Hot seat watch: 3 college football coaches desperately needing a Week 7 win

The college football hot seat is only getting hotter as the season nears its midpoint and this trio of coaches is desperately seeking a win in Week 7.

In a normal year, the college football season would be heading toward the back nine and we would be getting ready to fire up some big discussions about the College Football Playoff and even coaches on the hot seat soon to be fired.

Those discussions are still going to happen, but every conference is at seemingly a different point in their schedule so it’s not quite fair to say which hole they’re on in this truncated season.

What is fair is to discuss which coaches could soon get the proverbial ax as we head into Week 7 of the schedule. Even with games being postponed and college football having to work around COVID-19, we’re starting to learn more about the state of some programs and it’s providing insight into which coaches desperately need wins.

In some cases, there are coaches that are picking up wins and getting the job done, but one loss could simply change all of that. There are others that can’t seemingly get started with their new program and you have to wonder if it’s fair to preach patience. Here are this week’s coaches on the hot seat.

Week 7 could be a pivotal point for coaches on the hot seat

Gus Malzahn – Auburn

A week after getting pummeled by Georgia, the No. 15 Auburn Tigers flirted with disaster. The end result was escaping with a 30-28 win over Arkansas. Gus Malzahn had to be breathing a sigh of relief because a 1-2 mark with the lone win over Kentucky would have been as pedestrian of a way to start a season.

Nonetheless, the win is in the books and Auburn is still a top-15 program. That being said, Malzahn needs to keep stockpiling wins and having his program beat the teams they’re supposed to on Saturday’s.

The loss to Georgia wasn’t inspiring by any stretch but it’s forgivable. This week, Auburn begins a stretch of two straight on the road with a trip to South Carolina. They’re facing a team with a desperate head coach as well. A big win could get the ball rolling for the Tigers and some confidence toward a strong finish. A loss would be yet another bump in the road.

Will Muschamp – South Carolina

Can Will Muschamp muster up whatever South Carolina brought against Georgia in 2019? He’s going to need that as the Gamecocks get set to host No. 15 Auburn.

South Carolina finally got on the board this past week with a 41-7 win over Vanderbilt. Perhaps that can carry a little momentum as they get ready to defend their home turf.

In fairness to Muschamp, the schedule has been unforgiving to him so far with Tennessee, Georgia and Auburn marking three of the first four games. However, that’s life in the SEC and he’s been at South Carolina long enough to warrant hot seat admission if the losses keep piling up.

Mike Norvell – Florida State

In all reality, Mike Norvell isn’t in any imminent danger of losing his job. The Florida State program is a trainwreck and is in need of some serious foundation building. It was bad before he got there and now the focus has shifted to him as the losses pile up to begin his tenure.

The Seminoles are in for a long season and everyone knows that at this point so it might even take a little bit of the pressure off Norvell. However, he can’t have his team roll over and not be competitive in these losses.

In fact, he’s got a golden opportunity this upcoming Saturday. Florida State will host No. 5 North Carolina. The Tar Heels are rolling and a win would certainly be a starting point for Norvell’s program. A big loss would be yet another added kick while they’re down and another sign that Norvell has a long way to go to accomplish anything with the program.

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