Week 9 Featured Games:The Underdogs, the Upsets, and the Unraveling

Step back from the spreadsheets, the power rankings and the expert predictions – Week 9 featured games are about to remind us why we watch this sport in the first place: for the moments that defy logic and rewrite the script.

Early Game

No. 12 Notre Dame vs. No. 24 Navy

Noon Eastern/9:00 AM Pacific

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Coaches on Fire? Readers Respond to the Hot Seat Rankings

Welcome back to the Coaches Hot Seat, where we dissect the volatile world of college football coaching and track those whose seats are getting too toasty for comfort. Today, we’re tackling our readers’ fiery feedback and passionate perspectives. Because let’s face it, college football fandom is a crucible of emotions, and sometimes those emotions boil over. So hang on – we’re about to explore the highs and lows, the agreements and disagreements, and the raw, unfiltered takes from the passionate community that makes college football what it is.

A Fan’s Take: Will Hall’s Legacy and the Future of Southern Miss Football

Will Hall is a good man who did many great off the field teams for the program. But, on the field, it just didn’t work out. His “last season” (2023) was 3-9, replicating his first season, and now this 1-6 start that finally led to the plug being pulled. Southern Miss not many years ago under Jeff Bower and Larry Fedora, consistently had winning records and made bowl games. Jay Hopson had winning teams every year, until resigning after the first game of 2021 after losing to South Alabama.

In the landscape of NIL and up and rising programs like South Alabama that have cut into their recruiting pool, it is going to take a home run hire to bring USM back to relevance in my opinion.”

You bring up some great points about the challenges facing Southern Miss football. It’s a brutal landscape, with the rise of NIL and programs like South Alabama making it harder to recruit top talent.

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Dilfer Moves to the Top of the Hot Seat Rankings. Neal Brown moves to #9.

The college football season is in full swing, and with it comes the inevitable scrutiny of coaches on the hot seat. This week, we’re closely monitoring two coaches: Trent Dilfer at UAB and Neal Brown at West Virginia. Dilfer’s Blazers are off to a dismal 1-6 start, and there’s growing discontent among fans and boosters alike. Brown, meanwhile, is facing pressure to turn things around at West Virginia, where he has yet to achieve a winning record in Big 12 play. We’re also watching Mark Stoops at Kentucky, who is facing a make-or-break season with the Wildcats.

Trent Dilfer: UAB Football and the Abyss

Let’s talk about UAB football. It’s a dumpster fire. It’s a train wreck. It’s a slow, agonizing descent into the abyss. And at the helm, steering this program into oblivion, is Trent Dilfer.

Remember those halcyon days under Bill Clark? Six straight winning seasons. Two conference championships. Three straight division titles. A brand new stadium. That’s the UAB many of these players signed up for. Instead, they got Dilfer.  

Now, the boosters are whispering. They say AD Mark Ingram and the Alabama Board of Trustees are trying to kill this program. Again. And honestly, it wouldn’t surprise me with Dilfer at the helm.

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Another One Bites the Dust: Will Hall and the Southern Miss Saga

Man, the coaching hot seat is scorching right now. First Mike Houston at ECU, and now Will Hall at Southern Miss? It’s a brutal reminder that winning is the only thing that matters in college football.

Hall came to Hattiesburg with a ton of promise. Deep ties to Mississippi and a successful stint at Tulane – it felt like a perfect fit. But sometimes, even the best-laid plans go up in flames.

A 1-6 start? Ouch. That’s not just a slump; that’s a full-blown meltdown. And when your only win comes against an FCS team? Well, let’s say the writing was on the wall.

Look, I’m not here to pile on. Coaching is a tough gig, especially in today’s pressure cooker environment. But the reality is, results matter. Fans demand them, and athletic directors expect them. When those results don’t come, something’s got to give.

It’s easy to point fingers at the offense, the defense, or the players. But at the end of the day, the head coach is the one who takes the fall. That’s the burden of leadership and a heavy one to bear.

So, what’s next for Southern Miss? They’ve got an interim coach in place, and the search for a new leader is on. It’s a chance for a fresh start, a new vision, a renewed sense of hope.

But for Will Hall, it’s a tough lesson learned. In this game, you’re only as good as your last season. And sometimes, that’s just not good enough.

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Trent Dilfer’s UAB Tenure: A Program-Killer in the Making?

Is this a program-killer in the making?

Picture this: It’s a crisp autumn Saturday in Birmingham, Alabama. The stands at Protective Stadium are sparse, and the energy is subdued. On the sideline, a man with a Super Bowl ring on his finger and a deer-in-headlights look in his eyes watches as his team gets steamrolled.

This isn’t some fever dream. This is the reality of UAB football under Trent Dilfer.

Now, I’ve seen my fair share of coaching hot seats. But Dilfer’s? It’s not just hot. It’s supernova hot. We’re talking “center of the sun” hot. And here’s the kicker: It’s all happening faster than you can say “freakin’ Alabama.”

The Unlikely Experiment Gone Wrong

In the high-stakes world of college football, UAB decided to roll the dice on a former NFL quarterback turned high school coach with zero college experience. It was the kind of move that either ends up in the genius column or… well, let’s say it’s currently trending towards the “What Were They Thinking?” file.

As Joseph Goodman, the lead sports columnist for the Alabama Media Group puts it: “There was always a chance at UAB with Trent Dilfer that things could go horribly wrong in a hurry. Well, we’re here after six weeks of his second season on the Southside.”

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GRIDIRON ARMAGEDDON: SEC Titans Clash, Big Ten Behemoths Collide, and Big 12 Underdogs Rise in a Weekend That’ll Shatter College Football’s Status Quo

Here we go, football fanatics. We’re about to witness GRIDIRON ARMAGEDDON: SEC Titans Clash, Big Ten Behemoths Collide, and Big 12 Underdogs Rise in a Weekend That’ll Shatter College Football’s Status Quo. This isn’t just another Saturday of college football. It’s a seismic event that’s about to rock the very foundations of the sport. From the thunderous roar of SEC stadiums to the electric atmosphere of Big Ten showdowns and the uprising of Big 12 underdogs, every snap, every tackle, every touchdown could rewrite the playoff narrative. Forget everything you think you know about rankings and reputations. When the dust settles on this epic slate of games, the landscape of college football will never be the same. Are you ready?

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Finally-A-Friday, Week 7, Tonight’s Showdown in the Desert, Utah at Arizona State

Game: 16 Utah at Arizona State

Game Time: 10:30 PM Eastern, 7:30 PM Pacific

The stage is set for a classic Big 12 showdown under the Friday night lights. Still licking its wounds from a humbling loss to Arizona, Utah heads to Tempe to face an unexpectedly potent Arizona State squad. It’s a clash of styles, a battle of wills, and a pivotal moment for both teams in the conference race.

The Utes: Wounded But Dangerous

Utah, known for its stifling defense and physicality, has been hit hard by injuries. The availability of star quarterback Cameron Rising remains a mystery, shrouded in the typical Whittinghamian secrecy. If Rising can’t go, it’ll be up to freshman Isaac Wilson to navigate a hostile environment and avoid the red zone woes that plagued him against Arizona.

The Sun Devils: A Desert Mirage or the Real Deal?

Arizona State, led by freshman quarterback sensation Sam Leavitt, has defied expectations with a 4-1 start. But their schedule has been soft, and Utah represents a significant step up in competition. Can Leavitt handle the pressure of a primetime matchup against a top-tier defense?

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What’s up with Purdue?

In the crisp autumn air of West Lafayette, Indiana, a story of ambition, miscalculation, and the unforgiving nature of college football is unfolding. At its center stands Ryan Walters, a 37-year-old wunderkind of defensive coaching. Now facing the greatest challenge of his young career, fans are asking, “Is Ryan Walters heading to the top of the Coaches Hot Seat rankings?”

Two years ago, Walters was the toast of the Big Ten. As the defensive coordinator at Illinois, he had engineered a turnaround that transformed the Illini from a conference punching bag to a genuine contender. His defenses were smart, aggressive, and, most importantly, effective. When Purdue came calling with a head coaching offer, it seemed like the natural next step in a meteoric rise.

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Week 7 – Hot Seat Rankings Overview

In college football’s high-stakes arena, where multimillion-dollar decisions hinge on the outcome of a single play, a silent countdown ticks away. We’re approaching the season’s midpoint, that critical juncture where athletic directors start crunching numbers that have nothing to do with touchdowns or field goals.

Welcome to this week’s Coaches Hot Seat Rankings, where we peel back the curtain on the beautifully absurd world of college football economics.

Forget win-loss records for a moment (though they’re the fuel that feeds this fire). Forget rivalry games and conference standings (the kindling, if you will). Today, we’re diving headfirst into the labyrinthine world of contract buyouts—those golden parachutes that can turn a simple firing into a financial apocalypse.

We’ve identified the top 5 coaches whose seats aren’t just hot—they’re scorching. But here’s the twist: their fates aren’t sealed by X’s and O’s alone. No, these men are trapped in a game where the final score is tallied not on a scoreboard but in a boardroom.

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Vote for Your Hot Seat Takes

Every win matters. Every loss stings. But some coaches are feeling the heat more than others. Who deserves to be on the hot seat? Your vote counts.

Win/Loss results for last week’s rankings appear below.

Cast your vote now: https://tinyurl.com/53ydy73m

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