Week 11 was a disastrous one for Bobby Petrino and the rest of the college football head coaches on the hot seat. Did anyone end up a winner?
It was the loser’s club for the coaches that have seen their hot seat become engulfed. Week 11 might have been the proverbial nail in the coffin for a set of head coaches that have been waiting to be ousted.
The party got kicked off on Friday night when the Louisville Cardinals let Syracuse hang 54 points on them. It was yet another week where Bobby Petrino’s squad let an opposing program hang a big number on them.
Petrino wasn’t the only loser this week as well. The rest of the gang got things going in an excruciating fashion, as Chris Ash, Larry Fedora and Randy Edsall added yet another loss to their overall totals. This was the first week of the season where there weren’t any real winners on the hot seat and instead, it was probably a sign that the day of reckoning is coming for plenty of coaches on the hot seat.
Chris Ash – Loser
The only thing to expect from Rutgers this year is that it’s probably a safe bet to hammer the under. They might not let opposing squads hang big numbers in the 70’s often like other terrible programs, but they get blown out in a much easier to digest capacity. Nonetheless, they got blown out at home by Michigan, 42-7 on Saturday to drop to 1-9.
Larry Fedora – Loser
North Carolina has been keeping a lot of their losses close but they aren’t winning any games either. In their rivalry battle against Duke, the Tar Heels hung tough until the end but the Blue Devils won 42-35. At 1-8, North Carolina would have to win their last two games to match last seasons win total. They should take next week’s contest against West Carolina if they bring this effort, but defeating N.C. State in the final week is a big ask. Fedora better hope the program shows grace after potentially just five wins in a two-year span.
Randy Edsall – Loser
UConn was heading for an embarrassing blowout against SMU on Saturday. Then out of nowhere, the offense came to life and put up 40 points in the second half. That should be good enough for any program to win a game right? Wrong. They still lost 62-50. Even when Edsall sees his program’s offense come to life, it isn’t enough to hold up against what the defense is showing. They didn’t give up 600 yards this week, but 594 might as well be. Once again, his defense has let him down and the Huskies remain without a win in conference.
Clay Helton – Loser
USC lost 15-14 to Cal to be eliminated from Pac-12 South contention. This snaps the 14-game win streak against the Bears, but it really stings for Clay Helton because it came against his former defensive coordinator, Justin Wilcox too. After taking over play-calling duties, Helton wasn’t able to score in the second half vs. Cal. The Trojans were limited to 41 yards on 31 plays in the second half. I can’t imagine Helton is going to return next year. If Helton is indeed let go, the USC job could be the biggest one on the market as Athletic Director Lynn Swann should have a number of potential suitors to consider.
Bobby Petrino – Loser
The big name to watch when it comes to a potential firing right now is Bobby Petrino. The Louisville head coach’s program has been thoroughly embarrassed on almost a weekly basis it seems like. This week, it was Syracuse scoring 54 in a rout over the Cardinals. Petrino’s exit might be music to everyone in Louisville’s ears if the program is willing to come up with money to pay the buyout that it will take. It’s hard to imagine there’s anything that can happen in the last couple of weeks that would make the optics of the situation appear differently.