Despite Their Losses, Clemson and Kansas St. Still Have A Lot To Play For

The rode to the BCS National Championship is always a rocky and difficult path. Teams have to survive their opponents best shot week after week and they have to be able to win close games. Just look at Auburn's season last year. The Tigers won 6 games by a touchdown or less including 5 games by just 3 points or less. Even a team like Kentucky, who were 2-6 in the SEC, played their best game of the season against the Tigers and just came up 3 points short. In a usual year, there are only one to three undefeated teams in college football. For most teams in the country, their strength and character is tested after they lose a game and fall out of the National Championship picture. Often times, it is much harder for a team to be motivated and get up for a game after a difficult loss than a team that is fighting for a title. While teams like Clemson and Kansas St. may have fallen out of the National Championship picture, they still have a lot to play for.

History shows that teams who have National Championship aspirations and drop a game are often susceptible to further losses down the road because they lose motivation. In 2010 Virginia Tech may have had its best team since 1999 when the Hokies were led by Michael Vick and were undefeated until they lost in the BCS National Championship to Florida St 46-29. The Hokies were in the preseason top 10 at number 6 but had a crushing loss in a highly contested week 1 game against the Boise St. Broncos 33-30 after Kellen Moore threw a game winning touchdown pass with a little over a minute remaining. The Hokies were so distraught over their loss and their National Championship dreams vanishing that they became the second team to ever be ranked in the AP Poll and lose to a FCS opponent when they fell to James Madison the following week 21-16 at home. No disrespect to James Madison, but there isn't a college football fan out there that believes that the Hokies would have lost that game if they had beaten the Broncos the previous week. However, the Hokies had an emotional let down and it put them in a horrible 0-2 hole to begin the season. That same year, Oklahoma rallied off 6 straight wins to begin their season with a perfect 6-0 record and the Sooners were the number 1 ranked team when the BCS standings were initially released. After giving up more than 485 yards of total offense in a 36-27 loss to the Missouri Tigers, the Sooners dropped to number 9 in the BCS standings and out of National Championship contention. The Sooners were unable to rebound from their difficult loss to Missouri and just two weeks later, the Sooners played a horrible game in a 33-19 loss to Texas A&M

Before Clemson's loss to Georgia Tech, the Tigers perfect 8-0 start was their best start since 2000 when they also began 8-0 and their number 5 BCS ranking was the best in school history. Those impressive numbers will now only add to the challenge for the Tigers when they try to recover from their 31-17 loss to Georgia Tech. Although a National Championship is now out of the picture for the Tigers, they still have a lot to play for. Since the ACC split into two divisions in 2005, Clemson has won the Atlantic division just once. In fact, Clemson has not won an ACC Championship since 1991 when the team was coached by Ken Hatfield. If the Tigers want to get to Charlotte, so that they can have a shot at winning their first ACC title in 20 years and making their first BCS Bowl game, they will have to recover very quickly from their loss because they have a huge game in two weeks against Wake Forest. If the Tigers fail to recover and fall to Wake, the Demon Deacons will have to beat a weak 2-6 Maryland team at home to win the Atlantic Division and just like that Clemson would be on the outside looking in. The Tigers also need two wins out of their last three games to win 10 games for the first time since 1990.

Kansas St. is in a very similar position to the Clemson Tigers. The Wildcats began their season with a perfect 7-0 record for the first time since 1999 and were number 8 in the BCS rankings. The Wildcats may have an even tougher time recovering from their first loss of the season than the Tigers for two reasons. First off, unlike the Tigers, the Wildcats had a lot of doubters after their 7-0 start and many fans believe that the Wildcats showed their true stuff after they were destroyed by Oklahoma 58-17 at home. The Kansas St. players are going to hear all week about how their 41-point loss shows who they really are and it may be tough for the Wildcats to have to handle all of the pressure of trying to prove those doubters wrong. Secondly, the Wildcats may have the hardest remaining schedule in the country. They have to travel to play #3 Oklahoma St. in Stillwater, then play #16 Texas A&M the following week, and then travel to Austin to play #24 Texas to finish up a brutal three game stretch. However, Kansas St. should be looking forward to the challenge. They are already bowl eligible and will play in a bowl game for just the 3rd time since 2003. The Wildcats need just one win out of their final four games to end up with at least 8 wins for the first time since 2003 when they went 11-4 and lost in the Fiesta Bowl.

One thing that the Tigers have that the Wildcats don't have is an explosive offense to help them get through their next few games. Clemson quarterback Tajh Boyd ranks 7th in the country in passing yards and 3rd in touchdowns with 25 and his main target, freshman Sammy Watkins, is 7th in the country in receiving yards and 2nd in touchdowns with 10 in 9 games. Boyd and Watkins power a Clemson passing game that is averaging over 300 yards a game and that put up more than 50 points in 2 of their last 3 games. Unfortunately for Wildcat fans, Kansas St. lacks that offense firepower, which may prove to be costly when they face high powered offenses that score a lot of points like Oklahoma St. and Texas A&M. Out of 120 teams in the FBS, Kansas St. ranks 113th in passing yards per game, as Collin Klein threw for just 58 yards against Oklahoma last week.

Don't Sleep On The College Football Games This Weekend

After LSU knocked off the Oregon Ducks 40 to 27 in week 1 at Cowboys Stadium, every college football fan circled November 5th on their calendar in anticipation of the what some are now calling "the college football game of the decade" between LSU and Alabama. While it may be a stretch to go to that extreme, the matchup between the two SEC heavyweights features to be the best regular season game in years. The last time the top 2 teams in the country played in a game that was not a bowl game or a conference title game was back in 2006 when #1 Ohio St. beat #2 Michigan in both teams final regular season game of the season. Not only, are LSU and Alabama 1 and 2 in the BCS poll, but they have also been destroying all of their opponents. LSU has beaten 5 ranked teams by a combined score of 192-75 and they have scored at least 40 points in 4 of those 5 games. Alabama has scored at least 37 points in 6 of their 8 games and they have allowed an average of just 6.9 points per game. Although it is going to be tough to have to wait another week for this much-anticipated matchup, the college football schedule still has a lot of room for excitement this weekend.

If you are a college football fan who loves offense, then the Oklahoma St.-Baylor matchup is a perfect game for you to tune into. The Cowboys are averaging just a little under 50 points per game (yes 50 points per game), which ranks 2nd in the FBS and that includes a 45.75 point per game average in four Big 12 games. The Cowboys are led by a scary passing attack that ranks 2nd in the FBS in passing yards per game at 387. Oklahoma St. quarterback Brendon Weeden slings the ball all over the field and against any team as he showed when he threw for 438 yards against Texas A&M on the road earlier this year. The Cowboys passing game should fare very well against a Baylor defense that is allowing an average of 39 points per game in their three Big 12 games. In fact, Texas A&M quarterback Ryan Tannehill threw for 415 yards and 6 touchdowns against the Bears horrible defense. However, the Bears make up for their lack of a defense with an extremely potent offense. Heisman Trophy candidate Robert Griffin III leads the FBS in passer rating at 205.7 and completion percentage at 78.0. In fact, after Baylor's first four games, Griffin had just two more incompletions at 20 than touchdown passes at 18. Griffin will be looking to go to his main receiving target Kendall Wright, who had 201 yards and 3 touchdowns in a 36-35 Baylor loss to Kansas St. on October 1st. Aside from the fact that the game will feature a lot of offense and scoring, the matchup also carries an extreme amount of significance in terms of the National Championship. Oklahoma St. current number 3 ranking is the schools highest ranking since 1984.

Another game that has national championship significance is between undefeated and #5 Clemson and Georgia Tech. With South Carolina struggling at the quarterback position and without their star running back Marcus Lattimore for the rest of the season, the Yellow Jackets could pose the biggest threat all season to knock the Tigers off of the ranks of the unbeaten. Georgia Tech's potent running game, which is averaging 321.1 yards per game, will have to eat up clock and time of possession, so that it can keep the dynamic Clemson offense off of the field. If the Georgia Tech ground game sputters, like it did last week against Miami, the Clemson offense should have a field day. Tajh Boyd ranks 7th in yards passing and 2nd in touchdown passes with 24 and his main target, Sammy Watkins, ranks 2nd in touchdowns and 8th in receiving yards in the FBS and the kid is just a freshman. Boyd will be riding high after he had his best ever college football game ever last week, as he threw for 367 yards and 5 touchdowns in Clemson's 59-38 win against North Carolina in Death Valley.

Kansas St. is 7-0 for the first time since 1999 when they went 11-1 and finished 6th in the AP poll. The Wildcats will have a chance to show their doubters that they can play with the best of the Big 12, as they face #9 Oklahoma at home in Manhattan this weekend. Although the Wildcats are 4-0 in conference play, they have not played any team that is in the top 5 of the conference standings. To add to the difficulty of playing a very good Oklahoma team, the Sooners will be a very angry bunch after their dreams of reaching a National Championship may have been broken after their crushing 41-38 loss to Texas Tech at home last weekend. Kansas St. quarterback Collin Klein will have to play very well to keep the Wildcats in the game because the Wildcats defense isn't good enough to hold down an offense that is as talented as Oklahoma. Klein has been very effective in the Kansas St. running game. In his last three games, Klein is averaging 82 yards per game and he has 10 touchdowns in that span. Klein has 14 rushing touchdowns this season, which ranks 4th in the FBS.

While the "Suck for Luck" slogan is gaining widespread support in Miami and even in Indianapolis, Andrew Luck is currently focused on guiding his Stanford Cardinals to a National Championship. Dating back to last year, the Cardinals have won 10 straight games by at least 25 points, which has not been done for 75 years. The Cardinals rank 2nd in points per game at 48.6 and 4th in points against per game at 12.6. Luck is surgically picking apart opposing defenses each week and ranks in the top 10 in nearly every passing category. However, the Cardinals will have a very difficult test this weekend against the USC Trojans. Since USC is in the second year of their two year postseason ban (which includes the Pac 12 championship game), their matchup with #6 Stanford this weekend is like their bowl game because it is their most significant game all year. Matt Barkley has looked very good this season and he has found a great target in Robert Woods, who has 902 receiving yards and 8 touchdowns.

Stanford Will Have A Huge Test This Weekend Against Washington

After Stanford's 44-14 smashing against Washington St. last week on the road, the Cardinals improved to 6-0 for the first time in 60 years since 1951. Jim Plunkett won the Heisman Trophy in 1970 but his Cardinals lost their undefeated season very early that year when they fell to unranked Purdue in week 4. Even with the great John Elway behind center, the Cardinals never started a season 6-0. With the Cardinals unbelievable start and Heisman favorite and future number 1 overall pick Andrew Luck at quarterback, there is obviously a lot of buzz in Palo Alto. However, the Cardinals will have to avoid looking ahead to their top 10 clash with Oregon later in the year because they have a difficult test this week against #25 Washington.

The Washington Huskies struggles in the past few years have been very well documented. Since their 27 consecutive seasons with a record of .500 or better from 1977 to 2003 (the longest streak in Pac-12 history), the Huskies have really struggled to have any success. The Huskies have only had one season in the last 8 years where they have been over .500 in conference play including two seasons where they went winless. However, the Huskies look like they have completely turned their program around under Steve Sarkisian, especially recently. Since Washington began last season 3-6, they are 9-1 including a 5-1 start this year.

Washington's offense is capable of getting into a shootout with the Cardinals because they have a high-powered attack that can score a lot of points. The Huskies have scored more than 30 points in each of their 6 games this year and are averaging 37 points per game. Stanford's defense will not be able to sit back on the pass or pack the box for the run because the Huskies have great balance on offense. Washington will be Stanford's first opponent all season with a passing game and a running game that ranks inside of the top 50 in the FBS in both categories.

Keith Price has played behind even his coaches expectations and he is probably the best quarterback that nobody has heard of, as he ranks 5th in quarterback ranking and 2nd in touchdowns in the FBS. Price will have his toughest test this weekend because the Cardinals defense has shown that it is very good against the pass. In Stanford's 37-10 win over Arizona in Tucson in Week 3, Nick Foles threw for just 239 yards To put that in perspective, in Foles other 6 games, he has thrown for more than 375 yards 5 times. Aside from Foles, no quarterback has thrown for more than 215 yards against Stanford's defense.

The bigger question may be Stanford's ability to stop the run. Stanford has not played any team with a running back that is anywhere near as talented as Chris Polk. Polk has rushed for over 100 yards in 5 of Washington's 6 games this season and in the only game he didn't rush for 100 yards, he had 85 receiving yards and a touchdown to go along with his rushing touchdown. The Huskies will likely ride Polk once again this weekend, as he has run the ball at least 20 times in 5 of 6 games. 

Although the Huskies offense against the very solid Stanford defense is an intriguing matchup, the key to the game will be Washington's ability to stop the Stanford offense. Washington's defense has not been too impressive thus far. Nebraska scored 51 points and racked up 464 total yards against the Huskies defense in week 3, which is a sign for deep concern because the Stanford offense ranks 5th in the nation in points scored per game at 45.8.

Stanford will have to remember that Washington is a scary opponent because of their high-powered offense and be careful to not overlook them. Top teams overlook their opponent so often and often fall in an upset. Just look at the Big 12 last year. #5 Nebraska was 5-0 heading into a game against unranked and 3-2 Texas. Expecting to face the Oklahoma St. Cowboys in an undefeated clash the next week, the Cornhuskers played a horrible game and lost at home 20 to 13. Oklahoma was expecting an undefeated clash down the rode against their rival Oklahoma St. but at 6-0 they lost to Missouri to end that dream. 

Don't Sleep On The Oklahoma St. Cowboys

All of the buzz around college football this weekend is down in Dallas, Texas at the Cotton Bowl, as Texas and Oklahoma will go at it in the 106th Red River Rivalry. For the first time since 2008 both Oklahoma and Texas are ranked in the top 10 of the USA Today Poll and for just the second time since 2005 both the Longhorns and Sooners are undefeated coming into the showdown. Not only is Texas looking to rebound from its first sub .500 season since the polls began all the way back in 1941, but Oklahoma is ranked number 1 in the USA Today Poll and is looking to make their first BCS Championship game since 2008 when they lost to Tim Tebow and Florida 24 to 14. In a conference that has been dominated by Oklahoma and Texas, as the two have won the Big 12 nine times since 2000, people often overlook the other contenders in the conference. Although Oklahoma St. is ranked number 6 in the AP poll, the Cowboys have been flying way under the radar. As Oklahoma and Texas are once again in the forefront of the conference, the Oklahoma St. Cowboys are quietly taking care of their business and have a great chance of winning their first conference title since 1976 when they were in the Big Eight and their first ever Big 12 conference title.

The Cowboys are so dangerous and are so difficult to defend because of their prolific offense, which ranks 3rd in the country in total yards per game at 571.5. Oklahoma St. ranks 6th in the country in points per game at 46.8 and they have not been held under 30 points in any game this season. Their passing game is devastating to any defense. The Cowboys 415.5 passing yards per game ranks 2nd in the country only behind Houston. Oklahoma St. quarterback Brandon Weeden has thrown for more than 350 yards in all four of the Cowboys' wins including a 438 yard performance against the Texas A&M Aggies on the road two weeks ago in a 30-29 comeback win. Weeden's main target, Justin Blackmon, is one of the best receivers in the country. Dating back to last season, Black,on has had over 100 yards in 15 out of 16 games. Blackmon's 11 catch, 121 yard, and 1 touchdown game against Texas A&M is a normal line for the big 6-1 receiver. The Cowboys like to sling the ball out to Blackmon on first down, so that they can have a more manageable second down if they don't pick up the first down originally. Blackmon has 16 receptions for 197 yards on first down this season. The Cowboys have shown this year as well that they have other targets aside from Blackmon. Last week Josh Cooper had career highs in receptions with 11 and receiving yards with 123, while Hubert Anyiam added 10 catches and 92 yards in that game. Tracy Moore had 112 yards receiving against Louisiana-Lafayette in the Cowboys first game of the season. Since the Cowboys have such an effective passing game, many people forget that they can run the ball on teams as well. Joseph Randle is averaging 115 yards per game this season and is tied for the Big 12 lead with 7 touchdown runs. Randle said about the red zone, "It's time to shine when you get in there. It's the score zone."

Everybody knows that the Cowboys offense can score with anybody in the country. Oklahoma State's defense is the only thing that is going to hold them back. The Cowboys 27.5 points per game against ranks 75th in the country and only Baylor, Iowa St., and Kansas are allowing more points per game than the Cowboys in the Big 12. The Cowboys defense has struggled to get pressure on the quarterback. No Oklahoma St. player has more than 2 sacks this season. However, the Cowboys defense has shown that they can hold the other team down when they need to do so. In week 2, the Cowboys held the Arizona Wildcat offense, which ranks 3rd in the country in passing yards, to 0 points in the first half and put the game out of reach early. Texas A&M scored just 9 points and had 4 turnovers against the Cowboys in the second half, which was essential in Oklahoma St. erasing a 17 point halftime deficit.

The schedule sets up fairly nicely for the Cowboys as well. After Oklahoma St. plays Kansas at home this week, they travel to Texas and Missouri in consecutive weeks. After those two difficult games on the road, the Cowboys have Baylor, Kansas St., and Oklahoma all at home in Stillwater in three of their final 5 games. Since Brandon Weeden is a senior and Justin Blackmon will likely go to the NFL draft next year, this has to be the year for Oklahoma St. to make their first ever BCS Bowl game.

Clemson And Virginia Tech Set The Stage For A Great ACC Matchup

Since the ACC expanded and added Boston College, Miami, and Virginia Tech to the conference, it has been rare for an ACC matchup to be one of the most hyped games of the week, especially in a week when there are 6 other games between two teams that are both ranked inside of the top 20. Last year, there was not one ACC game where both teams were ranked inside of the top 15. In fact, the ACC champion Virginia Tech Hokies played just 3 ranked teams in the ACC all of last year and two of those teams were ranked outside of the top 20. Virginia Tech was the only team in the Coastal Division to finish the season in the top 25. However, the ACC has had a stronger start to this season and will be the center of attention this week when the 13th ranked Clemson Tigers travel to Lane Stadium to take on the 11th ranked Virginia Tech Hokies in Blacksburg in a battle of undefeated teams.

For Clemson, all of the hype surrounding a gigantic conference game is uncharted territory. Clemson has failed to do much of anything in the ACC since 1991 when they won their last ACC conference championship. From 1999 to 2008 under Tommy Bowden, Clemson never won a division or conference title and they only had one really good shot to win the Atlantic Division when in 2007 they were tied in the standings with Boston College but lost to the Eagles 20 to 17 in their final ACC Game. Although Clemson did win the Atlantic Division in 2009, they were the only ranked team in the division and their defense was destroyed by Georgia Tech, who racked up 39 points in their ACC Championship Game victory over the Tigers. After huge wins over #19 Auburn and #11 Florida St, Clemson comes into their showdown with Virginia Tech with their first 4-0 start since 2007. To put Clemson's two early season victories in perspective, from 2006 to 2008 Tommy Bowden knocked off just 2 top 20 opponents. Lastly, Clemson desperately wants to make their first BCS bowl game and this victory would put them in a great position to achieve that goal. The Tigers need to win the Atlantic, so they can play in the ACC Championship game and have a shot at getting an automatic berth into the BCS. Clemson's biggest challenger this to win the Atlantic is Florida St. If the Tigers can pull out a victory on the road, they will be the leading the Seminoles by a game and essentially two games because the Tigers own the head-to-head tiebreaker over the Noles since they beat them last week 35 to 30 in Death Valley. This will allow the Tigers a little breathing room at the top of the standings just in case they slip up in another conference game.

Virginia Tech has been wildly successful in the ACC since they joined the conference in 2004 from the Big East. The Hokies have won the conference in 4 of their 7 years as they took the ACC title in 2004, 2007, 2008, and 2010. Despite all of the success that Virginia Tech has had in the ACC, they have lost so many games early in the season in recent years. In 2007 #9 Virginia Tech was plummeted by #2 LSU on the road 48 to 7. In 2008 Virginia Tech opened up their season ranked #15 but lost to East Carolina 27 to 22. In 2009 the #7 Hokies lost to Alabama at the Georgia Dome 34 to 24 in week 1. Last year #6 Virginia Tech suffered an opening week lost for the third straight year as they lost to Boise St. and then they fell to James Madison in the following week. However, this year the Hokies have started 4-0 for the first time since 2006 and are looking to run the table in the ACC. Since the Hokies lost a non-conference game every year from 2007 to 2010, they haven't had a conference game with National Championship implications like this game with Clemson since 2005 when they were ranked #3 and lost to #5 Miami at home. While Clemson desperately wants to make a BCS Bowl game, Virginia Tech has a bigger goal in mind. The Hokies were picked by many to be a dark horse to win the National Champion at the beginning of the season. If the Hokies can knock off Clemson at home, they likely will not play any more ranked teams until the ACC Championship Game and will be in a prime position to make a run at playing in the title game.

The matchup to watch in this ACC battle will be the Clemson offense against the Virginia Tech defense. In four games this year, Clemson has scored an average of 37.75 points and has not been held under 35 points in any of those games. The Clemson offense scored 35 points on a very tough Florida St. defense last week, which was the most points that the Noles had allowed since Virginia Tech scored 44 points on them last season. The Virginia Tech defense will have to keep a constant eye on Clemson's dynamic quarterback Tajh Boyd. Boyd has thrown for 1,255 yards and 13 touchdowns, while tossing just 1 pick in 4 games. Boyd threw for 386 yards and 4 touchdowns against Auburn and 344 yards and 3 touchdowns against Florida St and most of those yards have been to his favorite receiver Sammy Watkins, who had 155 yards and 2 touchdowns against Auburn and 141 yards and 2 touchdowns against Florida St. However, the Virginia Tech defense is definitely nothing to sleep on, as they are one of the best defensives in the entire country. The Hokies defense has allowed an average of just 10 points a game, which is the 6th fewest in the nation. While South Carolina allowed 37 points and just under 350 yards of total offense to East Carolina, the Pirates scored 10 points and had a total of just 112 yards on Virginia Tech's stout defense. The Hokies defensive ends, J.R. Collins and James Gayle, have combined for 8 sacks, which is the most for a combination of defensive ends in the country. It will be key that Collins and Gayle can get to Boyd in the backfield and force him to make throws under pressure.

What We Learned From Week 3 In College Football

Marcus Lattimore's Performance Against Navy Puts Him Near the Top of the Heisman Trophy Race: When discussing the preseason Heisman Trophy candidates, Andrew Luck, Kellen Moore, and Landry Jones were always the three quarterbacks thrown around and then everybody seemed to be high on Alabama running back Trent Richardson as the tailback who could win the award. Through week 3, another running back in the SEC has stood out as a legitimate Heisman Trophy contender. Marcus Lattimore has been unbelievable in South Carolina's first three games and the Gamecocks have narrowly escaped from East Carolina, Georgia, and Navy because of Lattimore's performance. The sophmore running back had 112 rushing yards and 3 touchdowns to help the Gamecocks outlast the ECU Pirates 56-37 in week 1. After East Carolina scored in the third quarter to cut South Carolina's lead to 35-31, Lattimore had two straight rushing touchdowns to put the game away for the Gamecocks by giving them a 49-31 lead. In week 2 on the road in Athens against Georgia, Lattimore rushed for 176 yards and 1 touchdown in South Carolina's huge 45-42 conference win. In the fourth quarter, Lattimore ran for a touchdown to give the Gamecocks a 35-31 lead and then ran out the clock with a first down in the final 2 minutes of the game. These two outstanding performances were outdone by his record-breaking week 3 game against Navy. In a very tight and highly contested game, Lattimore ran for an almost unimaginable 246 yards and 3 touchdowns on 37 carries. It was the most rushing yards by a single player in one game under Steve Spurrier, more than Errict Rhett and Fred Taylor ever ran for at Florida when the old ball coach was at the helm. His 246 yards were also a South Carolina school record. If Lattimore continues to run this well, he may become just the second running back to officially (Reggie Bush's Heisman Trophy in 2005 was vacated) win the Heisman Trophy since 2000 and just the 6th since 1989 to win the award.

The Top College Football Quaterbacks All Look Very Good: Kellen Moore's huge game on Friday night was just the beginning of a great display from the top college football quarterbacks in week 3. Moore, who never looks like he is phased by anything, meticulously and surgically picked apart a Toledo defense that nearly helped the Rockets pull off an upset a week earlier against the Ohio St. Buckeyes in Columbus. Moore may of had his best statistical game in college as he tied his career high in passing touchdowns with 5 and set a career high with 32 completions in the Broncos 40 to 15 win on the road. He also threw for 455 yards and is now just 6 wins away from becoming the all-time wins leader in college football history. Wisconsin quarterback Russell Wilson also looked great in the Badgers 49-7 win over Northern Illinois. The senior transfer from NCST has added a dangerous passing and running threat under center for Wisconsin. His 347 passing yards were the most by a Wisconsin quarterback in more than 4 years since 2007 when Tyler Donovan threw for 392 yards against Illinois. Wilson has also thrown more than 2 touchdowns in each of his first three games, as he threw for 3 on Saturday. Lastly, Andrew Luck showed why he is considered the top college football quarterback and the eventual number 1 pick in the NFL draft. Luck had his normal, precise game, as he threw for 325 yards and 2 touchdowns in Stanford's 37-10 win over Arizona on the road. Luck uses his array of tight ends so beautifully, as Levine Toilolo and Zach Ertz both had touchdown catches in the Caridnals victory to improve to 3-0.

Notre Dame Really Needed Their Win Over Michigan St: The last time Notre Dame began a season 0-2 was back in 2007 when they lost to Georgia Tech and Penn St. and ended up finishing the season 3-9. After beginning 2011 with a loss to South Florida and a crushing loss to Michigan, the Fighting Irish were once again facing a 0-2 hole and a huge amount of pressure from the faithful in South Bend. After Notre Dame got out to an early 7-0 lead, the Irish fans were forced to cringe at what must have seemed like deja vu to them. Tommy Rees, who had replaced Dayne Crist after halftime of Notre Dame's first game, was sacked and fumbled the ball over to Michigan St. After getting the ball back, Rees forced a ball in the middle of the field and was picked off for the Fighting Irish's second turnover in two possessions. In Notre Dame's 23-20 loss to South Florida, the Fighting Irish had 5 turnovers including 3 in the red zone. In their next game against Michigan, Notre Dame once again had 5 turnovers including 2 in the red zone and lost to the Wolverines 35-31. However, unlike their previous two losses, the Irish rebounded from their turnovers. Cierre Wood had 2 touchdown runs and Tommy Rees managed the game very well after his early turnovers by throwing for 161 yards and a touchdown. The 31-13 win over the 15th ranked Spartans will take some of the pressure off of the shoulders of Brian Kelly, who has been getting a tremendous amount of heat in South Bend.

Oklahoma Proved A Lot From Their Road Win Over Florida St: Bob Stoops has had an unbelievable amount of success at Oklahoma since he took over the job in 1999, but there are some doubters out there who believe that he can't win the big game, especially when his Sooners are on the road. Stoops and his Sooners quieted those doubters just for now after top ranked Oklahoma went into Tallahassee and beat the Florida St. Seminoles 23 to 13. Oklahoma has struggled on the road in recent memory. In 2009 the Sooners were 1-4 on the road and last year Oklahoma suffered their only two losses in their 12-2 campaign to Missouri and Texas A&M on the road. The Sooners didn't let their previous road woes stop them from knocking off the Noles in front of a record-breaking crowd at Doak Campbell Stadium. Oklahoma also proved that they can win ugly and that they can win with defensive. Landry Jones didn't have his typical game at quarterback. He was held under 200 yards passing for the first time since he came in for Sam Bradford on September 5, 2009 against BYU in his first career game for Oklahoma and threw 2 interceptions as well. Oklahoma's star receiver Ryan Broyles was held under 100 yards for just the 5th time in his last 19 games and didn't have a touchdown catch. However, the Oklahoma defense made a countless number of big plays and forced 3 Florida St. turnovers and held the Seminoles to just 27 rushing yards.

Mark Richt Is On The Hot Seat

Mark Richt is one of the most successful coaches in Georgia Bulldog history, which is pretty impressive for a program that has won 5 NCAA National Championships and 12 SEC Championships. Richt's winning percentage of .738 (96-34) at Georgia is the highest among coaches who have coached for more than three seasons at the school. Richt's 96 wins are only behind Vince Dooley and Wally Butts for the most in program history but he has a better winning percentage than both of those legendary coaches. Richt has coached 11 All-Americans including Knowshon Moreno and David Pollack and 9 first round NFL draft picks including Matthew Stafford, AJ Green, and Benjamin Watson.

Despite all of this, Richt and his Georgia Bulldogs have not had any sniff of recent success. In a conference that is as competitive as the SEC, the demand for all coaches in the conference, especially at a big time school like Georgia, is to win and win now. Although Richt has been a very good coach at Georgia for a long time, if his Bulldogs don't put something big together this season, he may be looking for a new job after the season.

If you look at Georgia's year-by-year record since Mark Richt took over in 2001, they are on a steady decline. Richt's first few years at Georgia began with a bang. Georgia won the SEC in 2002 and 2005 and finished number 3 in both the AP and coaches' poll in 2002. The Bulldogs also finished in the top 7 of both the AP and coaches' poll in 2003 and 2004. Richt's last great season came in 2007 when the Bulldogs beat Hawaii in the Sugar Bowl and finished as high as number 2 in the AP rankings.

Ever since the 2007 season, the Bulldogs have just been a flat out disappointment. If you look at the Bulldogs record in 2008, you may not think it was a bad season. They finished 10-3 with a 6-2 record in the SEC, which was good enough for a 2nd place finish in the SEC East, and they finished the season ranked number 13 in the AP poll. However, with all of the talent that Georgia had on its football team that year, the record didn't meet expectations. Georgia began the 2008 season as the preseason number 1 for the first time in school history. Star quarterback Matthew Stafford was returning for his third season, SEC Freshman of the Year Knowshon Moreno was back for his sophomore year at the running back position, and All-SEC linebacker Dannell Ellerbe was back to lead the Georgia defense. The Bulldogs were also adding a top 5 recruiting class highlighted by top 5 recruit, wide receiver A.J. Green. Therefore, the season was a big disappointment for Bulldogs fans that were hoping that Richt would finally bring a National Championship back to Athens. The Bulldogs lost to Florida by 39 points on a neutral field, which to this day is the largest margin of defeat in Richt' coaching career at Georgia, and they even fell to Georgia Tech for the first time in 8 years since 2000.

Despite losing some big play guys on the offense side of the ball, SEC Freshman of the Year A.J. Green was returning to school and the Bulldogs had the majority of their best defense players coming back for the 2009 season. Therefore, the Bulldogs were in the preseason top 15 at number 13 but they didn't remain there for long. Georgia began the season with a 4-4 record and finished the year with a pedestrian 4-4 conference record. They finished the season ranked outside the AP top 25 for the first time in 13 years since Jim Donnnan's first year at Georgia in 1996.

Last year was just a miserable season for the Bulldogs. They began the season ranked once again in the preseason top 25 as high as number 21 in the coaches' poll but they once again fell out of the rankings very quickly. The Bulldogs began the season 1-4 and never recovered. They finished the year with a sub .500 record at 6-7 and were a woeful 3-5 in the SEC. The Bulldogs didn't even score a touchdown in their bowl game loss to Central Florida. It was the first time since 1996 that the Bulldogs finished under .500 in both their overall record and their conference record. For two seasons in a row, The Bulldogs were not above .500 in the SEC. The last time the same coach led Georgia to two seasons where the team was not above .500 in either one was Ray Goff. In 1994 with Goff at the helm the Bulldogs were 3-4-1 in conference games and in 1995 they were not above .500 again when they were 3-5. After the 1995 season, Georgia fired Goff. Obviously, Richt has not done enough in the last few years to help his job security.

A combination of the fact that Georgia has really struggled the last few years and that other teams in the SEC have shined, are really hurting Richt's chances of continuing to be Georgia's coach beyond this year. There is no question that the SEC is the best conference in college football. The last 5 National Champions have all come out of the SEC but none of them have been Georgia. Florida has won two National Championships (2006 and 2008) and LSU (2007), Alabama (2009), and Auburn (2010) have each won one title in the last five years. With all of the other top SEC teams winning National Championships and Georgia struggling to make a simple bowl game, Richt is deservingly taking a lot of heat. In 2009 and 2010 Richt's overall record with Georgia was 14-12. That is pretty unimpressive for the Bulldogs considering that in 2009 and 2010 Alabama was 24-3, Auburn was 22-5, Florida was 21-6, LSU was 20-6, Arkansas was 18-8, and South Carolina was 16-11. When Georgia began their 2010 season 1-4, they lost more games than Alabama did in all of 2009 and 2010.

With all of this in consideration, the Bulldogs will have to at least win the SEC East and make the SEC Championship game in order for Richt to retain his job as the head ball coach in Athens. Anything less than a title game appearance will likely mean the end of an era for Georgia. Richt definitely has a good enough team to win the East this season, so if he can't pull it off, it will be an easier decision for Georgia AD Greg McGarity to pull the plug on him. Although the Bulldogs began the season poorly with a 35-21 loss to Boise St. at the Georgia Dome, the Bulldogs should still be focused on the goal of winning the SEC East. It will be key that the loss to the Broncos doesn't have a lasting effect on the Bulldogs because they have a huge game in week 2 in Athens when South Carolina comes to visit in a gigantic SEC East battle. Aaron Murray will have to move on from his disappointing game yesterday, where he was sacked 6 times and was thoroughly outplayed by Kellen Moore. The sophomore, whose 3,049 passing yards last season was a Georgia freshman record and second all-time by an SEC freshman, will have the opportunity to open up a South Carolina defense that allowed 37 points and 260 passing yards to an ECU team in week 1. Luckily for Richt, the schedule is a favorable one for Georgia this season, so even if his Bulldogs do fall to the Gamecocks, they still have a chance to win the East. It just so happens that the only three SEC teams that Georgia doesn't play this season are #2 Alabama, #4 LSU, and #15 Arkansas, while Florida has a stretch in the middle of the season where they have to play #2 Alabama, #4 LSU on the road, #23 Auburn on the road, and then play SEC East foe #19 Georgia. It's a make or break year for Mark Richt down in Athens.

TCU Is On Upset Alert In Week 1

Last year was a magical season for the TCU Horn Frogs. They won the Mountain West with a perfect 8-0 record and went on to finish the year ranked #2 in both the AP and coaches' poll after beating the Big Ten Champion Wisconsin Badgers in the Rose Bowl 21-19. They became the first TCU team to ever win a BCS Bowl game. It was just the second time in school history that the team finished with an undefeated and untied record. The first time was in 1938 when legendary quarterback Davey O'Brien won the Heisman Trophy and led the team to a National Championship.

TCU is under an immense amount of pressure to follow up their great season last year with another one just like it this year. This is going to be a very difficult task for the Horn Frogs because they are losing so much of their offensive firepower from last season. TCU no longer has one of the greatest quarterbacks in the programs decorated history, as Andy Dalton has graduated and is now expected to be the starting quarterback for the Cincinnati Bengals. Dalton was one of the most successful quarterbacks in college football history as his record in four years as a starter for TCU was an incredible 42-8, including 34-3 in his final three years. Dalton's 42 wins with TCU are more than Horn Frog greats Davey O'Brien and Sammy Baugh. Dalton was the Mountain West Offensive Player of the Year in 2009 and 2010, and he holds a majority of the school records in passing. The Horn Frogs have to replace three of their top four receivers. Jeremy Kerley, who had 575 receiving yards last year and a conference leading 10 touchdown grabs as well, and Jimmy Young and Bart Johnson, who both had over 400 yards for the Horn Frogs last season, have all graduated. The Horn Frogs will also be without their All-American starting left tackle Marcus Cannon, who anchored the TCU offensive line that allowed a total of just 9 sacks all of the 2010 season.

With all of the spots that TCU have to fill on the offensive side of the ball, the Horn Frogs are definitely on upset alert when they face the high flying Baylor Bears in Waco in week one. A lot of the pressure will be on sophomore Casey Pachall, who will be the starting quarterback for the Horn Frogs opening night. The young quarterback is very inexperienced, as he threw just 9 passes all of last season. Pachall acknowledges that he has not had much time under center saying, "Being in there, usually at the end of the game, didn't really help too much because I'm just running the clock out and getting the game over with." The Horn Frogs will rely heavily on Ed Wesley to provide the bulk of their offense. Wesley led the team with 1,078 rushing yards and 11 touchdowns last year. The Baylor defense is very venerable and is very easy to score on. They allowed an average of 435.4 yards per game last year. In the Bears final 8 games in 2010, they didn't hold any team to under 20 points and their opponents scored an average of 40.25 points in those 8 games.

Although TCU has lost so many key players on the offense side of the ball, their biggest concern against the Bears will likely be on the defensive end of the field. Last year Baylor averaged 31.15 points per game and they are not afraid to get into high scoring battles, like when they beat Kansas St. at home 47 to 42 last year. The TCU defense will have to slow down the Baylor attack because the Horn Frog offense will not be able to keep up with the Baylor offense if the game is a shootout. All-American linebacker and Mountain West defensive player of the year Tank Carder will have the challenge of containing one of the most dynamic and underrated quarterbacks in all of college football. Robert Griffin III is one of the best dual threat quarterbacks in the nation and he can do it all. Griffin had the 2nd best completion percentage and passer rating in the Big 12 last year, he threw for 3,501 yards and 22 touchdowns, and also ran for 635 yards and 8 touchdowns. Griffin's 3,501 yards was a school record, and if he is able to sling the ball around the field against the Horn Frogs, it is going to be a long night for TCU fans.

Brian Kelly Made The Right Decision By Naming Dayne Crist The Notre Dame Starting Quarterback Over Tommy Rees

Notre Dame has had a difficult 18-year stretch. Since the Fighting Irish finished 2nd in the coaches poll in 1993, they have not finished a season ranked in the top 10. In the last four years they have had a record of 24-26 and have made just 2 bowl games. It's been a tough run for a program that has 11 National Championships. This year however there is reason for optimism with Notre Dame being ranked as high as number 16 in the AP poll, their highest preseason ranking since they were number 16 in 2006. The biggest question mark behind how successful the Fighting Irish will be this season will be the play of their quarterback. Brian Kelly had to make a huge decision on who would open the season at that position. It took Kelly all of spring football and nearly all of training camp to make the decision, but he chose to name senior Dayne Crist the starter over sophomore Tommy Rees. Brain Kelly said about Crist, "He is a much better football player [than a year ago], he's a much better quarterback and quite frankly and honestly he's the kind of guy I want to coach. He's tougher mentally. He handles himself in a leadership position the way I want our quarterbacks to handle it. Dayne will be the starter and I expect him to be the starter for 13 weeks. We have great confidence in his ability to lead us to a championship." Although neither Crist nor Rees were head and shoulders above the other, Crist was the better option for the Irish than Rees.

Crist's ability to sling the ball all around the field and to make difficult throws is something that Rees's can't quite do yet. Crist threw for more than 200 yards in every game he played in besides the Navy game. He also threw for over 300 yards on the road at Michigan St. and again in South Bend against Stanford. Crist threw 7 picks in 8 games, and had just one 2-interception game. With Rees, the Irish were much more limited in their passing attack. Rees only threw for more than 215 yards once, and he had the same number of interceptions as Crist in three less games. Rees threw three picks against Tulsa in a horrible loss at home 28-27, and he also had three interceptions on the road at USC. Notre Dame's star wide receiver, Michael Floyd, the only wideout with over 415 yards last season, averaged about 10 more yards per game with Crist as his quarterback.

Although last year Dayne Crist was 4-4 in games where he played the majority of the game and Tommy Rees was 4-1 in games where he played the majority of the game, Rees got a lot of help from his defense and from his running game. In the 8 games Crist played, the Notre Dame defense allowed an average of 24.5 points per game. The Notre Dame rushing attack averaged just 112 yards per game, including less than 100 yards in the big games against Michigan St., Stanford, and Pittsburgh, which left most of the responsibility on Crist to put together scoring drives for the Irish. In the 5 games Rees played, the Notre Dame defense was significantly better as they allowed an average of just 13.4 points per game. The Irish rushing attack averaged about 150 yards per game when Rees was playing, which was nearly 40 more yards than the rushing attack averaged with Crist. Obviously, it wasn't entirely on Crist for the 4-4 record, and it wasn't entirely Rees's great play that gave the Irish a 4-1 record to end the season.

If Crist can get some help from his running game and the defense can hold down the fort, then the Irish have a chance to once again become an elite college football team. They play just three ranked teams, and two of them are at home against #17 Michigan St. and #25 USC. Let's see if they can win one for the Gipper!

Top 5 College Football Games In Weeks 1 and 2

#3 Oregon vs #4 LSU in Week 1: Only once last season did two teams that were ranked in the top 5 play each other, and that was in week 10 when number 3 TCU beat number 5 Utah 47 to 7. Therefore, when you have a non-conference game between two top 5 teams in the first week of the season, there is obviously going to be a ton of hype. Oregon was a field goal miss away from winning the National Championship last season and starting quarterback Darron Thomas and Heisman Trophy runner-up LaMichael James have returned to school to win that title. Their quest will begin right away when the Ducks play LSU at Cowboys Stadium in week 1. James will have to carry the Oregon offense once again this season, as he did last year when he led the FBS in rushing yards with 1,731. He will have to come up big against the Tigers defense, which held great running teams like Alabama to just 102 years last season. Darron Thomas will have to find a new target on the outside as star wide receiver Jeff Maehl graduated. LSU head coach Les Miles said about containing the Ducks offense, "We're going to do the things that we've done, and done well on defense. I don't know that we'll have a lot of changes." If the LSU defense has difficulty stopping the Duck's attack, it will be imperative that Jordan Jefferson leads the LSU offense to some scores. The dual threat quarterback will have to improve upon last season when the Tigers averaged just 155 passing yards per game.

#5 Boise St. vs #19 Georgia in Week 1: The last four years Boise St. has had to go out and play a difficult non-conference schedule to try and validate their case that they are good enough to make a BCS Bowl, and even a National Championship game. In 2008, Boise St. beat number 12 Oregon in week 3 in a high scoring game 37-32. The next year the Broncos beat number 14 Oregon once again 19-8 and went on to finish with an undefeated record of 14-0, concluding with a Fiesta Bowl victory over TCU. Last year the Broncos beat number 6 Virginia Tech at FedEx Field 33-30 in week 1. Boise St. is hoping that Georgia can be their next non-conference victim when the two preseason top 20 teams square off in Atlanta in week 1. The Broncos have their Heisman Trophy candidate Kellen Moore back at quarterback, but he will have to adjust without his great wide receivers Titus Young and Austin Pettis. The Georgia defensive will still have a lot to handle with the Broncos offense that scored the second most points in the FBS last season. Georgia will be expecting their sophomore quarterback Aaron Murray to build upon his performance from last year when he set a Georgia freshman passing record by throwing for 3,049 yards. If the Bulldogs lose to the Broncos, they could be in grave danger of falling to 0-2 as they play number 12 South Carolina the following week in a big SEC East game.

#20 Mississippi St. at #23 Auburn in Week 2: Auburn is just the second defending National Champion to be ranked outside the top 15 in the preseason rankings. In 1961, Minnesota was unranked in the preseason poll after winning the National Championship in 1960. Auburn is missing a whole lot from their National Championship team last season. The Tigers can no longer rely on Heisman winning quarterback Cam Newton, or wide out Darvin Adam, or Vince Lombardi award winning defensive tackle Nick Fairley, all of whom have left for the NFL. The Tigers will look a lot different this season and they won't have a long time to adjust to each other because right out of the gates in week two they play their first top 25 opponent, Mississippi St., at home. A lot of pressure will be on sophomore running back Michael Dyer to run well against the Bulldogs because Cam Newton's successor, Barrett Trotter, threw just 9 passes last season and is very inexperienced. That might be a tough ask though because Mississippi St. held Auburn to their second fewest yards rushing last season. The Bulldogs were one of the biggest surprises in the country last season. After going 5-7 in 2009, the Bulldogs improved their record to 9-4 last year and had one of the best running games in college football. Their running combination of quarterback Chris Relf and running back Vick Ballard is going to cause an Auburn defense that lost 9 starters from last year's team havoc.

#16 Notre Dame at Michigan in Week 2: The Big House will be packed to its capacity in week 2 when the beloved Michigan Wolverines take on Notre Dame in the first ever night game at Michigan Stadium. Michigan athletic director David Brandon said, "This also adds a new chapter to the storied rivalry between our two great programs." The rivalry, which Michigan leads 22-15-1, has been won by Michigan the last two years, but Notre Dame will be motivated to get a statement win on the road. With Brady Hoke replacing Rich Rodriguez as the new head coach at Michigan, there will be changes on both sides of the ball for the Wolverines. Quarterback Denard Robinson was worked a lot last year, as he was in the top 20 in the FBS with 256 rushes. Although he was second in the FBS with 1,702 rushing yards, Michigan offensive coordinator Al Borges has said he will not run as much this season because he wants to keep him healthy for the entire year. He said, "[We'll] try not to [get him] beat up...Because we’re trying to get to more of a power-offense style, we’re trying to take some of the burden off him as a runner and more than anything, try to keep him in one piece.” However, we will see if Borges isn't tempted to let Denard run wild if Michigan begins to struggle offensively, especially after last season when Robinson ran for 258 yards in a 28-24 victory over the Fighting Irish. After a solid 8-5 season in Brian Kelly's first year at the helm in South Bend, the Irish will be looking for even more success this year. The biggest question mark for the Irish is at the quarterback position. Brian Kelly has still not named a starter, although the season is right around the corner. How it all works out for Kelly remains to be seen. If Kelly chooses Dayne Crist for example, Crist could feel pressure to perform knowing that Tommy Rees is right behind him ready to play. Either way, the Michigan defense that allowed an average of 35 points per game last season will be ready. Brady Hoke said about the new look defense, "They’re getting more comfortable. We've made really good strides from practice 7 to 14."

Utah at #25 USC in Week 2: When Utah officially joined the Pac 12 on July 1st, Utah athletic director Chris Hill said, "We're not afraid of the high expectations. It's not easy, but at the same time our fans expect us to do well... We didn't win a game today, but I feel like we won our future at the University of Utah." Utah's dream move to the Pac 12 will begin with a splash when they travel to the Coliseum to take on the 11-time National Champion USC Trojans. Utah has 7 returning starters on the offensive side of the ball, including quarterback Jordan Wynn and his two top receivers DeVonte Christopher and Jereme Brooks. The Utah secondary will be a key to watch against USC because of the Trojans ability to throw the ball around the field with quarterback Matt Barkley. Utah coach Kyle Whittingham said, "Defensively we are on track. We've done a lot of good things, particularly the secondary. That has been a pleasant surprise, the way the secondary has performed through the first half of camp. We felt all along the line was strong and it has been." If you look ahead at Utah's schedule, they don't play another ranked team all season because they don't play number 3 Oregon or number 7 Stanford this year. If Utah can come away from the Coliseum with a victory, who knows what could happen. This is the final season of USC's two-year postseason ban, so they will be looking to finish with a great record, despite not being able to play in the Pac 12 championship game or a bowl game.

A Head Coach-In-Waiting Just Causes Controversy

Aside from the controversy of USC being stripped of their 2004 national title, the focus of the college football off-season has been the craziness in Morgentown, West Virginia. On December 16, 2010, West Virginia named Dana Holgorsen, the former Oklahoma State offensive coordinator, their head coach-in-waiting for the 2011 season. The Mountaineers planned for Bill Stewart, the current coach, to be replaced by Holgorsen in 2012. However, the situation could not be much worse or more unsettling for West Virginia. Colin Dunlap, a Pittsburgh Post-Gazette beat writer, was reportedly asked by Stewart to "dig up dirt" on Holgorsen. He said about the conversation, "He [Stewart] tried to flam-throw the guy [Holgorsen] in December by calling me and at least one other reporter because the other reporter and I discussed it. [Stewart] said, can you get the word scumbag tattooed on the front of the sports page? You need to dig up this dirt; you need to get it out on this guy... it's true that he's even involved with assailing Dana Holgorsen's character or attempting to, this would make the second instance thus a pattern would form of him going after the same man. I just think that the [coach-in-waiting] situation is doomed to fail." Currently, Bill Stewart's future is in serious jeopardy according to numerous sources close to the program. The saga has gone on for so long that even West Virginia athletic director Oliver Luck admitted, "no one wants this to drag out any longer than it needs to." This begs the question: What is the point in a coach-in-waiting? Previous history also shows that this tag just doesn't work.

Although Florida St. had one of the smoother transitions to the head coach-in-waiting, it still ended with controversy over the departure of Seminole great Bobby Bowden. Fisher was named the coach-in-waiting on December 10, 2007. The Seminoles felt that they had to make the move because they wanted to keep Fisher, as he was offered the head coaching job at UAB and the offensive coordinator job at both Alabama and Florida. Unfortunately for Fisher, Bowden wasn't ready to retire until two years later. There is irreparably damage between Bowden and the university over his departure. Bowden said about his retirement," Pushed out ain't bad. I was pushed out, no doubt about it. I didn't want but one more year. Gosh, I'm 80... I didn't want them to spread the story that I voluntarily happily resigned." Florida St. felt pressured to give Fisher the coaching job before he would leave for a head coaching job at another school. Although Bowden wasn't ready to retire, they had to make a decision because they promised Fisher their coaching job. Therefore, they had to part ways with Bowden although the great coach wanted to return and it lead to controversy in the media.

What occurs most of the time with a coach-in-waiting is that the coach expects to take over the head coaching role soon after he is hired to be the next coach. When the current coach decides to stay longer than expected, the coach-in-waiting becomes impatient and often leaves the program for a head coaching job elsewhere. This situation has occurred at both Maryland and Texas. 

On February 6, 2009, James Franklin was named the coach-in-waiting at Maryland. Raplh Friedgen coached the team for two seasons after Franklin was named his successor and his contract wasn't set to expire until January 2, 2012. Therefore, when Vanderbilt offered Franklin their head coaching position, he accepted it without a doubt, as he showed his ability to be a good head coach. When Ralph Friedgen was fired by Maryland a few days after Franklin took the job at Vanderbilt, the Terps were stuck looking for a new coach.

On November 18, 2008, Will Muschamp was named by Texas to be their coach-in-waiting and eventually replace Mack Brown. The move was really just a play to try and get Muschamp to stay at Texas for an extended period of time. However, Muschamp realized that he wasn't going to get the opportunity to be the head coach at Texas for years and took the head coaching job at Florida. Mack Brown still had 8 years left on his contract at the time Muschamp was named the head coach-in-waiting. Mack Brown said, "I'm going to continue coaching as I'm enjoying it. I have eight years left on my contract, I am not thinking at all about moving on." Kirk Bohls, a reporter for Austin news, said, "At least one source told me Brown had decided in the offeason to step down at the end of the 2010 season, but he changed his mind after his first losing season at Texas. Muschamp was annoyed by the decision, sources close to the football program have said, and chose to leave what he though was promised [to] him."

Naming a head coach-in-waiting just has too many negative effects. The current head coach feels pressure to perform, so he can stay on as head coach. Often times the head coach feels like he is forced out by the university. The head coach-in-waiting feels like he should get an opportunity to become the head coach but they often grow impatient waiting for the current coach to leave. Therefore, what is the point in having a head coach-in-waiting if nothing positive can come out of it.