2012 Schedules

Here are some interesting observations about schedules in the 2012 season:

• 22 teams have ONLY FBS opponents on their schedules
• No SEC or ACC schools are among the twenty-two teams to play this type of schedule
• Five are from Conference USA
• Four are from the Big Ten
• 97 teams have ONE game against an FCS opponents on their schedules
• 4 teams have TWO games against FCS opponents on their schedules
• Florida State
• Cincinnati
• Pittsburgh
• Texas A&M
• 1 team plays TWO FCS opponents and TWO Division 2 opponents
• UT-San Antonio, which was rushed up to the FBS level to save the WAC
• 3 teams play a 13-game regular season
• New Mexico
• UNLV
• South Alabama
• The NCAA allows teams that play Hawaii on the road to play a 13-game schedule if they chose. The extra game helps generate revenue for the school to offset the expensive travel costs of flying a team to Hawaii. Hawaii is also allowed to play a 13-game schedule every year if it chooses. Hawaii will only play 12 games in 2012.
• Only one win over a FCS program counts towards bowl eligibility. Beating two FCS programs in a season gives a FBS school no advantage in getting to bowl eligibility. In fact in might make bowl eligibility tougher since they can only lose to 5 FBS teams, opposed to 6 FBS teams if they had played one or no FCS cupcakes.

The Nightmare Is Over In Albuquerque

Yes, folks, what you heard was true. We have the first head coach firing of the season after just four weeks. Mike Locksley has been deservedly canned after going 2-26 in two and a third seasons. The last straw was this past Saturday when New Mexico lost to FCS school Sam Houston State in overtime 48-45. Fan support for the program had plummetted under Locksley. This past Saturday was the Lobos lowest home attendance at University Stadium in nineteen years--16,313 fans.

Also this past weekend, a Lobos recruit was arrested with charges of an aggravated DWI, minor in possession of alcohol, driving without a license, and reckless driving while in a car owned by Locksley. Keep in mind Locksley was accused of sexual harrassment of a secretary before he even coached his first game at New Mexico. During his first season, he violently attacked his wide receivers coach after a loss and was subsequently suspended for ten days.

This guy was the biggest joke of a head coach I have ever witnessed in all of the years I have been a fan of college pigskin. I had been calling for Locksley's removal on every single edition of my column On The Hot Seat since I began this blog. He is finally gone. Defensive coordinator George Barlow will serve as the interim coach for the remainder of the season.

Mike Locksley is a clown

More FCS Upsets

Two Mountain West Conference teams were upset by FCS teams today:

Sam Houston State 48
New Mexico 45 (OT)

Southern Utah 41
UNLV 16

New Mexico took the game to overtime but has been horrible since Mike Locksley took over. UNLV surprisingly got dominated a week after upsetting Hawaii 40-20 in the same stadium. There have been five FCS-FBS upsets so far during the 2011 season. The vast majority of the 2011 inter-division matchups have been played in the first four weeks of the season, as most games from here on out are conference games.

On The Hot Seat: Preseason

1. Mike Locksley—The Mike Locksley era at New Mexico is a train wreck. He is 2-22, with New Mexico getting massacred in most of those 22 losses. The Lobos ranked dead last in total offense last season and second-to-last in total defense out of 120 FBS teams. Toss in his off-the-field infractions and you have an absolutely pathetic head coach.

2. Paul Wulff—Paul Wulff is lucky to be coaching at a school that allows you to come back after going 5-32 in three seasons. Any other school, no matter what the circumstances, would not accept a .135 winning percentage. Wulff needs to turn the Cougars around 180 degrees this season.

3. Bob Toledo—The Green Wave have finished in last place in the C-USA’s West Division each of the last two seasons and have never won more than four games in a season under Toledo’s leadership. If Tulane does not become bowl-eligible, Bob Toledo is going to get kicked to the curb.

4. Neil Callaway—The Blazers have not had a winning season under Callaway, nor finished better than fourth in their division. With 15 starters returning, UAB should be able to string together wins and possibly save Coach Callaway’s job.

5. Steve Fairchild—Fairchild is heading into his fourth season, going 3-9 in both 2009 and 2010. The Rams have an uncompetitive 2-14 record in the Mountain West the past two seasons. Fairchild will get canned if he cannot produce at least a half dozen wins in 2011.

6. Dennis Erickson—This is the final year of Erickson’s contract, and if he does not win at least seven games, it is certain is contract will not be renewed. Erickson has lost 21 games over the last three seasons, making his last three years in Tempe the worst three seasons of his head coaching career.

7. David Bailiff—The Owls have gone 6-18 over the last two seasons since their great run in 2008. The Owl pass defense has been almost nonexistent. If Bailiff can get his defense to improve and put together a respectable conference record, he has a chance of coming back for a sixth season.

8. Ron Zook—The question of whether to fire Zook or not has been swirling around Urbana-Champaign over the past three seasons. By going 7-6 last season and getting the Illini’s first bowl win in eleven years, Zook seems to only be on a warm seat at the moment, but a fifth sub-.500 season will get him fired.

9. Rick Neuheisel —Rick Neuheisel’s time at his alma mater has been a subpar 15-22, with a pathetic 8-19 conference record. The Bruins have finished eighth, eighth, and ninth in the final three years of the Pac-10. Slick Rick needs to turn things around at UCLA this season, or he’s out.

10. Mike Price—The Miners have not had a winning season since 2005, Price’s second season in El Paso. With a record of 40-45, Mike Price is going to have to become bowl-eligible like last season to feel safe about his livelihood. It won’t be an easy task with 1 starter returning on offense.

Waiting list: Ron English, DeWayne Walker

We will revisit On The Hot Seat after Week 4.

MWC Home Attendance Figures

	Air Force			Brigham Young
Falcon Stadium			LaVell Edwards Stadium
S4 Northwestern State	40,236		S4 Washington	63,771
S11 BYU	46,692		S25 Nevada	61,471
O2 Navy	47,565		O9 San Diego State	62,176
O9 Colorado State	41,547		O23 Wyoming	60,505
O30 Utah	37,211		O30 UNLV	61,283
N13 New Mexico	27,309		N20 New Mexico	59,077
AVERAGE	40,093		AVERAGE	61,381
	Colorado State			New Mexico
Hughes Stadium			University Stadium
S25 Idaho	23,925		S11 Texas Tech	25,734
O2 TCU	22,553		S18 Utah	23,940
O16 UNLV	30,753		O2 UTEP	22,511
O30 New Mexico	18,266		O23 San Diego State	16,488
N13 BYU	16,501		N6 Wyoming	18,017
			N23 TCU	18,640
AVERAGE	22,400		AVERAGE	20,888
	San Diego State			TCU
Qualcomm Stadium			Amon Carter Stadium
S4 Nicholls State	25,290		S11 Tennessee Tech	37,117
S25 Utah State	45,682		S18 Baylor	47,493
O16 Air Force	28,178		O9 Wyoming	38,081
N6 Colorado State	34,689		O16 BYU	40,416
N20 Utah	34,951		O23 Air Force	46,096
N27 UNLV	22,091		N13 San Diego State	45,694
AVERAGE	31,814		AVERAGE	42,483
	UNLV			Utah
Sam Boyd Stadium			Rice-Eccles Stadium
S4 Wisconsin	31,107		S2 Pittsburgh	45,730
S25 New Mexico	16,961		S11 UNLV	45,102
O2 Nevada	28,958		S25 San Jose State	45,099
O30 TCU	16,745		O23 Colorado State	45,029
N13 Wyoming	16,111		N6 TCU	46,522
N18 Air Force	13,790		N27 BYU	45,272
AVERAGE	20,612		AVERAGE	45,459
	Wyoming
War Memorial Stadium
S4 Southern Utah	20,043
S18 Boise State	29,014
S25 Air Force	22,413
O16 Utah	20,014
O30 San Diego State	16,252
N20 Colorado State	17,011
AVERAGE	20,791

AVERAGE ATTENDANCE BY SCHOOL

Brigham Young	61,381
Utah	45,459
TCU	42,483
Air Force	40,093
San Diego State	31,814
Colorado State	22,400
New Mexico	20,888
Wyoming	20,791
UNLV	20,612

On The Hot Seat: Week 14

1. Paul Wulff—Washington State lost the Apple Cup after having two bye weeks to prepare. Paul Wulff is statistically the worst head coach in Cougar history, yet the administration has decided he will stay. Wulff is 3-32 against FBS teams in his three year tenure! What is the athletic department thinking?

2. Mike Locksley—Mike Locksley is 2-22 after two horrendous seasons. The University of New Mexico may not be able to financially afford to buy out his contract for another season or two. The moral of the story: don’t give money-spinning contracts to unproven coaches. If your team has the Lobos on their schedule for the 2011 season, they have a guaranteed W.

3. Bob Toledo—Bob Toledo is 13-35 after four seasons at Tulane. Other than a winning football team being low on the priority list for a university such as Tulane, I have no clue why Toledo will be returning to coach the 2011 season.

4. Neil Callaway—Neil Callaway is 15-33 in four seasons at UAB. Like Tulane, UAB will retain a head coach with four consecutive losing seasons for a fifth season. The tolerance for losing in Birmingham is apparently much higher than it is for other programs around the country, where a headman gets canned if improvement is not seen after three or four seasons.

                                

5. Ron Zook—Illinois lost to Fresno State for the second straight year in its season finale. Illinois ends the season 6-6 and will play in the Texas Bowl against Baylor on December 29^th. If the Fighting Illini lose, Ron Zook will have five losing seasons in his six years at Illinois.

6. Steve Fairchild—Fairchild has been talking about how the Rams’ football program is heading in the right direction. The 13-24 record and the fact that the Rams were routed eight times during the 2010 season say otherwise.

7. Dennis Erickson—Arizona State ended the season positively, beating rival Arizona in a close game. Despite being 6-6, the Sun Devils cannot play in the postseason since two of their six wins were over FCS schools. Only one FCS-win counts towards bowl eligibility. Erickson will be allowed to stay the last year of his contract despite being 17-19 in Pac-10 play over his four years.

8. David Bailiff—Lucky for David Bailiff one bowl win and a 19-30 record in four years is acceptable at Rice, a school with less than 3,500 undergraduates. The administration has decided to let Bailiff stay, but the pressure to win next season will be 3,500 pounds per square yard of Rice Stadium.

9. Rich Rodriguez—The way Rodriguez’s contract is drawn up, it will be $1.5 million cheaper to fire him come January 1^st than prior to that date. With athletic director David Brandon stating he will evaluate Rodriguez after Michigan’s bowl game, many are thinking Dick Rod will be fired if he loses to Mississippi State in the Gator Bowl on January 1^st. Rodriguez has never beaten rivals Michigan State and Ohio State. He is 6-18 in conference games.

10. Ron English—Ron English got two wins this season, an improvement over a winless season in 2009. English will need to get at least double his wins next season if he wants to stick around in Ypsilanti.

Waiting list: DeWayne Walker, Rick Neuheisel

On The Hot Seat: Week 13

1. Paul Wulff—Paul Wulff has the lowest winning percentage of any Washington State head coach in the history of the program, .139. Washington State faces Washington in the Apple Cup Saturday. Win or lose, Wulff is probably fired. Winning the Apple Cup is his last gasp at trying to save his job.

2. Mike Locksley—Mike Locksley is 2-22 after two horrendous seasons. The only thing holding the University of New Mexico back from canning this guy is the contract they signed him to: $4.5 million across six years. Right now, it would cost $3 million to buy him out. What idiot wrote up such a lucrative deal for an unproven head coach? I guess the Lobos are guaranteed to be the Mountain West doormat for a few more years.

3. Bob Toledo—Bob Toledo is 13-35 after four seasons at Tulane. With a 4-8 record this season, Toledo matched his best season, 2007. After four losing seasons, the Green Wave need to wave goodbye.

4. Neil Callaway—Neil Callaway is 15-33 in four seasons at UAB. UAB has not gone to a bowl during Callaway’s tenure, nor finished better than fourth in the C-USA West during those four years. Legion Field has been a ghost town. UAB needs to bring in a coach that can reinvigorate the Blazers fan base.

5. Dennis Erickson—The Sun Devils beat UCLA last Friday, but are likely to finish 2010 with their third-straight losing season after facing Arizona on Thursday. Despite beating only subpar teams the past three seasons, the administration at Arizona State are saying they will honor the final year of Erickson’s contract. Going to bowl games and winning the Pac-10 title must not be a priority in Tempe.

6. Ron Zook—The Fighting Illini are finally bowl-eligible after bullying a Dan-Persa-less Northwestern team at Wrigley Field in Week 12. With a game left to play against Fresno State in Week 14, the Illini are sitting at 6-5 and Zook is a meager 27-44 in almost six seasons. A loss to the Bulldogs in consecutive years could mark the end for Zook.

7. David Bailiff—Bailiff is 19-30 after four seasons at Rice, finishing 4-8 after the finale Saturday. Rice has had losing seasons in 2007, 2009, and 2010. Is 2008’s 10-3 campaign too far in the past to save Bailiff? Bailiff still has three years left on his contract, but contracts can be bought out.

8. Steve Fairchild—Fairchild is 13-24 after three years at the helm in Fort Collins. The 2010 campaign ended with a 44-0 beatdown from Wyoming in the Border War. Wyoming had not won a conference game before drubbing Colorado State. Out of nine losses this season, only one was by single digits

9. Ron English—The Eagles got their second win of the season on November 20^th, beating Buffalo 21-17. Six days later in Eastern Michigan’s final game, English’s team got smoked 71-3 by Northern Illinois. Ouch! Ron English has a .083 winning percentage after two seasons.

10. DeWayne Walker—DeWayne Walker is 5-20 after two years at New Mexico State, a graveyard for coaches. One plus on Walker’s body of work is winning the Rio Grande Rivalry both years. New Mexico State is ranked 116^th out of 120 teams in both points scored and points allowed.

Waiting list: Rich Rodriguez, Rick Neuheisel

Fired: Stan Parrish, Randy Shannon, Bill Lynch, Rickey Bustle

Off the hot seat: Mark Richt

We will revisit On The Hot Seat after Week 14.

On The Hot Seat: Week 11

1. Mike Locksley—Mike Locksley is 2-20 (.091) in two seasons. How has he not been canned already? University of New Mexico athletic director Paul Krebs needs to be dismissed as well. Krebs (1) forced out Rocky Long, the most successful head coach in New Mexico football history, (2) hired deadbeat Mike Locksley, and (3) refuses to get rid of Locksley. Three strikes and you’re out.

2. Dennis Erickson—Dennis Erickson’s teams have not beat a single team with a winning record over the past three seasons. Even if 4-6 Arizona State wins out and gets to .500 by beating UCLA and Arizona, it cannot go to a bowl because two of its wins were against FCS schools! Dennis Erickson is done, stick a fork in him.

3. Paul Wulff—Wazzu did something amazing Saturday: They beat an FBS team for the first time since November 22^nd, 2008. Washington State gave Oregon State a pretty good 31-14 licking on the road. For this, I’ll drop Paul Wulff down one spot this week. The Cougars have a three week bye before the 103^rd installment of the Apple Cup. If the Cougars can beat the Huskies on December 4^th, Wulff still has a very, very, very slight chance of keeping his job as head coach. If he loses, he will surely be fired.

4. Neil Callaway—Neil Callaway is 14-32 in almost four years in Birmingham. All four campaigns have been losing seasons. Even if the Blazers can finish out with wins over Memphis and Rice, they will still only be 5-7.

5. Bob Toledo—Bob Toledo is 13-33 in his fourth season at Tulane. At 4-6 the Green Wave still have a very slim chance at going to the postseason, but they’d have to beat UCF and Marshall. More than likely, Toledo will have his fourth straight losing season in New Orleans.

6. Ron Zook—Two weeks ago, Illinois was 5-3 and all three losses came to ranked teams. It looked like Zook had the Illini back on track and they’d would be bowl eligible with a win over Michigan. The defense did not show up, and they lost 65-67 in three overtimes. The following week, the Illini lost 34-38 to the worst team in the Big Ten, Minnesota. The Illini are 5-5, reeling, and desperate to get bowl-eligible.

7. Bill Lynch—Lynch has not won a Big Ten game this season and is 5-25 in conference games. Indiana is a hard place to develop a winning football program. Football takes the backseat to basketball. Lynch has brought in better recruits and did take Iowa and Northwestern to the wire this season, but the Hoosiers may still hit the reset button.

8. David Bailiff—When your athletic director gives you a vote of confidence, you know you are on the hot seat. Since going 10-3 and winning the Texas Bowl in 2008, the Owls have lost 18 of their last 22 games. Welcome to the hot seat David Bailiff.

9. Ron English—Eastern Michigan is a tough place to coach. Ron English is 1-21 with two games to play in his second season with the Eagles. English has a chance of sticking around for a third year considering two seasons isn’t long enough to rebuild a program.

10. Mark Richt—Should one subpar season in a decade of dominance justify firing a coach? Probably not, but some Georgia fans think so.  Georgia plays in-state rival Georgia Tech at home on November 27^th. If the Bulldogs can get the win, they will be .500 and going to their tenth straight bowl game under Mark Richt. If they win that bowl game, they will have their tenth straight winning season under Mark Richt.

Waiting list: Rickey Bustle, DeWayne Walker, Steve Fairchild, Stan Parrish, Randy Shannon

Fired: Dan Hawkins

Off the hot seat: Mike Sherman, Rich Rodriguez

We will revisit On The Hot Seat after Week 13.

On The Hot Seat: Week 9

1. Mike Locksley—The Lobos are 0-8 this season, losing by an average of 29.8 points per game. The Lobos have the 118^th offense and 119^th defense in the country out of 120 teams. What is wrong with the athletic department at New Mexico? Why are they not firing a classless coach with a 1-19 record?

2. Paul Wulff—Let’s take a look at Paul Wulff’s resume: 4-30 with three games left to play in his third season, 2-30 against FBS schools, 1-23 against Pac-10 schools. The numbers speak. The Cougars program has spiraled into a deep abyss. At least Bill Doba’s teams were mediocre. The administration at Washington State needs to just pull the trigger and get a jump on the search for a new head coach.

3. Dan Hawkins—The Buffs are 0-4 in Big 12 games this season. With a 3-5 record on the season, Hawkins has a very slim chance at reaching the postseason. Colorado plays at Kansas, then has Iowa State and Kansas State at home, and finishes the season against Nebraska on the road. Dan Hawkins is 19-38 in four and two-thirds years in Boulder.

4. Rich Rodriguez—After starting the season 5-0, the Wolverines have gone winless in their last three Big Ten contests. Rodriguez has proven his spread offense can beat cupcakes, but his defense can’t stop legitimate teams. Rodriguez is 4-16 in conference games.

5. Dennis Erickson—Dennis Erickson has a .511 winning percentage at Arizona State. Take out the FCS wins and Erickson is .463 against real competition. With USC, Stanford, UCLA, and Arizona left on the schedule, the Sun Devils will be lucky to muster one more W.

6. Bob Toledo—Bob Toledo is 12-32 in his fourth season at Tulane. The Green Wave has three home games and one road game left to play. Tulane has never finished better than 4-8 under Toledo’s leadership.

7. Neil Callaway—Neil Callaway is 14-30 in his fourth season. Unless Callaway can finish 3-1 or better down the stretch, the 2010 campaign will be his fourth consecutive losing season. The Blazers have never finished better than fourth in the C-USA East Division during his tenure.

8. Mark Richt—Richt has put together an impressive 94-32 record over the last decade, but is currently 4-5 in 2010 coming off of a 34-31 loss to rival Florida. Even if Richt does end up having his first losing season that should not take away the fact the Bulldogs’ chief has taken them to nine straight bowl games, winning seven of them. While Bulldogs fans are calling for Richt to be fired, it is unlikely that will happen with the insane $8 million buyout the university would have to foot.

9. Ron English—Eastern Michigan is a coaching graveyard make no doubt about it. It is not a question of whether English will be fired or not. It is a question of when: this season or next season. English’s predecessor, Jeff Genyk, coached the Eagles for five seasons before being fired, averaging 3.2 wins per season. English is averaging 0.5 wins per season.

10. Mike Sherman—Texas A&M has not been a national contender since 1998 and more and more it is looking like Mike Sherman is not the guy that will lead the Aggies back to prominence. Sherman is 7-12 in Big 12 play. The Aggies play Oklahoma, Baylor, Nebraska, and Texas in November. Sherman must win at least two of these games if he wants to stick around in College Station.

Waiting list: Stan Parrish, DeWayne Walker, Rickey Bustle, Steve Fairchild, David Bailiff

Off the hot seat: Ron Zook

We will revisit On The Hot Seat after Week 11.

On The Hot Seat: Week 7

1. Mike Locksley—Mike Locksley is 1-17 during his tenure in Albuquerque. To make matters worse, the Lobos were beaten by a previously winless New Mexico State team in Week 6. Mike Locksley is now 0-2 against his instate rival. This is getting crazy; my suspicion is that the University of New Mexico does not have the money to buy-out Locksley, or they fear firing a black coach in a politically correct world.

2. Paul Wulff—Washington State got smashed by Oregon and Arizona the past two weeks and should expect the same from Stanford this coming Saturday. Wulff is 4-28 all time at Wazzu. Two of those four wins were actually FBS schools. Paul Wulff can expect a pink slip by the end of the season.

3. Rich Rodriguez—Michigan has gone 0-2 over the past two weeks, losing to instate rival Michigan State and Iowa. The Wolverines can’t match up against real competition. Dick Rod has never beaten either of Michigan’s rivals.

4. Dan Hawkins—Dan Hawkins looked to be silencing the doubters after the Buffaloes beat Georgia two and a half weeks ago. The subsequent two weeks were loses to conference foes Missouri and Baylor. Hawkins is climbing back up the hot seat with a 0-2 start to Big 12 play. Three of Colorado’s last six games are against ranked opponents. It is not looking good for Coach Hawkins.

5. Ron Zook—The Illini look somewhat competitive this year; they trounced on the Nittany Lions 33-13 at Beaver Stadium. The following week they lost to Michigan State 26-6. The jury is still out on Ron Zook; if he can get the Illini to a bowl game, he may be able to skirt into 2011.

6. Dennis Erickson—Arizona State got its first win over an FBS school on October 9. The Sun Devils are 3-3 and 1-2 in the Pac-10. Dennis Erickson is 22-21 in his fourth season at Arizona State.

7. Bob Toledo—Toledo is 11-31 in his fourth season at Tulane. The Green Wave is 2-4 so far this season and look to be well on their way to their eighth consecutive losing season.

8. Neil Callaway—The UAB Blazers are 2-4 overall. Neil Callaway is 13-29 in his fourth year as the Blazers’ skipper. Callaway has never had a winning season in Birmingham, and it is unlikely the 2010 campaign will be any different.

9. Mark Richt—The Bulldogs started 1-4 but have been able to get back-to-back blowout wins over Tennessee and Vanderbilt the past two weeks. If Richt can lay the wood to Kentucky Saturday, he may be able to get himself off the hot seat and into a bowl spot.

10. Ron English—The Eagles were able to beat Ball State in overtime last Saturday to get the first win of the Ron English era. For this, I’ll drop Ron English to the ten-spot. Wins are hard to come by in Ypsilanti. The Eagles are 1-18 during the Ron English era.

Waiting list: Mike Sherman, DeWayne Walker, David Bailiff

Fired: Tim Brewster, Todd Dodge

We will revisit On The Hot Seat after Week 9.

Winless Teams

Currently there are six teams that have yet to get a win:

Akron 0-5 (5 game streak)
Eastern Michigan 0-5 (17 game streak)
Florida International 0-4 (6 game streak)
New Mexico 0-5 (6 game streak)
New Mexico State 0-4 (11 game streak)
Western Kentucky 0-4 (24 game streak)



Big Red, Western Kentucky's popular mascot



The good news is that on Saturday New Mexico plays at New Mexico State and Western Kentucky plays at Florida International. We know at least two of the six winless teams will finally get a hash in the win column, no matter how sloppy these two pillow fights are.

Also worth mentioning is San Jose State lost to FCS UC-Davis last Saturday day, 14-13. During the 2010 season, seven FCS schools have gotten wins over FBS schools. The dividing line between a good FCS program and a struggling FBS program has blurred over the years. I expect to see more and more of these cross-subdivision upsets every year.