Week 6 of the college football season saw Bobby Petrino’s program reach a new low point. How did the other coaches on the hot seat fare?
The midpoint of the season saw coaches on the hot seat declare which type of season that they’re going to have the rest of the way. Some will be in a free fall the rest of the way and their fates will be left up to the school. Others are going to see some fight each week and progress might be the key to keeping their jobs.
Week 6 saw Louisville kick things off by absolutely melting down at home on Friday night. Bobby Petrino’s squad was not ready for Georgia Tech and it was a declaration of the program being in serious trouble.
Of course there were some surprises as well. Kansas looked competitive in a loss and showed that they might upset a Big-12 team this season if they aren’t taken seriously. It was a good week for some and a bad one for others. Here’s how the coaches on the hot seat fared.
5. Bobby Petrino, Louisville – Loser
The Louisville Cardinals can’t get much worse than this. On Friday night, Georgia Tech gave them a beating on their own field and it wasn’t pretty. Georgia Tech hung 66 points on the road against Louisville. The Cardinals looked like a program that finds new ways to lose each week.
If Petrino’s seat wasn’t warm yet after suffering multiple conference losses this year, it’s ablaze now. There hasn’t been any competitive fire on the field and while they lost key pieces to the draft, there is no excuse for being this bad.
4. David Beaty, Kansas – Neither
The Kansas Jayhawks didn’t win on Saturday, but that doesn’t make Beaty a loser this week. In fact, he had his Jayhawks ready to play on the road at No. 9 West Virginia. The biggest testament to their performance this week was making Will Grier look human.
Grier threw three interceptions on Saturday, including three in the red zone, which almost no one was expecting. This was a game that West Virginia was expected to win going away and Kansas really made the Mountaineers work on their home field. West Virginia would win 38-22. These are the types of losses Beaty can point to as progress.
3. Chris Ash, Rutgers – Loser
The losses keep piling up for Rutgers. That isn’t a surprise as they play in a tough conference that the program clearly shouldn’t be in. However, it’s how they’re losing games that’s important to focus on.
Last week, they played a competitive game on the road in their loss to Indiana. This week, they made it interesting until Illinois pulled away in the fourth quarter and won 38-17. Right now, Ash needs a win to help his cause as regression isn’t going to lead to much patience.
2. Lovie Smith, Illinois – Winner
The Fighting Illini came away with their first conference win of the season on Saturday. A big start and a great fourth quarter effort helped secure a victory at home over Rutgers. Lovie Smith can breathe easy for a while now that he got that first conference win of the season.
With the victory, Smith has already topped the total of victories that Illinois had in 2017. He still has a long ways to go, but this was a good step in the right direction for his program as they try to push toward a bowl bid.
1. Randy Edsall, UConn – Loser
The UConn Huskies continue to prove that they are the worst defense in the history of college football on a weekly basis. This week, it was the Memphis Tigers’ turn to put up impressive numbers against Randy Edsall’s group.
Again, the Huskies gave up over 600 yards of offense to the opposition. Unless there’s a change soon to the defensive philosophy and that might not even matter, Edsall’s time could soon be coming to an end. There’s no competition in these games and their offense has been also woeful.
What’s Next?
Perhaps getting away from home might be the best thing for Louisville right now. Next week, the Cardinals will hit the road and face Boston College. They’ll have to start fast on the road against a solid Boston College team that dropped a close road game to NC State.
After showing some progress on the road against West Virginia, Kansas faces the bye week. They’ll have a week off to build on what they’ve done thus far this year as they get ready to face Texas Tech in a couple of weeks.
Next week might be the best chance that Rutgers has at getting another win this season. They’ll be at home when they host Maryland. An interesting battle awaits Illinois next week when they take on Purdue. Will they pick up a huge road win? It’s time off for UConn right now. They get the bye next week before taking on South Florida.