 21, 2018 in Los Angeles, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /

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CHAPEL HILL, NC – SEPTEMBER 22: Head coach Larry Fedora of the North Carolina Tar Heels talks with an official during their game against the Pittsburgh Panthers during their game at Kenan Stadium on September 22, 2018 in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. North Carolina won 38-35. (Photo by Grant Halverson/Getty Images) /

Week 4 of the college football season was an interesting week for coaches on the hot seat. Some of those coaches even managed to get wins that they needed.

There are some weeks where the hot seat can be very forgiving. A bounce or two can fall a program’s way toward a victory and college football’s coaches with the most anxiety can live to see another day heading up their programs.

Week 4 saw plenty of close finishes from both Friday and Saturday night. A Pac-12 affair ended with USC surviving Washington State and in the ACC, North Carolina had a second half surge to pick up their first win of the 2018 campaign.

Some coaches still saw their programs struggle and it’s only going to make the rest of the season more difficult. Here are the winners and losers of the hot seat watch for Week 4.

5. Larry Fedora: UNC Tar Heels – Winner

Being back at home was a blessing for Larry Fedora on Saturday. Two tough losses on the road and a home opener postponed made the first three weeks for North Carolina seem as long as possible.

With Pittsburgh leading at the half on Saturday, it looked like it would be more of the same for the Tar Heels and that a conference loss would be added onto their pile of losses that have begun adding up.

Instead, 17 second-half points pushed the Tar Heels to victory and they were able to hold off the Panthers at home. It will certainly take more than this win for Fedora, but it has to feel good picking up that first victory of the year.

The Tar Heels now have something to build off of and can maybe pick off some wins in what looks like a down year for the ACC. The next two weeks could be difficult, however, as they have Miami and Virginia Tech on deck.

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