On The Hot Seat: Week 12

1. Paul Wulff—Washington State upset Arizona State on November 12^th and lost to Utah in overtime on November 19^th. The Cougars are slowly improving, but that does not take away from the fact that Washington State will have its fifth consecutive losing season, and fourth under Wulff. Wulff is 4-31 in Pac-12 games. He needs to go.

2. Neil Callaway—UAB got a huge 34-31 upset over No. 22 Southern Mississippi on November 17^th. With a 3-8 record, Callaway will have his fifth consecutive losing season. Callaway is 18-41, or .305, in Birmingham with one game left to play.

3. Ron Zook—After starting out 6-0 this season, the Illini had a meltdown and lost their next five games. The Illini play a 2-9 Minnesota squad in their finale Saturday. If it is their sixth straight loss, Zook will probably be canned.

4. Steve Fairchild—Colorado State started the season 3-1, then dropped six consecutive games to fall to 3-7. Fairchild is 7-22 in Mountain West games during his tenure. If the Rams cannot beat Air Force or Wyoming, they will finish the season with their third consecutive 3-9 season.

5. David Bailiff—Bailiff is 23-37 with one game left to play in his fifth year. The Owls will have their third straight losing season and fourth losing season in Bailiff’s five seasons.

6. Dennis Erickson—A few weeks ago, the Sun Devils were looking good with a 6-2 record and a Top 25 ranking. The following three weeks, Arizona State dropped to 6-5, losing to UCLA, Washington State, and in-state rival Arizona inside Sun Devil Stadium. The Sun Devils are having a meltdown.

7. Mike Riley—Just when you thought the Beavers bottomed out last season, things get even worse in 2011. The Beavers are 3-8. The last time Oregon State was that bad was 1997 when they finished the season 3-8. Oregon State has the Civil War left to play against the Ducks, which will likely put them at 3-9.

8. Turner Gill—Kansas is 2-9 this season, with a 1-15 record in Big 12 games. All but two of the Jayhawks losses were by double-digits. Gill needs to start making some progress in Lawrence before the administration and fans lose their patience.

9. Rob Ianello—Rob Ianello is 1-10 in 2011 and 2-21 overall in almost two seasons. Is Akron happy with one win per season? Will Ianello be back for a third season?

10. Larry Porter—Larry Porter is 3-20 in two years at Memphis. The former Tigers running back is struggling, having beaten only one Conference USA opponent in two years. Two seasons may be too early to cast judgment, but the past two seasons have been dismal.

Waiting list: Robb Akey, Frank Spaziani, Rick Neuheisel

Fired: Joe Paterno

We will revisit On The Hot Seat after Week 14.

On The Hot Seat: Week 10

1. Paul Wulff—Washington State is on a five-game losing streak. Out of those five losses, only one game was close. The Cougars fall to 3-6 on the season and will not go to the postseason for the eighth straight year unless they can win all of their last three games: Arizona State, Utah, and Washington at CenturyLink Field in Seattle. Wulff is 8-38 in his career at Wazzou.

2. Neil Callaway—Ever since Callaway’s hiring almost five years ago, rumors have chimed that the University of Alabama Board of Trustees wanted to keep the Birmingham campus’s football program inferior to the Tuscaloosa campus’s football program, and that is why Callaway was hired over more sought after coaches for the opening in Birmingham. Is the administration still trying to hold UAB down by not letting them get rid of a coach with a 16-45 record? The Blazers were outscored in their last two games 115-27.

3. Mike Riley—Oregon State is 7-14 over their last 21 games. Mike Riley’s squad has plummeted to Pac-12 doormat status along with Washington State and Colorado. Riley is contracted to coach the Beavers through the 2019 season. Oregon State should not have made such a lengthy contract extension.

4. Frank Spaziani—The Eagles finally beat a FBS team when they took down a bad Maryland team on Halloween weekend, but on the following Thursday, Florida State went to Chestnut Hill and blasted the Eagles 38-7. Boston College’s streak of 12 consecutive bowls came to an end as the Eagles fell to 2-7 on the season.

5. Steve Fairchild—Colorado State has been just plain bad this season. On its current four-game losing streak, it has lost to teams like San Jose State, UTEP, and UNLV. The Rams have four games left, with three games at home, but it is unlikely the 3-5 Rams will see the postseason with San Diego State, TCU, Air Force, and Wyoming on deck. Fairchild will likely have his third consecutive losing season.

6. Robb Akey— The Vandals beat San Jose State 32-29 November 5^th, getting their first win over a FBS team this season. Since the Vandals are 2-7 with three games left, Akey will have his fourth losing season in his five years in Moscow. Robb Akey is 19-40 in his fifth season.

7. David Bailiff—The Owl defense allowed Houston to put up 73 points on them in Bayou Bucket Classic on October 27^th. Rice is 3-6 overall and 2-4 in conference games. Bailiff is 22-36 in his fifth year. Bailiff will have his fourth losing season in five years unless he can win out against Northwestern, Tulane, and SMU.

8. Rick Neuheisel—After a brawl with Arizona on October 20^th and the resulting suspensions of six players, Neuheisel got his team refocused and picked up quality wins over California and No. 20 Arizona State the last two Saturdays. With games against Utah, Colorado, and USC left, Neuheisel should be able to go 7-5 or even 8-4 f he can beat the Bruins’ cross-town rival. Neuheisel’s chair is cooling off a little.

9. Turner Gill—Gill does not seem to be making much progress in Lawrence.  Kansas is 5-16 during his 1 ¾ year tenure. The Jayhawks are just 1-13 against Big 12 opponents since Gill took over at Kansas. Kansas is in last place in the Big 12 with a 0-6 record. Games against Baylor, Texas A&M, and Missouri remain. Will Kansas get another win this season?

10. Rob Ianello—Rob Ianello and the Zips went 1-11 in 2010 and are currently 1-8 in 2011. If J.D. Brookhart got fired for going 3-9 in 2009, Ianello’s stool has to be getting very hot. Akron is a tough place to coach, but two wins in two seasons doesn’t cut it.

Waiting list: Danny Hope

Resigned: Houston Nutt

We will revisit On The Hot Seat after Week 12.

On The Hot Seat: Week 8

1. Neil Callaway—The Blazers finally won their first game of the 2011 season last Thursday against Central Florida in front of a home crowd of 8,872. Regardless, the Blazers are 1-6 this season and almost assuredly will have a losing season, resulting in Callaway having five consecutive losing seasons. The Callaway era at UAB can best be summed up as a train wreck.

2. Paul Wulff—Wulff is 8-36 in slightly over three and a half years at Washington State. The Cougars have lost their last three games and have fallen to 3-4 now. In Pac-12 games, Washington State is 1-3. While three W's are more victories than Wulff has gotten over his first three seasons in Pullman, it is still subpar. The Cougars still have to play Oregon and California on the road, then Arizona State and Utah at home, before finishing the season with the Apple Cup in Seattle. It is not looking good.

3. Mike Riley—Oregon State is 2-5, losing to BYU and beating Washington State over the last two weeks. Looking ahead, the Beavers have Utah, California, and Oregon on the road, and Stanford and Washington at home. At best, the Beavers might get two wins out of their last five games, considering the way they have been playing. Riley will almost assuredly have his second consecutive losing season.

4. Rick Neuheisel—The Bruins had two weeks to prepare for an Arizona Wildcats team that had lost ten straight games against FBS opponents, yet lost by a margin of 36 points on primetime national television. To make matters worse a brawl erupted just before halftime that led to the suspension of six Bruins. Rick Neuheisel cannot afford to lose any more games, or he'll be out before the season is over.

5. Frank Spaziani—Boston College is a dismal 1-6 with a away game at Maryland next Saturday, followed by a home game five days later against Florida State. Boston College has lost seven straight to FBS foes. Spaziani was a great defensive coordinator, but he isn't cutting it as a head coach. One more loss will send his winning percentage south of .500.

6. Robb Akey—One more loss will guarantee Idaho its fourth losing season in Robb Akey's five seasons as head coach in Moscow. The Vandals are 1-6 with their only win coming over an FCS program. Attendance at home games so far this has averaged 13,300 per game, well below the NCAA's attendance requirement for the Football Bowl Subdivision.

7. David Bailiff—Bailiff has a .375 winning percentage in his fifth season at Rice. The Owls are 2-5 after eight weeks of play and need to win four of their last five to be bowl eligible and also avoid the program's fourth losing season in Bailiff's five years. The Owls play cross-town rival Houston on Thursday in the Bayou Bucket Classic.

8. Steve Fairchild—Fairchild is 16-28 in his fourth season, with a record of 7-19 in Mountain West Conference games. The Rams are 3-4 this season with games against UNLV, San Diego State, TCU, Air Force, and Wyoming remaining. Colorado State will probably be favored in only one of the last five games.

9. Houston Nutt—Ole Miss played Arkansas tight last week, losing by a score of 29-24. Unfortunately, the Rebels are still 2-5 and 0-4 in SEC games this season. Nutt will likely have his second consecutive losing season. It will cost $6 million to buy out Nutt's contract, so firing might be out of the question for Mississippi in 2011.

10. Turner Gill—Gill is only in his second season at Kansas, but his record against Big 12 teams is 1-11, and his overall record at Kansas is 5-14. Last Saturday, in-state rival Kansas State utterly destroyed the Jayhawks at home by a score of 59-21. Kansas has been getting blown out left, right, and center; the Jayhawks are 120^th in the nation in total defense and scoring defense.

Waiting list: Rob Ianello

Resigned: Bob Toledo

We will revisit On The Hot Seat after Week 10.

Helmet Stickers: Week 4

ACC—No. 21 Clemson knocked off No. 11 Florida State 35-30, giving the Tigers their first 4-0 start since 2007. The Tigers have beaten the Seminoles five-straight in Death Valley. It was Clemson’s fourth game this season with 455 yards or more. Clemson freshman Sammy Watkins had 141 yards and two touchdowns on eight receptions. After beating two ranked opponents in consecutive weeks, Clemson looks like the dominant team in the ACC.

Big 10—No. 22 Michigan picked up a solid win over San Diego State in the weekend before Big 10 conference games begin. It was the Aztecs first loss of the season. Denard Robinson rushed for three touchdowns in the first half and ended the game with 200 yards on the ground. The Wolverines were very one-dimensional running for 320 yards and passing for 93 yards. Brady Hoke is the third coach in UM history to defeat the team he coached the previous season.

Big 12—Kansas State snuffed Miami’s Jacory Harris on a fourth down run on the K-State goal line with 49 seconds left to end any chance the Hurricanes had of defeating the Wildcats. Miami had the ball on the Kansas State 2-yard line on first down, but threw an incompletion. On second and third down, the Wildcats defense stopped rushing attempts. The Kansas State offense was just as good. Wildcats running back John Hubert ran for 167 yards, averaging 9.2 yards per carry. In 145 of the last 150 games where the Wildcats led at the half, they won. That is called finishing.

Big East—On Thursday night, the Cincinnati Bearcats blasted the North Carolina State Wolfpack 44-14, avenging last year’s loss. Cincinnati quarterback Zach Collaros threw two touchdowns and rushed for two more. Bearcats running back Isaiah Pead ran for 167 yards and accounted for two scores—one on the ground and another on a catch. The Cincinnati defense put up six sacks, forced three turnovers, and gave the Wolfpack -26 yards rushing. The Bearcats have not lost a nonconference game at Nippert Stadium since 2003.

C-USA—A 2-1 Southern Miss team defeated a 2-1 Virginia squad 30-24 Saturday afternoon. The Golden Eagles avoided giving the ball back to Virginia with less than 3 minutes left and a three-point lead when Austin Davis connected with Tracy Lampley with a 41-yard completion on third and 23. Golden Eagles quarterback Austin Davis threw for 313 yards and all three of Southern Mississippi’s touchdowns. The Golden Eagles defense had three picks. Both teams had 374 yards of offense. Southern Miss has beaten Virginia in the last two meetings.

MAC—Temple defeated Maryland 38-7 in College Park. Temple had never beaten the Terrapins before or any other ACC team for that matter. Maryland was previously 6-0 against Temple, including winning the last two games by a combined 54 points. The Owls controlled the clock for 41:01 and outgained Maryland 425 to 240. Owls running back Bernard Pierce had a school-record five rushing touchdowns. Temple wide receiver Rod Streator blocked a Maryland punt in the first quarter. Maryland had not had a punt blocked in 139 consecutive games, dating back to 1999. Maryland did not score until garbage time at the end of the fourth quarter.

MWC—Colorado State punted, losing 21-13, with 2:17 left in its game against Utah State in Logan. When Utah State fumbled the punt return, Colorado State recovered the ball and punched in a touchdown four Chris Nwoke-runs later. A two-point conversion pass to Crockett Gillmore tied the game at 21-21, forcing overtime. Both teams rushed for touchdowns in the first overtime to get to 28-28. Colorado State scored 7 points in the second overtime off a 7-yard pass to tight end Crockett Gillmore. Utah State’s Robert Turbin answered with a touchdown, but Utah State elected to go for a two-point conversion for the win. The Aggies rushed Robert Turbin on the two-point conversion attempt, but the Rams defense got the stop and the 35-34 victory.

Pac-12—Arizona State downed No. 23 Southern California 43-22 at Sun Devil Stadium, ending an 11-game losing streak to the Trojans. The Sun Devils forced four turnovers and the Trojans forced none of their own. Standout middle linebacker Vontaze Burfict had an interception, and outside linebacker Shelly Lyon returned an interception for a score late in the fourth to end any hopes the Trojans could get back in the game. Brock Osweiler threw two scores and Cameron Marshall rushed for three scores after an ankle injury in last Saturday’s game against Illinois.

SEC—No. 2 Louisiana State made a mockery out of No. 16 West Virginia on primetime with a 47-21 victory. The LSU defense stopped a high-octane Mountaineer attack. The Tigers won the turnover battle 4-0. LSU punter Brad Wing averaged 48.7 yards per punt. LSU cornerback Morris Claiborne ran back a kickoff for a 99-yard touchdown late in the third quarter. The Tigers have made a case for being No. 1 after beating No.3 Oregon, No. 25 Mississippi State, and No. 16 West Virginia all away from home in just the first four weeks of the season.

Sun Belt—North Texas got its first win of the season at home this Saturday over BCS-conference foe Indiana by a score of 24-21. Mean Green running back Lance Dunbar accumulated 152 receiving yards and 127 rushing yards, despite fumbling twice. Mean Green quarterback Derek Thompson threw for 201 yards, all three of North Texas’ touchdowns, and one pick-six in the fourth quarter. The Mean Green led 24-0 before the Hoosiers stormed back in the fourth quarter behind their backup quarterback Dusty Kiel. North Texas recovered an onside kick with 1:05 left to secure its first win.

WAC—San Jose State ended a thirteen-game losing streak by beating New Mexico State 34-24 Saturday at Spartan Stadium. Spartan Brandon Rutley rushed for 209 yards and two touchdowns, becoming the first player at SJSU to rush for over 200 yards in a game in seven years. Spartan quarterback Matt Faulkner threw for 236 yards and two touchdowns, both caught by tight end Ryan Otten. SJSU played a clean game, only committing one penalty for 5 yards. The Spartans got their first win since beating Southern Utah on September 18, 2010.

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